Let You Go - Riley Green

- 3 -

Morgan Wallen as Himself

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Two Years Later

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Lottie paces around backstage, her heart thumping in her chest. This is the first festival she's ever played and she's beyond excited. What makes this one that much more special is that she gets to do this with her childhood best friend, Riley Green.

She squeals when she sees him, running up to him to give him a hug before he starts his set. He presses a kiss to her cheek then heads up on stage, shooting her a playful wink over his shoulder as he steps up the ramp, his acoustic in his hand.

As Riley preforms, Lottie snags a bottle of water from their unlabeled shared cooler. She pops the cap off a bottle and sits on the lid, her feet swinging.

She's on tomorrow and she's incredibly excited and nervous.

She's made some great friends at Big Loud, it sucks that Riley isn't there with her but she's learning to deal with it. They still live together and everything but it's still hard being away from her security blanket.

She's pulled from her thoughts by a sweaty hug. "You did great!" She shouts over the crowd, her arms wrapping around her best friend. "Sounded beautiful, Ri."

"Thanks, baby." He lets her go and snags the bottle from her hand.

"Hey!"

"You nervous for tomorrow?" He asks, using the hem of his shirt to wipe his sweaty face. Lottie catches a glimpse of his fit torso and blushes but hides it as she peels the label off her water bottle.

"Huh? Yeah. I've never played for a big crowd before."

Riley slings his arm around her shoulders. "You're gonna do great, baby." He says as they start walking to her Jimmy. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"He's busy at the, uh, studio." She shrugs, honestly unsure of where Morgan is but she'll be damned if she lets Riley know. He's got enough on his plate. "I ordered a pizza for movie night."

They've started the tradition of watching shitty movies together in a slumber party type deal after performances. It helps them relax.

"Ooh." Riley smiles. He can sense something is bothering her but he doesn't want to pry but he knows this girl like the back of his hand. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She sighs, sliding into her drivers seat. "Just, uh, nervous for tomorrow." He looks her face over and sighs in response but he drops it, joining her in the front seat

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Lottie's backstage again. She's nervous as hell to perform at this festival but she's got Riley here and the promise Morgan made her in her head. He said he'd be here for her first festival performance but he hasn't shown up yet.

"Lot, you're makin' me dizzy." Riley says from his spot on their cooler.

"Sorry." She whispers, running her hand through her hair. "I'm- I just got a lot on my mind." Riley pats the spot next to him and she sits down. Lottie swings her legs over his thighs and starts fiddling with the bracelet she got for his sixteenth, he hasn't taken it off since.

There's a sentence that's weighing heavily on his tongue and he wants to say it but he doesn't want to upset her. He says fuck it. "Is it Morgan?"

Lottie clenches her jaw as she stands. "I gotta go." She silently walks to the stage and shakily picks up her mic.

"Wait." Riley wraps her in a tight hug like clockwork before every show they do. "Knock 'em dead, Lottie Cross." He winks, playfully nudging her toward the ramp.