Moving In With The McDonoughs (a Before You Exit Fanfiction)

Chapter 28

Connor's POV: 

I just couldn't belive how many people showed up at our concerts! I... Or should I say ALL of Before You Exit felt so blessed to have such an AMAZING fanbase! We had just getting ready for our FIRST big and proper concert in New York and I had to admit, even after doing so many gigs all over America, I was pretty nervous! The day had just started and Riley, Toby and I were getting dressed for our concert and there wasn't much talking going on in our hotel room. As you could've guessed, we three were in one room, Braiden and Thomas shared one and there were seperate rooms for all the parents. Toby was listening to his iPod and dancing around the room while Riley was outside in the balcony, staring quietly at the view and I picked up my guitar and started plucking some random chords. We may be brothers but had VERY different ways of relaxing ourselves. Toby liked watching a movie and laughing his nerves away or listen to music (other than our own) and belt out the lyrics, whereas, Riley prefered being left on his own till the time of the concert and I prefered playing my guitar, which helped A LOT in calming me down. 

After a while, Mom and Dad came to our room and told us it was time. We glanced at each other and headed out, meeting Braiden and Thomas and their parents in the hotel lobby. We heade to our cars and drove to the New York City Center. That place was bigger than I thought! (A/N: I havent actually been there so forgive me for giving details!) I couldn't help but widen my eyes at the number of seats. This really wasn't helping my nerves! To prevent my nerves from getting the best of me, I headed backstage and occupied myself in helping with the instruments. 

"You ready, Braiden?" I asked him as I sat with him and practiced some of our songs on the guitar. He took in a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah. This's the real deal, huh?" he said, chuckling slightly but I saw a certain shine in his eyes when he spoke, showing that he was more excited than nervous. I smiled.

"You bet, man!" I replied and we exchanged grins. 

"Are YOU ready, Connor?" Thomas said from behind me. I turned and nodded at him. 

"Yeah, I guess. And you?" I asked. He smiled and nodded.

"Heck yeah!" he said, making me laugh.

"Heck yeah what?" Toby asked, swinging his arm around Thomas's shoulders.

"Heck yeah, I'm ready for the show. And you, Tobs?" Thomas asked.

"HECK YEAH!" he shouted. 

"Toby mind your language!" Dad shouted from not far. Toby's eyes grew wide.

"Woops!" he muttered and we all started laughing. 

"Whats so funny?" Riley asked, joining us after he helped with the mics. We all looked at each other.

"Nothing!" we four replied in unison. Riley shrugged. 

"Okay," he said. I couldnt help but think of Haley when we spoke in unison. Despite having so much stuff to do, I wondered every single day what she was doing, where she had been allocated to, what were the people she lived with like but most of all? If she still remembered us. I shook away the thoughts.

"So, everything set?" I asked my fellow band members. They nodded. I checked the time and it said 4:15 pm. The concert started at 5. I could already hear people filing in the center and girls squealing in excitement. We then seperated and walked around backstage. After a while, a backstage crew member gathered us all and brought us to one place.

"Alright boys, 15 minutes to go," he informed us and we all nodded. He then left and we glanced at each other. 

"This is it," Riley muttered. I nodded. 

"Alright BYE, huddle up!" I announced and we huddled together and bowed our heads down, praying that the concert went well and told each other how important each one of us was to the group. 

"Team on three," Thomas announced.

"One, two, three... TEAM!" We shouted and broke out of the huddle. We could tell that the place was jam packed just by the sounds coming from the audience. We took our positions and I took a deep breath before the final countdown began. 

"Here we go, guys. In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..."

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