Shelter was an underground club on the Amstel River and was going to be Joost's biggest performance yet.

Peering out to the stage, Joost was overwhelmed by the turnout. The dancefloor was heaving with people drinking and dancing to the DJs set. The walls and floors vibrated with the base and noise of the venue. Drinks were already being thrown over the crowd and as it approached midnight, the stage was being set up for Joost Klein's performance.

Joost should be excited. At least two-hundred people had paid to come see him. Shelter was just a taste of what Lowlands would be like and Joost should be prepared to leap out onto the stage. His album was doing well and he had some new songs ready to promote tonight. This was a great opportunity for him, and yet, Joost couldn't stop chewing at his fingernails.

Fenne wasn't here. The security hadn't come to tell him that a girl was claiming to have backstage access. He scanned the crowd from the corner of the stage, but couldn't stop thinking about the main reason of why tonight was so special.

With his earphones in his ears, Joost pulled his phone out as he stepped back from the stage. He looked over the week's worth of text messages with Fenne's number. Just as he thought, he had said the right time and given the right instructions.

I go on at 12! I've told the security your name so you can watch from backstage :')

Fenne had even replied saying that she couldn't wait. She was bringing Hanna and Joost's team would finally meet the girl that had distracted Joost for the past few weeks. It was a big night, but he was going on in five minutes, and Fenne still wasn't here.

The worst possible thought flooded his mind. Had she bailed? Had she realised that the blonde fool with a girly laugh was way out of her league? Was the date and tattoo parlour just Fenne being polite?

'You okay, Joost?' Apson said with a hand on his shoulder. The man turned to his friend with a wrinkled forehead and his thumb's nail between his teeth.

'She's not here, Appie. She bailed,' he said with a pain in his chest. 'I can't believe it... I thought she liked me-'

'Hey, don't be like that! There's still time. She could just be running late?'

Apson was worried at the sad eyes that were usually so lively. Joost had been excited to perform tonight in his yellow-lensed glasses, red polo and shorts. Everything seemed normal, right up until Apson caught Joost peaking his head out to the dancefloor and wearing his corded earphones.

'I can't go out there. Not after this.'

'What?! Come on, man, don't let some girl stop you from doing your thing-'

'She's not just some fucking girl!' Joost's yell was unexpected and Apson threw his hands up to show his innocence.

'Hey, alright! I'm sorry-'

'What's going on? You're about to go on, Joost,' Stuntje appeared beside his friend who stepped back from the performer. With creased eyebrows, Stuntje took note of Joost's downturned gaze and fidgeting fingers.

'Fenne's not here, Stunts. I-I don't want to go out there-'

'You've got two minutes. You can't bail now just because she did!'

Joost was panicking. The DJ's set had finished and the crowd's murmur could be heard in the absence of music. Droom Groot was about to play but Joost had lost all enthusiasm.

For the first time, Joost didn't want to perform on stage. His childhood fear of rejection had resurfaced and Joost's heart felt like it was being squeezed with an immense pressure. His earphones did nothing to calm him down. He looked at Stuntje and Apson with eyes that pleaded for them to stop the show.

How could he sing and dance to Droom Groot to a crowd when his dreams had been crushed? It didn't matter that Shelter was filled with people that came to see solely him if Fenne wasn't there. The realities of his teenage years were flooding back and Joost remembered why he had abandoned the past. He was a fool to think that Fenne Meer would ever want to see him, much less date him.

'Please, guys, don't make me-'

'She's here! She's here!' Teun appeared, out of breath and with company.

With flushed cheeks and hair in their faces, Fenne and Hanna skidded to a stop behind Joost's producer. Despite their tardiness, the two wore wide grins at being backstage and were oblivious to the fact that the show almost didn't happen.

'Oh, thank fuck,' Apson sighed in a deep relief. He exchanged a look with Teun, whose shoulders heaved from running backstage in a frantic sprint. But when Joost yanked his earphones out of his ears and wore an uncontrollable grin, it all seemed worth it.

'Fenne! I thought you weren't coming!' he shot away from the stage while shoving his earphones into his pocket. With arms outstretched, Joost pulled Fenne into an embrace with the relief of an alive turkey on Christmas Day.

'I'm so sorry! We missed the train and the queue outside is huge!' Fenne let out in one breath. 'And the bouncer thought Hanna's ID was fake!'

In a state of bliss and relief, Joost rocked the two of them side to side in their embrace. Fenne's small frame fit against his like she was made for him and her petite arms locked together in the curve of his back. Joost couldn't stop himself from leaning his cheek against the side of her head and didn't care that his team were looking to the stage impatiently.

'Thank you for coming. Really, I... I nearly didn't-'

'His name is small!'

'Get out there, Joost!' Stuntje cried as cheers roared from the crowd. He pried Joost away from Fenne by his shoulder and held out his microphone. Even while walking to the stage, Joost looked back at Fenne with a foolish grin.

'But his dreams are big!'

Fenne watched as Joost stepped into the spotlight and held his arms up to the crowd. Her cheeks hurt from the grin on her lips and seeing the blonde jump around on stage was a thrill.

Her heart pounded against her chest and her hair stuck to her neck and down her shoulders. Running after the man who she didn't know had been chaotic, but Joost seemed to embrace her in ignorance to her flushed state. She had been high on the adrenaline of her arrival and hadn't, at first, registered that she was pulled into Joost's arms. But as Droom Groot changed to Albino, Fenne's heart never ceased its constant hammering.

A brief moment of clarity occured when Fenne felt Joost's face against her head. It was then that the giddiness settled in and she struggled to let Stuntje pull the intoxicating man away from her.

'You should talk to Shelter and get that security guard fired,' Hanna huffed from behind Fenne. 'And how do I get a drink from back here? I'm thirsty, god damn it!'

While Fenne was unable to look away from the stage, Apson and Stuntje eyed her friend awkwardly. She was in a denim mini skirt and a tube top. Her hair was up in two messy buns and with a scowl on her face, Hanna didn't appear to be as entranced by Joost Klein as Fenne was.

'The bar will be empty. Do you want to come with me?' Apson said, stepping forward with raised eyebrows. Hanna's scowl faltered as she looked up to the slim man and let her irritation from the previous chaos fizzle away.

'Okay, but you're paying.'

Hanna walked off first, letting Apson turn to Stuntje with a sly smirk. He knew what he was doing when he offered Hanna to accompany him. As he followed after the fiery Kloppefield, Apson fist-bumped Stuntje. He expected as such from his long time friend who made it obvious that Hanna Kloppefield was in his interest.

Joost gave a great performance, as he always did. Between songs, he would talk to the crowd while walking across the stage aimlessly. 

Occassionally, he would glance to the right, where Fenne was stood watching out of the crowd's sight. The sight of her in a matching two-piece set and her bare legs caught Joost's attention every time. He would force himself to look away and pull the microphone down to his side, otherwise he would let out an exasperated curse to a confused crowd.

She was so beautiful with her encouraging smile and twinkling eyes. The backstage was dimmly lit, but Joost could see Fenne clearly. He didn't wonder for a second on why he was prepared to cancel the show if she really hadn't turned up. But she was here, never leaving the side of the stage as he performed for an hour straight.

'He was about to cancel, you know.'

Fenne looked away from Joost, who started to hakken to Buurman, to see the man who had rushed them backstage. Her smile loosened as she glanced between him and to the show.

'Really? What for?' she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

'He thought you ditched. Said he couldn't go out after knowing you weren't there,' he said before jumping in realisation. 'I'm sorry, I'm Teun.'

Her face was riddled with shock and confusion as she shook his hand. Teun appeared to have two thoughts running through his head at once but couldn't decipher which to talk about first. Fenne was beginning to think that Joost wasn't the only one in his team that struggled to stay focused.

'Fenne, nice to meet you- wait, what do you mean he was about to cancel because I wasn't here? There's no way he would do that,' she turned to Teun in disbelief.

'He was pleading for Appie and Stunts to let him cancel. It was only when security called me and said you were here that I knew I had to make Joost see you so that he didn't back out. He really likes you. Can't you tell?'

Teun raised an eyebrow at the Meer in front of him. She looked up at him like it was all news to her. He watched Fenne stare into space, before turning back to the stage, her shifting eyes to Joost. Whether it was because he was a boy, or because he was just clueless, Teun couldn't understand how Fenne could look confused at his statement.

She had to have seen the way Joost's entire demeanour changed when she arrived. The man's blue eyes turned into hearts and he squeezed the girl in a hug as if she was about to disappear. Teun had never seen Joost act that way with someone, and for Fenne to not see it, he thought that the girl was edging on crazy.

'I produce a lot of his songs,' Teun decided to say. 'It's how I know Joost.'

'That's cool. He writes the lyrics, though, right?'

'Most of the time. He's a good writer. Very emotional and sensitive, although he might not seem like it,' as Teun said this, Fenne saw Joost stick his tongue out as the base dropped. She stifled a laugh at the irony and Teun let out an insincere sigh.

'He has range. That's what matters,' Fenne said and Teun agreed.

---

After the show, a car pulled up to Shelter to take the team to the afterparty. With six seats behind the driver, the team and their extra company piled in with high spirits. They had drank enough at the bar to enjoy some loud music through the speakers and Stuntje pulled out a full pint of beer from his jacket that he had snuck out of the club.

'When did you even buy that?!' Hanna cried as the man put the full glass to his lips.

'On our way out. I hid it in my pocket,' he shrugged.

Laughter rang out through the car as it drove through the city. Fenne was squished between Joost and Stuntje, while Hanna had chosen to sit on the end of Apson and Teun. Hanna and Apson had been sticking close to each other throughout the show and it wasn't ignored by everyone else. Fenne was dying to talk to her friend about the situation, but would have to wait until they were alone together. It was likely that that wouldn't be until tomorrow morning, since the afterparty was only just starting at one o'clock.

As for herself, Fenne's hand hadn't left Joost's since he got off stage. He finished with a bow and a sincere expression of gratitude before running to the right. There, he embraced Fenne for the second time, even going as far as to lift her off her feet.

She let out a squeal and clenched his shirt in her fists for support. When her feet touched the ground, Joost grinned down at her with his hands lingering on her sides. Stuntje suggested having some drinks before they needed to leave and Fenne felt Joost's fingers interlink with her own. Since then, Fenne had let him lead her around backstage and through Shelter, happy to be by his side in her tipsy state.

'So, Fenne, how are you enjoying the rockstar lifestyle?' Apson asked from the opposite seats.

'Leave her alone, Appie,' Joost rolled his eyes and Fenne laughed nervously.

'If watching him hakken from backstage is the rockstar life, then its great.'

'Good answer.'