Life Has Lyrics
Chapter One
DG sighed softly as she put the final touches on her disguise and completed her false ‘sleeping DG’ under her covers. It was a method she had used every Friday for three months now and no one-not even Cain-had discovered the ploy. She cringed at that thought: Cain.
After the Eclipse, DG had thought that everything would be great. But then Glitch had decided to try to get his brain back. Now he was lying on a gurney in the Healers ward in a coma, completely unresponsive towards any attempts at communication. Queen Lavender had gone cold and regal, treating her with icy respect. Ahamo, although far easier to like once he shaved off the mutton chops, had become a yes-man to whatever the Queen asked of him. Az, however understandable as it may have been, scared easily, cringing at loud voices and curling into a fetal position and whimpering if it was aimed at her or her family. Raw was thanked by his services and sent back to live with his people, no visiting allowed. But DG would have been able to cope with all of that if it weren’t for him. If it weren’t for Cain.
Cain had agreed in a heartbeat when her mother had asked him if, as an ex-tin man, he would be willing to serve as DG’s personal bodyguard. DG had been indignant at first, but relented when she realized that it was Cain who would be with her 24/7. But then he changed.
Cain took his new position far too seriously; he went from being a man of few words to a man of none. And it broke her heart, for sometime along the journey, when he regained his heart, he also took hers. But when he turned cold, he never returned hers, and so she was left hollow. And so now, in her loneliness, she turned to music to help fill the void left from her heart. She donned a disguise: waist-length light brown hair with honey-blonde highlights, an oval face, and deeply tanned skin, the shade of tan she had envied each and every fall that she could remember from the Other Side. Each fall, when she returned to school, girls would come in with a deep tan from being in the sun all summer while DG would come in looking like a lobster. One of the few things she didn’t change, though, was her eyes. She had tried to change them the first night, but she couldn’t bear it. And so now, each and every Friday night, she would don her disguise and use her magic to pop out to a local, respectable pup and sing songs from the Other Side under the alias of Jessie Able.
Well, pub didn’t really do it justice in her opinion. It reminded her more of the old bar in World War II she had seen once on an episode of Doctor Who. Every week she would pick an artist on her iPod (that she had insisted on retrieving from the Other Side) and re-memorize all the songs she liked. Then Friday morning she would call Alfred Horton, the owner of the pub (for some reason she didn’t really understand, it was called the ‘Emerald Dragon’) and tell him what the theme for that night would be (the name of whatever artist’s songs she was singing). Come evening, she would prepare, pop out, sing, come back, and crash. Tonight’s theme would be Sara Bareilles. Alfie had long-since given up questioning her theme choices because, after many attempts to explain, he had finally gotten it: she was singing songs that weren’t hers and she wanted to prevent the one-in-a-million chance of someone actually recognizing the songs and accusing her of copyright infringement. Basically, she was covering all the bases. Overly paranoid, she knew, but she wanted to be as honest as possible despite everything else being a lie.
So, smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles in her simple yet elegant black knee-length, spaghetti-strap dress with a wide flair skirt and sweeping her long hair into a pony-tail which she partially pinned up with a clip leaving most of it to flow down her back, she double checked her simple makeup and vanished from her room with a soft pop.
Chapter Two
A moment later, DG suddenly appeared a block away from the back door of the Emerald Dragon. In the shadows of the Central City streets, her arrival went unnoticed. She strode calmly in her black sneakers the rest of the way to the back stage door and knocked twice. A thin young man with blondish-brownish hair opened the door, clearly trying to look intimidating.
Oh, move over, Jeb. It’s just me; tone it down, will ya?” DG said, rolling her eyes at his antics.
“I’m offended, Jessie, and here I thought I was doing a good job. Could you at least pretend to respect me?” Jeb retorted, pouting slightly. “Bet my dad would scare you.” he muttered.
“Jeb Cain, you know full well I respect you. I’m just not scared of you. And I doubt that your dad could scare me either.” DG said, silently regretting her last sentence.
Jeb laughed, not noticing her inward battle. “You only say that because you haven’t met him.”
DG smiled sadly, giving him her usual hug as he let her pass. “If you say so.” she murmured. It still bemused her that Jeb had gone from resistance leader to pub security guard. But then again, at least one of the Cain’s didn’t ignore her existence.
“Jessie Able, where the hell have you been?” came a mildly exasperated voice, cutting through her thoughts like a razor. Like Cain’s razor. Damnit, not again!
DG cringed. “Sorry, Alfie, you know me.” She said sheepishly.
“That I do. Go warm up.” Alfie said, rolling his eyes.
“Aye-aye, captain.” DG said, giving him a chipper salute.
“Yeah, yeah.” He muttered as he walked away.
Alfred Holton wasn’t a cruel man, not in the least. With long straight black hair he kept pulled away from his tan face in a pony tail and his casual attire of short sleeved button down beach shirts with jeans and surprisingly manly flip-flops, he always seemed at ease with the Zone. He just preferred it when his performers were relatively punctual. DG grinned and went off to her corner to warm up her voice and to conjure up an accompanist. Tonight, ‘Sandi’ would be playing the grand piano that lurked off to one side of the stage. DG peeked on stage and spied her usual stool by the mike accompanied with a couple bottles of water. Well, here goes nothing. She thought as she strode on stage, closely followed by Sandi. Taking her seat on the stool, she grinned out at the half-attentive audience.
“Hey, all.” She said, smiling. “For those of you who didn’t read the sign, tonight’s theme is Sara Bareilles.”
And so it began. She started with ‘Come Round Soon’ which she bridged into ‘Love on the Rocks’, ‘Love Song’, and then finally ‘One Sweet Love’. After that, she went back stage to get some more water as she had already finished the one on stage. She always took a quick break after three or four songs, always separating the themes. Usually part one was upbeat and perky songs, part two was mournful slow songs, and part three being upbeat and perky again, but this time was different. This time was exactly three months since the Eclipse. Three months since she had gotten her family back. Three months since Cain had broken her heart.
So she changed her pattern, finishing on a sad note rather then a bright one. For her second part, she sang ‘Fairytale’, ‘Many the Miles’, and ‘Morning Side’. But just before she sang ‘Morning Side’, she caught sight of a shadowy figure lurking in the doorway of the main entrance of the pub. A figure with a duster and a fedora: Cain. For a moment, she stopped breathing. Giving herself a mental shake, she started the song, smiling slightly at the bitter irony of the lyrics.
The instant she was through the song, she went back stage to have a panic attack. Cain! Cain is here! Did he recognize me?
“Hello there, Princess.” Cain said calmly, suddenly standing there in front of her in the way only he could.
Holy shit! Dammit, play dumb.
“Hmmm? Oh, hello, didn’t see you there.” She said, taking a quick swig of her water to hide her suddenly cracking voice.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Princess, I know its you.” he said icily.
“Who are you talking about?” she asked innocently, her brow furrowing.
“I don’t know how you snuck out, but you’re going to tell me.” He said dangerously, grabbing her wrist.
“Ow, Cain, let go, you’re hurting me!” DG whimpered.
“If it’s not you, then how did you know my name?” Cain challenged triumphantly.
“Your son’s the spitting image of you, although he doesn’t cause me bodily harm, now let go!” she cried.
“And how do you know Jeb?” he asked sharply.
“Oh, forget it.” She muttered. “Jeb! Get your scrawny ass over her right now, I need you!” DG yelled.
“Jess, quit yelling, I’m com-Father.” Jeb said suddenly broke off, shocked.
“Jeb?” Cain said, confused.
“Yeah, it’s a fucking family reunion, now get him off me, I’m gonna have bruises!” she said indignantly.
“Oh, right, er, Father, you have to let go of her.” Jeb said weakly.
“You knew about this?” Cain said angrily.
“Look, buster, I don’t know who the hell you think I am, but get your goddamn hands off me, I’m due back on stage.” DG said furiously.
As if on cue, Alfie came round the curtain. “Jess? Honey, where are you? You’re due back onstage. Uh, um…” his words died on his lips as he took in the scene before him. “Uh, is there a problem?” he asked nervously.
“Don’t worry, Alfie, Mister Cain was just leaving.” DG said icily, jerking her wrist out of Cain’s confusion-slackened grip. And with that, she stormed back on stage.
Hoping desperately that she wasn’t shaking, DG tried her best to lose herself in the music. But once she reached the second verse of ‘Gravity’, she caught sight of Cain standing in the back again, arms crossed across his chest, Alfie eying him nervously although Cain didn’t seem to notice him in the least. His eyes were fixed on her; the lyrics in the song suddenly became that much more real. No, completely real.
You hold me without touch
You keep me without chains
I’ve never wanted anything so much
Then to drown in your love
And not feel your rain
As she sang, DG caught Cain’s eyes and she couldn’t let go. She couldn't break eye contact, and she knew that he knew that she was singing about him. She held his gaze for the rest of the song. And when she started to sing ‘Between the Lines’, she kept his gaze until the second verse: she couldn't bear the thought of another. She kept her eyes firmly glazed until her final number: ‘City’.
When she started to sing, she caught his eye again, this time almost desperately. She didn’t know why, but suddenly she needed him to see her stolen heart on her sleeve, needed him to face the facts, regardless of if he cared or not. She needed him to see what he’d done to her.
And it’s clear this conversation
Ain’t doing a thing
‘Cause these boys only listen
To me when I sing
And it was true; the only ones there who gave a damn about her were Alfie and Jeb, and they didn’t even know who she really was.
Here in these
Deep city lights
Girl could get lost tonight
I’m finding
Every reason to get gone
Nothing here to hold on to
Could I hold you?
She didn’t know what to do, who to turn to, where she could run. She knew she needed Cain, but that was it. No one saw her for who she really was.
Calling out
Somebody save me
I feel like I’m
Fading away
Am I gone?
Calling out
Somebody save me
I feel like I’m
Fading…
She was fading; fading from existence; no one even cared…she needed help, a hand to hold, something to help her cling to the Zone…Cain. She closed her eyes with the last lines.
There’s nothing here
To hold on to
Could I hold you?
With the last four words, she looked for Cain to make it a plea, but he was gone. Her voice nearly cracked as she bid farewell to her faithful audience.
“Thanks for comin’ out tonight, ya’ll. Have a good week, hope to see all ya’ll next Friday.” And with that, she all but ran off stage, crashing headlong into Cain.
“Oh, sorry, didn’t see you there. Excuse me.” She said quickly, moving to the side.
Cain’s face bore an unreadable expression, one she recognized as his way of hiding his emotions completely and utterly; the expression he had worn right after they had seen Adora’s grave; right after he had been crying. He grasped her forearms firmly. “Come on, Princess, I’m taking you back.” He said, his tone matching his face.
DG took a deep, shuddery breath and gave him the most furious expression she could muster which really wasn’t much. “Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but leave me the hell alone!”
“Don’t play games with me, Princess.” He growled.
“I don’t have time for this. Jeb!” she called.
The effect was instantaneous. The moment Jeb’s name was uttered, Cain’s grip slackened their death grip on her arms and she broke free. Weaving her way through the backstage area, she bolted to the stage door. Jeb moved to stop her but she cut him off.
“Jeb, your dad’s gone psycho trying to get me! I don’t know what his problem is, but he’s seriously freaking me out! I’ve got to get away from him!”
Jeb looked confused, but he moved from the doorway and DG darted through, heedless of Cain’s shouts for her to stop. Breathless, she stepped into an alley and popped back to her room.
Chapter Three
Still breathing hard, DG quickly undid her disguise, paling her skin, curling and darkening her hair, and rounding her face. As quickly as she could, she changed out of her dress and into her pajamas: a plain black cami and a pair of black and pink happy bunny pants. As she scrubbed the makeup off her face, she tried to slow her breathing. Running a comb through her now-black hair, she sighed as she thought back to her encounter with Cain. When she was singing, she could have sworn he actually cared about her. But then when he talked to her afterwards, he had made it blatantly obvious that she was a chore, and an unruly, exasperating one at that. The false hope had hurt more then the initial pain. DG took a shuddery breath, threw the brush down she had been attacking her hair with and strode out onto her balcony to try and calm down. In her hysterics, she didn’t hear Cain come into her room, didn’t see him standing silently in the doorframe of her balcony. Softly, sadly, DG began to sing.
Say you’re sorry
That face of an angel
Comes out
Just when you need it to
As I paced
Back and forth
All this time
‘Cause I honestly believed in you
Holding on
The days drag on
Stupid girl
I should’ve known
I should’ve known
I’m not a princess
DG gave a short, hysterical laugh at the irony of that statement.
This ain’t a fairytale
I’m not the one
You sweep off her feet
Lead her up the stairwell
This ain’t Hollywood
This is a small town
I was a dreamer before
You went and let me down
Now it’s too late
For you and your white horse
DG gave another laugh, bitter this time as she remembered Cain riding up to save her on a gorgeous white stallion.
To come around
Maybe I was naïve
Got lost in your eyes
And never really had a chance
My mistake
I didn’t know
To be in love
You had to fight to have the upper hand
I had so many dreams
About you and me
Happy endings
But now I know
I’m not a princess
This ain’t a fairytale
I’m not the one
You sweep off her feet
Lead her up the stairwell
This ain’t Hollywood
This is a small town
I was a dreamer before
You went and let me down
Now it’s too late
For you and your white horse
To come around
And there you are on your knees
Begging for forgiveness
Begging for me
DG didn’t see Cain sink to the ground, didn’t hear him moan softly, didn’t see the sheer, heartbroken agony on his face.
Just like I always wanted
But I’m so sorry
‘Cause I’m not your princess
This ain’t a fairytale
I’m gonna find someone someday
Who might actually treat me well
This is a big world
That was a small town
There in my rearview mirror
Disappearing now
And it’s too late
For you and your white horse
Now it’s too late
For you and your white horse
To catch me now
She didn’t see him straighten up and furiously scrub away the tears on his face and eyes,
Oh, try and catch me now!
didn’t hear him as he silently walked to her bedroom door.
It’s too late to catch me now
Nor did she hear the door open and shut.
It was then that she decided: she would leave the following night.
DG sighed softly as she put the final touches on her disguise and completed her false ‘sleeping DG’ under her covers. It was a method she had used every Friday for three months now and no one-not even Cain-had discovered the ploy. She cringed at that thought: Cain.
After the Eclipse, DG had thought that everything would be great. But then Glitch had decided to try to get his brain back. Now he was lying on a gurney in the Healers ward in a coma, completely unresponsive towards any attempts at communication. Queen Lavender had gone cold and regal, treating her with icy respect. Ahamo, although far easier to like once he shaved off the mutton chops, had become a yes-man to whatever the Queen asked of him. Az, however understandable as it may have been, scared easily, cringing at loud voices and curling into a fetal position and whimpering if it was aimed at her or her family. Raw was thanked by his services and sent back to live with his people, no visiting allowed. But DG would have been able to cope with all of that if it weren’t for him. If it weren’t for Cain.
Cain had agreed in a heartbeat when her mother had asked him if, as an ex-tin man, he would be willing to serve as DG’s personal bodyguard. DG had been indignant at first, but relented when she realized that it was Cain who would be with her 24/7. But then he changed.
Cain took his new position far too seriously; he went from being a man of few words to a man of none. And it broke her heart, for sometime along the journey, when he regained his heart, he also took hers. But when he turned cold, he never returned hers, and so she was left hollow. And so now, in her loneliness, she turned to music to help fill the void left from her heart. She donned a disguise: waist-length light brown hair with honey-blonde highlights, an oval face, and deeply tanned skin, the shade of tan she had envied each and every fall that she could remember from the Other Side. Each fall, when she returned to school, girls would come in with a deep tan from being in the sun all summer while DG would come in looking like a lobster. One of the few things she didn’t change, though, was her eyes. She had tried to change them the first night, but she couldn’t bear it. And so now, each and every Friday night, she would don her disguise and use her magic to pop out to a local, respectable pup and sing songs from the Other Side under the alias of Jessie Able.
Well, pub didn’t really do it justice in her opinion. It reminded her more of the old bar in World War II she had seen once on an episode of Doctor Who. Every week she would pick an artist on her iPod (that she had insisted on retrieving from the Other Side) and re-memorize all the songs she liked. Then Friday morning she would call Alfred Horton, the owner of the pub (for some reason she didn’t really understand, it was called the ‘Emerald Dragon’) and tell him what the theme for that night would be (the name of whatever artist’s songs she was singing). Come evening, she would prepare, pop out, sing, come back, and crash. Tonight’s theme would be Sara Bareilles. Alfie had long-since given up questioning her theme choices because, after many attempts to explain, he had finally gotten it: she was singing songs that weren’t hers and she wanted to prevent the one-in-a-million chance of someone actually recognizing the songs and accusing her of copyright infringement. Basically, she was covering all the bases. Overly paranoid, she knew, but she wanted to be as honest as possible despite everything else being a lie.
So, smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles in her simple yet elegant black knee-length, spaghetti-strap dress with a wide flair skirt and sweeping her long hair into a pony-tail which she partially pinned up with a clip leaving most of it to flow down her back, she double checked her simple makeup and vanished from her room with a soft pop.
Chapter Two
A moment later, DG suddenly appeared a block away from the back door of the Emerald Dragon. In the shadows of the Central City streets, her arrival went unnoticed. She strode calmly in her black sneakers the rest of the way to the back stage door and knocked twice. A thin young man with blondish-brownish hair opened the door, clearly trying to look intimidating.
Oh, move over, Jeb. It’s just me; tone it down, will ya?” DG said, rolling her eyes at his antics.
“I’m offended, Jessie, and here I thought I was doing a good job. Could you at least pretend to respect me?” Jeb retorted, pouting slightly. “Bet my dad would scare you.” he muttered.
“Jeb Cain, you know full well I respect you. I’m just not scared of you. And I doubt that your dad could scare me either.” DG said, silently regretting her last sentence.
Jeb laughed, not noticing her inward battle. “You only say that because you haven’t met him.”
DG smiled sadly, giving him her usual hug as he let her pass. “If you say so.” she murmured. It still bemused her that Jeb had gone from resistance leader to pub security guard. But then again, at least one of the Cain’s didn’t ignore her existence.
“Jessie Able, where the hell have you been?” came a mildly exasperated voice, cutting through her thoughts like a razor. Like Cain’s razor. Damnit, not again!
DG cringed. “Sorry, Alfie, you know me.” She said sheepishly.
“That I do. Go warm up.” Alfie said, rolling his eyes.
“Aye-aye, captain.” DG said, giving him a chipper salute.
“Yeah, yeah.” He muttered as he walked away.
Alfred Holton wasn’t a cruel man, not in the least. With long straight black hair he kept pulled away from his tan face in a pony tail and his casual attire of short sleeved button down beach shirts with jeans and surprisingly manly flip-flops, he always seemed at ease with the Zone. He just preferred it when his performers were relatively punctual. DG grinned and went off to her corner to warm up her voice and to conjure up an accompanist. Tonight, ‘Sandi’ would be playing the grand piano that lurked off to one side of the stage. DG peeked on stage and spied her usual stool by the mike accompanied with a couple bottles of water. Well, here goes nothing. She thought as she strode on stage, closely followed by Sandi. Taking her seat on the stool, she grinned out at the half-attentive audience.
“Hey, all.” She said, smiling. “For those of you who didn’t read the sign, tonight’s theme is Sara Bareilles.”
And so it began. She started with ‘Come Round Soon’ which she bridged into ‘Love on the Rocks’, ‘Love Song’, and then finally ‘One Sweet Love’. After that, she went back stage to get some more water as she had already finished the one on stage. She always took a quick break after three or four songs, always separating the themes. Usually part one was upbeat and perky songs, part two was mournful slow songs, and part three being upbeat and perky again, but this time was different. This time was exactly three months since the Eclipse. Three months since she had gotten her family back. Three months since Cain had broken her heart.
So she changed her pattern, finishing on a sad note rather then a bright one. For her second part, she sang ‘Fairytale’, ‘Many the Miles’, and ‘Morning Side’. But just before she sang ‘Morning Side’, she caught sight of a shadowy figure lurking in the doorway of the main entrance of the pub. A figure with a duster and a fedora: Cain. For a moment, she stopped breathing. Giving herself a mental shake, she started the song, smiling slightly at the bitter irony of the lyrics.
The instant she was through the song, she went back stage to have a panic attack. Cain! Cain is here! Did he recognize me?
“Hello there, Princess.” Cain said calmly, suddenly standing there in front of her in the way only he could.
Holy shit! Dammit, play dumb.
“Hmmm? Oh, hello, didn’t see you there.” She said, taking a quick swig of her water to hide her suddenly cracking voice.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Princess, I know its you.” he said icily.
“Who are you talking about?” she asked innocently, her brow furrowing.
“I don’t know how you snuck out, but you’re going to tell me.” He said dangerously, grabbing her wrist.
“Ow, Cain, let go, you’re hurting me!” DG whimpered.
“If it’s not you, then how did you know my name?” Cain challenged triumphantly.
“Your son’s the spitting image of you, although he doesn’t cause me bodily harm, now let go!” she cried.
“And how do you know Jeb?” he asked sharply.
“Oh, forget it.” She muttered. “Jeb! Get your scrawny ass over her right now, I need you!” DG yelled.
“Jess, quit yelling, I’m com-Father.” Jeb said suddenly broke off, shocked.
“Jeb?” Cain said, confused.
“Yeah, it’s a fucking family reunion, now get him off me, I’m gonna have bruises!” she said indignantly.
“Oh, right, er, Father, you have to let go of her.” Jeb said weakly.
“You knew about this?” Cain said angrily.
“Look, buster, I don’t know who the hell you think I am, but get your goddamn hands off me, I’m due back on stage.” DG said furiously.
As if on cue, Alfie came round the curtain. “Jess? Honey, where are you? You’re due back onstage. Uh, um…” his words died on his lips as he took in the scene before him. “Uh, is there a problem?” he asked nervously.
“Don’t worry, Alfie, Mister Cain was just leaving.” DG said icily, jerking her wrist out of Cain’s confusion-slackened grip. And with that, she stormed back on stage.
Hoping desperately that she wasn’t shaking, DG tried her best to lose herself in the music. But once she reached the second verse of ‘Gravity’, she caught sight of Cain standing in the back again, arms crossed across his chest, Alfie eying him nervously although Cain didn’t seem to notice him in the least. His eyes were fixed on her; the lyrics in the song suddenly became that much more real. No, completely real.
You hold me without touch
You keep me without chains
I’ve never wanted anything so much
Then to drown in your love
And not feel your rain
As she sang, DG caught Cain’s eyes and she couldn’t let go. She couldn't break eye contact, and she knew that he knew that she was singing about him. She held his gaze for the rest of the song. And when she started to sing ‘Between the Lines’, she kept his gaze until the second verse: she couldn't bear the thought of another. She kept her eyes firmly glazed until her final number: ‘City’.
When she started to sing, she caught his eye again, this time almost desperately. She didn’t know why, but suddenly she needed him to see her stolen heart on her sleeve, needed him to face the facts, regardless of if he cared or not. She needed him to see what he’d done to her.
And it’s clear this conversation
Ain’t doing a thing
‘Cause these boys only listen
To me when I sing
And it was true; the only ones there who gave a damn about her were Alfie and Jeb, and they didn’t even know who she really was.
Here in these
Deep city lights
Girl could get lost tonight
I’m finding
Every reason to get gone
Nothing here to hold on to
Could I hold you?
She didn’t know what to do, who to turn to, where she could run. She knew she needed Cain, but that was it. No one saw her for who she really was.
Calling out
Somebody save me
I feel like I’m
Fading away
Am I gone?
Calling out
Somebody save me
I feel like I’m
Fading…
She was fading; fading from existence; no one even cared…she needed help, a hand to hold, something to help her cling to the Zone…Cain. She closed her eyes with the last lines.
There’s nothing here
To hold on to
Could I hold you?
With the last four words, she looked for Cain to make it a plea, but he was gone. Her voice nearly cracked as she bid farewell to her faithful audience.
“Thanks for comin’ out tonight, ya’ll. Have a good week, hope to see all ya’ll next Friday.” And with that, she all but ran off stage, crashing headlong into Cain.
“Oh, sorry, didn’t see you there. Excuse me.” She said quickly, moving to the side.
Cain’s face bore an unreadable expression, one she recognized as his way of hiding his emotions completely and utterly; the expression he had worn right after they had seen Adora’s grave; right after he had been crying. He grasped her forearms firmly. “Come on, Princess, I’m taking you back.” He said, his tone matching his face.
DG took a deep, shuddery breath and gave him the most furious expression she could muster which really wasn’t much. “Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but leave me the hell alone!”
“Don’t play games with me, Princess.” He growled.
“I don’t have time for this. Jeb!” she called.
The effect was instantaneous. The moment Jeb’s name was uttered, Cain’s grip slackened their death grip on her arms and she broke free. Weaving her way through the backstage area, she bolted to the stage door. Jeb moved to stop her but she cut him off.
“Jeb, your dad’s gone psycho trying to get me! I don’t know what his problem is, but he’s seriously freaking me out! I’ve got to get away from him!”
Jeb looked confused, but he moved from the doorway and DG darted through, heedless of Cain’s shouts for her to stop. Breathless, she stepped into an alley and popped back to her room.
Chapter Three
Still breathing hard, DG quickly undid her disguise, paling her skin, curling and darkening her hair, and rounding her face. As quickly as she could, she changed out of her dress and into her pajamas: a plain black cami and a pair of black and pink happy bunny pants. As she scrubbed the makeup off her face, she tried to slow her breathing. Running a comb through her now-black hair, she sighed as she thought back to her encounter with Cain. When she was singing, she could have sworn he actually cared about her. But then when he talked to her afterwards, he had made it blatantly obvious that she was a chore, and an unruly, exasperating one at that. The false hope had hurt more then the initial pain. DG took a shuddery breath, threw the brush down she had been attacking her hair with and strode out onto her balcony to try and calm down. In her hysterics, she didn’t hear Cain come into her room, didn’t see him standing silently in the doorframe of her balcony. Softly, sadly, DG began to sing.
Say you’re sorry
That face of an angel
Comes out
Just when you need it to
As I paced
Back and forth
All this time
‘Cause I honestly believed in you
Holding on
The days drag on
Stupid girl
I should’ve known
I should’ve known
I’m not a princess
DG gave a short, hysterical laugh at the irony of that statement.
This ain’t a fairytale
I’m not the one
You sweep off her feet
Lead her up the stairwell
This ain’t Hollywood
This is a small town
I was a dreamer before
You went and let me down
Now it’s too late
For you and your white horse
DG gave another laugh, bitter this time as she remembered Cain riding up to save her on a gorgeous white stallion.
To come around
Maybe I was naïve
Got lost in your eyes
And never really had a chance
My mistake
I didn’t know
To be in love
You had to fight to have the upper hand
I had so many dreams
About you and me
Happy endings
But now I know
I’m not a princess
This ain’t a fairytale
I’m not the one
You sweep off her feet
Lead her up the stairwell
This ain’t Hollywood
This is a small town
I was a dreamer before
You went and let me down
Now it’s too late
For you and your white horse
To come around
And there you are on your knees
Begging for forgiveness
Begging for me
DG didn’t see Cain sink to the ground, didn’t hear him moan softly, didn’t see the sheer, heartbroken agony on his face.
Just like I always wanted
But I’m so sorry
‘Cause I’m not your princess
This ain’t a fairytale
I’m gonna find someone someday
Who might actually treat me well
This is a big world
That was a small town
There in my rearview mirror
Disappearing now
And it’s too late
For you and your white horse
Now it’s too late
For you and your white horse
To catch me now
She didn’t see him straighten up and furiously scrub away the tears on his face and eyes,
Oh, try and catch me now!
didn’t hear him as he silently walked to her bedroom door.
It’s too late to catch me now
Nor did she hear the door open and shut.
It was then that she decided: she would leave the following night.