| The bored-looking brunette sat by herself at a table in the corner of the smoke-filled room, her thumb and forefinger idly twirling a straw that had been pulled from her cherry coke. Her boot-clad foot was tapping the tiled floor nervously. The band that had set up in the corner stage of the lounge of the Holiday Inn had been taking a break, and Skylar was waiting impatiently for her cousin and his three bandmates to walk back in the room. The twenty year old had taken the three hour drive from her small town to his small town in order to see their performance. She wasn't supposed to be in the lounge in the first place, not being twenty-one yet, but she got by the nazi at the door by saying she was with the band. She would've much rathered to say she was IN the band, but sitting in on practices and pestering her cousin until he finally agreed to let her sing two songs onstage didn't qualify her for that status quite yet. "Sky, we're ready for you now." Matt giving her a playful tap on the head with his drum stick brought her out of her trance-like state. Skylar put a hand to her head in mock pain. "How many times have I told you not to do that?" she asked, standing up and straightening her black tank top. Matt grinned. "Entirely too many. But I love pissing you off," he said, throwing his arm around her shoulder and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Skylar made a face while Matt ran toward the stage and ducked behind the drum set. She wiped the back of her hand across her cheek and absentmindedly rubbed her hand along the thigh her favorite faded jeans. She looked around at the audience of mostly drunk people in their mid twenties, hoping she wouldn't see a familiar face in the crowd. If she knew anyone there, she wouldn't be able to sing in front of them; her mindset was I'll Never See Them Again, Who Cares If They Think I Suck? In the midst of her scanning the crowd thoroughly, her cousin took the stage and grabbed the microphone. "And now everyone give it up for my baby cousin Skylar, she's gonna be singing two songs for us tonight. Ladies and gentleman, Skylar Richards!" Chris said the last two words as if he were announcing the starters for the Yankees. Skylar promptly rolled her eyes at Chris' hyperactivity. He was going to be awake until 5AM for sure. Skylar stopped searching the crowd for familiar faces; she didn't care if anyone she knew was there anyway. This was her moment to shine, her fifteen minutes of the night, her "fifteen minutes of fame." She smiled and walked calmly toward the stage, not making eye contact with anyone on her way there. Singing was second nature to Sky, although her stage fright prevented her from doing it too often. She had been singing since she could speak, and she wanted to be a professional singer more than anything. But she was terrified of singing in front of people she knew. She was completely at home when she was on a stage with a microphone in her hand... but if anyone she knew was in the audience, the stage became a cold and uncaring place; her worst enemy. She smiled sweetly and tucked her short hair behind her ear as she took her place behind the mic stand. A few strands of the red streaks she put in for performances made their way to her face, but she ignored them while she adjusted the height of the stand to align with her five feet two inches. "Thanks Chris, but I'm not your baby cousin." She began her speech from memory. She said this every time she took the stage with the band. "I'm twenty years old, a legal adult." Her comment, of course, riled up the drunk mostly male crowd. This was her plan, of course. "Anyway. So as Chris said, I'm here to sing a few songs. You guys don't mind, do you?" Crowd cheers. Skylar smiled. "Okay. So I'm sure you all know the song Too Bad by Nickeback, right?" Crowd cheers. "Cool, well, that's my first song." As the crowd cheered, she turned to Chris with a smile and nodded. He started playing the beginning riff for Too Bad. Skylar took a deep breath before she opened her mouth to sing. Father's hands were lined with dirt From long days in the field And mother's hands are serving meals In a cafe on Main Street With mouths to feed Just trying to keep clothing on our backs And all I hear about is How it's so bad, it's so bad She took the microphone out of the stand as the fingers on her left hand circled the mic stand at waist-height. She closed her eyes for the chorus. It's too bad, it's too bad Too late, so wrong, so long It's too bad that we had no time to rewind Let's walk, let's talk Let's talk She opened her eyes when she heard the crowd cheering. As she began the next verse, out of the corner of her eye, she watched someone walk into the lounge. Mentally cursing herself for hitting the send button after typing in where she would be that weekend on AIM, she tried to pretend he wasn't there. Getting through the remainder of the song was going to be tough. You left without saying goodbye Although I'm sure you tried You call and ask from time to time To make sure we're alive But you weren't there Right when I'm needing you the most And now I dream about it How it's so bad, it's so bad She tried to pretend that he wasn't really there, that it was just her imagination, but there he was. He took a place at the bar, ordered a drink and looked at her with no apparent expression on his face. It's too bad, it's too bad Too late, so wrong, so long It's too bad that we had no time to rewind Let's walk, let's talk Let's talk Skylar had resorted to swallowing hard, taking deep breaths and trying to stop her hands from shaking in between lines of the song. Why is he here? she asked herself. He was supposed to be at college, and how did he get here in the first place, he doesn't have a car at college. She pushed the thoughts out of her head, making herself finish the song. Father's hands are lined with guilt For tearing us apart Guess it turned out in the end Just look at where we are Made it out, still got clothing on our backs And now I scream about it How it's so bad, it's so bad, it's so bad, it's so bad It's too bad, it's too bad Too late, so wrong, so long It's too bad that we had no time to rewind Let's walk, let's talk Let's talk No time, last one, let's go... The ending notes of the song brought great relief to Skylar, and generous applause from the crowd. She tried not to look at him, but she had to know... He was staring at her, still with no expression on his face. "Thanks," she said quickly into the microphone, putting it back in the stand. "So if you guys don't mind, I'm gonna take a small break right now. But don't worry, I'll be back soon." She practically jumped from the stage and fled from the lounge, in all hopes that he wouldn't follow her. She ran through the indoor pool area, which had long been abandoned due to the performance in the lounge, and ran into the steam room, which wasn't in use at the moment. She sat down on a bench and put her head in her hands, trying not to cry. The door was opened moments later. She whipped her head up, and seeing who it was, she looked back at the floor. "You were amazing up there." Skylar swallowed before looking up at him. "Thank you," she said quietly, avoiding his eyes. "How did you get here?" "Borrowed my roommate's car." "Alright, next question. Why are you here?" He sat down next to her. "I wanted to see you," he said quietly. "I missed you." Skylar shut her eyes tightly. "Please don't say that." He seemed confused. "Why not? I missed you, that's why I'm here, I wanted to see you." She looked at him, studying his face. "Are you really serious?" she asked, not wanting to know the answer, but needing to know the answer to save her own sanity. He didn't hesitate. "Yes. Sky, you have no idea how much I missed you." He paused. "Sky, I love you." Before the tears that had been forming behind her eyes could get a chance to fall, she stood up. "I have to go onstage now." Without another word, she left the room, leaving him there by himself, wondering what had just happened. Skylar walked onstage after the band had finished a cover of a Three Doors Down song. "I'm back! Did you miss me?" she asked, getting a loud response from the crowd that had gathered at the front of the stage. She smiled at the response she got. "Cool. So, I'm gonna sing a cover of a Michelle Branch song, called Goodbye To You." He chose that moment to walk back in the lounge. "So this goes out to someone that I just can't take being around anymore... He knows who he is." Not letting herself look at him, she turned to Chris, and nodded her head for him to begin playing the song. Of all the things I've believed in, I just want to get it over with, tears form behind my eyes, but I do not cry, counting the days that pass me by She fought hard to keep control over her emotions, succeeding when she thought of how many mind games he had played with her during the past three years. I've been searchin' deep down in my soul, words that I'm hearin' are starting to get old, it feels like I'm starting all over again, The last three years were just pretend, and I say She found the strength to look at him before she sang the chorus. He had hurt her so many times before, but she always acted as if it didn't bother her. Knowing that he was so far away from her, and knowing about his past experiences with girls was what killed her. Goodbye to you, goodbye to everything I thought I knew, You were the one I loved, the one thing that I tried to hold on to She sang to him for the rest of the song, wanting him to know how she felt. He did mean the world to her, and it would be tough getting over him, but standing by and telling everyone that her heart wasn't being broken every time he was with someone else, telling everyone that they were only dating and that it didn't affect her, was harder than anything she had ever done before. I still get lost in your eyes, and it seems that I can't live a day without you, closing my eyes, and you chase my thoughts away, to a place where I am blinded by the light, but it's not right Goodbye to you, goodbye to everything I thought I knew, You were the one I loved, the one thing that I tried to hold on to and it hurts to want everything and nothing at the same time, I want what's yours and I want what's mine Her voice grew stronger with every word. She meant everything she was saying, and she was saying it to him. She couldn't stand the games anymore, and she wasn't going to give in. I want you, but I'm not giving in this time Goodbye to you, goodbye to everything I thought I knew, You were the one I loved, the one thing that I tried to hold on to The one thing that I tried to hold on to Goodbye to you, goodbye to everything I thought I knew, You were the one I loved, the one thing that I tried to hold on to And when the stars fall I will lie awake, You're my shooting star She thanked the audience and walked off the stage in a daze. Not bothering to say goodbye to her cousin or the rest of the band, she walked out of the Holiday Inn and to where her car was parked. She turned it on and put it in reverse. Backing out of the spot was easy; the hard part was driving away. She saw him run out of the Inn and look around for her. She frowned at his actions, knowing that he would never change, knowing that as soon as he got back to college, his other girlfriend would be waiting for him. But at the same time, she wanted to put the car in park, run toward him, throw her arms around him and stay there. She pulled out of the parking lot with a squeal of tires and a whispered "goodbye." She refused to let herself give in, not this time. Never again. Not with him. |
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