Arabella || Luke Hemmings

Tour: Day 1

April 5, 1984 - Sydney

It was the first day of the Collide Tour.

And the first of five shows in Sydney.

A few of them had hope that their sleeping schedules would find regularity since they'd be in Australia all month. Their bodies would adjust somehow. Days were beginning to blend together through promo, meet and greets, soundchecks, rehearsals, and everything else.

"I think it would be cool to collaborate with Queen." Michael popped an M&M into his mouth as he sat backstage with both bands. "We should make it happen."

"Yeah, right." Luke scoffed at Michael. "I wouldn't dare try to have my vocals on the same track as god himself."

"I'm sure Freddie would take it easy on you." Calum offered.

"I'm gonna go grab something from the vending machine." Everyone nodded to Haze.

Haze made herself the odd ball of the conversation purposely. She really hated to sit in a room with a bunch of guys and pretend like she cared about what they were saying. Arabella always drifted off and did her own thing. Likely walking the grounds of the venue to become familiar with it so she wouldn't be as nervous when it came to the performance tonight.

Haze closed the door, startled by the person standing across the hall.

"Is that the 5SOS dressing room?" The girl asked. She had pastel purple hair that lied just passed her shoulders and flawless pale skin. Not many people looked like this girl and that caught Haze off-guard. The girl wore a backstage pass around her neck, letting Haze know it was okay for her to be lingering around since she wasn't a crazed fan. Or she hoped.

"Uh, yeah it is." Haze nodded, thumbing the change in her hand.

"Cool, thanks!" The girl gave Haze a smile before disappearing behind the door.

-

"Kosmic, you're on in six!" The tour manager shouted over the opening music number.

"Texas forever?" Loch signaled a group hug.

"Texas forever." The rest of Kosmic answered.

They ran out on stage, preparing their minds and instruments before the curtain was set to come down. The hour was rough. Nonstop energy meant they would either sleep good tonight or not sleep at all. It was always a surprise.

From the side of the stage, Luke watched Arabella's fingers gracefully trace the keys of her piano. She was so delicate, so mind-blowing when it came to her instrument. It made Luke want to go to the dressing room and perfect his guitar playing a hundred times over. He wanted to switch positions with Arabella and have her think the same thing about him. He wanted her to desperately see him in such a grand light. He watched each band member take their solos, each killing it, but Arabella really killed it in his opinion. She didn't need to try as everything about her was effortless. Many people believed she was born with the skill to have everything come naturally to her. There was perfection and then there was Arabella.

Arabella's eyes locked on Luke's for a few seconds. He felt like she was singing to him, but he knew better. She was probably looking right through him, he couldn't get his hopes up. He wondered how she didn't manage to work up a sweat under all the lights. She was a goddess of some sort, everything that should've happened to her never did. No one was that lucky, but she was.

Somewhere in Luke's trance he came back to reality, hearing Jax speak into his microphone, "Thank you, Sydney! You've been absolutely incredible!"