ᴛᴏᴏ ʏᴏᴜɴɢ » ᴢᴀᴄʜ ʜᴇʀʀᴏɴ

Chapter Six

February 27, 2018

The hairs on the back of Maeve's neck stood on end as chants echoed through the venue.

She had been waiting four months for this night, and now it was a mere forty-five minutes away. A wave of nerves made her stomach flip over itself and she took a deep breath.

A gentle hand on her shoulder made her turn, just making out Zach's figure in the dim light backstage. He offered her a close-mouthed smile, which she returned as he stepped a little closer.

"You okay?"

She nodded.

"Yeah, just... you know. Nervous."

Her eyes widened playfully when the crowd beyond the dark stage chanted, "Why Don't We!" louder than before.

"But, I have not right to be," she added, pointing behind her, "because that's for you."

He messed with his earpiece as he looked at her, nodding.

"True, but you don't need to worry, Mae. You've been doing this for how long?"

"A long time," she allowed with a laugh that sounded shaky.

Zach noticed. He placed his hand in the crook of her arm.

"Hey, seriously. You're going to do great."

She thanked him as he dropped his arm to his side.

"Plus," he continued, "you're working with Keith, right?"

She confirmed with a nod. Keith Lancaster was the other techie working alongside her. She had gotten to know him over the previous couple days and already perceived they'd work well together.

Her subconscious knew the show was going to go smoothly—they had been running practice performances for about a week—but apprehension about fulfilling the biggest opportunity yet of her life's passion still made her nervous.

"Alright," she breathed out, "I'm going to head to the sound booth."

She took a step back.

"Good luck, Herron."

"You too. I'll see you afterwards."

With a departing smile she began walking away, Zach waiting a moment before yelling, "It's gonna be great!" after her.

"Whoo!" she called back, fist in the air.

When she was out of sight, Zach went the opposite direction to find the boys.

***

Maeve pulled on her coat as she passed through the doorway leading to the large parking lot behind the venue, breathing in the chilly air deeply. It was a wonderful contrast to how stuffy the building had become when hundreds of people were inside.

The show had ended nearly two hours before. All the fans had cleared out, all the tour equipment was loaded up to travel to Nashville, Tennessee.

Just as she knew it would, the show ran smoothly. She reveled in the feeling of being behind the soundboard, of having the control of every display on stage under her fingertips. The rush of the love she had developed from a young age was evident, the boys' first show proving itself to be everything they'd hoped it to be.

Content and relieved, Maeve stood in the middle of the lot surrounded by darkness, allowing her mind to rest.

"Hey," Corbyn said from behind her awhile later.

She smiled a little.

"Hey," she replied, opening her arm to him as he moved closer and pulled her into a side hug.

She pushed her right hand further down in her coat pocket and stared up at the sky. The city lights hid the stars from view, but the expanse was still deep and beautiful.

"Amazing job tonight, Corbs," she said, still looking up. "It was... I mean, I was a little preoccupied, but you all sounded great together. More than great."

"We sound good because of you."

"No, you sound good because of talent."

He threw her an incredulous look that made her head fall back while she laughed. Grinning, he dropped his arm from her shoulders, shoving his hands in his own pockets.

"Well," he said, bumping into her on purpose, "everyone's starting to load up."

"I know," she replied, her shoulder colliding with his forearm. They continued like that across the lot, finally reaching the tour bus and vehicles that the tech and moving crew traveled in.

Daniel and Zach descended the steps of the bus, carrying on about something that was lighting up smiles on both of their faces. Daniel approached Maeve as soon as he realized she was there, distracting her from looking at the boy behind him.

He gave her a hug which she returned wholeheartedly, immediately spewing words of praise and affirmation into his shoulder. He was smiling when they parted, thanking her. Soon, he and Corbyn wandered off to look for Jack and Jonah.

Zach stayed behind, his arms crossed over his chest and a comfortable expression on his face as he looked at Maeve.

"I told you," he said.

"I believed you," she countered. He smiled.

"You did great," he said.

"You did better."

His smile grew. He looked away for a moment before his eyes flicked back to her.

Her hair was up, as it always was. He had asked her why a few days before and she explained so it was out of her face when she leaned over the soundboard. The elastic band had loosened, stray hair drifting around her face in the light wind. The coat that was a little too big on her swallowed her figure.

"All I did," she continued, "was mess around with lights and mics. You know, the unimportant stuff. You do the real work."

His head tilted to the side a little, eyes narrowing.

"Maeve Orland," was all he had to say to show his disappointment in the implication of her sentence.

She pulled a hand from her pocket to wave it around in dismissal.

"I'm just kidding. But seriously, it was amazing." She paused. "You were incredible. I could tell everyone who came absolutely loved it."

"Thanks, Mae. At least from what we could tell, everything went perfectly."

His next words were not condescending or haughty, but gentle.

"I knew you'd be fine."

At that point, the four other boys had exited the venue and made their way over to the bus, Corbyn smiling to himself the whole way across the parking lot when he spotted Zach and Maeve together.

The group grew from two to six, all talking for awhile until the managers came out saying it was time to load up.

One by one, the boys said goodbye and goodnight to Maeve; she was riding in one of the other vehicles to Nashville so they wouldn't see her until the following morning.

Coincidentally, after Corbyn left with a parting hug, Zach and Maeve were once again the last two outside.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow morning," he said.

"Goodnight, dear sir," she replied with a posh accent.

He crinkled his nose, feigning disgust.

"Aw," Maeve tutted, smiling, "lighten up, Herron. Goodnight."

The cold, he noticed, had made her nose and cheeks slightly red. He refrained from telling her to go warm up, knowing that would come off as worrisome. No doubt she would've teased him about it.

"Goodnight."

With that, she turned on her heel, heading towards one of the cars with boots tapping lightly against the pavement.