Page 86 of Fame & Chaos

My cell vibrates.

Indi: It’s amazing out here, Caleb. Good luck. But I know you won’t need it :)

I smile so hard my face hurts before sliding the phone into my back pocket. Rolling my neck slowly, I take a few deep breaths and hum under my breath while doing some last-minute vocal warm-ups.

The band starts playing the intro, and the music floods the venue.

I bounce on the balls of my feet, shaking my hands out while the excitement surges through me. I’m so hyped up, I feel like I could explode before I even make it on stage.

I glance back toward Dad, and he gives me a huge thumbs-up.

I nod once, jump in place again, then sprint up the stairs and onto the stage…

And the crowd loses their fucking minds.

The roar gets even louder as I throw my hands into the air, hyping them up while striding toward the microphone. I glance at Annie, and she’s completely locked in already, guitar hanging low while she attacks the strings like she was born for this. Ella looks a little green around the edges, but she’s holding it together surprisingly well.

Then I look out at the sea of faces waiting for me to entertain them for the next hour.

And fuck…

I honestly don’t think life could get any better than this.

Especially knowing Indi is somewhere out there watching me.

I grip the microphone and launch into the opening verse of “Don’t Mess With The Best.” My voice instantly takes on that deeper edge I haven’t heard in years.

I recognize it immediately.

That’s my Indi voice.

The sound I only ever have when she’s around—low, rough, sexier somehow. I can already see girls in the front row staring at me like they want to climb onto the stage and fuck me senseless, but there’s only one woman I care about performing for tonight.

The music surges through me harder and harder with every beat. This is one of my favorite songs. Annie and I wrote it together years ago, and it’s perfect for firing up the crowd.

My blood pumps so fast through my body, I feel almost dizzy beneath the heat of the stage lights. Sweat beads across my forehead while the music pours through my veins like fire.

This is what I live for.

Music doesn’t just make me feel alive.

It ignites me completely.

Right now, I swear if I burst into flames on this stage, I wouldn’t even care because at least I’d burn doing the thing I love most in the world.

I throw everything into the performance, singing like this might be my only chance to ever prove myself. And the entire time, I can feel Indi somewhere in the room.

I know that sounds wild, but I swear I can feel her presence like electricity crackling through the air, making every one of my senses sharper. Everything feels heightened tonight. The music sounds better, my voice sounds better, and the energy feels bigger.

If I could dive into the crowd right now and crowd surf all the way to the back of the venue just to get to Indi, I probably would. However, crowd surfing at your very first gig might be slightly overdoing it.

The song starts winding down, and relief floods through me, knowing Indi is here—I’m doing this for her.

The final chorus hits, and we finish hard. The crowd explodes into cheers and stomping feet as we all throw our hands into the air, soaking it in.

The place is going absolutely fucking wild.

And it’s all because of Staked.