Under the stars || James McVey

chapter twenty eight

James’ POV

Tonight was the first show we’d had in a while and I was buzzing for it. I’d asked Katherine to come along a few days ago and Joe was picking her up later with her two friends during our meet and greet outside the venue because it would be easier to get her inside when all attention is focused on one particular area. Joe was going to see one of our bodyguards to pick Katherine up but they were all new and after Katherine’s confession a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t trust them enough to pick her up. It might have seemed a bit over protective but Brad felt the same. Joe just chuckled at me and said he’d go in our break because Dean and the guards could handle the meet.

We’d just finished our sound check and ready to go out and meet our fans. Joe left five minutes ago as we were ushered to another room where the meet and greet would take place. Soon enough, floods of teenage girls came through the double doors and were instructed by our head security guard to stand in a line behind the bars so we wouldn’t be crushed all at once.

It went by smoothly, taking pictures and signing autographs here and there. I’d always loved this part of touring, where I got to meet the people that made our dreams possible. There was this one girl that hugged Brad and broke down in his arms. Not knowing what else to do, all four of us stopped what we were doing and went over to hug the girl as a group which then set off a huge group hug with the hundreds of people that were in the venue. It was amazing to witness to be frank and it was heart-warming to know how kind and thoughtful our fan-base could be when we needed them to be. I ask the girl if she was ok afterwards when security stepped in to disperse the crowd a little, and she nods, wiping away a few tears and I give her another hug for good measure. She smiles up at me and thanks me for everything, and I knew she didn’t just mean today. I smile back at her and pose for a silly photo on her phone before waving goodbye and speaking to other fans. I turn back to see the girl hugging who I presumed was her mother and laughing away as she looked back and forth from her phone to the crowd. She catches me looking and I give her another wave, to which she reciprocates, and I turn back and smile for a picture with two girls.

About an hour, we were ushered out of the room and into our dressing room for the next couple of hours before we had to go on stage. I was delighted when I walked in to see Katherine, Chloe and Maggie sitting at our makeup desk chatting away with our makeup artists and stylists. They were sharing stories about wardrobe defaults and Katherine tells one about being in one of her P.E. classes and getting dressed after, when her skirt had disappeared suddenly and she had to run around the changing rooms looking for it. Katie hadn’t realised that we were listening in until we all burst out laughing. She turns around in shock and buries her head in her hands in embarrassment, groaning. I walk up to her and pull her hands away from her face. She looks up at me with a frown, “It took me ages to find it. It’s not funny.”

I smile at her and pull in for a hug, trying ridiculously hard not to laugh. She obviously felt my body shaking as she pulls away and smacks my stomach with a pout. “I’m sorry, but…” I couldn’t help it then, I was laughing too much. She whines at me and pouts even more, which stops me from laughing even more than I already was. “Ok, that face is really cute.” She rolls her eyes and goes to hit me again but I grasp her hand to prevent her from doing so. I chuckle at her as she goes to use her other hand to which I grasp too and I intertwine our fingers together. “It’s not nice to hit, you know.”

She smiles up at me and keeps our hands fixed together as she stares into my eyes.

“Ok love birds, enough gooey shit, James needs to be airbrushed.” Dean jokes as he focuses his camera on us. We pull away immediately in shock and I feel a sudden coldness to wear her hands were; where they should be. I shake my head at the thought and exchange glances with Katherine before chuckling at Dean and pointing the lens at Brad and Connor who were fighting over the last banana. Joe starts moaning at them, telling them that someone has gone to get more and that they should stop arguing, but they both insisted that they wanted this particular banana.

A can of hairspray and a wardrobe change later, we were finally up on stage, jumping around and singing our hearts out like we’ve always done. Being on stage had a sense of freedom and belonging for me, like I was meant to do this; I was meant to be performing in front of thousands of people with my three best friends. It’s an incredible experience and I could never get tired of it, not one bit.

Dozens of songs later, with a few little talks here and there, we were bouncing off stage with stupid grins on our faces, which happens after every show. All of us full of energy and ecstasy from doing what we love.

Something felt wrong though, as I walked backstage with the lads. Trying to focus on my surroundings, my vision blurred and I could barely stand straight. “Woah. James, mate, are you alright?” I hear a voice asking me, not really sure who it was. My head was spinning faster and soon enough I was falling to the ground with a thud. My head makes contact with the floor and I slowly fade into darkness, Katherine’s face the only thing I see before falling completely into unconsciousness.