Morgan Wallen as Himself

Lottie paces around backstage, her heart thumping in her chest. This is the first festival she's ever played and she's beyond excited. What makes this one that much more special is that she gets to do this with her childhood best friend, Riley Green.

She squeals when she sees him, running up to him to give him a hug before he starts his set. He presses a kiss to her cheek then heads up on stage, shooting her a playful wink over his shoulder as he steps up the ramp, his acoustic in his hand.

As Riley preforms, Lottie snags a bottle of water from their unlabeled shared cooler. She pops the cap off a bottle and sits on the lid, her feet swinging.

She's on tomorrow and she's incredibly excited and nervous.

She's made some great friends at Big Loud, it sucks that Riley isn't there with her but she's learning to deal with it. They still live together and everything but it's still hard being away from her security blanket.

She's pulled from her thoughts by a sweaty hug. "You did great!" She shouts over the crowd, her arms wrapping around her best friend. "Sounded beautiful, Ri."

"Thanks, baby." He lets her go and snags the bottle from her hand.

"Hey!"

"You nervous for tomorrow?" He asks, using the hem of his shirt to wipe his sweaty face. Lottie catches a glimpse of his fit torso and blushes but hides it as she peels the label off her water bottle.

"Huh? Yeah. I've never played for a big crowd before."

Riley slings his arm around her shoulders. "You're gonna do great, baby." He says as they start walking to her Jimmy. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"He's busy at the, uh, studio." She shrugs, honestly unsure of where Morgan is but she'll be damned if she lets Riley know. He's got enough on his plate. "I ordered a pizza for movie night."

They've started the tradition of watching shitty movies together in a slumber party type deal after performances. It helps them relax.

"Ooh." Riley smiles. He can sense something is bothering her but he doesn't want to pry but he knows this girl like the back of his hand. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She sighs, sliding into her drivers seat. "Just, uh, nervous for tomorrow." He looks her face over and sighs in response but he drops it, joining her in the front seat

+++

Lottie's backstage again. She's nervous as hell to perform at this festival but she's got Riley here and the promise Morgan made her in her head. He said he'd be here for her first festival performance but he hasn't shown up yet.

"Lot, you're makin' me dizzy." Riley says from his spot on their cooler.

"Sorry." She whispers, running her hand through her hair. "I'm- I just got a lot on my mind." Riley pats the spot next to him and she sits down. Lottie swings her legs over his thighs and starts fiddling with the bracelet she got for his sixteenth, he hasn't taken it off since.

There's a sentence that's weighing heavily on his tongue and he wants to say it but he doesn't want to upset her. He says fuck it. "Is it Morgan?"

Lottie clenches her jaw as she stands. "I gotta go." She silently walks to the stage and shakily picks up her mic.

"Wait." Riley wraps her in a tight hug like clockwork before every show they do. "Knock 'em dead, Lottie Cross." He winks, playfully nudging her toward the ramp.

By the time she's wrapping up her set, Morgan makes an appearance looking disheveled and hungover but probably still drunk. "Hey." He nods to Riley, his eyes rimmed with red and dark bags.

"She's almost done." Riley spits back.

"Shit. I- I got 'em times mixed up." He laughs uneasily. He picks up Lottie's water bottle and takes a few swallows from it after popping two extra strength aspirins in his mouth.

Lottie comes off the stage with a smile that falters slightly when she sees Morgan. She wraps Riley in a hug first then turns to Morgan. "You okay?" She asks, looking her boyfriend over. "You look like shit."

"Thanks baby." He smiles back, pulling her close in a one armed hug. "You sounded great!"

That cute smile reappears. "You think so?"

Riley feels himself get angry. Morgan's acting like he's been there since she stepped foot on stage when he literally just showed up halfway through her last fucking song.

"I told you I wasn't gonna miss this." He leans down and kisses her cheek.

Lottie blushes and looks down at her sneakers. "Thanks. I- I didn't think you'd show."

"Ouch, babe." Morgan teases, taking her hand.

Riley shakes his head, following behind them as they walk out from the backstage. "You busy tonight?" Morgan asks, his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah. Me and Riley are hangin' out."

"Nah, we- you can take a rain check, Lot."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it's no big deal, baby." Riley says, tossing her guitar case into the bed of his truck. "Really, go hang out with your man."

Lottie gives him a thankful smile then turns to Morgan. "Whatcha got planned?"

"It's a surprise. Be ready by five and wear somethin' foxy." He winks, pressing a hasty kiss to her lips before pulling away.

"What?"

"Be ready by five!" He shouts from his truck and she laughs, shaking her head. Lottie turns to Riley's truck and hops in the shotgun seat.

It's a quiet ride back to their house, not the usual comfortable quiet but more awkwardly quiet.

"You okay?" Lottie asks as she lifts her case from the bed.

"Yeah. Just tired." He shrugs, unlocking the door. "Yesterday finally caught up to me." He chuckles easily, looking her over.

"I'm gonna grab a quick shower." Lottie says, resting her case against the wall of their living room behind the rest of their guitars.

"Sure." Riley nods, sinking down on the couch. Lottie slips into the kitchen to grab him a beer then retreats to the bathroom to get ready for her surprise date.

+++

Riley groans, turning on his back when his cell starts ringing incessantly around two in the morning. He stretches his legs as he answers his phone, rubbing his eyes. "Hel- hello?"

"Ri?" It's Lottie. Her voice is quiet and soft yet shaky. "Riley?"

"What's wrong? You okay?" He asks, sitting up.

"Can you come get me?"

"Where are you?" He tucks his phone between his ear and shoulder as he pulls his sweats on, his sweatshirt covering his bare chest. He pulls his boots on over his sockless feet and grabs his keys. "Lot?"

"I don't- I don't know." She whimpers. "Just come here."

"What do you see?" He asks, starting up his truck.

"A river. R- River and patio lights."

"Patio lights?" He steps harder on the gas when he hears her shiver. She left the house wearing a dress and sandals and with the summer winding down, the nights are starting to get chilly.

"Some pub, I can't read the name on the side." She squints. "Uh, Blue Moon somethin'. Blue Moon Waterhouse?"

That's on the other side of Nashville.

"I'm on my way, okay?"

She nods. "My- my phone is 'bouta die, Ri."

"I'm almost there." He says, craning his neck to see the backside of that Blue Moon building. He sees the patio lights and the river the pulls his truck into a random drive way of the housing development that's backing the water.

Riley jumps out of his truck and races between two houses to the river. He sees Lottie curled up against a tree.

"Lot." He whispers, crouching next to her.

Lottie immediately wraps her goosebump covered arms around his neck, her face burying in his shoulder. Riley holds her close, rubbing her back and arms in an attempt to warm her up. She has tears in her eyes but she refuses to let them fall.

"C'mon, let's get you home." He says, helping her to her feet. She keeps her arms latched around Riley as they head back to his still running truck.

"I'm sorry." She whimpers, still forcing back her tears.

Riley just wraps his hand around hers, his thumb brushing across her knuckles. "Calm down, Lot." He says softly, buckling up. He glances over in time to see her shiver so he pulls his sweatshirt off and hands it to her.

"N-no, Ri. I'm fine." She hands it back but he puts it on her, smiling when all the old high school memories comes flooding back.

She made it a habit of snagging his sweatshirt from his locker, which was below hers. He always acted like it was a surprise to see her in it even when it became part of her every day wardrobe.

"I'm sorry." She repeats, pulling her hands away.

"I'm not mad, okay?" He says, his hand relocating to her knee as he turns down their road. "Let's just get you inside." Riley parks and slides to her door to open it for her. She gets to her feet and looks away.

Lottie silently goes to her bedroom where she closes the door behind her. She finally lets her tears fall when she lays down in her bed, her body shivering and trembling.

Riley presses his ear to her door and his heart breaks at the sound but anger puts the pieces back together.

That fucker Morgan did this to her, abandoned her at two in the morning.

Riley is fucking livid.

He cracks her bedroom door open and pokes his head in. "You doin' okay?" It's a stupid question, she's obviously upset.

"Mhm."

Riley sighs as he kicks his shoes off and invites himself under her sheets. He gets her on her other side and pulls her against his bare chest. He runs his fingers through her hair while she relaxes against him, her tired eyes closing.

Riley lays awake until the morning. He held Lottie the whole night, keeping her calm and relaxed. The entire time he was awake, though, different scenarios of what might've happened between her and Morgan kept filling his head.

How in the hell can someone treat this girl like that? Just leave her alone in the middle of the night?

Riley smiles when he hears her hum in that soft way she does when she's waking up. He runs his fingers through her hair as she opens her eyes.

"Mornin." She mumbles, rubbing her eyes. "How long've you been awake?"

"Couple minutes." He whispers back. "You feelin' okay?"

"I gotta shower." She slowly gets to her feet then heads to their single bathroom where she takes an extremely long shower.

Riley's in the middle of making Lottie's favorite breakfast: French Toast with home fries and sausage. Lottie joins him wearing just a baggy Carhartt shirt. She sits herself on the counter with her bare feet swinging.

"Smells great." She smiles, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Hey, thanks for pickin' me up last night."

"Of course, yeah. So what- uh, happened?" He asks, preparing a couple plates.

"Oh nothin'. It's kinda stupid, really." Lottie says, sitting at the table across from her best friend.

"Try me."

"We got into a fight about the festival and he got pissed and left me there." She shrugs. "Can't say I don't deserve it."

"Lottie..."

"This is great." She says, changing the subject as she cuts up her french toast. "Your Mama's recipe never disappoints."

"Lot, I gotta tell you somethin'."

"You're pregnant?"

"Ha ha. Morgan didn't show up 'til the last song and he was hungover as hell."

"I know. I called him out on it and he got pissed and left. I told him I'm worried 'bout how much he's been partyin' lately and that didn't go over well." She sighs heavily. "I got shit I gotta do at the studio today. I gotta get dressed." She pushes her mostly full plate away from her, suddenly loosing her appetite as she stands. "Thanks for breakfast." Lottie presses a kiss to the top of his head then disappears down the hallway. His heart aches.

He's falling for this girl and he's falling for this girl hard.