A/N: This is the next one! Yay! xD
I'm telling you to go listen to the songs listed in the story. They're awesome, and I don't think you'll feel like you've wasted your time :)
Me: Jonah! Do the disclaimer!
Jonah: Why should I? How could you make me have writer's block? Do you know how many songs I gotta write before my next deadline?
Me: Chill, dude. Learn from the story. Leeeeearn. And do the disclaimeeeeeeeeeeer.
Jonah *throws hands up*: Fine! MrsJoshHutcherson112 doesn't own The 39 Clues or any songs mentioned. Now can I have the block taken out of my brain?
Me: Um... No. But if you read the story and review it... Maybe. But until then... No.
Jonah's Dilemma
Jonah Wizard thought he had never been so frazzled.
He kept muttering to himself "What songs... What songs..." but no perfect ideas came to mind. He searched through his various iPod playlists: no good. Most of his tracks consisted of rap or hard rock - not the ideal type of music for a wedding.
He'd even resorted to attempting to write a few melodies that would fit perfectly with the romantic atmosphere, but he wasn't exactly used to that. His music was mostly about girls and relationships, sure. But that didn't mean they were actual love songs. He needed something flowing, and beautiful.
What he needed were some nice, simple ballads. And then, of course, a couple fast-paced 'bubble gum' rock songs.
The question was, could he, Jonah Wizard, triple platinum, world-famous hip hop star and award-winning actor, come up with something worthy enough to awe the star-crossed lovers at their wedding?
When Amy had asked him to be the musician at the reception, he had been all for it.
"Don't worry 'bout it, Ames. I got ya covered," he'd said, flashing his blinding white smile and putting her mind at ease for the time being.
He hadn't covered for her at all. He had barely covered half a page with lyrics. And the wedding was only three days away.
He rubbed his face in frustration. Three days. He only had three days to create the best playlist of music for one of the biggest ceremonies in Cahill family history. A Madrigal and a Lucian - that was totally unheard of in their world.
But it was happening. And he was in charge of maintaining the happy atmosphere.
He opened his notebook for one last attempt and picked up his pencil.
*Nobody can touch us, we're so high
Yeah, babe, we're flyin'...*
Jonah ripped out the paper and crumpled it quickly, tossed it in the overflowing wastebasket before the horror of what he'd just put on paper could fully sink in. Great - now his mood was dampening his song writing abilities.
The thought was heartbreaking to him.
Granted, Jonah had only written about 4 simple love songs in his life, but that didn't cheer him up in the least.
"That's it," he said aloud. "I quit. Da Wiz can't write a simple love song for once. Sorry, guys. I let ya down this time." He had a feeling he was only speaking to hear something; he'd been holed up in his room for the past 24 hours, and the silence was driving him crazy.
Jonah chucked his pencil across the room in anger, the pointed end piercing the wall and creating a small hole. If he couldn't write any songs for Amy and Ian's big day, he wasn't just letting them down - he was letting everybody else down, too. And that was not how Wizards rolled.
Okay, he thought then. Just because I can't write a song doesn't mean the world's ending.
Then another thought occurred to him: How was he supposed to perform by himself? Of course, he'd called ahead to ask his band for help, but they all had plans, either with family or friends. And that had been a few weeks ago; he'd just pushed the problem aside and concentrated on the songs.
Which, of course, he still had yet to figure out a solution to.
A sound echoed off his bedroom walls and Jonah jumped at the disruption of his train of thought. Whoever it was knocked on his door again. They were getting impatient.
He wanted to yell at them, tell them to go away and let him brood in peace. But if it was Amy or Sinead or Nellie or Natalie... He knew for a fact none of those situations would end well for him. He wasn't the only one worried or nervous about the upcoming wedding.
So, he rubbed his tired eyes, fixed his shirt, and opened the door.
It was Dan, his expression annoyed.
"Have you seen Fred? No one can find him."
"Your hamster?" Jonah thought for a bit, then said, "Nope. Sorry, cuz."
Dan sighed in frustration. "Alright, then. Thanks anyway."
Dan pulled the door shut and stomped back down the hall, calling for Hamilton.
And then, in that moment, Jonah saw the solution to nearly all of his problems.
He WOULD have a band, he WOULD have help with songs...and he wouldn't take no for an answer.
"I CAN'T DO THIS!" Dan shouted in frustration.
"Yes you can!" Jonah insisted. "Just play a C chord! It's simple!"
"If its so simple, why can't you do it?"
Jonah glared. "I'm just trying to help, dawg! And I'll be playing it too, right next to you on stage."
"This doesn't sound right," Ned said, playing a horrible-sounding minor chord again. "It's too...sad."
Jonah would have reached the tearing-out-your-hair point hours ago if it hadn't been for Hamilton and his thoutful, considerate opinions of others.
"Dude, you SUCK at playing bass!"
"At least I know how to keep a simple beat!" Ted retorted. "You can barely hold a drumstick!"
"ENOUGH!" Jonah roared, seething with barely-concealed rage. "We're taking it from the top, and were not gonna mess up the bridge section this time." He glared pointedly at Dan, who shrugged.
"I said I couldn't play a C chord. I still can't play a C chord."
Jonah sighed, pulling his microphone closer. "Try your best dude. You'll get it eventually."
Hamilton snorted, and Jonah silenced him with a look.
"And don't drop your stick, either," Jonah added to him.
Hamilton glared at the floor, but said nothing.
Just as Jonah had given them the down-beat, a lightbulb appeared suddenly, floating around his head, and he yelled, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
They stopped and stared at him, waiting.
Jonah, having earlier been sick to his stomach at his lack of ability to come up with the perfect song, now had butterflies of triumph flying around the bottom of his gut.
"I just thought of the perfect songs to play at the reception. Drink lots of coffee tonight guys - it's gonna be a long next few days."
Jonah went through the checklist in his head twice before going over it with Dan.
"Is your guitar tuned?"
"Yes."
"Ham's got his backup sticks?"
"Mhmm."
"Ned figured out what was wrong with the keyboard?"
"Yerp."
A few more questions and some impatient looks later, it was 5:00 - time to woo the crowd.
The reception was being held in the yard behind the mansion. After the initial ceremony, everyone had already planned their entire evenings to be spent there, whether it was to dance and meet new people or just chat with friends, drinks in hand (Jonah had a feeling not everyone would be sober after this event - including Fiske, the poor guy). The stage where Jonah and his group would be performing from was nestled between a few giant oak trees, spotlights hanging from their branches. A white curtain was used for the backdrop, and the stage itself was bigger than what would normally be acceptable for this occasion.
The amps were set up, no cord was left unplugged, and Jonah was nervous about performing for the first time in his life.
Even at the start of his career as a hip hop superstar, Jonah had never been afraid of the spotlight. As soon as he got on stage, heard the thousand upon thousands of screaming fans, and put the microphone up to his lips, his brain shut down and he felt nothing but the beat of the bass drum, heard nothing but the soothing sounds of the screaming girls, saw nothing but a sea of colors moving in front of him. He danced his heart out and sang until his throat was dry at every performance, and he always felt at home as long as he was on stage.
But at that moment, faced with only a few hundred people, his cousins right there next to him, ready to play to the best of their ability, Jonah Wizard was sweating. SWEATING.
He tugged at the collar of his tux.
Dan put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, dude. It'll be fine. We've got the songs down pat."
"I know," Jonah said, his voice unusually high. "I just...uh..."
Dan laughed. "It's not like my sister will care if we screw up a couple times. She's pretty cool when it comes to that stuff, not some bridezilla like Natalie's bound to be, when her time comes."
Jonah smiled feebly. "Thanks, man."
"Anytime," Dan said, looking at the stage. "I think we're on. Lets go, Wizard. Time to get our song on."
Looking back on it, Jonah thought his song choice could have been better, but he thought he did a pretty good job overall.
Their performance started out with a fast rock beat, beginning with a short solo from Hamilton on the drums. It quickly turned into the fast-paced number Sing Sing by Marianas Trench, which, in all honesty, Jonah had only suggested because it was extremely fun to play and would be what he thought an awesome start to get the people warmed up. Some of the lyrics even described HIMSELF and his struggles against song-writer's block the past few days. Jonah was still sweating, though, and he found himself scanning the crowd for the bride, hoping for an approving smile or thumbs up.
The crowd was startled at first by the sudden change in atmosphere, but quickly started getting into it. Some couples began dancing immediately, moving and twirling to the upbeat music. Others pointed and whispered to their friends, grins on their faces.
Jonah felt the familiar warm feeling he always got from being under the spotlight, and his nervousness started melting away. Finally, he spotted Amy being twirled around by Ian. When she locked eyes with him she smiled broadly at him before Ian spun her again, her blue dress twirling, and Jonah finally relaxed. She liked his song choice so far.
The music abruptly ended, and the crowd seemed disappointed, but hoots and hollers accompanied their applause.
They didn't stop or say a few words - just immediately went into the next song: First Time by Lifehouse.
Some of the lyrics of the songs Jonah had chosen didn't necessarily fit the scene before him. Some lines in the next few songs he had planned weren't about togetherness; but they were just such good songs that he felt they SHOULD be played. You could dance to them all, which was a plus in Jonah's eyes.
Dan's last chord stopped as he closed it off with his hands, marking the end of the song. Again, the crowd clapped, and Jonah flashed a smile (A few girls screamed in the audience) and grabbed his mic.
"Alright, y'all need to clear the dance floor." He shot Amy a look and winked. "The newly-weds need a turn."
Ian pulled a blushing Amy behind him, towing her to the middle of the makeshift dance floor. Jonah swapped his electric guitar for an acoustic and set his microphone back on the stand. He strummed a few chords and started singing You and Me, another song by Lifehouse.
The crowd watched as the couple danced and swayed to the music, hardly noticing the stares they were getting, though Amy did blush a bit at the sound of a wolf-whistle. Ian grinned at that one and twirled her around again.
Jonah's Janus-y side overwhelmed him. Even he had to admit Amy and Ian were cute together, and to get a gangsta to admit something like that was a huge accomplishment.
Eventually, the rest of his band mates started in on their parts of the song, and that was around the time where everyone found a partner and began slow dancing, too.
The last chorus drew to a close, and Jonah sang the last few words.
"...This clock never seemed so alive..."
Dan leaned over to Jonah when the clapping ceased. "Ew. They're STILL dancing."
Jonah nudged him. "You jealous, dawg?"
Dan flushed. "Just play the next song, Wizard."
So, Jonah started into the guitar line of Rock & Roll by Eric Hutchinson.
The lyrics didnt make sense with the situation, but it set the mood back to upbeat after the romance.
After the song ended, Jonah held the microphone, out of breath. He addressed the crowd. "Alright, everybody, my homies an' I are gonna take a break, kay?"
"I LOVE YOU JONAH!"
Jonah grinned and looked in the direction of the sound. "Love you too, girl I don't know."
The girl fainted.
Amy tackled him in a hug. "I freaking love you!"
Jonah laughed, prying the girl off of him and handing her back to Ian. "I hope the songs meet your expectations."
Amy smiled, hanging off of Ian's arm. "It couldn't be more perfect. Thanks, Jonah."
Jonah waved it off. "No prob, cuz. It's nothin'."
"Well, I wouldn't have been able to pull it off, had I been in your shoes," Ian admonished. "I've never heard most of these songs."
Amy looked at him. "You've never heard of Lifehouse?"
Ian shook his head.
She poked him in the shoulder. "You need a lesson in good music."
Ian grinned. "And I suppose you'll be my teacher?" He grabbed her hand.
Amy's cheeks turned a light pink, but she smiled back. "If it gets to that point..."
Jonah left before the situation turned bad. Bad for HIM, that is - it wouldn't exactly be bad for THEM.
Jonah hopped on stage by himself - the next song wouldn't require anything but his voice and the acoustic guitar that was resting in its stand.
He held the mic again, setting the water bottle he'd grabbed down. He cleared his throat. "This song is dedicated to Amy and Ian...by Amy's brother, Dan."
Dan briefly interrupted his conversation with Natalie to shoot Jonah a look that said "Well, you weren't supposed to tell everybody!"
Jonah grinned and began playing.
"You'll be my princess and I'll be your toad. I'll follow behind you on rainbow road. Protect you from red shells wherever we go, I promise."
Jonah heard a few giggles from the audience. Amy had a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing too much as Dan surprisingly led Natalie to the dance floor. He bowed to her, and Natalie, playing along, curtsied.
Wow, Jonah thought. She's loosening up.
Jonah continued playing Mario Cart Love Song with as much emotion as he could muster. He had to agree with Dan on one thing - Sam Hart was a genius if he could turn a video game into something beautiful.
Dan let Natalie drop for a second before catching her just when she was about to hit the ground. She squealed and he laughed. Then she slapped his chest and he brought her back up, and the two resumed their dance.
"Walawalawalawaluigiiiiiii..." A few more string plucks, and the crowd went wild. Dan left the (blushing) Natalie in the care of her brother and ran back to the stage, pulling his guitar strap back over his head. The rest of their group soon joined them, and Ned changed the settings on his keyboard, giving it a weird synthesizer sound.
Jonah looked out at the audience. He had never particularly LIKED One Direction all that much, but one of their songs was just perfect for this night. So, he braced himself, mentally said a quick prayer that his fans wouldn't mind him sinking to the 1D level, and gave Ned the cue.
It had taken a while for Jonah to teach Ned to play this part; he just couldn't seem to get it. Which was why Jonah was crossing his fingers.
But after Ned's part passed, Jonah breathed, and the rest of them started playing. A few girls in the crowd (Including the one who had fainted earlier) screamed as they recognized Kiss You.
Jonah and the fangirls sang back and forth at different points in the song. That was another thing he loved abot his fans: they participated.
Jonah glanced over at Amy and Ian. Ian was speaking to her, and she couldn't seem to stop laughing. He took her hands, and that's when Jonah realized he wasn't just talking to her - he was SINGING along with the song. And not only was Amy laughing; she was blushing like crazy.
Jonah smiled with the lyrics. Crazy lovebirds...
The last words came out of his mouth and Jonah wiped the sweat off his forehead - it wasn't nervous sweat this time, just normal sweat from working hard.
Jonah lifted the microphone to his mouth. "Alright, y'all. We got three songs left. Then the DJ takes over."
Some of the crowd booed, and Jonah hoped it was because they were sad to see them leave so early, instead of complaining about having to sit through three more songs of torture or whatever.
"So I just wanted to say thanks for coming. It means a lot to me, and it especially means a lot to the bride and groom, I'm sure." Jonah winked at Amy, who was too busy spending time with Ian to notice.
"This next song is a pretty sweet one, if ya ask me. Maroon 5 is da bomb, am I right?"
"YOU'RE RIGHT, JONAH! YOU'RE ALWAYS RIGHT!"
Jonah laughed nervously. "Heh heh... Thanks..."
Jonah let the slow music wash over him, blocking out all thought except for the simple beat of the drums, the undertones from the bass, the clarity of his own guitar. The only thing going through his mind were the lyrics, and he wasn't just singing them - he felt them. They seemed to reverberate through his whole body, and not just physically. The notes and rhythms and lyrics melted together in his head, making perfect sense to him and placing him in some weird and awesome state of euphoria.
He couldn't help it - music did that to him.
The song wasn't too difficult, so getting the others to learn it had been easier than the others. That had been the only relaxed part of their three days of preparation.
The song ended - too soon in Jonah's opinion - and the crowd clapped and cheered and whistled. The five of them waited a few second before going into the next song, just to get themselves into the mood. The next song was kind of heavy, and they needed to gear up for it.
Jonah searched through the crowd and found Natalie and Sinead by the refreshments table. He gestured to them, and they made their way through the sea of people.
"For this song, I'd like to introduce two more peeps. Natalie and Sinead are gonna help out with this one, kay?"
The two girls got up on the stage with violins. Jonah had discovered their hidden talent when he caught them practicing together in the parlor, only two days before the reception, but it had opened up a whole new list of songs they could have played, now that violinists were in the picture.
The song started out with only the drums and piano. Jonah may have been an amazing singer, but even he couldn't compare to Isaac Slade. He tried. Oh, how he tried. But The Fray humbled him so much sometimes it was scary. Their lead singer just had a level of emotion that Jonah didn't think he'd ever be able to match.
Not that he would ever admit it.
The song was deep, but heartfelt. The violins made it ten times better than it would have been without them. He would have to remember to thank the girls later.
He looked out at the audience before him. They were influenced by The Fray's beautiful melodies too. Most of them had found a dance partner and were slowly swaying to the beat. The few who didn't were either drinking something, eating, or sitting at tables and feeling the music, with or without a partner. Those were the people who Jonah was most proud of; the ones who could feel it without any help. Because he was that way too.
To Jonah, Look After You was one of the best songs on the planet. It was just so emotional - and that's coming from a rap kind of guy. The violins carried a lot of the melody throughout the song. The piano helped, and the drums didn't have a complicated beat, which just sounded nice, especially if you'd been listening to fast paced stuff for a while. Jonah couldn't explain it. This kind of music just relaxed him. It especially did if he'd had a tough day.
When the music came to a close and the violins stopped, the entire area seemed to stop everything. No one spoke for a while, as if they weren't aware the song was even over. Jonah didn't feel like it truly was; the atmosphere stayed, whether the song did or didn't. It stuck to everyone like glue, holding them in place or keeping them swaying to the nonexistent beat.
This was one more thing Jonah absolutely loved about music: the impact it can have on people.
One girl decided to break the silence and whistled. There goes the atmosphere, Jonah thought.
The uproar was tremendous. It blew even Jonah's mind, a guy who had seen almost everything that could be seen by music.
Everyone, no matter if they'd clapped the entire way through their performance or hadn't put their hands together once, was clapping now.
Never before had Jonah seen a crowd moved like this bunch was. It was like everyone had gone from mad party animals to hibernating bunnies in a matter of seconds. That's how drastic the change felt. Well, besides the applause and screaming of course.
Jonah smiled, speaking into his mic one more time. "Last break, I promise."
When Jonah made his way over to Amy and Ian, Amy had years sliding down her cheeks.
"Ames, what's wrong?" he asked.
She threw her arms around him for the second time that night.
"Choking...lights...dimming..." Jonah choked out.
Amy released him, a sheepish look on her face. She laughed lightly, wiping tears out of her eyes. "That was AMAZING, Jonah. It was so beautiful."
Jonah beamed. "Thanks."
Dan walked over. "What's up?"
Amy squeezed her brother until Jonah thought his eyes were going to fall out of his head.
"Um...Love, I think you're killing him," Ian interjected.
Amy let go of Dan, and he sucked in a deep breath.
"Whoa," he wheezed. "You got... Death grip..."
Amy laughed and ran over to thank Sinead and Natalie for helping out.
Jonah nudged Ian. "Good luck keepin' THAT fireball tied down, dude."
Ian snorted. "Are you kidding? Piece of cake." He leaned closer and whispered, "Personally, I think she's a little hormonal."
Jonah laughed. "Alright, man. Take it easy. I'll be back after the last song. Keep her outta the sugary stuff till I get back."
Jonah climbed on stage, earning a few hoots and whistles. He grabbed his acoustic and walked to center stage, followed by his 'band'. He pulled the mic closer and sat on a stool.
"Last song o' da night, guys. And girls," he added quickly, catching a look from Natalie. "Hope it doesn't suck."
As soon as the last sentence was spoken, Jonah went into the first chords of Acadia.
The only changes he'd made to the song were the names - 'Chris' and 'Andrew' were changed to 'Dan' and 'Phoenix' to match the lyrics somewhat. Dan grinned when his name was sung and later, Phoenix gave a smile and thumbs up to Jonah when he was mentioned. Jonah mock-saluted him back.
The last song wasn't about love or relationships or any of the other stuff they'd played that night. The while thing was only about friends and family and all the good times they had. So Jonah thought it would be a perfect closing song. Like he was just reminding everyone of the great memories they all shared (You know, after they'd made peace and all that). It was just one of those songs that replays all the awesome times you've had with people (Actually, some of the lyrics were true, including that whole 'drunk speeches on the highway' thing, much to Jonah's eternal embarrassment. Sinead still held that one over his head).
Either way, the crowd seemed to like it, judging from the applause they got afterward.
Dan, Hamilton, Ned, and Ted all stood next to Jonah and they took a bow as a group. Then they left to mingle.
Jonah almost laughed out loud when his foot left the wooden platform of the stage. He'd been so frustrated earlier, and now it seemed he had been worried for nothing. Nobody was mad or disappointed at their performance (Least of all Amy), and the DJ hardly got half the cheers Jonah and the others had gotten.
In fact, Jonah was almost smug about the whole thing. He had almost singlehandedly slapped a bunch of people together into a makeshift band, then taught them 7 complete songs in less than 72 hours. THAT was an accomplishment in his book.
He smiled to himself as he waded aimlessly through the crowd with no particular destination or person to chat with. He didnt feel stressed or frazzled or frustrated. He was totally chill. And it felt AWESOME.
Da Wiz was back.
Hmm... Maybe the ending got a little boring. Oh, well. Can't help it now! ^_^
You know the drill. Read, Review, Favorite, Flame it (That kinda rhymes xD), Whatever! Just do SOMETHING! XD
Hey, who knows. If you review I might write something else, too. *GASP* :P
Is there any OOCness? I tried to keep it to a minimum, but you never know.
And did you notice something? I wrote part of this in the middle of the night, which just so happens to be when I'm at my maximum philosophical-ness. I just loooooooooove music.
Oh, I forgot to mention - I'm sorry to anyone who is waiting on the next chapter for If I Die Young. Turns out, my computer was a piece of pure and utter crap, so my uncle took it back to Korea with him to put more RAM in it and restore it and stuff. But guess what? He sent the files I wanted to save up onto this website called Daum, so now, I can't get to my unfinished 17th chapter! Woohoo! (Sarcasm, anyone?) So I'm sorry if you're waiting on that, but I can't continue it until I get my computer back. Sorry ^_^
Anyhooooo...
I don't know if this could be a sequel to Proposals and Disappointments... It sounds like it could be, doesn't it? Leave it in your reviews - should I call this a sequel, or leave it like it is?
OH, and one more thing.
In the next week, mixed in with all my other new stories, you will see the premiere of a new multi-chap from me! Here's the thing that makes this idea the ultimate in crazy insaneness and riskiness - it's never been done before.
That's right. Never. (As far as I know...)
Don't ask what it is. I won't tell you. Just keep your eyes peeled ;) The only problem is, I don't know if people will actually LIKE it... The idea is so obscure and everything... But being a writer is about taking risks, right?
Hope you liked it! :D And I hope you'll like the ones to come!
~Callie~