《The 1975 Imagines》Stranger - Ross
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Work had slowed over the winter months, so it had been a case of taking photographs as a hobby instead of for being payed for now.
Through the summer people were contacting you left right and centre to take pictures of their weddings, parties, or whatever they felt like, but as the grey English weather took the sun's place, no one was bothered.
It happened every year, though. You expected it - you had been doing the job for nearly 4 years, each year the same. However you felt just as inspired and passionate about photography as you had at 19, you always had a camera in hand in case you spotted anything you wanted to showcase.
It was a usual busy day in London, where you were based. Work had slowed to nearly nothing so you took up a job with your mum, taking a series of photographs for her local magazine. It was midday, the sky was grey as normal and people were bustling past left right and centre. It was easy to be consumed in the thousands of people that occupied the capital, but the busyness is what excited you.
You had been set a mission to capture the movement of people, so a day like today was perfect. You set up base at the corner of a busy street, and began to snap pictures of the hustle and bustle that was deemed normal for a place like this. A wave of colour passed you quickly, then again, as you saw hundreds of people with coloured signs and bright colours parade the street. The protest was the perfect photo opportunity for you as the epitome of movement and colour.
As the picture focused perfectly you went to click the button as your camera was swiftly knocked out of your hand. You heard a painful sound as the battery and SD card spilled onto the floor, as well as something cracking.
Reaching down to pick up your things, you hands met another pair. They were warm, somewhat clammy, as they rushed to grab all the things they presumably had knocked out of your hands previously.
'I am.. so so sorry.' A deep voice came from above you.
Looking up to the man who had broken your camera, you were met with a pleasant surprise. He was older than you, around 30, with a dark beard and hair to match. His eyes were enticing, despite looking at you in a very apologetic way. His outfit was scruffy, he must've been in a hurry.
'It's okay, I think it might still work.' You replied.
He smiled warmly as he handed back the bits that had fallen out. The camera lit up as you put them all back in their place and you gave him a smile to assure him that he hadn't broken it.
'Don't worry, all good. You can go back to whatever you were rushing for.' You smiled as you began to pack up your things, slightly annoyed to have missed the protest.
'I actually wasn't trying to get anywhere in particular, just needed some time alone. I spend my life with the same people 24/7, who I love, but it's just nice to get some time by myself'. He said with a small smile. 'Are you sure your camera is okay though?'
'You're in the clear.' You laughed as you stepped away slowly, you needed to get back to edit as the photos were needed in the next couple of days and you didn't have much to work with.
'Wait.' He called from behind you. 'Could I get you like a coffee or a drink just to say sorry?'
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'I thought you wanted some alone time!' You joked, turning back towards him. 'But sure!'
He had taken you to a quiet, independent coffee shop, tucked away in one of the busy streets near Shoreditch. Although small, it was exciting and quite quirky, a perfect place to take some pictures.
'I get the feeling you like to be in the background of situations.' You said quite openly to the boy you had let take you to a place you'd never been.
'What makes you say that?' He replied.
'We could've gone to the Starbucks two minutes from where we met, but we've come here. And you were alone. Just seems that way to me. Not a bad thing though.' You explain.
The corners of his eyes crease slightly as he laughs at your remark.
'You're about half right with that. I live a lot of my life in front of crowds so when I get the time alone I like to spend it unbothered - does that make me sound big headed?' He laughs.
'Not at all, but it doesn't make much sense to me. You spend your life with the same people and you're in front of crowds a lot, so you're either a prostitute or in a band, huh?' You joke.
The creases reappear as he chuckles.
'Definitely the latter.'
Then he explained to you, in not much detail, that he was in a somewhat successful band. They were called the 1975, they were from Manchester, but in London as they were doing a 'small' (as he described) gig this evening.
'I saw you at Reading last year!' You realised as he explained.
'Oh no way? Did you like the set?' He replied.
'It was insane! You weren't the singer though were you, he looked smaller than you are!'
'Haha, no, not me. That's Matty. I play bass, you'll find me on the right side of the stage if you're in the crowd.'
'So Matty's the main singer. And what's your name?' You ask with a laugh as you realise you hadn't even told each other that much.
'I'm Ross.' He says jokingly as he puts his hand out to shake yours. 'And you are?'
'Y/N.' You reply. 'Nice to meet you.'
You left the coffee shop with about 20 minutes left to get back to work. Ross offered to walk you back, and you took him up on it.
As you strolled back to the building you spoke about a lot of things. You had noticed Ross' reservedness when it came to speaking about the band, he was either very humble about it or felt that it was consuming his entire life, so you spoke about other things. Your families, your work in regards to why you were taking pictures of random things, your other hobbies and your music tastes.
'I'll give you guys a listen, though.' You said.
'You could come to our show tonight if you want? Only if you're free. I still owe you for knocking the camera clean out of your hand.'
It turns out you were free, so you accepted the offer.
'Sure, I'll be there.' You said with a smile.
'I can text you the address?' He asked whilst giving you his phone.
You put in your number quickly before handing it back to him.
'See you there.' You said before turning towards the building. 'And thank you for the coffee!'
'No problem!'
A couple hours had passed and there was no text from Ross. You weren't usually this stressed about a boy texting you, but you really wanted to find out more from this mysterious man and didn't know where to go for the gig.
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Since him telling you about his band, you had realised quite how big they were. Of course they were, you had seen them headline the main stage at a major festival last year, but hadn't taken much notice since you were so drunk you could hardly stand. Their songs sounded familiar to you, you loved every one of them.
It was 5pm when you finally received a text from him.
R: Gig is here. Tell security your name and they'll let you in whenever you want to arrive. Sorry for the late text. See you soon x
You clicked on the address, expecting something bigger than a small gig as he had described, but you weren't quite expecting the O2. The actual O2 area.
That boy really knows how to play something down.
It was already 5pm, they weren't due on til 8:45pm so you took your time getting ready. The underground towards the O2 was filled with their fans, girls and boys young and old ready for their gig. You felt out of place, and didn't know where to go to tell anyone who you were.
You approached a scary looking man with a clipboard, you were hoping it was a guest list of some sort and told him your name, expecting to be questioned as to why on earth you were telling him that, but he just asked for some ID and let you through.
Another man greeted you and led you through towards what was presumably the backstage area, and you heard the sound of loud music coming through the walls as you got closer to the stage area.
You had only been inside the O2 once to see Two Door Cinema Club last year, and although you got almost to the barrier in the standing area, nothing could compare to actually being on stage. The room was enormous, the seats were out in their millions, it was breathtaking.
And there was Ross. Strumming away at his bass, bopping his head as the drums created a beat, looking very content. Not like a man who was about to play for the O2.
They played a few more songs in practice and you watched in awe as he didn't miss a beat, he was on time perfectly, it was incredible.
After they finished their sound check, your eyes met Ross' as he placed his bass back from where he found it, and he sheepishly strolled towards you.
'Some small venue!' You laughed as he pulled you in for a hug.
'Thanks for coming, it means a lot.' He replied as his body engulfed yours. You hadn't known each other for long at all but you already felt safe with him, always a good thing.
You stroll presumably to his dressing room slowly after being introduced to his fellow band mates, each as polite as the other, with seriously contradicting fashion senses, with the personalities to match. Adam had stuck out to you, he was quiet like Ross, but seemed to have a lot to say nonetheless - not in-your-face, but you could tell there was a lot to him.
'We're divas when we play here, we get an individual dressing room - well - dressing cupboard, usually we're all put in one room but we get a bit of privacy here.' He explained as he led you into a room with 'RM' written on the door.
'Yeah, you really played this one down.' You laugh as you take a seat in the one chair by a bright mirror in the corner of the room.
'I don't like to brag, but it is pretty cool. Playing for this many people is bittersweet though, reminds you of how far you've come. Sometimes the smaller gigs are my favourite but hearing 20,000 sing your songs back to you is an unbeatable feeling, it's insane.'
'I bet.' You smile.
You hear the fans flood into the space as well as the supporting act come on over the next couple hours you were with Ross. You didn't see any of it, though. You spent some of it just alone with the boy, learning about his life, how he'd never had to think about anything other than music in terms of occupation, how his 20s flew by as he spent most of it on tour, how close he'd grown to his bandmates and how being 'famous' was difficult in terms of finding a genuine relationship.
He didn't just talk, though. He listened. He listened really well - about your family, your work, your ambitions and where you'd like to be in 5 years. How you had never really had a serious relationship as you couldn't attach yourself to anyone, you didn't want to be reliant.
You also spent some time learning the bass notes to 'Paris.' It was your favourite from what you had listened to earlier, and admired how the bass carried the song. Ross was impressed that you had noticed, and was happy to teach you.
As the time neared closer for them to go on stage, you met up with the rest of the band and their partners, chatting to them all about the fact they were playing such an insane venue, and were surprised that it all seemed so normal to them.
5 minutes until they went on, you were by the side of the stage as the crew were setting up the last bits of equipment. The hustle and bustle of people around you had distracted you from your thought process and desire to speak to Ross about something, but the thought had re-entered your mind.
Grabbing his hand, you pulled him away so you could talk to him alone.
'Don't take him for too long, we kinda need him out here!' Matty exclaimed, receiving an audience of laughs in response.
After flipping Matty off, you took a deep breath and began to vocalise your thoughts to the boy who was stood very confusedly in front of you.
'I just wanted to speak to you about something that's been on my mind.' You began.
'Go on.' He said.
'I know I only met you today but I feel so drawn to you already. I'm so intrigued to find out about your life and can't wait to get to know you more. I might be looking like an idiot right now as I have no idea whether your trick to getting girls into bed is to invite them to your swanky gigs but fuck it, I never vocalise my thoughts so I'm starting now. I like you, Ross. I really do.' You rambled.
You had been looking at the floor the entire time and hadn't yet received a response. Fuck, he didn't feel the same way. What an idiot.
'I like you too.' His voice cracked. 'I'm just as bad at expressing my feelings, but I like you too, I really do, Y/N. Today has been one of the weirdest but best days of my life, and I'm almost glad I almost knocked you out.' He laughed as his eyes began to crease back up.
'' You heard - their set was starting.
'Ross, the show's kinda starting! Hurry up!' George's voice beckoned.
''
Fuck it, today is the day you vocalise your feelings. Today is also the day you act on them.
''
You like Ross. A lot. And you know he likes you too.
''
So fuck it.
''
Your hands reached up to his neck as you pulled him towards you. You wanted to show him how much he meant to you, and as your lips met, you knew you had made the right decisions.
''
Electricity rushed through your body as your lips worked against each others, his so soft you couldn't help but smile into them. His hands were on your waist as he pulled you closer, his masculine scent enticing you further. Why did he have to go on stage?
''
He had to go on stage. He seemed to realise the same time as you as you pulled away in synchronicity.
''
He took a deep breath before kissing your forehead softly.
''
'Smash it.' You whispered to him before he ran off to meet the other boys.
'Fucking finally' Matty exclaimed before sending a wink your way.
''
And then they were on stage. The awe you were in earlier was nothing compared to now. They had the audience completely under their control, and Ross looked as though he was enjoying every second of it. You stood with the other girls as your watched Ross play his bass and keyboard, knowing every note and being in perfect harmony with the others.
His frequent smiles, nods and winks back to you reassured you that you had made the right decision. Finally a boy you felt safe with, who could make you laugh, smile and cry, and someone who you felt like you could love.
After one day.
The way he made you feel, the way he made you act, the way he made you laugh, was like nothing you had ever had before. After one day.
As you sat and watched him play his bass you couldn't help but wonder, what would life be like after a month? A year?
He was the first person who you had ever considered a proper future with, and watching him in such awe had only enticed you further into knowing who he was.
And you couldn't wait to find out.
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