Part 4

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The guys raved in the tour bus whilst we emerged on the highway to the arena.

Maybe they were doing karaoke? I could barely lift my head to check, my eyes were dropping and my head was heavy. But I had to power through to see the show.

After a few minutes the bus pulled up in an almost empty car park. Empty?

"Why is it empty?" I asked- afraid no fans were going to show up.

Sal and Joe smirked at each other and left the bus. Q was already outside and headed towards a big building.

We entered by a locked metal door- a lot less fancy than what you'd expect to see whilst entering an arena.

And then it clicked; we were going in the back fire exit to escape fans before the show.

We narrowly climbed up 6 flights of stairs before making it to the markup rooms. The guys went straight in, the team already with dozens of makeup palettes.

I patiently (and awkwardly) waited outside- but it had taken much longer than I anticipated.

"Olivia," Joe yelled out from inside, "carry on down the hall, find the lounge area. We'll meet you in there."

I did as he ordered and followed the metal corridors, past costume departments, storage areas, camera and lighting rooms, until, right at the end, was a small square room with a long sofa across the width.

I took a deep breath as I sat down- using my self control to not lie down and fall asleep.

I needed distractions.

My phone.

It was 7:25pm. The show began in 20 minutes.

Pounding like a drum, my heart felt like it could explode. Why was I nervous? All I had to do was watch them perform. Just enjoy it.

On my phone was several missed calls and messages. My best friend, Emily, and even my parents.

Maybe I should have told them I'm on 'vacation' at the moment. Or whatever you would call this.

Emily had already found out the news and had cleverly related it back to me. They were mostly excited messages which spiralled into angry messages since I didn't reply.

My mom had also texted me- after hearing the news from Emily. I texted them both back; I explained my circumstance and that I was minutes off standing 2 meters from a huge stage and then going home with the guys that were on it.

Wow.

Life is going great.

The boys emerged minutes later, with pale skin and clean clothes.

"Wow," I cooed jokingly.

"Thanks," Murr blushed. Again- jokingly.

"So, good luck guys," I cheered.

Joe came and sat next to me. Then Sal then Murr. Then Q sat on the armchair on the other wall.

"To this show and many more," Sal raised a glass. Metaphorically, of course.

Alcohol wasn't allowed until after the show. One thing the guys took to heart.

"So," Sal sat upright, "first we go on, cheer, then go straight into the stuff we didn't air?"

He was panicking. As I would have expected. They are 15 minutes away from performing on stage non stop for 1 hour.

HOW ARE THEY NOT NERVOUS?

"No," Q sighed, resting his head in his hands, "we go from entering, to waving and then go straight into the fake story about what happened last week. We changed it remember?"

"Oh," he acknowledged. Then paused. "What's the fake story?"

"Just that it's much funnier. Otherwise it wouldn't be a good story."

It seemed rude to make a joke out of Q's hospital trip- but it was him who took it light heartedly.

"And then I forgot the section right before the end..." Sal frets again.

"Right before the end..." Joe squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating, "we talk about how we love the fans and everything..."

"No, no, no. Before that."

"Uh, about the new episodes?"

"No! After that."

"Oh, after the new episode hints we talk about our secret skills we learned in the last tour."

"Ok."

The massive wave that had been growing had died so violently it was a shock. But what was a bigger shock is that the guys had 10 minutes to get backstage.

"Hang on." Joe said.

He pulled out his phone and goes to Periscope.

"Hey guys," he introduces his new live stream, "We're minutes away from going on stage and I just wanna say I love you all."

I smiled up at Joe as he did the stream- and how uplifting he always is no matter the circumstance.

"Olivia, what do you want to say?"

He tilted the camera to me so that the 1,000 viewers could see my face.

"Uhh... I wanna say give these guys your money... go to the shows... you'll have a blast." My wittiness couldn't shine whilst put on the spot.

"What she said, bye." He ended the livestream and the guys left. Me following suite.

They were off to perform the show of their life. And I was there beside them- cheering them on from the side lines.

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