You and Me (Plus Everyone In Between Us)

I Have A Dilemma

I had to admit there was something magnetic about his walk-up to the microphone on stage. He looked pretty hot if I must say so myself.

"Los Angeles!" Andre yelled. "Are you ready?"

The audience went feral at his voice. I hooted a little too.

'Overdrive' began to play and I somehow found myself bopping to the beat. The audience bounced in one energetic motion as Andre performed on stage. He performed with reckless abandon, throwing himself into the music. I couldn't take my eyes away.

Once he was finished the audience erupted into thunderous applause.

"Hello everyone!" Andre introduced, heavily breathing amid crowd cheers. "We are Dilemma! We are so excited to be here tonight! We've got a great show for you! We have Matthew here on the bass!"

The cheers swelled, blending with the pulsing energy in the air. Andre continued, introducing each member of the band in turn, their talents showcased through brief solos and instrumental interludes. The bassist, Matthew, laid down a solid rhythm, his grooves anchoring the music. Dorian unleashed electrifying guitar melodies, seamlessly intertwining with Matthew's bass. And Morrison pounded on the drums with precision and power, driving the songs forward.

They performed all the new songs from their album which I didn't know, so I stood there awkwardly like a rock, occasionally popping my head. I took some videos to show Maria. Everyone sang along with Andre in perfect audience harmony. They played soft heavy songs, before some ballads, and they even took breaks to interact with the audience. I thought I was going to go deaf by how much screaming. Closer to the end, they played more songs from their old album. At least Andre looked nice so I could just focus on him, and the way he swayed his locs around.

Before I knew it the concert was over. They played their first ever song "Luvr" as the last song of the concert. Then everyone started crying on command.

"Thank you for having us, Los Angeles!" Andre yelled. "We love all of you! Have a good night and get home safe!"

Everyone roared out into a large cheer before dissipating. Ray and I were ushered backstage before we entered back into another huge hallway area. There were signs against the wall saying 'Backstage', and somehow a flurry of cameras trained their way onto us. My stomach swelled in anticipation.

I would be seeing Andre again. At least I would get a break.

We were taken to a green room, stocked with tons and tons of snacks, and comfortable plush couches. Ray and I both sat there patiently.

"Ladies!" someone exclaimed. I turned around to see four sweaty men heaving at us.

Andre smiled at both of us, and we all exclaimed for the cameras behind us. Dorian came to handshake us first. Ray dove in for a hug for him, probably because they knew each other from last year. I stood on the side.

"How are the finals going?" Dorian asked. "Are you guys dead yet?"

"No," I joked. "But it's so stressful. I've never been this nervous before.

"Just be yourself," he assured generically. "It will all be over soon."

I felt kind of weird talking about the competition in front of the judge's son. It wasn't like Morri would snitch on me or anything.

"The show changed our lives," Andre replied. "I hope that it can change your lives and have your passion for music."

"Any tips?" one of the cameramen asked.

"Be yourself," Andre repeated.

"You can sleep when you're dead," Dorian continued.

"Be the best singer," said Matthew.

"And make my parents proud," Morri joked as we all laughed.

Somehow this felt very generic. They probably couldn't unload too much musical wisdom at once, for the sake of the show. I had a feeling they were just in here to rake in some extra views. You would do it too for a check.

Suddenly, the cameras left the room, and so did the producers, leaving us all alone. There was an awkward silence permeating the room. I kept not trying to make eye contact with Andre.

"I have a question," I suddenly brought up, bringing out a crisp sheet of paper. "My sister Maria is a huge fan of you guys. Could you guys sign some autographs for her? I would love to give it to her as a present."

"Sure things," Andre replied, taking my marker and signing his autograph on the table. Matthew, then Dorian, then Morri followed suit.

"Thank you!" I replied, neatly folding it into my bag. I would have to have a frame so she could gaze at it on her windowsill every morning.

I caught a glance of Andre who gently flicked his head to the other door in the room. I kept down a smirk. I didn't know if Andre told his bandmates anything about us. Did he need to? Maybe I was just a girl in the throes of all their groupies.

Andre suddenly grabbed his phone. "I'm needed outside in the tech room for some reason."

He made an exit for the door and then it was just the five of us. Ray talked with all the members and I stood there and made some mild interjections so that I didn't look weird.

After like seven minutes, I slipped out a briefly made a comment about going to the bathroom before leaving through the same door Andre left in.

In the bare backstage corridor where it was quiet and empty, I was suddenly pulled into a deep kiss. It was like all my senses were melding into one that could only perceive Andre at the moment. My hands ran up his arms as his hands gripped my face. Somehow it was rushed but slow too.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"That was quite a greeting," I giggled quietly. "But everything good. We have a ton more rehearsals for everything this week."

"Hang in there," he crooned. "It will get better and worse after this."

I sighed into an almost-glare before he laughed. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever," I whispered. "Or talked?"

Andre slowly pulled away. "I thought you were busy. I know what finals are like. I remember rejoicing at getting five hours of sleep. I don't wanna be a distraction."

I groaned before pecking him on the lips. "I need a distraction."

He leaned closer and breathed, eyes on mine. "Okay."

"To be honest, I totally didn't want to come," I sighed. "I would rather be at home trying to scrape at some sleep."

"You're not a D-1?" Andre asked, eyes wide.

I realized I had never told him the contempt I held for his music. I couldn't tell if he was being genuine or not.

"Trust me," I began. "Any ounce of fangirl I have will quickly be shadowed by my sister. She's in love with you."

"I get that a lot," he chuckled. "Like a lot. Hey, I have a question?"

"What?"

"Would you ever be in love with me?"

The question could've knocked me flat with a bat. Hold on. Andre and I had barely been talking for two months, and he was already in the process of getting to be in love. Was he trying to speed-run a relationship so he could "write" another hit?

Andre caught my stunned expression and quickly backtracked. "I mean hypothetically. Like, if we were to stay together, would you love me?"

"It would be pretty awkward if I didn't," I nervously chucked. "I guess I could. If we were together."

"Are we together?"

"We are together right now. In this hallway," I said.

He stiffly laughed. "But are we together? Like us?"

"We could," I said, cutting him off with a kiss. "We could."