(Hart's POV)
Jordyn Marshalls. What a beautiful name. It's almost as beautiful as she is. Her hairs blonde and loosely curled, her natural dark brown roots escaping her head. She's dressed in black jeans with tears up her short legs, a yellow shirt with my logo-chose Love-written across it, and white converse. Her eyes are a mixture of green and blue, beautiful balanced out like an ocean. And her makeup is light.
She also smells incredibly. I'm glad I hugged her so I could inhale the sweet sent of her. It's as if she sprayed herself with a mixture vanilla and summer.
Is it considered strange to want to smell another?
Her soft, but shaky voice jerks me back to reality.
"Good." She laughs nervously.
Oh love, don't be nervous.
"Um, I wrote this song for, Hart and it's about... well it's pretty self explanatory, so I'll hurry up and just shut up so we can all go back to watching Hart-I mean, hearing Hart sing." She corrects.
So you'd rather watch me then, huh Miss Marshalls?
I catch her eyes go wide before she drops her forehead on the microphone, hiding her face in embarrassment. Her body shakes with laughter and it must have been contagious because the rest of the crowd joins in on cue.
I chuckle harder than every person in here put together at her reaction to herself.
When she lifts her head up again, she makes it her mission to keep her eyes off of mine and on the crowd. It's now I notice that pink tent rising up in her cheeks.
Alright, that's just flat out adorable.
"Um, anyway..." She giggles. "This songs for, Hart." She finishes before taking one last deep breath and at last begins to sing. And the moment she does, all traces of humor in her voice vanish and raw emotion consumes her.
As she shares the first lyric with every person in this room, she looks at me. The second she does so, everyone else fades away and it's simply her and I that are left.
I concentrate on every word she sings throughout the entire song.
It's not some shallow love song, it's so much more. Not that I expected it to be some silly love song, I didn't know what to expect really. But as I listen to her now, the song explains how she was left with no support and no understanding from anyone. And she explains that I was there for her somehow. She sings 'they threw me away but you were there and you picked me up' She tells how I gave her something to hold onto. She said that I saved her life.
I saved her life?
My heart swells and breaks all at once. Swelling for the fact that I could help her, but breaking at the fact that she needed to be helped in the first place.
This is why it's so incredibly important to me to make sure all my fans feel welcome. To make sure they all feel supported. I may not be able to be there physically for them, but that's where music comes in. And shows, and everything else that follows.
Treating people with kindness and choosing love does make a difference. She is living prof of that.
I can't believe I've had the honor of helping this beautiful woman through a dark time. But I can't help but wonder if she's still in that dark time now. Is she still trapped in that situation of never being understood, nor being supported by the people she loves? Is she still trapped?
I can clearly hear the pain in her voice. Who would ever hurt her? She seems so kind, so loving. So fragile, yet so strong. She has to be strong. She wouldn't be up here sharing her story with thousands of people if she wasn't.
I have to know her story. I have to know everything about her. I have to know if she's getting mistreated still. And if so, I will do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen any longer. No matter what it takes.
How do you care so much about another after only meeting them five minutes ago? I try to wrap my head around this question. It's not that it's a bad thing to care about someone so soon, it's just a rare and intense thing.
After she sings the last line, she breaks her eyes from mine. The crowds cheering is genuine and overwhelming. She thanks them repeatedly, equally as genuine. Mouthing a simple but meaning 'thank you' to myself, she then starts to make her way back to her seat.
Um, no. You can't just nonchalantly walk away after that!
Especially without a goodbye.
I run after her, stumbling over my two left feet in the process and gently grab her arm before she can escape down the stairs. "Wait!" I chuckle at the pathetic desperation loud and clear in my voice.
She faces me with anxious worry. "Sorry. Am I supposed to go the other way?" She asks confused.
"No." I shake my head. "No, you were going the right direction." I laugh a bit. "But, what I was gonna tell you is that... you were amazing. Seriously, that was unreal. Can you come backstage after the show? I would like to talk to you."
Her eyes nearly bulge out of her head at my words.
"Seriously?" She asks in disbelieving laughter.
"Yeah!" I assure her with my most charming smile.
She runs her hand through her hair, unsure. "Um, okay."
"What was that?" I heard her the first time, but this way I get an excuse to lean in closer to her so she can whisper in my ear.
Well not really whisper because it is quit loud up here, but she can still speak in my ear so that's close enough.
She brings her lips to my ear and assures me that she'll see me after the show.
The feeling of her warm breath on my ear excites me, probably more than it should. I don't know... there's just something about her that invites me in.
Jesus, I sound like Edward Cullen.
I give her a thumbs up and return to the spotlight. The shows coming to a close, but before I sing the last song, I go to the security guard closest to Jordyn and ask him to lead her to a room backstage after the shows finished.
I've never been so excited for a show to be over before.
Is that selfish? Probably.
I just can't wait any longer to get to know her. I have to be alone with her and find out if my instincts are correct and she's as lovely as she seems.
The second I get off stage I rush to my dressing room and use the toilet. Even though throw a good amount of water on my lovely fans during shows-don't ask me why they like this, because I don't get it myself-I still have to drink a lot to keep my throat nice and soothed.
Not having the time for a proper shower, I freshen up in a hurry. Throwing some deodorant and cologne on before I make my way to the woman who has single-handedly stolen every ounce of my attention unintentionally. I'm literally itching to get to her as soon as humanly possible.
I don't understand why I'm so drawn to her, like a moth to a flame quite literally. But I have to figure it out. I must figure her out. That is if she'll let me, of course.
A couple minutes later, I spot her standing awkwardly alone. I can tell she's uncomfortable by the way she's playing with the black hair bow on her small wrist and pacing back and forth.
"Hello?" I test the waters. Her head shoots up to face me, heat rising in her cheeks as soon as she meets my eyes.
The audience has yet to die down, making it too loud to have a peaceful conversation backstage. "Um, follow me? It's a bit quieter back here." She agrees, following shortly behind as I lead us down a hallway and turn a corner into an empty room. I step to the side, letting her in first. "Would you like the door opened or closed?" I gently ask.
"Um, you can close it. It's fine." She shrugs.
I notice she's trying her absolute best to sound cool and collected, but her nerves betray her. She wonders awkwardly in the unfamiliar room and begins to fidget with the ring on her index finger. It's a silver band with a phrase I can't make out carved into it.
I close the door and take a seat on the small couch before us. "You can have a seat if you'd like?" I offer. "I don't bite." I promise with a innocent wink, trying to lighten the heaviness in the mood.
She sits down by my side, leaving a good distance between us. I happily scoot closer to her. Not too close, but close enough.
"So... what did you want to talk to me about?" She breaks the silence that has fallen between the two of us.
"Well, I have a few questions." I start, turning a bit to face her.
"Alright..."
"Have you been writing songs long?" I have to ask the less heavy questions first. It's less pressure on her. At least I hope it is.
"Since first grade. But I didn't really put my whole heart into it until I was about twelve." She explains.
"Wow. Could I hear one of your songs-well, another one of them?" I ask eagerly.
"Like... right now?" She points down into the air as if she's poking an invisible time.
"Yes. Why not?" I shrug lightly.
"Um... alright." She thinks for a second and then begins to sing.
This naked house was never my home
Trapped in my vulnerable cell
I guess you'd call it myself
The song is amazing. It makes another thousand questions flood my mind.
When she pauses I assume the songs over. "That was incredible. I mean... wow!" She jumps a little at my enthusiasm.
"Thanks." She laughs under her breath.
She doesn't believe me, does she?
"No, seriously. You're fucking talented!" I try to persuade. "You should really give yourself some credit. People need to hear your songs."
"Well... I want them to someday, but-
"But what?" I rudely interrupt. "What are you waiting for?"
"I don't know. No one really knows I exist." She looks down at her fidgeting fingers.
"After tonight they do." I explain gently.
"I guess so." She shrugs, her timid self taking over completely.
"Can I ask you a personal question? And you don't have to answer anything you're uncomfortable with." I add.
"Okay." She agrees with a voice as soft as snow.
"I can't help but notice a theme in the songs you've shared with me tonight. Is as if you're-
"Trapped." She cuts me off. When her eyes meet mine, they're on the edge of tears. "I feel like I'm trapped in this role my family's trying to force me to play... and I'm just not right for the part. Not anymore. And they won't accept that, they won't accept me. They hate what I love. Everything I love. The music I listen to, what I choose to support, along with what I choose not to. I just... I don't know how much longer I can take of this." A few tears escape her eyes and stream down her face after her confession.
Fuck. Please don't cry, love.
Not really thinking, I instinctively wipe away her tears with my thumbs, my hands lingering on her heated face. She eyes my small actions but stays quiet. I ask her ever so gently to look at me. And after a dragging moment passes, she finally does. "I am so sorry they don't appreciate you for who you are. I can understand how that feels to a certain extent, but when your own family-
I sigh, trying to imagine how hard that must be to deal with all the time. "I-is there anything I can do?" I hope that there's something that can be done. I remove my hands from her and place them in her shoulders.
"Hart... you've already done more for me then you'll ever understand." She speaks so genuinely.
Before I can continue, I get distracted by a knock on the door. "Come in." I allow a welcome, knowing it's probably important.
"We leave in five." My manager reminds me.
"Alright. Thank you." She nods her head and closes the door behind her.
I think for a moment, pulling lightly on my bottom lip with my thumb and index finger as Jordyn remains silent with her eyes glued to the floor.
"What are you doing tonight? And tomorrow?" I burst out my sudden questions. There's no time to wait and think on it.
Don't ask me what I'm doing, because I have no clue. What I do know, is that Jordyn made her way into my life without warning and I'm not letting her get out of it anytime soon.
"Nothing... why?" Her eyes are as curious as my own.
"Great! Then you're spending the day with me. We have much to talk about." I demand cheerfully.
"What? I-I thought you have a show tomorrow." She stutters, her brows pulling towards each other.
"I do. And I would like you to sing with me."
"What?!" She shoots up off the couch. "No! Hart, I can't." She doubts confidently.
We need to work on what to be confident about.
"Yes you can! People need to hear your songs, Jordyn." I peacefully protest.
"Not like that! That would be me using you for your fame!" It amuses me how her southern accent thickness when she yells. "I not gonna do that-
"No! It won't be like that." I assure her rubbing her arms softly. "I would be something like you opening up for me, then we could sing together as well. And if you don't like it, I promise I'll bring you back home. Wherever that is. You live around here, right?"
"Yeah, about an hour away. But-don't change the subject!" She whines.
"One day." I say before she can continue her refusal. "Just come with me one day and if you hate it, I swear I won't take it personally. But I would really like to get to know you. Please, just think about?" I beg, not so subtly.
"How long do I have to think about it?" She asks.
Not long.
I look at my watch. "Ah... about..." I wave my hand around. "Three minutes. Is that enough time?"
"No!" She has the cutest I-can't-believe-you look on her face. And I can't help but chuckle at her.