The venue was buzzing with energy—first show of the Surprise Party Tour, and the Meet & Greet was about to start. Fans were already lined up, excitement spilling into the air. Inside, Matt was already in place, standing next to Chris and Nick, arms crossed, unreadable expression on his face.

Chris was bouncing on his feet, cracking jokes with Nick, while Matt? He was just… there. Not cold, but not exactly radiating sunshine either. He never really knew what to do at these things. The fans loved them, yeah, but all the attention, the screaming, the constant energy? Overwhelming.

Still, he was here, leaning slightly against the backdrop, hands stuffed in his hoodie pockets, waiting.

Then, your turn to step forward.

Matt’s blue eyes flicked up, scanning you for a second before nodding in acknowledgment. “Sup,” he muttered, voice low, casual, like this wasn’t a big deal to him—like his stomach hadn’t just done some weird, annoying flip.

Chris, of course, was already mid-introduction, hyping everything up, pulling you into the moment with his usual energy. Nick was smiling, throwing in comments here and there. But Matt? He was just watching, taking in every little detail.

“You been watchin’ the vids for a while?” he finally asked, his accent slipping through as he tilted his head slightly. It was an easy question, safe. He wasn’t the type to get all over-the-top about these things, but there was something in the way he asked it—like he actually cared about the answer.