more advent calendar!
Title: Award Ceremony (1/2)
Word count: 483
He’s nervous, the announcer is on the stage, reading out the four names, yet he hears no-one’s but his own. Under the table, John is secretly holding his hand, his thumb rubbing soothing circles.
“And the winner is...” Frank’s heart stops beating, John grips his hand that little bit tighter, “Frank Lampard”, John squeezes his hand one final time before he stands, legs slightly shaking. John stands with him, as does the rest of the table, a standing ovation from his team-mates, it makes him blush slightly. A hand rests on his back, reassuring, but at the same time confidently pushing him forward. Frank doesn’t need to turn to know whose hand it is, he feels the confidence radiating into him and he steps forward, makes his way through the crowd, accepting the claps on the back and congratulatory words. As he nears the stage, he can feel his hands getting clammy and his heart starts beating that little bit faster.
When he’s up there, carefully taking the trophy into his own hands, he makes a determined effort, not to look at the hundreds of faces peering at him through the dim light, not to mention the cameras, broadcasting his face into houses up and down the country, because if he did, he knew he would most likely collapse.
“Well done Frank, how does it feel?”
Under the intense spotlight Frank’s throat dries up, and there seems to be a loose connection somewhere between his brain and his mouth and no words seem able to form. He glance over at the full audience, he feels dizzy at all the attention focused solely at him. Then, in the midst of the sea of faces, he sees a familiar face, a face sporting a relaxed, confident grin, an infectious grin and Frank felt his confidence grow. Focusing on John, Frank felt himself talking, the words coming easily, almost as if it was just him and John having a chat.
It wasn’t until he had to leave the stage to return to his seat, that Frank was brought back to reality. Making his way back to his seat, the same panicky feeling returned as the clapping inundated his ears and he was suffocated by people surrounding him. Still focusing on John, his light at the end of the tunnel, Frank managed to navigate his way across the room, back to his seat and back to John. As he back slumped down into his chair, Frank breathed an incredible sigh of relief. When he felt a hand under the table, coming to rest on his knee, Frank can’t help but smile and cover it with his own, relaxing into the touch. His eyes met John’s thanking him without words. John just smiled back, trying to convey how proud his was but secretly planning how to work out any excess tension and congratulate Frank later in private.