Song: Mardy Bum - Arctic Monkeys

"It's hard to describe, the feeling that takes over when you're on stage. The adrenaline that seems to invade every inch of your body, rushing through each and every vein until your fingers twitch and itch with a need to do something, anything, and so they tighten around the fretboard of your guitar, or the microphone as you clip it into the stand, and your feet feel rooted to the ground but you think you're floating at the same time and the whole room seems to buzz. You can't see anything, nobody can see you, but you can feel the buzz of everyone else in the room. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people, it doesn't matter because they all blend into one feeling, one collective sense of anticipation. You're all waiting for the same exact, precise moment. And then... there's a pause... you take a deep breath and it's the loudest sound you've ever heard, and you hold it... right there... right on the edge of everything...

That's my favourite moment, right before the music starts and the spotlights turn on and you're teleported somewhere else, but maybe that's just me" Y/n lets out a shy laugh, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Well you said it's hard to describe, but it sounds like you've got it spot on." Someone behind the camera points outs, and Y/n laughs more freely this time.

"Are you really watching that again?" Y/n groans as she walks past the sitting area of the bus towards the small kitchen. The black-haired girl hums and continues attentively watching the TV screen in the top corner of the room as though she hadn't seen it at least twenty times already, and that's just in Y/n's presence.

"It's funny, I used to be terrified of the dark but in that moment, that's all I'm surrounded by and I'm not scared, I'm excited." Y/n says mockingly, in time with her voice on the documentary, "I still am scared of the dark, though."

A scream sounds through the TV, and Lauren chuckled. Y/n sighs, though, and shakes her head as she mutters to herself.

"Why did I keep that in there?"

It was a shot of Kodie, her best friend since middle school, scaring her by messing with the power box in the kitchen while Y/n was in the living room, and flickering the lights, eventually leaving them completely turned off, resulting in more screams and manic yells of "Kodie, I swear to god-!"

"It's a different type of dark, I think, when I'm up there..." the documentary continued but Y/n busied herself with pouring the chocolate milk she'd suddenly started craving mid-conversation with three other residents of this bus.

Later that evening she feels that feeling, the adrenaline she'd described in that film a year ago. She took that deep breath, the hissing noise it made filling her ears, before strumming down once on her electric guitar.

The crowd started cheering instantly, out there in the abyss somewhere, as the sound reverberated around the walls. That kind of response always surprised her. She was just the opening act after all, not the main attraction; and it was 'attraction' because she'd come to realise that most of the girls' fans had huge crushes on at least one of them. She chuckled at the thought and a single spotlight turned on, aiming right down at her. She still couldn't see the crowd, but the fact that they could see her made another roar erupt from them. She smiled.

"Are you ready, New York Citayyy?" She called into the microphone, lengthening the last word until it was almost as long as the rest of the sentence. Another cheer was sent to her, and her smile broadened. She was slipping into the more confident her who took over on stage.

She let out another laugh, a little high on the adrenaline perhaps, and strummed once more, a different chord this time. It led to another, and she took another deep breath.

She announced, "If you know this song, I want you to sing along!"

After a few seconds, the guitarist to her left started strumming quietly as she played the fingering part, beginning the song, and most of the crowd cheered once more as lights turned on to shine upon the drummer (who's just joined in too) and guitarist on either side of her as well as some on the crowd, circling around and revealing them to Y/n. It's almost a full house; Fifth Harmony are going to be pleased tonight that so many of their fans turned up tonight.

"Now then Mardy Bum," She started to sing, and the crowd erupted again into cheers before some started to sing along.

Y/n continued, taking each moment where she didn't have to play to gently grasp the microphone with her right hand, "I see your frown
And it's like looking down the barrel of a gun
And it goes off
And out come all these words
Oh there's a very pleasant side to you
A side I much prefer
It's one that laughs and jokes around
Remember cuddles in the kitchen
Yeah, to get things off the ground
And it was up, up and away
Oh, but it's right hard to remember
That on a day like today when you're all argumentative
And you've got the face on,"

Another chorus of applause.

"Well now then Mardy Bum
Oh I'm in trouble again, aren't I
I thought as much..."

Moments fade into one another as she sang, mainly just enjoying herself on stage and getting more and more hyped for the songs yet to come. When the instrumental after the bridge arrived, she was 'hyped' up enough that she pulled away from the mic stand and moved about a bit, hair flicking about the place as she did. She made her way to the other guitarist and laughed as they play with their backs against each other, before heading over to the drummer and playing with them too. Then she was back at the mic and singing again.

"Thank you!" She called as the song came to a close. She barely had time to recuperate before she was set to do her next song, but she couldn't complain. She loved the energy that performing created, and once she was done with her set, she couldn't wait for the end of the girls ' when she'd get to perform with them too.

"Wow!" She breathed at the end of her last song, "Thank you so much; You guys are awesome! Stick around 'cause Fifth Harmony will be performing shortly!" She motioned with her hands for the crowd to cheer, which they did with a little bit of laughter. Y/n laughed too and bowed dramatically before saluting the audience and jogging off stage, still filled with an excitement that made her bounce on her feet like a boxer before a fight.

"Hey." A voice spoke softly from behind her as strong hands began to massage the point where her shoulders met her neck.

She closed her eyes rolled her head around with a content hum as she stopped bouncing. On turning around, she saw Lauren clad in an outfit that she was surprised hadn't caused her to swoon immediately.

Knee high, black, high-heeled boots hugged a pair of exposed pale thighs, which led nicely into army green booty shorts, matching in their shade to the bomber-jacket-like crop top jacket thing she wore whose shoulders were missing. Her hair was simply tossed onto one side as she did for almost every show, and her makeup was very minimal.

If Y/n had to describe her appearance in one word? Wow.

She felt the urge to kiss the woman but knew she couldn't. She and Lauren weren't like that. They were friends. Lauren didn't even know that the y/h/c girl was crushing on her, and she was scared of what might happen if Lauren did. So, instead, she shot her a wink and noticed how the Cuban seemed to blush underneath her light makeup. She was probably just imagining things though.

"Good luck out there." Y/n offered, and Lauren smirked, nodding her head in the direction of the stage door through which the sounds of cheering seemed into the backstage halls.

"Sounds like you did your job pretty well." She commented, and Y/n grinned, turning back to the door before looking back at Lauren.

"I do my job, you pay me." She shrugged, though the way her tongue peeked between her teeth showed Lauren it was a sarcastic nonchalance.

Lauren hummed, grinning now too. It looked like she wanted to say something else but then her bandmates rushed around the corner in outfits unique to their own styles but with the same color scheme as Lauren's.

"Come on!" Ally smiled, pulling Lauren by the sleeve a little as she made her way past.

"We gotta go, bish." Dinah continued for her, and Lauren laughed.

"I gotta go, bish." Lauren mimicked her to Y/n, who giggled.

"Then go, bish." She replied, landing a quick, playful and friendly slap to Lauren's ass as she left. The girl turned and raised a brow at Y/n before turning back and continuing on her path to the stage. Y/n could've sworn she'd swung her hips a little more than usual as she did, but maybe she was just warming herself up for on stage. Why would she do it for Y/n anyway? She's not anything special; She's just the opening act.

—

Part 2? What do you think?