"Are you ready for tonight Chilly??? :D" Steven excitedly texted me right after I woke up this morning. I responded with a simple "yes :)" and began to get ready for school. Today's Friday, but it's a special Friday. Tonight's the night of the talent show that Steven and I are competing in.
And yes, it's going to be a competition, and a tough one. There will be twenty performances, broken up evenly by grades, and then the winners in each grade will be judged against each other for the overall win. The overall winners get a trophy, medals, and a picture on the school wall of fame. The grade winners just get medals, and everyone else gets ribbons. Mr. Joseph, the band director, the chorus teacher, and the dance teacher are all judging it. Mr. Joseph and Officer Dun are even performing together at the beginning to start the show, so that'll be pretty... interesting.
As I got dressed and thought about the show, I felt a knot grow in my stomach. Yes, I can't be more excited to share the spotlight with my amazing boyfriend. But I'm also nervous about being seen in front of the whole school. Imagine it, the new kid from New York comes in and helps sweep the entire talent show. It would make a great underdog story, but I doubt it would ever happen.
I came downstairs for a quick breakfast, and was greeted by Dad and Cielo, who were also excited about tonight.
"Anthony!" she squealed, running up to me for a surprise hug. "Excited about tonight?"
"Yes," I responded, my voice sounded a little strained by her arms wrapped tightly around my neck. "Now, can you let me go?"
She climbed down and I was greeted by the smell of croissants in the kitchen. "Thought you'd like a hot breakfast on a big day."
"Dad, this is nice and all but it's a high school talent show, not my wedding day."
"Well, I'll just make you and Steven croissants that morning too." I blushed and Cielo giggled at Dad already planning mine and Steven's future wedding. I ate a couple of them before I ran back upstairs to finish getting ready. I threw on my over-shirt and grabbed my bag, being the first out to the car.
On the way there, I reflected on the last six months at Granite Hills. In a couple weeks I went from being a complete stranger to having the best friends and the best boyfriend I could ever ask for. In two months we'll have summer vacation, then we all get to come back for senior year. It's a scary thought, but I'm ready to face it head-on.
When we arrived, Cielo and I walked in to see the line-up list in the lobby. A whole crowd of students were standing around it and making bets on who they knew. I found an open spot and pushed my way through, scanning the list for our name.
13. Anthony Mariani and Steven Royale - Bullet for My Valentine, "Forever and Always"
"Oooh, lucky number 13," Cielo chuckled. "Have fun with that!"
"I'm not scared," I retorted. I lied. I'm slightly superstitious but not like that. It's just a number, right? Yeah, not a big deal at all.
"Sure you are, Anthony. Anyway, I'm off to class. See you at 3!" She waved and ran off down the hall, and I quickly returned the wave. I turned around and saw Tom walking with Johanna. They noticed me and I ran to catch up to them.
"Hey there, Anthony," Johanna greeted, patting my shoulder with her free hand while the other was tangled in Tom's. "Ready for tonight?"
I chuckled. "Of course. Little nervous, but I'm excited too." If only I had a dollar for every time I get asked that today...
"Dude, you got this," Tom followed up. "You guys have been practicing for the last month. You can do it!"
"Yeah, and you know we'll be around to cheer you on."
"True, you should see the sign we all made for it."
I cocked my head in confusion. "You made a sign? Like, one of those big signs people take to concerts and stuff?"
He thought about it. "Well, it's not that big..."
Johanna mumbled, "that's what she said", under her breath, making Tom blush and me laugh. We made it to our hall and he let her go, giving her a quick kiss before having to leave. The two of us continued to talk about tonight, and our plans to meet up at my house with In N' Out after it's over.
My nervousness faded away, especially after I saw Steven at lunch. He had a smile on his face and I could see his fingers practicing how to strum the notes. With all of our friends and family there to support us, I know we'll do great.
~~~
The school day is over and I make my way to the front to wait for Steven. We don't have to be back on campus for the show until 6:30, and it starts at 7:30, so I'm going home with him to get ready. I join Cielo at our usual spot while he came from the other end of school.
"Hey, Mr. Superstar," she greeted, twirling her earbud. "Still excited?"
"You bet. I'm just waiting on my duet partner to show up."
"Awww, cute! You'll do fine, don't worry."
"You should have entered, Ci-Ci. You would blow everyone away."
She scrunched her nose and shook her head. "Maybe next year. I didn't wanna go up against you and split Dad's loyalty."
I chuckled and pinched her side, then felt as a pair of hands covered my eyes. "Hey Chilly Willy," Steven whispered. He then spoke normally, "Hey, Cielo."
She waved and he removed his hands. I stood up to collect my bag. "See you later, Ci-Ci. Don't forget, doors open at 6:45."
"Got it," she mumbled when Dad's car pulled up. "See you then!"
We headed to Steven's car in the almost-empty parking lot. I crawled in the front seat and threw my bag in the back. Steven came in a second later and buckled up, another huge smile crossing his face.
"What?" I asked playfully. "You're always smiling at me, you weirdo."
"With a boyfriend this handsome, I have every right to be." I sneaked him a cheek peck before he pulled out onto the main road to his house. The drive to his house was pretty quiet, but I could tell that Steven had something on his mind that was more than just the show. At the last red light before his road, I reached over and brushed his arm, catching his attention.
"Are you okay, babe?" I asked. "You seem a little tense."
"I'm fine. It's just... I'm ready to stop hiding, Anthony. And with us going on stage in front of half our classmates, I'm feeling a little nervous. I don't want to hide who we are anymore. And I definitely don't care what anyone has to say about us."
"So, do you want to come out? As in, all the way? Are you comfortable with doing that?"
He nodded. "I'm comfortable as long as you are."
We pulled into his driveway and I pulled him over the center console for a kiss. "Then I'm ready too." He smiled, which will always cause my worries to go away. "As long as I have you by my side, I can pull through anything."
We stayed at his house for the next three hours, practicing through a couple times, listening to other music, and getting dressed. I decided to wear a blue button-up, my bow tie from Valentine's Day, and dark jeans. It's nothing too fancy, but it was the style we agreed on.
While I stood in front of the mirror styling my slightly gelled hair, I heard a tap on the door frame. Steven stood there, fresh out of the shower, in his white button-up, black blazer, and black slacks, with the top button of his shirt undone. He chose not to wear a bow tie, which I was okay with. "Hello, handsome," he greeted in a sultry tone.
"I should say the same to you, my good sir." I opened my arms and he came to them, wrapping his around my waist. I swayed us back and forth, causing him to let out a deep sigh.
"Anthony," he breathed. "I'm so excited for tonight, you have no idea."
I nodded in agreement and gave him a kiss. "Me too. Hey, what does this remind you of?"
He thought about it for a second. "Homecoming?"
I shook my head, but he had a good point. "I was actually thinking about Valentine's Day. That was the best night I'd had in a long time."
"Glad I could help, babe," he smirked, pinching my hips. Every big night I've had with him has been the best I'd ever had. Just the thought of that got me more and more fired up for the show.
"Anyway," I mumbled after we finally pulled away. "I think we should get going."
Steven nodded in agreement and picked up his guitar case. He slung it over his shoulder and led me out of the room. The way he was dressed and walking, he looked like such a pro guitarist.
I really am a lucky guy.
[Time skip to school]
I took a seat in the junior practice room while Steven ran to make a quick bathroom trip. Mr. Joseph and the judges gave us a short briefing in the auditorium, and now the crowd is starting to come in. Being the only other person in there, I grabbed my phone and plugged in my headphones, listening to the song one last time. While I had my back turned, I heard the large door behind me crack, followed by a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't be so nervous, Anthony," Cielo muttered with a smile. "You're gonna do great." Dad followed her, carrying a small container of cannolis. Behind him were Scarlett and Steven's parents, with his mom carrying a bundle of roses.
"Hey, guys," I greeted, taking out my headphones. "What are you doing here?"
"We're here to wish our favorite boys good luck," Steven's mom answered and handed me the roses. "Where's Stevie?"
Before I could answer, Steven came in and his face lit up in a smile. "Hey everyone. What's up?"
"Steven! We're so excited for you two!" She pulled him down and gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Your dad and I brought you some roses, and Mr. Mariani brought you a snack he made."
Dad handed Steven the cannolis. "Can't perform on an empty stomach."
"Dad, more food? Could you be a little more Italian?" He laughed and pulled me into a hug. Steven's parents did the same to him, and together it was a nice family moment. Thinking about what Dad said about making us croissants on our wedding day, it felt like it had already come.
"Well, anyway," Steven's dad finally spoke. "We should be getting out of here soon. That place is really filling up."
My eyes grew big. "R-really?"
"Oh, don't worry, Anthony. We got us a couple talented boys on our hands, you'll be fine."
"I saw Tom and John out there with their girlfriends, said they were waiting for the other Anthony. I guess we're gonna be sitting with them," Cielo added.
Steven's mom joked, "You've got your own cheering squad." Our dads and Cielo headed to the door, Scarlett staying behind to grab their mom's hand. "Good luck. By the way, you two look so handsome!" They left when the last person in our age group came in and we took a seat against the wall. By then we had little over half an hour before it started.
I leaned back and sighed. Steven put his arm around me, leaning against me. "Still nervous?"
Finally, I got the confidence to shake my head no. "Not at all. And hey, even if we don't win, at least we tried."
Steven nodded and leaned against my shoulder. "That's the spirit, Anthony."
~~~
At long last, 7:30 rolled around and all of us contestants poured into the lecture hall to wait for our turns and watch the show on a livestream. The stage was dark and so was our room. There was some mumbling in both rooms but at the same time it was eerily quiet.
The lights came up and Mr. McCoy, one of the judges for the show, came up to the mic. He grabbed it and bapped it a few times to see if it was on.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 20th annual Granite Hills High talent show." He paused to give the audience time to cheer. "We got a great line-up for you tonight and I have the privilege of being your MC and one of your judges for the night. While only one act will walk away with the title of victor, I can assure you that everyone performing tonight is extremely talented in their own special way. So, without any further ado, I would like you to give a warm welcome to our pre-show openers, two of our very own staff, Principal Joseph, and Officer Dun."
(A/N: For full effect for this next part, listen to "The Judge" by Twenty One Pilots.) Both crowds cheered loudly and the lights came up on stage. Officer Dun, changed out of his usual police uniform into a tattoo-revealing tank top, took his place at the drumset, while Principal Joseph stood at the microphone with his ukulele. As soon as the crowd grew quiet, Mr. Joseph strummed the first few notes of the original song they recorded. After the end of the almost five minute song, every student in the room realized that we had all met a new side of our principal.
"Ladies and gentlemen, another round of applause for these two fine musicians!" Mr. McCoy cheered into the microphone to a roaring crowd. The first act of the freshman class group took the stage soon after, when I felt Steven lump his head onto my shoulder.
"Tired already, bud?" I asked in a hushed voice.
He shook his head no. "Just trying to catch a catnap."
I brushed his hair back and left him alone to rest. I zoned out myself until around act 11, when a student volunteer called our names.
"Anthony Mariani and Steven Royale, you guys are on deck." As soon as I heard the call, I woke up Steven and helped him up, handing him his guitar. We reached the edge of the stage right after the person before us went on and waited, excitement building up.
Steven turned and buried his head in my shoulder. "Anthony, I'm nervous," he admitted.
I took his hand in the dark of the curtains. "It's okay. I'll be right here with you. We worked hard for this, we can do it." We heard clapping at that moment and knew that it was our time. "Ready?"
He nodded. "You know it."
"Okay, give it up for our next pair in the junior class rank, Steven and Anthony!" Mr. McCoy announced to the cheering crowd. I dropped his hand and gave him a reassuring smile as we entered the bright spotlight. I distinctly heard GaLm shout our names while everyone else settled down. It wasn't too hard to find our group in the front row by the looks of the sign Tom was holding.
Steven took a seat at the stool in front of a lowered microphone, while I stood a few feet away at the taller one. We locked eyes and I gave him the cue to start. The moment he started playing, I could tell that all of his worries melted away. The music flowed through him and he was nothing but focused. On the other hand, my stomach butterflies fluttered on while I waited to come in during the first 45 seconds. But as soon as I began and the words came out, the same thing happened to me. We reflected each other's energies as the song progressed, his background vocals syncing perfectly with mine.
My part was soon over and I stepped back to watch Steven continue to play for his solo. He looked up from his guitar and stared out at the crowd, then turned to me who had been staring at him the entire time. He smiled at me and I returned it, wiping away a stray tear. Our friends, some of the only few people who know who we really are, cheered for us during our couple moment. You know what, I'm proud of him, and I'm proud of us. And I want the whole world to know who we really are.
I caught my last cue in the last few seconds of the song, a simple repeating of the title, and Steven finally stopped strumming. The entire crowd cheered loudly and we even received a standing ovation, from them and the judges. Steven stood up and left his guitar on the stool, running over to me. I stooped down and caught him mid-jump, making everyone cheer louder.
Then I did it. I kissed him on his cheek. It was a small gesture, but I felt like I had done something wrong when everyone got a little quieter. It didn't occur to me how many homophobes may have been in the audience. I took his hand in mine and we stood and turned to the front slowly to bow.
"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Tom shouted, making the crowd cheer and get on their feet again. It was as if nothing wrong had even happened. Our smiles returned and we headed off the stage back to the lecture hall to finish the show. I didn't even drop his hand. I had never felt more happy to be alive.
"How do you think we did, Chilly Willy?" he asked me.
I turned to him and planted a kiss on his forehead. "We totally nailed it."
[Time skip to the end of the show]
Steven and I, as well as the rest of the contestants, gathered on the stage after the almost two hour show. We stood in our class groups, waiting to see who the judges were going to call out. Mr. Joseph and the other judges came in and took their place in the front center row after deciding.
"Before we read the results, my fellow judges and I would like to point out that this was the best group of talent we've had in the history of this show. This is the third show I have judged since becoming principal here and this is the first time we've had this hard a time picking winners. So congrats to everyone, but unfortunately we only have to pick four, and then one."
I grabbed Steven's hand, which was just as clammy as mine, as he read the freshman and sophomore winners. Then he reached our group.
"And the winners of the junior class rank are... Anthony Mariani and Steven Royale!" We jumped in unison when our names were called and our cheer squad screamed in joy. We stepped out and joined the other victors who congratulated us, and we were soon joined by the senior class winners.
Mr. Joseph came up on stage, followed by two other judges carrying the trophy and medals. While they gave all the winners their medals, Mr. Joseph took the trophy and a microphone.
"Okay, everyone. It's down to you four. Once again, all of you are extremely talented in your own ways, but we can only pick one." He scanned all four groups, mine and Steven's being the smallest, and finally stopped at us. "Our overall winners for tonight are... our junior class winners, Steven and Anthony!"
I picked up Steven, who had already begun to shed tears of joy. Mr. Joseph handed us our trophy and the microphone in case we wanted to say anything.
"Well," I started, taking Steven under my arm. "Neither one of us expected this to be happen, to be honest. We came in as the underdogs and... wow. The competition was tough, but we did it. Thank you to the judges, and a big congrats to everyone else tonight."
The auditorium soon cleared out and we were left on stage. Our group came up and celebrated with us.
"Anthony!" Cielo squealed, running up to me and wrapping her arms around my neck. "You guys did it, I'm so proud!"
"Yeah, congrats guys," Smarty followed. "By the way, was that kiss intentional?"
I thought about it. "Yep. I mean, how could I not be so proud of him?" I kissed him again, and our group awww'd. We took a group picture, then Mr. Joseph and a photographer came up on stage.
"Okay, everyone," he announced. "We need to take their picture and clean up soon if you don't mind."
Our group nodded and gave us all hugs, then left us alone for our victory picture. Tom is going by In N Out for our food, and everyone is meeting at my house later. I took Steven under my arm and held our trophy in front of us for the picture. After taking a couple, they let us go.
Steven and I made it to his car and checked the time: 9:45 PM. Before Steven started the engine, I reached over and gave him a kiss.
"I'm so proud of you, Stevie," I whispered.
"Well, I couldn't have done it alone. It was thanks to you and downtown. Remember?"
We had made plans to do this since our first date downtown. "I do. But still, you did the most work. Now, ready to head home?"
He nodded and started his car, pulling out onto the main road. The ride was filled with small chatter, but it was cut short before we could reach my house.
"Steve-!" I shouted, but was cut short before we were hit nearly head-on by a driver trying to swerve out of our lane. Steven made a wrong turn while trying to avoid them, and I took the entire brunt of the impact. Our car spun and came to a stop in a ditch about 10 minutes from home.
"Anthony!" Steven shouted, his voice cracking as he reached over to me. My entire side was totaled, and I could feel the twisted metal poking in my side. "Anthony, stay with me, please."
I moaned in pain as I felt the blood flow out of my side. My arm was bleeding too, littered by shards of broken glass. "S-Ste-ven," I muttered, beginning to fade in and out.
"No!" Steven shouted, trying to keep me awake. "Anthony! Stay awake! I'm gonna call for help, don't worry." Steven pushed out of his door and ran out to call for help. I tried to cover the gash in my side to stop the bleeding, but my hand was only being covered with more blood.
I reflected on everything that had happened. I was coming off the high of my life, then it was all shattered in an instant. It all happened so fast that I had no time to react. Then I thought about Dad and Cielo, and our friends who were going to be waiting on us to come home. They'll have no other choice but to find out sooner or later, and my heart was breaking for them as I thought about how they would react.
I could faintly hear the end of Steven's conversation with the 911 operator, then he poked through my broken window.
"S-Stev-en," I muttered again. "It h-hurts, s-s-so much."
"I know it does, baby," he comforted me through his tears. "But help's on their way. You'll be fine, I promise. Just... hang on, okay?" He took my hand in his, not even minding the blood. I took my other one to replace it, and it soon turned red too.
"Stev-en?" I asked.
"Yes, Anthony?"
"This was a crazy night, huh?" Even now while I'm fading in and out of consciousness, I'm trying to keep his spirits up.
"I'm so sorry, Anthony. I should have taken the hit. If only I'd turned the other way..." He cried again, beating himself up over this accident.
"It's okay, Steven. I know you didn't mean it..." My voice faded away slowly and I closed my eyes again. I was beginning to get light-headed from the blood loss and staying awake was nearly impossible.
"Anthony? Anthony! Stay awake, please! I can see the help now! They're on their way, just... don't leave me, Anthony."
Don't leave me, Anthony. That was the last thing I heard before I saw the flashing blue and red lights, and then... nothing.
(A/N: Okay, guys... as much as I hate to do this, I'm gonna leave you with a cliffhanger. I promise, everything will get better soon.)