Between Two Fires

^.^ CHAPTER 2 ^.^

I take a deep breath and turn towards the stage, slowly walking towards it. My heart is beating fast and my breath is coming out in short gasp. I take deep breaths, trying to calm myself down, knowing from experience that singing and nerves don't go well together. At that moment I'm glad I changed out of my wet clothes and that my cheeks got a little sun burnt, hiding the blush which would otherwise be rather evident on my pale skin. Every one is cheering, probably already half drunk.

That's right Cyan, they won't even remember this performance in the morning.'The thought helps calm my nerves a little and by the time I get to the stage I have almost convinced myself that this isn't a bad idea. Almost.

 The man on the stage jumps off of the stage, signalling me to go his way. I walk behind the stage to where he jumped to and find that they have the a laptop set up with various audio devices and their music equipment there. He asks me what song I would like to sing and I spot one of my current favorites 'Ciao Adios by Anne Marie' on the list. He asks me to choose between the head set or hand held microphone and I grab the microphone. I turn it on and grab the ear peace, fitting it into my ear and attaching the box to the back of my shorts. The man looks surprised, probably expecting me not to know my way around music equipment. It had been a couple of years since I'd been on stage - but I had never done karaoke. This was a new experience and it felt much more nerve wracking.

He starts the music as I walk up the steps, onto the stage.

'Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah' Noticing my voice is shaking fron the nerves, I breathe deeply to calm mysellf befote the first verse.

  "Ask you once, ask you twice now
There's lipstick on your collar
You say she's just a friend now
Then why don't we call her?
So you wanna go home with someone
To do all the things you used to do to me
I swear, I know you do  "

As the cheers get louder my confidence also rises. The lyrics really hit close to home with what I went through so the emotion behind the lyrics  comes out naturally. Letting loose, I let myself start moving along with the music

Used to take me out in your fancy car
And make out in the rain
And when I ring you up
Don't know where you are  

 The dancing helps calm my nerves, the stress leaving my body as I move across the stage.

 "'Til I hear her say your name
Used to sing along when you played guitar
That's a distant memory
Hope she treats you better than you treated me, ha" 

I notice people coming out of the diner and joining the crowd. I guess my dancing and singing must not suck that much. I let myself go,  forgetting the crowd of people watching and just having fun.

I'm onto you, yeah, you
I'm not your number one
I saw you, with her
Kissing and having fun
If you're giving her all of your money and time

Ciao Adios I'm Done, uh

Ciao Adios I'm Done

Ciao Adios I'm Done.

I keep singing and dancing to the end, the four minutes feeling like seconds as I get lost in the song and memories. Seeing the texts on his phone, the fights we had, the lies and the crying. By the time the song is finished my emotions range between excitement and sadness. Putting all the thoughts of the past few months to the back of my mind I thank the crowd, the cheers exposing a shy smile on my face as I walk off the stage. 

The crowd Boo's as I get off making a nervous laugh come out as I hand the microphone back to the man who pats me on the back and congratulates me. Before I turn to leave he leans closer and shouts in my ear so I can hear him over the music - 

"My name is Jack! Me and my Wife own this diner! I wanted to let you know you were great out there and if you are interested you could come talk to me this weekend and we can give you some stage time! !"Surprised, but flattered, I nod my head in understanding. My hearts going a mile a minute and I can't help but feel excited at the prospect of singing on stage again. I mean I'd sang on stage a couple of times but I never thought I was particularly any good. I just enjoyed it.

"Um, yeah sure! I'll think about it!!" I shout back in his ear,  We nod at each other in a silent agreement and I wave goodbye. 

Making my way into the diner takes longer than expected as a few people stop me to shout how 'AWESOME!' and 'Good' that was. I am about half way through when I get the feeling I am being watched again, like I did earlier at the beach. I know it's completely stupid considering there is a whole crowd of people looking at me but it feels different. Looking to my right I see a group of 6 guys sat around a table. Three of them are looking in my direction and I can't really see any of them clearly due to it being dark and crowded. But one of them particularly catches my eye. His hair looked to be dark brown but I couldn't be sure with the lack of lighting, what catches my attention are his eyes. Although lighting was scarce, his light green eyes were noticeable even from afar. He was talking to his friend but must have felt me staring because he turns and catches me staring.

I'm stuck between wanting to continue staring and feeling embarrassed at being caught. I quickly turn away and rush into the diner. My breathing feeling even more erratic than on stage and my heart pounding in my chest.

'Good Job Cyan!' I think to myself, 'Way to look like a weirdo staring at him' I roll my eyes at myself and head over to the counter. Getting a drink and some fried fish for take away, I pay and hightail it out of there. That was way more excitement than I had expected. I finally arrive to my temporary house and now that the adrenaline is gone I feel the events of the day taking a toll on me. A yawn escapes my mouth as i sit down to have dinner on the couch. Before i can even finish it I fall into a long peacful sleep.