Behind the Mic (Liam Payne fanfic)

Chapter Three

     I made my way to the main office to see where they needed me. I had helped with my theatre and TV groups in high school regarding their technical issues, and when I was a kid, my dad made sound systems around our house and would fix any tech issues himself. Because of my experience, I was pretty handy backstage, especially when something went unexpectedly wrong. I wasn't sure where I was needed tonight during One Direction's performance, so I had to find someone higher up than me and ask. If I'm not needed, maybe I'll sneak in anyway and watch the show...

     I weaseled through a couple people and stood by the desk of Mr. Roberts. He was on the phone, trying to keep his voice down but obviously very agitated. I looked away awkwardly, trying not to pay attention to his hushed and private words. After a minute or two, he cleared his throat and put the phone down. 

     "Hello, Rose," he turned to me. "What do you need?"

     "Hi, I know you said all hands on deck, but I was wondering where specifically you'll need me?"
     "Oh, yes, you," he turned to his computer to check the schedule and turned back to me with a fake smile on his face. "Lucky you, Rose, you get to mic the boys and edit their earbuds, and make sure they have a balanced sound. Keep their levels even so the whole auditorium can hear them, and they can hear the band over the screams. I've heard they're pretty particular about their levels, so good luck." He chuckled at me.
     "Thank you, sir," I said, trying not to sound too excited. "I'll make sure Liam--the band is happy." He raised an eyebrow at me, making a suggestive face.
     "Rose, do you like this band?" I shook my head. "You seem all too eager to help them out."
     "I do like their music, and I respect them," I said honestly. "But I'm not a huge fan. Besides, I've seen other artists here that I like a lot more, and I've been totally professional. You don't have to worry about me tonight, Mr. Roberts." He nodded and grumbled a sound of affirmation and waved his hand for me to leave. I thanked him again and left the office. On my way out, I heard some of the box office bitches snicker at me. I simply smiled at them and ignored whatever bullshit they were spouting out. They loved to gossip and make fun of me, but I genuinely didn't care what they thought of me. The way I see it, I'm here to make money, not friends.
     I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and looked at the time. 5:13 pm. I still had about half an hour before I needed to be backstage and micing the band, and I was hungry. I hadn't eaten since before my fight with Riley earlier today. Riley. I winced as a pain shot through my heart. I thought I loved him, and he goes and cheats on me, with my sister, of all people... I shook my head to try to shake off the pain. There was nothing I could do to fix the situation, I just needed to bare it and move on. An idea came up in my head and I thought, that could be either really good or a catastrophe. Let's do it.
     When I entered the booth again, Brandon instantly turned around and smiled brightly at me. He held a finger up and I waited as he made a few more clicks and finished whatever lighting cues he needed to finish. He turned to me. 
     "What's up, Rose?" he asked, as always, in a cheery voice. I smiled at him.
     "We've got a little under a half hour till we need to be here for sound check, want to go get something quick to eat?" He immediately perked up.
     "I'd love to! Let me just save what I've changed..." He turned back to the computer and pressed save and turned the system off. The lights on the stage turned off and the house lights went back on. Brandon stood up and made his way over to the lights of the booth and looked at my cue. "Let's go." We smiled at each other and he turned the lights off as I walked out. He closed and locked the door behind him. "Where were you thinking?"
     "There's a Jack in the Box about ten minutes away, we can make it there and back in time, if we hurry," I said, pulling out my phone to call an Uber.
     "That sounds great!" Brandon and I quickly walked out of the backstage area and down towards the front of the building.
     Thankfully, the Uber showed up right away. We climbed in and gave the driver the directions. As we buckled and settled in, I realized how close Brandon's hand was to mine. Should I go for it? Before I could decide, he took my hand in his, casually, without much thought. He knew I had a boyfriend, didn't he? But we were over. Maybe asking him to dinner was a bad idea. I started to regret this. He squeezed my hand and I looked over at him.
     "You okay, Rose?" He had concern in his eyes and confusion on his face. His eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth turned down in a frown. I didn't like seeing that. I let go of his hand to put my hand on his face.
     "You're too pretty to frown," I said. He laughed and brought his hand up to meet mine.
     "I'm a man, I shouldn't be pretty," he said in a mocking voice. "I should be handsome and strong." We laughed lightly, knowing we both hate stereotypical gender roles. It's something we bonded originally in. Our hands stayed intertwined but were brought back down to rest on the seat in between us. "Thank you." I smiled at him. 
     "I broke up with Riley," I blurted out. His eyebrows shot up in surprise.
     "Can I ask why?" I bit my lip nervously. It wasn't that I didn't trust Brandon, but Riley preferring my sister over me was a bit embarrassing. "You don't have to, Rose. I respect your privacy if you wish to keep it."
     "He cheated on me," I said. He made a face of disgust. I took a deep breath. "With my sister."
     "What an asshole!" the driver said. We turned to her and she looked at us through the rear view mirror sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude."
     "She's right," Brandon said, turning to me and squeezing my hand comfortingly. "That's a huge dick move, you deserve someone much better than him."
     "Thanks, Brandon," I smiled gratefully at him. The rest of the ride was a comfortable silence, until the driver said we'd arrived. I leaned forward so the driver could hear me clearly. "We're only getting food and need to be driven back to the Hollywood Bowl, do you mind waiting? It shouldn't take long at all."
     "No, not at all," she responded kindly. "I'll just go park." We thanked her and got out of the car. She drove off as Brandon and I walked inside the Jack in the Box, hand in hand. 

     After we had ordered and were back in the car, it was nearly 5:40. I asked the driver politely to step on it, and she did. Brandon was very nervous about getting back in time, but I assured him I would take full credit if we got in any kind of trouble, which no, Brandon, of course we wouldn't, we're going to make it in time. I quietly sipped at my milkshake as the driver casually switched through radio stations until I heard a familiar voice from the speakers.
     "Wait, can you go back?" I asked her, referring to the station she just passed. She went back to the one I wanted and I smiled as Liam's solo from Story of My Life echoed lightly through the car. Brandon rolled his eyes at me as I fake swooned, like I had seen teen girls do at the many concerts I helped with. 
     "You're excited for tonight, aren't you?" He asked me, trying but failing to hold back a laugh. I nodded enthusiastically. "I thought you weren't a huge fan?"
     "I'm not, I do like their music, and I'm infatuated with Liam Payne," I explained. "But I promise, I'm not a huge fangirl! I don't obsess over them." 
     "Well, you'll be able to meet them tonight," He said, happy for me. I opened my mouth to make a smart comment about already meeting two of the five, but quickly closed it, remembering my promise to both of them. Instead I just stated that yes, I was excited, but more so to hear them than meet them. He chuckled at me, and looked out the window in confusion. "What's with the crowd?" I looked out his window, too, to get a better look. The front doors of the Hollywood Bowl were covered with people. Mainly, teenage girls. I raised an eyebrow. Maybe someone leaked that the boys were already there. 
     "You can just drop us off here," I told the driver. She gratefully complied, not wanting to try to drive around the crowd. I pulled out my phone as Brandon and I got out of the car, ready to give this driver four stars and pay for the ride. He lead me walking as I was on my phone so I didn't trip and break my neck. He handed me my bag of food when I had my hands free. I thanked him and turned my attention to the crowd. 
     "Back entrance?" Brandon suggested. I agreed, because I didn't see another way into the building without getting our food and probably wallets stolen in the crowd of rowdy, hormonal teen girls. We sneaked our way to the back of the building, careful as to not show the crowd there was another way to get in. We closed the door behind us and I checked the time on my phone. 5:49. "Shit, Rose, we're late! You said we wouldn't be late!" He started to rush away towards the booth, but then stopped and came back to me. He kissed me lightly on the cheek and smiled. "Thank you for sitting in a car with me to go get nourishment for our all too dependent bodies." I giggled at him.
     "You're welcome, and thanks for coming with me," He waved at me and ran towards his station to get ready for the show in nearly two hours. I stood there for a minute, and brought my hand up to my cheek where he kissed me, so lightly. I didn't want to use him as a rebound, but I wondered if my feelings for him were genuine enough to continue or simply just me projecting my pain into something else. I shook my head and made my way to where I needed to be. I'll think about Brandon later, after I finished feeling up the biggest boy band in the world.

(a/n: i was looking up restaurants around the hollywood bowl and realized that it's an outside venue, so let's just act as though it's not. oops.)