A/N: Alright everyone, sorry to keep you waiting. Anyway, the next installment of Chasing a Dream follows :)
Collin
Sometimes I wonder why I took this route, and then I remember how good it feels to do what I love for a living. The only problem is all of the drama.
During day two of practice on the stage, Ariana messed up something during one of the songs, and she and Jade got into it. It took all three of us, John, Garret, and myself, to pull them apart. I hadn't seen either of them in nearly a day, and we still had practice to go through today.
I was laying on my bed in the hotel and someone knocked on the door. I stood up to let them in, and opened it to John and Garret.
"Bitches got stitches," John chuckled as he pushed his way inside, followed by Garret.
"What?" I asked confused.
"Ariana and Jade. They must have gotten into a really bad fight. They both went to the hospital and had to get stitches," Garret informed me. Well that was just great.
"How the hell did that happen?" I demanded. "Will they be okay to play tomorrow?"
"Something about a bar fight; yeah they'll be fine. It was like, their arms or something. I don't know, I just got a call from Ariana," John told me.
"I love being left out of the loop," I muttered.
"Well if you ever went out instead of sulking in your rooms all the time, you'd know these things," Garret smirked.
"Oh shut up," I grimaced, laying on the bed.
"There you go again," John groaned, and I flipped him off, but they both just laughed.
"Where the hell are they then? " I asked, lifting my face up from the pillow.
"On their way. Ariana wanted to know if you could cancel practice." Garret asked in their stead.
"We start touring as soon as this show is over, we haven't played the new material live yet, and you guys want to cancel practice? " I asked sitting up.
"Well, we've been practicing already," John started, but my glare silenced him.
"We only have one day of practice down, the other was ruing by their fight. I wanted to do a full run through today so that we get the feel of how it's going to go," I told them. "So no, we're not canceling."
"Whatever you say, Mr. Bossy," John muttered, tapping away on his phone. I made a mental note to talk to the girls personally and privately as he sent the message.
A moment later my phone buzzed, and I moaned inwardly as I reached for it.
"Hello?" I asked, and found myself speaking to Seth.
"Get your asses down here before the stage managers shut down the stage for the day," He hissed and hung up.
"Here we go guys," I muttered, stretching. The walk to the elevator was actually kind of silent. We'd been having to monitor our movements since arriving - with the publicity so huge, we'd been assaulted every day and every hour by fans. I enjoyed the attention but it got very irksome at times.
When we got to the stage, I found Ariana and Jade already at the drum kit and keys. I raised an eyebrow at them, and they both shrugged. Ariana grinned as she showed me her bicep, which had a nasty looking scar running down the side, and Jade had an identical strip on her forearm.
"You're both insane," I joked, and they laughed. The air didn't feel as tense as it had been, but I made a note to not bring it up right then. We needed to focus.
"Okay, warm up then," I said, deciding that today I would let loose. Full-power. I did my usual warmup routine and then turned to the others. "Full run guys. From the beginning."
We made our way off stage and let the crew do their thing with the lighting and pyrotechnics. We waited for our intro song, a theme that Jade and Ariana had made up, and then made our way to the stage to start. I held back while the first bars of Dark Chest of Wonders played and then made my way onto the front.
Once I had a dream
And this is it!
Once there was a child's dream
One night the clock stroke twelve
The window open wide
Once there was a child's heart
The age I learned to fly
And took a step outside
Once I knew all the tales
It's time to turn back time
Follow the pale moonlight
Once I wished for this night
Faith brought me here
It's time to cut the rope and fly
Fly to a dream
Far across the sea
All the burdens gone
Open the chest once more
Dark chest of wonders
Seen through the eyes
Of the one with pure heart
Once so long ago
The one in the Big Blue is what the world stole from me
This night will bring him back to me
As the song faded and we struck up the next one, I found myself surprised to be hearing Breathtaking. I'd thought we'd cut it! I looked around, but they just nodded as the song continued, and I took a deep breath before singing.
Love is the reason that we find ourselves so high
It's no crime - to love so heavily
And now i just wanted you to know
Like a sigh, like a dream, you're breathtaking
I can't quite breathe - yeah you've captured me
Fresh snow, living green, summer dale, and autumn leaves
Can't compare to the girl in front of me - you're breathtaking
Now I know I might come off sounding strange
But you're always on my mind - night and day
Your kiss is intoxicating, sweeter than novacaine
And now i just want you to know
You're my sigh, you're my dream - yeah you're breathtaking
I cannot see - you're so lovely
Nothing but a mist would fill my days
Without you here with me
I faded out as the guitar solo took place, and I felt tears in my eyes for the first time in what felt like ages. I turned around to see Ariana and Jade, both with tears streaming down their faces and their eyes shut as they played their song.
Beauty - Hey I'm the beast
Can't stop me from feeling
That we are meant to be
Time and space can't keep me from you darling
You're my sigh, you're my dream - yeah you're breathtaking
You're all I think of, believe me
And if the day comes when you no longer love me
I just want you to be happy
Like a sight, like a dream - yeah you're breathtaking
I cannot see - you're breathtaking
This can't be a dream , who could not see
Nothing's stopping this love from living - you're breathtaking
As the song faded to an end, I turned the mic off, and looked around at my band members. Most of them were crying except for Garret, but he never cries, and John was barely holding on.
"Guys... day off. Spend the last bit relaxing. We'll rock Seattle tomorrow," I decided. I was the last to leave the stage, the words of the song echoing in my head. I couldn't help but feel that this song had meaning for me as well. As my thoughts of tomorrow clouded my head, Brady's name shouted it's way to the top of my mind. Breathtaking was more than just for Ariana and Jade, I realized. The song was an anthem of declaring undying love. This was how Brady felt about me. Inside, I felt my heart breaking.
Brady
I hurried to cancel the rest of my classes, barely uttering anything when Amelia, the secretary asked why. I made my way back to my room and found Cillian sitting there, looking uncomfortable.
"Okay. Come on. We're taking a field trip," I said, holding the door for him. He looked at me confused for a moment, but then shrugged and came to join me. As we started walking, we fell into a kind of comfortable silence. I looked at Cillian, but he wasn't looking at me. In fact, he was preoccupied with thoughts. Probably about how the hell he was going to get out of trouble or how to get me to not worry about him.
When I reached where I'd intended to go, he looked around, confused. We were at this huge water fountain, glittering with money from where people had made wishes and flipped their coins into it.
"Why are we here?" He asked.
"This is called the Forever Fountain. People have been coming here for a very long time, making their wishes and telling their secrets to coins, and dropping them off into forever. It's a great place to relax and let off some steam. It's also good for letting go," I said, sitting down on one of the benches beside the fountain.
"So, what does this have to do with singing?" Cillian asked curiously as he sat beside me, and I eyed him before closing both and leaning my head back on the railing of the bench.
"Listen, Cillian. Close your eyes, think about nothing. Just listen,"
The sound of the fountain's cascading water was predominate, but if you were musically inclined, you could make music out of anything - including this fountain.
"I feel funny," He said after what seemed like a lifetime.
"Cillian, life isn't about who we are. It's not about what we do or how we do it. It's about love. True, strong, unconditional love. Some accomplish this through art, others through music. There are some who achieve it through family, and others through loving someone. It isn't about what kind of love, but rather how we love. It's what we do with that love that makes the difference,"
He was silent then. I watched as he stood up and pulled out a penny from his pocket - a bright, shining new penny. He folded it in his hands and brought them close to his mouth. He whispered something into his hands before tossing the small copper coin into the fountain. When he returned to my side, I could tell he wasn't as tense.
"Better?" I asked, and he nodded, smiling.
"Mr. Fuller," He started, and as I looked at him, he seemed to be thinking hard about something. "Thank you. For everything. You're a great teacher."
"Oh, well, I..." I started flustering, and blushed wildly.
"No seriously, you really are. Not many people have a level of understanding like this, let alone how to apply good advice to a situation like this,"
"I appreciate it, Cillian," I smiled before standing up. "Well, it's getting late," I said, looking at my watch. In actuality, I was supposed to be starting my next class, but I remembered I'd taken the rest of the day off.
"Yeah. See you later, Mr. Fuller," He said as we parted ways. "Oh, Mr. Fuller?" He asked. I turned to him, and he smiled lightly. "Are you going to the Weeping Angels concert Friday?"
I smiled wryly, and nodded. He seemed satisfied and then departed. I looked at the fountain, it's water glistening in the sunlight. I'd left so many wishes in it. So many.
XXX
A/N: The first song mentioned here is called Dark Chest of Wonders by Nightwish. The second, Breathtaking, is one of my own personal songs. Hope you all enjoyed! Reviews inspire faster writing :)
