Page 23 of Introvert

I nodded but felt my mouth turn down."Okay."

No big deal?

Really?

"Plus, you must be nervous," Elliot added. "It's your first timetouring,right? You just relax."

"Yeah, we'll be right back," Hayden said. "If you wanta distraction, turn on the TV over there. It shows different views of the venue. Pretty cool."

They were gone a second later.

I found that I couldn't sit still. Part of me was worried for Felix—abigger part than I wanted to admit, much more than our short time of knowing each other warranted. The other part was curious but scared about checking the TV. With nothing else to do but wait, I convinced myself to look. Better to be informed…right?

Wrong.

After hitting the power button, I immediately heard the low murmur of the concert attendees. That, in and of itself, wasn't what made my stomach churn. It showed the venue, like Hayden said. And a look at the massive crowd.At first, the colors on screen kind of looked like a painting. But then Inoticed they were all moving. Each dot was a person, and the sheer number made me queasy.

Bile rose, and I knew I needed to find a bathroom.

Fast.

Luckily, I remembered the onenot far down the hall. Crashing insidethe ladies room, I went to the nearest toilet, and dry heaved over it. I waited for something to come up—then remembered. I hadn't eaten much today, knowing this might happen. My stomach clenched again. Crowds made me nervous. They always had. But if I wanted to be a musician, Ineededto get over that.And I was determined to do it.Closing my eyes, breathing deep, I counted toten in my head. This was what I needed. Some alone time to fill my energy tank before going out there.

Under the lights.

In front of everyone.

My breaths grew short; my stomach pitched, but before I could move, a groan sounded from nearby.

I froze, listening.

The sound came again.

It was coming from the last stall.

Stepping back out, I slowly walked that way—and blinked at what I saw.

Felix was curled up on the floor. His eyes were closed tight, brow scrunched. He made that noise, and I dropped to my knees beside him.

"Hey," I said softly. "It's okay."

He stilled.

His dark hair was all disheveled, some of it laying across his forehead, and I used gentle fingertips to push it back.

Felix peeked one eye open, saw me, then groaned again.

"What?" I asked in alarm. "Do you need me to get someone?"

"No," he croaked.

"Are you sure?"

He gave a tight nod.

For some reason, I was still touching his hair, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, slowly, little by little, hisbodyrelaxed. The hands holding his abdomen released. Hisspinegradually uncurled. After a minute, he sat up with his back against the wall. His dark eyes met mine, intense and brooding. I had no idea what he was thinking.

"Well," he said finally. "This is embarrassing."

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