"Ugh." I hold my head in my hands. "I don't want to talk about it."
She leans in close, dropping her voice against my ear.
"We gave some masks to the RileyStickLovers account. That's you? Fourteen thousand followers?"
"It might be." I won't lie to her.
"I knew it!"
"Don't tell anyone, please."
"I had no idea you're such a big fan of Riley."
My face goes hot, and I'm grinning. "Please tell me you did not show Riley my post."
"Maybe." She smiles. "She thought it was a professional music journalist, I may have let her keep thinking that."
"Jani!"
"What? She's impressed." She shrugs. "She is curious about the person in charge."
"That's the last thing I need."
"Why? You're good at this."
"I'm too busy for this."
"I had no idea my little sister loved my band this much." She gives a small smile.
"You were incredible."
She squeezes my arm.
"I have to go back and pack up," she remarks. "When's your flight?
"It's in the afternoon."
"Let's have lunch. And I'll set you up with another mask."
"Oh," I say, feeling better already. "Yeah alright."
She disappears through the stage door.
I turn back toward the crowd, and that's when I see her.
On stage plugging in her bass. Adjusting her monitor mix. Checking her tech's headset. The lady who broke my limited edition mask. The woman with the hazel eyes and the custom pants is a Belladonna. She's wearing a new pair of pants.
I find Ravita and Marnie in the crowd. They both have their masks on. They look perfect.
"Where's your mask?" Marnie asks, squinting at me.
"Well, a Belladonna attacked me at the merch table, and it broke."
"What? Their fans are crazy."
"It wasn't a fan, it was an actual Belladonna."
Marnie squeaked. "Really? Whoa. Which one? I'm so jealous."
