Chapter 25 Green
The stage erupted in crimson and electric-blue lights as fog swirled upward. The setup was breathtaking. Massive screens flickered with animated flames, silver chains hung from the rafters, and the entire arena felt like a cathedral built to worship rock gods.
The announcer began introducing the band members one by one, and each name sent the audience into a wild frenzy. I could not help being impressed; it was beautiful and theatrical, almost magical.
Then he reached the final introduction.
"And last, but never least, the face... the voice that can make angels sin and devils pray... the pretty boy with the wicked smile... the bad boy of your dreams... the HEARTBREAKER of the century... your lead singer—NIKOLAI!"
The crowd roared so loudly that the floor trembled beneath my feet.
Fireworks exploded across the stage as the platform shot upward, and the lead singer rose into view like he was ascending straight out of hell.
"Give it up for THE CREATURES OF THE NIIIIIIIIIGHT!" the frightening announcer bellowed before striding offstage.
The lead singer smirked, and the girls screamed. Men shouted. People actually fainted.
But none of that mattered.
Because the moment he appeared, my breath stopped completely.
He was wearing dark sunglasses, yet I felt his gaze lock onto mine the second he surfaced. My entire body trembled as recognition slammed into me.
The jawline.
The tattoos.
The mouth that had been between my thighs earlier today.
I gasped, my hand flying to my lips.
There was no mistake.
The lead singer...Nikolai...was my Niko.
The world around me dissolved into noise and flashing lights as I stood frozen in place, unable to think or even breathe. I didn't know how long I remained like that. It could have been a minute... or ten hours. My mind was completely blank, wiped clean by shock so intense it felt like someone had unplugged me.
When my senses finally started returning, I slowly turned my head to the left. Larna was screaming at the top of her lungs while she jumped uncontrollably, her voice cracking as she tried to sing along between deafening shrieks. Tears streamed down her face like she was witnessing the second coming of Christ instead of a rock concert.
I blinked hard and looked forward just in time to see Marcus dragging a palm down his face in total embarrassment as Vicky, still in that stiff hair-sprayed helmet she called a hairstyle, hiked up her microscopic dress, yanked off her underwear, spun it like a lasso, and launched it toward the stage with Olympic precision.
I rolled my eyes so hard my head almost tilted backward.
When I looked to my right, Alecia was convulsing like she was either having a seizure or trapped in the worst acid trip of her life. Omar stood beside her looking completely lost, blinking at the lights and the screaming crowd as if someone had dropped him into an alien planet. It was clear that he was just as lost as I was. We were the only two in the entire arena who weren't under whatever spell this music had cast.
"Jesus Christ! Get a hold of yourself," Omar scoffed as he grabbed Alecia's shoulders. But right then her body went rigid, and she collapsed, fainting straight into his arms.
"Ally!" I cried out. I grabbed the bottle of water I had and splashed it onto her face without hesitation.
She shot upright with a gasp. "I'm fine... I'm fine. THIS IS THE BEST NIGHT OF MY LIIIIIFE!" she screamed so loudly that I flinched.
Omar shoved her off him like she was contagious. "I'm going to see if I can get a drink at the bar," he grumbled before walking off with a dramatic eye roll.
The moment he was gone, Alecia sprang back to life. She jumped into the music again, head-banging and screaming, while Lala grabbed Ally's hands and the two of them began belting out lyrics like their souls depended on it.
But I had no attention left for them.
My gaze drifted back to Nikolai standing on that stage like the world had been carved around him. He kept smirking at me between lyrics, and every time he did, heat crawled up my neck and down my legs. I actually had to squeeze my thighs together to keep myself from crumbling where I stood.
The music slowly softened to a whisper until the arena felt suspended in air.
Niko stepped toward the edge of the stage. "Now," he said, his voice low and commanding, "I'm going to need you all to be very, very quiet. I have something special planned for one lucky girl tonight."
People began to murmur and gasp, excitement bubbling like carbonation.
"I said..." He held a finger to his lips. "Shhh."
The crowd went silent instantly as if the sound had been ripped out of their throats.
He continued, "I am going to choose one lucky girl from the VVIP section to come up here on stage with me tonight."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
His eyes swept the area... and landed right on me.
My stomach dropped.
"My favorite color is green," he said, dragging his tongue along his bottom lip. "So if any girl in the VVIP section is wearing green..." He smirked right at me. "Then I want her to come on up here. Right now."
The earth seemed to tilt beneath me as he stared directly at my top.