The crowd went crazy as a single spotlight lit up the centre of the stage. Bella brought her microphone to her lips and looked dead ahead into the darkness. Pushing the cries from the crowd from her mind, she imagined Edward's face in front of her, and then the lyrics pushed their way from her lips, as if they had been burned onto her soul, like they had on her heart.
Crying on the corner, waiting in the rain, I swear I'll never ever wait again,
You gave me your word, but words for you are lies,
Tears sprang to her eyes and Bella hung her head to hide as one fell, turning around and wiping it away before she turned back around and looked right into a camera that was set up right at the front of the stage. She hoped Edward was watching, looking at how well she was doing without him.
I'm gonna harden my heart,
I'm gonna swallow my tears,
I'm gonna turn, and leave you here,
Bella began to walk around the stage, slow and graceful, moving her body to the beat of the song, like the music sang to her and only her, and her body spoke back in a secret language only they knew. Breathing in and out calmly and precisely, Bella did exactly what she was singing about. She hardened her heart. As she sang she tried to push Edward from her mind. She didn't want to think of him in a moment like this. She wanted to enjoy being on stage, singing in front of a crowd of people that loved her. To do this, though, she knew she should have chosen a different song. Because as she continued to sing, all she saw and thought about was Edward. As she moved around the stage, and the crowd followed her every step, she knew there was a chance Edward was watching her too, and because of that she wanted to look untouchable. She wanted to show him exactly what he walked away from.
When Alice gave her the song, she knew what it was about. She knew why Alice saved it specifically for her, but she didn't want to call Alice out on it. And she loved the song so much that she pushed through the intial pain and sang it. And when she did she knew the song was meant for her.
An uproar started when Tanya came out on stage. Bella had been so consumed in herself that she'd forgotten the song was a duet. With the person who had stolen Edward from her. Tanya sang as she always did; beautifully and perfectly.
Darlin' in your wildest dreams, you never had a clue,
But it's time you got the news
Tanya walked out in front of Bella, looking right into her eyes. Bella could see the words written perfectly in the ocean blue orbs. Tanya may be sickly sweet to her fans, she could be an Oscar winning actress in front of a crowd, but Bella knew who she was underneath. And Tanya was telling Bella to back off.
I'm gonna harden my heart,
I'm gonna swollow my tears,
I'm gonna turn and leave you here,
Bella hoped Tanya caught the truth in the lyrics. Bella had had enough of Edward. He may have been her first love. He may have been the reason her career left the ground, but he was nothing to her. He made it perfectly clear she meant nothing to him. And she was trying to make it perfectly clear that she wouldn't give a fuck if he died that very second.
As the song finished, the crowd got even crazier. A couple of fans even tried to jump onto the stage. Bella looked at them and smiled. She used to be one of them, she knew what it was like to look up and idolize them. But Bella also knew what it was like to meet someone and discover that they're not what you thought they'd be. And she hoped she never did that to her fans. She wanted to be truthful and honest. She wanted them to love her for her, and not for someone she'd pretend to be just to be liked and sell albums. An image wasn't important to Bella. Being herself, being 'Bella Swan' was what was important to her.
The music cut out and Bella raised her microphone into the air. With one small look at Tanya, who had somehow been able to walk to the other end, as far from Bella as she could get, she brought the microphone to her mouth,
"I'd like to thank Tanya for being here tonight." Bella said, and then left a beat, anticipating the roar of the crowd. "But now it's time for her to go. Let's here it for Tanya." Bella didn't cheer with the crowd, instead she stared right into Tanya's eyes and made sure it was perfectly clear that she wasn't going to be pushed around.
Tanya looked at Bella startled, her eyes widened in shock. Bella knew they were supposed to be singing another song together, but she knew she wouldn't be able to spend another second on stage with the girl, no matter how little Edward meant to her. Tanya quickly recovered from her shock and bowed to the audience, blowing them kisses and walking off stage. She didn't look at Bella as she did so, she walked away with her head high, her back straight. And Bella envied her the ability to let something slip off her like water.