Noortje’s POV

Today was the last day we were staying here. Thank god. I seriously did not feel like seeing anybody else from my past. All we had to do was play the show, get on the bus and leave. Nothing could go wrong… Right? Yea, nothing could go wrong. I was sure of it. And if something does go wrong it’s probably a guitar breaking or the amps blowing up. But that could be fixed.

Tony and I were packing our bags, ready to play. It had been days since we touched a guitar. Well, I did actually play at the family reunion. But we do not talk about that… Luckily. It meant that nobody questioned Tony and I about what happened after I had run away. There was no way I would be able to make up an excuse for that. Why didn’t they ask about it, actually? I would have expected them to ask us straight away, making Tony and I spill our secret. Did they know something already?

“Heads up!” Tony shouted, bringing me out of my thoughts.
He threw a bra at me, which I barely caught.
“Where did you get this?” I asked.
“It was in my suitcase. I guess we accidentally put it in there yesterday.”
I shrugged and fit it in my bag. I had no clue how it even got out of there… I didn’t wear it, did I? All these questions. Ugh.

“What are you thinking about?” Tony walked over and grabbed me by the waist.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, “Just stuff.”
“Hmm… What stuff?”
“Just us.”
“Really?”
I nodded and went in for a kiss. My heart raced and I could taste the faint flavour of mint. Tony smiled into the kiss and moved his lips with mine. The smell of his sweet cologne swirled through the air, leaving a pleasant aroma. Our noses brushed together and Tony pulled me closer. The kiss was nothing but heartfelt and sweet. We pulled away and I rested my head on his chest, Tony placing his chin on top of mine. The door opened and Jaime walked in. He stopped when he saw us.
“Am I interrupting something here?”
I shook my head, “No, just hugging. You want one too?”
I ran to Jaime and squeezed him tight. Tony and Jaime laughed and I let go. There will be a time when Tony and I will be able to show our love to each other in public, or at least in front of our friends, but that time is not now.
“I was just going to ask if you guys if you were ready. We are going to leave in 10. Sound check’s in 3 hours.”
“Yea. All finished.” I said while zipping up my bag.

----

Tony’s POV

“Why is the soundcheck at 3 if we don’t even play till 7!” Noortje complained. She was lying down on her stomach in the middle of the stage while we were all grabbing our instruments.
“Don’t ask me.” Mike defended.
“I wasn’t! I was just asking in general.”
“Noortje, just get up.” Vic protested.
“But I’m comfortable.” Noortje argued.
“Are you really though?”
“No… But I’m too lazy.”
“Ottlinger! Stand the fuck up and grab that guitar and play some notes” Jay shouted as he walked up to the stage.
“Don’t call me that!” She said and got up from the ground.
“But you did listen.”
“Hmm… you’re right.” Noortje laid back down in the exact same position she was before.
Everybody groaned and I knew that I had to do something. At this rate we would get nowhere. I creeped up to her and place a foot either side of her. She saw my shadow and looked up at me.
“What are you doing?” She asked.
I bent forward and pinched her sides. She squealed and jumped up. I knew knowing her weak spot would come in handy sometime.
“I’m up, I’m up! Don’t touch me.” She backed away from me and grabbed the orange guitar that was waiting for her.
“And Tony works his magic again.” Vic laughed and pat my back.
“It just helps to know where she’s ticklish. You can use it in tonnes of situations, such as fighting about the last chocolate chip cookie.” I joke.
“That was unfair! You had 5 while I only had 2! I deserved that last cookie!” Noortje whined.
“On that note, let’s start. You already managed to move soundcheck to 3:30, you dipshit.” Jay chuckled.

We did several warmups and had individual soundchecks as well as a group soundcheck. Vic had to leave for a phone call and of course, just as he left all the controls got messed up. Mine, Jaime’s, Noortje’s and Mike’s sound was quickly fixed since there were just slight changes, but Vic still wasn’t back. We waited for 10 minutes and Jay was slowly losing his patience.

“He’s not coming back anytime soon. Can you of you do it?” Jay said looking at Jaime.
Jaime immediately pointed at Noortje and Noortje threw her hands up.
“No! No way!” Noortje contended.
“Noortje, just get up there. There’s still other things we have to do and it’s already 5:30. We only have 45 minutes till those doors open.” Jay shouted, clearly annoyed that things weren’t going as planed.
Noortje looked at him terrified and took Vic’s guitar while moving in front of the microphone.
“Ok, so... “ The sound was way too loud and we all covered our ears, cowering away.
The sound guy quickly turned down the volume and gave Noortje a thumbs up for her to continue.
“Umm… So Vic’s voice is a lot louder than mine, so keep that in account.”
“Just start already!” Jay exclaimed.
Vic showed up side stage and saw Noortje in his place. He seemed confused at first, but then he realised Noortje was about to sing. He got out his phone, so he could capture the moment, and hid so that Noortje wouldn’t see him. I smirked at him and he grinned back.

Noortje hesitated at first but started singing as soon as she played the first note.

“It's hard to be what you need through a static screen.
Been trying to speak for weeks and weeks.
Open my mouth,
All that comes out is white noise and incomprehensible sounds,
And all you ever do is turn me down.”

The sound levels were played with a bit and her voice sounded funny because of it. Eventually the sound guy decided on some levels and her voice sounded a bit more normal.

“I'm watching.
I'm waiting.
I'm aching.
Suffocating.
I'm breathing.
I'm speaking.
Can you hear me?
I'm screaming for you.”

She sounded so amazing, yet still so shy. I just wanted to go up the her and encourage her, but I knew that would disrupt everything. Her voices started to sound louder throughout the venue, but it was not her singing any louder.

“Day by day,
I'm slowly replaced in your picture frames.
A brand new face on your pillowcase.
Come the night you dim the lights and close the blinds,
But I still see them running down your spine,
Cause I illuminate the room,
Just enough to watch you.

Suddenly a burst of confidence went through her and she started singing a lot louder. She was really making the sound guy’s job hard, wasn’t she? Her voice sounded a lot more raspy, yet in some parts so delicate.

“I'm watching.
I'm waiting.
I'm aching.
Suffocating.
I'm breathing.
I'm speaking.
Can you hear me?
I'm screaming for you.

Sick of the lack of signal.
Sick of the lack of touch.
Sick of the static voice.
It's not enough, it's not enough.
Baby it's hard to be just what you need when all I speak is static screams.
Can you hear me?

I'm watching.
I'm waiting.
I'm aching.
Suffocating.
I'm breathing.
I'm speaking.
Can you hear me?
I'm screaming for you.

It's hard to be just what you need when all I speak is static screams”

The last chord rang out and there was silence throughout the whole room. Vic broke the silence with loud clapping and hollering. Noortje looked at him with angry eyes.
“How long have you been there?” She growled.
“I came just before you were about to sing.” Vic grinned.
“Couldn’t you have fucking stopped me!”
Vic was taken aback by her outburst and stood there, not knowing how to react.
“I’m being fucking serious, Vic!”
Noortje ran away, pushing the guitar in Vic’s chest. Vic stumbled back a few steps and tried to regain his balance. He worriedly looked at me and everybody that was on stage and standing in the pit followed his gaze.
“You have to figure this out yourself, buddy.” I sighed.
He nodded and ran off.

----

Vic’s POV

Shit fuck. That was a really bad move. I knew she had insecurities about singing, but I didn’t know she would actually blow up on me. There was only one thing I could do, and that was to run in the direction she left and hope to find her. I jogged through the many corridors, looking around for her. The ceiling was getting lower and lower and I had no idea where I was anymore. The walls were white and there were pipes running above me. She had to be somewhere! I continued running and somehow ended up at our changing room. Could she be in here?

I reached out for the door handle and slowly turned it. There was quiet sobbing coming from inside, and I knew it had to be her. The door made a clicking noise as I closed it behind me. Noortje heard it and cowered away in a corner. Of course. How could I forget! The last time she sang in public she got beaten up. The sight in front of me was so heartbreaking. She was in the corner, curled up in a ball, trying to get as far away from me as possible. I took slow steps towards her, but her shaking only got worse. This wasn’t going to work.

The only way I could at least try was to sit in the far corner from her and try to talk to her from there. I slid down the wall and looked at Noortje, she was still in the exact position as before. I took my time to think of what to say before opening my mouth. I didn’t want to make another stupid mistake and make this even worse.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, “I forgot you didn’t like singing in front of people.”
She didn’t respond.
“I just want you to know that I’m not here to hurt you. I’m just here to apologize.”
This time she did seem to acknowledge me as she slightly nodded her head. I tried slowly moving over her, trying my best not to make any sudden movements.
“You know, you’re actually a good singer.” I complimented.
I heard a faint ‘no I’m not’.
“I actually have proof.” I took my phone out of my pocket and looked for the video of her singing and played it, making sure the volume was on full.
Her voice filled the room, mixing with the silence. We listened until the song was finished and I turned it off.
“Wasn’t that amazing?” I asked.
“No.”
I sighed and opened twitter. I had posted the video on there immediately after she had stopped singing. There were over a thousand comments and I decided to look through them, hoping they would help me prove how amazing she was. There were tonnes of amazing comments, everybody loved her singing. Of course there were the occasional haters, but that happens. But for some reason there were also a lot of comments talking about how Tony was looking at her. I was confused and played the video once again, without sound this time. The fans were right. He was looking at her with so much admiration, it was actually kind of cute. But we all knew they were just best friends, but who are we to ruin the fans’ imaginations?

I red out some of the comments and handed the phone to Noortje. She sat upright and stared intently at the phone. While scrolling through the comments she grinned a bit and turned to me. I looked at her, hoping she would say something. But she didn’t. Instead she tightly hugged me and I hugged her back. I had no clue why this had worked. It could also have gone horribly. She could have gotten mad at me for posting it, but she didn’t. This made me hug her just a bit tighter than I normally would.

The door opened and Jaime, Tony, and Mike walked in. They looked at us and smiled.
“Look who’s made up!” Jaime exclaimed.
“Now go and have makeup sex.” Mike teased.
I looked at him with wide eyes and Tony glared at Noortje and I, but mostly me. What was his problem? Mike obviously made a the joke, why would he look at me like that? Was he… Was he jealous? No, he couldn’t be. He had made it clear that he and Noortje were only bestfriends, and he hadn’t acted differently around her. Right?

I shook it off and felt Noortje back away from me. She stood up and looked around.
“I’m gonna get ready.” She mumbled.
She sounded so fragile, like she could break any moment or ruin her voice by talking louder than a whisper. We all nodded, afraid that any loud noises or sudden movements would set her off again. She gave everyone a hug and left the room.

----

Tony’s POV

I know I shouldn’t have been, but I was jealous. I was fine with everything, until Mike made that comment. Images were flashing through my mind. Noortje would leave me for Vic. I couldn’t let that happen. I know it had only been a couple of days, but I was really falling in love with her, and I was falling hard. But just because I felt that way, doesn’t mean she felt that way. I sighed.
“Are you ok?” Mike wondered.
“Yeah, I’m probably just overthinking things.” Or, at least I hoped. What if it was all true?
“You can always talk to us. You know that, right?”
I nodded. I just couldn’t talk about this. That would just make everything worse.

I looked at the clock on the bare wall and saw it was 6:30. Just half an hour till we go on. I could already hear the crowd slightly and knew this was going to be a wild show. The door opened and Noortje walked in. You could hear the crowd a lot louder until the door finally shut. But that didn’t matter anymore. I couldn’t take my eyes of Noortje. What the fuck was she wearing? I didn’t want to be an overprotective boyfriend, but this was way too much. Knee high boots, a crop top, and a really short skirt? And the makeup. What’s up with that? I thought she hated it! And now she’s going full on black eyeshadow and red lips? I could just feel Mike, Jaime, and Vic drooling from besides me.

“We need to talk.” I stated and stood up from the couch I was sitting on and walked out of the room. I could hear Noortje following behind me.
“What’s wrong?” Noortje said with a hint of worry.
“You look hot.”
“And what’s wrong with that?”
“You look too hot. And nobody knows that-” Somebody walked past us and I lowered my voice, “Nobody knows about us. They will think they can just have you.”
“They might think that. But I won’t let that happen. I’m yours.” She assured.
“You mean that?”
She nodded, “Yeah.”
I reached into my pocket and took hold of the metal. Should I give it now? It seemed like the perfect moment… Why was I so nervous though. Just give it to her already, Tony. You can do this. I took it out and looked up at her.
“I-I just wanted to give you this. To show that I am serious about you. I know you have your doubts, I do too. But I really do like you… A lot.”
She looked at the necklace that had a golden guitar pick with a skull hanging from it. The corners of her lips turned upwards. She nodded and turned around, pushing her hair to one side so I could put it on her.
“It made me think of you. You know, since you’re finally being who you want to be.” I blushed.
“I love it.” She grinned.
“I would so kiss you right now, but that would mess up your lipstick and people might get suspicious.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tight. I reciprocated the hug by wrapped my arms around her waist. The door next to us burst open and Vic, Jaime and Mike came walking out. Noortje and I jumped slightly and slowly let go of each other. Before she pulled away from me fully, she kissed my cheek, probably leaving a mark.
“You got a little…” Jaime said while wiping his own cheek.
I shrugged and started making my way side stage, leaving the lipstick on my cheek. We had 10 minutes till we had to be on and Jay would probably be freaking out if we wouldn’t be standing right in front of him right this moment.

Just like I expected, Jay was indeed already freaking out. He saw us and sighed in relief.
“I said be here 15 minutes before show starts! God people, it’s not that difficult.” He shouted.
“Sorry.” Noortje mumbled.
“Next time just be on time. Nice necklace by the way.”
“Thanks. I got it from Tony.” She walked off to her guitar tech, who was waiting for her with a guitar.
Everybody turned to me.
“What!” I exclaimed.
Vic laughed a bit and shook his head, going to grab his guitar.

At the 2 minute mark I ran over to Noortje and we did our routine… if you would consider jumping up and down a routine… We made our way, ready to run on stage and did our group chant.

The crowd was roaring, “PTV! PTV! PTV!”

Notes

Sorry for not updating yesterday. School is getting a lot more busy, so it will probably happen more often... I feel so guilty for some reason. Please don't hate me for this.

Anyway, the song is White Noise by Pvris. I based it off the The Empty Room Sessions version.

I have so many ideas for this story, but I don't think I will be able to fit them all in. It will just make it a lot more confusing.
Do you guys want some drama between Tony and Noortje?
Also, should the other's find out about them being together?