The Assistant | Scavi

Showtime

Once Scott had left, Avi sat back down on the sofa with a bottle of water. He drank every now and then and took some time to relax and focus on the upcoming show. In his thoughts, he went through the setlist once more, thought of things he needed to keep in mind and what to say to the audience in between songs.

He usually wasn't talkative on stage, so he planned the instances he had to talk beforehand. He didn't have a fixed script, but there were certain things that always worked. He was calm and controlled by the time there was a knock on his door, probably Kaleb or Noah.

"Yeah?"

"Ten minutes till showtime." It had been Noah.

Avi nodded, but then he realised that Noah couldn't hear him. "I'll be out in five" he then called back.

The musician then got up walked over to his duffel bag. He rummaged through it and then pulled out a blank white chewing gum tub. He opened it, poured out some of the contents into his hand, took two of the tiny blue pills and swallowed them down with some of the water. Then he stowed the box away at the bottom of his duffel bag and left the dressing room. He smiled at Kaleb and Noah. "Ready?"

"Definitely. Ready and excited. How about you?" Kaleb wanted to know.

Avi nodded. "I am," he said and held out his hands for the other two men to take them. Once they all were holding each other's hands, he spoke up again. "I cannot wait to share the stage with you again. And I'm really looking forward to playing all these new songs."

Kaleb smiled. "Me too," he said.

Noah just smiled. "Do you want to say the prayer today, Avi?"

Avi nodded. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He said a quick prayer in which he asked for a successful show and more than that for the fans to have fun and enjoy their evening.

"Amen," he concluded it with Kaleb and Noah chiming in.

"Well then. Let's go out and give the fans a show" Avi said and clapped his hands.

A few minutes later, Avi was standing behind the stage waiting for Noah and Kaleb to start the concert. The two musicians got on the stage while Avi stayed behind for a moment. He heard Noah starting to play the drum base for Get Down, closed his eyes once again to collect himself and then stepped hastily up to his microphone. He was nervous as always when he just got on stage but the wall of clapping and screaming coming from the fans helped.

The first song was always the hardest and he knew that he tended to just get through it with his eyes closed. But once he felt more comfortable on stage, he started to talk to the fans and actually enjoyed the show. somewhere in the back of his mind, he wanted to look for Scott, but then again he knew that he wouldn't be able to see him anyway.

They got through the setlist quicker than Avi had expected and once they were finished, Avi was not ready to get off of the stage.

"That was awesome," he said once they were back in his dressing room and he was chugging a bottle of water. "I feel so blessed that I get to do this for a living." He sighed and sat down on the sofa. "Awesome."

There was a knock on the door and Scott put his head into the room. "Wonderful show, really, I was impressed even though I heard it all before. Food will be ready in half an hour, I'll go out and help the roadies pack up everything" he said smiling especially at Avi.

"Thank you we'll be with you in a moment" Kaleb replied.

Avi sighed. "I wish I could help you, but the people would notice and go crazy. I'll take care of tea... or booze?"

"Booze would be appropriate for the first show wouldn't it?" Kaleb said with a smile on his face. "Just a beer or two?"

"Got it" Avi smiled. "And we get to sleep in a hotel bed this night so it's even better. I'll see you in a few."

Once everyone had left, Avi took a bottle of beer from the fridge and sat down on the sofa. Of course, he wanted to help stow away the equipment, but then again he liked to have a moment of peace while everyone else was working.

A while later, everyone was back. They had more beer, expert some good and greasy food and just a lot of fun. After dinner, the roadies left because they would be driving over to the next city immediately. Most of them preferred a late-night drive and a nap at the hotel before the show.

"Are you greeting the waiting fans?" Noah asked after a while.

Avi nodded. "Of course I will. They've been waiting for so long and I can do some pictures some signing and hugs." He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll just get changed, grab my stuff and then we can go.

"Wonderful, we'll do the same" Kaleb replied and got up. Together with Noah, he left the room and Avi and Scott were alone.

Avi finished his beer and then leaned back, closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

"Are you ok?" Scott wanted to know.

The musician nodded. "I am Scott don't worry" he replied.

"Will you be ok out there? With the fans?" Scott asked again.

"I will be."

"Do you need any help or is there anything I can do for you out there?"

Avi nodded. "Yes. just stay by my side? The venue will send a bodyguard out with us, but I would like to have you next to me, just to make sure? You could carry my pens and take presents if there are any..."

"Of course" Scott replied and got up. Together with Avi, he packed up their stuff and then he looked at him. "Shall I like... announce that you're coming out there?"

Avi nodded. "Yes, please. I'll be out in five" he said as he rummaged through his bag once more.

"Do you need anything?" Scott asked.

"Just a mint or gum. Don't want to go out with possible beer breath" Avi replied and got out a box of mints. "There you are" he took a mint into his mouth and looked at Scott. "Want one?"

Scott nodded and once he had the mint, he pecked Avi's cheek and left the room.

Avi took the other box out of his bag once Scott was gone and took another one of the small pills into his hand. He sighed and eyed it for a moment before he swallowed it down and then left the room with his bag in his hand. He waved at everyone who was waiting for him. There were about forty people waiting and they had formed a queue. Avi admired that they were so patiently waiting, not screaming and cheering. He wondered what Scott had told them. The blonde just smiled at him, took his bag and stayed by his side while he listened to stories, gave hugs and smiled for pictures. It wasn't the part of touring he liked most and it always was a tedious task, to give every fan a piece of his heart and he was glad when he finally sat in the van that would take them to the hotel. He waved at the fans and smiled slightly when they waved back, only sinking back into his seat once they had turned left at the next crossing.

"Anyone up for one last round of drinks?" Noah asked.

Avi shook his head. "Nah..." he mumbled. "Drained, wanna sleep..."

"Kaleb? Scott?" Noah prodded further.

"Yes," Kaleb replied. "One more round."

"I'll pass and head to bed. I'm tired..." Scott said. He wasn't truly tired, but he didn't want Avi to be alone, he wanted to make sure that he was okay. And he wanted to cuddle with him.

"Well, then it is the two of us," Kaleb said and shrugged his shoulders.

Scott nodded. "Next time," he said and looked over at Avi, thinking that he saw a smile on his face when he said these words.

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