Starstruck (Heartstrings Duet #1)

50. one more chance

[ 50 ]

ONE MORE CHANCE

LENNON

“HEAR YOU ME” BY JIMMY EAT WORLD

T he day is finally here.

After two dead parents, a one-night stand, one cancelled headliner, eight months of planning, plenty of late nights fuelled by lots of caffeine, and a friends-with-benefits-turned-love-of-my-life arrangement with the world’s most famous rock star, we made it.

Today is the benefit concert.

I should be ecstatic right now. I should be overjoyed, ready to have a great time and see all the people who are coming out to support Mothers Against Drunk Driving on behalf of my parents.

But instead, I’m kind of dreading it. I’ve spent all morning pacing in my apartment, running through every worst-case scenario and giving myself pep talk after pep talk to get myself ready for the day.

What if no one shows up?

What if none of the amplifiers work and no one can hear the music?

What if an act cancels at the last minute?

What if, what if, what if…

It’s been exhausting. This has been the most important day to me for the past eight months, and it’s crazy to think that in a matter of hours, it’s all going to be over.

It doesn’t help matters knowing I’m going to have to see Baxter today. Aside from the text I sent him a few days ago, we haven’t spoken. And I’m scared that when I do finally see him again, I’ll forget why I’m even mad in the first place.

After the news broke about Logan, we had to issue a handful of refunds because people have a problem with the fact that the brother of the man who killed Thorned Roses is headlining at a concert in honour of them.

It wasn’t a huge deal—the tickets sold out again right away—and I can’t say I blame them, really. If I’d had more time, I probably would’ve removed him from the show altogether. But the news only broke two weeks ago, and though I’ve been good at planning this show, I’m not naive enough to think I could pull a new headliner out of my ass on such little notice. Especially not when I struggled so much to find one in the first place.

So, Baxter it is.

Now I can’t wait for this day to be done.

I pull up to Tidal Waves, the waterfront venue I booked for the show. Volunteers and staff have been here since seven a.m. setting up, and it’s just after eight now.

Thankfully, since I have the stage booked for the whole weekend, most of the setup is already done. The makeshift dressing rooms and trailers fill the field behind the stage, and soundcheck went better than I could’ve hoped yesterday. This morning has been more about getting vendors set up around the perimeter.

I say hi to a few of the volunteers as I head backstage. I don’t expect all the performers to be here this early, but I’m pleasantly surprised when I see the first five acts hanging out in the pop-up tent we’re using as a green room. I head over, thanking them again for being here, then move to help the engineers run a final soundcheck before the gates open at nine.

One thing I was worried about with this show was how early it starts. The ten a.m. start time didn’t stop people from selling it out, but I have a feeling a lot of the crowd won’t show up until noon or so, unless they want a really good spot. Which is part of the reason I was happy to oblige We, The Exiled’s request to play early—they’re a huge incentive for a good amount of the crowd, so I know a lot of people will show up for them.

Soundcheck goes smoothly once again, so I excuse myself, heading to the front of the venue. I admire the already massive line of people waiting as I check in with security to ensure everything is running okay for them, to which they assure me it is.

Before I know it, all the vendors are set up and the huge, open space is ready for the show.

I smile to myself as I make my way backstage again, wanting to be out of the way when the gates open in five minutes. Aside from the VIP tent to the right of the stage, every ticket was general admission—so there are no designated seats. I’m betting everyone showing up first thing are those who want to be right in front of the stage.

I chuckle, grabbing my clipboard with the schedule for the day and examining it again, even though it’s ingrained into my brain at this point. My eyes fly across each name before landing on Baxter’s.

I’m never going to be ready to see him, but on the bright side, he’s not performing until eight thirty p.m. That gives me almost twelve hours to prepare myself and hope that when I do, I’m able to stand my ground and remember why I’m mad to begin with.

“Auntie Wenny!” I hear a voice call from behind me, pulling me from my thoughts. I spin around to see Isaac barrelling toward me.

I bend down, setting the clipboard on the stage next to me, and spread my arms wide to catch him as he throws himself into me.

“Hi, Bug,” I chuckle as I pick him up. “Are you excited?”

He nods, a massive toothy grin on his face. “I’m dunna dance, Wenny!”

I laugh as he begins squirming in my arms, already showing off his moves. “I bet you are, buddy.” When I set him down, he begins running circles around the group that now stands next to me—Paige, Trevor, Dylan, Emma, and my niece Nora, who is the next to wrap her arms around me.

“Hi, sweet girl,” I say, squeezing her tight.

She’s wearing one of my parents’ old band tees that I’m sure belonged to Dylan, a pair of denim shorts, and her knock-off Doc Martens. She has her hair styled in two French braids, just the way my mom used to do for her all the time.

“This is really cool, Aunt Lennon.” The smile on her face is bigger than I’ve seen on her in a long time. “I think Lolly and Pops would love it,” she adds, referring to her grandparents.

I brush a hand down her cheek and send a watery smile back to her. It warms my heart to hear her say that—next to me, I think Nora has struggled most with the death of my parents. She’s only seven and was extremely close to them both, so losing them was a real shock to her. She’s been having a hard time since it happened, so I’m hoping today will help her begin to heal, too, just like it has for me.

“Thank you, Nor.” I press a kiss to her forehead before she runs off to join her brother.

I greet the rest of my family, all of them sharing the same sentiment about how proud they are of me and how impressed they are with how everything has come together.

We chat for a bit as the crowd rolls in. The hour passes quickly, and before I know it, it’s time for us to introduce the first act of the day.

“Are you ready, Lens?” Paige inquires, her eyes curious, as echoes from the crowd filter through to backstage.

I look between them, smiles dusting all of their faces. Hell, even Dylan’s lips are quirked, and that alone tells me that no matter how things play out today, I deserve to be damn proud of what I’ve accomplished here.

And I know for certain now that my parents would be, too.

So with a nod, I declare, “Let’s do this.”

The three of us make our way to the curtains. One of the volunteers for the day hands me a microphone, and then with a quick nod to both my siblings, we head out onstage.

“Hey, Toronto!” I greet the steadily growing crowd. “On behalf of MADD, Revolution Records, and Thorned Roses, we wanted to come out and say thank you all for coming. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Lennon Thorne, the brains behind this whole operation.”

I pause momentarily as the crowd’s cheers fill the open field, the beautiful view of Lake Ontario on the horizon. “Beside me are my siblings, Paige and Dylan.” They both wave to the crowd as I continue my speech. “We are so grateful you could be here with us today, because this whole event exists for our parents, Audrey and Brennan. I chose Mothers Against Drunk Driving as the recipient of the money, because they were killed by a drunk driver, and it means the world to us”—I gesture toward my siblings—“and to MADD that you’re helping support such an important cause.

“So, how about we get this concert started?”

The crowd cheers some more as I smile at my siblings, their expressions mirroring mine.

“Without further ado, please join me in welcoming our first performer of the day, Finn Evans!”

The crowd roars over the sound of the band starting up as Finn makes his way to his mark. I send him a smile before my siblings and I head offstage, rejoining the rest of our family to watch the show.

And just like that, the first (hopefully, annual) No Strings Attached benefit concert has begun.

“STREET MAP” BY ATHLETE

“How are you feeling?” Trevor asks me as he comes to stand behind his wife.

Paige and I have been watching from the side of the stage for the past few performances while the rest of my family headed down to the VIP section. It’s a better view from down there, but since I have to go on between each act to introduce who’s next, it’s easier for me to watch from here.

I smile at him. “Overwhelmed but happy. This has been unbelievable.”

“You did an incredible job putting this all together, Lens.” Paige places her hand on my arm. “Things are going so well.”

“Thanks, P,” I tell her, looking back out to where LINCOLN is starting his set.

She’s right—things have gone better than I could’ve imagined so far. It’s already almost two, we’re five performances in, and so far everyone seems to be having a blast. I’ve been getting notified of donations on the GoFundMe page I made for the show all day, and one of the merch tables has already sold out of the benefit concert T-shirts.

There have been no technical issues up to now—knock on wood it stays that way—and we haven’t had any other incidents, aside from a few minor cases of heatstroke. It’s the end of August in Toronto, so it’s to be expected—it’s close to thirty degrees celsius with the humidity after all, but thankfully, there’s a nice breeze coming in off the lake. I also have volunteers making the rounds with water for the attendees, and we set up a couple of extra tents on the perimeter for some shade.

But one of the many bonuses to not having any alcohol served is that everyone has been on their best behaviour, singing and dancing along to the songs and overall having a great time. It’s truly been more than I ever could’ve asked, and it makes me so damn happy to know people are enjoying themselves.

This just might become an annual event yet.

“Hey, Lennon!” I hear someone call from behind me, pulling my attention from LINCOLN’s performance. The three of us spin around to find Nathan and the girl I saw him with at Baxter’s show—Macy, I think—walking toward us. I grin as they approach, leaving my spot to greet them.

“Hey, Nate,” I say, wrapping my arms around him in a friendly hug.

He greets Paige and Trevor the same way as I turn to his girlfriend.

“Hi, Macy right?”

She nods, a smile on her face. “And you’re Lennon. I’ve heard so much about you.” She wraps her arms around me, which is a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t necessarily expecting jealousy, but I definitely wasn’t expecting a hug.

“All good things, I hope,” I tease as I pull away, and she chuckles.

“Oh, totally.” She smiles.

Nathan turns back to us after he finishes saying hi to my sister and her husband. “Thank you so much again for getting us the backstage passes, Lens.” He grins at me.

“It was no trouble, really. I’m glad you guys could make it.”

“Us, too,” Macy replies, smiling up at Nathan. They look like a picture-perfect Barbie and Ken—she’s exactly the kind of girl I imagine Nathan settling down with, and it makes me so happy for him that he’s found her.

“How are things with Baxter ?” Nathan asks, his brows pulled together and a knowing lilt present in his tone. I’m sure after Baxter’s little performance at his show a few weeks ago, Nathan figured out something was up between us. But based on the look of concern filling his features, I’m also sure he’s seen the news recently.

My cheeks flush as I shake my head. “That was…well, I’m not sure what it was. But it’s over now. ”

Nathan’s face falls. “I’m sorry to hear that, Lens,” he says, and I just nod slightly with a shrug. Getting the sense I don’t want to talk about Baxter, he adds, “By the way, we made a donation on GoFundMe. I know you said we didn’t have to pay, but seeing as it’s for such a good cause and to honour your incredible parents, it felt wrong not to.”

I smile. “Thank you both. It means a lot to me that you’re here.” I give them each one more hug before we say our goodbyes and they head toward the VIP tent.

Paige, Trevor, and I continue to watch the entirety of LINCOLN’s performance from the side of the stage, giving him a high-five as he approaches us when he’s done. I head onstage to introduce the next act, Hear the Echoes, before excusing myself, telling Paige and Trevor that I’ll be right back.

I pull out my phone as I walk toward the front entrance to pick up the towels I had delivered for Baxter and the guys. Despite everything, I’ve still made sure to check off every item on his rider—aside from the puppies and kittens and me , for obvious reasons—because it would’ve been unprofessional not to.

I know, realistically speaking, he meant the entire thing as a joke. But that hasn’t stopped me from ensuring that he has everything he needs for his pre-show routine. I’ve been around enough artists in my life to know they’re a real thing, and I don’t need anything jinxing how successful this day has been.

Especially not Baxter.

I grab the towels from the delivery guy—still crazy to me that you can get towels delivered, but it worked out well for me—and make my way behind the stage to Baxter’s trailer.

It’s not even two thirty, so I don’t expect him to be here yet, seeing as he doesn’t go on until eight thirty. But when I open the door and find three sets of eyes trained on me, I realize just how mistaken I was in thinking that.

“Shit.”