Nick knew something was off ever since he laid eyes on her in the dressing room. She kept fiddling with her beer bottle, visibly thinking about something while she pretended to listen to Helena's stories.
He laughed about what Matt just said–something about the organisation of the festival–but he couldn't help but worry. Katie and Bree were nice, they'd been excited to meet her since the beginning. She seemed to like them too, so what went wrong?
"You okay?" Matt asked as he took a swig of his beer, his smile slightly wavering.
Nick's gaze trained behind them. "I dunno, she looks upset."
"It's not like you're lying to her every day," the other scoffed, and Nick had to fight the urge to snap at him. Of course, he lied, but he had his reasons.
"I'll tell her about the tour eventually. I can't ruin it now," he said lowly, feeling the bitter taste of his words.
"Waiting will just make things worse. Just tell her, you know she can come with us."
"I know," Nick blinked exuberantly as if the luminescent white lights beaming down on him were exposing him as the liar.
"You didn't tell her about your birthday, did you?"
"No."
Matt sighed, the sound adding to Nick's nerves. Now wasn't the time. He was expecting some kind of morale, but instead, Matt shifted to grab another beer. Somehow his silence was worse.
He glanced up at Ada through his eyelashes, and his feet dragged him beside her.
He flashed Katie a small smile, sitting on the armrest beside her. She acknowledged his presence with a quick look and a smile that looked awfully false.
Shit, he thought, she must know.
"You're okay?" he asked her after a few seconds.
"Yeah," she looked up at him. "I'm just a bit dizzy, it's really hot here."
"You can go in my dressing room if you're not well y'know", he replied lowly, leaning down a little. "You can even sleep in there, I don't mind."
"I'll be fine."
He sighed, biting his tongue to refrain from speaking again.
That was when he knew he fucked up.
It was nine o'clock when time started to slow by and the four men waited next to the scene, psychologically preparing for what was about to come.
The shouting and singing voices of the crowd gave them energy, despite the nervous pacing of Jamie back and forth in the hallway and the endless chatter of Alexander, bouncing on his feet excitedly. Each one of them had their own way of coping with stress - and stressing the others was one of them.
Matt was the only one who wasn't so tense – at least physically. He was leaning casually against the wall with his drumsticks in hand, giving Ada a number from someone working in a photography studio in London. He kept sending Nick quick looks to check on him. Her smile widened every time she met Evie's gaze, who had come back just in time.
Nick was glancing around each time someone from the festival staff came for the countdown. He loved being on the scene and feeling the music reverberating in his body, but the preshows were the worst.
His fingers were mindlessly playing with hers hanging on her side, her other hand holding up her phone. He figured she might need both hands, but he was too preoccupied with feeling her warmth on his skin. It relaxed him.
YOU ARE READING
On The Other Side | Nick O'Malley
Fanfic[Ada didn't care how she would sell the bass that she had ridiculously bought a few weeks before; she just wanted to get rid of it and forget about the situation. ...
