A Moment in the Madness

Liam turned to Sophie, squinting at her glass. “By the way… why aren’t you drinking tonight? The first time I saw you in that club, you were definitely a little buzzed.”

Sophie’s lips curved into a teasing smile. “Why, do you want me to kiss another complete stranger again?”

Liam lifted an eyebrow. “Didn’t seem to bother you at the time.”

She nudged him with her shoulder, laughing. “Yes, well… I also didn’t know the stranger would turn out to be you.”

He tried to act unimpressed, but a tiny grin betrayed him.

A moment later, Liam glanced at Max. “Actually… how did the camera manage to land on Sophie first and then immediately on me? Suspicious.”

Max looked far too proud of himself. “Because I’m a genius. Do you think broadcasts magically read your soul? I nudged the cameraman. Professional meddling, you’re welcome.”

Liam shook his head. “You’re impossible.”

Max shrugged. “I prefer indispensable.”

Sophie rolled her eyes, a smirk tugging at her lips. “Or completely insufferable—but somehow, I like it.”

The tour manager finally caught up to them, slightly out of breath but wearing the smug grin of someone who had Very Important Opinions to share.

“There you are,” she said, clapping Liam on the shoulder. “I’ve been saying all day, Grey Meadow is on fire this season. And you—” she jabbed a finger at Liam “—absolutely demolished the stage.”

The guys behind Liam exchanged looks and immediately started snickering.

“Oh, here we go,” Liam muttered under his breath.

Sophie tilted her head, noticing the way the band tried (and failed) to keep straight faces. “What?” she asked.

James, the drummer, was the first to crack. “Let’s just say… the last time this man sang like that, he was trying to win a Grammy, a breakup, and his dignity all at once.”

“No,” added Eli, the bassist, barely containing his laugh, “this time it was definitely not a Grammy.”

“Shut up,” Liam warned, but his ears were going pink.

Sophie blinked in recognition, then grinned. “Wait… are you telling me he only went full rock-star because—”

“Because of you,” Eli said immediately. “Absolutely because of you.”

Liam groaned into his hands. “Can you not.”

Kai, the guitarist, nudged Jude, the keyboardist, smirking. “Bet you five bucks he blushes every time she’s near.”

Jude rolled his eyes. “We’re doomed.”

The tour manager continued as if none of this side-chaos existed. “Point is—Grey Meadow’s numbers jumped. Streams, ticket sales, socials… all up.” Then she lifted her brows meaningfully. “And that KissCam moment didn’t exactly hurt.”

Sophie pressed her lips together, fighting a smile. “I keep hearing about that.”

“Yeah,” James chimed in, “apparently people love when a lead singer gets blindsided by a gorgeous actress who kisses him like he owes her money.”

Liam glared at him. “It was one kiss.”

Max scoffed from the side. “Sure. And I’m the Pope.”

Sophie laughed, softly bumping Liam with her hip. “Well… whatever the reason, you did sound incredible.”

Liam's expression softened. “Thanks.”

Then, quieter, for her alone: “You’re kind of a ridiculous amount of motivation, you know that?”

Her smile turned warm. “Good. I like that.”

The band collectively “ooooh”-ed like middle schoolers overhearing something they absolutely should not.

Liam shot them a death stare. “I hate all of you.”

But he didn’t pull away from Sophie. Not for a second.

Just then, Claire appeared at Sophie’s side, holding two drinks she’d picked up earlier. She smiled softly.

“I just… I’m so happy you’re finally here, Sophie,” she murmured, glancing at Liam, then back at Sophie. “Where you belong. With him.”

Sophie looked up, touched by the sincerity, while Claire’s sharp eyes already scanned the room for potential complications. “Although,” Claire added, a half-smile tugging at her lips, “I can already tell… I’m going to have even more work now keeping everything from exploding.”

Sophie chuckled, squeezing Liam’s hand. “We’ll try to make it easy for you.”

Claire rolled her eyes playfully but gave them both a wink. “Don’t tempt me.”

Inside the private afterparty venue, the energy shifted from classy to mild chaos. Someone had apparently decided that the best way to celebrate a successful tour was to throw in party games normally reserved for children’s birthdays… or very drunk adults.

Max spotted it first.

“Oh no. Who invited the limbo stick?”

Sure enough, two staff members were holding a glowing, neon LED pole like it was a sacred artifact.

Eli cracked his knuckles. “I’m winning this.”

Josh snorted. “You say that every time, and every time your back cracks like an old door hinge.”

But Eli was already on his way, determined to prove something nobody really cared about.

Liam and Sophie watched, Sophie leaning against Liam’s chest, his arms loosely around her waist.

“This is going to end in tragedy,” she murmured.

Liam kissed her temple. “Give it thirty seconds.”

The music switched to something aggressively cheerful.

Eli attempted the limbo. Attempted.

He made it halfway under the bar before his legs decided they had rights and folded like cheap furniture. He rolled backward onto the floor, arms spread.

“I regret everything!”

The whole room burst into laughter.

Max clapped like a proud parent. “Ten out of ten for commitment. Zero for technique.”

Then someone shouted, “TRAIN TIME!”

A line of people suddenly formed, hands on shoulders, a human caterpillar powered by an unhinged DJ who clearly took this job too seriously.

Josh looked horrified. “No. Absolutely not.”

But the train snatched him anyway. One second he was sipping his drink, the next he was being dragged across the room in a wobbly conga line, shouting, “I HATE ALL OF YOU!”

Sophie doubled over laughing. “This is the best night of my life.”

Liam watched her laugh, really laugh, eyes bright, cheeks flushed.

He didn’t even try to hide the way he looked at her.

Then Max joined them again, chest heaving from laughing too hard.

“Okay, okay,” Max wheezed. “Hear me out. Grey Meadow should do a conga-themed music video.”

Josh yelled from the train, “OVER MY DEAD BODY!”

Sophie giggled. “You all are ridiculous.”

“You love it,” Liam murmured, brushing his thumb over her hip.

She tilted her head. “Maybe a little.”

Behind them, Eli decided to try the limbo again. He failed. Again. Much more dramatically.

Kai clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re lucky we still need you for bass harmonies.”

Jude shook his head. “I swear, if Liam makes me play that in the studio, I quit.”

Liam shook his head, laughing. “This has to be the most ridiculous afterparty ever.”

Sophie looked up at him, soft smile touching her lips.

“And still perfect.”

Liam, still laughing at the chaos around them, gently pulled Sophie closer, holding her between his arms. The music, flashing lights, and raucous laughter of the party formed a blurry haze around them—everything else faded. His fingers lightly traced hers, and Sophie smiled, leaning into him as if the rest of the world no longer mattered.

“You and me… just for a moment,” he whispered, his voice soft, almost lost under the conga line chaos still thundering around them.

Sophie simply nodded, squeezing his hand and resting against his chest. Her heartbeat quickened, and she could feel his matching hers. Despite the laughter and shouting surrounding them, there was a silence that belonged only to them.

When Liam pressed his forehead gently against hers, they both grinned—a small island of calm in the middle of complete chaos.

By the time the afterparty thinned, everyone looked gloriously exhausted. Claire spent ten minutes convincing the PR team that no, she was not doing another round of crisis calls at three in the morning. Max stole her phone again, just to be safe.