41. Heaven
Valentine’s Day
Halle
Tonight’s the annual Seattle Rock Love Fest, and Tryhard’s playing again. They got a better time slot this year—instead of playing at two o’clock, they’re playing the six o’clock slot, and have an hour set instead of thirty minutes. Considering their massive momentum and popularity gain over this last year, it makes sense.
Cade’s been pacing around anxiously all morning, worried about their set, worried about some song they’re planning on doing.
“Hey, hey, hey.” I stop him in his tracks. I take hold of his wrists and start running my thumbs across the backs of his hands. “What’s got you so worked up about tonight? This isn’t the first time you’ve played any of these songs. This isn’t the first time you’ve performed for a crowd this size. This isn’t even the first time you’ve played this festival.”
He closes his eyes and exhales a deep breath.
“Cade, just breathe.” I breathe in deeply through my nose, and exhale through my mouth.
He mimics me. Eyes still closed.
“C’mon, look at me.”
His eyes open and we catch each other’s gaze.
“There we go. Now spill, what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”
I can see his thoughts racing a million miles a minute. My thumbs haven’t stopped tracing the backs of his hands, I know it always helps calm him down when I do this.
“I just want tonight’s show to go well.” His eyes plead with me to not ask more questions.
I oblige and put a hand up to his cheek. He leans into my touch.
“Thank you, Hal. I couldn’t do this without you.”
“This is all you, Rockstar. You wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. I just conned my way into this gig. But really, it’s all you .”
“You’re my muse, Valentine. You’re the only one I could ever do all this for.” He gently wraps his hand around my wrist and turns his head slightly to kiss my palm.
I smile at him in return. How did I get so lucky to get Cade? So far in this new year, our relationship has been great. Tryhard’s still doing really well, and merch is better than ever. Everything is falling right into place and I couldn’t be happier.
“As much as I’d love to stay here with you, we’re going on soon, so I have to go and find the rest of the guys. But,” he pauses then lands a quick kiss on my lips, “I love you. You’re a star, Halle Cooper.” He pecks my lips again.
I keep a hold of his hand as long as I can until the distance between us is too long for my arms.
“I love you, Rockstar,” I say before he shuts the door.
He’s gone and I’m left alone in the green room for a fraction of a second before Ruby comes bursting in.
“Hal! So glad I found you!” she says, clearly out of breath. Her demeanor changes as she processes something. “Was that Cade I just saw leaving?” She waggles her eyebrows at me. “Details later. I’m in major SOS mode.”
“What does that even mean?” I can’t help but laugh at her antics, though I’ve been getting really used to them since she finished moving all her stuff in after new year’s.
“We need to go grab a spot in the crowd! I think the barricade’s long gone, but if we tell people we’re with the band, we could probably finagle our way to the front.”
“Rubes, I was planning on just staying backstage.”
“Haaaaaaal.” She tugs on my arm. “That’s not as fun. Wait, no. That’s fun, but how often do you get to be a fan at a Tryhard show? The answer is never. C’mon, the crowd will be so fun. And plus, Cade will find you no matter where you are. Maybe he even fantasizes about being with a fan, I don’t know.”
“Ruby!” I playfully shove her shoulder.
She laughs at me. “Halle, I’m kidding. Or am I?” She winks. “Let’s go.” She pulls my arm hard enough that my feet are moving and following her out.
We keep our ARTIST lanyards on and work our way out from the backstage area to the general crowd. There’s about ten minutes until Tryhard goes on, so we have to find our way to the front fast. If anyone can get us to the rail in ten minutes through a massive crowd like this, it’s Ruby.
I see Beau peeking his head out, taking in the amount of people here. I don’t think anyone else has noticed, or if they have, then no one’s making a big deal about it. He reminds me of a turtle the way his head pokes out then he tucks it back in and he’s nowhere to be seen from our vantage point anymore. While I’m watching Beau appear and disappear, and reappear and disappear again, Ruby’s pulling me along with her through the throngs of people.
“Sorry, we’re with the band,” she says to a group of people. We’re getting nasty looks left and right. But when you have an ARTIST lanyard, it’s hard to be too mad or argue. “Sorry, excuse us. We’re with Tryhard.” She turns her head to look at me every once in a while, making sure I’m still with her even though she has a death grip on my wrist.
I offer my own share of apologies as we work through bodies. I’m pulled to the front and I feel sweat sticking to my body, a mixture of my own and hundreds of strangers’. I see Ruby flash her lanyard at the security guy standing in front of us and talk to him about something. He nods and takes a step back to his spot.
“What were you talking to him about?”
“Oh, I asked him if we could possibly make a quick escape over the rail after they’re done so we could get backstage faster than going all the way back through the crowd. Luckily he’s the supervisor on duty right now and he said it was cool. So, we’re good.”
“You always amaze me, Rubes.”
She beams at me.
The lights go down. The between-sets playlist quiets to a silence and the crowd roars as the boys walk out onto the stage.
Beau starts them off with the beat of the kick drum. The lights flash every few beats, highlighting the guys one at a time.
“Seattle,” Cade’s voice rings out.
He’s wearing our maroon leather jacket. He looks so good in it. I only give it back to him when it loses his smell, then I take it back and stuff it in my closet to try to get my other clothes to smell like it. Osmosis, or something.
This crowd is louder than any I’ve heard at a Tryhard concert before. I’m wondering how many people are here for Tryhard versus just here to have a good spot for the headliner later.
Cade found me in the middle of their first song. I was screaming and singing along with Ruby in the front row; I saw Cade’s eyes jumping frantically from person to person in the crowd until he finally found my stare. From that moment on, he’s seemed more himself and less anxious about whatever’s been bothering him today.
They play through their first five songs in the blink of an eye, and already twenty minutes of their set is gone. They don’t stop and talk much during their shows, the Tryhard guys are firm believers that people come to their shows to hear them play music and not yap. I told them that they should ask to be on Ruby’s podcast so they’d have an opportunity to talk. They said they’d consider it—which is their way of saying no.
They play a cover medley of some of their favorite songs over the past year before they hop back into their own songs.
Cade slings off his guitar a few times and works the whole stage. He came over to mine and Ruby’s side of the stage at one point and motioned toward me and I acted like a total fangirl—people around me were screaming, thinking he was looking at them.
I’ve lost count of how many songs they’ve done, but I look at the time and it’s 6:52, so they only have a couple left at this point. Logan and Beau and Zack start playing a song I don’t remember being on the setlist. Cade looks at me and smiles at my confused expression.
“This next song is a special one. And we’ll need a volunteer.” Oh no. “Is there anyone out there tonight that would be so brave as to join us up on stage?” He feigns looking around the crowd, even doing as much as putting his hand against his forehead as if looking out to the depths.
I feel Ruby nudge me in the ribs. This guy is an operation master.
“Absolutely not,” I tell her.
Cade looks our way. Oh no. “You—” he exaggeratedly waves his arm in a “come on” gesture “—come on up.”
I feel a hand push on my back. I’m launched into the rail and turn my head to see an overenthusiastic girl determined to get on stage with him.
“Uh.” He must see her too, his face a little worried.
I smirk at him.
“You, in the exclusive Tryhard Seattle Rock LoveFest tee.”
Ugh, I knew I shouldn’t have worn this.
I vigorously shake my head at him. Ruby pushes me. The security guard comes closer and he stretches his arms out to help me climb over. Oh, no.
I’m squished against the rail from all sides and have no way out. I’ve officially lost. Cade one, Halle zero . I sigh before taking the security guard’s hand and jump over the rail. Ruby follows suit and we’re led up to the stage.
I turn to whisper-yell at Ruby for this but she’s not next to me. I swivel around and see her carrying a stool onto the stage. She sets it down in front of me before rushing off.
Cade motions for me to sit.
“So, you’re all probably wondering, ‘Who’s this random girl?’”
My face is on fire, I’m so glad I decided to wear some makeup today, so hopefully it’s not too obvious. I stare daggers as hard as I can at him, but he’s facing the crowd so he doesn’t even notice.
“Well, turns out, she’s not random. This was actually a carefully thought out plan, by me. Everyone, this is Halle. Halle, this is everyone.”
“Cade,” I grit out.
“Hmm, feisty.” He has the audacity to wink at me. “And Halle here is actually my girlfriend. You can all ‘aww’ now.” He pauses. “And today we’re celebrating the first time we ever kissed. It was actually at her house, at a Valentine’s Day party in high school. Wow, four whole years ago now. Anyway, her best friend, her brother, and I all planned to play seven-minutes-in-heaven—wait. That makes it sound really weird. Um, basically, we orchestrated this whole thing to get me and Hal together but it didn’t actually happen until a few months ago. Uh, so here’s this next song in honor of that. I guess.”
I laugh. I’m feeling better about this whole situation considering the fact that thousands of people just laughed at him too.
The notes of Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer start to play. Ugh, my favorite romcom song, of course. He knows me so well, it’s hard to stay mad at him for dragging me up here.
Their take on the song is really good. Each cover they do surely becomes my new favorite version of the song. The warm feeling in my body has become my norm over the course of being up here, and I’m unsure if it’s from actually sitting up here under the stage lights and in front of this massive audience or if it’s from being so in love with Cade and everything he does.
Just as soon as I was getting used to being up here, the song comes to an end, but I want to stay in this moment for as long as I can.
Cheers erupt and soon enough I hear a chant starting. “Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.”
“Whatcha say, Hal? I am a man of the people. Gotta give them what they want.” He winks at me and doesn’t give me a chance to respond before he pulls me up off the stool and spins me around before dipping me low and kissing me.
More cheers.
He pulls me up, pecks me again.
“I love you, Valentine.”
“I love you. Now don’t waste any more of your show on me.” I give him one last kiss on the cheek and wink at him.
Before I can run backstage to watch the last couple songs, he pulls me back by the wrist. “You’re never a waste.” His lips meet mine again for a hurried kiss before I walk off.
Ruby and I stand side-by-side, interlocking our arms watching our favorite band play the best show of their lives.
They finish their set and say a million thank yous before they come off stage. My rockstar runs into my arms.
“You were incredible out there.”
“Couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Ya know, I’ve been thinking about it. I’m glad our story started on Valentine’s Day all those years ago.”
“Oh, yeah? Should we go find a closet somewhere?”
“Hold your horses, Rockstar. We’ve still got two more bands to watch.” I take his hand in mine and lead him back out to the crowd. We stand in the back, where we have all the room to dance around, hold onto each other, and take in every last second of our first Valentine’s Day as more than an almost.
The more I think about it, I don’t think it was just seven minutes. It’s been heaven ever since.