Nova hummed in acknowledgement, staying quiet as he watched the lights shift from the warm colors into a hazy icy blue with white spotlights on the boys as they began dancing. The lights cast long shadows and made the features on the boys seem sharper than ever as a snappier track began to play.
“Now, I must say, the lighting is phenomenal,” Nova pointed out, “it fits the music extremely well and is generally pleasing to the eye.”
J sat upright, his radar pinging. “Oh, thank you. The lights were an especially entertaining challenge to work on.”
“Oh?” Nova glanced between the screen and J as he settled into his chair. “How so?”
“Well, you see, because this stage is relatively new, I had to figure out where the lights would be before I thought about anything else.” J leaned forward, emphasizing his words with his hands as he spoke. “Usually, this is no issue, but the places where you can hang spotlights in this building are in some unusual spots, which both opened up opportunities and…”
Nova didn’t even realize just how much time had passed until the concert drew to a close.
The past couple of hours had been spent watching the concert from J’s phone, with the occasional ramblings from J about the choreography or lighting. At some point, everything began to blend together in a strangely comforting way, with one song shifting into the next while the audience slowly became white noise.
Nova was only snapped out of the daze he’d found himself in when the androids struck a final pose and the lights faded out. The audience roared as Purl-Hew, Eloni, and Rin entered the wing Nova and J sat in.
Rin rushed over to J, beaming as he saluted in front of him. “Captain!”
J turned to Rin, his radar pinging. “Yes?”
“How was the show?”
“I'd say it was one of your best performances yet,” J said, sitting up straight and saluting Rin back. “You should be proud of yourself, soldier. Now, go tell the others to grab their things from the greenroom and to come back here when they’re done.”
Zimelu and Haym finally entered the wing as Rin nodded and ran back to his brothers. Moments later, the boys were all rushing to the greenroom as they shouted at each other.
J turned to Nova, stretching his arms as he spoke. “Could I have my phone back?”
Nova nodded, handing it over as he stood up. “Of course.”
J pulled the wire from his monitor and pocketed his phone before he stood as well. “Once they’re done in the greenroom, we’ll be out of here. I hope it’s not too long of a wait.”
“It’s actually a rather early departure. Are you not going to wait to collect any equipment you brought out here?”
“Negative,” J said, walking to the back wall behind the stage. “It’s imperative that we leave before most of the audience does.”
“Why’s that?”
“If we wait around, the fans could find our limo and cause issues,” J said, leaning against the back wall.
At that, the boys returned from the greenroom, each with a backpack with a different pattern. They all ran straight to J, except for Purl-Hew, who walked over to Nova.
“Oh, good, you’re still here!” He grinned, pushing his shades onto his forehead. “Thanks for coming! I’m glad you could make it.”
“Thank you, so am I,” Nova admitted, beginning to make his way toward J and the other androids. “You all did an excellent job. The dances were especially well done.”
