CHAPTER TEN

THE IRONY OF CHOKING ON A LIFESAVER — ALL TIME LOW
Why can't you just be happy for me?

THE GYMNASIUM OF Los Feliz High School was filled with teenagers dressed as someone (or something) they weren't. The lights were dimmed and cheap halloween decorations littered the walls. The scent of the smoke coming out of the fog machine was a tell-tale sign of a school sanctioned event and the global top 40 playlist blared over the dance floor. There was a charged energy that danced through the room. Everyone, including the teachers chaperoning the event, was excited to witness the infamous band that had 'stolen' Harmony Lane's stage time. In addition to that, word had gotten out—thanks to Christa's big mouth—that Olivia and Jason broke up and they anticipated additional drama since they were in rival bands.

While the student body wasted their time waiting for Sunset Curve to grace the stage, the band was backstage freaking out. Three fifths of the band were sitting beside each other, opposite to where the AV club was scrambling to get set up. Their eyes shifted nervously as the clock ticked closer to their call time.

"We go on in ten minutes," Bobby said, looking around the backstage area. His leg bounced aggressively as his nerves began to take over. "Where the hell is she?"

"Maybe she just got held up?" Reggie suggested from beside him.

Bobby scoffed. "Or maybe she's backing out."

"She's not backing out," Alex firmly stated in Olivia's defence. He was shaking from the overwhelming feeling of unease, and he couldn't tell if he was trying to convince Bobby or himself. "She promised she'd be here."

Just as the words left Alex's mouth, Luke ran up to them out of breath and plopped himself down on the chair next to him. "Guys," he panted with the shake of his head, "I can't find her anywhere. I checked the music room, the caf, the student lounge, she's not here."

Their attention was caught by the president of the AV club stumbling off the stage in a fit of anger. In his arms was a large ball of tangled cords.

"You alright, CJ?" Alex questioned, watching as the boy dropped what he was holding and started to untangle it.

"Those lacrosse asshats messed with my setup after soundcheck," CJ seethed, handing the wires off to one of his club members. "It's sabotage."

"Doesn't matter," Bobby huffed, leaning back into his seat. "Our lead singer is missing."

Luke nodded. "Yeah, and we're not going on without her."

CJ paused what he was doing and turned to them. "What are you talking about? Olivia ran through here like five minutes ago."

They sat up simultaneously. "What?"

"That way." CJ pointed down the hallway they were in. "Looked like she was gonna hurl."

The boys wasted no time and stood from their seats. They sprinted down the hall, barging into every room they passed. They were met with emptiness and were about to succumb to their disappointment when they realized that there was one place they hadn't checked yet.

Luke was about to walk into the room when Bobby's arm shot out and stopped him. "Wait," he said, shaking his head, "we can't go in there, that's the girl's bathroom."

There was a brief pause as the three other boys stared at him. "She needs us," Luke stated, pushing Bobby's arm off and walking into the washroom.

"Olivia?" Alex's voice echoed as he followed behind Luke. "You in there?"

Bobby turned to Reggie, but when his eyes landed on his leather clad figure, he was already entering the room. "Dude— Alright, looks like we're going in."

"Liv?" Reggie called, moving over to the stalls. Luckily, it seemed like no one outside of their band was in there. "Olivia, are you in here?"

Alex stopped in front of the only closed stall and looked under. When he saw Olivia's shoes, he turned to the others and nodded. "Found her."

Luke walked forward and placed his hand over the top of the door. He leaned in and with a soft voice, he asked, "How you doing, trouble?"

On the other side of the door, Olivia shut her eyes tightly and took a shaky breath. "I'm good. I'm doing... I'm doing great. Amazing."

"Ah! That's our girl!" Reggie clapped his hands together as relieved chuckles sounded through the air.

Olivia shook her head and hunched over with her hands on her knees. She had spent the whole day trying to convince herself that she'd be fine, telling herself that her stage fright couldn't stop her from doing what she wanted to do. But the moment she stepped into the gym and spotted the crowd and empty stage, she felt a massive wave of anxiousness wash over her and the next thing she knew, she was hurling her lunch into the bowl of a toilet.

Her hands ran over her face. "But it's probably not the best idea for me to go out there," she quavered, struggling to catch her racing breath. She could feel a tightness in her chest and a ball of emotion form in her throat. "In front of all those people. You know, like physically. I'm sorry, but I— I don't— I can't do it."

"Yes, you can," Luke reassured. "Olivia, we've put everything we have in these songs. We can play them in our sleep."

"I know, just... Go on without me, I—"

"That's not happening, Olivia. We can't do this without you."

There was a pause before she croaked out, "...I'm scared."

Bobby huffed from where he leaned against the sinks with crossed arms. "Look, we're all scared."

"We have like five minutes," Reggie fret, looking up from his watch.

Luke backed away from the stall and turned to his friends. "What are we gonna do?"

Alex gave him a flat look, causing the guitarist to shake his head.

"I can't comfort people, Alex. You know this," Luke hissed. "I'll only make it worse."

"No, you won't. Just talk to her," Alex instructed, spinning him around. His words came out urgently. He knew that out of anyone in the room, Luke had the best chance at coaxing her out. "And hurry."

Luke turned and stepped closer to the stall. His hand met the top of the door and he leaned in. "Olivia, we believe in you," he started, his voice was firm but melted into a softer tone as he continued. "I believe in you. I know you're scared, but Liv, you're a star. I've seen what you can do. You are the most talented person I know and a voice like yours deserves to be heard. You deserve to shine."

"I..." Olivia leaned back against the wall, her eyes still shut as she tried to suppress the nausea she felt.

"But if you really don't want to go out there, then that's fine. We won't."

The boys lunged forward, eyes wide and brows furrowed. "Dude, what are you doing?"

"Sh! Just trust me," he hissed as he pushed them away. He turned back to the closed door and his attitude changed completely. "We can cancel. We'll let Harmony Lane have our set and we can take you home. It's up to you, Liv."

"That is a horrible idea," Alex deadpanned.

Bobby rolled his eyes and moved Luke out of the way. "Olivia, get your ass—"

Luke caught his arm before he could bang on the door and gave him a look. "Give her a second."

Olivia dropped her hands from her face. Taking in a deep breath, she opened her eyes. Even if her hands were shaking and she could feel the nausea climb up her throat, she knew what she had to do. She had to perform. Luke was right, they had practiced these songs countless times. All their hard work would be for nothing if they didn't go on. She couldn't disappoint them.

Sunset Curve deserved to be heard.

After another deep breath, she swallowed her nerves and pushed down the fear she felt. She controlled her stage fright, not the other way around. Her trembling hands reached for the lock on the stall door and she pushed it open. "Okay," she hesitated, trying to find the slightest ounce of confidence, "I'm ready."

The boys swarmed her. "Yes!"

Olivia stepped backwards so she was between Luke and Bobby. The former looked at his bandmates and placed his hand in the middle of the circle. "Legends on three?"

The other four teenagers placed their hands over Luke's and nodded. Moments later, the girls bathroom was filled with the chant, "One, two, three, legends!"

WHEN THEY RETURNED to the backstage area, CJ was waiting for them with a stressed out expression. "There you are, you're on right now!"

Bobby laughed as the boy ushered them onstage. "We're here, relax."

Alex, Reggie, and Bobby ran onto the stage. Luke was about to follow after them, but when he saw Olivia standing off to the side with a fearful look in her eye, he stopped. He tapped CJ's shoulder and leaned in to quietly speak. "Hey, man. Can you leave a bucket or something side stage for us?" CJ gave him a confused look. "Don't ask."

He walked over to Olivia and took her hand. His lips curled into a small smile as her gaze tore away from the large crowd and met his. "You can do this," he reassured, taking her other hand. "Just pretend that it's us five in the music room. Just like practice."

Olivia's eyes flickered to the crowd. They waited in anticipation as the other boys got settled with their instruments. She nodded and allowed herself to be pulled onto the stage.

Luke lead her to the keyboard and didn't let go of her hand until she was standing completely behind it. He stood on the other side, blocking her from the view of the audience. "If you get nervous, just look over at one of us, we'll help you through it."

Olivia gulped and wrung her hands together. She gave him another nod and watched as he left her to pick his guitar up from one of the nearby stands.

There was a tense silence as the audience watched them with scrutinizing stares.

"Hey, nice costumes," Josh Harrison shouted from the crowd. "Oh, you're not wearing any?"

When Luke's guitar was plugged in and ready to go, the boys of Sunset Curve turned to Olivia. She gave them a hesitant nod and the opening riff to Permanent Vacation started to play. Luke's voice echoed through the speakers and Olivia could see the pleasantly surprised expressions on the faces of their peers. They hadn't expected them to be as good as they are.

Olivia took a shaky breath and her hands left the piano keys. She took a hold of the microphone in front of her and slowly made her way downstage, singing the lyrics the best she could. Luke caught her eye and he nodded her forward until she was next to him.

Olivia's confidence grew as she watched the crowd dance to the music. Her music. She had a hand in creating it, and she did it with the boys that she now considered her best friends. The smiles on the audiences' faces were caused by them. Sunset Curve had done that.

A wide smile came over her face as they sang the chorus. She fed off the crowd's energy and bounced around the stage. The boys grew excited as they watched, her previous unease melted away into thin air. They were used to her playfulness in the comfort of their rehearsals as she always dance around with them when she sang, but the fact that she was performing in front of a crowd of nearly three hundred people with a grin on her face made them swell with pride. Her stage presence was captivating and her voice was strong. The lights flooded around her, painting her like an angel. Olivia wasn't made for the stage, the stage was made for her.

As Permanent Vacation came to an end, the crowd was faced with the brutal truth: Sunset Curve was going to be big. It wouldn't be a shock if in ten years time, they'd be playing the biggest arenas around the world. The way they commanded a crowd was mesmerizing. Their music, their chemistry, and their charm were unmatched. They were born to perform.

The song finished and the crowd erupted in thunderous applause. The five teenagers turned to each other in breathless disbelief. A week ago, all these people hated them and now they were cheering them on.

Luke spoke into the microphone, giving the room his signature smile. "Hey, everyone! Hope you're all having a great night. We're Sunset Curve—"

"Tell your friends!"

Luke glanced over at Reggie before turning back to face the crowd. "Our next song goes out to someone very special to Olivia and I. You know who you are. This is Get Lost, hope you like it."

Olivia's eyes instantly scanned the crowd for the subject of the song. After egging Jason's house, the group drove to Alex's house to rehearse since the school, where they usually practiced, was closed. Olivia and Luke finished writing Get Lost and the band worked on it until Alex's parents came home from work.

Jason was standing off to the side of the gym with the rest of Harmony Lane. Hanging off his arm was Megan Hardy. She was trying to get his attention, but he was staring at Olivia. The expression he wore was full of regret.

Olivia rolled her eyes at him, feeling irritation race up through her veins. Her hold on her microphone tightened as the intro to Get Lost started to play. With her eyes locked on his, she started the song strong. "Stop messing around with my emotions," she spat, wishing that they weren't at school so she could sing the explicit version she and Luke had wrote. 'Stop fucking around with my emotions' hit way harder.

"I like you better when you're numb." Olivia slowly strut to the edge of the stage closest to Harmony Lane. "I'm sick and tired of false devotion, devote yourself to movin' on, or suck it up and let it go."

The boys (as well as the student body) watched her in amusement as they harmonized, "But you're always out to get me."

"You're the snake hidden in my daffodils when I'm picking flowers." Olivia skipped over to Luke, careful not to trip on any of the wires littering the ground. "That's just my luck these days."

"Why can't you just be happy for me?"

Luke met her halfway across the stage and sang into her mic. He was so close to her that she could feel his breath on her face. "You're the break lines failing as my car swerves off the freeway. It kind of feels like sabotage."

"Why can't you just be happy for," Olivia turned to look at Jason again. She tilted her head to the side and sang the question she had been asking herself for the past three weeks. "Why can't you just be happy for me?"

Satisfied by the reaction she got out of her ex, she bounced over to Reggie. The pair stood back to back, jamming out as Luke sang the second verse.

There was deliberation over who would sing what, but ultimately, Luke and Olivia were told by the others that they were ones who needed to sing the song. They wrote it from a place of shared hurt. It was their middle finger to the guy who, for Luke, dropped him and acted like he never mattered, and for Olivia, broke her trust and made her feel like she didn't matter. They were the ones who needed to sing it and they were glad that they did.

By the end of the last chorus, their audience had caught onto the lyrics and were singing it back to them. Luke and Olivia stood side by side at the edge of the stage, shining together as they belted out the words that made them feel better. Reggie and Bobby flanked their sides in awe of how well their first performance was going.

The last chord rang out and the crowd cheered for them the second time that night. Through the heavy crowd of raised arms and jumping teens, Olivia's eyes met Jason's. If she had to guess, the song had really made him angry. And if it wasn't the song, then it was definitely residual anger from egging his car the day before. Feeling empowered, Olivia raised a hand and with a sickly sweet smile, she gave him a wave.

Harmony Lane glared at her and if looks could kill, she's be six feet under.

She tore her stares away from the rival band and smiled at the rest of the crowd. "Thank you," she said, throwing her arm around Reggie. "This next one's called Crooked Teeth."

RAE SPEAKS !
it's the way luke is already in love with olivia but he just doesn't know it yet like he's so supportive of her and knows her better than he thinks and "you deserve to shine" ??? are you kidding me lucas !!!!