Bound To The Shadow

All eyes were fixated on me, while Vincent flashed a wide smile. 

*It can't be Vincent; he's been here the entire time. Who stood up...?* 

“Adriel! What on earth?!” I shouted at him. 

“Relax, it’s nothing personal. Just enjoy some singing,” he shot back, grinning as he adjusted his glasses. 

“Blossom, could you please step up to the stage?” said the woman who had once faced embarrassment, a sly grin on her face. 

“Oh, just you wait until I finish. I’ll take care of you,” I whispered to Adriel while I made my way to the stage. 

*** 

Moments later, backstage nerves had me shaking. 

Kai was performing his part, soon to transition into mine. 

He picked *GONE by NF & Julia Michaels,* a peculiar choice for karaoke, but the crowd had backed it, so who was I to disagree? 

I cautiously peered through the curtain and saw him acing the performance. 

*Oh no! This is the worst day ever! I’m going to totally screw this up and humiliate myself; I can’t handle being in front of people!*

I could feel the nervous energy buzzing within me.

“Time’s up!” The woman ushered me onto the stage in a rush.

My heart began to race, and my palms felt damp.

After taking a deep breath, I launched into the song, trying to ignore the audience's gaze.

“♪ Yeah. I can blame us breaking up on being...♪”

I kept my voice steady and in tune.

“♪ Yeah I do, I think about you too.♪” Our vocals blended beautifully together.

A quick glance at the crowd revealed nothing but Vincent’s playful, wide smile.

We continued our performance, cheered on by the enthusiastic audience.

*Well they were mostly cheering for Kai.*

A sense of lightness washed over me as I lost myself in the melody.

*This feels amazing.*

***
Soon enough, the song came to an end.

The champagne lady looked stunned when Kai and I made our way back behind the scenes.

“We totally crushed that! I had no clue you could sing like that,” Kai beamed at me.

“Thanks! It’s a bit of a hidden talent. I didn’t know you could sing either,” I responded.

“We make quite the duo,” he said with a smile.

“Definitely,” I agreed.

“Well, I’ve got to run. I’ll see you later.”

“Absolutely!” I replied as I made my way back to the table.

“You were fantastic!” Lily complimented.

“Thank you,” I said with a grin.

“Where did Vincent and Adriel go?” I inquired, looking around the room.

“I’m not sure; they stepped away a little while ago,” she clarified.

“Oh no, this doesn’t feel right—”

“Good evening, everyone. We have an important update,” Adriel declared from the stage.

"Here it comes—the real reason Vincent showed up tonight," I thought, sensing it was going to be trouble.