The crowd cheers as the song comes to an end. On the stage the band, a group of four middle-aged hipsters wearing clothes far too tight for their pudgy bodies, soak in the applause for a few more moments before they begin to gather their instruments.

"Here ya go." Larry, the lounge's all-star pervert, slides two drinks across the bar top over to Kris and Taylor.

"Thanks." Kris smiles as she picks up her whiskey glass.

Taylor can't help but notice that she's drinking something dark. She takes a sip from her water. "When did you start drinking?"

"It calms the nerves." Kris glances over at Taylor as she swirls the thin straw in her drink, mixing up the liquor. "Helps a lot in this profession."

Nodding, Taylor takes another drink from her water. She knows better than to judge people's actions, especially considering her recent take on ethics. She reaches over to grab her camera bag, which hangs from its strap on the back of the barstool, and swings it around to set it in her lap. She unzips the bag and pulls her camera out.

"Thanks again for doing this."

Taylor smiles, using the end of her shirt to gently brush a small smear that's on the camera lens. "Don't sweat it."

"Hey." Jesse smiles as he emerges from the crowd. "They're almost done setting up. You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Kris says and pauses to chug the rest of her drink. She sets the empty glass down and turns to Taylor to introduce them. "Oh, Jesse this is Taylor. Taylor, Jesse."

Taylor reaches out to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Jesse's grip is a little tight, causing Taylor to quickly pull her hand away. "So you're the infamous Taylor Chase."

"I am."

"Hey guys, sorry we're late. Lost track of time." Casey, with her arm wrapped around Riley's bicep, walks up to them. She looks around at the crowd still dispersing from the stage. "Oh no! Did we miss it?"

Jesse turns to her, smirking. "Nah. You got here just in time."

Riley's eyes narrow as he can't help but feel jealousy overwhelm him. An attractive stranger smirking at his girl? He turns his head to the side to discretely pop his neck.

Still smiling, Jesse reaches over to grab Kris' shoulder. "Come on. Don't wanna miss our cue."

Kris rises from her barstool and waves nervously at her friends as Jesse leads her through the crowd. "Wish me luck, guys!"

"Break a leg." Casey smiles, waving back with her fingers.

"Who was that guy?" Riley asks as he stands behind Casey to wrap his arms around her waist protectively. She tilts her head up to look at him, finding this new possessive side of him oddly attractive, and reaches down to play with her new necklace.

"Oh, that was Jesse. Kris' new manager." Taylor says as she turns her camera on, the lens extending as the screen lights up.

Casey breaks out of Riley's grip and walks over to sit down at the barstool next to Taylor. "He seems like a nice guy."

"Yeah." Riley mutters, turning back to the crowd to watch as Jesse and Kris slip through it as they approach the stage. His instinct is telling him not to trust the man.

"Riley."

"Huh?" A distracted Riley turns around to see Casey spinning the barstool back around to face him. She crosses her legs, smiling. "Drink?"

Nodding, he walks over to her as she turns back around to face the bartender. "Sure."

From the other side of the bar, Larry crosses his arms as he eyes the two. He can't help but smile as he looks at Casey and gazes over to Taylor. Two tender ladies for the price of one? He bites his bottom lip to the point of drawing blood. "I need to see IDs please."

"Honey, where did I put it?" Casey pats at the small pockets on her sequin shorts, and then glances over at Riley. She reaches into her exposed cleavage, as if to check her bra. "I can't find my wallet..."

Larry, practically drooling at this point, stares blankly at her chest.

Riley reaches over to snap his fingers in Larry's face. "Hey."

"Sorry. Uhh, don't worry about it. Larry at your service." He smiles, exposing his lack of teeth. "What'll ya have?"

Casey smiles as Riley places his hands on her shoulder to give her a light massage. "Three shots of tequila please."

"Coming right up." Larry walks further down the bar to snatch a bottle of tequila from the liquor cabinet. He lines up three empty shot glasses and fills each of them up to the rim.

Taylor leans over to whisper to Casey. "Oh, I don't need one."

"More for me." Casey winks.

Larry, still obviously distracted, returns with the shots and struggles to balance them as he lowers them down to the counter. "That'll be uhh—"

He thinks of the price and watches as Casey pats her chest, pretending as if she were still checking for her wallet again. She raises her eyebrows.

"On the house." He finishes his sentence with a dramatic gulp. He sets a napkin down with limes piled up on top of it.

Casey grabs the shots, pulling two toward her and sliding the other to Riley. "Thanks, Harry."

"Larry." He corrects her.

Ignoring him, she turns to face Riley, who tries his best to yet again hold in his jealous side. She smiles as she lifts her shot in the air, saluting. "To what?"

"To us." He lifts his drink up and the two tap their glasses before taking their shots.

She slams the empty shot glass down on the counter and turns back to Taylor, sliding the third shot over to her. "You sure, Tay?"

Debating on whether or not to take it, Taylor bites her bottom lip as she hesitates. With all of the stress she has been going through lately, she could really use a night of relaxation. A drink to calm her nerves could be just what she needs right now.

"Screw it." Taylor grabs the shot and quickly downs it. She reaches over to grab a lime and bites into it, her face scrunching up at the taste of the tequila.

"Atta girl!" Casey's smile widens as she watches Taylor slam the empty shot glass down. She turns to Larry. "Another round, Perry!"

After fifteen minutes, and a few more shots of house tequila, Taylor drifts through the now-larger crowd that gathers around the front of the stage. She lifts her camera as she snaps pictures of Kris, who stands dead center on the platform.

Kris leans closer into the microphone, her lips inches from the windscreen, as she continues singing. Her guitar sways with her body as she moves along with the subtle rhythm.

Sitting on a barstool to her left, Jesse smiles as he sings softly into the microphone along with the chorus. He plucks at the strings of his guitar, adding a more mellow tone to the beat.

Taylor's camera focuses on him as he plays and, right before snapping the picture, his eyes lock onto her camera lens. A slight grin wipes across his face as her finger presses the button—a sudden flash illuminating the corner of the room.

She cuts through the horde of drunks, perhaps blending in a little too well as she stumbles past them to make her way to the side of the stage. She walks up the short steps, nearly tripping on the top one, as she reaches the top of the platform.

After singing the last verse, Kris glances back at her with a smile. She mouths the words 'Thank you'.

Smiling back, Taylor gives her a short nod before turning to gaze around the audience, taking pictures of the crowd as they shuffle around the stage. She aims her camera, snapping another picture.

As the camera flashes, a black hooded figure quickly passes by her shot and she glances up from the camera, watching as it disappears back into the crowd.

She aims her camera at the crowd and twists her lens to zoom in, aiming the camera around. Maybe she's just imagining things...

The enigma passes by again, quickly cutting behind a couple kissing. She walks to her right in an attempt to follow him, accidentally stepping on some of the wires taped to the floor.

Jesse peers back at her. He exchanges a worried look with Kris but they carry on with the performance, masking their concern.

Focusing through the lens, Taylor catches the man again on the camera. He slowly turns to the right, as if to glance at her. Without hesitation, she presses down on the button, the flash of her camera illuminating his face to reveal—

Garrett's scarred face peeking out from underneath the hood. She gasps, stumbling back as she lets her camera drop to the floor.

Eyes widening, he stares at her for a few more brief seconds before turning away to duck behind a group of people to make an escape for the exit.

"Holy shit." Taylor quickly reaches down to grab her camera and stumbles off of the stage as she attempts to follow him.

She shoves through the crowd, hurriedly making her way to the front of the bar. People glance around, looking at her as if she were a lunatic.

"Excuse you." A snotty girl, rolling her eyes, scoffs as Taylor passes.

After what seems like forever, she finally manages to reach the exit doors. She looks around, seeing a group of friends leave through the open doors as another crowd enters.

A tall figure slips behind her, scaling between her and the wall.

Panicking, she quickly spins around and bumps into Marc. He drops his drink to the floor.

"Marc! Oh my god." Startled, she glances down at the spilled drink and bends over to pick it up. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He flashes a smile. "I'll get it."

He watches as she stands back up, still glancing around the room nervously. His eyes shift to follow her stare, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah." Instead of looking at him, she continues to scan the bar area. She knows what she saw.

Marc lightly grabs her arm and she almost drops her camera again. She turns to glare at him. "Hey, are you sure you're okay?"

"I said I'm fine!" She pulls her arm from his grip, stumbling backwards, and glances back down at the spilled drink. "Sorry. Again."

The crowd cheers as the song wraps up. Kris grabs the microphone, singing the last word as she gazes at the crowd to look for Taylor. She turns back to Jesse, clearly worried.

Taylor shoves through the group exiting the building and stands outside the entrance, glancing around at the people as they split their own ways throughout the narrow dark road.

The neon sign above her, reading 'Lager Lounge' in a lazy cursive font, flickers a maroon light on the sidewalk in front of her. She glances down at her camera, hoping to look at the pictures she took, to see the screen is cracked. "Damnit."

A few yards to her right, the hooded man walks away alongside a random crowd of strangers, as if he were part of their group, before quickly cutting a corner to turn down a nearby back alley.

♫ sʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ғᴀɴɢs / ᴍᴀᴛᴛ ɴᴀᴛʜᴀɴsᴏɴ ♫