Carly, Sam, and Freddie sat together at their table at the hotel bar. They were all aware that Rico had planned on dedicating songs to them tonight. Freddie was aware, having been told by Carly, that Sam had something she wanted to talk to him about after dinner. Carly was aware that among other things about her, Sam's feelings towards Freddie had changed as time went on. Sam was aware that, against her will, she had fallen in love with Freddie, and if she did not act quickly, she ran the risk of pushing him away forever, and spending the rest of her life wondering what could have been.
Rico finished the song he was on, Just Friends by Amy Winehouse, and squinted into the audience, soon locating the iCarly table. The four of them made eye contact, and he smiled at them from the stage.
"Up next," He began, "I want to do something different for my audience." His ever-present coy grin appeared on his face. "Recently, I have met three new friends who have made a HUGE impact on me, so I want to take some time and dedicate a song to each of them."
He looked directly at Carly, and softened his gaze a bit. "This song is for a young woman, sitting among us tonight, just like any other. It could be any woman. She dresses like everyone else, does as well in school, uses the same slang… But she knows she is something more.
"But she wonders… is she wrong to do what she does? To climb the ranks? To take advantage of those who are willing? To get what she wants no matter what it takes? She begins to second guess now, to wonder if she is doing well on the eternal test of choosing between what is right, and what is easy. This song is called Gold Dust Woman, by Fleetwood Mac."
---AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you like, listen while reading! www(DOT)imeem(DOT)com/artists/fleetwood_mac/music/cjKCAAQS/christine-mcvie-gold-dust-woman-lp-version/
A slow, melodic beat, like a metronome, struck up, and increased in bravado. Other instruments began to include themselves, including acoustic guitar and a mysterious percussion instrument
Rock on, gold dust woman
Take your silver spoon
And dig your grave
Carly Sank a little into her seat as the lyrics ringed through her ears. Gold Dust Woman? What did that mean?
Heartless challenge
Pick your path and I'll pray
Wake up in the morning
See your sunrise loves to go down
Lousy lovers- pick their prey
But they never cry out loud
The Beat Picked up a little, and Carly's mouth unwittingly hung open as she listened powerlessly to the melody that Rico spun from the stage as he hit the Chorus of the song.
Did she make you cry
make you break down
Shatter your illusions of love
Is it over now? Do you know how
to pick up the pieces and go home?
Carly Squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. What is this all about? Is this about Freddie? Why did Rico care about Freddie so much all of a sudden anyways? Who cared about…? Carly stopped her thoughts in their tracks as she realized she was getting too caught up in a song. She still could, however, feel something squirming inside her; the need to defend herself, indignance, and overpowering guilt.
Rock on ancient woman
Follow those who pale in your shadow
Rulers make bad lovers
you better put your kingdom up for sale
Well, did she make you cry,
Make you break down,
Shatter your illusions of love?
And now, tell me, is it over now? Do you know how
to pick up the pieces and go home?
Carly could not help thinking about Freddie as the music slowly died off, and Rico stayed on stage softly repeating some mantra of a few words including "Gold," "Shadow," and "Woman." How many times had she made Freddie feel that way? How many times had she hurt his feelings, betrayed his trust, taken advantage of him, even humiliated him? Her stomach growled and she chewed at her fingernails. She looked over nervously at Freddie, who was still watching Rico with interest. Carly felt obliged to do the same, only to be met with Rico's direct, penetrating gaze.
The audience applauded generously as soon as his stirring, intimate performance was done. He bowed graciously and waved his thanks to the audience. He walked back to the Mic and took it, and spoke in his normal speech voice again.
"Thank you. This Next Song is for another young woman in this audience tonight," and here he paused to smile at Sam. "This song is about a phenomenon that occurs when it is not clear whether or not you know how you feel about someone. How does one respond to this situation? Do you utilize physical or psychological intimidation? Do you refuse to answer questions? Do you push away the people who have the most to offer to you because you are afraid of what they have to offer? This song is about being afraid to be in love. The name of this song is Scared of You, By Nelly Furtado."
---Author's Note: Care to listen? The second part of the song is Portuguese, for anyone who's wondering. www(DOT)imeem(DOT)com/artists/nelly_furtado/music/CuTKjFhm/nelly-furtado-scared-of-you/
Rico winked at Sam from atop his stage and a classical beat struck up, including piano and harp. He took the center stage again.
I'm sorry if I forsake you
I'm sorry that I left you
I'm sorry I did forget you
After this line, the music trailed off, and then replaced itself with a slightly faster, but still very intimate, tropical sounding beat.
And I'm sorry that I made myself feel better
By making you feel never good enough
I know you'll shine much brighter than I ever could
Maybe that is why I was
Scared of you
(And in everything I do I'm still thinking of you) oh, you
And I know you were scared of me
(but every time I tried to love you I just
fell through) too
Desculpa-me se te-ofendi
Desculpa-me se te-esqueci
Desculpa me se-eu te-deixei
Eu te-deixei
E desculpa-me por mi sentir bem com tua dor
Sabes que te-adore mais sei que tu estrela a maior do que minha,
E por isso
Eu tenho medo deste amor (os dias passo pensando en ti) amor
Medo deste amor (Salve-me porque agora estou caindo) amor
Sam did not need a translation to understand what the lyrics meant. She looked over at Freddie, his facial expressions impossible to read as he stared at Rico upon the stage. She thought back on all the times she had been too scared to let Freddie into her life, how many times she head hurt him, how many times she had lashed out at him when all she wanted was to embrace him and be told by him that everything would be ok.
I was Scared of you, my friend,
Scared of you, my, my friend,
Scared of you, I was, I was,
So Scared of you
The Mantra Repeated endlessly in Sam's head, though it ended after about a minute on stage. Why had she let her jealousy of Freddie always get the best of her? Because she was afraid of him? God, they had a lot to talk about tonight.
Rico winked at Sam again as the song finished and he received more applause. He returned to his friendly grin and spoke normally into the Mic again. "Wow, thank you guys! I was actually kinda worried about that song because I thought it would be out of my vocal range, but it was really important that I get the right song for a certain someone in this audience." He smiled At Sam from the stage for a second, and then returned to his speech.
"So to wrap up the night, I have one last song that I want to dedicate tonight. This song is for another good friend of mine who is sitting among us tonight. This song is about how it doesn't take too much to leave one feeling lost and alone. About how things can sneak up behind you. About how you're not ready for the things that happen and sometimes you don't even know what they are. If you've ever said, 'I don't want to talk about it.' This one is for you, buddy," He finished with a smile and a quick glance at Freddie. "This song is called Running Away, By AM."
---Update: I uploaded this song to Imeem! http://www(DOT)imeem(DOT)com/people/WarKS9/music/uZfgCYV_/am-running-away/
The beat of the song struck up, and Sam and Freddie nervously shot involuntary glances at each other, locking eyes for a second, and then looking away. Who could forget that this was the very song to which they experienced their kiss together? It had to be a coincidence! There was no way Rico could have known-
Did I tell you I knew your name?
But it seems that I've lost it
Sam's thoughts paused as the first line of the song ran away from Rico's mouth and into Sam's heart.
Did I tell you it's my own game?
This is not your problem
I don't know if I'm gonna change
Wasting time and another day
I keep running away
Even from the good things
I keep running away
Even from the good things
She felt like she was having a stroke as the repetitive lines of the chorus washed over her like waves of water. The chorus, she recalled, was the part of the song that had been playing when they kissed. Little to her knowledge, Freddie was feeling the exact same way at the exact same time. The two tried their best not to glance over at each other and enjoy the song, but they could not hold down the feelings that were simultaneously welling up inside of them
Did I tell you it's not that bad
Sitting over here dreaming
did I tell you I'm right on track?
This time I mean it
I don't know if I'm gonna change
Wasting time and another day
Listening to the lyrics the way Rico spun them, Freddie's interpretation of the song changed slightly. He thought upon his previous struggles with depression, and how he could not even talk to his mom about it. Not his mom, not Carly, not Spencer, and definitely not Sam. He wondered why he could never trust anyone. Why he kept running away.
I keep running away
Even from the good things
I keep running away
Even from the good things
Rico finished the song, and the melodic, peaceful beat seemed to drift away of its own accord. Sam and Freddie, Refusing to look at each other, wore brave faces as on the inside they were both ready to burst into tears if anyone so much as poked them.
The Audience applauded once again for Rico, and he said "Thank you" repeatedly, and waved out to the audience. "Thank you, everyone, and good night!"