"Alright, so, gig on Friday, yeah?"
"Yep, that's right. Please tell me you and the others are coming"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, 'Taire. The others are too, they've all promised to be there… Well, except Combeferre. He has to meet up with one of his buddies from college, but said he'll try and drag said friend along if possible. I'm sure he'll be there though. Trust me, none of us would miss it, even if the apocalypse was starting, not after supporting your butt for this long"
Grantaire laughed lightly at the last comment and was sure Courfeyrac could hear his grin in his voice when he replied.
"Thanks Courf. It means a lot."
"No problem. Hey, listen. I've gotta go. Class starts in five minutes and I'm still on the other side of campus, so I better run. I'll talk to you later mate" Courfeyrac hung up and Grantaire was left with the monotonous tone of a the dead line.
He sighed to himself and shook his head slightly. He was used to rushed goodbye's from Courfeyrac, they had been best friends since high school, and the other had always had a proneness to being late for everything.
Grantaire put the phone back in its holder and wet back to re-stringing his guitar. His first proper show was in two days time and he was nervous as hell. The place was only small, a bar that could hold the maximum of eighty-three people, including the staff, but it still mean a lot to him.
He finished the last string, tuning it to absolute perfection and decided that he was in need of another cup of coffee. It was already 11 am and he had only had one cup since he woke up an hour ago.
He really wasn't a morning person.
-/-
Gig night came around in no time whatsoever, and true to their word, all of Grantaire's friends were huddled around one table in the small bar. Combeferre still wasn't there yet, but he had texting Courfeyrac earlier, assuring them that he was on his way with friend in tow, the traffic was just slow.
Grantaire was stood off stage, one hand clutched tightly around the neck of his guitar, the other around the next of a water bottle.
For a moment he found himself wishing that the bottle's condense was something stronger so he could calm his nerves, but before he could think any more about it the manager of the bar was walking onstage and Grantaire knew that this was it.
No turning back now.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Café Musain. Tonight we have a very special guest who will be playing for us. He's a local boy, and I've seen him in here so many times already that he may as well be working here"
The joke was met with a small amount of laughter and the manager smiled before continuing.
"His voice is really one-of-a-kind and he's here tonight to share it all with you. Please give a warm welcome to Grantaire!"
Applause rang through the small space, though it wasn't all that enthusiastic. Grantaire took a deep breath before walking out on stage. The manager patted him on the shoulder as he passed, murmuring a low 'break a leg, kiddo', before walking off.
Grantaire smiled at that and turned to face the crowd. Suddenly, he realised how many 83 people actually were, but as he pulled the guitar strap over his head all nerves that he had previously were instantly washed away at the familiarity of it all.
He took another deep breath and stepped up to the mic to introduce himself.
"Hi, my name's Grantaire, and I hope you enjoy the show"
With that he calmly placed his fingers on the neck of the guitar, letting his eyes fall closed at the cool familiar touch of the worn wood, and started playing.
Lovers keep on the road you're on
Runners until the race is run
Soldiers you've got to soldier on
Sometimes even the right is wrong
They are turning my head out
To see what I'm all about
Keeping my head down
To see what it feels like now
And I have no doubt
One day we're going to get out
Tonight maybe we're gonna run
Dreaming of the Osaka sun
Ohohohoh ohohohoh oh
Dreaming of when the morning comes
They are turning my head out
To see what I'm all about
Keeping my head down
To see what it feels like now
And I have no doubt
One day the sun will come out
As the last note of the song finished Grantaire opened his eyes again, having kept them shut for the entirety of the song, too scared to see the judgment in people's eyes first time round.
There was a moment's pause as he looked around at the faces of the people he could see at the front of the stage. Nerves started to grow as worry bloomed in his gut, but then the entire place erupted into one massive applause. People were standing from their seats in order to give him a standing ovation, guys were raising their glasses too him, and he could swear that he heard Courfeyrac's signature 'woop' over the clapping, coming from somewhere just beyond his view due to the dimmed house lights.
Grantaire broke into a grin, breathing a huge sigh of relief as all worry vanished instantaneously.
"Thank you, thank you. Really… This next song is called Harmony."
-/-
"Dude you rocked!" Courfeyrac was the first to notice Grantaire approaching their ensemble, and the rest all turned to congratulate his success on stage.
The 4 song set had received a standing ovation at the end as well, and Grantaire had come off stage with his cheeks tinged with a violent blush and a grin that couldn't be broken.
That grin was still in place when he joined his friends, but as he tried to thank them all for their congratulations he found that his throat was rather dry.
"Drinks for the man!" Called Combeferre, who had arrived somewhere at the beginning of the first song.
A beer was placed in front of Grantaire, which the musician was eternally grateful for as he took a deep swig.
"Oh, Grantaire. I believe you have not met Combeferre's little friend yet" Said Jehan, stepping to the side to let a young golden curled man get nearer to the table.
"Grantaire, Enjolras. Enjolras, Grantaire"
Grantaire almost choked on his mouthful of beer. Enjolras was, for lack of better words, smoking. Grantaire couldn't think of a time that he had ever seen a man as beautiful as this, and Grantaire had seen a lot of beautiful men.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, your singing was amazing" Enjolras extended an hand for Grantaire to shake, and Grantaire had to virtually rip his eyes away from the way the white material of the others shirt clung to his body to look him in the eyes.
"I— uh, thanks. Nice to meet you too" Grantaire never stumbled over his words like this, and that's why Courfeyrac raised an eyebrow in Combeferre's direction. The whole group seemed to have noticed it, but Grantaire's eyes were still glued to Enjolras, so he didn't notice the little looks they were all sharing.
Enjolras blushed slightly under the scrutinizing gaze of Grantaire and looked down at the drink in his hand, not knowing what else to do.
Grantaire seemed to notice that he was staring then, and quickly cleared his throat and looked away as well. Courfeyrac snickered slightly at the interaction and Joly even smiled at it. Combeferre just rolled his eyes and Jehan laughed along with Feuilly and Bossuet.
After that they all fell into a comfortable conversation, the night proceeding as it normally would, with the exception of Grantaire's hearty jokes and remarks, for he was too busy glancing at Enjolras when he thought the other was not looking.
A/N: Hi guys! Thanks for reading! Sorry to those who have followed me who were expecting me to upload the new version of Coffee Shop Soundtrack, but this fic just came to me and I couldn't help but write it. I swear to god I'll get working on the other once this is finished, I just need this one out of my system first.
To those of you who are wondering, the first song Grantaire sings is Lovers In Japan by Coldplay, and the second Harmony by NeverShoutNever. I chose them because I thought they would go well with George Blagden's voice, who I have officially classified as Headcanon!Grantaire for my (Sorry Hadley!), so I hope that you will all respect my choices and not complain about the choice of songs.
Thank you again for reading! And I hope to see you all soon
- Enjolsass
