“Save seats for your parents and Taylor, got it. Taylor has been texting me all day. She’s gonna let me know when they’re here.” Rae takes a deep breath and implores me to do the same.

“Is Harry coming?” I ask.

Her eyes dart away from mine. “No. We, uh, we’re taking a break.”

“Wait, what?” I’m not shocked, but I am a bit surprised she didn’t tell me.

Her phone buzzes. “Taylor.” Rae shows me her phone. “I’m gonna go meet her and your parents outside. Benny, go help Rhett hold down the fort.”

“Why does she keep asking me to hold down a fort?” Benny asks, hooking her arm in his. “Are we at war? Am I a straight soldier? I’d probably blow a straight soldier.”

“Oh, you and your ways.”

Rae pulls him out, and I watch them walk to where Rhett is sitting. He’s now fully having a panic attack, legs and arms spread as wide as possible, fighting off seat stealers.

“You’re really dropping a Harry-size bombshell and leaving?” I shout.

“Not now, baby,” she says. “This is your moment.”

With that, she’s gone.

Chloe and Sofía go over the notes for our short speech, which I’m supposed to give to introduce the project, but I can’t focus on any of that right now. There’s way too much happening in my world for this. My parents are about to see my work. Rae broke up with Harry. Taylor’s here. The mentorship is literally within reach.

Professor McPherson places a hand on my shoulder. “You nervous, Gray?”

I nod.

“Good.” She smiles warmly. “You should be. Nerves are a sign of humility. If you weren’t nervous in this industry, I’d say you weren’t prepared for it.”

I glance back out at the crowd and see Leila taking a seat somewhere in the middle. There’s a bittersweet look on her face. More bitter, less sweet, all Leila.

“I feel you holding your breath,” Professor McPherson says. “And that’s okay for a time, but eventually, you’ll have to get used to releasing your art to the world.”

“I mean, I have experience with that after my virals. But it’s weird because it’s not really mine anymore.”

“It’ll always be yours,” she says. “You made it. It’s your heart. Sure, people will see themselves in it and call it theirs, and people will be challenged by it and reject it. Others will tell you it’s been done before and derivative and—” She waves her hands in a dismissive manner. “But that’s the whole idea behind it in the first place.”

“I know all that. I do. It’s just … you put so much of your heart into something, and then someone who doesn’t understand just how important it is rips it to shreds,” I say.