All he could hear was his heart pounding against his chest and his raspy breathing. His eyes were blinded by the bright lights that washed over him, bathing him in unneeded heat.
His fingers trembled as he shifted them on the strings, desperate to finish the last few notes, ignoring the ringing in his ears and the sweat dripping down his brow.
He was almost there, just one more song, and he would be done for the night, he tried to remind himself.
Just one more, and everything, he knew, would turn out perfectly fine.
... he hadn't noticed when his arms gave out, or when his vision began to blur, but the ache in his side was very prominent as he felt his body collide with the floor.