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The first time it had been to Nora.
It hadn’t been a part of the carefully put-together choreography of the show, he’d only been meant to thank the crowd and introduce the final song. That first night, standing on the stage in Austin, Alex had gotten swept away in the moment, thousands of people cheering his name as he’d prepared to close out night one of his very own headline arena tour, by playing a song he’d written about how people can come into your life and change its entire trajectory, flip your world upside down and make your life so much better. The moment had gotten the better of him.
He’d stood at the edge of the stage, microphone in his hand looking over at the crowd, feeling overwhelmed at the love radiating from the crowd, the thousands of people that had come to see him.
“Thank you, Austin!” He’d yelled into the mic, “I can’t even begin to explain how happy y’all have made me tonight. We’re almost done here, but I have one last song for y’all, it’s one that’s real important to me.” The crowd roared and cheered he grinned at them.
He turned from the crowd and walked back to his mic stand in the centre of the stage. “Tonight, I want to take the time to dedicate this song to my best friend, Nora. We dated for a while, back when were dumb kids, before we realised were way better as friends. Fun fact, she’s who I wrote Stand By Me, about.” The crowd roared again at the mention of his first hit, a poppy guitar ballad that had made him an overnight success. “Nora, thank you for never letting me get away with my bullshit and for pulling my head out of my ass when I get stuck in a spiral, I couldn’t ask for a better future sister-in-law.” The first few notes of the upbeat song kicking in as he finished.
Alex hadn’t meant for it to be a thing, but after over thirty shows, there was no denying there it was.
So now, every show, he stands in the middle of the stage, taking the time to dedicate the song, Change Me, to someone who means something to him, someone who inspires him and he admires.
There were now multiple fan accounts dedicated to reporting who he’d chosen to single out each night, some that would follow up a few hours late with a deep dive into who that person was, to him or to the world as a whole.
When he’d stood on the stage at the Pennsylvania show and dedicated the song to Taylor Swift, for inspiring a generation of songwriters, he’d even made it onto Pop Crave’s Twitter, sparking a flurry of dating rumours.
So, yeah, it was definitely a thing.
In Huston, he’d dedicated the song to Rafael Luna, his dad’s best friend, for inspiring him to go after what he wanted, no matter how impossible it seemed. In Phoenix, it had been to Liam, for being there for him during his parents’ divorce. In Los Angeles, the guy who’d paid for his train ticket when he’d left his wallet at home so he could make it to the meeting where he’d be offered his first record deal.
Eventually, he’d started to dedicate the song to celebrities too. Actors, singers, and artists from around the world who’d inspired him, who he’d looked up to over the years. Elton John, Selena, Arthur Fox, and Beyonce all got shout-outs along the way.
~*~
Zahra was pacing the length of the green room when he walked back in after soundcheck. That night was the first of three sold-out shows at the O2 Arena in London, kicking off the European leg of the tour. There would be a party afterwards, the who’s who of the London entertainment scene joining him to celebrate the achievement. Zahra had been planning it for months, down to the last detail.
Alex took a seat on the high-top chair in front of the light-up mirror and started fussing with his hair, there was one curl that just wouldn’t sit right over his forehead. “What up, Z?”
She looked up from her iPad suddenly, clearly not having noticed his entrance, “This Morning has pushed your interview back to Wednesday, we’ll already be in Manchester by then, so it going to have to be a call-in now because we are not driving back to London for one fucking appearance. Apparently, that’s not good enough, so now they’re threatening to cancel the whole thing.” She put the tablet down on the coffee table and pulled out her phone, furiously typing, Alex waited until he heard the woosh sound of a sent email before replying.
“We have like ten interviews scheduled already for London, what’s one less?” The murderous look she sent him over her phone, told him he’d absolutely said the wrong thing. “Forget I said anything. Would it make you feel better to run me through the guest list for tonight again?”
“You should have that memorised by now, I sent you the list weeks ago.” None-the-less she swapped her phone for her tablet again, tapping around as she pulled up the list.
Alex went back to trying to sort his hair, “I’ve only got so much space in my pretty little head, Z, and right now lyrics and choreo are taking up like ninety per cent of it.” It wasn’t true, he knew the guest list inside and out, back to front, but he also knew that like him, Zahra loved a list.
He half listened as she began naming celebrities, why he should know them, whether or not he should bother trying to shmooze them. It was an impressive guest list, with plenty of popstars and actors, even a few models and politicians having RSVP’d, there were even enough former members of One Direction coming it could be called a reunion.
She was just starting to list which Spice Girls would be in attendance when her tablet pinged, her rant about how damn Posh Spice thought she was too good to bother replying to the invite trailed off mid-sentence.
Alec turned to see Zahra staring down at her iPad, eyes tracking whatever was happening on the screen. He was about to ask her what was going on when his own phone went off with a series of text notifications. His group chat with June and Nora was going wild, multiple unintelligible keyboard smash messages that Alex tracked up to a video link.
The thumbnail showed a face he knew well.
Prince Henry sat in a plush ornate-looking armchair, dressed in a full dull grey suit looking seriously at the camera.
Alex immediately clicked on the video.
‘The following is an official announcement from Kensington Palace.’ A scroll of text across the screen declared. And then there was Henry, dressed as he was in thumbnail, looking the epitome of Prince Charming as always, with blonde hair impeccably styled and piercing blue eyes locked on the camera.
‘Good afternoon .’ The prince started, ‘Thank you for taking the time out of your day to be here.’ He looked serious; mouth pulled in the same polite smile it always was. ‘I would like to start by thanking the Queen, my grandmother, for allowing me to speak with you all today.
Since I was a child, I have been intimately aware of my position in the world as a public figure. The responsibility of such I have spent many nights agonising over. I am, first and foremost your Prince. I am Henry George Edwards James Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Prince of Wales, but I am also Henry Fox, son of Catherine Mountchristen-Windsor and Arthur Fox, brother of Philip and Beatrice. ” He took a deep breath, chest rising and falling with it, before his smile turned more genuine, a little crooked at the corner.
‘For a long time, I have battled over the duality of those two personalities, tried to separate them within myself, give Prince Henry to you, the people, and keep Henry Fox to myself. However, I have to come to realise that that is not the way to do things and that I need to learn to merge the two into one. That is why I am here today, to tell you more about Henry Fox. He loves to read, especially anything written by Jane Austen, he cares deeply for his Beagle, David, named after the great David Bowie, he loves his family and friends fiercely and’ Another deep breath, ‘He is gay.’
The little Henry on his screen keeps talking, something about hoping his coming out can offer comfort and encouragement to those unable to do the same and announcing a charity fund to support disenfranchised LQBTQIA+ youth, but Alex has stopped listening, brain going into hyperdrive.
“Hey Zahra, is there room for one more on the guest list?”
~*~
The show that night is electric, the fans are wild, singing along loudly, dancing in the pit and roaring with cheers after every song. Alex is electric too, body humming with energy and nerves, heightening with every song the closer he gets to the end of the show.
When he steps up the mic before Change Me, he feels like he’s going to explode with nervous energy. He takes hold of the microphone with both hands and takes a deep breath, thinks of Henry, Prince Henry, coming out to the entire world and channels that bravery.
“London, you have been amazing tonight!” He starts, pausing while the crowd screams. “I’m guessing y’all know what part of the show we’re at now.” The crowd cheers again in affirmation.
He takes one hand off the mic and tucks it into his back pocket, feeling for the folded-up fabric hidden in there, thumbing over it for comfort.
“Tonight, I want to dedicate this song to the bravest son of a bitch I’ve ever seen, someone who said a big fuck you to society and bigots and wasn’t afraid to be themselves, unapologetically. Tonight, I’m dedicating this song to Henry Fox.” The crowd loses its goddamn mind. He’s never heard a crowd this loud before, the screams ricochet through him.
Once the fans settle down, he raises the microphone to his mouth again. “Henry, what you did today was so amazing, it inspired me to be brave too.” He pulls out the fabric from his pocket, the pink, purple and blue striped fabric unfolding as he raises it high, waving it above his head and the crowd begins to scream again. “My name is Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz, and I’m bisexual.”
~*~
The party is in full swing by the time he finds June and Nora. They’re standing by the bar, heads bent low, and they talk over the noise of the party.
“So, did anything exciting happen today?” He asks as he approaches.
They squeal and pull him into a tight group hug. “Shut up, I am so proud of you, lil bit.” June whispers in his ear, squeezing him tight.
Immediately after leaving the stage, he’d been whisked away to get changed and ready for the party, other than Zahra dropping by the greenroom to let him know he was going viral and the reactions to his coming out had been largely positive, he hadn’t had a chance to think much about it, too busy rubbing shoulders with entertainment elite.
It was nice to stop for a moment, to take a breath and focus on the huge thing he’d done only hours before. He stands chatting with his sister and best friend for a while, catching up and gossiping about the celebrities in the room. He can hear an increase in the chatter around him, some murmurings about someone who just arrived, but he pays it no mind until someone clears their throat behind him.
He turns only to be greeted by blue eyes that are even more captivating in person. Before him stands Prince Henry, dressed down in dark wash jeans and a white button-down shirt, hair softer and less styled than it had been in the video.
“Um, Your Majesty, hi.” Alex flounders. He’d asked Zahra to extend an invite to the prince, but he hadn't actually expected him to come.
Henry smiles, softly. “Technically it’s Your Highness, but please, call me Henry.”
“Okay, Henry. Thank you for coming, I know you had a big day.” Alex says sincerely.
“I think we both had a big day really. I’ll be honest, I was quite sure if I was ready to make a public appearance so soon, but someone called me the bravest son of a bitch they’ve ever seen, so I couldn’t disappoint.” He rubs the back of neck, looking at Alex through his eyelashes.
Alex takes the opportunity to look the prince up and down, to really look at him, from the soft smile and way it makes creases form at the corner of his eyes, to the way he’s been fiddling with a ring on his pinkie finger. “Oh, trust me, sweetheart, nothing about you is disappointing.” He winks, watching a pretty flush make its way across Henry’s cheeks.
Henry shakes his head, “You don’t even know me.”
“Well, why don’t we change that?”
Six Months Later
It’s the last night of the tour and Alex is standing on stage in front of thousands of people in Sydney, Australia. He looks out into the crowd of screaming people, waving signs and pride flags and takes in all in for the last time this tour.
“All right Sydney, for the last time, it’s time to do my favourite part of the show.” He calls into the mic and lets the crowd go wild for a minute, laughing as they scream his name. “Tonight’s dedication is going to be a little different, you see, this personal already got a dedication before, but I need a re-do.”
There is a rumble of confusion in the crowd, who could he possibly need to redo a dedication to?
“Don’t get me wrong, what I said the first time still stands, but things have changed since then. So tonight, this song once again goes out Henry Fox. You are still the bravest motherfucker I’ve ever known, but you are also the best boyfriend I could ask for. I love you, baby!” He turns to face the wings of the stage while the crowd goes crazy, finding his boyfriend watching him. He holds his hand out, an invitation, asking him to join him on stage.
Tentatively Henry steps out on stage, to even louder cheers, and takes Alex’s hand, allowing himself to be pulled close, as Alex places a kiss on his cheek.