Tangerine

Chapter 45

Soundtrack: The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter

Dedication: maria (@MariaPereira774) i'm pretty sure you read the entirety of tangerine in only a day or two, considering all of the chapters you voted for so quickly, and for that i think you're amazing :) thanks for reading and if you have any questions or feedback, feel free to say hello x

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My head is light.

My body shakes among its limitless throbbing.

I've got my mind set on my destination and that destination is anywhere but here.

"Drink a lotta water," Keith holds the gym door open for me. "And get some rest. Chill out a bit, na'da mean?"

"Yeah," I breathe.

Light trickles of sweat bead down my temple. I'm perspiring from the workout I just went through, matched with an equal amount of icy cold that uncontrollably flashes over me.

"You fine, sunshine?" Elijah walks along at my laboured pace.

Again, "Yeah."

My stomach is light but my head and toes are heavy. It's an incredibly unbalanced sensation and it's sickening just to breathe. I'm really not fine at all.

We meet Mitch just before we reach the lobby.

"There are some young people waiting for you near the front," he says. "They've been waiting for a while. They're really keen on meeting you."

"Oh, fuck," I huff to myself.

"Hey, let's stick to our adage," Mitch looks directly at me, raising his eyebrows. "A fleeting moment for you can mean a lifetime to someone else."

"Yeah, so long as we make those moments really fucking fleeting, I'm down," I grimace at the feeling of my stomach in my throat.

"Scarlet!" my manager scolds. "What's-?"

"Let's just do it."

I walk ahead of my band, ignoring the scattered comments around me, really just wanting to meet the fans in the hotel and get it the fuck over with. My knees shake as I round the corner to the lobby but I manage to plaster on a smile as about twenty teenagers whip around to face me all at once. Squeals are heard and adrenaline fills the air as the young girls and boys surround me. There is a jumble of them all asking for pictures and throwing out comments that I can only assume are positive. But I'm less than thrilled.

My band joins me in no time. The group is messy and unorganised but we manage to make light of the situation despite their eager chaos and my imminent nausea.

It's a flash of chilling perspiration that signals for me to leave. I can't stay here any fucking longer. I make sure that I've taken a picture with absolutely everyone, then I boot it to the lifts.

"I think I'm gonna puke," I murmur along the way, unable to speak in a louder tone.

"Ha! Yeah," Pete chuckles as we enter the lift, "that was pretty mad."

"No... I'm not-"

A shudder courses throughout my body.

I can't even finish my sentence, I'm in such a fucking daze.

"Deep breaths..." Keith reaches out to me, rubbing a hand up and down my back.

"Hang in there, you're okay," Elijah coaches me. "It could always be worse, yeah?"