Closer To You
It's nice out today, so I decided I'd sit outside and write something for you guys (well, that and to show some people it could still be done... like the still awesome manhattanproject...) I kid, mostly, but the nice weather did make me feel like being nice, and I love the song that the story & title use, 'Closer To You' by Adelitas Way (with a bit of their song 'Alive' at the end). It may be a bit short, but that tends to happen when I don't outline things. I'd rather get this out now than plan it and wait til next time I feel like writing it. So you enjoy, and I'll try to stop rambling. As if that ever works...
Disclaimer: U sib;r iqb rgua ('I don't own this' written one key too far left... I'm not really sure why...I'm strange)
"So you really got us a gig at prom?" Nate asked his brother Shane as they sat at the lunch table a couple months before the event.
"Well, yeah, I mean, I'm Shane Gray, what can't I do?" He laughed, slightly popping his collar as he finished.
"Displaying humility comes to mind." Mitchie mumbled , rolling her eyes.
"Oh, Mitch, we all know you love me." He laughed harder, throwing an arm around her shoulder, which she quickly shrugged off, acting disgusted. Nate and Shane fell against each other laughing, while Mitchie simply hunched forward, shaking her head at the people she called her friends. Soon enough though, they all stopped abruptly, as the object of nearly the entire school's desires, Alex Russo, she who'd mastered the 'rebel with a heart of gold' persona, sauntered by like she owned the room, as she did every day. The effect was instantaneous, as if they were in a commercial for Applebee's sizzling entrees. All conversation died out in her immediate path, only returning to normal after she'd passed.
As he regained himself, Shane sighed, looking around at his friends. "Well Nate... and Mitchie," he noted with some surprise as he noticed her still staring wistfully after the other girl, "it seems we've got no shot. As if a girl like that would ever notice us."
Nate nodded distractedly, seemingly still stuck on the Mitchie revelation. "You like her too?" He questioned, his eyes widening as she shyly nodded. "I mean, like, just her, or," he waved an arm toward a table full of girls, "all of them?"
Mitchie cleared her throat nervously. "Just- just her." She stammered. "I know you guys just got here last year, but this... effect she has on everyone... it wasn't always like that. For a couple years it was just me. Then, we came back from that summer, and she was just, wow, you know? And still, it's like nothing's changed. She walked by my locker this morning, smiling and waving. So I wave back, I was all excited, I thought she'd finally noticed me. Nope, just stupid Harper coming up behind me." Her fist pounded the table lightly as she finished.
"Right." Shane nodded definitively, everyone turning to stare at him. "Nate, our goal is now getting Alex to notice Mitchie. I don't wanna hear it, she was there first, she's suffered the neglect more than any of us." He interrupted himself as Nate started to raise his hand to interject. "And we're gonna use our shiny new prom gig to do so."
"How does your band's performance help me get noticed?" Mitchie asked, clearly confused.
"You're gonna be our special guest singer. And you're gonna sing a song you've written. For Alex." He finished, as she started shaking her head, crossing her arms. "Fine, fine, you just write the song. If, when the time comes, you can't do it, we'll handle things. At least you'll have the option."
"Well, I mean, I guess, oh alright." She gave in, laughing slightly at his hopeful expression and celebrating as she agreed.
Nate being the band's official songwriter, as Shane seemed to have no interest in the creation process, mainly just showing up, messing around on his guitar and learning the lyrics given to him, decided to help Mitchie write her song. This left Shane with quite a bit of extra free time, as all the other songs they were planning for their set were ones they'd learned long ago and performed many times, since they figured it was better to play it safe with the classics than risk being the band that ruined people's prom experience with crappy music. The boys assumed it would be tough for their band, 'Absolute Gray', to recover from a setback like that. Also, Shane thought, it make Mitchie's original stand out even more.
Shane shook himself out of his thoughts. He was on a mission, he didn't have time to stand here, lost in his own mind. For all he knew he'd already missed his opportunity. Or not, he thought, focusing his eyes down the hall as he spotted her. He'd placed himself in the perfect spot, as he knew she walked this way to class every day. Before Alex got there, Shane secretly dropped his bright yellow notebook on the ground in her path.
It worked just like he'd known it would. The bright color drew Harper's attention as she walked next to Alex, and the two of them couldn't resist picking it up. For Mitchie's sake, he forced himself to look away as she bent down to grab it, only turning back as they huddled together, opening it and finding the message he'd left inside. The rest of the day was spent simply watching as they observed Mitchie with the obviousness of those who weren't skilled in subtlety like he was, and seeing the mix of uncomfortable and nervous on Mitchie's face when she realized. It was all coming together. Now Alex was at least thinking about the idea of being with Mitchie, and she was noticing Mitchie, so Mitchie would have nothing to lose in singing her song at prom. Alex even looked intrigued by the idea. This could be working out better than he'd expected.
"Shane! You told her!" Mitchie screeched, pacing back and forth across the Gray's garage. It was down to just weeks before prom, so he'd felt it best to reveal his workings to Mitchie, hoping to bring some determination to her practice of the song. Now, it seemed he may have made a miscalculation somewhere in his brilliant plan.
"Come on Mitch, I just got her thinking about it! Nobody fully believes anything they read in some random notebook they find on the ground. I was simply laying the groundwork for your song, and getting you some preliminary feedback. And the polls are looking good so far." He smirked.
"Dude, it's not an election." Nate interrupted, shaking his head at his brother.
"And I'm not doing it." Mitchie added.
"But we put so much work into that song!" Nate whined slightly.
"Yeah, Mitchie, how could you be so mean?" Shane threw a protective arm around his brother, drawing him into his chest, where he pretended to sob.
Mitchie held out for a few more moments, but soon enough... "Oh, fine! I'll do it! Are you happy now?" The boys brought their heads up, big smiles on both their faces as they simultaneously agreed. "I hate it when you do that, you know?"
"We know." They responded in unison, before dragging her over to the microphone to start practicing her song.
~?~?~?~
"Thank you, thank you! We're Absolute Gray!" Everyone clapped as Shane finished his last song. "Now, I'm gonna take a short break, and we have a special guest who'd like to sing you a song she wrote with us, everybody welcome your very own, Mitchie Torres!" The claps resounded again as Mitchie slowly walked toward the center of the stage, Shane taking her hand to quicken her pace and nearly dragging her there.
"Um... hey everybody," she waved shyly, "this song is called 'Closer To You', and I kinda wrote it for someone special. I think they know who they are." She nodded to Shane, and he kicked off the intro, and she soon added the vocals.
"As you walk my way
Do you see my face
Sad behind a smile
Fake it for awhile
Tell me what should I do?
Can I get closer to you
Tell me the truth
Can I get an answer from you
Show me a sign
Here I stand with my heart in my hands
And all I do
To get closer to you
As I stand alone
Sinking like a stone
You can save me now
I can't live without
Tell me what should I do?
Can I get closer to you
Tell me the truth
Can I get an answer from you
Show me a sign
Here I stand with my heart in my hands
And all I do
To get closer to you
If you walked my way
Would you see my face?
Can I get closer to you
Tell me the truth
Can I get an answer from you
Show me a sign
Here I stand with my heart in my hands
And all I do
To get closer to you
To get closer to you
And all I do
To get closer to you
And all I do
To get closer to you
And all I do..."
Shane faded out the song's ending, while Nate took Mitchie off to the side of the stage as everyone began clapping again. "What are you doing?" She questioned, tilting her head at him.
"I just thought you'd wanna head down there right away, meet and greet all your new fans, you know, now that you're a star and all." He chuckled. She scoffed, smacking him lightly on the shoulder, but allowed herself to be pushed down the side stairs, until she stopped when she saw who was waiting for her at the bottom.
"Alex?"
"I knew who I was."
"So..."
"So I've been thinking, I wouldn't mind getting 'closer to you'," she chuckled, stepping toward Mitchie, "what do you say to that?"
"Well then, may I have this dance?" She raised her hand up in front of Alex, and the other girl took it in both of hers, bringing it down to rest on her hip.
"I would love that." Alex grinned as she placed her arms around Mitchie's neck.
Back on stage, Nate filled Shane in on the situation, and they started into one of their slower songs, both with uncontrollable happy smiles on their faces for their friend.
"What if I told you that I think you're perfect?
Beautiful sky in your eyes, it's so worth it.
I know you make me feel alive.
What if I told you that I'm in forever?
Nothing to hide, yeah, I'll go wherever you go.
You make me feel alive..."
You know your thoughts have reached a new level of stupidity when you start judging people's hotness based on Taco Bell sauces... But enough of my thoughts. What about yours? You could always share them in one of those fancy review thingamajigs. ~SGM