~Rina
Book Three, Chapter ten- "Anniversary, part one."
Date: July 22nd, 2012
Bill's POVI watched with entertained eyes as my girlfriend interacted with the hoard of children that were currently crowding around her. The smile on her face as she gave toys covered in pretty rainbow-colored wrapping to the kids was so bright and beautiful, more than I've ever seen it before- she obviously loved being around the little children.
A hand fell onto my shoulder and I turned to see Kasey, the owner of the orphanage, watching Irene from behind her brown bangs with the same amazement as I was.
"She's quite something." Kasey said, turning to look at me with sparkling eyes, "You're her boyfriend, right?"
I nodded in response.
"Well I can easily say that you have something really special in her."
"I know," I said with a joyful smile. "Does she do this often?" I gestured to Irene, who was now playing with some of the children and showing them how the mechanical toys worked.
"She tries to come in at least once a week and always brings something for the kids. It's usually sugary snacks and little trinkets but every once in a while she comes up with enough money to buy them some toys. And she's so nice to them! They never want her to leave when her visits are over."
My girlfriend was quite the saint. I looked back over to her. She was getting up from the multi-colored puzzle rug and dusting off her clothes. Some of the kids grasped at her pants and shirt with their tiny fingers, glancing up at her with pleading eyes.
"You're not leaving yet, are you?" A little girl with fair blonde hair and a pink dress asked with wet eyes.
"I'm sorry, Maddie, but I have to." Irene looked almost sad as she said those words. "But I'll be back soon, I promise." She looked out to the other twenty-some kids that were there, "Now, babes, what's the rule with the toys again?"
"Share with everyone, or don't play at all." The children chorused automatically in their high-pitched voices.
Irene nodded, satisfied, and made her way over to where Kasey and I were standing. She looped her arm through mine and gazed at me questioningly. I knew she was curious about my amused stare, but I decided not to explain it and instead questioned her about the kids' attraction to her.
"They love me." She said confidently. "It helps that I spoil them."
Kasey rolled her eyes. "She really does. Nothing is too expensive for Irene when it comes to these kids."
I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted by the little blonde girl who had asked if Irene was leaving. Maddie pulled shyly at Irene's shirt, signalling for her to bend down to the girl's level. Irene did so and kept completely still as the young child whispered into Irene's ear. She listened for a second, and then her face brightened as she glanced up at me with a smirk. Irene yanked on my shirt and I went down to the floor as well.
"Go ahead, Maddie, ask him. He doesn't bite." Irene said encouragingly, nudging the girl closer to me.
The little blonde fiddled with the hem of her dress and it was so adorable that she was so shy. "Are you Bill Kauwitz?" She asked timidly, glancing up at me through her eyelashes.
I smiled kindly at her cute mispronunciation and nodded. "I am."
Maddie smiled at the confirmation and turned towards Kasey. "Can you take a picture for Awwie?"
Kasey tensed at the question but nodded all the same. She disappeared into a side office and reappeared a second later with a tiny, silver digital camera and told Maddie to go closer to me. When the girl didn't move, Irene gently pushed her by the shoulder until she was right next to me. Before the picture was taken, Irene whispered something in Maddie's ear then stepped away. Kasey raised the camera to her eye and just as she snapped the picture, the little girl turned her head and kissed my cheek. I was used to keeping a straight face during sneaked kisses, so my smile never faltered. Maddie thanked me brightly and then followed Kasey into the office to print the picture. Maddie came back out and asked me to sign the printed picture, which I did happily. We said goodbye to the two people and the rest of the children then left the building. Once we were in my Audi and a little ways from the building, I asked Irene was that had been about.
"Maddie's older sister, Ally, is a Tokio Hotel fan, so she wanted a picture for her." Irene said, her voice sounding distant.
"But there's something else, isn't there?" I prodded cautiously.
Irene pursed her lips tightly and exhaled through her nose. "Maddie and Ally were picked up by Kasey a couple years ago. They girls had been bruised, dirty, hungry and scared of anything that moved. Nobody knows what happened to the two, but Ally had been much weaker than her sister and everybody figures that Ally had taken care of her sister a bit too much and neglected herself. But long story short is that Ally was admitted to the hospital shortly after they entered the orphanage. Nobody knows what is wrong with her but she doesn't have enough energy to stay awake. It's only when Maddie goes to visit that Ally forces herself to stay awake. It'll mean a lot to Ally that her sister got a picture with you just for her."
I took one hand off the steering wheel and took Irene's hand in mine. "It was so amazing to watch you interact with those kids."
"Yeah?" Irene said with a blush.
"Uh huh. It was obvious you really cared for them."
"Well I kind of know what it's like to be alone like that so…" Irene's voice faded and I knew that she was thinking about her mother. I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it. Irene sighed but I saw out of the corner of my eye that she attempted to smile, though it was failed.
"I used to visit your mother all the time, you know. She was doing really well when I left Germany." I said consolingly. "She even hit me once."
Irene spluttered out a laugh and I felt a proud feeling run through me.
"That doesn't surprise me with Mom." The smile on her face weakened slightly, "Do you think she'll ever wake up?"
We had just pulled into the parking lot of the club Irene's band was playing at tonight. I parked the car and immediately leaned over to pull Irene into a loving kiss. She kissed back demandingly and I knew that she wanted to do something that would take her mind off her mother but I pushed her away gently. There were tears streaming down her cheeks and I wiped them away with the sleeve of my shirt, and then brushed her hair away from her face.
"She'll wake up eventually, Bean."
Irene shook her head. "You don't know that." She said in a low voice and turned away from me, "Sometimes, I just feel like calling up the doctors and telling them to pull the plug; to end it all."
"Oh, Bean, don't think like that." I cupped her face in my hands. "You can't ever give up. Dawna is a strong woman; she will get through this. I know it, okay?"
After a moment of careful consideration, Irene nodded. "Okay..." She sounded a bit breathless.
"Good. Now listen to me," I pulled away from her to give her some space to breathe. "I'm coming to get you right after you're done the concert, so don't fall behind."
I grinned at her to show that I was teasing. A smirk formed on her face, "I can't control if the crowd wants more of me, Billi."
I went back closer to her. "Try. It's bad enough that I have to give up taking you out for dinner because of this gig."
Instead of answering, Irene gave me a short kiss. "Bill, I'm trying to make a name for Midnight Sun. I can't do that if I run off as soon as I finish the last song. You, of all people, should know what that's like."
"Yeah, I guess. But can you still try? For me?"
We shared another sweet kiss. "I suppose I could." Irene said against my lips. "But I have to go now. I'll see you later."
"Okay." I said, "Love you."
Irene returned the words and hopped out of the car and ran towards the building. I watched her go inside and then drove off to the hotel I was renting a room from to get everything ready. Even though I had a good two and a half hours until Irene would be free to be swept away, I wanted to start early so everything would be nearly perfect. Not just for her, but for both of us. After everything we've been though, I think we deserved a night just for us.
(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)
Two and a half hours later…The club was dark, stuffy, and smelled like BO. Not pleasant at all, but Irene had texted me a few minutes ago saying that she might have to help carry equipment after the show and I was hoping to steal her away before she could get the chance to help. I weaved my way through the sweaty bodies on the dance floor and hid myself in the corner near the stage. Right then, Irene's band was finishing up one song and guitars and drums were being put away and replaced with a set of turntables.
"Hey, guys." Irene said to the crowd with a sheepish smile. "Tonight, we're going to try something new. Our drummer, Amy, is learning how to use the turntables, so we want to see if we can replicate a famous song. Is that okay?"
The crowd vocalized their approval of the idea and Irene smiled happily. An Asian girl with shoulder-length black hair stood at the turntables, a pair of headphones on her head as she tested the different sounds on the machine in front of her. She managed to play out a small beat and gave Irene a thumbs up. Irene nodded at her and replaced the mic in her hand with a wireless one that went into her ear.
"Ready?" She asked the crowd, whose responsive cheers seemed to make the whole room rumble.
I had a feeling that most of the people in this club were only here to see Midnight Sun. Irene's band was lucky to have such a fan base so early in their career; only bands that were really talented could pull that off. The music started and I focused all my attention on the way Irene moved to the beat, swinging her hips slightly to the start of the song.
"Docta docta, need you back home, baby
Docta Docta, where you at?
Give me something
I need your love, I need your love
I need your loving
You got that kind of medicine that keeps me comin'"
Amanda and Midnight Sun's red-headed guitarist appeared and Irene grinned at them. I was shocked when they all broke out into some kind of complicated dance routine. Even then, Irene never missed a note in the lyrics.
My body needs a hero, come and save meSomething tells me you know how to save me
I've been feeling weird, oh!
Oh, I need you to come and rescue me!Make me come alive, come on and turn me on
Touch me, save my life, come on and turn me on
I'm too young to die, come on and turn me on
Turn me on, turn me on
Turn me on, turn me on"
Just as she started to repeat the course of the song, Irene spotted me standing in the corner. I wiggled my fingers at her in a teasing wave and she smirked slightly between the words she was signing. Nobody noticed our little exchange but Amanda, who gave Irene a look that said she was silently suggesting something. Irene seemed to know what that something was because she bobbed her head a little in a nod. Irene stopped singing for a second and jumped off the stage and into the crowd. People applauded and reached out to touch Irene as she started the next verse of the song. I swallowed hard as she slinked towards me in a way that was so seductive that I didn't know what to do.
"Oh, you make it, make it right
My temperature is super high
If I scream, if I cry
It's only 'cause I feel alive!"
Irene finally stopped right in front of me and slung her arms around my neck. Unconsciously, I wrapped my own arms around her waist. It was a habit of mine now; whenever she hugged me, my arms would go straight for her small waist protectively. This close to her, I could see the makeup that covered the love bites I would leave on her neck whenever we got some alone time. Hopefully tonight, I would get to leave even more than just a hickey; hopefully, I would get to leave a memory neither of us would ever be able to forget. Irene sang the next part of the song just to me, ignoring the gazes of the crowd behind her.
"My body needs a hero, come and save me
Something tells me you know how to save me
I've been feeling weird, oh!
Oh, I need you to come and rescue me"
As she sang, her face and body had gotten closer and closer to mine. Our lips were just inches apart and I seriously thought she was going to kiss me right in front of all these people- until she pushed me away. It was a gentle, playful push that had me grinning. She grinned back and sashayed away, going back towards the stage to finish the song. I expected almost all the people to stare at me, but was surprised to find that only a couple people were casting me suspicious glances. The rest of the horde were either too busy dancing to notice what Irene had been doing, or too caught up in watching Irene back on the stage to even spare me a second glance.
However, one of the people who were staring at me broke away from the mass of dancers. I kept a straight face as the girl who looked to be only a couple years younger than me came towards my corner. She had black hair that reached just a little past her shoulders with red on her bangs and at the tips of her hair. The girl had snake-bites in her lip, her eyebrow pierced, and an earring in her left ear that had a chain that went from the top of the ear to the lobe, connecting each end with a rainbow stud.
"Hi there." She said with a friendly smile.
"Hi." I replied with a polite smile of my own.
"So, I just had a question for you, if that's okay." The girl went straight to the point, eyeing me curiously. I told her to ask the question and she beamed at the thought that I might actually answer it. "I was wondering if you and Irene were dating. Because I like Tokio Hotel AND Midnight Sun and that would just be amazing if my two idols were going out with each other."
I studied the girl's eager face silently. She seemed innocent enough, but Irene and I hadn't talked about revealing our relationship to the public yet so I didn't know if my girlfriend would be okay with me telling this random fan about what we had. Therefore, even though I knew it would deflate the bubble of hope and happiness I could feel coming off this younger girl, I shook my head at her. Her pierced face fell.
"Really?" She asked sadly.
"Sorry, but Irene and I are just friends."
The girl sighed. "Okay. Thanks for answering the question. But before I go, could you sign this?"
She held out a sharpie and a Midnight Sun poster, which I flipped over to the blank side and quickly signed my name on. The girl thanked me and went back into the crowd to her friends. She showed them the posted and they all shone with jealousy. Before any more of them could come over, I slipped farther into the shadows and made my way towards the door to backstage; I snuck up behind Irene (who had finished singing while I was talking to that girl) and threw my arms around her. She squeaked in shock and tilted her head back to look at her attacker and glaring when she saw that it was me.
"Time to go!" I said cheerfully.
"I need to help them!" Irene replied, pointing to where Amanda and the guy named James were transporting speakers and guitars from the edge of the stage to the backdoor.
Both Amanda and James turned to us. Just as Amanda said "No, you don't" with a smirk on her face, James glared at me and said "Yes, you do." Irene shot a wide-eyed scowl at James that she tried (and failed) to hide. James merely shrugged and walked away. Amanda sighed.
"Ignore him." The blonde said, "He's just being a grouch. You can take Irene away, Bill; we don't need her."
I smiled and said thanks to Amanda as I dragged Irene out from backstage. We pushed through the dancers that were now enjoying the DJ on the stage. Irene was stopped a few times for people to tell her that she had been amazing onstage and so she could sign posters, notebooks, shirts, and even skin. The black-and-red headed girl was one of the people who stopped us. She held out the poster I had signed and told Irene to sign her name next to mine. Irene raised an eyebrow at my name but signed under it. Before she gave the poster back, she drew a curvy plus sign between our names and an equals under her name. At first, I thought she was going to counteract my lie by putting something about love under our now connected names, but I laughed lightly as she wrote BFFL. This seemed to please the pierced girl because she giggled like a twelve-year-old and thanked Irene with a huge hug. Irene smiled kindly at her and I took Irene's hand again as we finally got out of the building and went towards my Audi.
"I can't believe we have a shared fan!" Irene said a little too loudly for the little space. I didn't tell her to lower her voice, though, because I knew she was probably on some kind of post-show high. I used to get that way, too. Sometimes still do.
"It was pretty awesome." I agreed honestly. Before I pulled out of the parking lot, I took a water bottle out from the overnight bag in the back seat and handed it to the breathless girl beside me.
"Oh, thank god!" Irene kissed me on the cheek in thanks and gulped down half the bottle in one shot. When she spoke again, the volume of her voice was a lot more bearable. "I usually don't need a lot of water after a show, but that last song took a lot of energy to do."
Slowly, I left the club parking lot and turned right down the busy street towards the hotel where I had booked a room. "Yeah that was… quite the performance."
Irene grinned mischievously at me. "Did you like it, Billi?"
Our hands seemed to find each other on their own accord as I turned away from the road for just a second to flash a smile at Irene. "Yes, very much so."
"Were you disappointed when I didn't kiss you?" Irene chuckled.
I pretended to think about it. "Maybe a little. But it would have been harder to lie to that girl if you had."
"Her name is Karma. She is a really big fan of Midnight Sun. Comes to all my shows, is in the audience for most of the interviews I've done. Also, her phone background is a picture of me, her, and Amanda." I could see the joy in Irene's face as she talked about the girl. Irene was obviously glad to have such a fan.
"I think you're getting really famous. Damn, how'd you do it so fast?"
Irene laughed. "No idea. Especially considering the band sucked when we first started out a year ago." When I gave Irene a disbelieving look, she shook her head. "No, seriously, we did. My voice couldn't hit high or low notes and Amanda and Lucy's hands would slip from the strings of their instruments sometimes. The only one who didn't suck was Amy."
"So where does that Latino guy fit in here?" I asked hesitantly. I was curious about that guy, but didn't want to push Irene to talk about him if she didn't want to. But apparently she didn't mind because she told me about him openly.
"James is kind of like our manager. He books gigs, organizes interviews, and other manager-like stuff." I saw Irene bite her lip when I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. "He's like a brother to me, but he's really protective. Next time he glares at you, just give him the finger."
"I knew he didn't like me."
"It's not that. Like I said, he's protective like an older brother would be. And when the little sister gets a boyfriend…"
"The older brother threatens to skin him." I finished with an eye roll.
We got to the hotel and parked in a space behind the building. Irene unbuckled and leaned over so she could kiss me.
"Don't mind James." She said quietly, "In fact, just forget about him. I don't want to think about anything other than us tonight, okay?"
"My thoughts exactly." I answered. We kissed again, but I pulled away quickly. "Let's go in, now. I'm excited to see what you'll think about what I put together for us."
"Should I be scared?" Irene asked with a smirk.
"Not at all."