Thought I'd died didn't ya? Nope, just 5 weeks left of senior year of high school.
Missing You
"Haley," Chris whispered in her ear after completing yet another performance of When the Stars go Blue.
"Hmm?" She turned listlessly to face him; she hadn't realised how tiring touring could be.
"I was thinking about trying Missing You." That perked her up.
"What? Chris we've only rehearsed that a couple of times, I don't think I'm ready."
He chuckled infuriatingly, "Hales, you'll be fine and you know it."
"I'm so going to murder you in your sleep," Haley hissed back, well aware that the whole club was silent and watching - that ruled out homicide right then and there.
"Fine," Chris shrugged indifferently, "so long as we get through this song first."
Haley contented herself with glaring heatedly at Chris's back as he informed the band of the impromptu change to the set list.
She made no move to hide her open hostility when he walked back to join her on the front of the stage, flashing what he obviously thought was a charming smile.
"Hey guys," Chris greeted the crowd while adjusting his mike. A couple of girls closest to the stage screamed in response. Chris winked at them. Haley snorted and rolled her eyes. She took a deep breath as the opening chords of Chris's guitar pierced through the silence. Soon, his husky voice joined the melody.
Every time I think of you
I always catch my breath
I'm still standing here
And you're miles away
And I'm wondering why you left
Smiling at the audience she really couldn't see throughout the darkened club, Haley began to sing, welcoming the familiar waves of comfort that came with performing.
And there's a storm that' s raging
Through my frozen heart tonight
I hear your name
In certain circles
And it always makes me smile
Chris's strumming of the guitar became more pronounced in the lead up to the bridge as he sang.
I spend my time
Just thinking about you
And it's almost driving me wild
In a flash, before Haley could fathom what was going on, the stage manager cranked up the house lights. The glow of the cheap fluorescent beams filled the room, hurting her eyes and causing beads of sweat to form on her forehead. In that instant, the vastness of the crowd hit her like a freight train. She realised with a paralysing jolt that she could see every single face in the room. Her eyes swept from the teenage girls in front, wearing similar expressions of reverence, to the line of people leaning against the side walls, and finally, to a young couple in the back, arms around each other and swaying to the music. The sight of the pair triggered a numbness which was fast travelling down her spine, rendering her incapable of feeling her arms, legs, lips.
And it's my heart that's breaking
Down this long distance line tonight
Despite her emotionless mind and detachment from her own body, Haley was suddenly acutely aware of her dress sticking to her back with cold sweat. It was too crowded in here, too stuffy. Her shallow gasps alerted something in the recesses of her brain to the fact that she was having difficulty breathing.
And I ain't missing you at all
Since you've been gone away
I ain't missing you
No matter what I might say
What were the words again? Something about missing someone? God, what was she even doing here? The music she usually heard with perfect clarity had faded away to a distant rhythmic throbbing.
Chris threw Haley a sharp glance when he realised she had stopped singing; a mixture of confusion, anxiety, alarm and concern, if all that were possible at once. She didn't bother to respond, or even look at him. Chris continued to shoot nervous glances her way, even as he sang on without her.
Haley didn't care that half the audience was watching her with confusion; she could hardly even think straight. Now even the throbbing of the music had disappeared entirely, replaced with a deafening silence, like someone had muffled her hearing by stuffing cotton wool in her ears. Memories of the past couple of months were surging through her brain. Talks of melodies and bass tracks and record contracts. She couldn't help but think that as glamorous and exciting as it may seem, it all felt terribly superficial…empty. Not without him.
But it's my heart that's breaking
Down this long dusty road of mine
A recording contract and a cushy apartment wouldn't keep her warm at night, not the way Nathan's hands could.
Her face on billboards and millions in the bank wouldn't make her happy, not the way his smile could.
Thousands of screaming fans at sold out venues throughout the country wouldn't make her feel loved…not the way he could.
And I ain't missing you at all
Since you've been gone away
I ain't missing you
At this last thought, everything came back into focus. The blurriness at the edges of her vision slowly faded. The hand holding her mike stopped trembling. It felt as if the cotton wool was pulled out of her ears; the music and screaming of the audience was so loud it almost forced her backwards.
The lyrics of the song came to the forefront of her mind. If she wanted to, she could start singing again right there. She could pretend that not singing half the song was a planned move, as far-fetched as that might seem to the audience. But she didn't want to. She knew the words, and she knew them well enough to know that it would be too painful. It would hit just a little too close to home.
The irony was not lost on her. Although these were the fans she always tried so hard not to disappoint, there was only one person that mattered now, only one person she cared about not letting down. Suddenly, making music in a club in Illinois was not where she wanted to be. Her heart belonged in a little town called Tree Hill, with someone she could picture clearly in her mind. A tall someone, with raven hair and blue eyes.
She jumped when tears she didn't even realize were there burned her cheek with salty, stinging tracks. Turning to give Chris an apologetic, shaky smile, Haley spun on her heel, dropping her mike loudly behind her as she walked off the stage. She wanted nothing more in the world than to go home to her husband, to Nathan, and as she continued walking, the music followed her offstage…
I ain't missing you at all
The End
Yes, as one of my friend so kindly pointed out, a fat load of nothing actually happens in this particular fic - but you get that sometimes. lol. Just an idea that I've been toying with for a while. Also, didn't really mean for it to turn into a song fic, it just happened that way. Hope it was at least interesting!