Chapter Text
August’s POV=
I walked back to the group carefully holding the tray of drinks– Juice, sprite, coke, and a few others. We had moved two benches together to fit everyone, and yet even still we had a few people standing. We had even gained a few people– Friends of Sunny, Fal, and Rima’s. There was Sunstar with her pink hair, Realm, and their two kids Mason and Mari. Those two were running around and having fun in the late afternoon warmth.
There was this electricity in the air, a buzz with our nerves building up. My nerves were building up. We’d be performing in front of thousands of people, the biggest crowd we’ve had yet. I placed the tray down, making sure none of the drinks spilled and handed each to the people who ordered it.
“Thanks for the drinks, August.” Sunstar smiled, her tone gentle and sincere. She took two juices, a champagne and a beer for Realm, to which she handed it off quite quickly. “My pleasure, Sunstar. Saves you from walking over there and leaving Realm to the kids.” I half-joked, to which she got and giggled at. I smiled, glad that our interactions haven’t been quite as awkward as I originally thought they’d be.
Sunstar called out for her kids, who came running over and had a bit of their juice before playing again. I took a sprite, and everyone else got their drinks they had ordered. Ollie, Kai and Nugget were having quite the conversation beside me, probably having another debate about content creators. Sage merely sat to the side, sipping a coke and laughing quietly. Rima and Fal stood at the edge of the bench, having their own conversation.
I looked around once more, making sure we had everyone. Sunny and Lonan weren’t here. My brows furrowed, about to call out to ask if they’d seen them when I saw Lonan walking over, tying his hair back into a small ponytail. Sunny wasn’t with him.
“‘Sup.” He smiled, standing beside me. I offered a small smile, however I noticed the confusion and concern he got when they saw me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah everything’s okay. Just uh-” I looked around to where Lonan had come from, and worry ebbed at my chest. “Where’s Sunny?” I met Lonan’s gaze, and it quickly softened from the worry.
“What, care about them already?” He teased, an almost knowing look in their eyes. I scoffed, shaking my head a little and looking away. Though, I couldn’t help but smile a little at the comment. “She’s fine, don’t worry. She’ll be back later, she’s just got something she needs to do.” Lonan reassured, and it seemed to have worked. I nodded, taking a sip of my drink.
“Right, backstage work?” I asked, turning my gaze back to Lonan once again. He blinks, a blank confusion on their face before realising something. “Oh! Yeah, backstage things the organisers what her help for.” He nodded, a little unconvincing. I furrowed my brows a little, though shrugged it off.
Lonan clicked his tongue, a scoff following after. “No drinks for me? Damn, I see how it is.” I chuckled, shaking my head while taking another sip. “You’ll have to get your own drink since you joined us late, again .” “Wh- It’s only been once!” We laughed, joy spreading away the worries. “Fine. I’ll be back, gonna grab a coke.”
Our attention was yoinked by the crowds forming around the stage, clambering voices filled with an excited buzz. Sunstar and Realm had called their kids over, and we all made our way into the crowds, pushing through to get a good view. Lonan came running over with an unopened can of coke, gasping for air when he caught up.
Sunny still was nowhere to be seen, but perhaps now would be a time to merely enjoy the opening of the festival. The buzz began to get to me, filling me with a giddy excitement as we all watched the host step out onto the stage.
They had a wide smile, waving as the crowd cheered louder than I’ve ever heard before. “Hello! Hello everyone!” They spoke into the microphone, only gaining more cheers. We were all excited– Everyone at this festival, even the strangers, employees, performers, and hosts were excited– and our cheers had made it clear of the energy.
“Who’s excited for the Battle of The Bands!!?” They exclaimed, gaining yet again more cheers, energy buzzing everywhere. “Now, I know you’re all excited,” They laughed, a sweet thing on such a large stage. “Some of you may remember me from last year. I’m Zenni, your host for the festival for another year. Today marks the start of the Battle of The Bands, beginning with our opening act!” More cheers. It was loud, but it was fun. I was excited to see how people reacted to the artists and bands, to see who was performing, and to compete after years of being out of the competition scenario in music.
“Unfortunately our opening artist, The Burning Phoenix, got in a bad car accident a few days prior to the start of this event and won’t be able to perform for us.” A collective ‘awh’ rang out in the crowd, and Zenni started talking again. “Luckily, I know someone who would do just as good as the Burning Phoenix to be our opening act. I’m lucky enough that she agreed to it.” Curiosity pricked at my mind, trying to figure out who it might be.
“Everyone make some noise for Sunny!” They held a hand out, pointing to the wings where someone walked out holding a bass. I squinted trying to see who it was. My view from here wasn’t the greatest, but they looked a little too familiar to go under the radar. The crowd cheered loud, really loud, for her.
She tittered, taking the microphone. “Thank you, Zenni. Really, it’s an honour to be her performing.” She smiled. Sunny? The crowd quietened as she spoke, before cheering once more when they finished. What on Earth was she doing performing? She works backstage.
“Good luck, Sunny.” Zenni smiled, walking off stage. Sunny put her microphone on the stand in front of her, adjusting it to her height. “Let’s blow the roof off!” She exclaimed, nodding once to let the people working on the sound to start the music as the crowd began to tear the voices with how much they cheered.
Song: Feel Anything - Nxdia
She adjusted the microphone, waiting for her cue. As the sound rang out on the speakers, the guitar started up and cheers screamed all around. A smirk rose on her face, and she shifted just a little before cupping her hands to the microphone.
She began to sing the words to the song, voice smooth and awfully nice. I stood stunned, cheers only growing louder from those beside and around us, especially Lonan. Since when could Sunny sing? I couldn’t help the slight flutter in my stomach as she sang, gaze washing over the audience.
The song kept going, with nothing more than the lyrics, guitar and a few backing vocals. The lyrics came to a pause, and everything grew to a still, or at least felt like that. The guitar stopped, and she adjusted her hands on her bass, preparing to play. A smirk grew only wider, and she leaned a little closer to the microphone.
“Are you ready?” she asked out to the audience, and they all screamed and cheered. Hell, I even smiled a little. Everything went quiet on the speakers except for a bass line, the one she was playing.
She plucked the strings, and I felt my cheeks grow a little red. Blame it on the heat, August. She played the riff, smiling around at the audience, even making eye contact with some. They all cheered when she started, and soon enough she returned to lyrics that were half sung by her and half screamed by the audience.
I watched, starstruck and glued to my spot. She put her bass down, clearly having a backing track that kept it going and the crowd began to jump around with the music, enjoying themselves.
Her gaze caught mine, and her smile managed to grow more as I felt my cheeks burn up a little. Fuck. I chuckled a little, breaking eye contact and looking around, not helping the smile on my face. Lonan was having a good time at least, and so were the others.
My gaze returned to Sunny on the stage as everything died down a little, only to find she was still looking at me. She held the microphone on the stand, and as she sang she traced her fingers lightly up and down the neck of the stand.
Something in the way she said the words, touched the stand, kept watching me , caused my stomach to flutter even more. Only did being bumped into by Lonan cause me to remember how to breathe again.
“You’re all red!” He yelled over the music, gesturing to his face. I stared at him blankly before registering and yelling back. “It’s hot out!” I replied, to which he nodded and kept dancing around. My gaze turned back to Sunny, who was now entertaining the crowd with the music, down on her knees and cupping someone’s chin.
“Having fun?!” Lonan yelled. “Huh!?” I asked, not quite catching it. He rolled his eyes a little, a small scoff escaping them. “Having fun!?” “OH! Yeah, I’m enjoying myself. You?!” I replied, and a nod was the response I got as Lonan shifted back over.
The song continued, and I decided to join in with the group, dancing around and jumping up and down with Ollie and Lonan, Sunstar just beside me. Despite everything, my mind continued to return to the way she had looked at me earlier. Something else was in her eye, a flicker for just a moment, and it sent sparks coursing throughout my body.
The song faded out to a stop, and cheers erupted at the end. Zenni returned, holding a microphone and talking to the crowd. “Let’s hear another round for Sunny!” They said, and the audience kept cheering, if not louder this time. She bowed, and waved as she left the stage.
Zenni continued talking to the crowd, though my attention drew to the group. “C’mon, we’re gonna get something to eat and see Sunny.” Rima said, waving me over. I nodded with a polite smile, jogging to catch up to the group.
“ That’s why Sunny wasn’t with us earlier. And why I was gone for a bit, I had to help her get ready.” Lonan said, falling in step with me. I stared ahead of me, nodding. I needed to calm down completely and act normal to see her again. Otherwise I’m not going to be functioning.
“Yeah, she’s pretty good. How come I’ve never heard of her before this?” I asked, turning to Lonan. He merely shrugged. “Dunno, she’s pretty big back in New Zealand, and clearly here too if she got the crowds going.”
“Then again, she likes to keep it on the down-low with new people. She’s had some…difficult times making friends before.” Lonan said, gaining a few nods from me. “Makes sense. Making friends while being famous is pretty hard half the time.”
A clamour of familiar voices caught our attention, and we made our way over to the group. They all crowded around Sunny, praising her and cheering, Ollie being the loudest screaming over the performance.
I stood on the outer section of the group, though Lonan shoved his way through to get to Sunny. I wasn’t paying much attention to what was said, it was a little noisy anyways. Nothing I’m not used to, though. My eyes were glued to Sunny. The way her hair fell around her shoulders, framing her face. The way the sun hit it, and how it made their eyes look deeper than normal…
I snapped out of it the moment I saw people walking away. Sunny walked beside Lonan, and I watched most of them leave, talking away, and I knew I looked confused– and dumb. Sunny walked over to me, though I merely looked at her then back to the group. “What’s- Where are they going..?” I asked, brows furrowed in confusion.
A soft palm met my cheek, a little pressure to turn my head in her direction. My stomach lifted, and heat rushed to my cheeks. Butterflies swarmed within me, and I stared directly at her. Their eyes flicked to my lips, lingering there a little too long, and back to my eyes.
She smiled a little, a small breath of a laugh in response to my question. “It doesn’t matter where they’re going, Auggie.” Her hand never left my cheek, and I was hyper-aware of it trailing to cup it more comfortably. My eyes drifted to her lip, but I quickly snapped them away. You barely know her, get a grip August. And yet, I noticed her eyes lingering on my lips again.
“Rumour has it, I make you nervous. Is that right, Auggie?” She smirked. Fuck. I couldn’t find words to respond, how the fuck did she manage to figure it out? Lonan I swear to god if this was your fault I’m coming for your toes tonight. Not having words only made her smirk even more, eyes falling back to my lips.
She leaned in a little, and then a little more. I stood still, a little confused but mostly just having a gay panic attack, and soon enough we were close enough I could feel her breath on my lips. Her eyes were basically shut, and my breath hitched in my throat.
She paused, lingering there for a moment before smiling. She let out a small laugh, and she tapped my cheek a few times before letting her hand fall, walking off to the others. I stood there, confused as fuck and stuck to the ground. What the fuck just happened.
“C’mon! We’ll lose the others otherwise!” She called me over, and I began walking over, gaze turning to the main group I saw. We joined them, and joined in with the conversation that was happening. Though, Lonan gave me a look. I shot a glare his way, though kept it light-hearted. He most definitely had something to do with it.