Stepping Away

Chapter 9

"Ten minutes until we line up for standby, we are fifth in line for stage run throughs so make sure you're set," their manager dodges in and out of the room to make the announcement. Chan's heart flips again.

"You're done, go ahead and relax," The stylist takes a step back and smiles at Chan, but he knows he won't be able to do what she said. To relax was to become less anxious, and in his fit of nerves the task is nearly impossible.

The ten minute wait feels more like ten hours. When they are finally ready to head for the stage doors Hyunjin pokes his ribs and looks him up and down, "You're tense."

"I'm not," Chan counters, reaching for his friend's ponytail to yank it.

Hyunjin evades the attack with a twirl and shrugs, "You have massive 'RBF' then, it's not a good look for the camera."

"Thanks for the heads up," Chan only pouts further.

The walk to the stage doors is near silent. Big rehearsals and showtime usually required a quiet environment so any orders and announcements could be made without any unnecessary distractions. All that could be heard were boots on linoleum and hushed voices of managers and staff. The sound of music being played around the empty concert hall was muffled through the walls.

Stray Kids wait in a single file line outside the stage doors and watch as various groups and solo artists pass by. They wave and silently greet the ones they know and bow their heads politely to the ones they don't.

After a while they are brought backstage and fit with headsets and handheld microphones respectively. Volta was supposed to be with them by the time they were on standby for their short rehearsal, but the rookie group is nowhere to be found.

"Cutting it kind of close don't you think?" Changbin twirls his mic as he leans against a spare speaker, "They are usually sticklers about punctuality."

"That's an understatement," Jisung blows up on his bangs to get them out of his face but the hair spray holds strong, "Seojun almost had my head last week when me and Minho were late coming back from our water break."

"And what a water break it was," Minho squats near the edge of the stage where the curtains stop and the floor becomes polished, "I don't regret a thing."

"That's a little too much information, don't you think?" A low voice startles Stray Kids out of their conversation. When they look towards the foreign voice they see Felix standing at the entrance of the stage with a bright smile on his face, the rest of Volta like a wall behind him, "Hey guys, long time no see."

Felix looks perfect. Chan drinks him in like cold water after practice. But perfect is an understatement. Black becomes Chan's favorite color twice over when he sees Felix's black t-shirt. The rips along the side show off one side of his ribcage and the light cotton is tucked into tight leather pants that fit every curve of his legs like a glove. It is so unlike what Felix normally wears yet it fits him perfectly. Chan feels his face heat up when he catches himself staring, but Felix is staring right back.

Jisung is the first to hug Felix and hand over one of the extra headsets that had been set aside. They all give short greetings but after Volta arrives time seems to double. Mics are handed out like candy and the lighting changes on the main stage to signal the start of their rehearsal time. Chan doesn't even say hello before the stage director appears and ushers them forward and into their positions.

Bright lights shine into their faces and they all cover their eyes to shield them. Twelve different spots on the floor mark their starting spots. When everyone is set they start the quick walk through of their performance. They all do sound checks on their mics as the performance music plays over the speakers at a low volume.