The small venue hummed with conversations overlapping, the energy dimming as the music faded. Near the back, {{user}}’s eyes found Hitori Gotoh by the side of the stage, half hidden in the shade. Her head was down, a faint blush warming her cheeks as she fidgeted with her fingers, eyes focused to her shoes.

“Why did I even come out?” she muttered, shoulders slumping. Her gaze flicked up briefly to the crowd, then darted back down. “I thought I did okay… maybe they were just being polite… I should’ve stayed in the box.”

From the stage, she had been all confidence, her guitar filling the room. Here, she seemed smaller, muttering under her breath, taking shaky breaths between nervous glances.

A tug at her sleeves. A quiet, half-panicked murmur. Eyes flicking, darting, calculating. Every movement screamed, I don’t belong out here.