Finding Claire

Chapter 34

I vaguely remember him introducing us to the crowd. All my mind let me focus on were the papers that were forced into my hand and then the two teachers struggling to fix the microphone so it would be high enough for the piano to not interfere, but low enough for me to sing through.

Oh man. Now I was going to throw up.

I felt Nathan's stare as I slowly walked out to the blinding stage and made my way to the waiting teachers. After adjusting the microphone one more time, they left after whispering "good luck" and now we were alone with a good amount of people watching us.

I gulped, looked at all of our relatives and friends staring at us and then slowly looked up and over the piano to Nathan. He was across from me, sitting down, ready for my cue, but I was frozen in fear and I couldn't move my fingers.

The crowd started to whisper and I saw Nathan mouth "You ok?" I shook my head and he looked behind me with wide eyes.

"Come on baby!" I heard my moms voice yell out and I snapped my gaze out, trying to find her. When I finally saw her standing up in the middle of an aisle holding up a camera, she smiled and continued her yells of encouragements. "You can do it!" I searched everywhere for dad, but when I didn't find him, I heard a psssst from Nathan and I looked at him.

Behind you.

I turned around and saw my dad standing there, looking at me with raised eyebrows. "Well, are you going to play or not?" he asked. "I didn't come to hear you freak out. I came to hear you, okay baby girl. Just take deep breaths and play. It's ok." Right besides him, Hope stood up wobbly and still pale, giving me a thumbs up. She sighed, looked out toward the crowd and almost passed out again if my dad hadn't caught her. "Go!"

I turned back around, took deep breaths and spoke out to the microphone. "Sorry. I'm just nervous."

I heard many chuckles and I blushed as some murmured, "We understand honey."

After one more breath made its way from the top of my head to my toes, I gave Nathan the cue and he began to play. The crowd immediately went silent and when he started to repeat the few measures he just played, I forced my finger on to the keys and started to play with him.

"The day we met,
Frozen I held my breath
Right from the start
I knew that I'd found a home for my heart..."

My voice slightly cracked at that word, but it didn't sound bad. It actually sounded like it was meant to be like that and with my voice slightly trembling, it made it even better. More.... believable.

"... beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave?
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow

One step closer"

When he sang that line with me, I looked right at him and saw him looking right back at me. We took a moment of silence, and as everything stood still, I cracked a small smile and he smiled back at me before I continued with my solo.

"I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more"

With the pedals underneath, I made the piano start to play soft so you could actually hear Nathan play and sing his solo. His only solo.

"Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this"

As he sang this, he looked right at me and a slight blush spread across my cheeks as look down at my hands. I softly heard the awwws and one grunt from around me and I smiled again.

"One step closer

I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more

And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more..."

As we "ooed" and swayed along with the short free style we had, the crowd cheered and I began to laugh. Nathan smiled and then we both got serious as I started again after the few lyrics together.

"I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more"

Before our final words together, I looked up at him, he looked up at me and I couldn't help myself as I thought of how this would have happened if we had still been together. Would it have been the same? Would the song have had more feelings than it has right now? The same questions ran over and over in my head, knowing I would never get the answers for them. I wish I knew the answers, but what I had was currently occurring and I couldn't change that, even if I wanted to.

"And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more"

I slowly trailed off the piano until it was just Nathan playing the same measures from the beginning, over and over again until it just slowly hung in the air. There were a few seconds of silence and then the whole room exploded into applause.

I stood up, walked to the middle of the stage, grabbed Nathan's outstretched hand and bowed together. Or in my case curtsied with him.

"That's my princess!" I heard my dad yell and I giggled. I ripped my hand from Nathan's and ran to the stage, jumping into his arms as he twirled me around as everyone clapped. He kissed my forehead and then set me down. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks dad," I murmured and turned around when Nathan started to speak.

"I'll just save the teachers the time and words and just introduce myself again," he spoke. Everyone slowly got quiet and he continued as students pushed the piano away and arranged the guitar in the middle with a spotlight. "My name is Nathan Williams-"

"That's my baby boy!" I heard his mother screech and everyone laughed. I chuckled myself as Nathan got red and he mumbled something that sounded like, "Thanks mom."

"Anyways," he stuttered embarrassed and cleared his throat. "Like I was saying my name is Nathan Williams and I will be closing out the show. The song I will be playing and singing for you all tonight.... is special to me...... and to someone else I like to call Cinderella."

I froze.