CONCERT

February 2019

Maddison squeals with excitement as 'Jimmy Recard' by Drapht plays on the speaker. She sways her hips and pours a splash of vodka into our glasses. I hand her the lemonade and she busts out the opening rap.

I take a long sip and wrinkle my nose as the vodka burns my throat. We go to sing the chorus but the music stops and my phone rings. Maddison pouts but decides to rap it anyway.

Noah's incoming video call has me smiling like a madwoman. I accept the call and disconnect from the speaker. Maddison peers over my shoulder and waves to Noah.

"Hi, Noah," she calls before wandering over to the speaker to connect her phone.

"Hey, baby, what's up?"

"You have the Drapht concert tonight, hey? I just remembered as I called you. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, call me whenever." I smile.

Maddison puts the music back on and I prop the phone against the vodka bottle.

"Now you can join our dance party while we wait for Percy. The plane recently landed, so he should be here soon enough."

"Percy messaged to say he's on his way now," Maddison comments.

"I can't wait to surprise Percy with the concert. He's going to freak out once he realises we're seeing Drapht live." I bounce with excitement.

"Percy was blissfully unaware when I spoke to him before," says Noah.

"Thank goodness." Maddison sighs with relief.

"How was your week?"

"We don't have to talk about my week, it was boring." Noah chuckles.

"But I like hearing about your week."

Maddison points to her mouth and pretends to puke. I roll my eyes and shake my head.

"You look so beautiful," Noah compliments. "Percy better shoo off anyone who tries talking to you."

"You should wish them luck because there's no chance I'm interested in anyone else, even when you're a million miles away from me. It's just you and me."

"You and me, baby." He chuckles.

"Can we take a moment to appreciate this outfit though? I forgot how much I hate dressing up and going out. Thank goodness it's all for good music and food."

"You look amazing in anything, but geezes Charlie, I hate that I'm a million miles away from you right now."

"Gross but cute, it's kinda annoying as well." Mads shakes her head.

The buzzer in the apartment rings and Maddison's face lights up. She races to the front door while I remain in the kitchen.

"Maddison continues to deny her feelings about Percy, and I just know I'm going to be the third wheel with these two tonight." I sigh with a roll to my eyes.

"Long-distance relationships are hard and they're young."

"We're young and in a long distant relationship." I raise an eyebrow.

Noah sighs. "Until one of them decides to move or make a plan to be together, I don't think they'll be any more than friends."

"I can't see Maddison leaving Australia, but then again, people would have said the same about me and here I am, planning a future with you in America." I giggle.

"Percy," she shouts.

There's a crashing noise, then lots of laughter.

"What else are you doing tonight?"

"I hope to squeeze in some more pre-drinks before heading to the bar. It looks like a convenience store but you open a door which looks like a fridge and it leads you to a secret bar. On Saturday, they have a burger deal and they're actually really good. It's close to the venue Drapht is playing in."

"A secret bar? Now that sounds exciting."

"It's super trendy, so I hope we're able to get a seat if we head in early."

"Sounds like you're going to have lots of fun."

"If those two start kissing, I'm going to call and annoy you."

"Now I hope those two end up kissing."

Maddison and Percy wander into the living room and he drops his bags on the floor. I race around the kitchen bench and leap into his arms.

"Hi, Percy."

Percy holds me close and tight for a minute, then we take a step apart.

He looks around the apartment and smiles.

"I thought your last apartment was fancy but this new one is even better. Does it have a fancy toilet that washes your butt?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but there's no fancy toilets."

"Oh." He pouts.

"Charlie?"

Percy frowns until I pick up the phone.

"I would love to stay and talk but I need to get ready for work." Noah frowns. "Enjoy your night and don't drink too much, same to you Percy."

Maddison laughs and Percy rolls his eyes.

"I'm on holiday, I think the idea is to drink too much."

Noah shakes his head as we laugh.

"Goodbye, I love you."

I end the call before Noah can lecture us. I shove the phone into my back pocket and smile at the pair.

"Shots?"

Maddison shakes her head.

"You're lucky Noah isn't here to tell you off."

"She'd probably like that." Percy laughs.

Maddison smacks his shoulder and I snicker.

Percy collects his bag and looks around. He stops near the side table and glances at the various photos of us. Pictures from Christmas with the East's, family photos from when Mum was alive and some of Maddison and I recently exploring what Sydney has to offer.

"You finally added some decor to your apartment. It looks good, Charlie."

"Noah and I went shopping last time he visited. It feels more like home now." I smile.

Maddison claps her hands and grins.

"You have ten minutes to change your clothes so we can make our dinner reservation," Maddison comments.

"I wondered why you two were dressed up."

"C'mon, time is ticking!" Mads points to the hallway.

"The spare bedroom is the second door on your left."

Percy rushes down the hallway while Maddison and I return to our drinks.

* * * * *

We managed to polish off a combination of chips, burgers and some fruity cocktails. I could explode from the amount of food and liquid I have consumed.

"I need the bathroom after all those drinks." Maddison excuses herself to the bathroom, leaving Percy and I alone.

Something about his glance makes me nervous, so I shove some fries into my mouth and chew slowly.

Maddison excuses herself to the bathroom and Percy looks at me. I shove some fries into my mouth and slowly chew them.

"This place is actually pretty cool. Amazing burgers too, not sure about the music though." He frowns at the local act on the stage and the weird music they're playing.

I swallow my mouthful and smile.

"Hopefully the next place has better music."

"Hopefully." He chuckles.

I take a sip from my cocktail and chew on the end of the straw.

"What's wrong? You're acting all weird."

"There's nothing wrong with me." I shrug.

I'm so excited about tonight, I want to burst with excitement.

"You look really happy, happier than last time I visited you."

"I'm happier these days." I nod.

"We were really worried about you."

"I know."

"I'm happy that you're happy."

"Thanks, Percy. It was really hard in the beginning without Noah, but we've fallen into this new pattern where we message and video call all the time. So the distance doesn't feel so big between us. It's hard when he visits and even harder when he leaves."

"It's crazy how in love you two are. It's very cute and lonely to watch."

"Sometimes I can't believe I found my person so young. It's crazy because I used to think that if I never met Noah, this would be so much easier, but I'm here because he pushed me to continue chasing my dream."

"Noah's pretty amazing like that."

"Yeah." I nod.

Maddison returns from the bathroom and finishes her drink.

"We should head to the next place."

"Right, let's go!"

Percy and I race to finish our drinks, then we lead Percy down the road. There's a line around the block which has him frowning.

"Wow, I wonder what's happening there."

"Let's check it out." We take his hand and pull him to the end of the line.

"What's happening?"

"Drapht is playing tonight." Maddison and I cheer.

"What? Really?"

"Yes."

"I hope they play Rapunzel."

"Oh they better, it was the first song of theirs we listened to together."

When the doors open, the line quickly moves and we enter the small venue. We bypass the merch stalls and head straight to the stage and squish towards the front. As more people pile into the venue, it gets hot and I regret wearing the jeans.

My phone buzzes with a message from Noah.

'Do you need saving yet?' - Noah.

'Just from boredom. We're waiting for Drapht.' - Charlie.

'Are you close to the stage?' - Noah.

'Of course, haha.' - Charlie.

The lights dim, so I push my phone into my back pocket. Maddison loudly cheers and a small opening act steps onto the stage.

I love live music but I hate waiting for the band to come on stage.

We dance to the music but the crowd really comes alive when Drapht runs onto the stage with a microphone in hand.

"Sydney!" he shouts. "How are we doing tonight?"

His question is met with wild screams. Drapht dives into the first song and we bop along to it. Maddison knows every word of every song. The beginning of Rapunzel plays and we look at each other.

"Check it out, ah, ya ya. From the moment I met, I was breathless and not asbestos breathless either."

We jump to the beat and scream the lyrics until our throats burn. I grab Percy's hand and stare into his eyes.

"Baby I want you back but don't call me that. Now baby baby, baby don't baby babe. I said baby baby don't call me baby. Baby baby gonna let your hair down, girl, gonna let your hair down."

"Best night ever," Percy shouts.

* * * * *

We stumble into the apartment and I head for the kitchen for a glass of water. Percy and Maddison giggle about something and then she shoves him away.

"I'm going to bed, goodnight." I wave.

There's some more giggling and whispering but thankfully, I don't hear anything when I close the door. I discard my shoes on the floor and change into a loose t-shirt. I snuggle under the covers and call Noah.

He answers the phone and props it against something. Noah's in his office dressed in a button-down t-shirt which makes me drool. Ugh, how does he look that good in work attire?

"Hi, are you busy?"

"I have class in twenty minutes."

"Oh, good timing then."

"How was the concert?"

"Amazing! My entire body is going to hurt tomorrow but so worth it."

"I'm glad to hear."

"I called because I miss the sound of your voice. If I close my eyes, I can pretend you're sleeping right next to me."

"Aw baby."

"I bet Maddison is spending the night with Percy." I sleepily chuckle.

"Percy doesn't need a distraction at the moment, but Maddison is a nice person."

"She would be very distracting for him." I half-laugh.

"When you're not falling asleep, we need to talk."

My eyes ping open and Noah laughs.

"I didn't mean to cause you to panic."

"What's wrong?"

"The high school rang and asked if I wanted my old job back. They're struggling to find a teacher and now I'm pondering about moving back. Lea said I could move in with her while I save for a house."

"Oh." I sigh. "If that's what you want to do. Dad would be excited to have you back in town. He'll want to interrogate you."

"I'm excited to see my old friends again."

"When I visit, I won't have to split my time."

"So many great perks."

"What about Percy?"

"I haven't spoken to Percy, but I'm sure he'll be happy not living with his uncle watching his every move."

"True." I chuckle.

"When are you moving back?"

"Within the next month or so."

"Ah, sounds good. If you need help, I can ask my Dad."

"Thanks, Charlie."

I snuggle back into the pillow.

"You haven't taken off your makeup."

"You know, I only take off my makeup because you do it for me." I chuckle.

"Oh Charlie, how have you survived this long without me?"

"Sometimes I wonder the same thing about you," I tease. "I hope Lea will teach you a few things in the kitchen while you're there."

Noah looks at his watch and grumbles.

"I have to prepare for class. I'll speak to you later."

"Okay bye."

He ends the call and I easily fall asleep.