Title: Stage Fright
Author: Leela (leela_cat)
Characters: Adam, Tommy, Terrance, and others
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 6 x 100
Content/Warning(s): None
Author's notes: Written for glam_100, prompt #085: behind the scenes. Many thanks to @aislinntlc for the preread and to @moodwriter, who took pity on me and shared one of her plot bunnies with me.


The stage is dressed up like Central Park in springtime. Surrounded by flowers and trees, painted and fake, Adam sits on the wooden boards. His legs dangle off the edge. His hands are on his thighs, palms up, and he stares at the theater in front of him.

Rows and rows of empty seats rise up in front of him, filling all the tiers and the balconies. It's eerily not-silent. Sound echoes from backstage. Barely familiar voices are punctuated by the noise of last minute set design changes.

He takes a deep breath and tries, once again, to ground himself.

o0O0o

Adam knows he can do this. He has done this.

For years, long before he'd heard of American Idol, long before he became a singer and had to worry about album sales, radio spins, being stalked by paparazzi and fans, and knowing whose crap he has to swallow without lashing out in self-defense.

But it was never like this. Before he was always the understudy, no matter how hard he tried. Now they're falling over themselves, offering him the lead role without making him audition for it.

Another breath, this one shakier than the first, and he starts to sing.

o0O0o

He keeps his voice quiet and low, trying to focus on how his character feels in that moment.

Then he trips over the beginning of the second stanza and forgets everything else.

He's got nothing. He can't remember what comes next, can't remember how it's supposed to sound. Who's supposed to be on stage when he walks on for the first time?

He's fucked, so completely fucked. Previews start tonight and he's got absolutely nothing. The critics will ravage him. The haters will tear him apart on twitter and in comment sections everywhere.

o0O0o

He doesn't do stage fright, not really. Not even when he sings in front of thousands or more.

Except this time, he apparently does.

The trembling starts deep in his gut. He brings his legs up, wraps his arms around his shins, and rests his cheek on his bent knees. It feels like his whole body is about shake apart.

He tightens his muscles, squeezes his eyes shut, and tries to hold himself together. The usual pep talk fails dramatically. Somehow it works better when he's not giving it alone.

A hand settles on his shoulder, and he almost falls off the stage and into the pit.

o0O0o

"Motherfuckers," Adam says, "don't do that," but he can't seem to stop smiling at the rightness of this.

Because it's Johnny's hand, and Tommy's sitting down on one side of Adam with his guitar, and Terrance on the other.

"Turn around," Brian says.

When Adam does, he finds himself part of a circle with Tommy, Terrance, Johnny, Brian, and Ashley. They shift closer, until their knees touch. The only gap is between Tommy and Brian, to make room for the guitar.

"Tommy said you'd need friends." Ashley reaches out and gives Adam's leg a squeeze. "Looks like he was right."

o0O0o

Tommy gets that awkward look on his face, fierce with caring and red with embarrassment at being caught, and Adam can't help but reach over and give him a one-armed hug.

For a moment Tommy seems to melt into Adam. Then Brian clears his throat, and Tommy straightens up and begins to play.

The music brings the words back. They stream through Adam, and he starts to sing.

Terrance, Johnny, Brian, and Ashley join in at the chorus. Their voices and Tommy's music twine with Adam's, wrap around him, supporting him, making him feel as if he can do anything.


.