#groupiestatus | chapter 2
//NOTE: wow first of all thank you guys again SO much for all the love on the first part it truly means the most <3 i know conceal was not present at the NYC show but in this series he is, also jonah intro this chapter sorry i couldn't wait. love you guys forever and always <3
you stood in the balcony of the Terminal 5 in NYC, drink in hand as you looked down into the crowd below, hundreds of groups standing around all waiting to watch the boys perform as more people filled in after them until the room was filled to a brim.
“i could not imagine being down there” ryan stated walking up behind you, you leaning on the balcony railing looking down at them before looking back at you, his beautiful eyes staring right into yours as his lips curled into a smile while he took a sip of his drink. Dressed in his usual black skinny jeans and layers of jean jackets, and his signature gloves , with a beanie to lay onto his fresh buzz cut, boy did you miss his beautiful brown locs sometimes though.
You nodded in agreement, the thought of being packed like a sardine in a hot little box sounded miserable, especially with the only little amount of water they were handing out that you also basically had to fight for.
“oh absolutely, it looks miserable they’re all like back to chest with each other.. and look see he’s still trying to shove his way up to the front, like there is no room for you buddy” you replied pointing down at one of the boys below who was shoving through girls to get to the front, honestly this really had to be some sort of safety hazard now that you were looking at it from above.
Ryan looked down and laughed at the sight you were pointing at, “they all need to see the glorious white tiger in ALL of his glory” he replied, taking out his small box of camel cigarettes handing you one before lighting his own. Passing you the lighter after, the time read ‘ 7:55 pm ‘ which means they had about five-minutes before roman even went on. you took a drag before blowing the smoke out over the balcony.
“are you excited?” ryan asked, also taking a drag before leaning his back fully on the railing looking right up at you , you nodded, i mean it was the same show you had seen plenty times before , at this point you’ve come up with a game at this point ‘how many songs in till his shirt comes off', and you'd keep score in your head. Last stop it only took 3 songs for hollis , and romans shirt was off right after no me importa.
“always am, you can tell theyre performance is getting better with each stop” you pointed out, “but i love when they go out to see the fans after the show that’s always so heart warming to watch” you explained, ryan nodded in agreement
“yeah that’s kinda the best part, like realizing that they wanted to see me too was crazy. but i swear let one of them ask when my ep is dropping one more time i might actually loose it” he stated with a laugh, you laughed along with him coughing slightly at the smoke that filled your throat.
“the girls yearn for that ryan d ep okay, they need it” you repsonded taking a long drag of your cig before blowing it out, ryan laughed and shook his head turning to look over the railing at the stage.
it wasn’t long before the lights dimmed, and the crowd roared, the lights flashed red and white as the beginning beats of romans song started to play as he ran out onto the stage. You watched as the crowd moved in waves, up and down, left to right sometimes side to side. Romans crowd was intense because his music was intense, no me importa was like a raging teenage boys wet dream and then followed up with even more intense unreleased songs like mira right after, you think tell they’d tire themselves out eventually but it was like romans energy was bouncing off of the walls onto them. it was like every other moment someone was getting pulled over the barricade.
however whenever they were pulled out they were sent up where you were, and you honestly found it adorable to watch them jump and sing along the sight would be such nostalgic one to see, and honestly sometimes it made you miss home. like you loved how you lived now, but most of the time you missed being that same girl dancing along with your friends, no online hate, just you your best friends and music. you’d catch yourself staring at them before quickly turning your gaze back to Roman’s set, but as fast as it started it also ended and there was a short intermission before nates set. You and ryan clapped as roman left the stage, saying his i love you to the crowd and even blew a little kiss at one of the barricade girls, you could see her jumping up and down to get his attention from up there and you remembered that same feeling so well.
“hey guys” a soft voice called from behind you and ryan, you looked over your shoulder to see none other than jonah the man himself. dressed in his black baggy tee that had a cool neon skull design on it, some light silver and gold chains laid neatly across his neck and the same black baggy jeans he wore often. He had some cute eye makeup on, some black shadow light tapped on the corner and a tight lined water line that had a kinda smudged look, just looking the cutest ever as always. You gasped turning fully to face him “jonah!” you said as he smiled shyly at your excited tone.
“i didn’t know you were coming man what are you doing here?” ryan asked almost just as excited was you were, jonah smiled rubbing the back of his neck,
“i have my ways” he said leaning in to return your hug, jonah was also apart of their group. but not one you saw as often as the others, jonah being a producer was alwayysss working on music for someone the most recent being roman and ryan for their new releases. Jonah was the kindest most gentle man you’d ever met, he looks kinda intimidating from afar but he’s really a sweetheart so soft spoken and kind and always being there to support anyone close to him, you’d always enjoyed talking with him considering you didn’t see him as often, hearing about his projects and what he had been up too.
“you guys coming to the after party?” he asked softly standing between you and the other man, you nodded taking a sip of your drink however ryan shook his head turning to face you and jonah, taking a puff of his cigarette and blowing the smoke away from the two.
“nah man i got a flight back to LA in the morning, im just here because i had a shoot here anyway” ryan explained as he turned back to the stage, jonah nodded before turning to you.
“i missed you, how have you been?” he asked gently leaning in so you could hear him better, the small gesture making your heart thump a bit in your chest.
you smiled scrunching your nose a bit flushed “I've been good i missed you more i thought i wouldn't see you until the end of tour! and you know as of right now its just party party party” you joked shrugging as you took in your surroundings. jonah laughed and nodded,
“yeah well that’s how it is around hollis, that dude never stops” he replied, before you could respond the lights dimmed yet again, you watched as the crowd shoved forward as the lights flash, and the beginning of ‘tonight’ started to blare through the speakers. Nates set was longer obviously, but his sound was wayyy different very poppy kinda justin berber vibes, total dance songs. you could tell because the crowd would get less intense during his set compared to romans, less shoving and pushing more jumping and dance pits. Nate always brought the energy though. Nate was not new to this but very true to this, and always put on a great performance, his voice was like honey and the kind that would give you goosebumps at each high note he hit.
After 30 minutes or so nates set ended and he said his goodbyes to the crowd, before walking off. This was the longer intermission before hollis came on. You clapped for him as he walked off before turning your attention back to jonah,
"no but seriously how did you get here? i thought you were staying back home to work on your project?" you asked him, tapping out your now worn down cig before putting it out on the trash can next to you.
jonah shrugged, "i thought id stop by, plus new york is so fun anyway" he explained. "also hollis had called me the other day, and he was talking about throwing an after party here anyway, and a bunch of our mutual friends were going so that further pushed my impulsive decision to come along" he explained further,
you nodded along as he explained his reasons for coming, i mean flying from LA to new york is insane and probably expensive too.
"well its always good to see you jonah" you said softly, jonah smiled letting out a small laugh and shaking his head, he didn't respond but the look on his face told you everything- jonah always had this soft look to him whenever it came to you, like he always had a kinda intimidating face to hi but with you his eyes were softer, his small gestures like rubbing the top of your hand with his thumb, or moving your hair if it was in your way, or even holding it back while you threw up in his bathroom.
Shortly after, hollis set started. Honestly, the best part of the whole show, not like you were biased because you loved all of them so equally but watching hollis perform was always something to put you in a trance. He was so passionate about his craft and his music, his fans and performing at his best all the time was so important to him and he delivered every time. The light show, the tiger on the stage, the lasers that blare around, it was all perfect. Hollis was a performer, and his happiest on stage connecting so deeply with thousands of people who were there because they loved him and what he created. As tour went on he would always state how grateful he was for this, late at night in the hotel room you two would talk and he would just go on and on, on how he couldn't believe this was his life now, and people were finally recognizing him for what he is as an artist, and honestly hollis had deserved it, even in this short time of truly knowing him he was probably the most hard working person you had ever met, always making sure each song he teased or put out was produced the best he could, and if it wasn't enough, scrapped to never be seen again. He cared so so deeply about his art and his fans and you admired him so much for that.
The show went on perfect, you ryan and jonah cheered along for him the entire time, dancing along with each song he played it was always a good time. You swore ryan cheered the loudest for him at one point though but if anyone was proud of hollis it was most definitely ryan that was his biggest supporter in and out. Eventually though, the show ended and you jonah and ryan made your ways down the balcony with security to head backstage before the boys went to go greet the fans outside.
The three of you hurried down the halls into dressing room 2, where all three of them sat. Upon opening the door ryan cheered for them as you all entered the room.
"that was amazing you guys" you said leaning into hug roman and then nate, as ryan and jonah went to congratulate hollis for another successful show.
"another great night everyone," hollis said as he finally closed in your hug, "but its not over yet, did you guys see the flyers online?"the asked keeping his arm around you.
jonah nodded, "why else would you think im here you can never turn down a hollis after party" he said nudging hollis in the side, as the rest started to get ready to greet the fans outside.
as much as you loved seeing them interact with the fans, the big smiles, the constant "i love you"'s the gifts they'd sometimes receive from them, you tried not to make yourself seen too much. you had tried not too bring yourself out in the public eye too much, as much as you tried to ignore the public hate you'd receive that doesn't mean it still didn't hurt. You'd watch quietly from the tour bus window, peaking from behind the curtains as they ran up to the fans, grabbing hands, giving hugs everything you yourself once experienced. but you knew if they saw you, it would be hell not only on you but on them too. That's why the thought of this after party not only excited you, but scared you too.
