A/N: No excuses. All I can say is, aren't you just glad I didn't take 4 months to update? I'm proud of myself. Kinda. I hope you guys like what you read.

also, small note: this chapter has both Nate and Mihael's povs. The linebreaks indicate a change in pov, and '-x-' indicates a change in scene. I'm sorry, it's just this chapter, cause things need to happen and I had to include both povs, so.


Chapter 11: Hard Rock

"Mihael? You up yet?"

"Fuck off," Mihael groaned sleepily, throwing an arm across his face.

"Uh, that's kinda awkward, since you're in my house right now."

Mihael's eyes snapped open. He quickly sat up straight, focusing on the person in front of him, and the source of the voice.

Takada stood at the foot of the bed, dressed in a light pink nightgown and hair mussed, an amused smile on her face. "Morning, Mihael." She said.

Mihael looked momentarily confused until it dawned on him. Sighing, he sagged against the headboard, closing his eyes. "Morning. Sorry about that. I'd kinda forgotten about, you know..."

Takada laughed out loud, walking around the bed and climbing on to it, sidling up to Mihael's side. Out of pure instinct, Mihael's arm came around her shoulder, pulling her closer. "Maybe I could help you remember," she suggested softly.

Mihael looked at her. Leaning forward, he kissed her lips. Pulling away, he said, "Maybe later? I kind of have a really bad headache."

Takada smiled, snuggling closer to Mihael's side. "Yeah, I'm guessing you did have a lot to drink last night." She paused a moment, considering. Then, "Oh my god, I didn't take advantage of you, did I? I mean, you were drunk and probably weren't aware of what you were doing and –,"

"Kiyomi, relax." Mihael interrupted, kissing her once more. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to do it. You're incredibly attractive."

Takada blushed at that. "Thanks, I guess."

They let a moment of silence pass between them. Mihael thought of Nate, and what he was doing. It was a random thought. There was absolutely no reason for Mihael to have even been thinking about his agent, and yet here he was, wondering what he was up to. A part of him wanted to call Nate up and apologize for last night.

Apologize for what, exactly? His mind asked him. Mihael wasn't really sure of the answer to that, to be honest. I'm sorry for being drunk, Mihael thought. That could probably be a valid thing to apologize for, right? Mihael shook his head. Who was he kidding? Mihael knew what he wanted to apologize to Nate for.

I'm sorry for making out with Kiyomi in front of you.

The real question here was, why did he think he owed Nate an apology for it? He decided he didn't want to think about it. He shoved the thought to the back of his mind.

"So," Takada finally broke the silence. Mihael looked at her inquisitively. "This...this thing," she gestured between themselves, presently cuddling in bed, Mihael still entirely naked from the previous night, "Is this a one time thing?"

Mihael wasn't sure. He liked her, didn't he? And he was certain he had a great time last night. If truth be told, he could easily go for a round two right about now, if it weren't for the beginnings of a hangover. Mihael didn't see how it could hurt to give this a chance. It wasn't like he had someone in his life. He kind of missed it, actually. Being in a relationship, that is.

"It doesn't have to be," Mihael answered finally. He was doing nothing wrong. He didn't have anyone in his life. He didn't have anyone.

"You mean..." Takada trailed off.

"Let's try dating." Mihael said. He was doing absolutely nothing wrong. Why was he having to reassure himself of that, anyway?

Takada's eyes widened slightly. "Really? I thought you were the kind of guy who hooked up with someone once, and then never called them back."

"It depends on the girl, I guess." Mihael said truthfully, shrugging. "I like you. You're a fun person to be with, and I could see myself dating you."

Takada flushed. "I appreciate the honesty."

This time it was Takada who leaned up to capture Mihael's lips in a kiss. Before it could escalate to something more, however, Takada pulled away, breathing heavy. "I forgot the reason I'd come to wake you up." She said.

"You mean you didn't come wake me up to fuck me again?" Mihael teased.

Takada didn't blush. All she did was laugh humorously and say, "I just got off the phone with my boss. You know, the manager at Hard Rock? The surprise last night was supposed to be the fact that he was going to show up at Indigo, and Nate would get a chance to talk to him. For you, I mean."

"Wait, you talked him into showing up?" Mihael asked in disbelief.

"Well, not quite. He didn't show up last night. But here's the thing," Takada said excitedly, "He's still up to meeting with your agent. I mean, I'd been trying to get him to agree for a while now, but now he's finally agreed."

"He agreed, just like that?" Mihael was finding all of this really hard to believe.

"I mean, he's not going to guarantee a gig, but it's hard enough getting a meeting with him." Takada said, somewhat embarrassed. "And well, I have a good standing with him, so I may have requested it as a personal favor."

"Thank you," Mihael said sincerely. "I appreciate it. You didn't have to do it."

Takada shrugged it off like it was nothing. "I wanted to."

"I'll talk to Nate," Mihael said, fumbling around for his phone. He found it buried underneath the comforter. Pulling it out, he was almost about to dial the number when Takada reached out, holding his wrist, effectively stopping him. Mihael looked at her questioningly.

"It can wait," she said, and there was an almost playful glint in her eyes.

Mihael understood the insinuation. "Yeah, I guess it can."

-x-

It turned out, Mihael's one performance at Indigo had managed to open more doors than was imaginable. As soon as he entered his apartment, he received a call from Nate. Mihael was quick to answer.

"Nate."

"I've got you two meetings, Mihael." Nate said without preamble. "First one's with Luke Halloway, the manager at Hallow's. That's today, in about, uh, a couple of hours, yes."

"Good morning to you, too, Nate," Mihael said dryly.

"It's not the time for pleasantries, Mihael. I have other things to deal with. I'm going to forward you the address and the time you need to be there. Please don't be late."

"Alright, I'll see you there, then." Mihael said, walking into his bedroom. There was Matt, at his usual spot in front of his computer. He had headphones on, as usual. "I kind of have a hangover so I'll just take care of that."

"I'm not coming to the meeting, Mihael."

Mihael, who'd just been about to fling open his closet, paused. "Wait, you're not?"

Nate sounded somewhat apologetic as he said, "I have to accompany another one of my clients to a meeting."

Mihael's heart sank. "Oh, right."

There was a brief, uncomfortable silence on the other end. Then Nate said, "I'm sorry. I'm sure you can handle this on your own, Mihael."

Mihael snorted. "Of course I can."

An awkward pause. Then, "Let me know how it goes."

"Will do," Mihael said dismissively, suddenly very annoyed. He angrily pulled a pair of leather pants out and threw it on his bed. "I need to go, Nate. I'll call you once the meeting is done." He didn't wait for Nate to respond, instead hung up. He then sat down heavily on his bed.

"Something wrong?" Matt had pulled out his headphones and was now looking over his shoulder at Mihael in concern.

Mihael rubbed his forehead, sighing. "Yeah. I just have a hangover." He turned to look at Matt. "You done with your game?"

"I wasn't playing my game." Matt answered, turning back to face his computer screen.

"Then what were you –," Mihael cut himself off, Matt's screen catching his eye. He stood up and walked over to Matt, resting his palms on each of Matt's shoulders and staring at the computer screen. "Why am I looking at myself singing, Matt?"

Matt looked up at Mihael's face and grinned. "You're on the internet, dude."

Mihael raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Matt, instead of giving a verbal answer, entered a link into his browser. Mihael's eyes widened slightly. Matt had gone out of his way to create a Youtube channel for Mihael. There were only two videos on the channel so far, one of which was Mihael's performance at Indigo. "When did you do this?" Mihael asked.

"Just started a few hours ago," Matt said. He clicked on one of the videos, frowning at the number of views. "We need to promote you more. I'm going to create a Facebook page too, and maybe even a website."

Mihael grinned, ruffling Matt's hair. "Thanks, man."

Matt smacked Mihael's hand away. "You think I'm doing this for free? Dude, when you become famous, you're going to be paying me back a shit ton of money."

Mihael laughed, turning around and walking back to his closet. "Sure," He said, pulling out a black tank top and inspecting it.

"Going somewhere?" Matt asked, standing up and walking over to Mihael. He peeked into Mihael's closet, rolling his eyes at the infinite leather collection. "Maybe a date?" He stared at Mihael meaningfully.

"I have a meeting," Mihael snapped, shutting the closet door. "And yes, Kiyomi and I hooked up. And yes, she and I are dating."

"I knew it!" Matt exclaimed. He patted Mihael's shoulder sympathetically. "You never learn."

Mihael glared at Matt. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" But Matt ignored him, going back to his computer and putting his headphones on once more.

Mihael continued glaring for a moment longer, then deciding that Matt was just an asshole, he grabbed his clothes and made his way over to the shower.

-x-

Mihael's meeting with Luke Halloway was a surreal experience.

He'd entered, exchanged a few words, sang a few lines for Luke, and he was convinced. In a matter of minutes, Mihael had booked himself a gig at Hallow's. It was a strange phenomena. Where, a couple of months ago, Mihael would've had to hustle, now it was starting to get significantly easier to book gigs.

And so it continued, for the next couple of months. Nate contacted Mihael about meetings he'd set up, still unable to accompany Mihael to any of them, but not failing to call up, as soon as the meeting was done. Mihael liked to think he was managing just fine, and he was steadily becoming a better performer. In fact, when Mihael booked his third gig at The Solstice, he could've sworn there were a few people in the front who were singing along to his songs. That was good, because that meant that people were starting to know him, and that's what Mihael wanted, had always wanted. It didn't matter that it was just one city. It always started with one city, and it went from there.

Even though Nate failed to be present at most of Mihael's gigs, owing to his 'busy schedule', Mihael kept in constant touch with him via texting. Nate would, without fail, call or text Mihael after every performance, and Mihael wouldn't think twice before filling him on every single detail. In the back of his mind, Mihael knew that this was just Nate doing his job, but that did not stop him from thinking that somewhere, Nate genuinely did want to know.

That's one of the reasons why, when Mihael was at a restaurant with Matt and Linda, having dinner, and he had two girls walk up to him and ask him if he was the 'same hot blond guy who'd performed at Angel's, and that they loved his music and were looking forward to seeing more of his performances', Mihael pulled his phone out and typed in a text to Nate, as soon as the girls had gone back to their table.

'Nate. I just had two girls walk up to me and actually recognize me. Can you believe it? I'm in awe.'

Nate's reply was almost instantaneous, almost as if he'd been expecting a text from Mihael.

'Of course I can believe it.' This message was followed immediately by another. 'I'm happy for you, Mihael.'

Mihael smiled down at his screen.

"Is that Kiyomi? It's kind of a pity she couldn't join us for dinner." Matt said, taking a sip from his drink. He glanced at Linda and gave her shoulder a light squeeze. "It could've been like a double date."

Mihael looked up at the two and shrugged. "Kiyomi was busy with work. And no, it wasn't her."

"Whose texts were you smiling at then?" Matt asked curiously. "Are you already cheating on your two-month-old girlfriend?"

"It was Nate," Mihael snapped defensively. "I was just telling him about the two girls who stopped by our table."

"That's sweet," Linda commented. "What did he say?"

"Dude," Matt said seriously, "It's kind of weird."

"What's weird?" Mihael genuinely had no idea why sharing some good news with your agent was considered weird. If anything, it should've been normal.

"You text him a lot. Like, a lot." Matt gulped down the rest of his drink, before adding, "Like, I get that he's your agent and all, but honestly, you don't have to tell him about every good thing that happens to you. That's just weird, man."

"If I remember correctly, you called up Linda when you reached a million subscribers on your channel," Mihael pointed out. "Isn't that weird, then?"

Matt let out a loud laugh. "Dude, Linda's my girlfriend! Nate's just your agent. You see the difference? I mean, are you sure you aren't annoying him with all your incessant texting?"

"No, I'm n –," Mihael stopped short. Was he annoying Nate? He hadn't really thought about it. He'd just assumed Nate was okay with it. He was, wasn't he? "He's not just my agent. He's a friend, too."

"I'm your best friend, and you've never once asked my input on any of your songs." Matt argued. "Don't look at me like that. I know you ask him for his suggestions."

"That's because he works in the industry," Mihael snapped. "Why are we even arguing on this?"

"Matt's just jealous," Linda said, rolling her eyes. "Ignore him, Mihael."

"That's what I plan on doing," Mihael said, calming down somewhat. He took a huge gulp from his drink. "Now, can we please order some food? I'm hungry."


The past two months had been a special kind of hell for Nate.

He'd entered this particular hell ever since the night at Indigo, and Mihael's little display with Kiyomi Takada. Nate hadn't wanted to admit to it, but it had bothered him immensely. And so he'd decided, for the sake of his own mental well-being, that he needed to get away from there, before they both realized he was still there, observing them like some pathetic human being.

Nate wasn't pathetic. He wasn't about to start being pathetic anytime soon.

He'd then decided he needed to focus on the rest of his clients, and that's exactly what he did. He decided that, instead of accompanying Mihael on the meetings he arranged for him, he'd accompany another one of his clients. He knew Mihael wouldn't mind. He'd probably be busy with Kiyomi Takada. And this would give Nate the chance to get to know some of his other clients better. Just because he was comfortable with Mihael as his client, did not mean that he'd be with only Mihael for the rest of his life.

Did Nate want to be Mihael's agent for the rest of his life? That was debatable.

Nate didn't like not attending Mihael's gigs, but he also knew that he was walking a very fine line between what was professional interest and what was purely personal. He wasn't sure which side of the line attending Mihael's gigs fell on anymore. So , just to play it safe, he'd decided he wouldn't attend all of Mihael's gigs. He'd attend only some, maybe the more important ones, and that was that.

But, try as he might, Nate couldn't stop himself from responding to all of Mihael's texts. And Mihael sent him a lot of texts. Not that Nate had been complaining. He'd tried to avoid responding to most of them, but found that it was futile. Nate decided that if he couldn't meet Mihael in person, he could give himself this. Besides, it was easy to play this off as professional interest, wasn't it? He could pretend he was just giving Mihael notes, or that he was just encouraging Mihael in order for him to double up his efforts and be better.

No harm done, really.

That was, until, Nate received a call from Takada, while he'd been attending to one of his clients. As soon as Nate read Takada's name on his screen, he felt a slight twinge of bitterness. He didn't let that show, of course, when he said, "Miss Takada. Good morning."

"Nate, Dane, my boss, said he's free next week for a meeting." Takada said.

Nate furrowed his brows. "Dane? I'm not familiar with the name."

"He's the manager at Hard Rock? I'd told Mihael a couple of months ago that he'd agreed for a meeting with you, to talk about giving Mihael a gig. Didn't Mihael fill you in on it? I'd told him to inform you."

"He must have forgotten," Nate said dryly, "Maybe next time you could just directly tell me?"

"Look, Dane agreed to this meeting as a personal favor, and I'm telling you because you're Mihael's agent." Takada said. "I'd really like for Mihael to get this gig. It would be huge."

"Yes, I'm aware," Nate said shortly, "If I remember correctly, I'd asked you to speak to Dane much before, didn't I? You'd said there was nothing you could do."

"For Christ's sake, Nate! I'd told you, Mihael needed a few more gigs to his name before I could talk to Dane about him." Takada sounded mildly annoyed. "Look, he's agreed now. Isn't that what matters?"

"What convinced him?" Nate asked curiously.

"Indigo," Takada answered.

Nate couldn't help but smile smugly. "Right, the opening night that I managed to book a gig at for him."

Takada ignored this. "Dane's free next week. 9 AM. You can visit him at his office. I'll forward you t he address." Without waiting for a response, Takada hung up.

Nate stared at his phone screen for a long moment.

"Nate? You alright?" Trish, one of Nate's clients, asked tentatively.

Nate's gaze snapped to her. He slowly nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. I apologize for the interruption. Where were we?"

-x-

Dane, Nate decided, was definitely infatuated by Takada. That explained the endless rant he went on, when Nate made the mistake of giving Takada's reference.

"She's always managed to hook me up with the right kind of artists for my club, you know?" Dane said, grinning. "Honestly, the only reason I agreed to meet you is because of her."

"I'm aware," Nate said, trying hard to control his temper, "You mentioned that a couple of times."

Dane nodded. "Do you have your client's demo on you?"

Nate nodded and pulled out two CDs from his bag. He handed them both to Dane. "One is his demo, and the second is his performance at Indigo. I thought you might like to see it."

"You can keep it there," Dane said, gesturing at the coffee table between them. "I'll listen to it and get back to you."

Nate nodded curtly and stood up. He waited for Dane to stand, too. It didn't happen. Rolling his eyes, Nate turned around and left without any parting words.

-x-

Nate heard from Dane the very next day. He was in his office, sorting through his files when his phone rang. One glance at the phone screen, and Nate knew Mihael had the gig. Still, he answered.

"Dane."

"Morning, Mr. River." Dane greeted. "I'm guessing you know why I called."

Nate half-smiled. "I still need an official confirmation from you."

"Three weeks from now. The gig is all his. I'll forward you the documentation. Payment's going to depend on the turn up."

Nate nodded in understanding. The half smile had now turned into a full, genuine smile. "Thank you, Dane."

"Don't thank me, Mr. River. I mean, yeah, I gave him the gig, but I'm still going on Kiyomi's word, so you'd do well to thank her, too." Dane said. "I'll talk to you later, Mr. River." Dane hung up.

Nate's smile faltered somewhat. He stared at his phone in dismay. The last thing he wanted to do was thank Kiyomi Takada for anything. Angrily, he punched in a text message to Mihael.

'You've gotten Hard Rock. Three weeks from now. Please be well rehearsed. This will be huge for you. You're going to be the only one carrying the show. Make sure you practice with a band.'

Nate thought this message was long enough, and so, he sent another, continuing where he left off.

'I know a couple of bands who'd be willing to play for you. I'm sending you the contact details. Good luck, Mihael.'

And then, in the third message, Nate sent Mihael the contact details of the bands. He kept his phone aside, and went back to inspecting the files on his desk.

He didn't send Kiyomi Takada a 'thank you' message.


When Mihael found out that he'd gotten a gig at Hard Rock, the first person he told was Matt. He'd been sitting in his room, practicing his music when he'd received Nate's series of texts. He'd at first rolled his eyes, but then he'd opened the texts. And he'd nearly screamed.

"MATT!"

Matt, who'd been taking a nap on his own bed, barely even flinched. He simply opened his eyes, turned his head to the side and yawning, asked, "What is it?"

Mihael, in response, showed Matt his phone screen.

"You dick, I can't read that." Matt yawned again. Sitting up, he said, "What's that?"

"I got a gig at Hard Rock. I got a fucking gig at Hard Rock! Hard Rock, Matt!"

"Say Hard Rock one more time," Matt muttered. His face then broke out into a huge grin. "I'm so proud of you, Mello!"

Mihael grinned widely. "Nate asked me to get in touch with one of the bands and rehearse with them. He said the payment's going to depend on the turn up."

Matt got off the bed, walking up to his computer. "You just focus on rehearsing, leave the rest to me. And Linda."

Mihael nodded. Glancing at his phone screen, he dialed the first contact Nate had sent him. He waited a few rings. Then, "Hey, is this Andrew? I'm Mihael Keehl. I wanted to know if you guys were free, three weeks from now, for a gig?"

-x-

Andrew's band, called 'The Delinquents', was more than willing to play with Mihael. And why wouldn't they? It was good publicity for them as well. Besides, once Mihael got paid, a percentage of it would go to them. They had nothing to lose. Mihael would've preferred the band from The Solstice, because he'd gotten along with them rather nicely, and Mihael liked all of them. However, Mihael knew they had their own gigs to take care of, and so he was alright settling for these guys.

They weren't bad. They were actually pretty good, and they picked up Mihael's songs rather quickly.

Takada occasionally dropped in at rehearsals, staying for a couple of hours, whenever her work schedule permitted. Mihael wouldn't admit it out loud, but he kind of wished Nate would show up, too. Just like Nate had showed up the last time. It wasn't that he wasn't glad for Takada's presence, it was just that Mihael sort of missed having Nate around constantly.

But Mihael was a sensible, grown up man, who understood that Nate had clients other than him. He understood. Really.

While Mihael busied himself with rehearsing, (there was no such thing as too much rehearsal), Matt and Linda took it upon themselves to promote Mihael's upcoming gig. While Hard Rock would do its own part, and have Mihael's name displayed on their website, Matt was of the opinion that extra promotion wouldn't hurt. Mihael could only ever benefit from it.

And so it continued, for three weeks. Mihael practiced relentlessly, Matt and Linda worked on promoting the gig, hoping for a big enough turn out, and Nate remained busy with his work. Occasionally, he'd drop in a message or two to Mihael, asking him if his preparation was going well, and if the band was up to par, and that if he needed anything, he shouldn't hesitate to let Nate know. It was all so incredibly formal.

Mihael didn't respond to any of those messages.

-x-

Mihael was a mess.

No matter how many times he told himself that he had this, that he'd been performing for months now, it didn't change the fact that he was, indeed, an utter mess right now. He was backstage, and there was still an hour before the show began, but his nerves were eating up at him. This was worse than his first gig, where he had to go second in a list of numerous other bands, and it was also worse than Indigo's opening night, where he was somewhere in the middle, easy to miss.

No, this was worse, because Mihael was the main performer today. It was his name out there, his face being promoted on Hard Rock's website. It was all him today, and for the first time in his life, Mihael Keehl felt inadequate.

He tried to think of what Nate would say to him, in order to calm his nerves, just like he'd done in the past. He looked around the backstage. He wondered if Nate would even show up to the gig, or if he'd be busy with his other clients, as per usual.

"Mihael," Takada's voice greeted him, and Mihael instantly looked at her. He focused on her pretty, smiling face. He hoped his nerves would calm down. It didn't happen. If anything, his stomach simply twisted into even tighter knots. Takada stopped in front of him, resting her palm on his shoulder. "You okay?"

Mihael forced himself to smile. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Takada shrugged. "It's a pretty huge crowd out there, and it's all for you."

Mihael wished she hadn't just said that. His heart began thudding in his chest.

"Don't say that," a voice cut in. Mihael recognized the voice very clearly. He looked over Takada's shoulder and sure enough, there stood Nate, dressed in his formal attire. Mihael felt some of his nerves calm.

Takada glanced over her shoulder at Nate and frowned. "What's the harm in saying that? I'm just trying to encourage him."

"You're just intimidating him," Nate pointed out. "He doesn't need to know what the crowd's like out there."

Takada turned around fully and took up a defensive stance. "Yes, he does. Partly because this is huge, and he needs to know this is all him."

"And partly because you're worried if he screws up in front of all these people, it's going to reflect badly on you?" Nate asked bluntly.

Takada's eyes narrowed. "How dare you? I'm his girlfriend, Nate. I care about him. Genuinely. If anything, you're the one who's more concerned about reputation, since you're his agent, and you represent him."

Nate looked like he wanted to retort, but instead he kept silent. His face was, once again, stoic. Mihael wanted to say something in his defense, but he couldn't really think past his anxiety. He simply looked at his band mates, and the similar looks of panic on their faces, at varying levels. Mihael brought his gaze back to Nate and Takada. The two were still staring at each other, but they weren't saying a word. Mihael focused only on Nate. A very huge part of him wanted Nate to come closer, to reassure him that he'd be fine, that he wouldn't screw up. But then, with Takada–his girlfriend–standing right there, would that really be appropriate? That Mihael was seeking comfort from Nate, rather than from her? He closed his eyes. He needed to calm down.

"Hey, isn't that Robert Fischer?" Jay, one of the band members, pointed out. Mihael's eyes snapped open.

Nate turned around on the spot as well. Mihael saw his posture go rigid, and with a quick glance in Mihael's direction, Nate hurried over to the backstage exit. He saw Nate say something to the black haired man standing right there, and then saw him tugging on his arm. Mihael felt a pang of something deep in his stomach. Just the nerves, he told himself. He looked down at the guitar slung across his shoulder. Just nerves. Nothing else.

Mihael looked back up. Nate was nowhere in sight, and nor was, Mihael noted with another pang, the black haired man. Robert Fischer, wasn't it? "Where did Nate go?" It took him a moment to realize he'd actually asked it out loud.

"I think Robert Fischer is one of his previous clients. Maybe he went to catch up?" Takada suggested, glancing at the exit. She then brought her attention back to Mihael. "Anyway, how do you feel?"

Mihael pulled Takada close to him, hoping the intimacy would help. "Still a little anxious," he admitted truthfully, "But there's a way for you to calm me down."

Takada laughed and without really thinking about it, she kissed him. Mihael kissed her back, holding her close. It did feel nice, but when they did pull away, both breathing heavily and cheeks tinged pink, Mihael noticed with some disappointment that it had done nothing to calm his nerves. It made no difference, whatsoever.

"Any better?" Takada asked him, giving him a peck on the lips.

"Yep, much better." Mihael lied.

-x-

When Mihael finally got on stage, he was greeted by a huge round of cheer and applause. However, he felt his heart begin to beat at an uncomfortably fast rhythm when he saw just how many people were out there. It was packed, and Mihael wasn't really sure how to feel about that. He searched around the crowd, and immediately spotted Matt, Linda and Takada. They were all smiling encouragingly at him. Mihael smiled back. He continued looking around, hoping to spot Nate somewhere in the crowd. It was futile. Mihael couldn't find him anywhere.

"Mihael," Andrew whispered from behind him. "Should we start?"

Mihael scanned the crowd one more time. Giving up, he nodded. The band began with the intro music. Mihael closed his eyes, focusing on the music. He opened his eyes. He scanned the crowd once more.

The music continued, and Mihael knew his cue was close. He focused on the music. Closed his eyes. The music reached its cue.

Mihael opened his mouth, ready to sing and then, for the first time since he'd began performing, Mihael Keehl froze.


a/n: Well, I hope you guys liked it. I'm hoping to get done with this fic before this fic turns a year old. Wish me luck.