The Pop-Up Shop

Chapter Four

APRIL'S POV

It had now been 10 days and it finally was the morning of the Ruel concert. I was at yet another sleepover with Luna but am I complaining? Not at all, I loved her family. 

It had hit around 1am and it had been hours since I originally was busting to go to the toilet, giving up, I quickly sneak out Luna's bedroom to go to the bathroom before finally going to sleep. 

If I was being honest, I had been texting with Ruel back and forth all night without Luna knowing. We had mostly been on our phones for the past 2 hours, showing each other the occasional tik tok but mostly being silent. 

I came back into her bedroom, wiping the excess water on my jumper but my heart stopped when she was holding my phone with her mouth dropped open. 

I forgot to turn off your notifications for Ruel's messages tonight.

'Ruel Vincent Van Dijk is texting you!?' she almost yelled but I quickly grab my phone off her.

'Why are you on my phone?' I suddenly get defensive and hiding it in my pocket, she really didn't have the right to look at my notifications, whoever it may have been from.

'It was blowing up with messages from him, someone's eager to talk to you' she goes to sit on her bed and I sit across on the mattress like usual.

'Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier I just-'

'Wait. How long has this been going on for?' she cuts me off, leaning forward in curiosity.

'After the pop-up shop...' I mumble, ashamed that it had really been that long and her mouth drops again, 'Once I got home, he texted me out of the blue and we've been talking ever since. I'm sorry that I didn't share it with you but I was scared that you were gonna get mad. And I also didn't want to get my hopes up, you know? I thought that as soon as he got to the next pop-up shop, he would start texting someone else. I didn't expect it to last this long...' my mouth moves faster than my thoughts were going, word vomit coming up to make her less mad hopefully.

'Well look on the plus side, maybe we could meet him again!' she gets excited but I press my lips into a flat line

'Yeah...I kinda already said no to VIP tickets' I mumble, knowing she was going to kill me.

'What? Why?' she almost yells again but I throw your hands up in the air in defence.

'Because he only offered me the tickets and I didn't want you to be alone in the crowd' I defend my wholehearted choices. I was being a good friend.

'Aww, that's sweet...but are you crazy!?'

'Well, he did say he will look out for me tonight. Don't get your hopes up but there might be a small chance to go backstage' Luna squeals and throws me into a hug, nearly rolling off the mattress together as we shared a laughing fit. 

'Girls, not to sound rude and sound like uncool dad but shut up and go to sleep' we both but our mouths, holding in the laughter at Nicks comment and finally get comfy before trying to get a good nights sleep.

I woke up with Luna on her phone and my outfit laid out next to you. 'Come on, if we want to get barrier, we have to line up early'

I nodded, checking my phone; 7:24 am. This was the first time I had ever seen her before 7:15 in the morning. 

I threw on my concert outfit under a hoodie and sweat pants. It hopefully wasn't going to result in the case where we weren't the first 100 people and had to wait all day but I wasn't taking the risk of being freezing cold all day. 

I sat quietly, on your phone in the car on the way to the venue. 'Hey, dad. Can you put on Ruel?' Luna asks, even knowing what the answer was going to be anyways.

'No' he says, keeping his eyes on the road this time. 

I hide a smirk as Luna rolls her eyes again and we see the venue getting closer through the window. About 3 girls were in the line that we could see but it was helpful once the security guard approached us. 'So you guys here for the first 100?' we both nod as he writes numbers 74 & 75 on your hands. 'You're now allowed to leave the line. Go home or go get food but when you line up tonight, you need to line up on this side so you get in first'

We both nod and smile before getting back into Nicks car with a sigh of relief, heading back to Luna's house.

I finally started to feel the nerves kick in. I was actually getting nervous about the show. What if he did actually spot me in the crowd? 

What if Luna and I did end up getting VIP tonight? 

I really didn't understand why I was getting nervous all of a sudden. 

Oh, right, I was sorta friends with the biggest teen heartthrob in Australia and thousands of teenage girls will gladly kill me if I fuck this opportunity up.

As the opening act played, Luna and I both danced along to the beat, both eager to see Ruel on stage. My nerves quickly turned into excitement as we entered the venue, probably because everyone surrounding me had influenced it with the same energy. The whole entire venue exploded with happy and excited vibes which made me have even more fun than I already was. Luna and I had managed to get one or two meters away from the barrier so Luna was super happy and I was too. 

As the lights shined, I pulled out my phone as did everyone around me in the audience. The screams got louder as the intro music played by the band. The music stops and I saw a tall shadow appear at the back of the stage. Ruel's voice echoes as he sang the first lyrics of Dazed and Confused and I sang along as did everybody else in the hall. 

It felt as if the night went so quickly, song after song, speech after speech went by, losing my slowly that he would call me backstage. 

Everyone's phone lights lit up as the first chords of Unsaid started. My favourite song on the EP. 

With the pushing behind me, I actually realised that both Luna and I were in reaching the barrier. I stayed in my place with Luna, I didn't want to be rude by taking the spots of those who had stayed all at the venue in the cold all day. 

I suddenly and unexpectedly felt my eyes connect with the Ruel's for a split second as he looked over the crowd. I felt our eyes continue to connect throughout the rest of the song as Luna tugs on my arm as she realises what was happening. 

Small glances were shared through the rest of the concert, him now acknowledging my presence. I swear I saw him smirk after Golden but I shook my head in embarrassment. I really went hard in that song, nearly knocking someone over next to me.

As Painkiller was done I saw Ruel lean down to the barrier security guard through the darkness before pointing in my direction and running off stage before the encore. The security guy was quick to wave both Luna and I forward and I felt all eyes were on me as a path was cleared for me to get to the barrier.

'Ruel wants to see you backstage'