I’m walking fast through the traffic lights

Busy streets and busy lives

I run across the sidewalk and into the back door of the concert hall. Taylor rushed in behind me, the snaps of cameras and the screams of fans becoming just a dull roar as she shut the door.

“You ready for this?” Taylor asked me. I beamed at her.

“Are you kidding? I’ve been wanting this my whole life. Plus, he might show up tonight. Don’t forget to walk around during the concert to give out some backstage passes.” I turned and looked at myself in the mirror as my stylist came in. He stayed quiet so Taylor and I could plan while he got me ready for the big show.

“What are you going to do if he shows?” Taylor asked, getting her stuff ready for the concert. I stopped a shrug, not wanting to make Jake’s job any harder. He always said I moved too much, in his loving manner.

“I don’t know.” I said, lifting my chin up so he could work on my make-up.

“If he does show, are you going to tell him?” She looked at me.

I bit my lip, feeling into myself, to my core. Tell him? “No. Not at first.”

“What are you going to do if he doesn’t show?” She asked.

My stomach clenched. “I don’t know. I’ll hire a PI tomorrow.”

And all we know is touch and go

We are alone with our changing minds

We fall in love till it hurts or bleeds, or fades in time

Taylor ran onto backstage and peaked through the curtain. She ran back in with a smile on her lips.

“What?” I asked, hands on my hips. Jake was all done with my styling and I was about to go out. I was nervous, excited, scared, giddy, all at the same time.

“There’s so many red heads out there. I think every guy wants to be your sunset haired mystery boy.” She said, sticking out her tongue. She had been giving me such a hard time since I described him that way. I thought it’ been perfect. Imagining his eyes and the way he looked at me sent chills through my body.

I just shook my head, smiling. “Let’s do this.” I said, taking a deep breath and walking out.

And I never saw you coming

The crowd cheered, calling my name. I took another deep breath and move a stray piece of hair or of my eyes. In a few seconds the curtain would open and my largest concert would begin. The lights went dark on stage and the curtains opened.

For a split second there seemed to be silence. It was surreal. The entire stadium stood still, and I stood there looking at my fans, seeing them under the safety of darkness. Then the stage lights flashed on, lighting up everything around me, and the stillness was shattered by the roar of cheers.

“Minerva! Minerva!” They screamed. I smiled and walked up to my mic.

“Hello, Starlight Shores!” I called, noticing that there were quite a few red heads. I smiled. “How many here dyed their hair?” I asked, drawing a laugh from them, seeing hands wave and cheer. I laughed along; I loved interacting with my crowd. “Well, maybe my mystery man is out there somewhere. If you is, these are, of course, about you, my sunset.” I took a step back to get my guitar ready and strummed the beginning of the song. “And these are for all those in love out there.”

And I’ll never be the same

“You come around and the armor falls. Pierce the room like a cannon ball. Now all we know, is don’t let go. We are alone just you and me. Up in your room and our slates are clean. Just twin fire signs, four blue eyes.” I sing, smiling as the crowd sings with me. If Begin Again was my first hit single, State of Grace would have to be my second. Both of them had been in the top charts for the past three weeks.

“So you were never a saint. And I love in shades of wrong,”

I scanned the crowd as I sang, each red head I spotted making my heart skip. was he here somewhere?

“We learn to live with the pain. Mosaic broken hearts. But this love is brave and wild.” I held out my mic to the crowd. “Sing along!” I called.

And I never saw you coming

And I’ll never be the same

The crowd’s voice rose up to me as I strummed.

“This is a state of grace. This is the worth while fight. Love is a ruthless game unless you play it good and right” I moved the mic back to me, singing along with them. My breath caught for a moment but I pushed it out, I had to sing no matter what I thought I saw. Was that him? Was Keighlyn standing there, watching me?

“These are the hands of fate. You’re my Achilles heel. This is the golden age of something good and right and real.” I blinked and he was gone, if he had ever really been there. I brought the song to a close, and finished up my set.

My first big concert had been amazing. Every one of those fans was why I was here. Sure I would be using the money I made from this to find Keighlyn, but it was the fans that had enabled me to get to where I was now. It was their support. The curtains closed and I walked off to get ready for the meet and greet.

And I never saw you coming

And I’ll never be the same

I stood with my back to the door, fixing hair and make-up that had gotten messed up during the concert. Suddenly, the door burst open. I spun around, ready to say something to Taylor, but the words froze on my tongue.

“Thena.” His breathed, barely making a sound. I took a step forward, unable to say anything. Two years. Two long, lonely years. Suddenly his eyes grew wide and he reached out for me. “Thena! No!”

And I never saw you coming

A rush of wind to my right, and something crashed into me. I screamed and felt something gripping me so I could hardly move, feeling pain shoot through my body. Turning, my eyes met with glowing red ones. Without thinking, knowing only that my life was in danger, I pulled a wand from my pocket and shoved it into the first part of skin I could.

“Feu.” I gasped, feeling heat explode through the room. The vampire screamed and jumped back, into the bodies of two men. They grabbed him, their eyes confused for a second as they looked at me, but then dragged him off.

“I will kill you!” The vampire screamed. “My master will be avenged!”

And I’ll never be the same

Keighlyn rushed over to me and placed his hand on my neck. “Guérir” He whispered. When he pulled his hand away it had blood on it, but my neck wasn’t hurting anymore. “He bit you, but you should be okay. I’m so sorry, I should have reacted faster.” I shook my head and smiled.

“No. You did fine. I don’t even know how I managed.” With his help I stood up. He opened his mouth to say something, but jumped back as the door opened again. He moved into my clothes rack to hide as Taylor walked in, followed by fans.

This is a state of grace

This is a worth while fight

I glanced back towards where Keighlyn was hiding before putting a smile one and turning to the fans. Fifteen minutes, then they would leave and I could be alone with Keighlyn. What’s an extra fifteen minutes?

Love is a ruthless game

Unless you play it good and right