All Rubber Duckies Go To Heaven

Chapter Six

****Hey guys! This seemed like a nice place to remind anyone that this story is in the Watty awards. If you think it deserves votes, go right on ahead and do so! . I like hearing about my work, what I can do better, what you want to know. It would also be awesome if you could tell others about this story, like a few have already**** ["American Dream" by Silverstein]  and ["Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls (On the side)]

"Could you help me?"

I put the microphone back into the stand and smiled sweetly at Aerin. "What could you possibly need my help with?"

He scowled and held up a mess of wires before tossing them my way. "We have twenty minutes. If you untangle those while I set up that'd be awesome." He jumped off the stage and landed without stumbling.

I sighed and went to work on the wires. I could see why he handed this job off to me; they were practically tied together in knots.. After about fifteen minutes of untangling, frustrated screams, and odd stares from Aerin I called him over to plug the neatly organized wires in. I grabbed the mike again and started singing a Silverstein song.

"It was on her wedding day when my heart began to stray. Never thought I'd make such a big mistake, throw my life away.

"I've gone days without food; I've went weeks without sleep, keeping this in.

"I've got cuts I can't close; I've got wounds that won't heal. It's all your fault.

"I've been shattered and wrecked, my hands covered in blood; scars are my skin.

"I forgot how to feel; Now I'm weak with deceit. My skin is paper this.

"We get through this, feeling it, keeping it, holding it in.

"We go through this over and over again."

As the chorus ended I heard a voice weaving with mine through the speakers. I stopped singing out of shock.

Aerin started to laugh. I glared at him and asked, "Was that you?"

He was sitting on the edge of the stage with his legs hanging over the edge. "No."

My eyes caught onto a trail of wire coming from his lap. I grabbed the rubber chord and pulled it toward me. The mic thudded as it hit the stage and the sound resonated in the speakers behind me.

"Okay," he confessed. "You have a really good voice though!"

I scoffed. "Right."

"That he is."

I jumped at the mystery voice. Someone stood up from their seat in the pews and approached the stage. Aerin hopped off and greeted the guy with a hug. "Trayce! You're back!"

This guy was familiar, a kid from my school. He had dark brown hair with the tips bleached an almost orange color. His eyes were smoldering and chocolate colored, the irises almost melting into his pupils. He was a good seven inches shorter than Aerin and probably ran five inches shorter than my five ten. He wasn't that weakly built. He was wearing dark blue skinnies (not denim) and a Bullet For My Valentine shirt with black and red Vans.

"Yeah man." He had a light Australian accent. "So... Who's the girl?" His last word had the slightest hint of an 'r'.

Aerin stepped aside so Trayce could see me better. "Trayce, this is January. Jan, this is Trayce. He was the first person to hold a conversation with me when school started. He's been in Mexico on a mission trip since July."

"Cool," I commented, try to look laid back by tucking my thumbs into my pockets and shifting the majority of my weight onto my left leg.

"Yeah. It was. So are you the new singer?" Trayce's eyes perked, punctuating his question.