Happier (Unexpected) | Dacre Montgomery COMPLETED

006. Benefit - IRL/Instagram/Article

IRL

A few weeks had passed since Joe and Dacre visited and I felt closer than ever to them and the rest of the cast. I had a benefit concert planned and I invited them all. It would be my big way of sort of giving people a hit of why I'd left for so long. I was holding a concert and meet and greet for Project HEAL. I started planning it a little before the boys had visited, and started sending out invites and selling tickets shortly after they left. Taylor, Ellie, Niall Horan and a few other people had volunteered to perform as well, making tickets sell out very, very quickly.

The date had come, and I was stressed. We were a little bit over an hour away from starting the concert. We'd just concluded the meet and greet portion, and although it was fun, having to run the show was a lot, and i was really scared that something would end up going wrong and that the event would be a failure and that I wouldn't be able to help the foundation in the way that I wanted to. Ellie was really my rock throughout all of that. She helped me make sure that everything ran smoothly and that the fans were happy while I focused on making sure that the performances ran smoothly and that the people who had volunteered their time were doing well too.

"Ava," Ellie called out. I hid my stress by plastering a smile on my face before turning to her. "I have some people here that would really like to meet you." I looked down at my watch. I was a little crunched for time.

"Can it maybe wait until after I get off stage?" I asked her, "Niall's almost done and I need to get up there to introduce the next act."

"They've all come from pretty far," She said, "I'll introduce the next few people, yeah? It's really important to them."

"You're an angel," I smiled, "bring them on in." The smiled back and pulled back the door, allowing people to file in. My jaw dropped instantly. Standing there was the whole cast of Stranger Things. They all laughed at my reaction and went to hug me. I knew Finn was coming and we'd been in close contact since he was going to be one of the people performing, but I hadn't seen him in person yet.

I got to hang out with them and show them around for a while before it was finally my turn to get on stage. That was a whole anxiety attack on it's own. It was my first time getting back on stage and performing, and I was just scared that I'd mess up or make a fool out of myself in some way.

Everything ended up being just fine. I did end up messing up and coming in a little late on one of my songs, but no one was mean about it and I recovered just fine from it. Everyone was really supportive, and I was just happy to be there and to have been behind putting together something that was going to be beneficial to so many people. Ellie and Taylor had agreed to helping me with the rest of the night after I got off stage so that I could enjoy a little bit of the night too.

I did just that. When I got off stage, I found some of my friends and the other performers, thanking them for going and being a part of the event, and then I hung out on the side of the stage. No one was really there except for a security guard that was making sure no one snuck backstage. I smiled to myself as I turned to the audience and saw how happy the attendees looked.

"Hey, stranger," an accented voice said from behind me. I turned around and smiled wider when I saw Dacre standing there.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, "Are you enjoying the show?"

"Oh, totally," he answered, "although I do have one complaint." My face fell and I gave him a confused look. "I was promised more one on one time with some singer named Ava Elizabeth, and I've gotten very little of that," he said.

"You're such a goof," I laughed, "You actually scared me there for a moment."

"Sorry, sorry," he chuckled, "but I'm serious, I thought I'd get to hang out with you a little more."