this house is full of ghosts, some of them are us.

'Not.' He mumbles, his head flopping back onto the cushion of the sofa. A loud huff leaving his lips. Drumming his fingers on his lap out of pure nervousness, not sure what to do with himself.

'C'mon, Joe. You have a crowd out there waiting for you to get on stage in the next.. 15 minutes.' You tilt your head to the side and gently pinch his cheek between your fingers. Trying to add light to the situation.

He groans, 'Don't remind me. They aren't waiting for me.' He whines and his head drops to lean into your hand. Your hands card through his slightly damp hair at the nape of his neck, eyes flicking all over his face.

'Talk to me. What's going on in your head?' You ask with concern. You have never seen him like this before, normally he would be sprinting around, getting himself prepared to be on stage. He would be chattering away with anyone that his eyes laid on. Now, he's quiet and seems like he's dreading getting on the stage which is very unusual for him.

'What if they don't like my set? My songs? What if I mess up one of my songs? What if nobody is singing at all? What if—' He babbles on before your soothing voice cuts him off.

'Joe.' You start, shuffling closer to him so your forehead rests against his. 'You need to stop caring about what people think about you. All that matters is the people that support you.' You whisper, closing your eyes as you feel the heat from his body warm you up.

'This is different, baby. When I'm headlining my own concert, the people are there for me. I can trust that they will enjoy my set, sing the songs with me and make the crowd more lively, but here.. they don't know me like the fans do.' His voice breaks and turns into a whisper. Letting his soft hands plant onto your cheeks, your touch grounding him.

'Different is good, Joe. Sitting here and worrying about something that hasn't happened yet isn't the best way to go about it. You have no idea how they will react to you until you get on stage.' You whisper, your breath tickling against his skin.

He repeats your words in his head what feels like hundreds of times, but it's just not sticking. You both sit in silence for a few minutes, everything outside the room becoming a little louder like the sound of people running back and forth backstage, the crew chattering and of course, the crowd. He breathes out slowly in attempt to calm himself.

'I'm just worried I'll fuck up and make a fool out of myself in front of a massive crowd of people who probably don't know who I am.' He sighs, looking into your eyes. Looking for reassurance.

'If they don't know who you are, then they are about to because you are going to put on the best performance for them. Blow their minds. You're not going to make a fool out of yourself, if anything, you'll make a fool out of the people who think anything negative about you, sweetheart.' You smile sweetly at him, pressing your lips all over his face, his skin tastes salty. Your hands slipping underneath the hem of his striped shirt, wanting to feel all of him against yourself. You can feel his heart thumping against your hands.

'I think you deserve an award for being the most supportive girlfriend.' Joe chuckles, dipping his head to rest against your neck. Inhaling your sweet scent. His arms come around your waist, enveloping you in his warmth. You are the only person who can ground him like this, and he is forever grateful.

'You can thank me for that later.' You chuckle and he grins up at you, trailing a few kisses along your jawline. He absolutely will and you know it. Right now though, all he needs is the comfort of you. You're so intelligent with your words, you always know what to say at the right time, even if it's hard for him to hear.

The muffled sound of the crowd suddenly becomes louder as the door opens. Your heads turn to look at the old man standing in the doorway, wearing a headset and a top with bold, white letters reading 'crew' walks in, shouting over the noise of the crowd. 'On stage in 5!' He then turns to walk back out of the door.

Joe stares at you for a few seconds, gently brushing the back of his fingers against your cheek. His heart rate picking up again as the realness of the moment starts to sink in.

'You're gonna do great, Joe. They will love you, I promise you. They'll go crazy over you. Straight after you come off stage, I will be right here.' You press a gentle kiss to his lips which he melts right into. He deepens the kiss and gently bites down on your bottom lip, pulling away.

'Yes, you will.' He presses a kiss to your forehead and stands up, bringing you up with him. You stand on your tiptoes, pressing a delicate kiss to his lips like a sweet promise that he will be okay. 'Love you.' You whisper, those two words giving him the final reason to get up on that stage.

'Love you more.' He whispers against your lips, pulling back and making his way over to the door. Turning his head over his shoulder to give you the biggest grin. He walks out of the dressing room and you can hear the exact moment he steps onto the stage. The noise of the crowd blaring through the walls. You were absolutely right.