"Hit me." Jenna mumbles, wiping her sweaty palms on her blue jeans.

Morgan gives her a look. "You've had three already."

"What're you, my mom? Hit me."

"You gotta be sober enough to perform."

"Goddammit-" She snatches the bottle of whiskey from him and takes a gulp. "Okay." She shakes her limbs and cracks her neck and back. "Okay, okay." She repeats.

"Hey, look at me." Morgan's hands rest on her shoulders. "You're gonna do great. You're gonna come back out here with you're done with so much adrenaline that you won't be able to keep up with yourself."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Jenna, you're on in five!"

"Shit. I'm gonna- I can't-"

"Hey." He repeats, his grasp now moving to the sides of her face. "Take a deep breath."

"I'm gonna throw up."

Morgan takes a cautious step back. "Aim for the trash can."

She gives him another look then laughs. He chuckles too, hunching over slightly with his eyes scrunched.

"Jenna!"

"You're gonna kick ass." Morgan says, an arm around her shoulders. "You got this."

She freezes in the safety of the shadowed wing, her heart beating so hard that it kind of hurts.

Morgan gives her a friendly push forward and she gives him a dirty look in return, but that dirty look changes when she hears cheering from the small crowd in front of her.

First concert ever.

Jenna licks her lips as she gets situated on stage. She hears the intro to one of her songs start and she totally blanks on the words.

She looks at the wings and locks eyes with Morgan who motions for her to take a deep breath. She nods to herself and does what he says, her heart rate calming down.

"Barbed wire fence carving out a hillside, cutting holes in the midday sun. Like a postcard framed in a windshield covered in dust. I love the rhythm of an old grey blacktop, 33's just whistlin' by. Steer the wheel, one handed on a two lane, hugging that line...

I got the window down, no one else around, singin'..."

She licks her lips as she takes in a deep breath, glancing over at Morgan who's aiming his phone camera at her.

"Ooh ooh ooh, freedom is the miles I'm rollin' on. Ooh ooh ooh, out here cruising to a backroad song. I feel the wheels like a melody, like a radio dialing in strong. C'mon, c'mon sing along, sing along to my backroad song. Ooh ooh ooh, Ooh ooh ooh..."

She grins when she hears the crowd singing with her.

She's more well known than she thought.

Jenna grins at Morgan who's still aiming his phone at her, FaceTiming Michael no doubt. She sits at her keyboard and leans toward the microphone.

"This next song is," She clears her throat, fully prepared to get emotional. "Is one I wrote for myself. Kinda like a 'keep goin' thing after my granddaddy passed." She clears her throat again. "Here's Til You Can't."

"...If you got a chance, take it, take it while you got a chance. If you got a dream, chase it, 'cause a dream won't chase you back. If you're gonna love somebody, hold 'em as long and as strong and as close as you can, 'Til you can't..."

This song is what kept her going. When Wyatt died, she felt like life wasn't worth living but when she moved to Nashville for school, the words just flowed out of her brain.

She wraps up her set with a song she wrote about Tiny and the bitch that he cheated on her with.

"Bless her heart, she's out of her head, barely in that little red dress. She don't know what's up ahead. But one of these days she's gonna regret all those nights spent in his arms. Bless her soul she's in the dark. She don't really know that man of mine she's taken. Bless her heart, he's gonna break it..."

She laughs between verses. After she wrote this song, she felt worlds better.

"Cheater Cheater, cold beer drinker, did you think I was dumb? Cheater cheater, give it two weeks or three till y'all are done..."

When her set ends, Jenna bounces off stage. She leaps into Morgan's arms with the biggest grin he's ever seen. He laughs as he holds her tight, spinning her around slightly.

She hits his shoulders as a sign to put her down on her feet. She laughs uneasily, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"You did great, Jen." He says, stepping aside as a trunk is rolled through. "Really."

"Thanks, Morgan."

+++

"You looked beautiful performin', darlin'." Michael says to the grainy version of his girlfriend. "You did so great."

She grins back, her smile lighting up the darkness on his end. She kicks her bare feet up behind her as she lays on the back lounge couch wearing nothing but one of Michael's shirts, a Mississippi State shirt and a pair of gray boy cut panties. Her blonde hair is in a messy bun on the top of her head, loose waves framing her exhausted face.

She's absolutely beautiful.

The guys are in the front lounge or in their bunks partying, celebrating the first show.

She's telling him all about the flight, the trip to the venue, the show, everything, in detail and he is loving it. Seeing her light up about something she was borderline dreading so excitedly, it makes his heart smile.

"Hey, there she is!" Aaron shouts, pulling the shade divider open. "C'mon, Jen! You're missing a great party!"

She laughs awkwardly, looking over her shoulder at her manager. "I'm a little busy, right now, hun."

"Boo!" He frowns then cackles. "I'll get you a drink."

Once he's gone, she turns back to Michael. "I'll let you go." He says, giving her a weak smile. "I love you."

"I love you more." She laughs. "Bye."

"Bye."

She hangs up the FaceTime call and tosses her laptop in her bunk, not bothering with shorts because the shirt is long enough to cover her ass.

"Here!" Aaron says, practically shoving a solo cup in her hand.

She doesn't question the contents of the cup, she just downs the liquid then cringes at how harsh it is. Jenna looks up and sees Morgan sitting on the far end of the couch.

She flops next to him, leaning against his side and laughs. "First show!" She grins, the mystery alcohol slamming headfirst into her somewhat empty stomach. "You did great. I loved hearin' 'em songs we wrote bein' sang back."

He chuckles. "Y'know, you're real chatty on Jäger." She giggles back, leaning her head against his arm as it's resting on the couch behind her. "You know that, right?" She giggles and nods, pressing her thumb against her front teeth.

"Thanks for everythin' you've done for me so far, Morgan. Seriously, I don't know what I would've done without you. I'd probably be an absolute mess- hey!" She laughs as she stands when she hears Highway to Hell by AC/DC on the speakers.

She bounces on the balls of her bare feet, singing with the guys.

Morgan laughs from the couch, his eyes drifting from person to person then down Jenna's back to her ass peeking out of his best friend's shirt.

His best friend.

Morgan, Michael is your best friend.

Stop thinking about his girlfriend like that. You can't do that to either of them.

But she's so fucking hot.

Stop it!

Morgan is yanked from his thoughts by someone yanking his hand. He looks up and grins at Jenna's drunken smile.

"Come dance with me."

+++