Title: First Time
Author: Bibi
Fandom: Lost
Claim: Liam Pace
Other characters/pairings: Simon Pace, Megan Pace, Charlie Pace, Karen Wagner
Table/Theme Name & Number: Theme set IV; #6 Drive
Rating: […]
Warnings: none
Summary: […]
A/N: fourth of ten for over_look for the claim of Liam
First Time
His fingertips felt sore, kind of funny, maybe numb. His knuckles and the joints of his fingers hurt. He'd been playing too uptight again. His ears were ringing and his head was pulsating. He had problems to keep his eyes focused. He felt dizzy.
But he was far from complaining. This was anything but a bad feeling. He felt high; high, like soaring high up above this makeshift-stage, high up above this audience; simply high.
High from euphoria, elation, triumph, happiness.
He had showed them, all of them; showed them the he could do it, that they should not doubt him and his abilities.
With unfocused eyes he was trying to seek out his parents among the audience. He'd proven now that he was worth every single penny they spent on his guitar lessons. And all he wished for now was that they were proud, proud of him, their eldest.
"Performing a medley of Amazing Grace, Danny Boy, The Last Rose of the Summer and The Fields of Athenry, arranged by himself, this was William Pace from Year 2 of Saint John's Roman Catholic Primary School." With these words the announcer dismissed Liam from the stage. Clutching his guitar, Liam went behind the makeshift curtain and sat down on one of the wooden chairs there to steady his still shaking knees.
"William, huh?" One of the boys of the next act, the parish boys' choir, asked in a mocking voice. It was Adam from year 5 of his school, one of the cool ones who would leave primary after the summer and go to comprehensive.
Liam got up, his chin held up high, and made for the exit. "Choir boy," he mumbled as he passed Adam. He wouldn't let some bully spoil his day.
When he got down the two wooden steps from the stage, his family was already there, waiting for him.
His mother was wearing her best Sunday dress, a long white dress with red floral patterns. Liam loved to see his mother in this dress, because, usually it meant that it was Sunday, that he didn't have to go to school or do his homework, and that they were all going out as a family. And he had been with her when she had bought it and he had told her that she should take that one, because he liked it best.
His father was also donned in his Sunday suit, and it was as if that suit didn't only come with trousers, shirt and jacket, but also with a friendly, almost happy face. Every other day, his father spent all his time in his butcher's shop, and at the end of the day, he looked tired, exhausted and sad. Liam and his brother only saw him for dinner, then they would have to go to bed and their father would go to the pub. Sundays, they had their father all to themselves.
Even Charlie, his little brother, was wearing his best clothes and so far he didn't even have any grass smudges on them yet.
And they were all wearing their fine clothes only because of him, Liam. Because it wasn't Sunday, it was Saturday. It was the parish children festival. The years before, Liam and his brother had been allowed to wear normal clothes that wouldn't be ruined with the first smudge of fresh green grass. But this year it was his, Liam's great day. He had his first public appearance on a stage ever, as a soloist even. And with an arrangement of his favourite songs that he had written all by himself.
"Liam, honey, I'm so proud of you, love," Megan Pace held her eldest in a tight embrace, his head pressed against her belly.
From behind, Charlie stormed into Liam and threw his short arms around his waist. "You were so cool up there, Lee!"
Liam held out his hand which was still clutching the guitar and he was glad when his father understood his wiggling and took it, ruffling his hair. When Liam looked up at his father's face, he could see in his smile that he was just as proud of him as his mother was.
He hoped that Adam wouldn't see this, because for him as a schoolboy this was most embarrassing. As a son, however, he was enjoying this with every cell of his body. His heart was doing somersaults. His parents, and even his little brother, were proud of him, they finally understood that he really did have talent and that it wasn't only his teacher's talking so they would keep paying his guitar lessons.
"Now, shall we get us somethin' ta eat?" Simon Pace suggested and Liam wildly nodded his head. Now that the excitement and stage fright had diminished, and the nervousness was gone and not making him feel sick anymore, his stomach was grumbling, protesting that Liam had rejected breakfast.
Liam walked to the car with his mother and his brother, to stow his guitar and get a change of clothes, so they wouldn't ruin their good clothes with Fish'n'Chips grease and so they could go play with the other children without having their mother all worried about grass stains.
Megan had just opened the trunk when a little girl came up behind Liam and tapped him on the shoulder. As soon as Liam had turned around he had the girl's lips on his cheek, giving him a peck.
"I've seen you up on that stage. You were awesome," she told him and Liam felt his cheeks grow warm, knowing he was blushing.
"Eww, Lee's smooching girls, Mommy! Look." Charlie made an engrossed face at his older brother and in return got kicked in the shin.
"No, I'm not!"
"Stop fighting!" Megan finally turned around, holding her sons' shorts and t-shirts in her hand. She gave Charlie his clothes and sent him off: "Go find your Da and let him help you change."
Then she looked at the girl, who was still standing there, looking at the ground in embarrassment.
"Hallo, you're Karen, aren't you? Roxanne's girl." The girl nodded. "I'm working at the Bridgewater Hospital with your mom." Megan explained. Then she turned to Liam. "You know each other?"
Liam nodded, "She's in ma class."
"Really? Now isn't that lovely."
"Maybe," Liam mumbled. "Now can I have ma clothes an' go change?" He would have changed right here, in or at the car, but not with Karen around. He just wanted to get away from her, and from his mother, who was embarrassing him even more than Karen's peck had.
"Sure, sure. I'll go see if I can find Roxanne. We always wanted our families to meet. Now, this is such a coincident. Roxanne never mentioned she would be going to the festival."
Liam didn't even listen to his mother's jabbering but pulled his clothes from her arm and, with a quick, shy smile at Karen, ran off to the restrooms.