Chapter 11: The Curtain Rises
A/N: Second-to-last chapter. Dedicated to Madi, she knows why.
They finished the boring awards first, categories Di didn't care about. A steady stream of glittering dresses and tearful speeches…that was all it was. She was already shaking to beat the band and her number wasn't until a few hours later in the show, but this was frightening the hell out of her.
He sat in the shadows, eyes glued to the white-clad Di. She got up to leave to prepare for her song and his eyes trailed her, heart aching. Di looked so beautiful, so radiant, so glowing with sheer happiness. And Duke was on her arm, not him. Duke sat beside her, held her hand. My spot, thought Chris bitterly. That ugly bastard is sitting in my spot, holding the hand I should be holding…
They presented more awards but he wasn't paying attention. Chris's eyes were on Duke now. Smugly sitting beside Di's vacated seat, he crossed his arms and surveyed the crowd. Chris ducked a bit to avoid being recognized. Duke's seawater eyes swept right past him.
"Our very own sparkling diamond is here tonight to perform for all of you," said John Stewart, a sadistic smile on his face. He made a joke…a not-so- funny joke Chris didn't listen to.
A smattering of laughter. And then the music started. Everything was black until a blue light shone on the silhouette of Di. She launched into "My Cocaine" as was expected.
"You're my cocaine, you're my addiction…" she sang, still wearing the white gown that was so breathtakingly beautiful. "My obsession, my transfixion." Like a woman with twirling ribbons, she pirouetted across the stage.
Di was onstage, doing what she loved best, singing her heart out, completely happy and completely confident. Singing to millions of people was almost orgasmic. With a blissful expression on her face, she sang out strongly, a slave to the music. But then, underneath the hot lights, she saw something.
Chris.
He sat in the back of the auditorium, eyes fixed on her. His expression was stony and it sent Di's heart plunging. She stood completely still and did not speak or sing a word. Her band quit playing and the auditorium was in utter silence, every pair of eyes on Di.
Oh, God. She had seen him. Chris's heart skipped a thousand beats. He brought himself to his feet and stumbled across the knees of the people beside him. Slowly, willing his feet to move, he walked up the aisle, his back to Di.
And then she opened her mouth and began to sing, very softly.
"I still remember every vivid feeling
underneath the stars that night."
What was she doing? The crowd began to murmur and they turned around to see who she was staring so intensely at, who was making her eyes water up like this.
"That damned guitarist!" Richard Duke swore, clenching his fists. "What in the hell is she doing?"
Chills went up and down Chris's spine and he turned slowly to face her. "Just you, just me, the ocean. Nowhere else I'd rather be right now," she sang, midnight blue eyes welling with glittering tears. He could feel the pressure of a thousand eyes on him while she sang.
"I still love you.
I still miss you.
I still want you here with me.
Come what may…"
Now they were watching him to see his reaction. "Come what may…" Di whispered again, sending his already pounding heart into overdrive.
"Come what may," he replied in a hesitant voice quieter than her whisper. "Come what may. Come what may! I will love you…"
And then he was running down the aisle up to the stage. She held out her hands and she grabbed him tightly, tears streaming down her face. But she was smiling, a smile brighter than the glint of the trophies. "I love you…"
"Until my dying day!" Rang out Chris's magnificent tenor voice, sending the audience into an appreciative tremor.
Both of them trembling like leaves on a windy day, they embraced and the applause was deafening. And then they kissed, further generating the ecstasy of the crowd.
"Never knew I could feel like this…" They sang as the cameras rolled and everyone "oohed" and "ahhed" in appreciation.
Everyone but Duke. His face was red and he shook violently, watching HIS Di up there with that guitar player, kissing him and singing to him and smiling brightly at the audience. They were doing this all on live TV, humiliating him in front of the world.
He couldn't watch this anymore. It had all been a cruel joke. She didn't love him; she never had.
He didn't like other people touching his things. And, in writing, Di was his.
Richard Duke had a plan.
This feeling rushing through her was better than anything; better than chocolate, better than kisses, better than moonlit walks on the beach with the one you love. This was true, unadulterated bliss. With Chris's arms around her and her heart in the joyous clouds of rekindled love, Di could barely sing with her happiness. "One day I'll fly away…"
He was feeling exactly the same way. "My gift is my song!" Chris sang, giddier than Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain. Giddier than a child on Christmas day and giddier than any Ecstasy could inspire. But something was not right. He could feel it, something very, very wrong and very foreboding.
Duke.
He was heading up the aisle, a shimmering black weapon in hand. Instinctively, Chris threw Di aside and she flew backward. "SHE IS MINE!" Duke was screaming. "SHE IS MINE!"
Nobody did anything. It was as if the audience was too captivated, too frightened to move a muscle. "Someone do something!" Di screamed, her color quickly draining from her already pale face. The red streaks of tears stood out like a handprint from a brutal slap.
And then it happened. One loud, piercing shot shattered the silence of the auditorium and the bullet was released.
Right into Chris's heart.
Duke was an excellent shot.
"YOU KILLED HIM!" Di screamed again through her already streaming tears. "YOU SHOT HIM!"
An evil smirk was on Duke's satisfied face. He still held the gun, but was now pointing it to her. "Where is the security in this place?" Asked a bewildered member of the audience, too startled to move.
"Chris! Oh my God, Chris!" She threw herself to her knees beside his body and grabbed his hand, gently touching his face with the other.
"Di…" It was already happening. His blood was beginning to slow down and seep out of the wound.
"CALL AN AMBULANCE, SOMEBODY!" Di sobbed. "TURN OFF THE DAMN CAMERA!"
Nobody did anything.
"Please," she scream-sobbed in desperation. "He's dying. Chris, don't give up. I love you so much. You've got to try. No. Don't close your eyes!" She kissed him furiously as though to breathe her own life into him.
Slowly, blackness was reaching for him. "I…" He breathed, Di's face before him starting to fade with his vision. "I love you." Oh, it hurt so much. The steady ache in his heart was too much to bear. "Di…"
"No!" She sobbed, drenched in her tears and his blood. "Chris!"
But he was dead, the warmth already fleeing his body.
For a fleeting moment she sat beside his body, sobbing and kissing him furiously. A stream of incoherent murmurings flew from her lips to his unhearing ears. "I love you I love you I love you." She was whispering. "Wait for me, Chris." And then, with a new courage in her, Di stood.
"YOU DID THIS!" She turned a vengeful gaze on Duke. "Why?" Not caring enough to wipe the tears away, Di ran down the stairs, blinded by her sadness. Chris was dead. It had left her completely numb.
"She is mine." Duke repeated, pointing the gun at her. His eyes were glazed over with that craziness that seems to go through everyone when they murder. Were the cameras rolling? Nobody knew. Everyone was completely riveted to the tragedy unfolding before them.
"Yes!" She proclaimed, staring him down with icy eyes. "Shoot me too. I don't want to go on…go on anymore." A slow, shaky breath wracked her fragile, tear-weakened body. "Without him…Shoot me too, Richard. Make it painful."
He did nothing. "SHOOT ME, DAMMIT! Kill me, Richard. You've already killed my heart. Let the rest of me go with it."
By this time, the police were there, running down the long aisle to get to the crazed murderer. But it was too late. He'd pulled the trigger. Di willed it to smash into her body and make her die. She wanted to die. There was nothing, nothing remotely important in her life, without Chris. Her gallant knight was dead. She would join him too. They'd be together.
It hit right underneath her heart but Di was immune to the pain. She fell to her knees with the impact, but somehow got up and dragged herself to Chris's body. Although already she was feeling hazy and a strange sensation was crawling up her spine, Di remained strong. She collapsed, gasping for breath. The paramedics flew to her side, but she pushed them away. "No!" She screamed. "I want to die! Oh, God, let me die!"
They were talking to her, encouraging her to let them take her, but she fought. "No! He's dead! I don't care anymore. I…I want to die. KILL ME. God, just strike me down dead…" she managed to say with her unsteady breath. "I…want to die." A violent bout of shuddering struck Di's body. She convulsed wildly on the cold floor beside the blood and tearstained body of her Sir Christian, grasping his hand.
"I love you…" She whispered before giving up completely to the blackness of death. "Until…the…end…of…time."
"Please, stop the cameras," someone said. "You can't broadcast this."
And just as they had been in life, the lovers were reunited in death.
END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN
A/N: Second-to-last chapter. Dedicated to Madi, she knows why.
They finished the boring awards first, categories Di didn't care about. A steady stream of glittering dresses and tearful speeches…that was all it was. She was already shaking to beat the band and her number wasn't until a few hours later in the show, but this was frightening the hell out of her.
He sat in the shadows, eyes glued to the white-clad Di. She got up to leave to prepare for her song and his eyes trailed her, heart aching. Di looked so beautiful, so radiant, so glowing with sheer happiness. And Duke was on her arm, not him. Duke sat beside her, held her hand. My spot, thought Chris bitterly. That ugly bastard is sitting in my spot, holding the hand I should be holding…
They presented more awards but he wasn't paying attention. Chris's eyes were on Duke now. Smugly sitting beside Di's vacated seat, he crossed his arms and surveyed the crowd. Chris ducked a bit to avoid being recognized. Duke's seawater eyes swept right past him.
"Our very own sparkling diamond is here tonight to perform for all of you," said John Stewart, a sadistic smile on his face. He made a joke…a not-so- funny joke Chris didn't listen to.
A smattering of laughter. And then the music started. Everything was black until a blue light shone on the silhouette of Di. She launched into "My Cocaine" as was expected.
"You're my cocaine, you're my addiction…" she sang, still wearing the white gown that was so breathtakingly beautiful. "My obsession, my transfixion." Like a woman with twirling ribbons, she pirouetted across the stage.
Di was onstage, doing what she loved best, singing her heart out, completely happy and completely confident. Singing to millions of people was almost orgasmic. With a blissful expression on her face, she sang out strongly, a slave to the music. But then, underneath the hot lights, she saw something.
Chris.
He sat in the back of the auditorium, eyes fixed on her. His expression was stony and it sent Di's heart plunging. She stood completely still and did not speak or sing a word. Her band quit playing and the auditorium was in utter silence, every pair of eyes on Di.
Oh, God. She had seen him. Chris's heart skipped a thousand beats. He brought himself to his feet and stumbled across the knees of the people beside him. Slowly, willing his feet to move, he walked up the aisle, his back to Di.
And then she opened her mouth and began to sing, very softly.
"I still remember every vivid feeling
underneath the stars that night."
What was she doing? The crowd began to murmur and they turned around to see who she was staring so intensely at, who was making her eyes water up like this.
"That damned guitarist!" Richard Duke swore, clenching his fists. "What in the hell is she doing?"
Chills went up and down Chris's spine and he turned slowly to face her. "Just you, just me, the ocean. Nowhere else I'd rather be right now," she sang, midnight blue eyes welling with glittering tears. He could feel the pressure of a thousand eyes on him while she sang.
"I still love you.
I still miss you.
I still want you here with me.
Come what may…"
Now they were watching him to see his reaction. "Come what may…" Di whispered again, sending his already pounding heart into overdrive.
"Come what may," he replied in a hesitant voice quieter than her whisper. "Come what may. Come what may! I will love you…"
And then he was running down the aisle up to the stage. She held out her hands and she grabbed him tightly, tears streaming down her face. But she was smiling, a smile brighter than the glint of the trophies. "I love you…"
"Until my dying day!" Rang out Chris's magnificent tenor voice, sending the audience into an appreciative tremor.
Both of them trembling like leaves on a windy day, they embraced and the applause was deafening. And then they kissed, further generating the ecstasy of the crowd.
"Never knew I could feel like this…" They sang as the cameras rolled and everyone "oohed" and "ahhed" in appreciation.
Everyone but Duke. His face was red and he shook violently, watching HIS Di up there with that guitar player, kissing him and singing to him and smiling brightly at the audience. They were doing this all on live TV, humiliating him in front of the world.
He couldn't watch this anymore. It had all been a cruel joke. She didn't love him; she never had.
He didn't like other people touching his things. And, in writing, Di was his.
Richard Duke had a plan.
This feeling rushing through her was better than anything; better than chocolate, better than kisses, better than moonlit walks on the beach with the one you love. This was true, unadulterated bliss. With Chris's arms around her and her heart in the joyous clouds of rekindled love, Di could barely sing with her happiness. "One day I'll fly away…"
He was feeling exactly the same way. "My gift is my song!" Chris sang, giddier than Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain. Giddier than a child on Christmas day and giddier than any Ecstasy could inspire. But something was not right. He could feel it, something very, very wrong and very foreboding.
Duke.
He was heading up the aisle, a shimmering black weapon in hand. Instinctively, Chris threw Di aside and she flew backward. "SHE IS MINE!" Duke was screaming. "SHE IS MINE!"
Nobody did anything. It was as if the audience was too captivated, too frightened to move a muscle. "Someone do something!" Di screamed, her color quickly draining from her already pale face. The red streaks of tears stood out like a handprint from a brutal slap.
And then it happened. One loud, piercing shot shattered the silence of the auditorium and the bullet was released.
Right into Chris's heart.
Duke was an excellent shot.
"YOU KILLED HIM!" Di screamed again through her already streaming tears. "YOU SHOT HIM!"
An evil smirk was on Duke's satisfied face. He still held the gun, but was now pointing it to her. "Where is the security in this place?" Asked a bewildered member of the audience, too startled to move.
"Chris! Oh my God, Chris!" She threw herself to her knees beside his body and grabbed his hand, gently touching his face with the other.
"Di…" It was already happening. His blood was beginning to slow down and seep out of the wound.
"CALL AN AMBULANCE, SOMEBODY!" Di sobbed. "TURN OFF THE DAMN CAMERA!"
Nobody did anything.
"Please," she scream-sobbed in desperation. "He's dying. Chris, don't give up. I love you so much. You've got to try. No. Don't close your eyes!" She kissed him furiously as though to breathe her own life into him.
Slowly, blackness was reaching for him. "I…" He breathed, Di's face before him starting to fade with his vision. "I love you." Oh, it hurt so much. The steady ache in his heart was too much to bear. "Di…"
"No!" She sobbed, drenched in her tears and his blood. "Chris!"
But he was dead, the warmth already fleeing his body.
For a fleeting moment she sat beside his body, sobbing and kissing him furiously. A stream of incoherent murmurings flew from her lips to his unhearing ears. "I love you I love you I love you." She was whispering. "Wait for me, Chris." And then, with a new courage in her, Di stood.
"YOU DID THIS!" She turned a vengeful gaze on Duke. "Why?" Not caring enough to wipe the tears away, Di ran down the stairs, blinded by her sadness. Chris was dead. It had left her completely numb.
"She is mine." Duke repeated, pointing the gun at her. His eyes were glazed over with that craziness that seems to go through everyone when they murder. Were the cameras rolling? Nobody knew. Everyone was completely riveted to the tragedy unfolding before them.
"Yes!" She proclaimed, staring him down with icy eyes. "Shoot me too. I don't want to go on…go on anymore." A slow, shaky breath wracked her fragile, tear-weakened body. "Without him…Shoot me too, Richard. Make it painful."
He did nothing. "SHOOT ME, DAMMIT! Kill me, Richard. You've already killed my heart. Let the rest of me go with it."
By this time, the police were there, running down the long aisle to get to the crazed murderer. But it was too late. He'd pulled the trigger. Di willed it to smash into her body and make her die. She wanted to die. There was nothing, nothing remotely important in her life, without Chris. Her gallant knight was dead. She would join him too. They'd be together.
It hit right underneath her heart but Di was immune to the pain. She fell to her knees with the impact, but somehow got up and dragged herself to Chris's body. Although already she was feeling hazy and a strange sensation was crawling up her spine, Di remained strong. She collapsed, gasping for breath. The paramedics flew to her side, but she pushed them away. "No!" She screamed. "I want to die! Oh, God, let me die!"
They were talking to her, encouraging her to let them take her, but she fought. "No! He's dead! I don't care anymore. I…I want to die. KILL ME. God, just strike me down dead…" she managed to say with her unsteady breath. "I…want to die." A violent bout of shuddering struck Di's body. She convulsed wildly on the cold floor beside the blood and tearstained body of her Sir Christian, grasping his hand.
"I love you…" She whispered before giving up completely to the blackness of death. "Until…the…end…of…time."
"Please, stop the cameras," someone said. "You can't broadcast this."
And just as they had been in life, the lovers were reunited in death.
END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN