In Over His Head

"What do you mean he's not here?!"

Various heads backstage turned at the sound of the incredulous - and slightly furious - cry, wondering exactly what was going on.

Standing a little way off to the side of the stage, one of the producers was talking (shouting) at a very tired and frustrated looking Dec, who was currently pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Like I said, he got a phone call this morning asking him to come in for jury duty" he explained for what felt like the dozenth time since he'd arrived less than ten minutes ago. "It's not like he could just cancel!"

The producer - a newer member of the BGT team who was already proving to be quite a difficult personality to work with - folded her arms and glared at the man across from her.

"I thought you guys were exempt from that sort of stuff!"

Frustration continued to boil in Dec's gut, but he forced it down - knowing it was unprofessional to snap at the producers.

"We have to do jury duty too sometimes, you know" he replied as calmly as he could, trying to avoid raising his own voice, "we don't get a special 'Get Out of Jail Free' card, just because we're TV presenters."

The producer growled in frustration and spun on her heel, stalking out of the room - parting the crowds like Moses at the Red Sea.

The loud slamming of the backstage door made everyone wince.

Echos of the noise sent shockwaves through Dec's head, making him groan quietly to himself - he should have known that this was coming. He'd known since he'd woken up that morning what he was probably going to end up faced with, and when Ant had texted him to let him know that he wouldn't be in, he felt things start to go downhill.

It had started - as his migraines often did - with a heavy tightness behind his eyes and just a quiver of dizziness. Normally, he was able to avoid making them get worse; he hadn't had a migraine while working for a good few months now. 

But today was looking like a bad day.

"Good morning, Declan!"

Urgh, especially when he was forced to deal with bouncy, enthusiastic sister-show presenters.

He liked Stephen well enough, but he honestly didn't feel up to dealing with his endless puppy-like excitement today.

"Hey Stephen" he greeted back, sounding very weary.

Stephen had bounded over to him with a big smile on his face, but he quickly pulled up short at the sight of Dec's face.

"Shit, mate. What's up with you?" he asked, frowning in concern.

Dec winced imperceptibly as his friend's voice rocketed through his aching head.

"Just tired, that's all" he lied, forcing a smile onto his face. "You ready to go?"

Stephen eyed him suspiciously for a moment before nodding, a little of his smile returning.

"Just waiting for everyone's favourite diva to show up" he explained, checking his watch.

Dec sighed at that - waiting for Simon made him a little annoyed on the best of days, but today he felt almost ready to snap at someone.

Stephen clearly noticed something in his expression. He put a hand on Dec's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"You sure you're okay? You look a bit peaky" he observed, blue eyes giving him a once-over.

Taking a deep breath to stop himself from making Stephen the first victim of his snappiness, Dec squirmed away from his hand.