Disco Sucks || niam || au.

iii. niall

It was five thirty, Friday afternoon. The bar was starting to fill up, each person adding another layer of stress.

Ashton was sitting at the drums, nervously looking out into the crowd of people.

Harry was aimlessly plucking strings on his guitar, giving him something to do.

We went with a more casual look, a T-shirt, jeans, and maybe a pair of adidas or something.

I waited for the boy in charge to come up and introduce the band.

The other band came out from the other room, and into the back corner of the room, the darkest part of the bar.

"Ahem," the young lad started, "our first band is on the stage."

Several people in the room clapped, a few whistles as well.

"As some of you know, I am Louis Tomlinson, the new owner of this bar."

A chorus of 'yeah!'s and men lifting their glasses at his comment.

The main light in the room was focused on Louis as he spoke.

I watched Harry's eyes wander over to Louis, who was still going on about the bar.

Glancing back, Ashton was trying to get a good look at the band, which was difficult to do, due to the lack of lighting in this place.

I turned one of the knobs, tightening the string on my guitar.

After what felt like ages, Louis peeked at us, then saying, "Up on stage is our first band tonight, by the name of Skinney!"

A few claps came from the crowd, but none from the band in the back.

Rude.

Harry sighed, probably wishing for more applause. I don't blame him, though. We weren't very popular, and I believe the other band has played several more gigs than us.

Ashton and Harry met me on holiday in Ireland, and we clicked instantly.

Almost instantly.

It was hard to make time to practice. But now that we're eighteen, and out of secondary school, the three of us moved to London, and share a flat.

Which was nice, because Ireland was horrible and not my favourite place in the world.

"Over here, in the grey shirt, is..."

"Niall." I said, fingers still clutching the neck of my guitar.

"No need to be embarrassed, mate."

I raised my eyebrow, then lifting a hand to my cheek.

I was blushing.

Looking at my black Chucks, I heard Harry speak up.

"I'm Harry."

"Aren't you quite the looker, Harry?"

The crowd laughed, triggering a toothy grin upon Harry's face.

Shaking my head, Ashton introduced himself.

"And I'm Ashton."

I saw Michael standing towards the front, giving me a thumbs up. He turned around and jogged to the back, where the other band was.

"The floor is yours."

I cleared my throat and began playing the intro.

Harry joined in soon, and I took a deep breath.

"Every time that I look in the mirror

All these lines on my face getting clearer

The past is gone

It went by like dusk to dawn

Isn't that the way

Everybody's got their dues in life to pay"

I knew Ashton couldn't wait until the song sped up.

"Yeah, I know nobody knows

Where it comes and where it goes

I know it's everybody's sin

You got to lose to know how to win"

My breathing slowed down, and I knew my nerves were disappearing.

"Half my life's in books' written pages

Live and learn from fools and from sages

You know it's true

All the things you do, come back to you

Sing with me, sing for the year

Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear

Sing with me, if it's just for today

Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away"

We kept on, guitar feeling weightless upon me.

Performing was one of the greatest feelings, ever.

The song went on for another couple minutes, mainly repeating chorus.

Towards the end of the song, I noticed the band in the back stood up, instruments in hand.

There was a boy, blonde hair and blue eyes, following in the back. He held his jet black guitar in his hands, one similar to my own. In front of him, was another boy. He had dark hair and dark eyes, and like his band mate, held a bass in his grip.

Another boy, similar hair and eye colour to the one behind him, held drumsticks in one hand, and a blonde-haired girl's hand in the other.

They clung together, as if it were their last day.

Leading the boys, was a much taller lad, a brunette, with matching eyes.

There was no instrument in his hands, so I assumed he was the singer.

I pat Harry on the back, and enveloped the duo in a warm hug.

"Nice job, lads. Let's go take a seat in the front, yeah?"

Ashton whimpered, "Why not the back? The other band did..."

"If the other band jumped off of a cliff, would you?"

He grumbled and grabbed his sticks, making his way off of the stage.

Harry and I followed closely, then taking a seat.

The other band filed onto the stage, each going to their respective spots.

"Our last band of the night, is called Out of Sight. Let's give them a warm welcome."

Harry began to clap, but Ashton slapped his hands.

"They didn't clap for us, Haz."

He groaned and shifted in his seat.

"We've had Out of Sight play in our bar before, but never for a competition. It's going to be tough. The lead singer is Liam Payne, bassist is Calum Hood, guitarist is Luke Hemmings, and Zayn Malik on drums."

A few whistles came from the crowed, cheering the band on.

"Okay," Liam started, his thick British accent making him somewhat difficult to understand. My accent is worse though, so I shouldn't be talking.

"Tonight we'll be playing a popular tune by David Bowie, a lad the four of us are fans of. The song is called Fame. Enjoy."

Before they started, I could've sworn Liam winked at me.