CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
narrative and instagram
july 30, 2022: chicago, illinois
kate's pov
Florence, Keegan, Leah, Caitlin, and I were all standing near the front of the stage where Freya was going to be performing (mostly so we'll be able to go backstage to get her easier). Keegan was able to come from Sacramento to be here which I know Freya appreciated. She had told me before hand how nervous she was, but it made her feel better that the five of us were in the crowd. Caitlin was only here because I brought her.
Freya's name is on the back screen and a few seconds after her band starts playing instrumentals, she runs out on stage with a huge smile on her face. She stares at the crowd, her hand over her mouth like she can't believe she's playing right now.
She starts with her song Feels Like and everyone around us is singing every lyric, including Keegan and Caitlin. Florence, Leah, and I have our phones out, recording and taking pictures of everything. Caitlin has taken a few pictures so far.
"Doesn't she look so good?" Leah asks us over the music with a grin. She looks so proud of Freya.
Florence and I both nod, "She looks really pretty," I say, looking back at Caitlin who can't stop herself from staring at Leah. Her eyes keep flickering from Freya on stage to the brunette. I shake my head a little, shoving my elbow into her ribs (not too hard) as I give her a stop-staring look. She just holds her hands up in fake surrender, her eyes wide a little.
Freya waves at us when she spots us, walking around the stage and singing. Everyone cheers at the end of it, the smile growing on her face. The next song she plays is Better. She stands for most of the song, sitting at her red keyboard toward the end to finish it out and go into the song after it which is minor.
During the song, Florence wraps her arm around my shoulders. Keegan is beside her. I've seen him take a few pictures and videos during the show already. I love seeing how many supportive people Freya's had around her.
After minor, Freya gets up from her keyboard as the instrumentals for 21 begin to play. She's reaching for a rose and a gift from a security guard when she starts singing.
"Second verse, we scream "sorry" after she sings it," Florence tells me and I nod, turning around to tell Caitlin, but Leah's already talking to her about it.
"Leah said she saw you out past twelve o'clock," Freya sings and I look at Leah and Flo, the biggest smiles on their faces, "Just because you're hurting, doesn't mean I'm not. If it doesn't go away by the time I turn thirty, I made a mistake and I'll tell you I'm sorry," she sings before pointing her microphone toward the crowd of people and we all scream the word sorry.
It's not until after 21 when she talks to the crowd. Freya prances around the stage as she says, "Hi!" She waves to the crowd and runs her fingers through her hair.
"My name is Freya Rogers," she says and cheers fill the air. I'm apart of them, "I can't... believe that we're here. This is Lollapalooza and we're all here... wow," she says, looking out in the crowd.
"I've never been to Lolla before. This is my first time attending and playing. Like, this is the biggest festival I've ever played," she continues. With every word, my smile begins to grow. I love this for her, "And I'm just- I'm so overwhelmed by your showing up and you look so fucking cool, all of you right now, thanks for being here.
"We're just gonna play some songs. So, um, yeah!" she exclaims, putting her microphone in the stand.
The band starts playing Camden (which is arguably one of the saddest songs I have ever heard). Obviously, I've listened to her music, both willingly and unwillingly, but just when I thought she couldn't get any better, she performs live. It's hard to pull my eyes away from her. She's fucking mesmerizing.
Between the chorus and the bridge, she grabs her wooden guitar that has been by the drum set the whole time. After Camden finishes, she goes into Block Me Out. Freya's got a bit of a thing for writing sad songs.
The rest of her set consists of a cover of Dancing On My Own by Robyn, Wishful Thinking, and I miss you, I'm sorry.
She sits back at her keyboard for the last song. Freya clears her throat into the mic, a small chuckle escaping her lips, "This was one of the first songs I ever put out, uh, I wrote it, y'know, post heartbreak, feeling sad," she explains, "Um, I felt really close to you guys when I put this song out. Please sing it with me, it's called I miss you, I'm sorry," she says with a small smile on her face.
I rest my head against Florence's temple as Freya begins to sing, the two of us swaying back and forth. Keegan doesn't seem to mind. He's probably used to getting his girlfriend stolen by Freya.
When her song ends, Freya covers her face with her hands before looking up at the crowd. She grabs her mic and stands up, "Thank you so fucking much, you guys! I'm never gonna forget this day, my whole life, thank you so much!" she says as a rose gets thrown onto the stage, "Thank you! Love you!" Freya exclaims, sending a kiss to the crowd, before skipping off stage.
The security guard knows who we are when we walk up to him as Freya talked to him before and said that we were coming backstage after the show to get her. He lets us through. Florence and Leah go actually get Freya, leaving us standing near where we enter and exit the festival.
"She was fucking amazing," Caitlin says, shaking my shoulders. She's almost as amazed as I am, "You could not pull your eyes away from Freya."
I shake my head with a smile, knowing she's right, "You couldn't take your eyes off of Leah," I shoot back at her. That shuts her up pretty quickly, repressing a smile as the three girls are walking back towards us.
Freya's smile is huge and she comes straight up to me, wrapping her arms around my neck. It surprises me a bit, but I grin widely, holding her around the waist, lifting her feet off of the ground just a little bit.
"You did great," I say when I put her down. She hasn't pulled away from the hug yet so I don't either. I run my hand up and down her bare (middle to lower) back.
She shrugs her shoulders, lifting her head to look at me with her arms still around my neck, "You got to see me perform live," Freya tells me with a smile as if I didn't sit through the 45 minute set, but I don't care. She could tell me the most obvious thing and I would find it interesting.
I nod, wanting to hug her again, but when she lets her arms drop from around my neck, I let my arms hang at my sides. Freya goes to hug Keegan and then Caitlin, thanking Caitlin for coming.
When I can pull my eyes away from her, I spot Leah staring at me with a grin. I feel my cheeks heat and I know she caught me staring at Freya. God.
caitlinclark22 34m
freyarogers replied to your story
freyarogers
so glad you came !!
katemartin03 7m
freyarogers replied to your story
freyarogers
i love u sm!! <3
authors note
i have no clue how
to write shows so
go me lmfao but
they're all so cute in
this chapter and i love it so