A/N: Hey, everybody! It's me, MBAV fan66! :D
Guess what time it is? It's...BETHAN SHORTS TIME! :D *jazz hands* Lol!
This one is going to be about stage fright and I'm changing it up a bit this time. Instead, of Ethan and Benny being teens or adults, I'm making them be kids in this one! :D They'll be in the 3rd grade or rather, Grade 3 as they put it in Canada. Now, they won't be same the age, as Benny will be a year older than Ethan, but only by a few months, though. Ethan is gonna be 8 years old, while Benny is going to be 9 years old. Which are appropriate ages for 3rd graders. I think, that is? *shrugs and then giggles about it* ;P Anyway, this takes place during the second half of the school year. Meaning it's either late winter or it's sometime in the spring, now.
There will be a little bit of a song in this, but not the whole thing, though. I was half tempted to do the whole but decided against it, though. Since this suppose to be a one-shot and not a songfic. So, I only used like the first set of lyrics that comes before the first chorus and the first chorus itself, as well. You'll see what I mean as you're reading it, if you know the song.
Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy it! Happy reading! :D
But first, it's shout out time! :D Shout outs to these lovely people!:
Bennyweirlover17- Aw, thanks! *rubs back of head bashfully while blushing* I'm glad you loved it so much. I worked really hard on it like I do with all my chapters. I hope you'll like this one, as well. :)
Shaylah Maloney- Aw, thanks! I'm glad you really liked that chapter. Especially, the part where Ethan hands Jessica the crown back and says "checkmate" to her and then walks away. I thought I'd add a little bit of geekology in there, mixed with a bit of attitude and sass from the said geek in return. Lol! It just seemed like something Ethan would say to a defeated foe in the show. *giggle* ;P Anyway, I'm glad you enjoy my work. It means a lot to hear that. *blush* :P
BlackCloverAsta- I don't know if you've been secretly following along with this fic or not, but I just want to say thanks for adding my story "The Origin Of Ethan Morgan" to your follow list! I very much appreciate it! :D
Bewitched Butterfly- I don't know if you've been secretly following along with this fic or not, but I just want to say thank you for adding my story "The Blood Moon Effect" to your favorites list! I really do appreciate it! :D
TiredOfBeingNice- Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! :D And Ethan is super lucky to have a boyfriend like Benny, huh? *giggle* ;P Benny's not gonna let a little earthquake ruin his good mood and anniversary! That's for sure! ;D Lol! Anyway, I hope you'll like this one, too. It's gonna be...ADORABLE! Trust me! ;D
Disclaimer: I do not own My Babysitter's A Vampire or any of it's characters. I also don't know any of the lyrics used in this chapter from the song "Come Clean" by Hilary Duff. All those rights belong to their original creators. What I do own, however, is this fic and the mini-plot that takes place in this chapter. I also own any OCs that may appear or are mentioned in it, as well.
Bethan Short #11: Who Has Stage Fright, When I'm With You
It was a beautiful day out today as the sun was shining brightly in the sky overhead on this fine spring day. It was a school day today, but not just any normal school day, though. For you see, at Oakwood Elementary in a little town called Whitechapel, it just so happened to be the day of the grade 3 talent show. The auditorium at the school was full of parents, guardians, and other family members who were all there to watch the grand spectacle, as kids ages 8 and 9 showed off their amazing talents to them and their fellow classmates. Teachers, staff, and other grade 3 students (who didn't sign up to perform in the talent show) were also all there, as well.
Act after act, the audience cheerfully applauded each kid that showcased their special talent to them. Some (as in the parents, guardians, and other family members) cheered more louder than others for their favorite acts. To be more accurate, the ones who they originally came to see and to show their support for. Along with maybe cheering and clapping for some of the other kids on stage performing, who happened to be friends with their little performer, also. Some people in the audience were even filming the show on their camcorders, so that they may look back at their little loved one's performance again one day in the future. As well, as show it to anyone who wasn't there at the time for whatever reason. Like what one parent in particular was doing was for her husband, who wasn't able to make it to the performance due to work.
Samantha Morgan sat in a sea of parents and guardians, alike. She had her camcorder going to record her son's performance so that her dear husband would be able to see it after work when he got home. She was so proud of her little boy being in the grade 3 talent show, as she waited there with her camera at the ready and her youngest child, (3-year-old) Jane Morgan in the seat right next to her. Every now and then, little Jane would watch some of the performances but then she'd go back to playing with her dolly during the more boring ones. To her, at least.
They waited patiently for the act they mainly came to see. Samantha's 8-year-old son and Jane's big brother, Ethan Morgan.
"Mommy! When's Etan's turn?" asked Jane politely but also a bit impatiently, too. She wanted to go home and play with her toys. Plus, she also wanted a snack to eat, too. They had been there for about thirty minutes, already.
"Soon, honey." smiled Samantha sweetly at her daughter. "Ethan will be up next soon. So, be patient. Ok, sweetheart?" she said kindly to Jane.
Jane smiled brightly at her then. "Ok, Mommy!" replied the little girl happily before going back to her playing with her doll.
The little girl's mother smiled warmly at her before turning her attention back towards the stage, again. Waiting eagerly for the moment when it's finally her little boy's turn go on stage and do his talent.
Backstage, a rather nervous 8-year-old boy anxiously waited for when it would be his turn to go on stage in front of a bunch of people, finally. And that little boy was none other than Ethan Morgan. Who was terrified of going on stage to do his act. In fact, he didn't even want to be in the stupid grade 3 talent show, to begin with! The only reason why he was in it was because his mom had technically signed him up for it behind his back! She had thought it would be a good way for him to get over his case of shyness and not be so reserved all the time when around others. So, one day she went up to the school and had a talk with his teacher about it. Of course, his teacher agreed and thought it was a good idea. Thus, leading to him forcibly being signed up for the dumb show without his consent! Ethan was not very happy about it, either. He liked mostly being reserved around others because it meant less of a chance of him getting in trouble with anybody! Although, he did hate how nervous and shy he usually gets around others, though. It sometimes made it harder for him to communicate his point across when he wanted something. Like when it came to talking to pretty girls. Or any girl, for that matter.
He also would clam up whenever talking to someone new, who he didn't know very well or at all. And public speaking was even worse! He hated it whenever he had to go up in front of the class and speak out loud to everyone. He would always freeze up in his words and would just stand there looking like a deer in headlights. One time, his nerves had gotten so bad he fainted right in front of everyone in class! The whole class laughed at him for that one, according to his best friend (who was the only one who didn't laugh, besides the teacher) after waking up in the nurse's office with an ice pack on his head. Needless to say, poor Ethan felt humiliated for that one. He just hoped the same thing didn't happen to him here, while up on stage! Which would be ten times more worse, actually! Because this time he's not just going up in front of his class but the other grade 3, too! As well, as plenty of other school staff and parents out in the audience! Just thinking about it caused Ethan's stomach to go a bit queasy on him. He didn't get why his mom and teacher wanted him to be more outgoing around others. To him, he hated standing out. Standing out just seemed...scary to him! All it did was attract unwanted attention to yourself, which then leads to all eyes on you! Which then leaves you opened up and vulnerable to harsh criticism and judgment from others who don't even know you very well or even care at all about you and your feelings!
Having social anxiety really sucked, in Ethan's opinion. But that didn't mean he was ready to try and get over it so soon, though. He's only eight for crying out loud! He still had plenty of time to try and grow out of it! Or maybe...at least grow out of it just a smidge, hopefully? But at the moment, he wasn't ready. He just wished that his mom wasn't trying to push him out of it so soon, though! But Ethan knows that she just means well and he loves her very much for just doing her duty of being a good mom. So, he can't fault her for that. Plus, too, she'd probably ground him for like a...MONTH if he did!
Ethan was soon snapped out of his thoughts when the teacher announced over the microphone who was up next.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Give a round of applause for Billy and his amazing tap dancing skills, everybody!" encouraged the teacher, as she too clapped for the young performer who had just finished his act. She gave the crowd a couple of minutes to applaud and cheer for the young lad before finally moving on to introducing the next act. "Up next, is our next little performer and his special talent! Give it up for Ethan Morgan! Who'll be singing the song 'Come Clean'!" announced the teacher enthusiastically into the mic, as she clapped along with the rest of the audience to welcome Ethan on stage.
Ethan just stood there staring with his mouth gaped open at finally hearing his name being announced over the microphone. Just then he felt a hardy slap on the back from behind from somebody. "Go get 'em, bud! You'll do great out there! I just know it!" came an encouraging voice along with it.
When Ethan turned to look at the said voice, he saw his best friend in the whole world standing there smiling supportively at him. This caused Ethan to smile back at him, as he suddenly felt all of his nervousness melt away at the sight of Benny's smile.
"Thanks, Benny!" replied Ethan genuinely, as he felt his confidence grow within him, believing that he can do this. And with that, little Ethan walked out on stage while Benny stood there, backstage, giving him two thumbs up as a silent way of saying 'Good luck, E! You've got this!'.
Once Ethan finally reached the microphone and the audience's clapping died down, Ethan looked out into the small sea of people just sitting there with their eyes all on him. In that moment, all the confidence and courage he had earlier suddenly vanished within an instant. Once again, his bad case of nerves and anxiety had set in but only this time...it was a lot more worse than before, now that he was actually on stage in front of all these people.
Immediately, his body froze up on him and he felt his stomach begin to churn as if he was about to puke or something. Small beads of sweat began to form along his forehead as his vision started to get all blurry on him. It was like the world around him was in slow motion as the sounds of what he believes to be the melody of the song he was supposed to be singing right now, sounded dull and slow-moving, as well. He felt his heart beating rapidly as if he had just run a marathon. It felt like it was about to just beat right out of his chest from pure terror and adrenaline from the extreme amount of pressure he was currently under.
After a minute of just standing there without moving or even uttering a single syllable of the song or something from his mouth, Ethan could faintly hear the teacher off stage whisper-yelling his name repeatedly at him to start singing. But to him, it sounded like he was hearing her from underwater, though. As her voice had also sounded very far away and distant, as well. But Ethan still heard it, though, and tried to get something out of his mouth.
"Le-...let's...g-go..." he tried to sing but instead he stumbled over his words as he couldn't focus on the words of the songs due to a bad case of stage fright he was currently under, right now. Ethan's brain had shut down from all the fear he was feeling. Instead, he just stood there now staring out into the audience like a deer in headlights, not knowing what else to do. Well, there was one thing he knew that his body wanted to do, though. Which was to blackout and faint on stage in front of everybody, right now. But somehow he managed to hold off in doing that, just yet. Although, he wasn't sure how much longer he'd last in remaining conscious. He was just barely functioning as it is, now.
The words of the song hung in his throat as his mouth refused to form any of them properly. All Ethan could do was just stare out into the crowd like an idiot. A big nervous and scared idiot, that is. Hating every moment of this torture that his mom and teacher had insisted on him doing just to be more...expressive and outgoing in public. Well, look how well that turned out to be! After today, he'll probably be the laughing stock of the school, now! Giving his bullies even more ammo to use against him during their verbal abuse time at him.
Right when Ethan was about to either finally faint or just run off stage suddenly, something unexpected happened before he did anything as the musical intro part of the song began to play once again.
"Let's go back. Back to the beginning." sang a voice on stage that wasn't his, effectively snapping him out of his frozen-like state of mind. "Back to when the earth, the sun, the stars all align." continued the voice, as they came closer to Ethan.
Ethan then suddenly felt a hand slip into his free sweaty hand. For some reason, the simple contact from this person felt calming to him, as he felt some of the tension and anxiety begin to melt away. Ethan knew this touch and voice as he's heard it and felt it many times before. When he looked over to confirm his suspicion, he saw that he was indeed right. As the person next to him looked over at him, too, while still holding his hand with a big warm, comforting smile on his face.
The person he saw on stage with him giving him courage and support was his best friend, Benny Weir. Who knew about Ethan's bad stage fright and decided to jump in right then and there to save him from humiliation in front of a bunch of people. Ethan couldn't believe it at first, but he was glad that Benny was there up on stage with him. Helping him get through this very nerve-racking moment. Ethan smiled back at Benny, grateful for him jumping in suddenly, like this, to save his butt. Giving him the courage that he needed to finally let the words out and start singing.
"'Cause perfect, didn't feel so perfect. Trying to fit a square into a circle was no life." sang Ethan more confidently now, as he continued to look at Benny. Both of them just staring into each other's eyes fondly for a moment with big smiles on their faces. "I defy." they both sang together this time, as they prepared for the chorus part of the song which they also sung together at the same time, as well, in perfect harmony.
"Let the rain fall down! And wake my dreams! Let it wash away, my sanity! 'Cause I wanna feel the thunder! I wanna scream! Let the rain fall down!" sang Ethan and Benny, in enjoyment together. Only this time, their bodies were turned more towards each other as they sang directly at the other in front of them. Never once letting go of the other's hand while singing, too. "I'm coming clean. I'm coming clean. Oh, oh." sang only Ethan this time, as he finished off the chorus part of the song.
With Benny there by his side, Ethan felt ten times more courageous now about his performance. Benny always did have that effect on him. Whenever he felt scared or unsure about something, Benny was always the one right there cheering him on and giving him the strength he needed to get through it. Just like now. With Benny by his side, Ethan felt like he could do anything. So, he finally broke physical and eye contact with the lanky kid that was his best friend and started to prance off behind him while singing the beginning of half of the next verse. Feeling confident and happy now.
Benny followed Ethan's lead and did the same thing when started in and sung the second half of the verse. Only he pranced on over back towards Ethan, though. Benny was glad he came out to help Ethan out. He knew about his best bud's stage fright problems and he just couldn't stand there and take it anymore seeing him suffer like that on stage, all alone. So, of course, he had to step in and save the day for his best friend because that's what best friends do. They help each other out!
Plus, Benny also knew that Ethan always seemed more relaxed and confident whenever he was around him during scary or nerve-racking moments. Like, this for example. He knew that Ethan didn't want to do the talent show and knew that his mom was making him do it. So, he tried to cheer Ethan up about it every time the subject came up. He even helped Ethan with practice, too. Not that he needed it because he knew Ethan loved this song and would listen to it all the time whenever they were alone together, just chilling as friends. Ethan had listened to this song so much that he knew the words to it inside and out by heart. Even without the lyrics playing along with the music. Ethan still knew every single word to it on his own.
Benny asked Ethan one time why he liked the song so much and Ethan's response was that he didn't really quite know why. It just...always made him feel happy and energetic every time he heard it. And that it always made him wanna just get up and start singing and dancing to it like a crazy person. Which Benny understood perfectly. Even though it was a girly song, dudes can like it, too. No matter who sings it. There are just some songs out there that...just speak to you, in a way. Sometimes you can explain it and other times you just can't because that's the power of music. It affects people in different ways.
Now, Ethan wasn't necessarily a big fan of Hilary Duff or anything like that. He just really enjoyed her song, was all. You don't have to be a fan of the artist just to like some of their songs. Sometimes you can care less about the artist who sings it and their career, and simply just enjoy listening to either one or more of their songs, is all. And Ethan loved how happy and alive the song always made him, too. Especially, whenever he was with Benny while listening to it. That's why Ethan decided to pick this song to sing for the talent show. He thought that maybe it would make him feel like that on stage and he'd forget all about his stage fright. Well...he was sorely mistaken about that. But even if it didn't go how he hoped it would, things still turned out alright for him, though. Cause as it turns out when it comes to needing the courage to conquer his stage fright or any other fear that bothered him. There was only one thing that can help him get through it. His best friend, Benny Weir.
Both boys continued to dance around the stage, singing and smiling merrily together without a care in the world. Having the time of their lives while on stage, as if they were back in the privacy of one of their rooms, listening to the song (just with more space to freely dance about and act silly in, that is). As they drowned out the world around them except for the music and each other.
After Ethan's turn to showcase his talent for the talent show, 7 more students did their performance on stage, as well, before it was finally over with. Unfortunately, for Benny, though, the teacher in charge of the show wouldn't let him perform his talent on stage since technically he already did one. When he helped Ethan out on stage with his by singing Come Clean along with him as a duet. So, the teacher refused to let him go, again because the rule was 'only one performance per student'. It sucked but what can you do? Ethan felt bad for being the reason why Benny couldn't do his talent in front of everybody after working so hard on it all week. But Benny was ok with it. He didn't mind forfeiting his turn on stage in order to go help his best friend out with his. In fact, Benny actually liked it way more than his original talent idea, anyway! And he'd do it again in a heartbeat, too! He had way more fun singing and dancing on stage with Ethan than he would've if he had did his solo magic act.
With the show now over and the winner declared, Ethan felt relief that it was finally over with and he could stop stressing over it. But even though it was all over with and he might've not placed in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in the talent show. Ethan had to admit, he still had a lot of fun doing it with an assist from his best friend. So, it wasn't a total disaster of utter humiliation in front of a dozen people like he thought it was going to be from the start. And that brought a huge smile to Ethan's face, knowing that he can always count on his best friend for support when he needs it. Ethan then looked over in Benny's direction (who was busy talking with his parents and grandma from the other side of the room) and wondered...
"How did I get so lucky to have a friend like him?" he thought, smiling fondly at the tall outgoing boy on the other side of the room, who was never afraid to be himself in public. Even if it made him look like a fool, sometimes. It was like...Benny knew no shame when it came to being the big friendly and goofy person that he is. And sometimes, Ethan would wish that he could be a bit more like him. But for now, he'll just settle with the way things are now. With him being the shy and timid person that he is, who's best friend is his source of encouragement and confidence when he needs it.
When Benny looked over at him and smiled back, Ethan felt his cheeks get warmer as he blushed a little and looked away with a shy smile on his face. Not knowing why he reacted like that at Benny's friendly gesture back at him or even why his heart rate sped up a little because of it, too.
A few seconds later, Ethan looked back over at Benny to see him asking his parents something before then quickly sprinting on over to where he and his mom and Jane stood at.
"Hey, E! You wanna come over to my place and play some Knights Of Ninjitsu? My parents' already said it was ok with them if you want to come over." beamed Benny happily with a smile.
"Uh...yeah! Sure! Let me check with my mom real quick to see if it's ok with her, first." replied Ethan happily, before turning towards his mom to get her attention. "Hey, Mom! Is it alright if I go over to Benny's house for a few hours to play some video games? His parents already said it was ok with them." asked Ethan.
Samantha smiled fondly at her son. "Ok, sweetheart! You can go! But be home in time for dinner. Alright?" she said sweetly to him, as she permitted him to go.
Ethan nodded happily at his mother's request to be home before dinner time. He was so glad to have her permission to go over to Benny's house for a few hours. With his face all lit up with excitement and joy, he quickly hugged and thanked her before kissing her goodbye on the cheek. Then he ran off with Benny, back to where the Weir family was waiting for them at.
Samantha just stood there and smiled as she watched her son go off with his best friend. Until she suddenly felt a small tug on her dress from Jane to get her attention. Knowing exactly what the young girl wanted. "Alright, sweetie! We can go home, now!" lightly giggled Samantha in amusement at her impatient daughter. She smiled fondly at the little girl, as she took her daughter's hand and started walking towards the exit.
A/N: Well, that's it for this Bethan Short! :D
I'll let you all decided which type of Bethan relationship this ended off as. Either, a romance type relationship or a friendship type relationship? ;P Although, with the romance one it'd be more like a...hint towards their relationship leading that way eventually in the future, that is. Like, since they're only just in the 3rd grade, right now they haven't quite yet discovered that part about themselves yet, but it is there, though. They just haven't realized the signs of it, just yet. Since most third graders think that girls are icky. Lol! At least, I think they do, anyway? Maybe it's more...borderline, really? Like, they like girls and think they're pretty but it's just that not serious of a romance or kind of love just yet. Yah, know? It's more like...puppy love at that age until you hit your teenage years and then it starts to become more serious and romantic. With dates, make out sessions, grinding all up on each other, possible underage sex, cute pet names for one another, and so on. You know, the whole spiel of it all! Lol! :P Anyway, in this one-shot, they haven't yet reached that phase in their lives when their hormones start kicking in and they start thinking about dating and crushes and all that other stuff most of the time, just yet. Lol! :P
But yeah! I'll leave that up to you all! :D Lol! ;P Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this Bethan Short! Until next time, I'll be seeing you all around! Bye! ;D