"Okay, so just don't touch your microphone"
I nod and the tech person walks away.
Sitting carefully on the sofa, I pull out my phone.
"Lizzie"
I look up in shock and see Aaliyah staring down at me.
"What are you doing here?" I say incredulously, pocketing my phone.
"Well you've been avoiding us since we had three conversation, and we knew you'd be here"
I nod slowly, inviting her to sit next to me.
"Alana and Sapphire are in the audience"
"Leah hasn't forgotten" I murmur.
Aaliyah looks slightly shocked, "I kind of figured, I saw her hassling you, I don't think she remembers everything though"
I nod again, "I really regret what happened"
I look up at her, letting the wall I kept in front of my heart come down, a tear slipped down my face.
Aaliyah's face softens and she pulls me into a hug.
"I miss this, us together" I say into her jumper.
"I miss it too"
"I miss Charlotte" I say, determined.
A tear escapes Aaliyah's eyes, but she brushes it away.
"Everything changed the day she died" Aaliyah said wistfully.
"Oh, your makeup is all smudged now!"
I'm pulled off the sofa by a makeup lady, casting one last look back at Aaliyah, who was sitting on the sofa, an indecipherable look on her face.
***
"ALRIGHT VIDCON LONDON!" Joey yells, waving his hand to hype up the crowd.
A loud cheer shakes the auditorium.
"Are you ready!" He yells again, jumping up and down a bit.
"YES!" The crowd roars back.
From where I'm standing, I can tell that Jessie isn't in her seat.
My blood runs cold when I see her talking calmly to Alana and Sapphire.
Aaliyah walks out to join them, an impassive look on her face.
Sapphire greets her, but Alana's face is etched in a permanent scowl.
"Lizzie" Joel whispers.
I'm brought out of my trance, and I turn to look at him.
"We're on!"
I nod, stepping back and fixing my hair.
The sound guy comes rushing up to us, fiddling around with our microphones before giving us the thumbs up.
I raise my eyebrows at Joel and he winks at me, sporting a warm smile.
"Okay, you guys are up now"
I turn to look at the organiser and she signals us to go on.
Heaving a deep breathe, I run a hand through my hair.
Giving Joel's Hand a last squeeze before walking up on stage.
***
Throughout our part in the show, I couldn't help stealing glances at Jessie, who was now back in her seat, and Alana and Aaliyah and Sapphire were now sitting next to her.
Aaliyah kept giving me big smiles and giving me a thumbs up, which helped my nerves a lot.
Sapphire got really into it and started clapping and singing along to the music.
Alana day with her arms folded, sliding further down in her seat as it went on, every so often she would mutter something to Aaliyah who would reply with a dirty look.
They've always been like that, Alana could get quite snappy and aggravated, but Aaliyah always calmed her down, or put her in her place.
Jessie looked slightly uncomfortable but mouthed words of comfort to me.
Seeing them all here, sparked something inside of me.
I couldn't avoid what had happened anymore.
I never thought I'd see them again.
And I had no idea Sapphire was even there, let alone Alana's twin sister.
And Hayley! Joel has another sister!
Everything was changing so much.
I knew it was only a matter of time until Joel caught on to what was happening.
But I planned to prolong him staying in the dark for as long as I could.
Him knowing would change everything.
Would he be angry at me?
I never could comprehend what happened on that day.
After Charlotte died, everything changed, and there was nothing I could say to console the regret that bubbles inside of me.
Charlottes death was ruled as a freak accident.
But I was there.
She was killed, in cold blood, by the people I had run from for so long.
Alana blamed me, she says that if I had never roped Charlotte in, she wouldn't be dead.
Aaliyah says that Alana is just upset, that Charlotte knew what she was agreeing to, and that I wasn't my fault.
I had no idea Sapphire was involved.
Maybe there Is a whole part of my past that I don't know about.
When Charlotte died, everything went wrong, it's like a domino effect, and she was the fuse to the chain reaction that occurred.
It all happened so fast I can't even really comprehend what we were thinking.
Some spots are a bit fuzzy and I don't quite remember everything that happened.
I never know what to make of it, how to react, and how to go about it.
After it all happened, I felt like I was always walking on eggshells around my friends.
So my parents decided it was best for us to move.
But running away doesn't fix problems, if anything I feel as though it's created more.
I dab the wet cloth on my forehead, the heat of the hall getting to me.
"That was awesome!" Joel exclaimed, stumbling into the area we were sitting in.
I nod, laughing as he trips over his microphone wire.
The sound guy gives him a dirty look, untangling his foot from the thin wire, and taking it off.
Joel brushes his jeans down sheepishly.
He shoots the sound guy an apologetic look, before coming over to me.
The sound guy glares into his back, before walking off.
"Well isn't he a ray of sunshine" I frown, combing my hand through my hair.
Joel laughs, raises his eyebrows.
"But wasn't that so cool!" He exclaims! Unfazed by the hostility of the sound tech.
I nod, hugging him.
Jessie walks behind the curtains, talking animatedly to some workers.
"IM WITH LIZZIE!"
I hear her complain, as soon as she's in earshot.
"But miss we have no proof" the security guard reasons, trying to pull her out.
"Lizzie!" She calls, "please tell them"
She looks annoyed and pissed.
"I'm so sorry Miss Lizzie, I'll get her out of here" the security guy says quickly, starting to usher Jessie out.
I raise my hand, "she's with me" I confirm.
The guys gives Jessie an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry"
I nod at him as he walks away.
"You were so great out there!" Jessie cries out!
"Thanks!" I let her envelope me in a hug, spying Alana and Aaliyah standing at the door.