This is it.

Electric energy dances in the air, thick with the kind of excitement that makes your skin buzz. Backstage, your hands are slightly clammy, your heart a little too loud—but there’s a grin tugging at your lips anyway. Because this is now your moment.

The second your foot hits the stage, the noise swells, and something inside you clicks into place. The nerves? Still there, sure. But the music wraps around you like an old friend, and suddenly, you’re just… home.

You sing. You shine. You let go.

And when the last note fades and the crowd erupts, it doesn’t feel real. It feels better.

You barely make it two steps off stage before Robin is there, practically bouncing, eyes wide with joy. “You were so good!” she beams, grabbing your hands like she’s just watched a star being born. “Seriously, I had goosebumps. The cute kind, not the scary kind.”

She hands you a drink, something fizzy and pink. “Now you better cheer for me loudly when I go up,” she teases, tapping her glass against yours.

You nod, still starstruck.

Erase the moment when you thought the stage was the best part of tonight. It was actually... this.