Through The Dark

46: Successful

Saph

Two years. That's all it took for Niall and his band to achieve mainstream success. They performed at the bar I worked at almost every Sunday for all this time, doing other gigs at different bars and festivals around London and performing a mix of convers and original songs.

But it wasn't until recently they were discovered, being offered a contract to one of England's biggest record labels. I would never be able to express how unbelievably proud I was of him, of all of them for getting the recognition they deserved.

They would finally get to record all their songs professionally, while writing a few more to produce an album. It all honestly sounded surreal, and I couldn't believe how far he's gotten with his music career over these three years. I still remembered the first night he came to London, where he was originally offered a spot in the band and was so unsure about it, but mostly unsure about himself.

It was nice seeing him finally be comfortable on stage, even though he'd always get the jitters before every performance. But I was always there to calm him down and support him. Like today, where they'd do their first ever performance on national television. Being invited by Graham Norton as the musical guests of the evening, they'd get the opportunity to show the world their talent. But I knew what he was most nervous about was the interview that would follow.

This show tended to do a short interview with the musical guests at the end, which was perfect, because they'd get to promote their debut album before it's even done, but Niall was a nervous wreck about having to sing, or even worse, speak infront of cameras. He was trying to mask his nerves, seeming calm and collected, but I knew better.

He stared at the ground while he was getting his gear hooked up, leaving his in ear monitors to hang from his neck as he strummed his guitar to make sure it was properly tuned. With his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, he looked around the room to the rest of his bandmates that were getting ready. I made sure to stay out of the crew's way, standing in a corner and just observing everything happening around me.

That was until it was almost time for the band to get on stage and prepare, where I could tell Niall's nerves were getting the best of him. With heavy, consistent breaths he wiped his palms on his black skinny jeans to get rid of the sweat on them before he quickly played the chords of the song they were about to perform to himself.

"Lovey, you wrote this song. I'm pretty sure you won't forget the chords to it." I joked as I made my way to him, placing my hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm his nerves. He sighed, his cheeks tinted pink as he focused his attention on me.

"Just trying to make sure." He nervously chuckled, and I haven't seen him act like that since we first started talking to eachother in school. But needless to say we were a long way from those days. Still, it was heartwarming to know that boy that originally captured my interest still lived in the man I love.

"You're gonna do great bub. I believe in you." I told him, something I've said to him countless times, but his face still lit up.

"Thanks darling." He beamed, his eyes sparkling. Before either of us could say or do anything else, a crew member came over to make an announcement.

"Okay, the stage is ready so please everyone take your places. The band is on air in five." He quickly spoke before leaving again. Niall took in a heavy breath as he watched his three bandmates make their way towards the curtain that separated the actual stage from the area we were in.

"Good luck. Love you." I gave him a quick kiss in the lips, accompanied with a reassuring smile.

"Love you too." He simply answered before turning on his heels and following after the rest of the band. I made my way to a small TV hung on the wall, where the show was being played so I could watch the performance better rather than peeking at it through the curtain. The host of the show, Graham, asked one of the celebrity guests a final question, giving them a few seconds to answer it before he faced the camera.