↳ ship: trustin
↳ category: hurt and comfort
↳ characters: justin, trent, cody, harold
↳ word count: 1588
as trent played the final chord of the drama brothers final song, fallen phoenix, the crowd scream in an uproar.
streamers floated down from god knows where, bouquets and flowers tumbled onto the stage, strobe lights burned into justins contact-shielded retinas. lowering his sunglasses to protect his eyes, justin strutted towards the end of the stage and picked up a fallen rose.
he blew kisses to the crowd and posed, screams growing louder as he approached the sea of fans.
it was well known justin was the fan favorite. although he didn't do any song writing, or song singing, or instrumentals, justin was a key part in the bands publicity. he was the theatrical one, keeping fans entertained. justin led interviews, managed social media, and even controlled his bandmates closets. which was partially why the fans liked him so much, he was a lot more interactive. and a lot more attractive, many would testify.
justin handed the rose to a girl in the audience. her scream rang in his ears and nearly blew his brain out.
the attention was amazing at first. there was nothing justin loved more than other people loving him. wherever he would look on the street, eyes would follow him. people would whisper about him. people would compliment him.
that fame meant so much to him, until he realized, when people complimented him, they weren't comlimenting /him./
in the sea of people all expanded out before him, all chanting and screaming his name, none of them knew him. they knew the man who's wink could send a person to the ground. they knew the man with endless sassy comebacks and comments in interviews or vlogs. they knew his bright blue eyes, or his soft brown hair. bronze, silky skin. sharp, perfect jawline. pretty, perfect everything.
they didn't know the justin who volunteered at nursery homes. they didn't know the justin who shot a milkshake through his nose when he laughed too hard over one of harold's stupid dad puns. they didn't know the justin who was kind, or the justin who was insecure. the justin who felt. the justin who was a person. they didn't know justin.
it was this epiphany he made, frozen in time as he handed off a rose to a pretty, brunette fan with concealer a bit too yellow. she didn't know him. she wasn't screaming for him.
justin wanted to yank his hand back and retch as the two brushed fingers. he didn't. he held his hand still, tracing his index finger down her thumb in slow motion as he transfered the rose gently from his hand to hers. his hand to hers. he pulled his arm back and did that wink- that perfect, horrible wink- and turned around.
he turned and walked away, back to the band. back to trent, cody, and harold.
the curtains drifted shut behind him. justin wanted to scream.
the four made their way to the back entry of the stage. harold and cody were escatic. this was their biggest gig in a while, every seat filled. they were smiling and laughing.
"they loved us up there, dude!" harold grinned proudly, nudging trent in the side. trent chuckled and simply nodded.
it took everything in justin's power to not tear that statement down as it arose. they don't love you. they don't know you.
"justin nearly sent that one girl to the er, i swear she fainted after you winked at her. your power, man, i need it!" cody complimented, grabbing onto justin's shoulder and shaking it.
"you're lucky," was the only response justin could muster. cody laughed awkwardly, though justin's words had no trace of jokery inside them.
trent and justin made eyecontact, a fleeting look of hope and understanding. justin looked away, trent's eyes stayed put on his.
