chapter four | stress and relax

THE TOUR NERVES were finally settling in, she hated it. Sure, she was nervous when she performed in bars and other small venues, but this was different. This was more intense. So, to help settle her nerves, she began to write down and plan her whole set, everything from the speeches to the movements. She was planning everything.

Normally, this would have helped, but it wasn't. The feelings intensified.

She wasn't sure how she was going to do this. She was a nervous wreck.

Seconds after she let out a frustrated groan, there was a knock on her hotel room door. She got up from her bed, making her way towards the door. "I hope you know now might not be a good time-" Mila spoke as she opened the door to see Gracie with coffee and donuts in her hand. "What are you doing here? I thought you had tour stuff to do today."

"I did, but I knew you were super stressed out about everything, so I wanted to try to cheer you up," Gracie admitted, holding out the coffee and donut for her to take. "Good thing I did too, I can see the stress from here." She continued, walking inside once Mila had let her in. "Do you want to tell me what's going on? Like what's bothering you?" She questioned worriedly.

Mila let out a sigh that showed she was just feeling bad for herself. She wasn't sure how to stop herself from feeling this way. "It's just performance nerves, nothing serious." She responded as honestly as she could. It was the truth, but the look on Gracie's face told her that she didn't believe it as much as she should. "Honestly, it's not that big of a deal."

"Mila, you can talk to me about anything, you should know that after yesterday."

She had a point.

"I know, and I do talk to you. I've just never liked talking about my problems." She admitted. By some luck, she was saved by the bell. Mila looked over at her phone to find that someone was trying to call her. By the ringtone that played, she knew exactly who it was. "I'll talk to you after you set up stuff, I gotta take this." She spoke apologetically from the interruption as she picked up her phone.

"I'll be texting you and I expect you to answer," Gracie spoke, her tone coming out like a parent telling their kids to behave before leaving for her.

With that, Gracie was out the door, closing it behind herself.

Mila let out a sigh of relief, soon answering the call. "It's about time you answer the phone, I've been trying to reach you for like two days now." Her best friend and manager, Adam spoke. "How's the traveling so far? How's Portland?" He asked curiously, his tone showing how interested he truly was.

"It's great, you just saved me from an awkward conversation with Gracie. She knows how stressed I've been since we got here yesterday." Mila spoke and let out a sigh.

"Tell me about it."

The sun had set and Mila had spent the last couple of hours sitting on the hotel roof, watching the sun as it set behind the buildings. It was the most relaxing thing she'd seen all day, the one time she could truly relax and ignore her thoughts. She didn't have to worry about tomorrow or the rest of the tour while she was out here.

She was at peace.

While she was able to get some type of relaxation, she was also back at work. She started working on a new song. The beauty of the sunset gave her all the inspiration she needed.

Just when she thought she was alone, Gracie managed to find her. "I was looking for you," Gracie spoke as she joined her on the roof. She carefully approached her, now taking a seat next to her. "Jordan told me that she saw you walking up here. Are you feeling any better after this morning?" She asked curiously.

Mila nodded a little before she responded. "Yeah, I guess I just needed some fresh air." She replied, looking up from her notebook to look over at her. She watched as Gracie's eyes drifted to the notebook. She was interested in what she was writing. "It's nothing right now, it still needs a lot of work." She spoke, referring to the song she had just started writing, soon letting out a soft chuckle.

Gracie laughed with her before she responded. "I'm sure whatever you have is amazing just like every other song you've written." She softly grinned at her, giving her the reassurance Mla didn't ask for but needed. "Sometimes the simplest things can give you that spark you needed for so long. It's funny how motivation and inspiration work."

"Yeah, it is."

There were a few beats of silence between them; it felt comfortable and familiar. They had known each other for a short time, but they acted like they had known each other forever.

After those peaceful moments of silence, Gracie had spoken up once again. "You don't have to stress about this alone, you know." She pointed out, glancing at her once again. She earned a look from Mila, one that she couldn't recognize. It was a look of curiosity with a hint of confusion. "I mean, with this tour. I know it's a lot, but you're not alone. You don't have to suffer alone." Gracie elaborated further, watching as Mila's expression changed. "We're friends now, I'm always here if you need anything."

"That means more than you know," Mila replied, flashing her a soft smile. Her smile faded as her insecurities crept back in, the same ones she'd had since she was dropped off. "I wanted to tell you about it, but I couldn't."

"Tell me about what?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it and let out a sigh. She was hesitant about it. She opened the can of worms, so she had to commit.

"I just don't feel that I fit in very well, you have experience with this and people know your name," She started, starting to feel silly. Although she was never the type to talk about her problems, she knew they would never be fixed unless she said something about it. "I kinda just feel like I'm not meant to be here."

Gracie nodded with understanding. She knew what it was like to feel this way. "Well, I can tell you that you do belong here. I asked you to tour with me for a reason." She reminded, her tone coming out honest yet comforting. "You're so talented, Mila."

Once she heard Gracie's compliment, she faintly smiled, wanting to believe it but the insecurity of the matter settled in a little more.

Gracie was able to see that.

Before she had the chance to react once again, Gracie grabbed her hand in a comforting manner, watching as Mila's worries washed away. "You're not alone, Mila. I got you."

With that, the two girls fell silent once again and looked out at the stars and moon.

Her talk with Gracie helped way more than she cared to admit. After some sleep and thinking about that talk for a while, she had a clearer mind. She felt like she could get through this without worry in the world.

Most of that morning, Mila had gotten some breakfast and worked more on the song she started the night. She had even gotten help from Gracie once she had calmed down.

Now, the two were at the venue for a soundcheck. They should have been sound-checking, but the two girls decided to run around the stadium and explore. They exchanged laughs and smiles as they passed all the different locations, having as much fun as they could. Mila thought that she would take this super seriously, but when she was with Gracie, serious wasn't even a word in her vocabulary. When they were together, they could just be themselves.

That was the best part for them, the way they clicked so quickly.

The two had discovered the locations of the merch table, smiling along the way. "I still can't believe people travel hours away from their comfort just to see me perform," Gracie spoke as she stared at the empty tables, and boxes of merch surrounding it. "They've traveled from great miles just to see us." She continued, slightly shaking her head in disbelief.

"I can't believe it either, it's still so crazy to me."

"You're going to do great tonight, I hope you can believe that," Gracie spoke, shifting her attention to the girl standing next to her.

Mila wasn't sure what to say to that, it came out so suddenly. "So are you, I can't wait to watch you perform. I know you've worked so hard on this." Mila replied, flashing her a soft smile.

"Correction: WE'VE worked hard." Gracie corrected, causing the two girls to exchange giggles. The moment was then ruined by the sound of Gracie's phone. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, seeing a text from her manager, wondering where they had disappeared to, it was time for their soundcheck. "Jordan is looking for us, we better find our way back to the stage." She suggested, soon seeing the smile on Mila's face fade a little.

"Yeah, we probably should." Mila agreed, turning to walk the other way.

Gracie followed beside her, wrapping a friendly arm around her, her smile growing wider. "Once the show is over, we're going to go out and just be people for a while, not performers or anything. Just two good friends having a good time."

"I like the sound of that."

With that, the two girls shared a warm smile and then made their way to the stage with arms wrapped around each other, a silent vow to always stay together.

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AUTHORS NOTE!

guys, i know i said it

before, but i love this

story so much. i hope

there's no mistakes

and i hope you enjoyed!