All I Want || dnf

- Chapter Eighteen -

George POV:

I take a deep breath, trying to ease my nerves a little. Glancing up to the clock hanging from the wall, I take note of the time. We still have 35 minutes until we should start making our way towards the stage area. Phoenix is fixing up his hair, running his hands through the strands, clearly nervous for tonight too whilst Tyler is presumably messaging Holly. The place we're performing in can hold up to 15,000 people, which is the biggest concert we've ever done. How Karis managed to pull this off is beyond me.

Clay, as well as everyone else, should be entering the stadium now. I can only imagine the priceless look of shock on his stupid face as he sees the size of the arena. Knowing him he probably feels dumb for asking 'which bar' we will be performing at. I dont even try and stop the smile that makes its way onto my face at the thought of him. My phone begins to ring, making it obvious who it is since my phone is always on do not disturb. A stupid mugshot of Clay takes over my screen whilst the smile on my face breaks out into a toothy-grin. I stare at the image for a second, before realising that my phone is still in fact ringing and I should probably answer it.

"GEORGE" I'm met with a screaming Clay. I laugh obnoxiously, sliding out of the room without Tyler or Phoenix noticing. "Clay!" I shout back, turning on speaker phone. "Don't 'Clay me you idiot!" He yells again, a smile evident in his tone. Clay lowers his voice "Why didn't you tell me you were performing somewhere this fucking huge". I can barely hear him over the many people chatting around him, but I manage "Uhhh surprise?" I joke, the same smile never leaving my face. However, our conversation has to be cut short when I notice Karis and a few other members of staff walk down the hallway. "Clay I gotta go, see you in a bit!" I say, before hastily ending the phone call. My phone buzzes again.

Clay: WHAT THE FUCJK

Clay: IM GOING TO KILL YOU

George: <3

I put my phone in my back pocket before looking up. "You ready George?" Karis asks once she reaches me, opening the door to the room I was just in and entering while I follow. I exhale a shaky breath of air "Ready as I'll ever be" Offering her a convincing grin. She hums "Well, I just wanted to make sure everything is okay and just go over a few other things". Nodding I follow her toward the sofa's, where Ty and Phoenix are.

Karis speedily runs us though the order of the songs we're performing whilst also going through other random things which is compulsory for her to tell us. "- then George, you will perform your song for the last song of the night". A frown slowly appears on my face as I anxiously chew on my bottom lip. "You don't need to perform it tonight George if you don't want to" Tyler says, softly nudging his foot with mine for a source of comfort. I shake my head "No I want to, just nervous thats all". He nods his head "Thats completely understandable George. Just remember, if you have any seconds thoughts, even when you're on stage, just quickly slide off and let me know and I'll sort it out" Karis says gingerly. I gratefully smile at her and mumble a small 'thank you'.

"Well then" She stands and claps her hands "Lets get this show on the road"

-

There is an audience of at least 15,000 people out there, but for some reason my mind can't stop wondering to one specific boy. Just thinking about him calms my nerves. I really wish he was here with me. We're backstage, minutes from performing. The crowd is distracting whilst we prepare ourselves, each of us doing some sort of warm up. Tyler and Phoenix both stretching their fingers and arms in front of them, while I stand there and watch, occasionally taking a few sips from my water bottle to ease my throat.

"5 minutes until show time" a girl- Gracie says, I read off her name tag. She seems around my age, maybe a few years younger. I breathe in a deep breath of air to calm myself although it doesn't help that much. Can I even do this? Gracie seems to sense my nervousness "Hey, you got anyone watching out there? Like family or a friend?" She asks with a shy smile, whilst holding her clipboard closer to her chest. I'm grateful for the small distraction

"Um yeah my best friend is here- its his first time watching me perform" my mood instantly shifts to a lighter one. Gracie smiles knowingly and hums "Are you guys close? I'm guessing he was the one yelling down the phone to you earlier?" She smirks. "You heard that?" I whisper-shout exasperatedly. Gracie laughs "Duh! You had him on speaker and I was literally in the hallway with you". I groan dramatically "Yeah he's an idiot, but I love him" I smile softly, before realising what I had actually said. My cheeks warm as I physically feel the blush take over my face.

"You're blushing" Gracie teases, all whilst the smirk remains on her face. I dismiss her with a wave of my hand. "And as for family, my mum wouldn't like something like this and my dad- wait shit my dad!" Gracie raises her eyebrow as I clumsily reach for my phone, clicking the facetime button for my dads contact.

It rings a couple of times, before my dads face takes over my screen- well his ear. "Hello?" He greets. I chuckle fondly "Dad it's a facetime not a phone call!". Gracie laughs too, then walks away with a small wave. "Oh- George! Hello" He exclaims with a bright smile after seeing my face. I giggle and make my way over to Karis. "Um Karis can I ask you a favour? I want my dad to be able to watch the concert live, but obviously he cant because of the circumstances..." I trail off, before awkwardly coughing "So I was wondering if you would be able to hold the phone for him to watch?" I query, holding my phone up for my dad to wave at Karis. Her face softens, whilst sending a wave back at my dad "Of course I can, pass the phone quickly you need to get going".

I look down at my phone "Okay dad I need to go on now, I'll see you in a bit I hope you enjoy!" I say, shooting a thumbs up at him and handing the phone over to Karis, silently thanking her.

Making my way over to where the two other boys are, we hype ourselves up and I gradually feel the lump in my throat disappear in seconds. "Boys you're on!" Gracie says, ushering us towards the entrance. Another member of staff greets us by the entry "Okay so, the plan is the stadium lights will turn off, allowing you to walk on and let you get to your places. And as soon as the lights turn back on, thats your cue to play the starting song." He says, only looking up towards the end of his sentence. Although that being the second time we've heard the run through, it's always nice for clarification.

We nod our heads in unison, facing each other. "You ready for this guys?" Phoenix gases himself up, shaking his entire body from nerves. "I think so. George?" Tyler replies, drumsticks in hand. I laugh eagerly. Am I ready? Definitely. "Yeah come on! Let's do this!" I shout.

The lights in the arena dim and it would almost be frightening if it wasn't for the adrenaline running through my body. The mass of people in the stadium fall silent hoping for a glimpse of us. We rush out, Tyler heading towards his drums first, next Phoenix to his guitar, securely holding it in his hands. Then finally me. I run to the centre of the stage, the microphone stand already being there at a comfortable height. Grabbing a hold of the microphone, readying myself to introduce us. Phoenix twangs the first strum of his guitar and the the intense, blinding lights return. The crowd breaks out in a ground-shaking roar. I hold my breath. That's our cue.

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As you could probably tell I have never worked backstage anywhere nor have I been to an actual concert so I tried my best lmao idk

I have also realised I start all my a/ns in different ways so idk what's happening there whoops