Chapter 7
Hesitantly the girls walked out from the backstage and onto the stage itself. Looking out at the rest of the hall both girls couldn't suppress their gasps. The place was absolutely amazing. Instantly the girls let out a happy mini scream as they walked to the edge of the stage and jumped down to the floor. Turning around to face the stage they took a seat in the front row and tried their best to stay out of the way.
On the stage the crew began to adjust the guitars and making sure all the equipment was in the right place. The boys were standing on side of the stage together, talking to someone clearly important in the sound check department. Michelle had no idea what was going on really, she was just trying to observe everything at once. Her eyes were starting to hurt from all the quick darting around they were doing. It was almost too much to be able to watch them getting ready.
"How exactly did this all come to be Trace?" Tilting her head to the side, Michelle rested her head on Tracy's shoulder. Her eyes had finally found a resting spot on Kevin as he adjusted his guitar strap and started tuning it. Luckily for her, he was facing the back of the stage instead of clearly seeing her watching him.
" Isn't it obvious. Kevin fell madly in love with you as we planned and now he wants you to have his children." With a smirk Tracy started to laugh.
"Hey now, we must keep the awkward talk to a minimum here! He is a good boy and will not appreciate inappropriate comments such as that…we have to get married before he wants me to have his children."
The two girls busted up, their heads thrown back against the seats as they laughed loudly. With her eyes closed, Michelle attempted to take deep breaths slowing turning her laughter into a mere snicker. On the stage someone cleared his throat quietly, then rather loudly. Opening her eyes, Michelle looked up to see Joe standing right in front of them.
"I just figured I should let you know, I saw that earlier Michelle. And we're gonna be starting now, if you want to continue."
Joe winked yet again. Turning to Tracy, Michelle let her voice drop, making sure no one else hear. That middle brother was out to get her. Or at least embarrass her into oblivion. She never took Joe as the observing type, but he did seem to notice a lot of little things, specifically the things Michelle wished to keep a little more on the personal side.
"Now he is talking about the laughing or the staring at Kevin? Cause I'm thinking the staring, but I'd love it if that wasn't it."
"Sorry Mich, but you've been caught. I know you tried really hard to keep it a secret, but I'm afraid it's out. You my dear…have a thing for Kevin."
Sticking out her tongue at her best friend, Michelle sat back in her chair to watch as the boys started practicing for sound check. True she was right in front of them for the Verizon show earlier today, but there was something different about watching them in this venue, being the only real audience. She tried her best not to watch him specifically, but without fail, her eyes always fell back onto Kevin. She smiled brightly as he caught her eye, but as the eye contact stayed longer she finally broke it, blushing slightly. It was then Michelle started to realize, this might be a bit more than just a celebrity crush.
The sound check went on without a hitch. Since most things were already worked out, the boys didn't have to play completely through any of their songs. Even after the bits though the girls clapped loudly and cheered as if it was a real concert, played just for them. The boys and the rest of the band got into the habit of bowing jokingly after Michelle and Tracy had finished clapping. Everyone was laughing; it made Michelle feel like they weren't just fan girls that got in, but people the boys actually wanted to hang out.
Once they got the okay from sound check, Kevin took off his guitar and rested it against his amp. While one of the stage crew grabbed it, he walked to the front of the stage and took a seat on the edge, just before slipping down to the floor. Michelle sat up straight and pulled her legs up into Indian style on the seat. Placing her hands in her lap she smiled up at Kevin once he stood in front of her.
"Thanks for making sound check extra special this time." He smiled placing his hands in his front pockets. "How do burgers sound? There is this small place, looks like a hole in the wall, but the foods really good. We ate there last time we were here."
Nodding in agreement, Michelle let her legs slip out from under her and she stood up. From sitting down she hadn't noticed how close Kevin was really standing. But now that she was standing too, there bodies were barely a foot away. He was a good 7 inches taller than her. Michelle, at barely 5'2'', titled her head up to meet his eyes. They hadn't stood this close before; it was a little unnerving for her.
"Oops, sorry," Kevin took a step or two back, and smiled.
"No problem," Smiling, she glanced down at the floor for a moment before looking back up at him, pushing her hair behind her ears. "Burgers sound good. Do they have like BBQ cheeseburgers there?" She asked biting her lower lip.
"Um, I think so why? Favorite type of burger?"
"Kinda, but I was asking for a slightly different reason. But don't worry about it, nevermind." Michelle pushed her hair behind her ears again, even though no hair had fallen in her face. The two just stared at each other, switching between eye contact and Michelle awkwardly starting at the floor. She couldn't stop biting her lower lip and soon enough she started to smile shyly. Finally someone cleared his throat and the two snapped out of it. Glancing to the side, Michelle saw Nick standing right next to Kevin. I swear he sounded farther away than that.
