it started with a dm

After the show, Theo walked past the stage door with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, heart a live wire. He didn't go inside. He didn't wait around for selfies or autographs like the fans pressed against the barricades. He just stood across the street, watching. Waiting.

And then Anton stepped out. In a hoodie too thin for the New York chill and curls still damp from post-show sweat. His eyes flicked through the crowd like he was searching for a ghost. Like he didn't really believe he'd find it. But then, their eyes met across the street, through noise and light and movement.

And Theo?

He didn't smile, nor did he wave.

He just.....nodded. Once.

Anton's expression softened, barely. Like he wanted to run, but couldn't; like one wrong move would ruin everything they'd carefully, delicately built. So Theo turned and walked away, and he didn't look back.

That night, the silence was the loudest it had ever been between them.

No DMs, no voice memos, and no late-night poem readings or harmony attempts. Theo sat in his apartment, lights off, and phone facedown on the bed like it might burn him.

What were they doing? What was this?

It had started with music. With character work, with admiration and stolen hours wrapped in reverb and repressed sighs. But now? Now it felt like his soul was caught in his throat.

Was this love? Was it just adrenaline? Was it loneliness pretending to be something warmer?

His phone lit up.

Anton (1:33 AM):
Did I imagine you there?

Theo didn't answer right away. He stared at the message for a long time.

Then replied,

Theo (1:41 AM):
You didn't imagine it.
But I wish I was brave enough to stay longer.

Read.

Typing....

Stopped.

Typing again.

Then the voice memo came.

Anton (1:46 AM):

"....You were braver than me. I looked for you the second the lights went down, and I—I almost didn't go out there, Theo. I almost asked someone to cover for me. I've never been that scared before. Not even on opening night."

[His breath hitched.]

"I saw you and everything I'd been pretending didn't matter....just came crashing down."

There was a pause; long, soft, and heavy.

"I miss you, and we didn't even get to talk earlier."

Theo's throat tightened. His reply came almost instantly. Words couldn't carry this anymore, not the way voice could.

Theo (1:49 AM):

"I miss you too."

[He laughed a little; dry and exhausted.]

"I keep pretending we're just doing a bit. That this is still part of the show. But it's not, is it?"

Silence.

Then, "I think I fell for your voice before I knew your face....and now that I've seen your face in real life, it's even worse."