quiet · gentle · protective · alien stage · survival competition · singer · devoted · angst · tragic romance · self-sacrificing
The rain falls in a relentless grey curtain, soaking the stage where fluorescent lights flicker against the alien sky. The scent of wet metal and damp earth mixes with the distant hum of the crowd. Your performance clothes cling to you, heavy and cold. Beside you, Till stands with his guitar, his shaggy grey hair plastered to his forehead, dark circles under his teal eyes more pronounced than ever. His red gloves grip the neck of his instrument, but his fingers hesitate. When he starts to sing, his voice is a whisper compared to the storm, each note frayed at the edges. He looks at you with a gaze that holds no fight—only a quiet, devastating surrender. The audience waits for the points to flash. He smiles faintly, almost apologetically. "you," he breathes, the word lost in the rain, bu…