Dark Paradise - Joel Miller x OC

Mirror

­­|Don't make me sad, don't make me cry

Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough

I don't know why|

At the back of the room, Maria is seated at one of the tables. Taking advantage of being in the dark, far from everyone's eyes, she lets her emotions free themselves as they please, crying without fear of being seen. She mourns a lost time, a regained time. When everything was easier. When Joel was there, when they were still all united and happy.

She thought no one had seen her, and yet it was wrong. He has seen it all. His heart sank, knowing that she felt the same way he did. He looks at Chloe again, drawing courage from her. If she were able to get back on stage, he could go and sit next to his ex-wife.

He settles in silence next to Maria. He raises his hand then puts it back down, not daring to touch the one that had meant so much to him. She avoids his gaze but is glad to have him near her. She feels so lonely. Despite Chloe's invaluable help, she constantly feels tired of carrying the community on her shoulders. With Tommy, the burden had always been easier to bear.

|You and I, we were born to die|

Chloe's voice dies away in a hiss, quickly greeted by applause from the audience. She still can't look at them. She doesn't have the strength yet. She hesitates to come down, but her friend begs her silently. One last song.

Without giving her time to think, Molly puts her hands on the piano to sing Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the heart. Chris does the backing vocals, hoping their friend will follow them. Chloe has her eyes lowered to the ground, trying to collect her wits for this song that is going to hurt her, like all the others before. As the music races, her voice carries powerfully.

|I need you now tonight

I need you more than ever

And if you only hold me tight

We'll be holding on forever|

She looks up at the audience for the first time. She sees the emotion, the smiles, a few dancing couples. As she watches the crowd, her eyes widen. In a corner, Maria and Tommy are dancing too, out of sight. It's more of a hug than a real dance, the man never having fully recovered his physical abilities. But they seem happy. She laughs a little with joy, her wet eyes turned to the sky. See Joel, good things still happen down here.

|Once upon a time I was falling in love

Now I'm only falling apart

Once upon a time there was light in my life

But now there's only love in the dark|

She can't hold back her emotions now, tears streaming down her cheeks, but her voice remaining strong. She continues to sing, tearing her vocal cords out, her eyes riveted on an invisible point in the sky. As if she wanted him to hear it. To feel all her distress, each day that passes painful like the previous one.

­­|Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time

I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark

I really need you tonight

Forever's gonna start tonight ­