Choices | calum hood & luke hemmings ✔️

twenty-eight

alexandra

"Cannot believe how good it is to be back." I lay on my back on the newly set-up stage and amaze at the lights above me. They were like those stars that shined bright in the night and made your dreams come true. For sure, this felt like a dream because I never thought I would get back on my feet again.

"Orange you glad you survived rehearsal yesterday?" Madi cracks a pun and sits next to me while peeling a small clementine. I break into a fit of laughter while mentally asking myself why I am friends with her.

"Hey, you are the one that makes it so difficult." I mention the hell that the bands and I went through. She simply shrugs and plops a slice of the fruit in her mouth. We relax in silence and take in the mass amount of seats in several levels around us.

I remember being the one in those rows of seating to see my musical idols. A few of my favorite concerts that I went to were in this venue. All of the camera lights that came from other fans around me at the time gave me chills. It was unreal how someone that I looked up to was right in front of me.

A loud voice coming from the intercom makes me jump out of my nostalgia.

Five minutes until soundcheck.

I stand up to look down at my bandmate still clutching her chest. "That scared the living hell out of me." I chuckle and give her my hand to help her up off the ground. She mumbles something about the stage being a little dusty while patting her pants off. We walked behind the curtains to see our tech crew setting everything up and I bump into Calum holding one of his bass guitars.

"I am so sorry." I apologize and receive a smile in return. He told me not to worry but I drop my eyes to my shoes in embarrassment.

"Are you ready for tonight?" He begins the conversation and notices me staring at the instrument in his hands. "You can go play it, if you'd like." I can tell my eyes light up by the grin on his face.

"You don't mind?" I ask cautiously and he gives it to me carefully. Caught by surprise how heavy it is, Cal grabs me by my upper arms so I can brace myself. When I steady my balance, he lets go and chuckles.

"Of course not, go ahead sweetheart." I smile as he realizes what he called me and looks at me blankly; not knowing what to else to say. Someone shouts my name and I turn to look in that direction, but there's no one there. Deciding it's probably a sign that I'm late, I bid a goodbye to Calum.

"I better go out there, before they kick my butt for not being on time." I back away to the spot I laid down moments ago and I breathlessly stand behind the microphone. The girls around me look in my direction with question.

"Is this alright with your doctor?" Concern hangs in the air as I grip the bass in doubt. This is a mistake. Maybe I can't do this.

"I'm sure it is alright, since soundcheck is not that long." Calum walks out to defend me and I shuffle my feet nervously. He places a soft hand on my tense shoulder and assures me, "I will be right here if you don't feel right." He takes a seat on the metal crate next to my mic stand and I smile gratefully down at him.

"Are you guys ready or not?"

I lift my thumb up in the air to answer our main tech guy, but then I notice that I forgot my pick and I look helplessly around to find one. Cal holds his hand up to reveal a red one in the middle of his palm. I mouth a thank you, before squeezing it between my index finger and thumb.

"Start us off, Andy." I say to our drummer and I smile at the sound of the familiar beat. I begin to strum and my insides melt at how I finally am able to play this piece of beauty in my arms. With my weight fully on my left leg, I had nothing to worry about but only the wonderful sound of our band working together.