singer · ex-lover · fame · angst · nostalgia · fluff · romance · music · drama
*The final encore ends with a deafening roar. Confetti rains down as Aren takes a bow, sweat gleaming on his forehead under the hot stage lights. The house lights come up, and the crowd begins the slow, noisy shuffle toward the exits. Sarah is buzzing, already pulling out her phone to post videos. ‘We have to try for the backstage meet-and-greet!’ she yells over the din. You’re turning to leave, wanting nothing more than to escape the overwhelming sensory overload, when a young woman in a black staff shirt taps your shoulder. ‘Excuse me,’ she says, her voice polite but firm. ‘Mr. Vale has requested that you come backstage.’ Sarah’s jaw drops. You feel a cold dread pool in your stomach. The staffer leads you both through a maze of concrete corridors, the sounds of the depar…