Picture on the side is of the Band once again, and the song is 'My Immortal' by Evanescence :D
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Chapter 3
“Calm down, Zo!” I shouted at my best friend as she ran around in our room back stage, attempting to make everything ‘perfect’ in a flustered state.
This was how she always got before a gig, shrouding her nervousness with an obsessive need to run around to double, then triple, check everything was set up right, and no amount of reassurance that everything was as it should be calmed her down.
But with the last contestant before us only minutes away from finishing up his performance, I had to get her under control and ready.
“Calm down? Calm down!” She all but screamed in my face while she stood on her toes to meet my eyes directly. “Just be glad I have utter respect for my Alpha because the things that will come out of my mouth right now…”
Stacey and I exchanged an exasperated look before I grabbed her shoulders just as she was about to go into another frenzy and shook her as hard as I could in my normal way in getting her to snap out of it. Her head tipped back and forward until I stopped and just gently held her in my arms while she calmed down.
I could tell by having her in my arms she cooled down slightly. She would have been better if Matt had been in here, but of course he and Leon weren’t going to get changed in the same room as us. I pulled away slightly so I could look into her large chocolate eyes and make sure my words soothed her.
“Do you trust me?” I asked her. She nodded almost straight away. “Then do you really think I will let you suck out there?”
She sighed and shook her head, making me do a victory dance in my head at how easy that one was. Normally I had to try other tactics…
I smiled indulgently at her and kissed her cheek just as someone knocked on the door. All three of us quickly put on our robes to cover our dresses before shouting, “Come in!”
Dad and two other men came in, but stopped short as they looked at Zoey and Stacey politely, obviously not wanting to talk in front of my fellow band members.
“Um guys, why don’t you go find Matt and Leon and tell them I will meet you guys when our time to go on stage comes up.” I said without looking at them, too busy staring at Dad and wondering what was going on.
Stacey and Zoey immediately nodded and went out of the door quickly knowing instantly something important was up.
My father stepped further inside with the two strangers, my eyes instinctively taking in the fact that the older male moved in step with my father rather than behind him as was custom when lower ranking wolves were with an Alpha male or female.
That was when it all clicked together. They were from the Moon Pack.
Then I cringed mentally. Well duh! They obviously weren’t from my pack, and no other werewolf packs were invited.
I looked toward the eldest one, and almost immediately recognised him as the Alpha of the Moon Pack. The Alpha was a large man, though slightly shorter than my dad, and was well built as was the custom for male wolves. The only signs of aging were in the form of the small grey strands that decorated his short chocolate coloured hair and the worry lines that marked his face.
Dad cleared his throat and I realised that I had been just standing like an idiot and staring at the Alpha whilst in deep thought, totally being rude.
“Sorry, where are my manners?” I said as I quickly put my fist on my heart and bowed my head to the Alpha to show respect.
Dad smiled and so did the Alpha, both seeming proud but I had no idea why. It was custom to salute to a leader you have just met so not to show disrespect and cause angst between packs.
“A mighty girl you have here Michael, truly excellent.” The Alpha said to my father with a grin.
“Didn’t I tell ya? Bold, talented and stubborn she may be, but she still has respect for her elders.” My dad said with his customary barely-there smile.
The Alpha nodded his head in agreement, my slight blush being the only indication of my discomfort as my eyes burned with curiosity as to why they were complimenting me.
Dad saw my confusion and immediately made introductions.
“Mitchie this is the Alpha of the Moon Pack, Peter Woods, and his son and Beta, Derek Woods.”
I looked at the man who was standing slightly behind his father, guilt arising at the fact that I had all but forgotten he was there. My eyes drifted up and down his form unconsciously, my sight fixated on him while my mind attempted to fully register the specimen before us, whose own eyes seemed to be glued on me too.
He was very handsome, I’d give him that.
With his flawless honey toned skin, silky shoulder-length chocolate coloured hair and a towering height that matched my brothers with the same ripped but not bulky build, he was unlike anyone I’d ever met and would probably ever meet.
But it was his eyes that had me so…well mesmerised by him. Beautiful sparkly blue eyes with flecks of green mingled exquisitely within the many shades of the main iris, stared into my own – and if it wasn’t for my Dad once again clearing his throat to gain my attention, I would have still stood there happily gazing up at him.
“I do apologise Mitchie, for the sudden contest.” Dad started to say, and I raised my brow at him in confusion. “I heard what Zoey said.”
“Oh, well you know what she’s like before a contest, she gets really nervous – though I have no idea why since we always win.”
As soon as I said it, all three of the men’s eyes lit up, though I swore Dad’s held a slight sadness to them, but I ignored it. My mind was puzzled enough, and if I didn’t stop reading into everything I wouldn’t be able to clear my mind before I went on stage.
“Well that’s good. Then I hope she doesn’t mind that the second half of the contest will be tomorrow.” This time Alpha Peter replied, and I was surprised at the sort of gruffness he had in his voice.
I just shook my head, my lips turning up at the corners in a slight smile. “We figured as much, and have already decided what to do.”
My eyes had been on the clock as I had answered and I suddenly felt a jolt of nervousness/ panic, go through me when I saw that there was only a minute left till our time came to go on stage.
“Shoot!” I cried as I ran past them, before the politeness ingrained in me made me instantly back track to the room to excuse myself properly and then full on sprint in my heels toward the stage.
They were all pacing nervously as I approached, but calmed when they saw me speeding toward them.
“Finally!” They exclaimed and I laughed and shrugged out of my robe, giving it to one of the pack members who had volunteered to work backstage.
I quickly looked down at my outfit, soothing down the skirt to my simple black knee-length, one shouldered dress, pulling at the slight trail at the back so that it flowed perfectly to the ground. Then I pulled up the lacy material of my arm glove so that it covered the flesh up to my elbow before readjusting the red artificial roses that I had pinned on the ankle straps of my black heels. I patted my hair to make sure the curls that had been put in it hadn’t been disrupted from the small run I had had to go on, my hands instantly rubbing together to get rid of the glitter on my palms from the shimmer spray that I had put onto my black hair so that it would sparkle under the lights on stage. From the slight weight on my face, I knew that my dark make-up was still in place; my eye-lids heavy with the black shadow and eyeliner placed on it, my lips warm from the dark red lipstick painted on them, and my cheek bones still adjusting to the sticky underside of the red gemstones that Stacey had placed on them in a swirly pattern that matched the material of my glove.
I looked at my band after my own quick check was complete, making sure we were all dressed the part before we were announced. Zoey and Stacey were dressed the same as me, except their dresses didn’t have a trail at the end and the gemstones on their faces were in a different colour; purple for Zoey and electric blue for Stacey. Leon and Matt were dressed in similar black jeans and shirts, but their shirts had swirling patterns at the bottom and could only be seen when the light reflected on them which would make them turn neon green or yellow.
“Is everything set up?” I asked them, knowing that the effect that we had planned wouldn’t go down good if nothing had been double checked to make sure everything was in place.
Leon nodded reassuringly, “Yep the piano, drums and guitars are all set up. The fan machine is ready to go after everyone plays.”
I climbed up on one of the steps so that I could see the stage without the crowd seeing me, all whilst mentally running through the lyrics I had to sing whilst making sure that I remembered the notes I had to play. The stage was set so that the piano was in the middle, the drums were on the right and the guitarists would be on the left. It would be a disaster if the gang had to play behind me when the effect came in and that’s why the drums were where they were instead of the almost traditional position of them being at the back of the other band members.
Then my eyes drifted over to look at the crowd, instantly widening as shock ran through me at how easily the packs were all mingling and socialising. I could even see some people making out. I sincerely hope they cut it out when we get up on stage because that would just be rude.
Just then, Lucy, who was presenting everyone before they went onto stage, came on stage wearing a dark-red, full sleeved dress that reached mid-thigh and emphasised her amazing long legs. Hmm, I wonder what my over-protective brother thought of that.
But I didn’t get long to ponder on that thought because Stacey and Zoey suddenly grabbed my hands while Leon and Matt stood directly behind them as they prepared to go onto the stage.
“Now, last but not least…the ones you’ve all been waiting for… it’s R.E.D.!” Lucy exclaimed and the response of the audience was immediate, the applause deafening, and I could say with certainty that it was the loudest applause ever given to us.
Then I quickly remembered that though we may have not been talking before, most members of the Moon Pack still went to some of our gigs and were big fans of our band.
I gulped slightly as we climbed on to stage, though I made sure that my face looked confident and expressionless, as did the others. After all, the number one rule of entertainment was to never show nervousness or fear because that would ruin whatever performance you had planned and the audience wouldn’t respect you.
I sat down on the stool in front of the piano and made sure I wasn’t sitting on my trail and it was instead out and flowing behind me. Then I began to play the keys, the applause and lights instantly dimming down almost in synchronisation while the notes filled the air.
I began to sing softly when I finished the intro, the tone of my voice matching the supple melody of the piano, my eyes wanting to close as I sang the words that meant so much to me but I continued to look out at the audience even though my brain didn’t register any of their faces. My voice rose slightly as the chorus began; my eyes continuing to stay on the crowd instead of the keys, my thoughts drifting away with the notes I played and the mesmerising words I sang.
The fan started to blow slightly and my hair swayed around my shoulders as I sang the next verse, Stacey joining in with the violin as the next chorus began. My hands became rougher on the keys as the time grew nearer when my other band mates would join me. My voice rose as the fan blew harder and my trail spread out behind me, sheaving the air behind me in black, sparkly velvet as the drums and guitars joined in, the crowd going wild as the guitar solo began, mixed with the heavy beats of the drums, before my voice once again rode the wave of the different melodies in the air.
The chorus finished again and I began to slow down when the guys exited from the song. I played the remaining piano notes as I sang hauntingly into the microphone, the final words lingering in the air while I finished off with a slow melody. After the last note left the air, people screamed whilst some just applauded heavily, everyone on their feet.
Lucy came onto the stage with a big grin on her face, though her eyes didn’t reflect the pride in her smile. They held some unknown emotion, and I knew it was any opposite emotion to joy.
“Well I guess you have the winners of the first part! Everyone, it’s R.E.D.!” She shouted into the microphone so she could be heard over the roars of the crowd, and I stood up and joined the others, gripping Leon’s and Zoey’s hand as we took a bow.
But the slight happiness in me that I had gained from successfully pulling off a performance was instantly wiped away when I raised my head and saw Nick’s sadness, Dad and Peter’s proud faces but most shocking of all, Derek’s handsome face filled with utter joy, as if he was suddenly a boy again and had just found out that he had got the best model of the toy he had wanted for Christmas.
From the way he was looking at me, though, I couldn’t help but to wonder if I were that new model.