Fill My Empty Spaces

Part 5 - The Bar Debacle

"The place is really going tonight," someone said as the car door opened and she stepped out. Her parents were waiting by the entrance. No sign of Michael, and she was gonna ask her mother where he was when they were whisked inside as if it is was a hurry. Annoyed, she stared down the security guy, but kept her posture and followed the line inside. She already got a bad feeling from the approach by the staff.

"Where's Mickey?" she asked her mother and grabbed her shoulder.

"He was in the other car. So I don't know." Cynthia tried to articulate the words behind her mask, but as soon as they entered the bar the volume drowned out all possible ways to communicate at a decent volume.

"What do you mean, you don't know? Why would he disappear?"

"Stef. I don't know. Give him a call. He was gonna pick something up." Cynthia looked at all the people pushing closer and sounded a little worried. "Is this even OK? I meant the table..." She moved between the tables to sit next to Natali on the couch.

Gaga only just then noticed they were sitting in the middle of the dining area and she was so confused she had no time to react before she had a menu in her hand.

"Pick something up? But..." she felt a cold shiver down her back, decided to ignore it and instead turned to look at the commotion behind her back when she realized it was because of her. Someone very loudly said her name and she turned her head down to look at the menu, knowing instantly that it would never work.

She focused on the letters but they just kept jumping around the page and she turned her head up to look at the others while she heard the volume of the crowd behind her go louder. They all seemed to understand what she was thinking because they stopped talking to each other and looked at her as if they waited for her to decide what was going to happen next. She shook her head just a little as if to say sorry and took her phone out.

Cynthia leaned closer. "It's OK, we can leave if you want to. It's no big deal."

Gaga let the signals on her phone go through until she heard Michael's voice.

"I don't know where you are, but there's no point in you coming here," she told him.

"I'm outside. What's going on?" he asked and she could barely hear him. "Are you OK?"

"We're leaving. It's too much. I don't think they have any idea how many people they've let in. This place is too crowded. I just have to tell Brian we're leaving." She ended the call and told her mother across the table, "Wait here." She turned around and muttered. "If it's possible."

She started walking across the crowded floor and literally waded through people with their phones out until she reached the bar room divider that served as a standing table area between the dining tables and the stage. It was even more packed with people that decided to close in as soon as she stopped. She could see faces, everywhere, in a blur. Some screaming, some gawking and staring at their brightly lit screens. When she waved to get Brian's attention as the music stopped, she understood she had a minute or maybe less to say bye before they would be all over her. She felt like an object. They didn't even talk to her, they just stared or screamed at her. At this point she couldn't even hear what they said. It was a just a crowd of hollow faces, open mouths and shining white eyeballs.

"Brian, I'm so sorry! We have to leave, I-" she tried to talk normally across the bar, but Brian made a gesture to his ear that he had no way of hearing what she said. She tried waving, blew kisses and raised her voice. "I love you, good luck tonight! I'm so sorry, but we can't stay!" Then she tilted her head slightly to the side and tried to hear what he shouted back to her but it was all drowned out and she sighed.

Ten more people leaning to get selfies and shouting at her to get on stage. She could feel them closing in behind her, their body heat nearly suffocating her. Brian saw her distress, made a circle using his hand as in telling her he'd go around and meet her on the side. She started moving, avoided eye contact but just got phones shoved in her face instead. People stepped into her path to take selfies with her in the background as soon as she passed.

Brian instantly gently grabbed her arm as soon as they were face to face and shielded her as they spoke. Relieved she turned her ear towards his face to hear him tell her it was OK. He understood. She raised her head, tried to apologize again but he quickly told her it wasn't her fault. People had no idea how intrusive they were as they filmed their conversation so she tried to make it brief, and made a simple gesture telling him she'd call him.

"It was supposed to be a fun time, a nice closure to a magical week," Bearden muttered and made way for him and Gaga's mother and sister towards the exit. The security that weren't there earlier suddenly appeared and held off a whole bunch of drunk people that were packed along the walls in the corridor.

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