LOVER, YOU SHOULD'VE COME OVER, daniel johns

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 eight, try & love again

NOW PLAYING... try & love again, the eagles
"she was dancin' right in time & the moves she made so fine, like the music that surrounds her"

⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹

I SLIP ON my rather obnoxious black boots in a form of flurry, realising id spent a whole hour preparing both my hair and makeup, which typically wouldn't be much of an issue, though it was currently 7:02 sharp and i simply had to be at the venue by 7:30 at the latest. I hastily dash towards the door, grabbing my keys within the process, not bothering to check wether i've locked the door correctly or not. While exiting my safe haven, a sense of anticipation and anxiety circle within the depths of my stomach, seeing as though this is the first time i've seen the band live in an extremely long time. God, its also been a rather lengthy time since i've seen both Ben and Chris, too. Chances are, it'll be fairly awkward, however that is to be expected seeing as though its been so long.
I soon approach the venue, the dreaded feelings of anxiety still seemingly following me throughout my journey, only obtaining worse by the second. My  mind swirling with rather aimless thoughts, words of worry and simply an agonising rush of fret. Though upon reaching the doors, my mind seems to calm down within the slightest. Upon my entrance, i slither my way through the crowds of sweating bodies, muttering a slur of "sorry"' & "excuse me"s along the way, though the energy within the space soon becoming overwhelming in the slightest.
Within seconds, the opening riff of "Slave" can be heard rumbling throughout the venue, a loud roar of screams soon following as the boys approach the stage. Perfect timing. A beam of multicoloured lights shed over the venue, flashing rather rapidly. The crowd begins jumping within the riff of Slave, though i remain motionless in pure awe. I truly forgot how electric the boys shows are, the pure magic receding within Dan's fingertips so beyond evident. I remain in a state of sombreness for the time being, only being pulled out of said state by Dan's vocals roaring throughout the venue. His eyes scatter over the crowd, seeming as though he's searching for a familiar face within a sea of foreign faces, though within seconds his gaze retracts towards his guitar.
"Thanks for all coming to the rock concert" Dan speaks, a tone of humour and sarcasm both present within his voice. "Uhm, this is a new song, its called Emotion Sickness" he continues, the crowd soon erupting into a fit of elevated screams. Within meer seconds, the sound surrounding the venue turns into a rather unfamiliar tune, met with unusual percussions and rather airy sounding instruments. "Erupt again, ignore the pill. And i wont let it show" Dan's eerily somber voice renders throughout the microphone, a feeling of goosebumps eroding onto my skin instantly. His words continue to spew out, though barely audible considering my state of pure astonishment. As i slowly begin to fathom the phrases leaving his lips, i soon notice the pure depth behind them, noticing its not exactly like their prior work. Each person surrounding me seems to be in a state of shock along with myself, some seamlessly stationary due to their state of pure astonishment. Everybody's eyes stay evidently glued to Dan, anticipating each and every word both entering and exiting his mouth.
As the song slowly reaches its climax, the crowd is left in total dismay, feeling as though they witnessed the birth of Christ in-front of their very eyes, some moved to the point of tears. Though as expected, Dan simply moves onto the next song, not truly realising how impactful his previous performance was. My mind remains bewildered throughout the next 5 minutes, openly still buzzing with thoughts from the previous song. God, that was absolutely fucking mind blowing.
Those very same emotions repeat themselves within the 4th song supposedly titled "Ana's Song", the lyrics somehow filled with more depth and emotion then the song prior, enough to form a swell of tears within the eyes of my own. I suppose its one of those uncomfortable and unfortunate feelings of not exactly being aware of the pure pain someone you love was facing and dealing with, and knowing you weren't there to support them within that period of time. It truly, honestly hurt, and i felt like a total dick to say the least. Though, before my negative thoughts could perpetuate any further, Dan soon begins on a small rant in regards to boy groups and so forth, seemingly assigning each member a role as a "chair" before another unfamiliar riff fills my ears, providing the same sense of sombreness as the previously unheard riffs antecedent. Once again, his eyes gaze over the crowd in search for something, though this time his search seems to be much more thorough then prior. Soon enough, his irises lock onto mine, a light smile grazing over his lips as he nods his head towards me as a sign of acknowledgment, seeing as though he cant exactly wave due to his hands being positioned within the fretboard of the guitar. "Millionaire say, "Got a big shot deal?" I've thrown it all away, but" he gingerly sings, removing his fixation from me. I focus onto the words leaving his mouth, seamlessly attempting to find some form of meaning, similar to the previous songs. "Make room for the prey, cause i'm comin' in with what I wanna say but, it's gonna hurt & I love the pain, a breeding ground for hate, but" he sings further, though focusing his gaze back towards me. His ocean blue globes seemingly burning a hole throughout my own, his stare rather intent and apprehensive as the song continues. I wonder why he didn't state the name of said new song prior to performing it as he did with the others, he mentioned the album was practically finished, so its not as if it's an unfinished song. Note to self, ask him about that later on in the night.
The night seemingly rolls to a close soon after, though only feeling as though its merely been minutes since the first song. Time really does fly when you're havin' fun, huh? 
I make my way over to the security guard rather leisurely, not wanting to attract any form of attention towards myself. "Uhm, i was told to come backstage after the show? My name should be on the list" i speak, though a sense of anxiety practically oozing from my voice. God, how fuckin' believable. "Name?" he simply questions, not bothering to make any form of eye contact. "Anita Hanjaab" i speak, anticipating the pure sheer of horror painted on the security guards face. "Yeah you're on, right this way" he speaks, seemingly showing zero reaction towards the name. What a fucking bore.
We rather hastily walk towards the corridors behind the stage, a heard of laughter followed by rather loud thuds soon being met as a bundle of complete nerves form within the pit of my stomach, my heart swiftly following suit. Im practically shitting myself to be totally transparent, its been so fucking long, the thought alone nearly scaring me enough to induce tears. Im soon transmitted out of my bubble of tension as Ben's extremely loud voice ruptures throughout my eardrums. "AYYYY, Shirls! Look at you, all grown up and shit!" He practically screeches. "You're a month younger then me, you dickhead" i respond, ruffling his rather short shed of dark locks in response. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Dan's just like, i dunno what he's doin', but he'll be here soon" he says, confusion laced within his voice as he wipes the remainder of sweat off his previously drenched forehead. "Dan was right, you got even prettier, by the way" he subtly flutters in typical, flirty Ben fashion. "Don't start that shit, ill tell your mum" I speak jest-fully, rolling my eyes in addition. "Nah uh, i'm a big boy now. Cant do shit!" he speaks, though your attention soon fades towards the voice seemingly entering the room. "Oh my god, its Anita Hanjaab. Can i have your autograph?" Dan speaks, a boisterous smile plastered along the length of his lips, though his voice sounding extremely mellow and delicate in comparison to Ben's well, harsh one. "Im glad your here, didn't think you were comin' for a second" he continues, pulling me in for a rather tight embrace. "Wouldn't miss it for the world" i respond, truly meaning my words. "You did real good by the way, like, genuinely really fucking good. Might of shed a little tear at one point" i continue further, unloading a sense of praise. "You reckon?" he softly speaks, somehow not truly aware of the sheer impact his prior performance made. I simply nod in response, seating myself on the very edge of the navy blue sofa conveniently placed within the centre of the space. "I really liked the new stuff, 'specially the last new one you did" i speak, curiosity evident within my tone. Though, my comment seems to humour Ben, a light snicker leaving his lips, seemingly undeliberately. Dan lightly strikes Ben's arm in retaliation, followed by a rather lengthy death glare, seemingly serving as a non verbal "Shut up". "What? Do yous not like it or somethin'?" i question, evidently confused by their rather odd reaction. Ben switches his gaze towards Dan, anticipating his very answer. "Nah nah, we like it, Ben's jus' being a dick" he responds, though his gaze still remaining rather bitterly on Ben. "Alright! Im goin' to find Chris" Ben speaks, oozing himself out of a rather bizarre situation, practically sprinting towards the doorframe located in between Dan and I. "You guys are weird" i say, notioning between Ben's odd exit, though a comic tone present within my voice. "Whats it called? I couldn't hear ya' say the name of the song" i furthermore question. "Its called uh, Miss You Love" he replies, fixating his gaze towards the ever so interesting carpet below him. "Miss You Love as in, Miss You, Love or Miss You Love?" i ask, changing my tone within each word. "Miss You Love" he retorts, turning his gaze back towards you. "Its about like... having no form of love in your life, or somethin'" he continues, though an odd prospect of doubt circulating his tone. "Ah, makes sense" i respond, the air soon feeling rather cumbersome and silent, the only motion being from Dan nodding his head. Though thankfully, Ben and Chris soon re-enter the room, their presence seemingly cutting the rather thorny tension with a knife. "Shirls! Good to see 'ya, mate" Chris speaks, approaching you with his arms wide open. "Hi Chris" i respond, engulfing myself within his frame. "How you been doin'? Been a while, huh?" he queries, though a tinge of concern laced within his voice. Chris was always like a brother figure to you, truly always having your back, as you did his. "Yeah yeah, i'm alright. Same old, same old" i speak, though not coming off the most convincing. "How 'bout you?" i continue, genuinely interested in how he's been. "Yeah alright, been doin' this stuff mostly, i guess" he states, motioning towards his bass stationed just near the corner of the room. "Oi Shirls c'mere, Dan wants to show ya' somethin'" Ben interrupts, motioning for me to make my way over to the pair. "What?" Dan whispers discreetly to Ben, not exactly sure what the fuck the boy is on about. "Just go along with it, yeah?" he whispers back, though Ben's whisper seemingly much more volumized in comparison to Dan's. "I fibbed, i just wanted to show ya' somethin'" Ben subjects, a smirk placed conveniently on his lips. "Play her the riff for Paint Pastel Princess, Johns. Y'know she'll like it" he speaks, seemingly attempting to convince Dan to do so. "Huh? Now?" he questions, his eyebrows placed in a confused state of furrow. Ben eagerly nods in response, not exactly aware of Dan's confusion. "Nah, ill show ya' another time. Don't have an amp in here or nothin'" Dan responds, giving Ben another odd look. "Oh, another time you say? Potentially tonight?" Ben rhetorically queries, though me and Dan gaze at each other in pure confusion, though sharing a similar knowledge that Ben is up to something, that something still unknown to the both of us. "What the fuck are you on about?" Dan asks, rubbing his eyes within the process. "You took the words right outta my mouth" i continue, showcasing the same sense of confusion. "Y'know, its real late and stuff, wouldn't want Shirls to walk home alone, late at night" Ben responds, nudging Dan with each enunciation of each word leaving his lips. "Im so fuckin' confused. How many cones have you smoked tonight?" I query, simply panning his odd behaviour to a use of cannabis, earning a small scoff erupting from Dan. "Oh for fuck sakes, you two are absolutely hopeless" he blurted, throwing each arm in the air out of pure defeat. "Im sayin' you, Shirls, should drive home with Dan, and stay the night at Dan's house, considering its oh so late" Ben explains rather slowly, practically praying you both understand what on earth he's hinting towards. I simply gape towards Ben with the widest eyes humanly possible, not daring to look in Dan's direction. "Fuck off" Dan jest-fully remarks towards Ben, though a hint of apprehension present within his tone. "I will fuck off, and leave you both with the question, will you? Or wont you?" Ben rhetorically questions as he slithers away rather dramatically towards Chris. "Is he genuinely on something? Or is he just being a weirdo?" I question, genuinely confused by whatever that was. "I dunno, he's jus' bein' a fuckwit" Dan rebuttals, anxiously pulling at both eyes simultaneously. "You uhm, you can come with me if ya' want, though. No pressure" He politely continues, though not wanting to push any boundaries between you both. My heart rate quickens rapidly in response, a swarm of butterflies overlapping within my stomach. Is it weird if i do say yes? God, nothings gonna happen regardless, it'll just be two old mates hanging out together like old times, right? "You tryna romance me, Johns?" i sarcastically remark, seeing as though any other response would prove I'm a total, utter, nervous wreck of a human being in this current moment. "Yeah of course, i'm practically the king of romancing, remember?" he speaks, mirroring your same tone of sarcasm. You scoff in response, though despite his sarcasm, there is a small truth to his statement. "Alright, cant say no to the king, can i?" i say, though my cheeks reddening in the slightest. "Nah you cant, its cause of my enthralling seduction skills" he speaks further, though zero emotion present within both his voice and face. "Oh yeah definitely, king of romancing, king of seduction, what a fuckin' catch!" i say. "Alright, m' tired, you ready to go?" He questions, his eyes soon appearing rather droopy & lifeless. "Uh huh, only if you are" i speak, lifting myself off the sofa, following up with a rather large stretch. "We're goin', ill see yous' later, yeah?" Dan speaks towards both Ben and Chris, picking up his keys within the process. "Together?" Ben suggests, wiggling his eyebrows together in a suggestive manner. "Yeah" he timidly responds, peering his gaze towards the walls. A propel of "Oooooooo"s soon follows, leading me to shake my head in response. "Fuck off, we're goin'. See you dickheads later" Dan responds, striving towards the door. "It was good seein' yous again, bye!" I howl, attempting to catch up to Dan in the process. "Don't forget, use protection and stay safe, kiddos!" Ben yells out in retaliation, though Dan and i simply shake our heads in unison, not bothering to respond. "M' sorry 'bout him" he speaks, genuinely concerned Ben's antics have made you uncomfortable. "Don't be, its all fun n' games, its all good" i reassure him, knowing how Ben can be at times. Instead of responding, he quickly sprints towards his car door, seemingly opening it for me to hop into. "Gotcha this time, huh?" he speaks, denoting to the fact that he opened the door for me this time, unlike your previous encounter. "Uh huh, in true King of Romancing fashion, too" i humorously reply. "Yeah, see? Told ya' i was" he says before making his way towards his door.
This'll be a rather interesting night to say the least...