"You have a song ready, Victor?" She asked with a slight accent.
"Of course I do. I wouldn't just sing meaningless words." Victoria chuckled.
"Of course. Stage is all set for you, sugar." He gave his a lopsided smile.
Victoria got on the stage and was ready to sing.
" Mmm... Mmm..." He started.
"I'm laying here in the darkness
The middle of nowhere
There's no one in sight
Caught in the madness
Don't wanna be like this
I'm losing my mind." Victoria sang.
"Wanna see inside your head
What's going on in there?
Tell me where you are
So I can stop and take a breath
Cause nothing's making sense
I don't want this to end
Come and get me out of this mess." He sang louder, getting more passionate.
"I want you to stay (oh), stay (oh)
Stay with me a little longer
Why don't you stay (oh), stay (oh)
Don't you wanna be my Soldier?
Now, would you fight for me?
D-d-d-die for me?
Would wanna be with me forever
Why don't you stay (oh), stay (oh)
Don't you wanna be my soldier?
(Whoa-oh)" Victoria sang with his eyes closed, getting lost in the music.
"You brought me out of my shell
Put me under your spell
Now I'm walking a straight line
To you
I'll never surrender
You're my pain and pleasure all together." Victoria smiled as he let the words out.
"Wanna see inside your head
What's going on in there?
Tell me where you are
So I can stop and take a breath
Cause nothing's making sense
I don't want this to end
Come and get me out of this mess." Victoria didn't hear the group of teens come in.
"I want you to stay (oh), stay (oh)
Stay with me a little longer
Why don't you stay (oh), stay (oh)
Don't you wanna be my soldier?
Now, would you fight for me?
D-d-d-die for me?
Would wanna be with me forever
Why don't you stay (oh), stay (oh)
Don't you wanna be my soldier?
(Whoa-oh)." He sang, letting his emotions leave with the words.
"If only it was us against the world
(Tell me, tell me, tell me)
Tell me, would you stand for all we're worth?
(Worth, worth)
Your silence is a gun, gun, gun, gun
Aiming at the one, one, one, one
Who's still the same
My love won't change
(Love won't change...)." Victoria let himself be carried into the music.
"(Stay...)
Stay (oh), stay (oh)
Stay with me a little longer
Why don't you stay (oh), stay (oh)
(Stay...)
Don't you wanna be my soldier?
Now, would you fight for me?
D-d-d-die for me?
W-wanna be with me forever
Why don't you stay (oh), stay (oh)
(Stay, stay, yeah...)
Don't you wanna be my soldier?
(Whoa-oh)." Victoria let his voice get a little softer, there was only one more verse.
"(Oh, oh, oh) (Oh, oh, oh) Yeah
(Oh, oh, oh) Be my soldier, soldier
(Oh, oh, oh-oh)
(Oh, oh, oh) But, would you die for me?
(Oh, oh, oh)
Die for me?
(Oh, oh, oh) Be my soldier, soldier
(Oh, oh, oh-oh)." Victoria finished the song, and opened his eyes to applause.
He blushed as he got down from the stage and got a cup of water. He, of course, didn't want anyone to know that he took those lyrics to heart. He had been the one to learn them over and over, because his father had died for his, had died a soldier. He had lost his father because of a man with a gun. Victoria refused to meet anyone's eyes as he sat down.
"That was a really nice song." A voice made his look up, fighting back from letting the tears fall.
"No. Too many bad memories attached..." Victoria whispered.
The group of teens sat at his table, making Victoria want to leave. But he didn't, not wanting to hurt their feelings.
"My father... he was a soldier. Took a bullet aimed for me when I was four. Bled out in front of me. The man who shot the gun was just- gone. All because I was scared to leave behind everyone else. I'm Victor Rogers, by the way." Victoria laughed bitterly, still blaming himself after twelve years for his father's death.
"You blame yourself, don't you?" One of the teens, the only one wearing sunglasses, asked.
"Of course I blame myself. I was stubborn, refused to leave without the others. Refused to leave while we were under attack." Victoria gave a sad and bitter smile, not believing any of them would understand.
"Hey, it's not your fault. It's that man's fault. Your father wouldn't want you to blame yourself for what someone else did." Another one, a ginger with the most startling green eyes said, making Victoria's heart do a little tap dance at how deeply those green eyes stared at him, feeling like that man could stare into his soul.
"If you think I can stop myself from blaming me for it... I've tried, for the past twelve years." Victoria said, looking away.