Another way (Young Royals)

The first heat

"You are supposed to be on stage in five minutes. Where have you been?" Anton asked me as I came out of some kind of storage space. I had been speaking to Wille on the phone, who was in the arena already. He had come to watch me perform. Anton looked down at my phone and shook his head. But he grinned, so he was not that upset with me for not being where I should. "Wille, I assume?" I nodded.

"He wanted to wish me good luck. I could barely hear what he was saying," I said. It was loud in the arena. That much I had been able to tell from our little phone call. I knew I would probably not be able to see him in the crowd of people, but just knowing he was there made me feel less nervous about it.

"Cute. But now you better get your microphone and make yourself ready to perform," he said. I nodded and walked with him back to the stage. Someone handed me a microphone and put my in ears in place. I took deep breaths. I had a really good performance. I knew I could do it. I had rehearsed for it more than I had rehearsed anything else. "Good luck now, Simon." I smiled. But I felt the nerves even more intense than before. I was competing for the first time. Well, if you don't count the talent shows the school put up in primary school or something. And I felt like that did not really count. At least not compared to a competition broadcasted on television. On national television. It felt like I had butterflies trying to escape my stomach as I walked up on stage. I had been on that stage for rehearsals several times that week. And just hours before the television broadcast it was a big rehearsal in front of an audience. I had been nervous then too, but not like this. I stood at the place where I was supposed to and waited. I heard the presentation that I had recorded a few days before play. Then I heard a voice tell the audience I was on stage. The name of my song. I looked out over the audience and it finally got to me that I actually was not dreaming. I was awake. And this was really happening. I was about to sing on live television. Before I knew it, it was all over. I had made my performance and walked off stage. I went down to the greenroom, and the anchor man said something to me. I was so pumped with adrenaline from all my nerves turning into energy. I did not catch what he asked, but I guessed somewhat what he might have asked, so I gave some kind of answer. He seemed satisfied with that, and I sat down next to Peter and his husband Hector. Anton was still somewhere backstage. And Wille was somewhere out in the audience. I wished he was there. I felt my phone buzz. The screen lit up.

"You are amazing, baby," I read. "It was flawless. You did it perfectly." It was a text from Wille. I wished he was there, next to me in the greenroom. That I could have held his hand. But that was not possible. I knew that. We wanted our privacy, so we had decided to not make any public appearances together that night. Or in the final if I made it there.

"Thank you. I love you," I texted back. Hector and Peter looked at each other with smug smiles as the screen lit up again.

"I love you too," Wille texted. It made me feel warm inside.

"Is that Wille?" Peter asked me. He poked me with his elbow. Teasingly.

"The sweet boyfriend?" Hector added. I looked at them and they laughed. I busted out laughing as well.

"I only have one boyfriend," I said.

"We know. And he is really sweet," Peter replied.

"I know. That is why I am with him," I replied. Wille was truly the sweetest human being. Always there. Always so supportive.

"And you are quite cute too. You saw him just before the show and still you are texting and talking on the phone," Hector said. I looked at him. "Yes, Anton told us about your little rendezvous with Wille just before you were supposed to be on stage. He was stressed out." We laughed and talked a little bit more, until the voting began. I got high points in most voting groups. Always above the line to the final. When all points were out, I realised I had won my heat. I had the most points out of all the artists competing. We hugged and I could not really understand this was not just some really great dream. But it was not a dream. It was reality.   

Author's note

Hi everyone! I hope that you all are doing fine. I am moving into my new apartment during this weekend and the coming week, which is why the story has not been updated for a while. I have also done some work for the organization I volunteer for and completed my last essay for my history course I have taken this summer. Now I look forward for a new semester and some new knowledge. Have you gone back to school/work after the summer vacations yet?

-A.A.