Stereo Love

No Worries...

"What are these?" I thought, not wanting to know the answer. There were lots of them, stuffed down the side of a music stand at the side of the stage. Pages. Pages and pages of photos, big red words scrawled across them in spiky handwriting. I stared at them blankly.

***

I sat on a box backstage and waited for the song to finish. I was watching the action onstage when Whitney and Juliette jumped on me from behind; both looking gorgeous in their dresses. Whitney's was a shade of green, very pale and almost silvery with a huge skirt and tight bodice. Her hair was curled prettily around her face. Juliette looked amazing in a tight red number, bejewelled with crystals and slit up the side. It was very Old Hollywood glamour with her blonde hair curled like a movie star from the 20s or 30s. Very classy.

"Hey Indi! Nice to see you again," Juliette gushed. I smiled back at her and stood up to greet them both.

"Nervous?" Whit asked, her American accent pronounced. I gritted my teeth and nodded. She laughed and continued, "They should be off in a minute, they're going to introduce us next I think, that's what Seb said earlier wasn't it Jules?"

The blonde agreed and pointed back to the stage where the music was trailing off and Oscar had begun to speak.

I shifted my feet around nervously and jumped when my ankle brushed something. Bending down I brushed the thing away; and in doing so dislodged a stack of papers that had been hidden between the box I was sitting on and an old music stand. Intending only to tidy them up and put them somewhere neatly, I reached for a handful. As I turned over the sheets so they all lay in order, I saw the pictures. Photographs. My face.

"Now we - by we I mean them, not me because ladies you'll be glad to know that I am single!" a whoop went up from the girls in the hall, "We are going to introduce you to our lovely better halves. That's right, the ladies in our lives. Give 'em a cheer!"

Words scribbled across my face. Derogatory words: Bitch; Cheat; Liar; Scum. They went on. But it wasn't just my face. It was Aaron's too; Aaron and I together outside school in the dark holding one another. He and I talking, walking, laughing, kissing.

More whooping from the audience. I didn't notice Aaron had appeared until his hand was on my arm.

"You look beautiful Inds," he whispered. I blushed and smiled at the ground as he reached for a towel to wipe his face on; and then for a suit jacket which he slipped on over his shirt. "What's that?" he asked, taking one of the sheets from me. His face went pale as he saw what was on the crumpled page. He looked at me anxiously, as if waiting for some reaction, but I said nothing.

"So here they are, Seb and the lovely Miss Whitney,"

Aaron balled up the sheet of paper and threw it over his shoulder.

"Noah and the beautiful Miss Juliette,"

He squeezed my hand and gave me a look that told me he'd sort everything out. He kissed me softly on the lips and managed a half smile.

"And finally, Aaron and his mysterious new lady," Oscar's commentary filled the hall. The crowd all waved and yelled in response. The photographer's cameras clicked, this was their last chance for pictures before they were ushered out.

"You ready?" Aaron asked quietly, looking at me almost apologetically as he did so. I took a deep breath and nodded.

The sound disappeared when I walked onstage. I tried to work out whether it really had gone silent or whether my ears had just stopped working. I stared out at the twisted faces of all the people; saw harsh, demanding camera lights flashing and a darkness blurred my vision. My eyes darted around the room, trying to see past the first two rows of blank faces. They were back there, hiding. It was someone here who had done that, I thought, made those posters. But who? Someone didn't like it that we were together; someone thought I was a bitch for being with Aaron. My throat was dry and I licked my lips nervously as the hundreds of pairs of gleaming eyes stared back at me. I saw hatred in every single one.

"It's Indiana Parker!"

I jumped at the sudden noise; I expected jeers and sniggers and laughs to follow. Instead the whole hall came alive with excited chatter. The dark cloud preventing me from seeing seemed to lift with the noise level and I watched Tabby and April pushing their way forwards until they stood right at the front and just stared, mouths open. Their faces went from gobsmacked to pure amazement. And I realised - there was no one here who wanted to hurt me. They didn't care I was with Aaron: if anything, they were happy for me.

Now I smiled. Aaron's strong arms wrapped themselves around my waist and I felt secure, safe at last. His chest was pressed against my back; I could feel his heart beating through his shirt and I looked up at him through my eyelashes. His face was perfect: happy and relaxed, and I could see something new in his golden eyes - a spark, a fire - that wasn't there before. I couldn't tell what it was: pride perhaps, or maybe something more, but it made him all the more beautiful to me.

"And if you get bored of him Indi, you know where I'll be," Oscar joked, winking at me, and the crowd laughed with us. Aaron took his own microphone off of its stand and spoke into it.

"And this is a song that I want to sing for everyone out there who's in love right now. This is No Worries."

Oscar began to sing as Noah and Seb started to play. I could feel Aaron's chest rising and falling as he added harmonies, and then the chorus. One arm was still around my waist and he looked down at me with a huge grin, squeezing me tighter occasionally.

"Captivated by the way you look. Tonight the light is dancing in your eyes. Your sweet eyes yeah!" I couldn't help but join in as they sung. I watched the people below swaying with each other; arms wrapped around one another, full of deep emotion.

And I realised; I felt that too. That stirring at the edge of my heart every time I was around Aaron; every time I thought of him. It fluttered in my chest and made me hyper and skittish but also relaxed and happy. Chills would run down my spine and a smile was impossible to stop creeping it's way onto my face. It couldn't be Lo-. I hadn't known him long but at the same time, I'd also known him for a very long time really. I know everything about him that there is to know - factually I suppose. And the past week I've gotten to know him more, as a person. But what if he didn't, you know, me back. He might only like me a lot but not Lov-. I shook my head.

"And then I'll swing you girl until you fall asleep. And when you wake up you'll be lying next to me. We'll go to Hollywood make you a movie star. I want the world to know how beautiful you are," Aaron sung, gazing at me as he did so. There was the fluttering of my heart again. It was unmistakable. And there was that glow in Aaron's eyes, this time perhaps I was more sure of what it was. Maybe I knew it before but just couldn't say it.

"Aaron," I whispered breathily in his ear as Oscar sang loudly. I'm sure all eyes were on us but I didn't care and they didn't matter to me. Only Aaron did. His golden eyes held my gaze for a full ten seconds; I seemed to have lost myself in their warmth and depth. Then as I was about to continue, without warning, Aaron's lips were suddenly crashing onto mine. It was intense and beautiful and I melted into him right away, his arms winding around me to keep us together.

We both pulled away at the same time and Aaron rested his head against mine, our noses almost touching, eyes staring into one another's.

"I love you."

The hushed words hung in the air between our lips. The flutters in my heart increased tenfold and I felt dizzy. I looked up at his gorgeous face; at his rapidly widening smile that spread all the way to those eyes.

"I love you too."