You And I: On Tour

Connor VII

After lunch, we had final checks and then we found ourselves with another hour to kill before the show. We considered going back to the hotel but one look outside told us we'd get mobbed by crazy fans if we tried so we headed back to the dressing room to relax. Troye had brought his tablet with him so we set it up on the coffee table and watched an episode of CSI to pass the time.

Of course, we didn't really end up watching much of it. Partly because people came in and out of the room, checking that we had our show clothes and would be ready for make-up when the time came. But also partly because we couldn't keep our hands off each other.

I was practically lying on top of Troye, cuddling into him as his fingers traced patterns up and down my back, under my shirt. I pressed the occasional kiss to his lips or some other place on his face.

"I wish we could stay like this all day." I said into his neck, just under his ear.

"Mm. That would be nice." He replied vaguely and I pulled back. He was staring at the TV.

"Troye?"

"Hm?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I'm just going over stuff for the show in my head." I nodded. I'd seen him do that before. He would kind of drift off into his own world, humming one song or another. I had no idea what he was actually thinking about but I didn't interrupt.

"Oh. Sorry." I lay back down, pressing my ear to his chest and listening to his heart beat.

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Instead of heading back to the dressing room after my part of the show, Troye asked me to stay in the wings and watch. I actually hadn't seen the end of the show yet so I hung around, watching with interest from the side of the stage, smiling or giving him a thumbs up whenever he glanced my way.

He finally got to the end of the second last song and paused for a moment. He looked over to someone on the other side of the stage. From where I was standing, I couldn't see who it was but I didn't mind. He was probably just triple checking the sound levels or something.

"You guys know this is my last show on this tour." He spoke to the crowd and there was a general hum of disappointment. "I know, I know. It's sad. But I have something a little special for you all tonight."

"Con." I spun around at the sound of my name to find Jim and Tanya behind me.

"What are you guys doing here? I thought you were up in the VIP area." I whispered to them.

"We'll explain later. Watch the show." I frowned but turned back to watch Troye.

"As you all know, I've had someone special with me on tour. We've had a lot of experiences together these last three months, some good. Some bad. But we've made memories we'll never forget." He looked at me from the corner of his eye. "Connor, come join me."

I was in shock. I couldn't move my feet so Jim gave me a push and I found myself walking across the stage to stand beside Troye.

"What's going on?" I asked quietly. He silenced me with a kiss, making the crowd cheer even more, if that was possible.

"This is a special night, you guys." He spoke to the crowd again, keeping one arm wrapped tightly around me. "You will be the second public crowd to hear this song. This song was written for Connor here. But I need some help with this one, so I've asked a few friends to help out."

"Wha-?" I looked over my shoulder to see all of our friends coming onto the stage, making a line behind us. Meanwhile, Troye took my hand and began to sing the homecoming song.

Just like that night so many months ago when he first sang it for me, I found tears in my eyes as he sang and our friends hummed the melody quietly behind us. The whole time, Troye stared into my eyes, so much love in his expression. 

When the song finally finished, Kayla stepped forward, handing him a small box. My heart started to beat at a million miles an hour as Troye took both my hands in his.

"Miami, you're about to see something special." He said and the crowd suddenly went silent. It was an eerie feeling, knowing there were literally thousands of people in the venue and yet you could hear a paper cup falling to the floor.

"Troye..." I murmured.

"Shh..." He began to bend down, kneeling on one knee. I didn't know if I could do this. Not in front of so many people.

"Troye..." I tried again, begging him to see that I wasn't okay. But he just smiled at me and gave my hands a squeeze.

"Connor, we've been dating for less than a year. To some, this is going too fast. For us, it's perfect. I knew that you were something special when I saw you in the hallway the day I got back to school last year. There was just something about the way you couldn't even look me in the eye. I still don't know what happened then, but honestly, I couldn't care less." He paused, looking up at me through his eyelashes. The tears in my eyes from the song had started to spill over and I pulled one of my hands free to wipe them away. "This isn't a proposal. This is a promise. A promise to love you for as long as you want me."

"I..." I didn't know what to say as he opened the little box in his hand to reveal a plain silver ring with the words 'Love, Troye' engraved on the inside.

"I know we've had a rough time recently but it only made me realise how much I truly love you. And how much I want to be with you. Connor Franta, will you wear this promise ring?"