echolls_cursed | for Joe, before the concert

Entry tags:

joe,
pre-show

for Joe, before the concert

It wasn't often Logan looked... tidy. It wasn't like he was dirty or anything usually, but he had a habit of wearing clothes that were too big, and the amazing ability to look a little raggy no matter what he had on. Today though, it was obvious some amount of effort had gone into his appearance. He was clean shaven for starters, something he didn't always bother with on the island, his hair had been trimmed, and despite sticking up on all ends it appeared to have been styled into place. And then there were the clothes. Logan hadn't been sure what he was supposed to wear, and in the end had settled on a blue button down shirt and a pair of jeans that not only fit, but appeared to not have a single hole in them.

It was a big day for Joe, and Logan wanted things to be right. He wanted this to be perfect for the other man.

Sitting on Joe's bed, he strummed the guitar once and then stopped, watching Joe and doing his best not to look as nervous as he felt. It was sort of a relief though to see that Joe was nervous too... and, well, sort of worrying as well. They needed to get it together, and fast, it was nearly time to head over to the stage after all.

"It's gonna be a great show," Logan said, breaking the silence. "You're gonna be awesome, man."

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This was the first show Joe had ever done where he hadn't been able to do his usual pre-show tradition, which had generally included a lot of coke and a lot of booze and a lot of nervous chain-smoking. Three things he wasn't supposed to touch anymore.

This was a different pre-show tradition and he was pacing a little, scuffling his boots against the floor of his hut before he nodded. "Yeah," he agreed, picking up his guitar and then putting it down again. "Everything's already set up, yeah?"

"As far as I know," Logan nodded. Though with Neil helping with set up, Logan had kept his distance. He could understand Joe wanting the other boy there, but Logan still wasn't comfortable being around him, not after the disaster that had been their last conversation.

He watched the way Joe nervously paced, biting his lip a little as he tried to manage his own nerves. "It's not a huge deal," he said, trying to sound casual. "I mean, we know most of these people, right? They aren't going to care if something's not perfect..."

"No, but I'm gonna fucking care," Joe admitted with a dry, nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck before he came over and sat down on the bed beside Logan. It was different, playing for people he knew. He actually gave a shit what they thought of him and his music. While he'd always cared about the music itself, he'd never really given a fuck what critics or fans had to say. This was different.

"Yeah, I know," Logan replied quietly. "Seriously though, man, you're gonna be fine. You're good at this stuff and you've been practicing non-stop."

Logan wasn't worried about Joe at all, he knew he was going to be fine. Hell, better than fine, Joe was going to be amazing. No, the only person Logan didn't have faith in was himself, though he didn't say as much out loud. Joe didn't need anything else to worry about.

"Yeah, Christ knows I never fuck up," Joe agreed dryly, smirking over at Logan before he forced himself to relax a little bit. "Thing is, I'm so used to getting completely fucking trashed before a show that I'm not sure what the hell to do with myself now. This is new and kinda fucking weird. I gotta adjust, that's all."

"You could find Dale and have a pre-show quicky," Logan suggested with a grin. Actually, that wasn't a bad idea, but somehow he doubted he'd be able to convince Donald they should have a quick screw in the middle of the day. Not without sounding like an idiot or immature.

The thought made him hunch over slightly.

Joe snorted and gave Logan a look, nudging him with his elbow. "Fuck off, you're not supposed to talk about me fucking Dale, man. Those are the rules," he decided, looking amused. "How 'bout you? You nervous or anything?"

He figured Logan had to be at least a little nervous.

Logan was more than nervous, he was tired and feeling twice as insecure as usual thanks to his and Donald's recent arguments. Still, he din't say all of that. Instead he just offered a small smile and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm pretty nervous or whatever," he admitted with a casual shrug. "I've never done something like this before."

"You'll be fucking awesome, man," Joe assured him, because the two of them had done a hell of a lot of practicing and he really believed it. Maybe there would be some fuck-ups, but that happened with every single show Joe had ever done. "I don't let just anyone play with me," he added, which was the truth. He needed to make sure people actually knew what they were doing.

"Thanks man, that means a lot," Logan said honestly.

And it did, lately Logan felt as if he could do nothing right, so hearing Joe talk like that... Well, it felt good. Like maybe he wasn't totally useless after all.

"You're gonna be awesome too, Joe. You always are, man."

Joe didn't answer at first, just quirking a smile at first before he shrugged, thinking ahead to the show. "I even made a fucking set list. I got the damn thing memorized, but it's something I'm used to doing before shows," he admitted, fishing the set list out of his pocket before he passed it over to Logan with a self-deprecating smirk. "Don't even need it this time around."

Logan smiled, taking the list and reading it over. It looked good, it looked really good, and Logan could feel the stir of anticipation in hs gut. He only had two songs, but it seemed like so much more.

"Looks great, man. Seems like you've been planning this forever. Can't believe it's finally happening."

"More than a fucking year," Joe answered with a nod, thinking back to the first time he'd started talking about doing a show. "More than that, even. Billy was still around when I talked about it for the first time. Then it got more serious last summer. Wish I would've done it sooner, I gotta say, but this is good. We'll do a great job."

He hoped it would be just the first show. Not the only.

"Yeah, yeah we really will," Logan agreed easily, smiling and folding the list carefully before handing it back. "I'm glad you asked me to play with you. Seriously, I mean that."

"Who the fuck else am I gonna ask?" Joe asked with a grin, looking over at Logan before he pushed the list back into his pocket. "You're the only one who's been learning my songs for so damn long. You deserve it."

"I dunno, you might have a whole army of prodigies out there just waiting to play with you, man," Logan snorted.

"Yeah, Jim Halpert practically wet himself when I told him I was considering him for the show," Joe answered, laughing at the thought. "He begged, but I said no. Said I was gonna pick you in the end."

Logan laughed and then smacked Joe's cheek playfully. "I better have been your choice the whole time man," he grinned.

The slap reminded him so much of Billy that Joe felt his chest clench tight and for a moment he couldn't quite speak. It was something Billy would have done once, something he had done before several shows and in response to Joe telling him that he loved him.

"If I tell you that you were, is it gonna go to your head?" Joe asked a moment later, smirking faintly.

Logan watched as Joe went silent, concerned for a moment that he'd done something wrong. Then everything sort of lifted, and Joe spoke again.

"Oh, definitely," Logan replied with a smirk. "Seriously, man, I'll be so big headed they'll think you're playing a duet with a bobble head doll or something."

Joe snorted with laughter, feeling more of the tension ease, although he knew it'd be back as soon as they got to the stage and he had to do a sound check.

"That'd be fucking weird, man. Try not to get like that. It'd creep me out," he answered, laughing.

Logan laughed and nodded his head, the tension and the nerves gone for the time being as he let himself just enjoy shooting the breeze with Joe. "I 'll do my best, Joe," he promised, bumping Joe's shoulder lightly with his own.

"Yeah, man, I know you will. We'll get this shit out and it'll be fucking great," Joe decided. "Couldn't be anything else with two fucking geniuses like us behind the guitars, right?"

"Right," Logan agreed, nodding his head again as he patted Joe roughly on the knee. "It's gonna be a good show. The best, man. The best."

Joe was quiet for a moment and then he laughed and looked over at Logan. "Are we trying to convince each other or ourselves?" he asked, grinning. He was sure they'd put on a kick ass show, but they still seemed to be sitting in the hut, repeating the same shit to make themselves believe it.

"I think it's a bit of both," Logan replied honestly. "And frankly I'm all for it, in fact, lets just sit here and talk about how awesome we are until the show's over."

"Then we'll miss the fucking show," Joe pointed out, laughing as he relaxed further. If he couldn't have a bottle of fucking whiskey, then this was a good enough substitution.

Logan laughed as well, shrugging one shoulder and then smiling. "Shit, man, we should probably start heading over there, huh?"

"Yeah, probably," Joe agreed as he glanced out the window, figuring the best -- and only -- way to tell time without a watch was by the sun. Not that he was probably very accurate. "You ready?"

"As close to ready as I'm gonna get. How about you, you ready? It's your big night after all," Logan pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm good," Joe decided, giving a nod as he got up from the bed and flashed Logan a grin. "Got all my shit and I'm fucking ready, man. We gotta do a sound check first."

Following Joe's lead, Logan got to his feet as well, raking his fingers through his hair nervously and then nodding. "Come on, let's go then, man."

Giving Logan a light slap on the shoulder, Joe grinned at him and then headed for the door. "Let's go. Get this fucking show on the road," he said, sounding pretty close to cheerful about it.

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