All I Know | Bojan Cvjetićanin

13. Fever Dream

Eva's POV

The main problem I had with flights were the endless delays. I finally arrived at Ljubljana Airport at a quarter to nine. I was supposed to be here two and a half days ago, and my plans were looking fucked. I was supposed to drop off my baggage at my hotel and then go to the gig, where I was supposed to be before Joker Out would go on stage. Even if I left for the gig straight away, I doubted if I was going to make it there before the guys would go on stage.

I switched my phone off airplane mode and instantly, the messages came flooding in. Instantly, I opened the ones from Bojan. There were ...a lot. Understandably so, it was close to noon in LA, and I wasn't exactly the person to sleep in that long. Still, I had to somehow come up with an excuse not to call him. I quickly texted him back. 

20:49
Heya, I totally overslept! Hopefully you're getting a quick nap in as well. I cannot wait to hear all about the tour. I gotta rush to a meeting with some label execs, let's call tomorrow? 

I didn't feel good about lying, or blowing him off, especially when I heard my phone ring just a moment after I sent the text. I couldn't do anything but let it ring, even though it made me feel like my stomach was turning inside out. Picking up meant ruining my surprise, which wouldn't be the end of the world, but I've come so far, that an hour or two more couldn't hurt, right? I likely wasn't gonna make it to the start of the gig anyway. Wouldn't it be worse knowing I was in Slovenia and then having to go on stage not knowing when I would arrive? Yeah... ignoring the call would be best for now, no matter how uncomfortable it made me feel. I could just text him in a few that I was in the shower, and hope that he'd forgive me for lying when I showed up at his gig. 

I quickly followed up with opening the texts from Kris, who had texted about my delayed flight. I quickly texted him back that I landed and that I'd call the crew member the moment I was off the plane and had some privacy.

I ended up being one of the first people off the plane and walked towards an empty gate to call the crew member that Kris had referred me to to check if I could bring my bags, two suitcases and a guitar case, to the venue, and if we could fit them in the van that was supposed to take us all home, and me to my hotel, after the gig ended. The suitcases weren't going to be an issue, but once the gig started, the crew needed to do their job so they couldn't help with getting me and my bags into the dressing room. Thankfully Nace had invited his brother to come watch, who could be invited in on our little scheme. So everything seemed to be well prepared for my arrival. I thanked him again and promised to text him my ETA once I was in a taxi.

After hanging up I made my way to the baggage claim, while waiting there I texted Bojan again, apologising for not answering the call, that I was in a rush, and I was in an Uber on my way to the label now, but I had all the time in the world after the meeting and tomorrow. Within seconds he replied back, asking how long the meeting would take and that he'd love to call after the concert. I couldn't help but wonder if there was something going on. I knew Bojan could be glued to his phone at some times, but I felt like in situations like these, right before a gig, he would be his hyperactive ubersocial self. Additionally,  the two of us had texted daily the last few days, and he hadn't texted with this frequency before. Maybe he did just want to call. We hadn't called as much as I had assumed we would. And I really wanted to see him too, only I knew that it was going to happen sooner rather than later.

I had to wait for my suitcases for another taxing forty minutes, but thankfully I found myself a taxi to take me to the venue the moment I was outside of the airport. At least not everything was working against me right now.

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Carrying three large bags into a backstage area wasn't the easiest task on hand, but after getting my backstage access wristband, Nace's brother, who introduced himself as Luka, was waiting behind the festival barriers and helped carry the suitcases to one of the vans where they could be stored securely. "Thank you, you're a lifesaver." I smiled and gave him a quick hug.

"Of course, it was no trouble at all. Let's go to the stage. They haven't been playing too long." He replied and rested his hand on the small of my back, guiding me to our position backstage.

Soon enough the two of us were side stage, I was positioned slightly behind Luka, just so Bojan wouldn't notice me when he glanced in this direction. I still had a pretty good view of the stage. My eyes instantly fell on Bojan, who was in the middle of singing Metulji, which was one of my favourite songs. I've always had a thing for the dramatic ballads, either in English or Slovene apparently. It was hard to keep my eyes off him. I had seen him in the studio, and seen clips of earlier performances online, but it was so different to see it live. He looked so in his element, like he belonged there.

I only snapped out of staring when the song ended and two crew members ran on stage to switch Kris' guitar and give Bojan one before returning to the other side of the stage. The shorter one with the dark hair waved from the other side of the stage after getting back. "Who's that?" I asked Luka. Maybe it was the crew member I'd been calling with before.

"Maks" Okay, definitely not my phone contact. I didn't remember his name, it was a Slovenian one I never heard before, but it started with an A. "Kris' little brother."

My jaw literally dropped when Luka mentioned that was Maks. I last saw Maks when he was what? Eight? Maybe nine? He was just a child. It had already been hard to believe Kris was now a full grown adult, but it was so much harder with Maks. I waved back, already looking forward to seeing him once the show ended.

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Being side stage at Bojan's concert for the first time was an experience I was never going to forget. The way he was interacting with the guys, with the crowd, the way his voice sounded live, it was truly magical. My favourite part was definitely the end of the show, when the boys all sat together at the edge of the stage and sang Novi Val. Bojan had one arm around Nace, the other one around Jure, and his head rested on Nace's shoulder for the entirety of the song. It was such a cute sight, especially compared to how I knew them to be when they were drunk.

They ended the show with Carpe Diem. One last high energy blast before the show ended. The boys took one last bow in front of the crowd before they all headed in mine and Luka's direction. Bojan was in front, and I couldn't wait for him to realise I had been here all along. Our eyes met, I could feel my smile grow. I was about to run up to him to finally hug him after all this time. But before I had the chance, Bojan looked away and continued to walk in the direction of their dressing room, saying something in Slovene to Jure, who was following closely behind Bojan.

I stood there in defeat. It was like I was frozen in place. I didn't have the slightest clue what was going on. That was until I felt Luka's hand on my arm. "He said he was having a fever dream." He said quietly and nudged me in the direction of the dressing room. "Go." I didn't think, all I could do was run, run as hard as I possibly could. I needed to know what was wrong. What was going through his mind... why he ignored me just like that...

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A/N

Sorry it took so long for an update, my laptop was out for repairs, but I managed to write some more on my phone. 

Thank you for reading everyone! 

Also has everyone recovered from the Stožice content just yet?!?!