One Flight Down
"One Flight Down" - Norah Jones, "Stuck" - Stacie Orrico. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Chad Danforth had it all. Big house. A thousand nice cars. The basketball career. Money. Anything he wanted. But as he walked into a small coffee café on one of the corner streets of Los Angeles, all he wanted was someone to be with him.
He made his way over to the line of customers as he heard a local singer playing her music.
"Can help you, Sir?" the cashier asked.
"Yes. I'd like a caramel frappachinos," the basketball star replied.
"Alright, Sir," he nodded, typing in the order.
Chad gave him the money and waited for his order. He leaned against a nearby wall and watched the artist on the small platform stage sing and play the piano. She had long brown hair and brilliant blue eyes that cut through him. Her lips were a crescent red with a small lip gloss of brown to give it some shine and she was dressed in a red jersey that said 'WILDCATS' in white and had the number '11', on top of a white turtle neck, a navy blue hoodie covered most of the jersey and blue boot-cut jeans were covering her thin legs and part of her black boots. She was a pretty tiny woman and looked to be about his age, mid-twenties.
As he looked at the emotions on her face, he noticed the black bowler hat on her head. The song slowed down to a stop and she started another one, much slower.
"One flight down
There's a song on low
And your mind just picked up on the sound
Now you know you're wrong
Because it drifts like smoke
And it's been there playing all along
Now you know
Now you know
The reeds and brass have been weaving
Leading into a single note..."
He suddenly recognized the voice. "Kelsi..." he whispered softly, trailing off.
"Sir!"
His mind snapped back to reality and he turned around, taking his drink.
He sat at a table near the stage and gazes up at her in wonder and excitement. He hadn't seen anyone since Troy and Gabriella's wedding five year ago.
"In this place The cadence rolls in broken
Where your arms unfold
Here at last you see your ancient face
Now you know
Now you know
Plays it over and then goes..."
Chad remembered hearing her sing in high school, but never with such a passion as this. Her face was full of the passion she had never had growing up, but now as adult, he saw the real side of Kelsi Neilson's music, if she was still Neilson.
"One flight down
There's a song on low
And it's been there playing all along
Now you know
Now you know..."
Kelsi then got off stage to take a break and went behind the counter to put on her apron. She grabbed some paper towels and a spray cleaner and went to clean some tables, which just happened to be near Chad.
"Excuse me, Miss!" Chad called, a huge goofy grin on his face.
"Yes, Sir?" Kelsi sighed in defeat, making her way from the dirty table to his cleaner one.
"I needed a date for a tonight... Will you go with me, Kelsi?" he asked, looking into her electrifying blue eyes in wonder and hope.
She was now either wearing contacts or had that laser eye surgery that everyone, even Sharpay and Troy, he heard, had gotten.
"How do you know my name?" she asked in fear.
"You have a nametag," he lied.
She shook her head, "The days I perform I never bring my nametag."
"Kelsi, it's me!" he exclaimed, pointing to himself.
"Nice to meet you, 'me'," she said, rolling her eyes and going back to the dirty tables.
He stood up and followed her as she hunched over a table to wipe it.
"Kelsi, I know you went to East High. I know you wrote a musical called Twinkle Town. I know you fell in love with my best friend, Troy. I know you never told anyone. I no you graduated in 2008 And I know you put your heart and soul into your music... just like I do with basketball," he said, making her freeze up.
She turned on her heal, standing up straight, to face him. "Who are you?" she demanded.
"I'm Chad Danforth. East High Wildcat. Class of 2008. Best friend of your secret crush. And passionate basketball star for the L.A. Lakers," he said with a soft smile, hoping she'd remember.
"Oh... okay... Nice to see you again, Chad," she said, having no idea who he was.
She made her way back to the counter with the empty cleaner. "Jase! The sprayer's empty again!"
A man in jeans, a navy blue t-shirt, and jeans, Chad assumed to be Jason, came out of the office and shook his head at her.
"Kelsi, how many times do I have to tell you that it's in the utility closet?" he demanded jokingly at her.
"As many times as I have to tell you your fly is open!" she retorted and made her way back to the utility closet as he turned away to check his zipper.
"Jason?" Chad whispered in confusion. "She married Jason?"
He marched up to the counter. "Jason? Jason Cross?"
Jason turned and faced Chad, "Yeah, that's me... Oh my gawd! Chad! Chad Danforth?"
"Yeah! Hey Bro!" Chad smiled and they gave each other a high five and then a quick hug.
"Hey!" Jason replied.
After a few minutes, Jason and Chad settled down into a table together, both of them with some kind of coffee drink and talked.
"So what's up with little Miss Kelsi?" Chad asked in concern and jokingly at the same time.
"You mean you talked with her?" Jason said in disbelief.
"Well duh! I heard her singing and..." Chad started.
"You talked to her!" Jason exclaimed and then softened his voice. "Chad, two years ago Kelsi and I got into an accident. While I made it out okay, Kelsi was barely alive by the time they got her to the hospital. She slipped away in a comma for two months and then miraculously woke up one day when I was at her side. She had lost her long term memory and only remembered things like us living together, that she worked at my café, her love and passion for music, and the fact that we're just friends and had been in a car accident. Over the past two years, I've slowly been helping her remember everything. I've taken her to Taylor and Ryan's, I've taken her to Sharpay and Zeke's, I've taken her to Troy and Gabby's. Every time we leave I ask her what she thought and she always asks if she's met them before. Now she knows them a little and we watch Sharpay and Zeke's little ones sometimes, but she doesn't remember them. She doesn't even remember her parents!"
"Wow..." Chad sighed, blinking. He looked over at Kelsi, who was singing as she washed windows.
"I ain't trippin', I'm just missin' you And I can't take it what am I waiting for?
You know what I'm sayin', you know what I mean
Every now and then when I'm all alone
I be wishin' you would call me on the telephone
Say you want me back, but you never do
I feel like such a fool, there's nothing I can do
I'm such a fool for you
My heart's still breaking, I miss you even more
And I can't fake it the way I could before,
I hate you, but I love you, I can't stop thinking of you
It's true I'm stuck on you...
Every now and then when I'm all alone
I be wishin' you would call me on the telephone
Say you want me back, but you never do
I feel like such a fool, there's nothing I can do
I'm such a fool for you...
And I can't take it what am I waiting for?
My heart's still breaking, I miss you even more
And I can't fake it the way I could before
I hate you, but I love you, I can't stop thinking of you
I hate you, but I love you, I can't stop thinking of you
DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, I'm stuck on you..."
Jason shook his head. "Loud enough, Kels', or do you still want your microphone!" he called, teasing her.
She threw the bottle of table cleaner at him, but he ducked and it hit Chad, who was in daze.