Langour ・❥・Joost Klein・❥・

3.

Just like Air, Club Up was packed.

The show was minutes from starting and everyone was grabbing their drinks before heading to the stage. With the music pumping and lights flashing, Club Up vibrated with the intense base and music. Bartenders rushed from end to end with bottles and glasses in hand. Card machines were passed around and people pushed their way out of the queue to the dancefloor.

Thankfully, Fenne and Hanna had prepared before they arrived. They were four drinks in and buzzed. They had secured themselves a single drink each that would last them for a little while, meaning they could be at the stage for longer. They wouldn't need to push through the crowd to make it to the bar.

Fenne's dark blue mini dress had a Y2K style with one hem longer than the other, while Hanna was in an ankle-length tight dress. Both in Doc Martens, the two made their way towards the stage to get a good spot on the dancefloor.

'Did you listen to some of his stuff?!' Fenne held Hanna's shoulder to lean into her ear.

'Only a few songs! They're a bit silly for my taste!'

Silly? Fenne thought to herself. With dolphin noises and telling a bitch to 'suck his dick', some of Joost Klein's songs could be classed as satire. But there were songs that Fenne had heard that were far deeper in meaning. If they weren't in a club, Fenne would have pulled out her phone to show her friend some of his lesser known songs.

As the flashing lights paused, and the rush of people hit the dancefloor, Fenne was surprised to find herself nervous. All week, she had been thinking of the times where she had seen Joost Klein. She was able pull some of the instances at school from the corners of her brain, like when a basketball hit one of her friends in the back of the head, and one of Joost's friends rushed over with wide eyes.

'I'm so sorry, Angela-'

'It's fine, Apson.'

Fenne remembered looking past the commotion to see Stuntje and Joost on the basketball court. They had paused their game at the loss of a player, and in turn, looked in Fenne's direction with wide eyes.

But these memories weren't enough to explain her sudden interest in the boy. As she and Hanna were solidified to their spot in the crowd, Fenne put one hand to her chest to feel her pounding heart. She felt like she was going to burst from her nerves, and she hadn't felt like that in a long time. Not from a boy, anyway.

'His name is small!'

The familiar English lyrics sounded as the melody for Droom Groot played. Screams sounded and people threw their hands up in excitement. Phones were recording the dark stage and Fenne tried to peer to the curtains, where Joost would soon emerge.

'But his dreams are big!'

Just like last week, Joost Klein ran out from backstage and started singing to the high-pitched chorus. The lights flashed him in blue and white, lighting up his graphic sweatpants and polo shirt.

He leaned close to the crowd and held his hand out to give out highfives. He held the microphone close to his mouth, but Fenne could see that he was dawning his wide grin. With arms flying into the air and legs kicking to the beat, Joost gave another energetic and impressive performance.

'My drink is gone! Like, actually gone!'

Hanna's cry made Fenne turn to see her vodka raspberry all down the front of her dress. With her arms spread wide and her jaw hanging open, Hanna glared at the group of boys next to her that jumped around without a care.

Fenne didn't need the story and put one hand to her lips to cover her laugh. The sticky redness covered Hanna's legs, and Fenne wondered if she was about to witness a murder. But as Hanna turned to the group, and grabbed onto one of their shirt sleeves, Fenne watched as one of the boys disappeared to get her another drink.