spotlight :: malum

: fifty five :

There's energy all around him, he can feel it bouncing off the walls and ricocheting through every person in the stadium. The life surrounding him was almost too much, his set was nearly over yet he wanted to stay on stage forever, to bask in the moment as every fan sings along to every song he plays. His whole soul is overwhelmed with appreciation and he can't help but keep smiling.

He had just wrapped up Amnesia around the same time he left for an encore, taking that small break to drink water and have Tiffany fix his hair for the umpteenth time because apparently it can't frizz or else she freaks. There's only a few songs left, he's shaking and trembling but in a good way at the same time he ambles back onto the stage, adjusting his ear pieces as he scans the crowd, he sees Michael and his whole face lights up.

They were trying to keep it subtle with their communication, it's not like they're pretending not to know each other however Calum needs to focus on the fans too. He snuck glances to him in between songs which probably didn't go unnoticed, deep down he hoped they weren't. He wants people to see how happy he gets around him, he loves Michael.

Shaking his head at his thoughts he keeps smiling at the boy standing in front of him below the stage, practically front row as he stayed close to a security guard with Tiffany. The maori cleared his throat, "Can you come up here?" His voice echoes off the speakers and for a moment he thinks Michael has gone deaf because all the boy does is gape at him and stare, he must've heard him wrong, maybe he wasn't listening.

"Babe, come here." He waves him up onto the stage to which the red haired boy shook his head vigorously, the fans screamed and shrieked at the nickname and connected the dots at who their idol had been talking to. Michael's lips mouth a timid no that only makes his boyfriend irk him further.

The crowd is screaming and full of adrenaline hearing the pet name, the fans in the front row behind Michael are telling him to go and a girl looks just about ready to cry when he starts moving, her phone in her hand recording him to add to the pressure. So many phones are out. So many eyes are on him and he can't dare himself to look at the audience as he boosts himself onto the stage with some help from the guards.

Calum is nervous. A new look on his face as he holds his hand out to help the boy stand and it's obvious in his face that he's about to do something out of the blue and the red haired boy is going to pass out, he's sure of it. It's not like he's gonna propose but the intensity of the setting combined with the thousands upon thousands upon millions of people who are going to see what he's about to do whether in real life or online sends his body into autopilot and he's moving closer to the maori without thinking.

"Do you need headphones?" Calum mouths the words to him as he starts to cup hands over his ears, the screams are loud and deafening, even more so when you stand on the stage that they're directed at. The redhead shakes his head no at the same time he studies how the famous boy pulls him into his embrace, chests pressed against one another, eyes met and locked in a stare.

"Do you know why you're up here?" The maori is holding him gently, the microphone in his hand being held in the middle of them to pick up their conversation. He can feel the energy in the room thicken and the air is so hot right now under the lights, Michael smiles, "No, I'm nervous." He snuck a glance at the crowd but that only made him quickly avert his eyes back to Calum because over twenty thousand people are looking at him, that's over forty thousand eyes.

The brunette gives a warm smile, soft cheeks and bright teeth aimed to the boy across from him. "Don't be."

He's drowned out the noise of fans, he tore them away from his peripheral vision, all he sees is Michael. The red fringe he has that's all messy on purpose, the way he's smiling up at him even though he can see stage fright swarming in his eyes, the blush on the apples of his cheeks, and the way his hands nervously went to his sides because he doesn't know what to do with them.