~Three Years Later~
Conan Lee Gray had a concert in New York and Neel had tickets to go see it. He had two and he had saved one for his best friend but he bailed on him the last second and that too without a reason. He guessed he should be mad but he can't be. It was the first time Brian has bailed on him. The first time Brian's well being had bothered him. He tried not to think of it. Lately Brian had been like this, not paying attention to their conversations, responding to texts a day late. He believed he was overthinking a little. Brian deserved a break from their friendship and he shouldn't act so needy.
So, he was there. Standing in line to enter. His fan base has grown so much over the course of three years; it's gotten diverse, loving and supportive. Neel loosened his collar, gulping and feeling hot. It was evening in Manhattan and it would have been great if it had rained a day before. A girl in front of him was using a small fan and Neel almost wanted to punch her and take the thing from her hands.
Breathe, stay present, he told himself. It was a bad night to wear a jean jacket. A boy behind him snickered at him and Neel looked away, feeling self conscious. He must look like a mess right now. He got the tickets yesterday and had completely forgotten about them until Brian told him he wouldn't come to the concert with him.
"How far is it?" he mumbled to himself and leaned to see the length of the line. It disappeared somewhere down the road. The venue was big, he supposed.
"I heard his boyfriend is gonna be here," a blonde girl said, sounding like it was the tragedy of the decade.
"Ugh, you are acting like you would seduce him if his boyfriend weren't there," a boy beside her spoke as he rolled his eyes.
Neel didn't get why fans like the girl always complained about the artist's personal life and why it bothered them so much. He didn't believe Conan Gray was normal(he is god tier to him) but random people who claim to like telling him he shouldn't date his boyfriend sounded hurtful and offensive.
He had seen Conan's boyfriend, Heath. Conan constantly posted instagram stories of them doing things things, like celebrating Hanukkah, or sometimes pictures of his face with cute captions like, 'Can I kidnap you for the night?' He had heard rumors that his boyfriend used to work in Republic and that's where they met. Now Heath owned some line of clothing that was too expensive for Neel to even know about. Apart from this he knew, that he really loved Conan and Conan really loved him.
The line jerked forward and Neel was happy to get a couple steps closer to listening his favourite singer-songwriter live.
It took an hour for the security guard to start letting them through and fifteen minutes more for Neel to get in after all the security checks. At first it was pitch black, and then lights started to focus and Neel could see everything. It hit him a little hard at first. The stage was huge with countless lights. He wondered how Conan deals with so many of them, everyone looking at him, staring at him. On the edge there are small smoke machines that he supposed were for a performance.
Breathe, he told himself.
Someone nudged him impatiently and he moved to the centre, wanting to be close to Conan and look at him straight when he performed. Everyone found a position at the end of the a few minutes and Neel was glad he hadn't been pushed along much and his position was pretty much the same. He saw a boy who is arguing with girl to trade his position by the speakers.
"Cone will be here in a few minutes, okay?" the stage managers yelled into mic and earned a drum-shattering screech from the fans.
His band reached first, taking their positions by their instruments and smiling at the crowd. They got a loud cheer but not as loud as the one the fans let out when Conan took the stage.
He had returned to his old fashion style. A black and white striped shirt over light blue jeans, a silver coloured chain hanging from his waist and black shoes.
"Heyy!" he said, his accent driving a couple people crazy. "I just wanna say that it would be cool if y'all, like, backed away from the stage a little. You know, give other people a better look, not reach. Back away a little?"
He had said that with the most charming smile on his face and Neel had realized that there were quite a few people right at the edge of the stage, ready to pounce on Conan like hungry animals. They seemed to broken from their trance and politely backed away as he had said.
"Thank you," he said, grinning. "Now we can begin and make sure your tickets were worth."
A cheer erupted as the band started playing. The music humming softly and then suddenly the decibels increasing. Conan started singing with his angelic voice, the one that Neel only listened to through the speakers of his phone. He started swaying like a reed, pleased by his calming lyrics and smooth voice that pulled him in like a drug.
It went on for a while, at least for an hour after which Conan broke away from the mic and disappeared beyond the black curtains behind the stage. Neel felt like he had been slapped. He forgot that concerts that intermissions and Conan couldn't possibly sing forever.
He returned after twenty minutes, changed into new clothes and wearing a red bandana. Neel remembered seeing the black shirt he was wearing on his boyfriend. Nothing like a couple that share clothes.
"Before the nex-" he began but stopped because it was pitch black. Somehow the lights in every corner of the arena had been switched off. Neel had never heard of power cuts in concerts and felt bad for Conan who was probably having his best show ever until now.
The fans shuffled and Neel hoped that no one knocked him over or ran over him. What if a stampede occurred? He would get crushed the countless feet.
There was a light buzz that the lights came back on but this time Conan was not alone on the stage. It was his boyfriend, wearing a red turtleneck in such weather, loose black jeans and boots with dark buckles. He was smiling at Conan as if he were the only thing he could see, not a sea of enthusiastic fans. He was down on one knee and holding up a small velvet box.
Author's Note: If you stuck with this book for this long, I am really glad. The initial chapters were not inviting at all.