𝑫𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝑬𝒄𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒚 ☘︎ Robert Keating

010

⋆. 𐙚 ̊  september 2019

The last notes of My Honest Face rang out across the venue, met with an eruption of cheers so loud June could feel them in her chest. Lights flared, the band took their bows, and the four boys, sweaty, exhilarated, and glowing with adrenaline, stood hand in hand for a moment, soaking it all in.

June stood in the crowd with Noora and Niamh, flushed and breathless, her cheeks aching from smiling. She'd been counting down the days to this show ever since Rob first mentioned their homecoming gig. The weeks without them had stretched endlessly, quiet shifts at the café, half-finished demos, long texts from Rob that tapered off when things got busier on tour. But now they were back. And better than ever.

The girls pushed through the thick crowd toward the side entrance, June's pass already damp from the heat of the night. Backstage was chaos, friends, family, a few scattered journalists, hugs and claps on the back, open beers, people shouting across the room to be heard over the post-show playlist.

And then she saw him.

Rob was laughing at something Elijah said, a bottle of water tucked under one arm, his bass still strapped across his chest. His hair was damp with sweat and his cheeks were pink with exertion. But the second his eyes found June's across the room, everything else seemed to drop away.

He lit up.

"June!"

He moved toward her without hesitation, and she walked the last few steps until they met in the middle of the bustling room. For a second it felt like no one else existed. He threw his arms around her in a hug that knocked the breath out of her, warm and tight and familiar.

"I missed you," he murmured into her hair.

"Me too," she said, pulling back to look at him properly. "You were incredible."

He grinned, that same boyish, crooked smile she'd missed all summer. "You think?"

"I know," she said, and Rob laughed, suddenly bashful.

But then someone clapped him on the back, calling his name. Another friend appeared, then a cousin, then Josh's little brother pulling him away for a photo. The moment passed too fast, like always.

"I'll text you," Rob said over the noise, leaning in close so only she could hear. "Let's plan something soon, yeah?"

June nodded, heart thudding. "Okay."

And then he was pulled away again, swallowed by the sea of people who all wanted a piece of him tonight.

June stayed a little while longer, talking with Niamh and some of the others, but her eyes kept drifting back to where Rob stood across the room, laughing with someone else now. She knew he meant it. She believed he would text.

But still, she wished, just for a moment longer, that the crowd would melt away, and it could be only them again.

..

⋆. 𐙚 ̊  october 2019

The sun was low but kind, casting long golden beams through the thinning trees that lined the city streets. Dublin wore its autumn coat, crisp air and burnt orange leaves rustling underfoot. June had a rare free afternoon between lectures and essays, and she found herself wandering the city with Rob, takeaway coffees warming their hands.

"Where do you wanna go?" Rob asked, glancing sideways at her as they waited for the pedestrian crossing.

June shrugged lightly, though she already knew exactly where she wanted to go. "That record shop down by Temple Bar?"