****
Everyone was clustered around a table near the stage. They'd all had a few rounds of some glowing drink in a test tube and Sasche, Alex, Monica, and Amanda were covered in confetti and silly string.
"OH MY GOD!" Sasche shouted over the noise. "I haven't had this much fun in ... well..." she broke out laughing as Jake elbowed her and then kissed her silent. Everyone else bust out in laughter at the sight.
"Thanks guys! I needed this more than you know!" Amanda grinned and held up another test tube shot before downing it in one swift swallow. So far it was only 9:30 and they'd all managed to cut loose, get down and were on a roll.
It was then that the manager opened up the stage for open mic night or karaoke.
"You have got to go sing Amanda!"
Amanda shook her head. "No way. I'm so buzzed that I think I'd forget half the worlds... words..."
"Please?"
"Come on!"
Everyone kept begging and pestering until she finally gave in. With another test tube shot and a wave, Amanda wandered her way up to the stage. She gave the song selection to the karaoke machine operator and took the mic.
"How do you cool your lips after a summer's kiss?
How do you rid the sweat after the body bliss?
How do you turn your back on the romantic glare?
How do you block the sound of a voice you'd know any where?"
She was losing herself in the music. These were all the questions and thoughts she'd asked herself over the last year trying to forget him. Amanda hadn't chosen this song with the intention of this... but it sort of happens.
'Oh, I really should have known by the time you drove me home,
by the vagueness in your eyes, your casual goodbyes.
By the chill in your embrace, the expression on your face
that told me maybe you might have some advice to give on how to be insensitive.
Insensitive. Insensitive.'
Alex was watching her closely. She knew her sister well enough to know that little private world she escaped into while singing. Amanda had that little 'Mandy' world that only she visited while deep in the music.
Jake and Sasche were snuggled close together, his arms wrapped around her waist and her head leaning back against his shoulder as she sang. They both had been where Amanda was now.
'How do you numb your skin after the warmest touch?
How do you slow your blood after the body rush?
How do you free your soul after you've found a friend?
How do you teach your heart to cry, to fall in love again?'
Frank slid in the front door and paid the cover. He was tired and wanted to go home and crawl into bed. When he got off of the plane in O'Hare and turned his cell phone on, there was a message from Monica telling him that they were all going down to Gaudy's and that he was welcome to join them. At first he didn't want to... but then he realized that they actually made the effort to include him in their recreation.
'Oh, you probably won't remember me, it's probably ancient history.
I'm one of the chosen few who went ahead and fell for you.
I'm out of vogue, I'm out of touch. I fell too hard, I feel too much.
I though that you might have some advice to give on how to be insensitive.'
For a moment he wasn't sure if he recognized the voice. But when he rounded the corner and heard the voice more clearly, he knew it. Frank froze at the end of the bar, his dark eyes wide in surprise to see his Starlet on the stage. The lights of the stage lit her hair up to glowing and her eyes were closed. All the pain he'd seen held within her eyes in photographs was etched on her face as she gave in to the music. Her words reached out and wrapped around him as he stood there.
While she was singing, Alex made her way over to the karaoke machine operator. Slipping him a twenty, she requested the next song with a grin.
'Oh, I really should have known by the time you drove me home,
by the vagueness in your eyes, your casual goodbyes.
By the chill in your embrace, the expression on your face
that told me maybe you might have some advice to give on how to be insensitive.
Insensitive. Insensitive.
How to be.'
The crowd erupted into claps and cheers as she finished the song. Frank pulled back into the shadows of the bar itself to watch. Down at the edge of the stage he could see Sasche and Jake at the table with Alex, Monica and Cody. What was Mandy doing here in Chicago?
Amanda blushed while waving her thank you's to the crowd. It was the same when she was performing. She might know inside that she deserved it, but the other side just kept disbelieving that people actually applauded her.
After the crowd had quieted down a bit, Amanda started to leave the stage. But she stopped when she saw Alex walk up onto the stage.
"What are you doing?" she whispered.
--
- song titled "Insensitive" by Jann Arden
***
Everyone was clustered around a table near the stage. They'd all had a few rounds of some glowing drink in a test tube and Sasche, Alex, Monica, and Amanda were covered in confetti and silly string.
"OH MY GOD!" Sasche shouted over the noise. "I haven't had this much fun in ... well..." she broke out laughing as Jake elbowed her and then kissed her silent. Everyone else bust out in laughter at the sight.
"Thanks guys! I needed this more than you know!" Amanda grinned and held up another test tube shot before downing it in one swift swallow. So far it was only 9:30 and they'd all managed to cut loose, get down and were on a roll.
It was then that the manager opened up the stage for open mic night or karaoke.
"You have got to go sing Amanda!"
Amanda shook her head. "No way. I'm so buzzed that I think I'd forget half the worlds... words..."
"Please?"
"Come on!"
Everyone kept begging and pestering until she finally gave in. With another test tube shot and a wave, Amanda wandered her way up to the stage. She gave the song selection to the karaoke machine operator and took the mic.
"How do you cool your lips after a summer's kiss?
How do you rid the sweat after the body bliss?
How do you turn your back on the romantic glare?
How do you block the sound of a voice you'd know any where?"
She was losing herself in the music. These were all the questions and thoughts she'd asked herself over the last year trying to forget him. Amanda hadn't chosen this song with the intention of this... but it sort of happens.
'Oh, I really should have known by the time you drove me home,
by the vagueness in your eyes, your casual goodbyes.
By the chill in your embrace, the expression on your face
that told me maybe you might have some advice to give on how to be insensitive.
Insensitive. Insensitive.'
Alex was watching her closely. She knew her sister well enough to know that little private world she escaped into while singing. Amanda had that little 'Mandy' world that only she visited while deep in the music.
Jake and Sasche were snuggled close together, his arms wrapped around her waist and her head leaning back against his shoulder as she sang. They both had been where Amanda was now.
'How do you numb your skin after the warmest touch?
How do you slow your blood after the body rush?
How do you free your soul after you've found a friend?
How do you teach your heart to cry, to fall in love again?'
Frank slid in the front door and paid the cover. He was tired and wanted to go home and crawl into bed. When he got off of the plane in O'Hare and turned his cell phone on, there was a message from Monica telling him that they were all going down to Gaudy's and that he was welcome to join them. At first he didn't want to... but then he realized that they actually made the effort to include him in their recreation.
'Oh, you probably won't remember me, it's probably ancient history.
I'm one of the chosen few who went ahead and fell for you.
I'm out of vogue, I'm out of touch. I fell too hard, I feel too much.
I though that you might have some advice to give on how to be insensitive.'
For a moment he wasn't sure if he recognized the voice. But when he rounded the corner and heard the voice more clearly, he knew it. Frank froze at the end of the bar, his dark eyes wide in surprise to see his Starlet on the stage. The lights of the stage lit her hair up to glowing and her eyes were closed. All the pain he'd seen held within her eyes in photographs was etched on her face as she gave in to the music. Her words reached out and wrapped around him as he stood there.
While she was singing, Alex made her way over to the karaoke machine operator. Slipping him a twenty, she requested the next song with a grin.
'Oh, I really should have known by the time you drove me home,
by the vagueness in your eyes, your casual goodbyes.
By the chill in your embrace, the expression on your face
that told me maybe you might have some advice to give on how to be insensitive.
Insensitive. Insensitive.
How to be.'
The crowd erupted into claps and cheers as she finished the song. Frank pulled back into the shadows of the bar itself to watch. Down at the edge of the stage he could see Sasche and Jake at the table with Alex, Monica and Cody. What was Mandy doing here in Chicago?
Amanda blushed while waving her thank you's to the crowd. It was the same when she was performing. She might know inside that she deserved it, but the other side just kept disbelieving that people actually applauded her.
After the crowd had quieted down a bit, Amanda started to leave the stage. But she stopped when she saw Alex walk up onto the stage.
"What are you doing?" she whispered.
--
- song titled "Insensitive" by Jann Arden
***
