ONCE IN A LIFETIME ≫ h.g

Chapter 12

BROOKE'S P.O.V:

The days I had spent at the Grier's house had all just flown by too quickly and I was currently sat in a maxitaxi with the Magcon boys, on our way to their first gig of the tour. The event was being held in a venue called the Bowery Ballroom and due to it being very central, it luckily wasn't too long of a ride. However, there was a lot of red traffic lights and we managed to spend quite some time. It would've probably been easier and faster to walk, but I was seated comfortably between Nash and Matt and didn't mind to spend some quality time with them before the event. 

"I can't believe we kick off the tour today", Nash smiled at me. "Right," I responded and nodded my head. I was very excited for the boys, and I knew how much all of this meant to them. "Wanna join us on stage today?" Matt asked. "You can be like our special guest or something". I nodded, not really knowing what to respond. Not that I wasn't delighted that I was invited to take part of it all, I just didn't think the fans would be too appreciative of it. I already knew how much hate Madison got just for being somewhat connected to some of the boys. I smiled shyly at Matt and Nash who were still staring at me, probably waiting for a response. Nash seemed slightly disappointed, which I understand, because Magcon was his thing. He always showed me excitement in whatever I was interested in and deserved the same energy back.

I didn't really want to face any more staring eyes so I plugged my headphones in and started listening to The Weight by Shawn. Matt and Nash slowly went back to engaging in conversation with the other boys and soon enough it was just me and the song. I started singing rather low, as the boys were always being super loud so I didn't think anyone would really hear me.

When the song was over all eyes were on me. "What?" I asked, not knowing what was going on. I wondered if Shawn was embarrassed I had played his song, but that couldn't be it, the boys listened to it all the time. Jack Johnson, one of the most hyper kids I had ever met suddenly startet screaming at me. "That was amazing!" I was stunned. "You should totally sing with us on stage today! Maybe with Shawn! You should join all of the events. You could really be something! Maybe you should join the Magcon-family?!"

"Woah, calm down there!" Hayes smiled and I shot him a quick glance. We hadn't really spoken since our last talk about how we were "best friends". However, when he caught me looking at him he sent me a smile I was quick to return. It felt good knowing Hayes was by my side. "I'll definitely think about joining stage today at least", I responded and everybody cheered. It was such a rush knowing that I had all these amazing friends supporting me.

We suddenly arrived at the event. There was, as expected, a bunch of screaming girls there, and Aaron grabbed my wrist. I was a bit surprised at first. I didn't really know Aaron that well, we'd barely talked. Still, I let him drag me trough all the fans. Some of them were sending me ugly glances, but most of them were crying, and didn't seem to mind the fact that I was there. When we were inside, Nash came up to me. He started asking me if I was okay, and I just said yes, which was true. "Why wouldn't I be?" I asked him. He just looked at me like he knew I was faking it. He knew me too well.

... 

"And our special guest Brooke!" Nash's voice rung in my ear. I started making my way up to the stage. What if they don't like me? What if I'm not what I should be? What if I'm not good enough? These thoughts haunted me all the way. I knew a lot of them probably knew who I was, because the boys posted me frequently. When I got up we started doing a Q&A. None of the girls were asking me, and I was perfectly fine with that. Most of the questions were kind of private, and I honestly didn't want them to tell every single detail about my life. I didn't even have it all figured out myself. "You in the green shirt on front row!" Hayes said. "Have you ever been on a date, and with who?" Hayes blushed. Aw. Wait what? "Yeah. I've been on one date, uhm. With Brooke actually. Well, it didn't  go too well, so no worries. Whatever we once had, is over now". Oh well. I noticed how all of the boys were staring at me, like I was about to break down every second.

"Alright then, the next thing is Shawn Mendes singing. He is also doing a duet with Brooke, and then she'll sing one song alone." Wait what? I glanced over at Nash with a worried look. He just smiled at me, and the boys went off stage. Shawn started singing his new single Something Big. When he was done I slowly walked up to him. We had already agreed on singing Night Changes by One Direction. Although I was still furious with Nash for throwing me under the bus like that, I decided to let it go while singing and just enjoy performing on stage with someone as talented as Shawn.  The song started playing and I started singing.

When we were done, everybody started applauding like crazy and I just stood there and smiled like an idiot. I didn't agree with Nash's methods but I also knew he was only trying to challenge me. He and I both knew very well that I would've never agreed to perform solo at the boys event. After that Shawn said: "Now Brooke is going to sing I'm A Mess". I smiled. Knowing Nash had decided for me to sing that song felt good. He really knew me. I started singing. When I was done I waved and ran off stage. My appearance at Magcon was over. At least for today.