The Who One Shots and Imagines

Pre-Perfomance Anxiety - Pete

Saturday August 29th, 1970

I had been in love with my best friend Pete Townshend for as long as I could remember. We met through mutual friends and have been inseparable since.

Tonight was a big one for him. He and his band would be performing at the Isle of Wight festival. As we sat in his dressing room together it was mostly quiet- except for the sound of the Doors playing. The Who were to follow after the Doors set, so the sound of Jim Morrison shouting was a constant reminder to Pete that he and The Who were up next.

"Don't worry Pete. You guys will crush it. You always exceed everyone's expectations and more. You've been practicing all day, you'll have no problems. I promise." I laid a hand on Pete's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

"But what if I mess up? Forget the lyrics? Forget the chords? What if I just freeze up and can't move in front of hundreds of thousands of people?" He looked up at me, his hands laid in his lap, nervously picking at the hangnails on his fingers.

"Well.. you won't" I said simply.

"But- "

I cut him off, "No buts. Pete, you always have this panic attack before you perform. Have you ever royally screwed up on stage, ever?"

"No" he slowly answered.

"See? How do you normally feel after you finish a live show?" I crossed my arms and gave him a know-it-all smirk.

"Good- like I'm on top of the world" he looked back up to me and gave a soft smile.

"Exactly, I know what I'm talking about Pete. You have nothing to worry about." I rustled his hair and walked by him to grab the eyeliner that was sitting on the vanity.

I grabbed the eyeliner, walked up to him, and brushed his bangs off his forehead.

"How prominent do you want the eyeliner to show up?" I took off the cap and sharpened the eyeliner pencil.

"Super dark, I want everyone to see it, even the people furthest away from the stage."

"As you wish"

I struggled to find the right position to stand or kneel as I did the first eye. Pete complained and accused me of poking him in the eye but in reality he's just a cry baby.

"Lemme see! Lemme see how its looking Y/n" he whined.

I wrestled with him to not look in the mirror. It ruins the effect if he sees the makeup half done. There was only one thing I could think of to get him to stay in his seat, plus it would make applying the eyeliner easier for me. So I sat in his lap. I sat facing towards him, wrapping my legs around the sides of the chair and his hips.

His face ran a Scarlett red and his squirming stopped. He sat otherwise extremely still, but rested his hands on my waist as I leaned in to do the other eye. I had never been this close to him before. We had our flirtatious moments, but nothing like this; I was sitting on his lap, inches away from his lips. He smelt amazing, like musk and sandalwood. It was intoxicating, I myself was getting a bit flustered.

"Hold still" I rested my hand on the side of his face as I meticulously drew the wing on.

His breathing hitched when I positioned my hips closer to him. He held on tighter to my waist as If he was fighting something off. I couldn't hide a small laugh when I felt something in his lap grow.

"Shit!" He recoiled and held his eye. Again, I swear I didn't poke his eye. He loves to overreact.

"You're fine. Here," I pulled his head closer to mine and used a tissue to wipe away the parts Pete had smeared.

"There. I'm done." I pulled back and admired my masterpiece. "You look incredible, Pete."

I got off of him and we walked to the mirror. He stood and admired the makeup as I rested my hand on his back.

"Thank you, but there's one part that's a little messed up still." He sat back down in the chair "Could you fix it, please?"

I sat back in his lap and before I could apply the eyeliner, he pulled me in and kissed me. He traced his hands from my lower back to my neck. I moved my hips so they touched his stomach and ran my fingers through his hair, grabbing locks when he kissed more passionately. His hips jumped up in response to my hips moving in small, slow circles.

The door knocked so we flew off of each other and tried to tame our hair.

"You're on in 5 Pete, we need you now" said a voice from the other side of the door.

I had noticed the sound of the Doors had stopped meaning they finished their set. The Who were up next.

"Yeah I'll be there in a second!" he shouted then rolled his eyes.

He turned to me and smiled. I returned him a bigger smile and wrapped him in a hug.

"Good luck Pete" I pulled back and looked at him, both of us smiling like idiots.

"Thanks, love" He kissed me one last time, although our smiles were so big it was more just clashing of teeth and less lips.

He pulled away and sprinted to the door as someone in the hallway was yelling his name. He gave one last goofy smile and opened the door.

"I'll see you after the show right?"

"Of course, maybe we can finish what we started" I laughed.

"I'm gonna hold you to that!" He winked then quickly slammed the door on his way out.

I tried to calm myself down but I couldn't. I was giddy from the second he left till the moment I saw him again. I watched on the side of the stage as he absolutely rocked the performance, as I knew he would. He didn't mess up once, just like I told him. I was so incredibly proud of him, I mean he's my best friend, how could I not be? The being in love with him for years is just an added bonus to our relationship.

They finished their set with Magic Bus, said their goodbyes to the audience and ran off stage. Pete ran straight to me and kissed me, in front of all his band mates who were clueless about our new romance, and for good reason it only started hours before. After we pulled away we looked around and saw the reactions of everyone. Roger didn't seem too surprised but John and Keith jaws were dropped. They looked at each other, then back to us, then back to each other and freaked out.

"I called it didn't I? You all owe me 15 pounds!" John happily walked over to the people who reached in their pockets and collected his prize.

"Now I'm not giving this to you happily. I hope you know that" Keith bitterly slapped the cash in Johns hand.

"I know mate, I know, but I will happily take it" He took the money with a big grin and smugly stood by Keith.

Pete and I looked at each other shocked

"You bet on us getting together?!" We questioned

"Of course! There's always an excuse to gamble." John quipped

"Plus the chemistry between the two of you is undeniable," Roger added "it's no surprise really."

"I lost 15 pounds because of you two" Keith sulked.

After the show, we watched the rest of the acts and partied. Pete stood by my side the entire time, and I to his. And Keith never let it down that we made him lose 15 pounds.