୭ৎ addressed to : @springrides
song finds her during the second chorus of the fourth song, half by accident and half because he has been looking for the same face since the lights went down. crowd becomes one bright, breathing thing beneath the stage, lightsticks moving in waves, phones lifted high enough to turn every glance into evidence. knows better than to let his eyes stay anywhere too long. he's seen how fast a fan account can slow a clip, circle one direction of his gaze, match it to the girl with hundreds of thousands of followers standing near the side barricade — he's been analyzed for far less.
by the time encore ends, sweat has cooled at his temples and his manager has already said her name twice in the same dreadful tone people use for problems they expect him to solve. says nothing in return, lets staff pull the towel from his shoulders, someone unclips the mic pack from the back of his waistband and in seconds he's slipping out of the dressing room before anyone can block the door. finds her near the service hallway, pass tucked beneath her jacket and phone in her hand. ‘ you came. ’ reaches for her not even a second after his own words meet with the air, still damp from the heat and smelling faintly of sweat mixed with cologne. pulls her into him with both arms, face turning toward her hair as the noise becomes an afterthought behind his back. it's stupid and reckless, probably — careless, definitely but he's been holding back all night. ‘ it's hard not to stare at you when i'm up there. ’
