Team: Holyhead Harpies
Position: Beater 1
Prompt: [prompt] Write about settling for/having to take the last resort of something.
Optional Prompts: [setting] stage; [au] dancer/performer; [plot point] arriving to an event/meeting
Word Count: 3,000

A/N: Mods confirmed that a musician does count as a performer for prompt usage. Also, just as a heads up, there are multiple POVs here.

Warnings: foul language

how to fake a show

Thursday

15:12 BST | 10:12 EST, London

James heard his phone ding from the kitchen and immediately put down the packaged ham and cheese sandwich so he could go check it. It was probably just Sirius texting to say that he was running late (predictably, which is exactly why they'd all agreed to tell him the flight was an hour earlier than it really was), but he wanted to be sure. He didn't want to miss something important. He grabbed his phone and flipped it over, but instead of a text message from Sirius, James found a notification marked with the red bubble icon of British Airways.

BA 2347 to LGA has been cancelled.

Fuck. Immediately, James' phone began to buzz as Remus called him.

"Hey, mate," he said. "What the fuck are we gonna do?"

"It sounds like a weather thing," Remus said by way of a response. "I'll call the airline right after this and see if I can get us on a flight first thing tomorrow. The storm should have cleared by then."

"That's going to be cutting it really close," James replied.

"I know, but there aren't really any other options." He could practically hear Remus shrugging on the other line.

James forced himself to take a deep breath. "You're right. I'm just nervous – this is a big opportunity for us, I don't want to miss it."

"We won't, James," Remus assured him. "I'll make sure we get there, don't worry."

He nodded, letting himself take comfort in his friend's reassurance. Remus was reliable, and resourceful – he could be trusted to get them to New York in time for their gig.

20:05 BST | 17:05 EST, Manhattan

Lily gathered her belongings, sliding her laptop back into her bag and grabbing her keys. When she turned around, Mary was just walking into her office, a smile on her face. Mary was generally a very bubbly person, so this was nothing particularly new, but for some reason, Lily just had a feeling that in this particular case, this smile meant that Mary wanted something from her.

"Hello…" Lily greeted her friend, voice laced with amused suspicion. "What's up?"

"Nothing, just glad it's almost Friday," Mary answered cheerfully. "I happen to be going to an awesome concert tomorrow."

"Oh nice, who's it for?" she asked, reaching for her remaining belongings.

"The Marauders, they're a British band," she replied. "And it just so happens I have an extra ticket."

"No," Lily said firmly, already sensing where this conversation was headed.

"Lily, please!"

"No, Mary, you know I'm not a music person," she answered, wrinkling her nose at the very idea of going to a concert.

"But if you don't come, I'll have to go alone," Mary reasoned, her eyes fixed on Lily. "You're the one who always says that's not safe."

Damn. Lily wanted to say no, she really did. And maybe she was always a little bit dramatic about the odds of something happening to women who went out alone. But then again, if this was the one time something did happen… she could never forgive herself if she had a chance to make sure Mary was safe and squandered it. They both knew she wouldn't let Mary go alone.

Lily huffed out a deep breath. "Fine."

Friday

6:17 BST | 1:17 EST, London

James hauled himself out of bed, alarm blaring from across the room. He despised early mornings. Wasn't that supposed to be a benefit of being a musician? Working predominantly at night meant no early mornings. Except, apparently, when there was a last-minute flight to catch.

He pulled on the clothes he'd set out the night before, eyes still half closed, and shoved the remaining few items in his bag – phone, chargers, his notebook of in-progress songs… Confident that he had everything he needed, James grabbed his suitcase and his guitar and left his apartment. He made his way to Sirius' flat to meet the others, and was glad to find the car already idling outside. They really needed to get a move on.

It took twenty minutes, but finally they managed to get all four members of the band ready, everything they needed loaded into the boot, and everyone situated in the car. Remus' father had been kind enough to offer them a lift, but it was a tight squeeze. Cars in England simply weren't designed to transport a whole band. The ride was quiet, everyone still sleepy and wishing they could have left last night, as planned, instead of getting up at the crack of dawn.

James felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and his heart sank before he even checked it. Slowly, he extracted his phone and clicked the screen on.

BA 2822 to LGA has been delayed. Departure time is now 13:14.

His eyes met Remus' in the mirror and they both shared a panicked expression. This meant they wouldn't arrive until 16:00, give or take. An hour before soundcheck, two hours before the headliner went on, three hours before they were scheduled to take the stage. There was going to be absolutely no room for error.

8:04 BST | 3:04 EST, Heathrow Airport

All four boys piled their suitcases and heaps of musical equipment onto trolleys and wheeled them through the airport. Thankfully, the line for baggage check was short, though now they had ample time before their flight. The woman who called them to the front looked like she was absolutely dead on her feet, wanting to be anywhere but there.

She took their confirmation number and tapped away on her keyboard for a minute before looking back up at them. "Flight 2828 to Atlanta, right?"

"No, 2822 to LaGuardia," Remus corrected.

She nodded, tapping away again.

Remus and James exchanged looks, both clearly coming to the same conclusion – they didn't entirely trust that this woman was paying any attention to them. What headaches was this going to cause? James silently hoped that they were wrong.

11:43 BST | 6:43 EST, Heathrow Airport

James took a bite of his sandwich, checking his watch again as he chewed. They should be boarding soon. He needed to make sure they didn't miss it. They had to be on time. Silently, he willed his friends to eat faster. If they missed their fucking flight because they took too long to eat…

He saw Remus glance up at him, his expression filled with apprehension. What was wrong? He pulled his phone out of his back and peeked at the screen, the familiar red bubble on the lock screen filling him with dread.

BA 2822 to LGA has been delayed. Departure time is now 14:40.

Shit.

14:32 BST | 9:32 EST, Heathrow Airport

James checked his watch again. They were supposed to be departing in 8 minutes. Which meant they should have started boarding 45 minutes ago. They should have finished boarding 7 minutes ago. What the hell was going on? They hadn't gotten any more notifications of delays… He glanced at the board at the front of the gate, confirming for the hundredth time that they were in the right place.

The speakers around them clicked to life. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to flight 2822 to New York. We are now ready to begin boarding the aircraft in anticipation of departure. I would now like to invite passengers…"

James ignored the rest of the announcement, standing and beginning to gather his belongings as his bandmates did the same. Realistically, it didn't matter how fast they boarded the plane, given that there were two hundred other people who had to board as well. But somehow, they would all feel better if they did their part quickly.

22:28 BST | 17:28 EST, LaGuardia Airport

The plane touched down with a violent bump, making everyone grab onto something. James felt himself relax just a little bit. Now that they had arrived, they were at least one step closer to making their gig. He glanced at his watch. Two and a half hours to get to the venue. It would be tight, but they could do it. He willed himself to believe that they had reached the end of their struggles with this journey. From now on it would be smooth sailing.

22:57 BST | 17:57 EST, LaGuardia Airport

It had taken an eternity to get off the plane. An absolute fucking eternity. They'd practically run through the terminal to get to baggage claim, only to be frustrated by the sight of their designated belt standing still. They hadn't unloaded the bags yet.

C'mon, James thought to himself, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited. C'mon.

"It'll be out soon," Remus assured him with a hand on his shoulder.

James offered him a cursory smile. He wasn't usually like this – all anxious and amped up – but he was so acutely aware of how much this gig meant for them. If they did well, it could be a launchpad for them, but if it was a disaster… they could kiss their dreams goodbye and go find jobs at a chip shop.

Five minutes later, the belt began to turn, and slowly bags began to rise out of the centre, rolled onto the conveyor unceremoniously. He watched as bag after bag flipped onto the belt and circled the carousel, but he didn't see any of theirs. Not a single suitcase or musical instrument. After twenty minutes, almost all the other baggage had been claimed, and new pieces of luggage had long since stopped appearing. Even the other boys seemed to be getting antsy. In his head, James was absolutely despondent. They were absolutely fucked.

They had already missed sound check and there were only 30 minutes until the opener was set to take the stage. It would probably take them longer than that to get to the venue, possibly a lot longer if there was traffic. What time they arrived would be a moot point though if they didn't have any instruments or equipment.

"Hey," Remus said, gathering the boys, "maybe we should start thinking about heading over…"

"What's the point of that without any of our stuff?" Sirius snapped, the long hours of travel getting the better of his mood.

"Well, I figure we'll be in deeper shit if we don't show up at all than if we show up empty-handed," Remus answered, matching his snark. "Besides, if you and James head over, maybe you guys can stall until Peter and I can get everything and make it over."

It was as reasonable a plan as any in James' opinion so he nodded to Remus and put his hand on Sirius' shoulder. "C'mon. It's the best we can do."

"Fine," Sirius huffed, turning toward the exit.

James followed him, trying to tell himself that they would figure this out. It wasn't going to be as bad as things seemed right now. Remus and Peter would get the equipment and they would turn this into the best show of their lives.

18:11 EST, Bowery Ballroom

Lily stood outside, half-huddled against Mary to shield herself from the biting wind. It was November – why the hell was she not curled up on her sofa with a hot chocolate and a good movie? The venue might be indoors, but the line to get inside was moving at a snail's pace. And concert venues weren't exactly the best environments for wearing a jacket. Which was exactly why Lily was stuck, freezing, outside in little more than a thin sweater.

"I think we're almost to the front!" Mary whispered, practically vibrating with excitement.

Lily glanced at the doorway, which was still a little too far away for her taste. Privately, she thought she deserved the Friend of the Year award for coming to this. As she had told Mary the day before, she didn't even know this band, so why was she here?

19:10 EST, Bowery Ballroom

James and Sirius vaulted out of the black sedan that had whisked them through the city as soon as they pulled up to the back entrance of the venue. As one of the staffers let them in – after checking the credentials they had all thankfully packed in their carry-ons – they could hear the blaring sounds of the opening act, already in full swing.

The venue coordinator – a tall woman named Marlene with wild, dark curls – greeted them just inside. Though to say it was a greeting was perhaps a bit kind. Despite the smile that curved her lips, she was clearly annoyed by their excessively late arrival.

"Sorry, I think Remus has been in touch about our flight troubles," James said, reaching out to shake her hand as he hoped to smooth over the situation.

"He has," she replied curtly. "But we've got 45 minutes until you take the stage and I only see half the band and one guitar. So what exactly is going on?"

"Um, right," James hummed, glancing at his phone to see the update from Remus – Airline has no record of our stuff arriving. We've got no instruments. On our way to BB. – and then back at Marlene. "So, it looks like the airline lost our instruments, but Remus and Peter are on their way now!"

Marlene looked at him, barely concealing her displeasure at the news. "What the fuck are you planning on doing without instruments?"

"I…" But James was at a loss for words. He had been asking himself that very question the entire drive over from the airport, but still he didn't have an answer.

"James will go on," Sirius interrupted, speaking confidently while James and Marlene both looked at him in astonishment.

"What?" they said in unison.

"James has his lucky guitar and he can sing some of the more ballad-esque songs as acoustics," Sirius continued. "Plus he has some songs that he's written on his own."

James blanched. Those songs were nowhere near ready for everyone to hear. And as long as he was in the band, he wasn't sure he ever wanted them to be heard. "Sirius –"

"He can do it," Sirius assured Marlene, clapping his hand on James' shoulder.

Well, he supposed he better start getting his shit together.

20:02 EST, Bowery Ballroom

Fifteen minutes after the opener finished their performance and took their bow, the venue went dark, all the lights dimming. Cheers rose from the crowd, the high pitch of young women squealing with excitement. Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She never understood the mania that surrounded bands – the hysteria that manifested all because somebody could play music and sing well, when there were much more impressive talents to be found in the world.

A spotlight flicked on in the centre of the stage, and Lily could just make out the shadow of a figure behind it, moments before he stepped out into the light. She was a little bit confused, because Mary had said this was a band, but she didn't see anyone else on stage.

"So, um, I am…" He cleared his throat nervously. "We are very happy to be playing here, for all of you lovely people."

"That's strange," Mary said, leaning over and whispering in Lily's ear. "James is a guitarist, not the frontman. He doesn't usually speak much on stage."

"Unfortunately, we hit quite a few snags on our way over here, so we're a bit shorthanded on instruments and well… bandmates," James continued, starting to smile and settle into his onstage persona a bit. "Don't worry, everyone's fine! But because of the situation, I'm afraid you're going to have to settle for listening just to me tonight. I've got some Marauders' songs to play for you all, as well as some songs you've never heard before, and I really hope that I can live up to everything you have all been dying to see!"

Lily watched as he began to pluck the strings of his guitar with dextrous fingers, and she had to admit that she liked the melody that he played. She liked his voice too, soft and comfortable, like being hugged in a warm blanket. She liked this singer, and she was glad that she came. Not that she would ever admit that to Mary.

21:26 EST, Bowery Ballroom

James couldn't believe how well this had gone. Never in a million years had he thought that he could stand alone on a stage and captivate people the way the Marauders did. But he had been proven wrong, song after song, as the crowd listened and sang and swayed along with him. It was the most incredible feeling. He was almost loathe to play the last song and have to leave. He wished this night could go on forever.

Just as he was about to strum the opening chords, something caught his eye. He looked up and his eyes roamed the crowd, trying to find it again, whatever it was he'd seen. After a moment of searching, his eyes fixed on a shimmer of red. A woman with auburn hair that gleamed red under the lights stood in the midst of the crowd, a little way back from the stage. Something in her expression caught his attention – it looked almost like she was pleasantly surprised to be enjoying herself. For some reason, James found that amusing. He wondered if it were possible to talk to her after he was finished performing. He was pretty sure he would like that.

He ran his fingers through his hair, pulling his attention back to the stage he was standing on. He had one more song to perform. He had planned to close the show with one last Marauders song, but now James had another plan. In the last year, he'd been working on a song that was about imagining what it would feel like to meet his soulmate. Maybe if he sang it now, to her, sparks would fly.