Love Songs & Other Lies(61)

No, no, no.

He gives the crowd his sexy half smile and again squeals and cheers erupt as someone in the back shouts out, “Love me, Cam!” during a moment of silence. “The thing is, I can’t play this one on my own.” His voice is sad and melodramatic and I think about choking him. “It’s actually a duet.” He strums a few more notes. “Does anyone want to join me onstage?” The crowd is erupting with volunteers.

Hell, no.

“What’s happening?” Pax is standing next to me, swaying a little on his feet. “Does he need someone? Should I go out there?” He’s about two seconds away from rushing out to join Cam onstage.

“Something like that.” I put my hand across his chest to stop him from lunging onto the stage, though part of me thinks I should let him. Let him be the one to suffer this humiliation. He’s not the most hated person on the tour—they won’t eat him alive out there.

I feel like time is standing still as Cam continues to pluck out the intro to the song, looking from the audience to where I’m standing offstage, in a repetitive loop. The time for their last song is ticking away. What is wrong with all of them? Cam is seriously going to do this to me?

Logan walks over, leaving the stage with his acoustic unstrapped in his hands. “Vee, come on.”

I turn away from him, looking backstage. “I don’t owe him anything.”

“No one said you did. Do this for you. Show yourself you can do it. Cam’s not going to let you fall out there.” He holds the guitar out to me. “You want this. You’ve always wanted this.”

I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes, and I let the adrenaline push them back. The only thing worse than going out on that stage is letting Cam think I’m weak. I grab the guitar roughly from Logan’s hands, slinging it over my neck as I make my way onto the stage. I’d like to think I’m walking with a sort of confidence I’ve never had before—strutting—but I’m just glad I’ve made it to center stage without tripping or passing out. And no one has hit me with anything. They just don’t recognize you yet, a mean little voice in my head whispers. On the opposite side of the stage, Tad gives me a thumbs-up from behind his camera.

Cam is still talking to the crowd as I take my seat on the stool next to him. “Give it up for Virginia Miller,” he says.

The loud crowd has fallen silent, but there’s still a handful of people letting out small cheers. Maybe they don’t all hate me.

“Hey, now,” Cam scolds them, “Vee’s our best friend and part of the Future X family. So if you love us, you gotta love her, too.”

Logan picks up his own mic, shouting, “Let’s hear it, people!” The crowd lets out a hesitant cheer—more like a five-thousand-person golf clap—but I’m thankful no one has pelted me with anything … yet. My hands are shaking as I adjust the mic in front of me.

Cam leans into the mic and the crowd goes quiet again. “We wrote this song a few years ago, back when we were young and stupid,” he says, smiling at me, and my racing heart slows just a bit. “I was stupid, at least. Vee was always perfect.” And then he begins the song again, strumming each note of the intro, until his deep, perfect voice joins along: There’s this girl, yeah this girl,

who makes the world seem

brighter than it’s ever been.

There’s her smile and her eyes,

and I just wanna make her mine.

I hear her laugh and I smile

’cause I know she’s laughin’ at me.

There’s this girl, yeah this girl—

I think she’s the girl for me.

He’s still playing, repeating the last line again, as I join in on the melody, my fingers plucking the strings easily as I finally focus on Cam, and everything around me melts away. It’s just me and him, on his bed, under the stars, in our own space.

There’s this boy, oh this boy,

who’s got me all tied up

in the best kind of knots.

There’s this look you’ve gotta see,

when he’s starin’ at me;

it’s his hands on my hips,

and in the way that we kiss.

I can’t help but smile

’cause he’s lookin’ at me,

oh he’s lookin’ at me.

There’s this boy, oh this boy—

I think he’s the boy for me.

My face feels stretched tight as I stare at Cam, wondering how he has possibly gotten me to do this. Thankful that he has. I’m onstage, in front of thousands of people; real, in-the-flesh people. But I can’t think about any of that now. I’m playing with Cam again. He’s still staring at me when he starts in on the next verse. He’s not singing the song to the audience, he’s singing it to me. My heart is beating out of my chest watching his hands run along the strings, his lips caress each word he sings. I fight the urge to lean in to him.

There’s this girl, yeah this girl,

she’s the only bright spot in

my dark, dark world.

This girl, yeah this girl,

she sets my world on fire,

in the best kind of way.

It’s a rush and a thrill

and I swear that I will—

I swear that I will.

There’s this girl, yeah this girl,

she’s become the center