Baekhyun gazed through the thick curtains, and felt his stomach drop at the sight of how large the audience was. Closing the curtains, he spun around and took a deep breath. There was a lot of people waiting in the audience, and all of them would be watching Baekhyun. Waiting for him to screw up.

Baekhyun hurriedly made his way towards the wing when suddenly, his path was blocked. "Where do you think you're going?" A deep, husky voice asked. Chanyeol...

He stared down at Baekhyun and saw the pure look of terror in his face. "Baekhyun, what's wrong?" Chanyeol asked as lightly grabbed Baekhyun's hand. Baekhyun placed his hand upon Chanyeol's, and gazed into Chanyeol's warm brown eyes.

"I can't do this." Baekhyun stated blankly as he tore his away his gaze, and found new interest in the floor. Chanyeol looked at him with utter confusion.

"Why not? You love to sing, so why should you let a f-" Chanyeol's rant was soon interrupted by the presence of the theater's stage manager.

"Baekhyun," he looked up from his clipboard and continued, "You're on in 2 minutes." With one last glance at the pair, he turned around on his heel and left.

Baekhyun shot Chanyeol a terrified glance, as he struggled to get passed him. "LET ME GO! I can't do this," Baekhyun huffed struggling in Chanyeol's grip.

He sent Baekhyun a dazzling smile. "You'll do great, you know why? Because you're Baekhyun. Fabulous, amazing and INSANELY talented! Don't worry, you'll kill it out there." Chanyeol put his hands on Baekhyun's tiny shoulders and led him back to center stage, ignoring his pleads. Baekhyun abruptly stopped and turned around in his embrace.

"No you don't understand. I may seem big and strong, but the truth is... I'm scared. Please don't make me go out there! They're all going to laugh, and I don't think I can han-" Baekhyun's rambling ended with a pair of lips on his own.

He was shocked, of course, but kissing Chanyeol had him at ease. It felt... right. "I could get used to this," Baekhyun thought as they slowly pulled away from each other.

Chanyeol stared so deeply, so intensely that Baekhyun was sure he could see him blushing, or feel his irratic heartbeat.

"You'll do great," pressing a kiss onto Baekhyun's forehead he continued, "And if you mess up, I'll still love you." Baekhyun gasped lightly as his best friend of 23 years confessed that he loved him.

He loves me? Chanyeol loves me....

Chanyeol began to back away, "Stop worrying! If you get nervous, just look for me in the audience. Good luck!" And with that, he swiftly left to go find a seat.

The stage manager quickly dashed towards him, and handed him a microphone. "You're on in 20 seconds."

Chanyeol loves me.

Baekhyun was mentally preparing himself when the curtains slowly opened. As he stared into the full house, Baekhyun felt the butterflies come back. He quickly scanned the audience, and saw Chanyeol standing at the back of the house. Chanyeol gave him a bright smile with an overly-excited wave flail of the arms, and Baekhyun found himself smiling in return.

Suddenly, he wasn't so nervous.

WORD/THEATRE TERMS:

HOUSE- WHERE THE AUDIENCE IS SEATED

CENTER STAGE- MIDDLE OF THE STAGE

STAGE MANAGER- BASICALLY THE PERSON WHO MAKES SURE EVERYTHING IS RUNNING RIGHT ON STAGE

WING- THE RIGHT OR LEFT SIDE OF THE STAGE (USUALLY UNSEEN BY THE AUDIENCE)

Hoped you enjoyed pearls!~