He's American (Trames au)

Chapter 24- James' POV

"I still can't quite believe we actually booked a gig." Tristan says. "I mean, I know it was a last minute cancellation, but still."

"It's awesome." I say. "Maybe there'll be a talent scout there and it'll be your big break."

"Maybe." Tristan agrees. "Hopefully not though. I'm not sure I'm ready for huge amounts of fame just yet." 

I laugh, reaching to take his hand. Brad called last night saying that there was a last minute opportunity for them to play a gig at some charity event. "So how come you got to do this?" I ask. "What happened to the other band?"

"Their lead singer got ill." Tristan explains. "And Brad is mates with the guy who is in charge of the entertainment bit, so we were next in line apparently." 

"Are you sure he's sick?" I tease. "You didn't sabotage them to get a shot at performing?"

"No." Tristan says. "I'm a mess, I wouldn't do sabotage knowing it causes this much stress. I'm looking forward to it though." He's right, it has been a stressful morning- we had to pick an outfit that 'wouldn't look stupid' and then there was an emergency band meeting to decide on the songs.

"How many songs are you doing?" I ask as we turn off the pavement and head into the tube station. 

"6." says Tristan. "We're on just before the headliners. It's basically a music festival but the money goes to charity, and there's other stuff going on as well I think."

"It's a neat idea." I say. "I wonder if that shitty band we saw will be around?"

Tristan laughs at the memory. "I doubt it. They need good acts or no one will donate." After a 20 minute journey, we arrive at the venue- it's a park, but it's now full of tents and food stalls, and a surprising number of people given that there's still a few hours until the music acts start. "We need to go to the stage." says Tristan. "But we have like an hour, so we can wander around for a bit." 

And so we do. We walk around the park together, me taking various pictures- it's pretty much a habit now. Then we head over to the stage, where a man is waiting for us. Tristan introduces himself and the man says "Yeah, I've been waiting for you. This way." I have to smile- other than on FaceTime, I haven't heard another American accent for ages. I don't say anything though, as I don't want to look weird. 

We head to an area backstage where there's a few other musicians, and thankfully we spot Brad and Connor quite quickly. "Hi." Brad greets.

"Hi." Tristan says with a smile on his face, although I can tell he's nervous. I would be too, looking at all those people, and there's still more to come. The next couple of hours seem to fly by- I watch all the sound checks and organisation, and I do take some photos after I asked if I could. Then the acts begin, and they're actually really good- there's a guy singing some country songs, a guy with a saxophone, and then a girl with an acoustic guitar.

And then suddenly it's Tristan and his friends' turn. Brad and Connor look excited, and so does Tristan, although the nerves are clearly still there. If he was in a worse place I could easily see him asking for a drink to calm him. But he doesn't, and I'm so proud of him for that. I hug my boyfriend tight. "You'll be great. I love you."

"I love you too." he says quietly. I give him a quick kiss before he goes off to his friends. They all get in a group hug, and I smile as I take a picture of them all running their chins together. And then they charge onto the stage, and I see all of their nerves disappear within the first 30 seconds of the first song. Brad and Connor are literally bouncing around the stage, and while Tristan can't, he's more relaxed.

He's also got a bigger smile than I've ever seen before on his face, and while I obviously love him anyway, he looks even more beautiful when he's happy. The crowd are enjoying it too, judging by the amount of cheering and singing along- Tristan told me that they mostly do covers, though they have a few of their own songs. 

I'm too busy smiling and watching them perform to take many photos, although I do manage to take a few. It's a really good set, and even after 6 songs it's over way too quickly. Tristan gets up from his drum kit and goes to join Brad and Connor, where they all bow with their arms around each other's shoulders. They come back backstage, and Tristan immediately flings himself into my arms.

"You were so good!" I tell him. He grins at me, and I then go to hug the other two. I love seeing Tristan happy, and as we slip down into the crowd, it's clear just how happy he is. We spend the rest of the night dancing to the indie band who are headlining, and I have to wonder how things could get any better than this.

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I have no idea what's going on here anymore, so I don't know whether James and Connor have actually met in this story before 😂 Oh well. I really liked this one, let me know if you did too :)

I listened to the song vibes by chase atlantic while writing this, so I added a link to it as an external link, hopefully it works.