"So basically the only thing we really need to do is show everyone to their seats before the show starts, then we'll be free to go," your friend Ash explained as the two of you ambled through the hallway to your dorm, "And a hundred bucks richer," he added with a cheeky grin, leaning against the wall as you unlocked the door, "You down?"

You scoffed, placing the key into the lock. "A hundred bucks just for ushering? Sign me the fuck up."

Ash did a little cheer, making you smile. Your eyes caught sight of someone approaching and as they drew nearer, you recognized that it was Dallon; he was whistling to himself as he twirled his key ring on his slender finger and when he caught sight of you, he smiled.

"Hey," he boomed in a deep voice – a greeting that had become customary between the two of you.

"Hey," you boomed back, beaming at him. He shot you a quick wink before unlocking his door and stepping into his dorm.

Ash – who had been keeping a steady gaze on Dallon during your entire exchange – turned to you with wide-eyes, raised eyebrows, and a flirty smile.

"Who was that?"

"His name is Dallon. He's in my Psych class."

"Is he single?" Ash questioned, lightly licking his lips.

You closed your eyes and breathed out exasperatedly. "Yes, but he's not gay."

"Neither were my last two boyfriends," Ash mused, a triumphant look on his face, "But then they met me."

"So, what's your plan?" you sniggered, opening the door and walking in, "You gonna use subliminal messaging to trick him into dating you like you did last time?"

"Hey, that's a fool-proof method," Ash defended, pointing a finger at you as he stepped inside and closed the door; you nodded sardonically and went to grab the last two sodas from the fridge, handing one to your friend, "But nah. I won't. Only because I don't wanna get in the way of whatever it is the two of you have going on," he teased, wiggling his eyebrows as he opened the soda and took a sip.

You nearly choked on the fizzy liquid in your mouth and started coughing. "There's nothing going on," you spluttered, "We're just friends."

"Mhm."

"I'm serious!" you insisted, holding out your hands.

"MHM."

You rolled your eyes and groaned. "Whatever. Let's just get this assignment over with."

~

After having just shown a sweet couple to their seat, you walked back up to your post at the entry doors. You were ushering a show at one of the five-star hotels in the city, where Ash's uncle held a managerial position and was able to get you and him a chance to earn some much needed cash.

Your feet were aching from the standing and walking around non-stop for the past hour and your face hurt from the constant smiling, but you were making $100, so you sucked it up and pushed through.

As soon as you had shown the final audience members to their seats, you let out a quiet sigh of relief and hurried to the door. Just as you were about to leave, Ash pulled you back.

"Ow," you whisper-shouted, breaking free from his iron grip on your forearm, "What's the matter with you?"

"Your man is here!"

"What man?" you frowned, rubbing your arm.

"How many do you have?" he mocked, rolling his eyes.

"None. I am an independent woman who doesn't need a man," you sassed, raising your head proudly.

Ash grabbed you by the shoulders and roughly turned you around so that you were facing the stage. Your mouth nearly fell open once you spotted Dallon standing on stage along with three other guys. He and two of the other guys – one with quiffed hair and puffy lips and one that was considerably shorter than the other two – were standing in front of mic stands and holding guitars.

"Except for that one," you spoke, making Ash smirk, "Damn, he looks good!" You subconsciously licked your lips as you focused on your classmate up on stage.

He was wearing a classically sleek full-black tux, and his usually tousled hair was slicked back on his head; a few strands managed to escape the gel and were framing his gorgeous face. He looked flawless.

"Good evening, everyone," the one with the lips spoke into the microphone, smiling out at the crowd, "For those of you who don't know us – we are Panic! at the Disco, and we're going to be opening the show for you tonight. We're absolutely thrilled to be here, and we hope you guys have a great time."

"Did you know he was in a band?" Ash asked, leaning in.

You shook your head furiously. "I had no idea..."

"He just got, like, a million times hotter," he muttered, biting his lip and shaking his head.

"I know."

Initially, the plan was to leave right after the last person had been seated. But upon seeing Dallon up there looking like sin itself, you understandably changed your mind and decided to stay until his band had finished their act.

They had put on a terrific performance, and received raucous approval from the audience once they had finished. Grinning, they unslung their guitars and took a bow, before waving to the crowd and retreating into the wings.

"Come on," Ash grabbed your hand and yanked you out of the door.

"Where are we going?" you asked, stumbling a bit as you tried to keep up with his fast-pace.

He turned around to give you a ridiculing look. "To see your man, duh."

"Are we even allowed back here?" you questioned nervously, taking uncertain steps behind Ash as he led you backstage.

"Nope," he said, popping the 'p', "But I think we can both agree that seeing Dallon in that suit is worth the possibility of getting in trouble."

You cocked an eyebrow and tilted your head to the side in agreement, before the both of you snuck around backstage trying to find Dallon.

Not too long after, you spotted Dallon and his bandmates; they were standing by one of the amps, conversing and sipping bottles of water.

"I see him," you gasped, getting so excited that you accidently knocked over a nearby chair, creating a loud bang and gaining the attention of all of the band members.

"Uh," you chuckled nervously, stepping out of the shadows and tucking your hair behind your ears; you made eye contact with Dallon, who was wearing a small smile, "Hey," you boomed.

Dallon's smile grew and he set his water bottle down, cocking his head while looking at you. "Hey," he boomed back.

The guy with the lips looked confused for a second before the realisation hit him, making him form an 'o' with his mouth and raise his brows as he snapped his fingers once.

"Ohhhh," he laughed, turning to Dallon and lazily pointing a finger at you, "this is her?" He turned to you. "You're (Y/N)?"

"...Yeah," you drawled while frowning slightly, confused as to how he knew your name, "How did you know that?"

"Dall talks about you non-sto-hmph," he started, but got cut off as Dallon hastily clamped a hand over his mouth.

Your classmate gave his friend a stern look before turning to you and letting out a short, timid chuckle.

"I...uh... I've mentioned you a coupla times," he explained, lightly blushing.

"Really?" you asked in amazement, a sincere smile on your face, "You talk to your friends about me?"

Dallon started stammering an incoherent string of words – mostly 'uh's and 'um's – and averted his gaze. You looked over at Lips, who had made his eyes wide and was nodding repeatedly, mouthing the words 'ALL THE TIME', and giggled. Dallon caught on to his friend's actions and slapped the back of his head.

Shaking his head to refocus himself, Dallon turned to face you again. "(Y/N), this is the bane of my existence – Brendon," he gestured to Lips, who shot you a wink, "and this is the only reason I haven't murdered Brendon yet – Kenny," he held out a hand to the other guy, who smiled and waved at you.

"It's lovely to meet you two," you beamed. Ash, who was still standing in the shadows, coughed and you mumbled an 'oh right' before motioning for him to step into view, which he did.

"This is my friend Ash," you placed a hand on his shoulder; the gesture of familiarity made Dallon's smile falter. Ash noticed and smirked slightly, but didn't say anything and rather nodded politely at the three guys, "Ash, this is Dallon, Brendon, and Kenny."

"My pleasure," Ash greeted.

"We were actually about to head out a grab a bite at the diner on our way back to campus. It's a post-gig tradition," Kenny grinned, "Why don't you guys join us?"

You looked at Ash and he nodded at you.

"We'd love to."

"Great!" Brendon beamed, face lighting up, "Let's go!"

The five of you started for the exit; Brendon was walking next to you, chattering excitedly about how good it is to finally meet you. As everyone exited the door one by one, Ash pulled Dallon back.

"Don't worry, dude – I'm gay. She's all yours."

~

The waitress brought everyone's order of milkshakes and fries, setting them down before walking away. After taking a sip from your shake, you turned to Dallon, who was sitting on your right.

"How come you never told me you were in a band?"

He shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. "It just never came up... I guess?"

You pouted a little bit. "You could've brought it up. I would've loved to have come to some of your other gigs; you guys are amazing!"

"Aw, stop it, you," Brendon said, smiling coyly.

"How did you end up at the show tonight, anyway?" Kenny asked, munching on a few fries.

"Ash's uncle is one of the managers at the hotel and he organised some ushering jobs for us. We were gonna leave before the show started but then I saw Dallon," you glanced briefly at the taller human, "And since I had no idea he was in a band or even played anything, I had to stay and watch."

"I'm glad you did," Dallon spoke, making you turn to him.

"Yeah. Yeah, me too," you took another sip of the shake before poking his arm, "I still can't believe you didn't tell me you play. And bass, of all things! I used to play bass."

"Really?" he looked at you in disbelief.

"Yeah! But that was a while ago," you chuckled lightly, "I'm a bit rusty."

"I could give you some lessons," he offered, "If you want."

"I'd love that," you said softly, looking at the handsome face you had the pleasure of sitting next to, and getting lost in his eyes. He smiled adoringly at you.

The sound of a picture being taken ruined the moment, and both of you pivoted your heads to look at the culprit.

"What?" Brendon defended, holding up both hands, "You guys are adorable."

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Thank you for reading x