Chronicles Ch. 18: The Show
The problem with the plan was that no opportunity came that day for me to inform Michael about the plan. Every time there would be a chance, Ned would be there. It took all day for me to find one, and even then it was literally right before the show.
We were in our dressing room.
Michael smiled brightly at himself in the mirror. “Well,” he said. “Here we go! Last Full Moon Crazy show, then we’re free, Lex.”
I sighed. “Yeah...about that...”
Michael looked up at me with worried brown eyes. “Wh-what is it? Did I do something?”
I caressed his cheek softly. “No, no, you didn’t do anything!” He smiled. I gulped. “It’s Ned. He’s gone nuts. Kat said she heard him saying that he’s gonna split us up across the country!”
Michael gasped. “What? That’s terrible! How can he do that?”
I sighed and sat down on the couch. “I don’t know.” Promptly, Michael sauntered over and made himself comfy on my lap. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his muscular body. I liked him on my lap.
He buried his face in my shoulder. “But I don’t wanna be split up. I want to be together with you, Alex.”
I hugged him tighter. “I know. Andy has a plan.”
Michael laughed. “Of course Andy does! So what’s this brilliant plan?”
I explained Andy’s plan to him. “And basically all I have to do is kiss you on stage, how easy is that?”
Michael didn’t reply.
“Well?” I said.
“Uh,” Michael said. “I...I don’t know about this...”
My smile faded. “What?”
“I mean,” Michael continued, standing up and pacing around the room. “I don’t think that I WANT the fans to know yet...I just...I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
“B-but Michael!” I exclaimed. “This is the ONLY way to save us! If I don’t kiss you...we’ll be split up, and then Ned will eventually win, and there won’t be any more us.”
“You’re thinking too broad,” Michael remarked quietly. “Nothing’s gonna happen. Ned can’t force us across the country. It’s impossible.”
“Yes he can!” I shouted.
“No, he can’t!” Michael shot back. “Now look, Alex, if you kiss me on stage tonight, then...then I really don’t know what I’ll do. It might not end well for us...and I don’t want to risk that. Now please just-”
“No!” I cried. “No, this is the only way to-”
There was a knock on the door, and we heard Ned say, “Showtime guys!”
“OK!” Michael shouted back. He turned to me again. “Alex...please?”
I sighed. “Let’s go on stage...”
Michael nodded and we walked out into the hallway. Jason and Andrew were crazy and hyper. When we arrived with negative vibes radiating from us, they knew something was up.
“Er...” Andrew said. “What’s...going on?”
Michael shot me an annoyed look. “Nothing.”
I nodded sadly. “Y-yeah. Nothing.”
The thing was...Michael didn’t know what he was getting into. Ned definitely would’ve found a way to split us up. No doubt.
Why didn’t he believe me?
I decided to stop thinking about that, and start thinking about the show, the last Full Moon Crazy show. This was it. We had to rock it.
“Now can I please have Andy and Alex come over to the keyboard,” Michael asked.
I left my comfort zone behind the drums and stood next to Jason at his keyboard, receiving a crop of screams from the audience. Jason laughed. “Alex, how come everybody loves YOU?” He grinned.
I shrugged. “I dunno,”
“Now,” Michael said. “You guys...we never could’ve been here without you. You’re the reason we got to tour with the Jonas Brothers,” He paused to let the crowd scream. Jonas was the word. “And you’re definitely the reason we got to have our very first headlining tour, the Full Moon Crazy tour!” The crowd screamed again. They were good at screaming. “So from Andrew, Jason, Alex-” The screams got louder when Michael said my name. “-And me, Michael, thank you all so very much for being there for us! This next song is for you. I’m gonna sing something and I want you to sing it back please...” Michael gave Jason a nod and Jason started to play the chords of “Don’t Close the Book.”
Michael sang, “Oh oh oh a-oh...” After that, the crowd needed no further instruction. They all knew how it went.
Michael smiled. “OK you guys sound amazing, but I can barely hear you, c’mon!”
The crowd sang louder.
“That’s much better,” said Michael. “But I know you can go louder.”
The crowd sang even louder.
“You all sound beautiful,” Michael smiled. “In chapter one, you were my summer crush, chilled at the beach from dawn to dusk, under my umbrella,”
Ella, ella, eh...
“In chapter two, we got more serious, changed from you and me to them and us, and we fell like the autumn leaves. But the leaves got swept away, and the rain bled us off the page...”
I knew that this was my chance. If I was going through with Andy’s plan, I had to do it now, before I had to go back to the drums.
I ran over to Michael.
He gave me a weird look. “What are you doing?” He said to me while the crowd was singing the beginning of the chorus.
I took a deep breath, bent down, and kissed his cheek. The crowd went silent.
Michael glared at me. “I can’t believe you!” With that, he ran off stage.
Crap. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
I looked around worriedly at Andy and Jason. They were completely speechless. I looked out at the crowd. They had the same looks on their faces. I couldn’t just stand there. I ran off stage too.
“Michael? Michael!” I called.
I heard the door to our dressing room shut. I ran over to it and tried to open it, but it was no use, Michael had it locked. “Michael...” I said through the door.
“Go away, Alex.”
“But-”
“But nothing!” Michael shot back. “I told you not to kiss me, and what do you do? You kiss me! I just...I can’t believe you’d do that.”
My forehead rested against the door. “I-I did it to save us...”
“Well you just ruined us!” Michael cried. “And I don’t just mean you and me, I mean the whole freaking band! I hope you’re happy.”
I wasn’t.
“Wh-what do you mean I ruined you and me?” I gulped.
Michael hesitated. “I mean it’s over.”
That’s what I was afraid he’d say.
It hit me at a thousand miles per hour. I was speechless. All I could do was stand there, my forehead and the palms of my hands pressed against the door. I looked at the crude heart drawn on my left hand, and when a drop of water fell on it, I realized that I was crying.
Ned ran over to me. “What the hell are you doing?!” He exclaimed. “Get your ass back on stage! Where’s Michael?”
Emotionlessly, I pointed to the door, while a tear rolled down my face.
Ned knocked furiously on the door. “Michael!”
“Yeah?”
“Get out here and get back on stage!” Kat, who was scowling, grabbed Ned by the collar of his shirt and spun him around to face her. “Listen here, bub!” She shouted. “Because of you, they just broke up, and all you can think about is that they need to get back on stage?! You know what, you sicken me! I feel sorry for you!”
Ned smirked. “Maybe we just need to get to know each other more.”
Kat smiled. “Oh, yeah, totally. Here, I’ll meet you in this closet in NEVER!” She shoved Ned into a nearby closet and closed the door.
Ned pounded on the closet door. “Hey! Hey! Let me out!”
“Oh, hey,” Kat said contently. “Look, the door locks automatically, how convenient.”
At that moment, Andy ran over to us. “Guys! Guys! You have to see this!” He exclaimed. He started pulling me on stage. “Come on!”
Kat followed us, and, to my surprise, so did Michael.
Andy pushed me to the front-and-center part of the stage, right where the spotlights were. The entire audience was silent. Think about that, and entire concert crowd...silent.
Then, one girl started chanting “Malex, Malex!” then another, then another, until the entire crowd was chanting it. I was amazed. Michael stood beside me. I looked over at him.
“I...” Michael said. That’s all he could say.
I smiled weakly. “I’m sorry.”
Michael wrapped his arms around my neck and giggled. “Don’t be! This is...this is fantastic.”
I smiled. “I think they want us to-”
Michael cut me off by standing on his tip-toes and giving me a passionate kiss on the lips. The crowd roared. It was perfect. On top of that, Kat had let Ned out just in time for him to see that he had lost. It couldn’t have gotten any better.
But it did get better.
On Michael’s behalf, we asked everybody who was at that show to not speak a word about what had happened, and surprisingly, everyone agreed. It would be the city’s secret, and it would stay in the city.
How awesome? Very awesome.
After the show, we walked to the car, Michael close behind me. It all seemed normal, until we heard hushed giggles behind us.
I turned around and chuckled. “They’re following us.”
There were fans behind us.
We smiled at them.
“Hey,” said Michael. “You guys want pictures or something?”
The two grinning girls nodded quickly. Fans were so cute. We all gave them autographs and took pictures with them, then got in the car and headed back to the hotel.
We were in our dressing room.
Michael smiled brightly at himself in the mirror. “Well,” he said. “Here we go! Last Full Moon Crazy show, then we’re free, Lex.”
I sighed. “Yeah...about that...”
Michael looked up at me with worried brown eyes. “Wh-what is it? Did I do something?”
I caressed his cheek softly. “No, no, you didn’t do anything!” He smiled. I gulped. “It’s Ned. He’s gone nuts. Kat said she heard him saying that he’s gonna split us up across the country!”
Michael gasped. “What? That’s terrible! How can he do that?”
I sighed and sat down on the couch. “I don’t know.” Promptly, Michael sauntered over and made himself comfy on my lap. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his muscular body. I liked him on my lap.
He buried his face in my shoulder. “But I don’t wanna be split up. I want to be together with you, Alex.”
I hugged him tighter. “I know. Andy has a plan.”
Michael laughed. “Of course Andy does! So what’s this brilliant plan?”
I explained Andy’s plan to him. “And basically all I have to do is kiss you on stage, how easy is that?”
Michael didn’t reply.
“Well?” I said.
“Uh,” Michael said. “I...I don’t know about this...”
My smile faded. “What?”
“I mean,” Michael continued, standing up and pacing around the room. “I don’t think that I WANT the fans to know yet...I just...I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
“B-but Michael!” I exclaimed. “This is the ONLY way to save us! If I don’t kiss you...we’ll be split up, and then Ned will eventually win, and there won’t be any more us.”
“You’re thinking too broad,” Michael remarked quietly. “Nothing’s gonna happen. Ned can’t force us across the country. It’s impossible.”
“Yes he can!” I shouted.
“No, he can’t!” Michael shot back. “Now look, Alex, if you kiss me on stage tonight, then...then I really don’t know what I’ll do. It might not end well for us...and I don’t want to risk that. Now please just-”
“No!” I cried. “No, this is the only way to-”
There was a knock on the door, and we heard Ned say, “Showtime guys!”
“OK!” Michael shouted back. He turned to me again. “Alex...please?”
I sighed. “Let’s go on stage...”
Michael nodded and we walked out into the hallway. Jason and Andrew were crazy and hyper. When we arrived with negative vibes radiating from us, they knew something was up.
“Er...” Andrew said. “What’s...going on?”
Michael shot me an annoyed look. “Nothing.”
I nodded sadly. “Y-yeah. Nothing.”
The thing was...Michael didn’t know what he was getting into. Ned definitely would’ve found a way to split us up. No doubt.
Why didn’t he believe me?
I decided to stop thinking about that, and start thinking about the show, the last Full Moon Crazy show. This was it. We had to rock it.
“Now can I please have Andy and Alex come over to the keyboard,” Michael asked.
I left my comfort zone behind the drums and stood next to Jason at his keyboard, receiving a crop of screams from the audience. Jason laughed. “Alex, how come everybody loves YOU?” He grinned.
I shrugged. “I dunno,”
“Now,” Michael said. “You guys...we never could’ve been here without you. You’re the reason we got to tour with the Jonas Brothers,” He paused to let the crowd scream. Jonas was the word. “And you’re definitely the reason we got to have our very first headlining tour, the Full Moon Crazy tour!” The crowd screamed again. They were good at screaming. “So from Andrew, Jason, Alex-” The screams got louder when Michael said my name. “-And me, Michael, thank you all so very much for being there for us! This next song is for you. I’m gonna sing something and I want you to sing it back please...” Michael gave Jason a nod and Jason started to play the chords of “Don’t Close the Book.”
Michael sang, “Oh oh oh a-oh...” After that, the crowd needed no further instruction. They all knew how it went.
Michael smiled. “OK you guys sound amazing, but I can barely hear you, c’mon!”
The crowd sang louder.
“That’s much better,” said Michael. “But I know you can go louder.”
The crowd sang even louder.
“You all sound beautiful,” Michael smiled. “In chapter one, you were my summer crush, chilled at the beach from dawn to dusk, under my umbrella,”
Ella, ella, eh...
“In chapter two, we got more serious, changed from you and me to them and us, and we fell like the autumn leaves. But the leaves got swept away, and the rain bled us off the page...”
I knew that this was my chance. If I was going through with Andy’s plan, I had to do it now, before I had to go back to the drums.
I ran over to Michael.
He gave me a weird look. “What are you doing?” He said to me while the crowd was singing the beginning of the chorus.
I took a deep breath, bent down, and kissed his cheek. The crowd went silent.
Michael glared at me. “I can’t believe you!” With that, he ran off stage.
Crap. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
I looked around worriedly at Andy and Jason. They were completely speechless. I looked out at the crowd. They had the same looks on their faces. I couldn’t just stand there. I ran off stage too.
“Michael? Michael!” I called.
I heard the door to our dressing room shut. I ran over to it and tried to open it, but it was no use, Michael had it locked. “Michael...” I said through the door.
“Go away, Alex.”
“But-”
“But nothing!” Michael shot back. “I told you not to kiss me, and what do you do? You kiss me! I just...I can’t believe you’d do that.”
My forehead rested against the door. “I-I did it to save us...”
“Well you just ruined us!” Michael cried. “And I don’t just mean you and me, I mean the whole freaking band! I hope you’re happy.”
I wasn’t.
“Wh-what do you mean I ruined you and me?” I gulped.
Michael hesitated. “I mean it’s over.”
That’s what I was afraid he’d say.
It hit me at a thousand miles per hour. I was speechless. All I could do was stand there, my forehead and the palms of my hands pressed against the door. I looked at the crude heart drawn on my left hand, and when a drop of water fell on it, I realized that I was crying.
Ned ran over to me. “What the hell are you doing?!” He exclaimed. “Get your ass back on stage! Where’s Michael?”
Emotionlessly, I pointed to the door, while a tear rolled down my face.
Ned knocked furiously on the door. “Michael!”
“Yeah?”
“Get out here and get back on stage!” Kat, who was scowling, grabbed Ned by the collar of his shirt and spun him around to face her. “Listen here, bub!” She shouted. “Because of you, they just broke up, and all you can think about is that they need to get back on stage?! You know what, you sicken me! I feel sorry for you!”
Ned smirked. “Maybe we just need to get to know each other more.”
Kat smiled. “Oh, yeah, totally. Here, I’ll meet you in this closet in NEVER!” She shoved Ned into a nearby closet and closed the door.
Ned pounded on the closet door. “Hey! Hey! Let me out!”
“Oh, hey,” Kat said contently. “Look, the door locks automatically, how convenient.”
At that moment, Andy ran over to us. “Guys! Guys! You have to see this!” He exclaimed. He started pulling me on stage. “Come on!”
Kat followed us, and, to my surprise, so did Michael.
Andy pushed me to the front-and-center part of the stage, right where the spotlights were. The entire audience was silent. Think about that, and entire concert crowd...silent.
Then, one girl started chanting “Malex, Malex!” then another, then another, until the entire crowd was chanting it. I was amazed. Michael stood beside me. I looked over at him.
“I...” Michael said. That’s all he could say.
I smiled weakly. “I’m sorry.”
Michael wrapped his arms around my neck and giggled. “Don’t be! This is...this is fantastic.”
I smiled. “I think they want us to-”
Michael cut me off by standing on his tip-toes and giving me a passionate kiss on the lips. The crowd roared. It was perfect. On top of that, Kat had let Ned out just in time for him to see that he had lost. It couldn’t have gotten any better.
But it did get better.
On Michael’s behalf, we asked everybody who was at that show to not speak a word about what had happened, and surprisingly, everyone agreed. It would be the city’s secret, and it would stay in the city.
How awesome? Very awesome.
After the show, we walked to the car, Michael close behind me. It all seemed normal, until we heard hushed giggles behind us.
I turned around and chuckled. “They’re following us.”
There were fans behind us.
We smiled at them.
“Hey,” said Michael. “You guys want pictures or something?”
The two grinning girls nodded quickly. Fans were so cute. We all gave them autographs and took pictures with them, then got in the car and headed back to the hotel.