WDW bxb stories pt. 2

Not good enough - Zaniel

Type: fluff
Warnings: none

"Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly." - Unknown

Third person

Being the youngest of Why Don't We, Zach Herron was always the underdog. Nobody really payed any attention to him, even his own crew. His band mates loved him, he was like their brother, but the sound crew didn't think he was any good. At almost every show they cut off his microphone, he always plays it off and points it out to the crowd for the fans to finish his part.

Nobody knew this was going on, not even the other boys in the band. He didn't even tell his boyfriend, Daniel. He didn't want to be a disappointment to anybody.

Today the band was going to perform an acoustic of What Am I. Zach was worried, this meant he couldn't point his microphone out to the crowd because the whole point of it is for the band to be singing the song.

It was the end of the show, and it was time for the acoustic. They all sat on chairs that were brought out for them. Zach's chair was an old wooden one while everyone else had nice, modern, plastic chairs. They told him that they ran out of the other chairs, but he knew there was more behind it.

Daniel and Corbyn got out their guitars and began strumming What Am I.

When it was Zach's turn he took a few deep breaths then started singing.

"Open the door to my apartment, we get in. Kissin' on my neck and throw my jacket to the side. I know your heart is beating quick, and if you put your head on my chest head the same in mine," Zach sung. As soon as he finished that part his microphone got cut off. Daniel noticed and reached over so Zach could sing from his microphone. "Until the sun comes up, but one day, maybe I, I could put a ring on your finger before you change your mind."

Zach smiled at Daniel slightly, but he had tears in his eyes. Was he really not good enough? Was his voice that terrible?

He zoned out for the rest of the song, he didn't even try to sing, he just lip synced with the words.

After they finished they took their bow then Zach ran off of the stage. Once backstage he ripped his ear piece out and threw his microphone onto the ground. He ran and ran until he found a small, quiet, corner.

He sat down with his back against the wall and sobbed into his arms. His whole body shook and his breathing became uneven.

For the next 20 minutes Zach had a debate with himself, he thought it would be best to leave the band, but he also didn't want to disappoint his band mates.

Suddenly, Zach heard a soft voice.

"Zach?" Daniel asked softly. Zach put his head into his arms so Daniel wouldn't see him crying. Daniel sat down beside the younger boy and wrapped an arm around him. "Baby, what's wrong?"

Zach didn't say anything, he just cuddled into Daniel. "Talk to me love, what's up?"

Zach lifted his head and looked Daniel in the eyes. That made the older boy's heart break, Zach's eyes were red and puffy from crying.

"You remember when my mic cut out during the show?" Zach asked weakly.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"It wasn't an accident. And it's not the first time it's happened, it even happened earlier during the show," Zach said quietly.

"What do you mean baby?"

"They think I suck at singing, so at every show, if I'm not singing like you guys, they cut off my microphone so I can't sing anymore. That's why I always point my mic to the crowd," Zach said. He broke down into tears again and Daniel pulled him onto his lap.

"Oh baby, why didn't you tell me?" Daniel asked softly. He ran one hand up and down Zach's back while the other played with his hair. Daniel left a few kisses on Zach's head.

"I didn't want you to think I was looking for attention, and I didn't want to disappoint you," Zach mumbled. Daniel sighed and kissed Zach's forehead.

"You can never disappoint me Zach, I love you so much and no matter what happens that won't change. And if something like this is ever happening I want you to tell me, this is not okay for the crew to be doing. I'll talk with Jon and he can talk with the crew, alright?" Daniel soothed.

"Talking to them won't do anything Dani! They'll just think that I sent you to stand up for me, they won't stop!" Zach sobbed.

"We'll fire them if we have to. We'll give them a warning and if they do it again we'll fire them," Daniel said softly. Zach nodded and cuddled into Daniel even more.

"Thank you Dani," Zach whispered.

"No problem angel. We should get going my love, the other guys are worried about you," Daniel said softly.

"I want to stay here with you, I don't feel like seeing anybody," Zach whined. Daniel frowned, Zach was so upset that he couldn't even face their crew.

"Come on love. I can carry you and pretend you're sleeping," Daniel explained. Zach nodded gently to agree to the plan. Daniel stood up and helped Zach up. He helped Zach jump up and let him cling to the front of his body. Daniel then began walking back to their green room.

"What's wrong with Zach?" Jonah asked gently.

"Turns out the sound crew keeps turning off his mic because he's not good enough. I'll talk to Jon about it later but I need to get him back to the bus so he can rest," Daniel explained.

"Ok, we'll grab your stuff," Corbyn offered.

"Thanks guys," Daniel said gratefully.

The other guys nodded then Daniel began walking to the bus.

••

Daniel laid Zach down in his bunk and laid down beside him.

Zach cuddled into the older boy and smiled slightly.

"I love you so much Dani," Zach mumbled.

"I love you so much more Z. Don't ever think you're not good enough, you are such a talented singer and I couldn't be more glad to perform with you every night," Daniel explained softly. Zach smiled even more and kissed Daniel's neck gently.

"Thank you."

"No problem my love. Go to sleep."

Zach and Daniel held each other tightly as they fell into a deep sleep together.

A/N for some reason I've been getting a lot of 1D videos of Niall's mic being cut off during shows on my foryou page on TikTok, so I decided to base this off of that. I hope you guys liked it💛