DISCLAIMER: I don't own the song "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas.
PoV: AMANDA
"Karaoke?" I repeat miserably. "Are you sure? You know I might puke if I sing in front of people!"
Leo shakes his head. "No way. I've heard you sing; you're…" He trails off as the full weight of my mediocre voice settles on him. "Okay, well, I'm not that great either, but it's the most perfect thing we could do on the last day we're able to talk."
"Talk, Leo, not sing!" I argue.
But he's already grabbing my wrist and pulling me down the street. "Come on, it'll be fun!"
Ten minutes later we're standing on the small stage in the main room of the Willow Falls community center, in front of a crowd of about fifteen, and Leo is flipping through the pamphlet of songs choices we've been given. Most of them are über-mushy love songs, and I really don't want to sing a love song with Leo; way too awkward. I don't recognize most of the songs, either. Then towards the bottom of the list I see one that I actually really like.
"Let's do this one," I say, pointing to the title. "It was on the radio constantly last summer, remember?"
"'I Gotta Feeling' by the Black Eyed Peas...oh, yeah!" Recognition sparks in Leo's eyes. "That sounds familiar. But I don't really remember some of the lyrics that well," he admits uncertainly.
My smile dips. "No problem, we can pick something else if you—"
"No, let's do this one," he interrupts. "How hard can it be? This was my idea, after all, so you can be the one to pick what we sing. Besides, I should be able to figure it out."
"Really?" I ask. He nods. I smile gratefully. Suddenly I don't feel as afraid as before. Sometimes, Leo just...has that effect on me.
We walk over to the mic and Leo announces our song choice to the DJ. I take a deep breath, trying not to focus too much on the faces in the audience. If I can play in the marching band's parades in front of thousands (okay, hundreds) of people, I can sing with my best friend in front of a small group of old people, right?
When the song starts, I sing the first few words a little behind, but quickly catch myself up. Leo follows, and I can tell he definitely remembers this song just enough to keep up. After about a minute of singing we're both belting it out loud and proud, and I'm not thinking about anyone in the crowd or anyone in the world, really—just me and Leo singing our hearts out (badly) and savoring every minute. I try to memorize how he sounds when he sings, since I can't remember the last time he did; at least, not like this. Neither of us are very good, but it doesn't matter, because we're having fun. We really are.
When the song finishes, I'm nowhere near ready to stop, but the crowd applauds and we walk off the stage as the next singer mounts it.
Once we're outside the center, I actually let myself process what we just did. "Leo oh my god, did we really just sing a whole song in front of those people in there?" I ask in disbelief.
"I think we did," he replies proudly. "I totally got flashbacks to when I read you the poem I wrote for you while we were fighting. On our—"
"Fifth eleventh birthday. I remember." I tuck a lock of hair behind my ear guiltily. "I never told you this, but I actually lost the poem after you gave it to me. I didn't know to keep it on me in order to take it through to the next day."
Leo shrugs dismissively. "That's okay. I know."
I raise my eyebrows. "How?"
He laughs a little. "When everything reset, the poem just ended up back on my desk. I knew it didn't stick."
I blink in surprise. "And you never though to give it back to me?" I ask, before realizing that's probably kind of rude. Who am I to demand he give me his work to keep?
"Sorry, I guess I kind of second-guessed myself. I never share my poetry, so I felt like if I kept it I might be saving myself from some kind of humiliation."
"Humiliation? I loved your poem! Now I wish I could remember exactly what it said," I say honestly.
A flash of something I can't quite decipher crosses Leo's eyes, but it's gone too quickly. Before I can suggest anything else to do, my phone buzzes with a text message. I clench my fist frustratedly when I read it. "Darn. My parents want me home. Can I call you tonight?"
"For sure. I had fun today. See you later."
As we part ways, all I can think about is how much better I'll feel wearing a chalk board in public for the next year if Leo's doing it too.
A/N: If "I Gotta Feeling" has any risqué undertones, I am unaware of them; I chose it because it fits the timeline of the story (which is currently set in the summer of 2010, according to Wendy Mass's books). And nothing screams "early 2010s" like the Black Eyed Peas XD
