Page 40 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

“Okay, you can look in three… two… one!”

They each opened their eyes, and Lyric held her breath as she studied them.

Desi gasped, and both her hands flew to her mouth.

Nohen’s mouth slowly slid open, though he remained silent. Stunned.

Emerson gave a slow whistle, and he feigned nonchalance, but even in the dull blue of the stage lights, she could see his gaze dart all over, eager to soak it all in.

Adra was frozen, eyes wide, mouth parted slightly. It was like someone had pointed a remote at him and clicked pause, leaving him forgotten as the others slowly came out of their surprise.

“Holy shit. That’s for me?” Desi asked, and took a step forward before stopping and spinning around to face her. “When can I sit down?”

A laugh bubbled out of Lyric and she motioned to the stage. “It’s all yours.”

A girlish squeal of pure giddiness exploded out of her, and Desi was across the venue and climbing up on the stage before Lyric could blink.

“So… what do you think?” The words burst out of her before she could contain them.

Desi climbed up on the lifted drum stage from the back ramp, sat in her seat, and yelled, “I’m king of the world!” Her voice echoed around the empty venue, and Lyric’s laugh joined her words.

At least she knew Desi was excited. The other three remained silent.

Paranoia took root, and from it sprouted a new wave of nerves, so she opened her mouth. “The stained glass panels aren’t really glass, they’re plexiglass. And lined with LED lights from behind.” She motioned to the semicircular wall that would cocoon them at the back of the stage. “Desi’s stage is also surrounded with them. They move. To make shapes and stuff with the songs. So, it won’t be a wall the whole time. Uh…”

None of them spoke, and a bead of sweat trailed down Lyric’s neck. “Adra, your station spins, if you want it to. The whole thing does, but it’s also been built to spin just the center, the part your feet are on.”

Part of her had hoped they’d love the design as much as she did, but the longer they remained silent, the more she doubted that was true.

“Emerson, you don’t have a fancy platform or anything, which is probably good, now that we know you don’t like the spotlight. But you have some pretty cool options for bass. And you too, Nohen, though you guys are more than welcome to jump on Desi’s stage, or Adra’s, or—”

“You did all this for four band members you hadn’t even met yet?” Adra finally asked.

Heat filled her cheeks at what she hoped was awe in his voice. “Well, they were going to be playing alongside me every night. I wanted them—you—to look as badass as we’re going to feel up there. And it wasn’t all me, there was a design team—”

“Mission fudging accomplished,” Adra breathed.

Lyric’s heart skipped a beat, and she stilled as he finally approached the stage. “I can—I can go up, right?”

“Yes! Yeah, of course,” she said a little more coolly. She rolled her lips in to keep from rambling more about the stage, and purposely avoided looking at Emerson and Nohen. They hated it.

Which was… fine. It had been all her idea, and she hadn’t really consulted anyone but the designers and contractors for it, so it was totally, absolutely cool if they hated—

“It’s gorgeous,” Nohen finally said, and took a step forward. Then he turned back and looked at her. “When do we get to see it lit up?”

The nerves in her chest wilted and she smiled. “Whenever you want. That’s what we’re here for. To run through the set and make sure everything works right.”

“Hell yes!” Nohen took off for the stage and glanced around in search of his—he let out an otherworldly shout and dove stage right—guitars.

“They’re fucking gorgeous!” he yelled, and came back onto stage carrying one.

Lyric beamed at the one he’d chosen. It was one of her favorites, clear with flowers preserved into the resin. Eccentric, but pretty.

She liked pretty things. Sue her.

“It’s over the top,” Emerson finally murmured while he looked up at the stage beside her.

Her heart sank, but she kept her face blank. She wouldn’t allow him to see how his words affected her—