*ON HOLD* suck it and see, you never know

prologue

no one's pov:

in late 2008, after the valentines' debut album had been out for about half a year, they got invited to open for arctic monkeys for the european and north-american legs of their tour. they were really excited for it, because it was a good opportunity to get more popular. they'd had their own little uk tour that year but that was nothing compared to the crowds the monkeys had. they were signed to the same label as arctic monkeys, so it made sense for a more small band like them to be asked to open.

july 2nd, 2009 - gdynia, poland

rosie's pov:

tonight is our first show with arctic monkeys. i am absolutely terrified. the crowd there was going to be so much bigger than any one that we've played before. i'd briefly met matt earlier because jade had asked me to see if he had some spare drumsticks since she forgot hers at the hotel. matt seemed nice, he gave me some drumsticks for jade and asked me if i was alright (i was very pale because i was quite dehydrated from anxiety).

it was now 6:30pm, we had to be on in 15 minutes. our assistant, kate, was bringing us our earpieces. i noticed she gave me the wrong one, not even one of ours actually, one of the monkeys'. i heard them sitting, having a drink in the lounge. i left my dressing room to give them the earpiece back.

as i walked to their couch, i felt anxiety flood my stomach. i decided to ignore it however.

"hey, uh, i think they gave me the wrong earpiece? i was wondering if it was one of yours?" i asked nervously.

"oh yeah- it's mine i think." a thick sheffield accent spoke up.

"were wondering why they gave me a bright purple one." he said with a soft chuckle as he switched the earpieces from our hands. he then looked at me with a puzzled look, trying to tell who i was.

"i'm rosie by the way.. from valentines?" i said and hoped he'd know who i was and not just embarrass myself.

"oh! fuck- right! of course- i'm so sorry i should've recognised you! also i loved the album!" he said quite excitedly. i was so happy he'd listened to the album, considering i'd been listening to his band since 2005. "i'm alex, alexander if yer wanna be proper." he said as he stuck out his hand for me to shake it. i quickly took it in mine to shake it.

"nice to meet you, alexander." i say, putting on a proper english accent while saying his name.

kate's loud, high-pitched voice interrupted our moment with a "valentines! on in 5!"

"shit- i'm sorry alex i've gotta go finish my makeup" i said apologetically

"it's alright, love, don't worry. i'll watch your guys' set!" he replied kindly, as i rushed off quickly to put on the rest of my makeup.

while i was applying mascara, i was playing back the conversation we had in my head, when i realised: he called me 'love'??  i couldn't finish my moment of panic, as i got yelled at by conner that we had to be on stage in one minute. i quickly rushed out of the dressing room and was met by a slightly confused alex.

"good luck!" alex said to me as the band started to walk on stage. i spun back quickly to hug alex before i left. i dont know why i did it. i get impulsive when i'm anxious. i quickly ran off on stage to introduce the band.

"hello poland! we are the valentines and we're from south london!" i said as the crowd erupted in cheers. the song started playing. i was playing my telecaster and singing. no one really knew the words to our songs but they were still jumping around and seemed like they were having a good time. it felt like we were the only people on earth. i looked back to the wings to see alex sitting there, watching us, smiling. he was so sweet. i was so grateful he actually wanted to be friends with me.