chapter five | one concert down

MILA HAD JUST finished her set, now it was Gracie's time to shine. She ran off the stage with a smile on her face, trying to catch her breath. She thought that people wouldn't know her music, but she was pleasantly surprised.

Everyone was singing along with her, all six thousand of them. This was one of the happiest moments of her life.

Once she had gotten backstage, the crew had taken her guitar from her and then she waited for Gracie to go out. "That was a great first performance, Camila," Jordan spoke as she approached the sweaty and out-of-breath performer. "Gracie made a good choice asking you to join us on this tour." She continued, sticking her hand out to her to shake.

Mila smiled at her, shaking her hand proudly. "I hope you continue to feel that way." She replied, soon noticing Gracie out of the corner of her eye. She had to see her before she went on stage, but she was too late. "Thank you so much, Jordan."

Mila stepped away from the manager, walking toward the stage crew that helped Gracie with her guitars. She watched as Gracie spoke with the crowd, taking the time to wave at them before going into her first song. The band played an instrumental for the song as Gracie spoke, giving acknowledgment to the opener, she quickly remembered that she was talking about her.

That still didn't feel real to Mila.

"What an amazing opener, right?" Gracie spoke into the mic, soon getting loud cheers from the crowd. "I want to give special thanks to my new friend, Mila for joining me on this tour. She's truly one of the most talented people I know and you guys should check out her music if you haven't." Gracie spoke, looking out to the left wing of the stage, flashing Mila a smile before she looked back out at the crowd, starting to strum on her guitar.

Mila had grabbed her phone from a crew member who held onto it for her, opening her camera and recording the first song.

She watched as Gracie performed with a smile on her face, walking around the stage to greet many fans. She would hold their hands and occasionally get off the stage to hug a few of them. She had the stage presence that Mila hoped to achieve someday. It made her happy to see Gracie this happy.

She's been a fan of Gracie since the beginning, so being here right now didn't feel like real life, but she was so happy to witness something so amazing and get to be a part of it.

It truly was a dream come true. If she ever made it big one day, she would have to thank Gracie for it.

Seeing Gracie on the stage gave her an idea for a new song. As soon as she could get back to the hotel, she had to write it down. Maybe she could get Gracie to help with it, maybe even feature on it. It could be fun for the two of them, and her fans would love it.

She'll talk to Gracie about it when the time is right.

It was past midnight when the concert had ended. Jordan had tried getting Mila and Gracie in the car to take them back to the hotel, but they had other plans instead. Earlier that day, they had said that they would hang out and be real people, not performers. They promised it, they never planned to break their promise.

The two walked along the sidewalk, avoiding the crowd as much as they could.

They loved meeting fans, but right now, they weren't celebrities or performers. They were just people going to hang out and relax after a long day.

They were going to a diner close by the venue. As they walked, they talked about the show, the fans they had talked to, their energy, and each other's performances. "That was by far the greatest performance I've ever seen," Mila spoke up, practically praising Gracie, soon seeing a smile on her face and a blush creeping up on her cheeks. "I've never seen someone so talented before, I even recorded some of it." She continued.

Gracie let out a chuckle, waving her hand to signal her to cut it out. "It wasn't as good as yours, and that cover you did? That was amazing, it fits your voice so well." Gracie complimented, earning a grin from Mila. She had covered "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls, a song that Gracie could tell that Mila related to. Hearing the emotion in Mila's voice when she sang was enough to make her tear up a little bit. "I wish I would have recorded that. It was just so beautiful."

"That's just one of many. I have a list of songs I want to cover throughout the tour."

"I have to see that list, I have to know when to bring tissues."

The two girls chuckled at Gracie's statement. After a few moments, the two fell silent, just enjoying the company of the other person. Over the short time they've grown to know each other, they have become very good friends. Mila had learned to be a little more open with Gracie, she learned that they weren't too different after all.

By this moment, Gracie felt that they had met for a reason.

"How much farther is this diner? I'm starving and I need food immediately." Gracie playfully complained, earning a chuckle from Mila.

"It's right here." Mila pointed out, grabbing the door handle and opening it for her. "We can get you the food you so desperately crave." She teased, flashing her a smile.

Gracie playfully rolled her eyes, making her way into the diner. Once Mila let out a breath, she followed behind Gracie as she looked for a place to sit. The two had sat down and began looking at the menu, discussing what they were going to order.

In all honesty, they didn't care what it was as long as they had something to eat.

Mila sat in her hotel room, working on the song that she had been thinking about since last night. While she had a great idea, it was difficult to get it out onto paper. She'd struggled before, but this was the most trouble she'd had in a while, She didn't think that Gracie could even help her out of this rut.

She stood up from her bed, picked up her phone and earbuds, and slid them into her pocket. She stepped out into the hall, making her way toward the stairs to the roof.

Along the way, she had passed by Gracie's room but heard frustrated groans. She circled her way back, softly knocking on the door. "Gracie?" Mila softly spoke, her tone coming out concerned. After a few moments, she heard a set of footsteps coming toward her, and then the door opened. "Are you okay? I could hear the groaning from the hall."

Gracie nodded, letting out a breath of relief. "Yeah, I'm fine. There's just something I'm working on that I can't seem to progress with." She replied, explaining her frustrations. By the understanding look on Mila's face, she could tell that she understood what she was feeling. "It would appear that we're suffering through the same thing." She acknowledged and let out a chuckle.

"I was just going to the roof and listen to some music if you'd like to join. Don't worry, I'll supply the music."

"That sounds like a great idea."

The two exchanged smiles and then Gracie joined Mila in the hall, shutting the door to her room behind her. Mila leads the way toward the door to the roof in silence. She held the door open for Gracie, letting her go first, and then followed behind her.

Once they had taken their seats, Mila pulled her phone and earbuds out of her pocket, handing the left one to Gracie. "Do you have any requests?" Mila asked as she began scrolling through the plethora of playlists that she had made through the years. "I've got a playlist for every emotion you could ever feel."

Gracie thought about it for a minute, trying to figure out what she could be feeling. "Got anything in there for lack of creativity?" She asked curiously.

Without skipping a beat, she selected the playlist and hit shuffle. The first song to play was "Vienna" by Billy Joel. As the opening notes of the piano played through the earbuds, Gracie looked over at her with an impressed expression, it was clear that she wasn't expecting a song like this to play. "When I would get writer's block as a kid, I would get so mad with myself and my mom would always play this song to remind me that it was okay to feel stuck and to take things slow." Mila smiled as she recalled the many memories from her childhood. She could see each one so clearly. "It helped me a lot, so I thought it could help you."

"It does help a little. It's nice to remember things like that. I love that we met when we did, we're able to help each other and bounce ideas off each other."

"That always comes in handy, doesn't it?"

Gracie nodded, looking out at the scenery in front of them. The trees swayed in the breeze, people walked along the streets below them, and cars drove by, a scene so peaceful that it seemed to only exist in the movies. This was the exact thing they needed to finish their songs, a moment away from everything and be calm. "Thanks for this, you seem to know just how to calm me down," Gracie spoke up, glancing over at Mila once again.

"It's no problem. When you're kinda the same, it's easier to help someone since you understand what their going through." Mila responded, setting her phone down and turning her attention toward her.

They exchanged soft smiles, soon looking out at the world in front of them and letting the music carry them to a sense of peace.

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AUTHORS NOTE!

AHHH I LOVE MY BABY

MILA SO MUCH!!! gracie

and mila are my babies now,

i love them so much. anyway,

i hope you all enjoyed and i

hope there's no mistakes!