"No no no no no," I mutter loud enough for Cayson to hear and keep walking in circles still in my makeup room, all dressed up for the show.

"It's fine Venus, it's totally fine. Just don't be nervous," Cayson says as he walks towards me and I sigh deeply.

"That is the problem Cayson. I can't. I can't not be nervous because I am terrified right now," I say as I look away at the stage where the people are hosting.

"It'll be fine Venus, trust me," he says and I close my eyes shut.

"I don't think I can do this," I say and look at the ground.

"You can do it Venus, I believe you," he starts and gently pulls my chin up to face him. "Look at me."

I do as he says and look at his green eyes which are pierced to mine. "Venus, you're seriously the bravest girl I know. You mess with teachers, you stand up for what you believe in. If you're not scared of doing that then how can you be scared of singing?"

I sigh deeply and keep looking into his mesmerizing eyes. He comes a little closer to me and we stand close to each other.

"Cayson, everyone can sing. But in front of a huge crowd? I can't," I say.

"If you don't feel comfortable with performing live on a stage then we don't have to perform tonight," he starts, taking me off guard.

"What?" I mumble and he nods.

"It's not a big deal," he says and I scoff.

"Cayson this performance means the world to you," I say and he just smile, faintly.

"I mean if you're not comfortable with it then I don't want to be a part of it. We can book it maybe when you're ready. Anyways, I don't think I'm ready either," he makes up an excuse and I sigh.

"No," I exclaim. "You're not gonna let this show slip, okay? I don't want you losing your chance at singing because of me."

"It won't be because of you, I have a reason not to perform too," he says and I raise an eyebrow.

"Really, and what's that?" I ask and he stutters.

"I uh- I'm- uh- I'm not- ready...?" He replies, more like asks.

"You'd leave this performance because of my stupidness?" I ask and he slowly nods. "No."

"Look Venus, I have signed a contract with you and i can't be singing without your consent," he replies.

"I'm giving you the right to sing without me Cayson, go," I say but he doesn't budge.

"It's either with you or nothing at all," he simply says and I sigh.

I look at him who has been excited for this since a week but now he won't sing because of me.

I can't let that happen.

I have to get over my fear of stage fright.

"You have stage fright?" He asks and I realize I speaker my mind around him.

I nod in response and he holds onto my hand, tightly. "What happened?"

"I- In- in fifth grade we had this school play and I was performing in it as one of the main leads. Anyways, I was ready with my lines and just ready to perform. But then—" I start as I remember the horrifying memory of that night.

I start breathing heavily and he slowly take me to the chair and I take a seat on it. "It's okay."

"But then- when I started performing, Ma- Max pulled some strings and poured this icy cold water on me and threw flour on me. It caused a huge scene in front of everyone and they didn't like my performance," I tell him, still scared of that night and remember it as if it was just last night.

A tear rolled down my cheeks and he quickly spotted it and wiped it away slowly. He quickly pulls me into a heartwarming hug.

I quickly clutch onto his shirt and hold onto him. "He- he did that to get back at me for rejecting him. It was humiliating. After that, I could never perform in front of a large number of people."

I lay my head on the crease of his neck and shoulder and stay there. "Shh," he says, caressing my hair. "It'll be fine."

I didn't realize that I was in his arms but I quickly pulled away but my necklace got stuck in the button of his shirt, which jerked me back towards him.

I look at the necklace which is all tangled up together with the button of his shirt. When I look up, I notice that our lips are inches apart.

I look down and start to untangle the necklace from the button of his shirt. Slowly he pulls his hands up and starts to help me.

As his fingers brush against mine, I feel a tingling sensation down my spine.

Not again.

"I got it," he says and I quickly pull my hand back to myself and look the other way while he starts to untangle my necklace from the button of his shirt.

I can't drag him into this like I did Liam. Of course he wouldn't like a drug addict.

"Venus?" He calls out and I sigh and look at him. "It's done."

I look down at my necklace which rests against my neck and I quickly get up and take a step backwards.

"Let's go," I say as I take my coat off and fix my dress.

"Where?" He asks, confused.

"Who's going to perform for them outside?" I stifle a laugh and he stands up with a smile plastered on his face. "If we don't perform then you should keep me a coffin ready because my mom would definitely kill me."

"Thank you Venus," he mumbles and fixes his coat.

"No need to thank me. It is what I'm suppose to do so, no backing out now right?" I say and he nods.

"Now we have got a live performance for you guys. Welcome to stage Venus Stavish and Cayson Moore," I hear the host saying and both of us take a deep breath in.

He takes my hand in his and we both walk to the stage with his guitar. I see my keyboard on the stage and walk towards it as Cayson stands next to me with his guitar.

"Hey guys, this is Cayson Moore," he says and then looks at me.

I take a deep breath in and he smiles at me and nods. "And Venus Stavish."

"This is Our song called 'Not Alone,' which is written by Venus and I. Hope you guys like it," he says and the lights change it's colors and I start playing the keyboards.

___

"Thank you," Cayson shouts and the crowd bursts into clapping and I hear some whistle ing which is most probably Tyler and Chris.

I chuckle and look at Cayson who walks over to me and takes my hand in his. We walk to the front of the stage together and smile at the audience.

He turns off his mic and looks at me. "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" He asks and i nod my head sideways.

"That was terrific," I whisper. "Thank you."

Both of us are being walked to backstage by our managers.

"You were terrific back there Venus, I'm so glad that we are a team," he says and both of us take out our mics.

"That was amazing," I hear Kate say as all of them walk inside the room where Cayson and I are.

"Really?" I ask and she hugs me and nods.

"You guys wrote that?" Ian asks almost shocked as both Cayson and I nod in response.

"Hats off to you guys, that was terrific," Tyler says and pulls me into a hug.

"Thank you," I say and Tyler puts me down as Chris pulls me into a hug.

"I'm proud of you little one," Chris says and he puts me down.

"The wait was worth it," Violet says as she pulls me into a hug.

"I was so scared that you wouldn't come out to the stage because of..." late starts and looks away and I know what she's saying. "But you did, I'm so proud of you."

"It wasn't easy, I almost cost him this whole show," I say and look at Cayson who's had this smile on his face.

"Thankfully it all worked out," Kate says.

"Yeah," I reply back and look down at my necklace and then at Cayson.

"Group hug?" Tyler asks and we all form a circle and look down while holding onto each other.

I smile and look behind me to see Cayson, still standing there with a smile on his face. He winks at me and I smile and look at my friends.

___