Page 10 of To the Moon and Back

“Yeah, I could do with a drink.” I laughed. “After my fright.”

Rich scowled at my grazed knee which he’d rinsed with water from his bottle. “Definitely. This is meant to be fun, not a death wish.”

“Now you’re being dramatic.” I laughed, though I knew what had happened had been dangerous, and if Chris Harlow—theChris Harlow—hadn’t come to my rescue, the injuries could have been much worse.

“I’ve er…just got to nip and…sort out a…thing,” Nial said.

Rich stared at him and bit on his bottom lip.

I sensed something unsaid between them. “What thing?”

“Nothing.” Nial shrugged. “Just a…you know. I’ll be back in a bit. Meet me at the disco tent.”

He’d always been crap at lying and my curiosity was piqued. “What’s he up to?”

“I dunno.” Rich shrugged.

“Yeah you do.” I refolded the napkin around my burger to make it easier to eat. “What’s he doing?”

Rich laughed. “Honestly, I don’t know. He’s probably gone to the loo.”

I knew that wasn’t true—he’d headed in the opposite direction.

The silent disco was exactly that, silent. Everyone wore headphones that streamed from the DJ on stage. The crazy dancing and random lyrics were hysterical to watch without headphones, but as soon as they were on, it was a great place to be.

I danced through several songs, waiting for DJ Dizzy to arrive and wishing I hadn’t stuffed my burger down so fast. Nial and Rich, both in big black headphones, stayed close to me, as if worried I might get trampled again.

Luckily this tent was nowhere near as busy and frantic as at the front of the main stage.

I relaxed into it, ignoring the scrape on my knee and let my limbs go with the flow of the rhythm. The beat filled my soul and the lyrics spoke to me. I was young, alive and free, and every inch of my body knew that.

Nial spun me around, then passed me to Rich. He released my hair from its ponytail and it tumbled down, the blue strands flicking and flacking as I upped my pace.

And then DJ Dizzy took to the decks. For a moment the silence was shattered as a cheer went up. But when he started his first track, the dancing continued.

I rejoiced in the moment I’d been looking forward to for so long. Work and my to-do list a distant memory. I lived for music, this was where I belonged.

The song ended and the next started.

You and me together, forever, yeah, yeah, yeah!

I sang along. This was one of my favorites and he’d mixed it seamlessly with the last poppy tune.

Favorite track.

What?

Wait.

That was my voice coming through the headphones.

I froze and opened my eyes, my lips moving to the next line of the song.

Nial and Rich was standing right in front of me, grinning.

“What have you done?” I removed my headphones. “He’s playing our—”

“Song, yeah. I emailed him, asked if he would.” Nial grasped my hand. “He said he loves it and so…”

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