~The Ringleader and The Firecracker~
Adam studied his reflection in the mirror after the last American Idol Tour performance ended. He was packing up his things in his dressing room in the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. Adam had become increasingly nostalgic over the past few days. It wasn't like his career was ending or anything. Actually, it was just the opposite, he was ecstatic that his first album would be dropping, along with Kris's and Allison's, in just a few weeks. It was a dream come true for him and he was proud of the hard work and dedication that had gone into accomplishing it. However, he still felt a sense of impending loss.
Reaching inside the drawer on his little makeup counter, he pulled out the envelope containing the first fan letter he received -from his mom-, the number 1877 which he wore on his first American Idol audition, and a photo of Allison and him hugging right after their first "Slow Ride" performance. Paula had given it to him. It was easy to see she was a die-hard romantic; on the back she had even written "You two are a perfect marriage. You will always bring out the fire in each other." Adam had read it countless times, but he never showed it to anyone. Her words were so personal and true that Adam was afraid of the vulnerability that would result from sharing her sentiment. So he kept the items carefully stashed away, but looked at them before every performance for inspiration.
"Hey, Adam the limos are getting here in a few minutes," Kris called as he departed from his adjoining dressing room.
"I need more time!" Adam called back, flustered, as he tossed hair products into his bag.
"Want me to help you?" Kris asked generously.
"No, that's okay." Kris wasn't in the same situation; he had his wife to go home to. Adam felt like he was moving in slow-mo, but surprisingly he did reach the limo in time.
Adam waited by the entrance for Allison. As usual, she was being hounded by paparazzi and reporters begging her to take a photo or discuss some aspect of the tour or her new album. Finally, though, she made it past the chaos and into the building. At the sight of the radiant red-head, all Adam's worries seemed to vanish.
"Oh my God, it's Allison," Adam cried out mimicking the media vultures. "I can't believe I'm getting to meet you in person! I'm your biggest fan!" he continued, purposely making a spectacle of himself.
Allison laughed taking the bait. "Aww, cut it out Adam," she said feigning annoyance at his antics, while secretly reveling in his attention. He looked especially irresistible to her in his tight-fitting black pants and leather jacket, black studs in both ears, and his hair falling in his face a little.
"No, really I love you Allie! I voted for you ten thousand times a night," he joked, as she punched his arm playfully. He thought she looked stunning; her red hair was styled in wavy curls with deep purple extensions. Her knee-length crimson dress accentuated by black lace trim and straps was understated, yet breath-taking.
"Really?" Allison asked. "Cuz I voted for Kris, he is so adorable and talented and he taught me how to play the guitar," she teased in an over-exaggerated adoring tone. Adam began to snarl with jealousy as Kris walked up behind them.
"That's my girl, I knew I could count on you Allison," he praised, draping his arm around her shoulders. "Wow, this is so surreal. I can't believe the tour is over; it went by too fast," Kris commented, as team Kradison walked inside to the main room where the festivities were currently underway. The room itself was huge and elegant. Cameras panned the room from various angles. There were mirrors covering several walls, long tables covered with white linens, an open bar, assorted refreshments, and a dance floor located in the center of the room where guests were currently dancing to the top thirteen finalists rendition of "So What".
"Hey, sweetie," Katy purred, coming over to Kris and giving him a quick kiss. "How was the ride? Did you get mobbed coming in here?" she asked, beaming with pride.
"Yeah, the paparazzi are swarming around here, but I guess that's all part of winning American Idol," Kris said modestly, winking at her.
"Well, I love being in the spotlight. I'm having such a blast! We definitely need to dance the next song! I requested your version of Heartless," she said excitedly.
"Let's get out there then!" he agreed, guiding her towards the music. "You two behave, okay?" Kris ordered shooting both Adam and Allison a backwards glance.
"Man, Adam started it," Allison protested.
" Please, Allie just admit you can't control yourself in the presence of someone so fabulous," Adam retaliated in self-defense.
"Now, do you see what I've had to put up with from those two?" Kris asked Katy sounding exasperated. Katy laughed.
"Have fun guys," Katy called waving.
"Oh, look it's the two that always hang out together," one of the American Idol event photographers observed strutting over to Adam and Allison with a camera in tow shortly after Kris and Katy departed. He eyed them expectantly, practically salivating at the opportunity to personally acquire coveted Adam/Allison footage. Adam let out a sigh only audible to Allison. He was generally outgoing and loved connecting with his fans, but he could see this guy's only agenda was to interrogate him about his relationship with Allison.
"Actually, Adam was just leaving to talk to Simon," Allison covered for him, sounding semi-apologetic and giving Adam a little shove. Adam gave her a grateful wink and nudged her back before hurrying off.
"Oh," the cameraman said, not bothering to disguise his obvious disappointment. "Well, how does it feel to be done with American Idol?" he inquired, re-focusing the camera only on her. Allison smiled trying to be gracious.
Meanwhile, Adam had joined Kris and Katy who were getting drinks and chatting with Anoop by the bar.
"Adam, where's Alli?" Megan asked, returning to the bar for another cocktail. She seemed to be having a ball.
"Over there," Adam told her, pointing to the one lame American Idol publicist who had to be working the finale party.
"Good luck Alli!" Megan exclaimed loudly, "I couldn't get rid of that creeper either. He kept asking a bunch of unoriginal questions like, what are my goals for being on American Idol? Did I ever think I would be in the top 10? Blah blah?" she gestured with her hand for emphasis which Anoop got a kick out of.
"Oh, what are you making fun of me? Mister life of the party?" she asked, giggling and tossing her silky blond hair in his face. Both were getting a little tipsy and started flirting like crazy completely ignoring Adam's presence. Adam looked back longingly towards Allison; when they made eye contact she rolled her eyes at him indicating boredom with fielding ridiculously unimaginative questions.
What was Adam going to do? He couldn't just leave his girl there.
"Well, how did it feel being in the final four with Adam and Kris?" the man interviewing Allison wanted to know next.
"It was awesome," Allison deadpanned.
"Well, I mean you thought of them as your older brothers so it must have been really hard getting eliminated, right?" he persisted, intrusively.
"Actually, I have to go…uhh," Allison began, but she stopped when she saw Adam approaching.
"Hey, you've been talking for like fifteen minutes!" Adam said, sounding exasperated. "You must be really dehydrated by now, let me take you to get a drink," he strongly suggested, his eyes riveted on Allison, refusing to acknowledge the interviewer's presence. Allison nodded appreciatively.
"Well, actually we're in the middle," the interviewer stuttered, "I was just asking Allison if she thought of you as her older brother," he finished, obviously hoping the answer would be a juicy one.
"No, I think of them as McDreamy and McSteamy," Allison responded coyly, grabbing Adam's arm and pulling him away from the dumbfounded interviewer.
"That was really flattering!" Adam divulged, grinning ecstatically, as he happily followed her into the crowded room.
Later on, after Allison and Adam had danced to a couple Black Eyed Peas songs they decided to go hang out with Kris and Katy. They were having a blast too, reminiscing on their American Idol journey, but when the deejay started playing Put Your Records On, Megan and Lil pulled them out to the dance floor. Kris insisted the song was too "girly" for him so he just stood with Adam, Anoop, and Scott watching the girls shake their asses to the music. Halfway, through the track, Kris caught Adam not paying attention to a word he was saying. He followed Adam's gaze to Allie rocking out among the other girls.
"Hot stuff," Kris commented to Adam, deciding to have a little fun.
"Excuse me?" Adam asked, narrowing his eyes and turning his attention to Kris.
"Yeah, Katy, she looks good out there," he clarified. "What? Who did you think I was referring to?" he asked, feigning confusion.
Adam studied the face of his closest guy friend from American Idol, trying to decide if it was merely a coincidence that he had chosen to describe Katy using the title of a song Allison had sung on American Idol.
"You know you got it bad?" Kris asked Adam rhetorically, jabbing him in the ribs and nodding towards Allison who was now twirling around and dancing crazy with Megan.
"Your joking, right?" Adam answered, trying to keep his voice neutral about the subject.
"Come on, own up to it already," Kris pressed him. Adam rolled his eyes.
"You know I'm not at all shocked either," Kris continued to instigate, as if Adam had just admitted having feelings for Allison that were way more than platonic.
The song ended and the deejay announced one of Adam's renditions from American Idol was up next. Whole Lotta Love. The music began throbbing through the sound system and cameras started flashing all over as Adam's voice permeated the room.
"Come on sugar bear!" Katy yelled, motioning for Kris to join her. Adam looked over as Megan was hauling Anoop out for the dance against his will as well. Then he noticed Allison dancing alone next to Lil and her husband.
"Go for it! What are you worried about Adam?" Kris advised, as he rushed off to be with Katy.
"I'm not worried at all," Adam declared, unconvincingly, "I'm feeling really positive about it," he continued, but it quickly became obvious he was only talking to himself as people were starting to stare. Adam decided to just do it; after all, he knew where he belonged.
Allison felt Adam's arms wrap around her waist as she danced to Whole Lotta Love. He had come up behind her, but she knew instinctively that it was him. She tilted her head back against him and pulled his arms around her more tightly. She never wanted him to let go; it was like they were in their own world.
Towards the end of the evening, Ryan Seacrest took over the deejay's microphone. "I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the judges, the contestants, the special guest entertainers, and the producers, choreographers, and make-up artists that all made season 8 of American Idol so successful. I would further like to congratulate everyone for tolerating Simon's diva moments. Haha, there were plenty of those too-"
"And don't forget to congratulate everyone for listening to your silly hysterics only you understand," Simon shot back.
"Right, well before Simon gets all riled up we want to announce the top eight stand out moments from this season! Number eight … the Simon Paula duel. Oh, we can't wait to see this clip!" Ryan gushed fervently, as a replay of Simon and Paula getting frisky with each other appeared on the huge flat screen behind him. "Number seven … Allison taking on Simon and her Crybaby elimination performance. Number six ... Kris Allen's Ain't No Sunshine. Number five … So What group number. Number four … Adam Lambert's Black or White. Number three … Kris Allen's rendition of Heartless. Number two … Adam Lambert's Whole Lotta Love." Each honorable mention was accompanied by a short clip showcasing the moment. "And the number one moment of season 8 is … not Kara's bikini! What?!? Come on!" he pouted like a two year old. "Well, Kara, it was the number one moment in my book."
"Gee thanks, Ryan. That means a lot," she said flashing him a fake smile.
"Nobody cares about your book Ryan either," Simon added smirking.
"Quit talking out of turn drama queen. Do we need to get Allison up here to give you a refresher course in obnoxious behavior no-nos?"
"Just finish the list" Simon said.
"Ok, I guess we will be needing Allison up here...because...the number one moment is Adam and Allison's Slow Ride duet! Way to go, you two deserve this!" he complimented adoringly. "Alright, and as our first place winners we have a special award. Ryan dramatically raised a golden microphone, "Please accept this token of our appreciation for your exceptional performance this season." The crowd started applauding and cheering with approval and admiration. Adam offered Allison his arm and escorted her towards where Ryan was standing with their trophy.
After receiving their trophy, Allison was the first to address the audience. "I just wanna say thank you so much! This has been such an awesome experience for me and I mean doing that duet with Adam, that was the most fun I had! We were like in our own world! I love Adam!"
"I love her back!" Adam announced, giving her a huge hug before continuing which sparked a second round of intense applause to resonate through the ballroom. "When I heard we were doing duets, I was like 'okay I want Allison end of story!'. Allison is so gifted and talented it's such an honor to be here next to her," he finished, grinning at Allison. Allison blushed uncontrollably, completely aware of how many people would die to be standing where she was right now.
"I love our moment!" she whispered up to Adam as they posed for pictures holding their trophy.
The last dance of the night was a special request of If You're Not The One by Daniel Bedingfield, made by Kris because he and Katy had danced to it at their senior prom. Adam and Allison looked at each other trying to decide if they should dance together. After getting all affectionate during Whole Lotta Love, a repeat dance may be too conspicuous. At that moment, Simon approached Paula and asked, "Would you do me this one honor?" with only a hint of arrogance.
"Well, since I don't have any other offers," she said reaching for his hand. He led her right past Adam and Allison. The song started and as they began dancing Paula whispered something to Simon who responded by rolling his eyes.
"If you're not the one, then why does my soul feel glad today?
If you're not the one, then why does my hand fit yours this way?"
Adam looked over to Allison again and held out his arms as he had done after their "Slow Ride" duet. She walked over shaking her head 'no', but wrapping her arms around his neck anyway.
"This is crazy," Allison remarked, after they had begun dancing, "I mean I haven't even been to my senior prom yet!"
"Yep, and my senior prom was nine years ago," Adam said and laughed to soften what he would say next, what he had to say next. "I guess we must look crazy together," he said plainly, nearly coming to a stand-still in mid-song.
"Is there anyway that I can stay in your arms?
'Cause I miss your body and soul so strong
That it takes my breath away"
"Adam, just keep dancing and don't let go," Allison said quietly, resting her head on his chest and enjoying the song. Her glossy red hair felt soft against him.
"I never know what the future brings
But I know you're here with me now
We'll make it through and I hope
You are the one I share my life with"
"Okay. I'll do what you say," Adam agreed and resumed dancing. There was no one he felt closer to than her so it was an easy sell. Still, he needed reassurance because, technically, their relationship was officially evolving into something that was illegal in most states and disapproved of almost everywhere. Not to mention, he had the 'bad seed' reputation haunting him, due to some reckless experimentation in his early twenties. There was no doubt everyone would rush into protective mode on Allison's behalf.
Allison could hear Adam's heart beat as they spun in a circle. She knew she was falling for him, but she was past her self-denial phase. She was finished stressing that people would think that she was just a love-struck teenager with a crush or say 'I told you so' if Adam broke her heart. It did not matter because she realized she hadn't gotten this far in life by always playing it safe. If she wanted to play it safe she would have accepted the recording contract she got offered when she won Quinceanera. She would have never auditioned for American Idol, met Adam, or realized her true potential.
"It's just…in my head… I feel like we're breaking all the rules, ya know?" Adam admitted, interrupting her thoughts.
"Yeah, I feel that too, but mostly I feel like the luckiest girl in the world."
Adam laughed his sexy, over-the-top laugh at the typical blunt honesty he could always count on from Allison. "Okay, then I have one last important question," he said, pausing for effect, "are you absolutely committed to being a loyal Kris Allen supporter or is there a chance I could steal you over to the dark side?"
"Well, I don't think that will be necessary … since I've really always been always will be a glambert," Allison answered seductively.
Moments later, Adam and Allison were locked in an intoxicating kiss.
"The ring leader and the fire cracker, who knew?" Simon asked Paula twirling her around for a good view.
"I did," she answered simply, with a little added smugness for Simon's benefit.
~THE END~
~comments r great!! thanks for reading!!!
~rebecca~