Work Text:
Swing:
/swiNG/
noun: swing plural noun: swings
(in musical theatre) an understudy, typically one who covers multiple roles in the chorus of a particular production.
Zayn stood in the wings. The cast moved around the new stage with a few moments of panic. The hardest part of touring was ensuring the set fit each stage, and the actors knew where they were going. Just as he was about to grab a water from the green room, one of the leads turned too quickly and tripped over a chair that had to sit closer to the edge of the stage.
“Motherfucker!” Louis screamed as he went down, pulling his leg to his chest and rolling. It reminded Zayn of the time Louis had taken a cleat to the shin during football when he was ten. Even the language was the same.
Zayn rushed onto the stage, meeting the tour medic at Louis. Zayn held Louis’ hands back while the medic pushed up the leg of his sweats. His knee was already purpling and swelling. The medic reached for his knee, and Louis wailed when she made contact. “It’s probably broken,” she said. “Call 999!” she shouted.
The tour director, Niall, dropped back into his seat in the front row, tugging at the tips of his bleached hair. “Fuck! Someone get Payne!”
Zayn glanced up as a man his age stepped out from behind the large metallic Christmas Tree sculpture where Liam spent every rehearsal watching the show, taking his job as swing seriously. “You’re going on as Mark for the foreseeable future,” Niall said. “Wil, make sure his costume is ready, and for fuck’s sake, Lou, do something with his hair!”
Zayn saw the panic flash across his face. “I-I-I can-” he stuttered, but Niall was already hurrying to the theatre doors to wait for the paramedics.
Zayn tried to go to Liam, but he was rushed off the stage before he could reach him. Turning back, he watched the paramedics come in and take Louis away. He knew that Louis would be alright, he always bounced back from injury, but Zayn also knew Louis would be unbearable while he was out of commission.
Niall came back inside, still looking harried. “Thank god we don’t start shows until Friday,” he said. “Everyone take dinner,” he said before turning away from the stage and immediately turning to face it again. “You know what? Take the rest of the day. We’ll start fresh tomorrow with Payne front and centre.”
A small cheer went through the cast and crew. Zayn thought about the sketchpad waiting in his hotel room and the Thai place between there and the theatre. He grabbed his stuff and went searching for Liam. He heard him when he passed the janitor’s closet and stopped, pressing his ear to the door.
“Mum, I can’t do it,” he said, his voice strained. “I haven’t rehearsed Mark in months. I don’t remember the lines or the staging or anything. I’m going to make an arse of myself, and they’ll kick me off the tour.”
Zayn swallowed the lump in his throat. He didn’t know Liam very well, but he learned from watching him from backstage that he took his job very seriously. He’d first noticed Liam one night when he’d stayed late for hours practising for Steve, the waiter and Squeegee man. Zayn had sat and watched Liam, impressed with his dedication. Playing Mark would be a fantastic opportunity, but Zayn could barely remember Liam ever doing the part, even in the beginning rehearsals.
He heard Liam say goodbye, and the door opened a moment later. Liam’s eyes widened when he spotted Zayn. “Uh-”
“Fancy meeting you here,” Zayn said. “I thought I was the only one who knew about the escape route to Neverland in the janitor’s closet.” Zayn mentally slapped himself for sounding like an idiot but took it back when Liam started giggling, his eyes squeezing shut as the giggles grew into full-on laughter.
It took a few minutes for Liam to get his laughter under control. “Thanks for that, mate,” he said, wiping at the tears in his eyes. “I needed that.”
“Anything I can help with?” Zayn asked, moving out of the way and following Liam back towards the stage.
“You don’t happen to know all of Mark’s lines and blocking, do you?” Liam asked, studying the stage in front of him. He righted the chair Louis had tripped over before dropping down into it. “Fuck. I can’t do this.”
“Of course, you can,” Zayn said, moving to the side of the stage where Louis had left Mark’s camera. He carried it over to Liam and set it in his hands. “Now, how does the show open?”
“I...I don’t know,” Liam said, staring at the camera as if he’d never seen it before in his life.
“Yes, you do,” Zayn said, pulling Liam out of the chair and pushing him off stage. “Okay, light’s up!”
Liam stood frozen, but Zayn tugged on him and moved him to Mark’s first mark on the stage. Liam looked out the empty theatre, terror on his face. A plink of a piano key drew their attention. Brad, the band director, and pianist sat in his spot with a smile. “You got this,” he told Liam, hitting the key again.
Liam looked at Zayn. “We…” Zayn said, and Liam shook his head. “Liam, what do we do? C’mon, you’ve got this. We…”
Liam took a deep breath. “We begin…on Christmas Eve, with me, Mark, and my roommate, Roger.” Zayn nodded and stepped away, moving into Roger’s spot for the opening, but moved when Jeremy, their Roger, tapped him on the shoulder.
Zayn made his way offstage as more and more of the cast, crew, and musicians made their way onto the stage, taking their places. It wasn’t long before the lights came on, and Liam fell more and more into character. Zayn slid off the stage into his usual spot, grinning as Liam belted out the opening song.
The cast stopped a few times when Liam struggled with remembering the lines or the blocking, but everyone was patient, and Zayn could see Liam’s confidence growing. Zayn grinned when they reached the last song of the first act. As the cast shouted, “Viva La Vie Bohème!” Zayn clapped and whistled loudly.
Liam grinned at him and surprised Zayn by racing off stage and picking him up in a huge hug. “Thank you!” he said.
“I didn’t do anything except tell you that you could do it,” Zayn said, laughing.
“You believed in me,” Liam said seriously. “You don’t even know me, but you believed in me.”
“So did all of them,” Zayn said, gesturing to the rest of the people milling around.
“You did it first,” Liam said. “I won’t forget that.”
Zayn felt his cheeks warm, and he ducked his head, punching Liam in the arm before he did something stupid like kiss the awed look off Liam’s face. “Sod off,” he said, smiling when Liam laughed and hugged him again.
End of Tour
Liam stood in the wings, waiting. He could hear the audience filling the seats. He grinned at a couple of the rowdy ones in the front row. They were staring right at Liam and the other cast members and waving. He waved back, smiling when they let out squeals and started whispering and giggling together. He looked across the stage and saw Zayn in his usual spot, headset over his head. He waved when he saw Liam looking, and Liam returned the gesture.
It had been four months since the night of his freakout and Zayn’s encouragement. He’d been playing Mark seven shows a week since, except for a one here or there when they gave him a break and allowed another swing to take the role. Louis ended up having surgery on his knee and had to quit the tour. He’d been miserable about it, but he’d also been supportive of Liam taking over for him. He’d even sent him a bunch of flowers the first night Liam had been listed officially as Mark in the program. Liam suspected that Louis’ husband, Harry, was behind the flowers, but it was still a lovely gift.
Since that first night, Liam had spent as much time with Zayn as possible. He’d finally worked up the nerve to ask him out on a date, but Zayn didn’t want to risk anything happening that would affect the show. He’d told Liam to ask him again after the tour if he was still interested.
Liam glanced at the clock hanging backstage. Ten minutes to start and approximately two hours and forty minutes until the show was over, and Liam would ask him again. He was more nervous about that than the first time he’d gone on as Mark, but he was also more confident that he knew the outcome. Even though Zayn hadn’t wanted to date, they still spent most of their time together.
The lights went down, and Liam strode out on stage, camera in hand, as the audience went nuts. Smiling, he set down his camera. He looked over at Zayn first and winked before turning to face the audience. “We begin…”