What Happens Backstage, Stays Backstage // rockstar!Jason Todd x rockstar!reader
â Maybe confronting Jason about his mixed signals right before the last concert of the tour was not the best idea, but the show must go on.
!!: 1k event â First Ice Cream order! gn!reader. hurt/comfort. band au. mutual pinning. Jason yearning propaganda. Jason with eyeliner. +2.2k words. art by @/starspilli.
A/N: So excited to start with the event. LOVED this request so it had to be the first one. Also a big kiss to @stcrgazerlily for helping me with who would play what instrument in the band bc I was genuinely crashing out. And also, I didn't see Kory as a rockstar(she's more a popstar) so I brought Artemis into the band instead.
Backstage before a show was always a mess. Technicians, makeup artists, staff peopleâeveryone running around, trying to get everything in its place before the show started.Â
Outside of this catastrophic atmosphereâinside the arena, where the fans waited patiently for the show to startâthe joyful cheers of thousands of people joined in a loud sound full of life. People used the light of their phones to find their loved ones in the crowd, groups of friends split up to get snacks while the rest guarded their place on the pit like watchdogs.
This tour had been an absolute success. Selling out famous arenas around the whole country, doing their very first shows outside of the United States. They were big nowâvery big. That filled everyone in the team with pride.
Everyone that has ever stood next to the band since their beginningâtrusting on their every decision, hyping up their ideasâwere now extremely proud of everything that has come after years of pure love to music and a huge effort from the four members.Â
But the band members were the proudest. They were the main reason they had gotten this popular. All their work was finally being paid off and it was showing. There were nights when they dreamed of this moment, and now they were getting ready to wrap up their tour at Madison Square Garden.Â
Roy was with the make-up artist. Marcusâa god for make-upâ did his eye design while Roy moved his leg to the beat of the song playing inside the room.Â
Artemis, in the chair right next to Royâs, was getting her hair done. Everyone knew that the bandâs hair stylistâs favourite was Artemis, and her gorgeous long hair. But she was also the one who took longer to style, thatâs why she always went last.
You were ready, totally prepared for the showâhair done, make up done, outfit onâ but you still had something to do before getting up on stage: talk with Jason.
It doesn't take Jason long to get ready; what takes him the most time are his vocal warm-ups and the training he does before going on stage. The thing is, Jason could be anywhere, but wherever his vocal coach, Tina, was, that's where Jason would be too.Â
You opened every roomâs door, searching for them, and paying careful attention to the sounds inside each room. You followed the sound of the piano notes, and the closed mouth hums from Jason. Those led you to the farthest room in the hallway. With determination, not even bothering to knock, you push the door open.Â
Jason stood there, wearing his characteristic leather jacket and his cargo pants. His hair was styled in a way that highlighted his curls and his white streak. And his make upâreally similar to Royâsâframed his greenish-blue eyes perfectly. What a man.Â
Both, Tina and Jason, looked at you when you opened the door, cutting Jasonâs vocal warm ups instantly.Â
âSorry Tina, may I speak with Jason for a bit?â you asked shyly.Â
Tina smiled and stood up from the keyboardâs seat. âOf course, we were finishing already so itâs fine.â
âIâm sorry again, Tina,â you repeated, watching Tina leave the room with a smirk on her face, and closing the door behind her.Â
Once the two of you were finally alone, and the silence invaded the place, you turned to look at Jason. Your previous shy look was gone, replaced with the frown you wore before entering the room.
âWhatâs up?â Jason asked, rasing an eyebrow, genuinely confused by your attitude right now.
âWhatâs up!?â You scof. âIs that what youâre going say?â
âWhat do you want me to say? Youâre the one who barged in. I didnât ask you to come,â he barked. He turned around to grab his waterâto stop facing you.
âWhat is wrong with you? Why are you mad at me, Jason?â You forced him to turn around, pulling him by his sleeve. His eyes, painted in black eyeliner, looked more fierce and intimidating than usual, and it made you feel small. Besides, Jasonâs defensive tone and attitude were not helping.
âIâm not mad at you.â
âSure it doesnât look like it,â you questioned with a venomous sarcastic tone, like acid spat right into Jasonâs face.Â
âWell, I am not mad at you,â he repeated.Â
You rolled your eyes, tired of Jasonâs defensive comments. He was mad at you, something had happened and he was ignoring you. It was painful, because last nightâs Jason, wasnât todayâs Jason. It was not fair, he didnât have the right to act like this, to play with your feelingsâand much less, before your last show, before the closing of your most successful year in all your career. Â
You took a step forward. Jason took a step back. You tried to close the distance. Jason made it bigger.Â
âWhy are you acting like this?â Your words came out in a painful cry. You didnât deserve this.
âIâm acting normal,â Jason defended.
âIf youâre acting normal right now, then what the fuck was last night? Why are you like this Jason?âÂ
You werenât dating Jason. You never had and, with him acting so distant now, you probably never will.Â
Last night, Jason came into your room. It wasnât an unusual scenario, he tended to do it often while on tour. He would stay in your room, talk with you, enjoy your company and then go back to his room to sleep. But last night was different. The friendly chat turned into flirty comments, comments Jason had been doing lately only to you, on and off stage. You didnât think much of them at first, but as time went on, your stupid crushâthe one you developed for Jason when both of you were dumb teenagersâcame back.Â
Afraid to ruin the friendship, and afraid of misunderstanding Jason, you never followed his jokes, until last night. You decided to join him. Answer to his comments with a flirty smile and sweet words. And, in between stupid pick up lines, you both ended up kissing. You guys didnât do much after that, Jason decided to go back to his room, and you fell asleep thinking tomorrow was going to be an amazing day. That was, until you noticed Jason ignoring you.
And after a full day, after another soundcheck, after another car ride together from the hotel to the arena, this was the very first time in the day Jason was talking to youâlooking at you.Â
âWhy arenât you saying anything?â You whined.
âI donât have anything to say,â Jason insisted. Everything he said meant the same thing: that heâs fine, that this is the normal himâthat yesterday meant nothing, that it was a heated mistake.Â
âForget about yesterday.â His voice was harsh, painful.Â
âIâm notâ Jason this is not fair for me. Jason, we work together. You kiss me and some hours later you ignore me. And Iâm supposed to get on the stage and act like nothing happened?â You were on the verge of crying, but you couldnât ruin your make up right now. Marcus wouldnât have time to fix it before the show starts.Â
âIâm sorry, but please, forget it.â Jason looked concerned now. His lips were pressed together but his eyes had softened. However, the space between you two was still present, and it felt bigger as the secondâs passed.Â
âNo, Iââ You got cut off by the door being opened.
Your manager stood on the other side. He looked stressed and his chest moved with every deep and uneven breath he took, like he had been running.Â
âYouâre out in five. You should be with Artemis and Roy behind the stage now,â he ordered.Â
âCan you give usââ You tried to convince him.
âNow!â He repeated loder.
You gave Jason one last look before exiting the room to go join Artemis and Roy.Â
 âWhere were you?â Roy asked with a smirk when he saw you.
He didn't press you any further. Instead, he patted you on the shoulder and went back to getting ready before going on stage. And five minutes later, the final concert of the tour had begun.
The energy up on stage was unmatchable to any other show. The fans were screaming and jumping.Â
Roy, on the drums, couldnât stop smiling, feeling every note inside of him, filled with euphoria.Â
Artemis, on the electric guitar, was one with the music, shining in her solos like a shooting star.Â
But Jason and you, you both seem off.Â
You played your electric bass with no mistake. Every single note fell perfectly in its place, but your energy was not the same. You were known to be the one who interacted the most with the public, tonight you were focused on your instrument.Â
And Jason was distant. He sang the songs, but he didnât have the same energy he had had in previous concerts. Instead, he was serious, concentrating on singing every note perfectly, like it was a rehearsal.
Yet, he couldnât look at the crowd for too long because his eyes would shift and focus on you.Â
He shouldâve apologized. You were right, you didnât deserve to be treated like that after he had flirted with you for so long, and even kissed you. But unrequited love was a curse when you two were members of the same band. Risking it all was not an optionâuntil it was.Â
As the concert was coming to an end, Jason had to give one last speech before performing one of your most popular and emotional songs from your latest album. The speech was meticulously planned. He had to thank everyone for coming to the show, he had to remember the bandâs journey until today, and he had to mention that this was the very last concert of the tour before your bass solo beganâand with it, the song.
But he changed it at the very last minute without warning.Â
âA year agoâon December fifth, to be exactâI was at a bar. That day, it was one of the coldest days of the month, and we went inside to seek refuge from the snowstorm. I wrote this song after that night. It literally narrates that full night. And, I wasnât planning on even showing it to the rest of the band, much less producing it and making it part of our upcoming album.â
Jason turned around to look directly at you. âThat was the plan until the person this song was about found it and didnât realize it was about them.â
You took a deep breath, your eyes widened, and Jasonâmoving the microphone away from his mouthâwhispered âIâm sorryâ.
You were with him that December night at the bar. You found that song inside one of Jasonâs books. It was the most beautiful love song you had ever read, so you showed it to Roy and Artemis. You never thought it couldâve been about you.
âThis song's special,â Jason continued, turning around again to face the fans. âAnd since this is the very last time it will be sung live until we make another tour, I need you guys to sing it as loud as you can. This is âa ballad for a longing heartâ, thank you.â
You started playing the intro of the song, while your heart hammered on your chest and your eyes fogged.Â
Fuck Jason and his stuppid mixed singlas. He couldnât do this right now, in front of 20.000 people. But the show must go on, so you pushed every thought to the back of your head and focused on the music, on the fans, on your band.
And when the show finally ended, and you arrived at your respective hotel rooms, you waited for Jason to show up with an explanation. An explanation for last night's kiss, for his avoidant attitude today, and for the speech about the song.Â
Ten minutes later, he showed up in your room. He had taken off his makeup, but he was still wearing his concert clothes.Â
âIâm sorry,â He said, before even stepping inside your room. Â
âThe song is about me,â you muttered once Jason had closed the door behind him.
âYes. It is about you,â he confirmed.Â
The bandâs most beautiful love song, the one everyone dedicated to their partners. That song was written by Jason while thinking of you.
âIâm sorry. After I kissed you I was so afraid you would reject me that I decided that ignoring you was the best option.â He started getting closer to you, and you didnât step back, you let him into your spaceâlike you always had. âWe work together and itâs a fucking torture to keep the love I feel for you inside of me just for the sake of the band.â
âI love you,â he confessed. âAnd I feel like a total asshole for treating you like i did today, soââÂ
You cut him off by cupping his face and bringing him towards you, kissing him. His hands went to your waist while your mouths danced in a perfect rhythm.Â
âI love you too. But, donât ever ignore me again,â you said against his lips before kissing him again.Â
Today was the end of an era for the band, and the start of a relationship between the bassist and the vocalist. The fans will be going crazy.
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