Page 87 of Fame & Chaos

My band.

They love us already, and now it’s time to really turn the charm on and win them over properly. “Hello, London!” I shout into the mic while the crowd screams louder. “We’re Staked, and we’re seriously fucking honored to have you here at our very first live show! You guys having a good time tonight?”

I hold the microphone out toward the crowd, and the response is deafening. One girl near the front screams so loud it nearly makes me laugh. Then she rips her shirt off and throws it onto the stage.

I blink once before bursting out laughing and walking over to pick it up. “Thanks for that, sweetheart,” I tease, stuffing it into my back pocket.

Nice gesture and all… but she’s definitely not the woman I want taking her clothes off for me tonight.

Please don’t let that piss Indi off.

The girl screams even louder while security moves in to escort her away.

“All right…” I laugh into the microphone, “… if everyone else could keep their clothes on for now. We can always take them off later.” I drop my voice, making it rougher on purpose, as I scan the crowd for Indi.

I’m saying it for her.

The girls scream so loudly it’s ridiculous, and then I notice one woman near the front literally fainting while security rushes toward her.

Holy shit.

Women are fainting over me.

This is dangerously addictive.

I decide I had better keep the momentum going before the crowd settles too much because this next song means more to me than anything else we’ve ever written.

I wrote it about Indi.

And she’s never heard it before.

I need the crowd to love this song so Indi can hear exactly how much I still love her. How badly I still need her. And how fucking incredible it feels finally getting to sing this to her while standing onstage in front of ten thousand people.

“This next song…” I say more softly into the microphone, “… is really close to my heart. I wrote it with my amazing cousin over there. Say hi, Annie.”

Annie laughs and waves while the crowd cheers.

“But yeah… this song’s about someone very special to me, and hopefully she knows who she is.” My heart pounds harder as I stare out into the crowd, searching for her somewhere in the darkness.

“This song is called “Saving Grace.” ”

Indi

Caleb’s voice is somehow even better now than it was when we were teenagers. It’s deeper, smoother, more controlled, and every note pouring from him feels like it’s wrapping around my body and dragging me toward the stage.

I can barely breathe.

The pull I feel toward him is overwhelming. Like if I got any closer, I’d burn alive in the heat radiating off him. Even standing all the way at the back of the venue, I can feel his energy surging through the room.

He’s magnetic…

And I’m trying so hard not to let myself be pulled in.

The only thing stopping me from walking toward the stage is the crowd packed around me. I hate crowds now. Hate the feeling of people pressing too close, the noise, the lack of control. Otherwise, I probably would’ve found myself standing right in front of him already.

Watching Caleb on stage is dangerous.

He owns the crowd effortlessly, moving with this confidence and swagger that makes it impossible to look anywhere else. The women near the front are already losing their minds over him, and honestly, I understand why. I always have.