Hey! I'm sorry this is late but life is getting in the way, including some anxiety/panic attacks...

Anyways, YAY new chapter! As soon as I decided that there was going to karaoke, I knew I had to put this next song in...lol

It's a bit slow going for now but hopefully it will pick up in a bit. I've got so many mini plotlines, or whatever they're called, going on right now that it just seems to slow the whole thing down. *sigh* It just means more to read, right?

Okay, enough rambling.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER 10

Around 8pm, Carlton asked, "Can we leave now?"

"What? Are you telling me that you're getting tired of people making fools of themselves?! There haven't even been too many drunken singers yet and they are the best!" Beth looked at him with a pleading face.

"I think I've experienced enough of that in the past 6 months alone to survive without it for one more week at least."

"Fine. It's still kind of early. Do you want to check out some of the places that the victims were last seen?"

Carlton smirked. "Sure. That sounds good."

"Alright." They were halfway to the door when she looked towards the stage and paused. "Hey! Is that Shawn and Juliet?"

Carlton looked up as Antonio said, "Alright, our first duet act! Introducing newlyweds Daniel and Nora Cadenza who will be singing 'Love Shack' by B-52's."

"Oh man, I gotta watch this." Beth said with a grin as she sat down at the nearest table and took out her phone.

Shawn was bouncing happily to the beginning of the song as Juliet laughed nervously. Right before the vocal parts began, Shawn took a deep breath and pulled the microphone closer only to step back at the last second and let Juliet sing: "If you see a faded sign by the side of the road that says '15 miles to the…"

"Love Shack!" Shawn sang in a loud, high pitched voice that had the whole place laughing. "Love Shack yea-ea-eah!"

"Oh my gosh, this is great! I wish I brought my camera down!" Beth laughed as she took some pictures with her phone.

"I'm headin' down the Atlanta highway
Lookin' for the love getaway,
heading for the love getaway

"I got me a car, it's as big as a whale
And we're headin' on down to the love shack
I got me a Chrysler, it seats about 20
So hurry up and bring your jukebox money

"The love shack is a little old place…"

"You're really going to sit through this?" Carlton said with unease.

"Yes! This is hilarious!"

"Fine. Then I'm gonna go to the restroom and then wait for you out in the hallway."

"No!" She snapped loudly, causing a few people to turn towards them.

Carlton raised an eyebrow, "And why not?"

Beth blushed as she whispered, "What if something happens?"

Carlton sighed when he noticed her barely hidden fear. "I'll be right out, probably less than 2 minutes. If I'm not back by then, call my phone and if I still don't come back, have Spencer check to see if I'm okay."

"Having Shawn check up on you, you must really love me." She laughed nervously.

"Yeah. I'll be right back."

Beth glanced at her watch nervously before looking at his retreating back. Once he disappeared around the corner, she looked at the stage.

"Sign says, 'Stay away fools'
'Cause love rules at the love shack

"Well, it's set way back in the middle of a field
Just a funky old shack and I gotta get back
Glitter on the mattress
Glitter on the highway
Glitter on the front porch
Glitter on the highway…"

At that point, Juliet was a complete mess of giggles so Shawn had to take over both parts as well as he could, each in a different voice, as well as throwing in some dance moves.

"Huggin' and a kissin',
dancin' and a lovin'
Wearin' next to nothing,
'cause it's hot as an oven
The whole shack shimmies,
When everybody's movin' around
And around and around and around…"

As the 2 minute mark approached, Beth opened her phone again and nervously tapped it as she watched the hallway. Once it was past 2 minutes, she counted to ten before hitting her speed dial for him.

It rang three times before he answered, "Yeah, sorry. There was a line. I'm just drying my hands and will be out in a second."

She sighed, "Okay. Just hurry up."

"I am. You need to calm down."

"Sorry but it's my first time experiencing something as scary as this."

"It will be fine, I promise." Carlton said as he came around the corner.

Beth sighed in relief and smiled "Okay." She hung up and waited until he rejoined her before whispering, "I'll try to relax."

"Good. Because this is supposed to be a vacation, right?" He said with a smirk as the crowd laughed again.

"Your what? Tin roof, rusted!
Love shack, baby, love shack
Love shack, baby, love shack
Love baby that's where it's at, yeah
Love baby that's where it's at
Huggin' and a kissin'
Dancin' and a lovin' at the love shack…"

When the song was over, Shawn bowed exuberantly while Juliet just nodded as she tried to stop her giggling. Antonio bounded on stage, barely controlling his own laughter, and shook Shawn's hand. "I must say Daniel, that was one of the most entertaining performances I have seen in quite awhile. Care to do another one?"

"I'm sorry Tony, but my lovely new bride and I have some other, more private plans, if you know what I mean." Shawn winked.

Juliet scoffed and smacked Shawn in the arm. "Daniel!"

Antonio laughed, "Alrighty then. You two have fun tonight! So, who wants to go next?"

Beth laughed as she got up from the table. "Come on, let's get going."

"Thank you." Carlton said as he made sure Shawn wasn't following them.

They walked casually towards the arcade center, although Beth knew that Carlton was watching everyone and everything that they past and if she was humming softly to keep herself calm and listen for strange, sudden noises; well, that was her secret.

"Okay." Carlton said when there was no one else around. "The first victim was last seen entering the arcade and he said he barely remembered that. There was nothing on the cameras showing him leave, willingly or not."

Beth nodded as they approached the entrance and glanced quickly around. "Two cameras, one watching the doors, one the hallway."

"Yeah and two inside, but they have lots of blind spots since they're mainly there to catch fights or vandalism. Many of the games have special lights so the room lights are pretty dim."

"Okay. They close at midnight. When did he come in?" She went towards the drinking fountain so they could have a little more time to talk.

"I believe around 10:30 but I'll have to double check. And nobody comes in or out until it opens at 9am."

"Except the cleaning staff." She said as she got some water.

"What?" Carlton asked a bit surprised.

Wiping her mouth, she stood up and shrugged. "Well, at least I assume the cleaning staff comes in while no one else is in there."

Carlton shook his head. "Right."

"You would never have thought about that, would you?"

"Eventually I might have." He said uneasily.

"Yeah right!" She smiled brightly as she grabbed onto his arm and they entered the arcade. "Oh! They have skeeball and wack-a-mole! Carl dear, can I have some money please?"

Carlton raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "And where is your money?"

"All the way up in our hotel room. You're not going to make me go all the way up there just for $10, are you?"

"Are you really only going to spend $10?"

"Yes. Maybe. I'll try. Please!" She asked, pulling the puppy dog eyes on him.

After a few seconds, Carlton sighed and made his way to the token machine. "$10. Anymore than that and you can march yourself upstairs and get your own damn money."

"Aw, I knew you loved me!" She said sweetly, giving him a kiss on the cheek.