'Emma!' Mary Margaret bursts into the living room, excited to share the news with her roommate. 'Emma, guess what? Ruby's got tickets for a concert tomorrow!' Emma looks up from her computer, surprised at the unusual amount of enthusiasm of her friend. Well, not really unusual, as Mary Margaret being chipper and happy was annoyingly common, but the tone she used now was more appropriate for announcing she had won the lottery.
*What concert?* she signed in reply. Her soulmate had apparently taken it upon him to learn a song to perfection, thus Emma had to sing along. She had figured that he wrote the songs himself, as she often found herself singing several lines over and over again in different tunes or with one or two words changed.
'It's an upcoming band,' Mary Margaret replied, turning to make some tea. 'They are calledThe Dashing Rapscallions and they're from the UK.' Facing Emma again, she continued. 'And you want to know the best part?' Emma shrugged.
'I don't think I have any choice in the matter, I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway.' She quickly gulped down a glass of water, before her so-called soulmate started singing again.
'The best part is that you- well, technically your soulmate, has been singing their songs for months! They must be a big fan. Or,' Mary Margareth adds as an afterthought 'maybe they are a member!'
'Sure,' Emma laughs. 'What coincidence would that be, my soulmate performing in a little town in Maine!'
'But are you coming with us? You have to!'
'Of course I'll come. I'm not saying 'no' to a nice night out with you and Rubes!'
/ / /
'Once more guys, we need to be perfect when we perform this tomorrow!'
'Calm down Killian, give Regina and Ana some rest!' Robin replied, out of breath. 'And your unknown soulmate as well, by the way.'
'Fine.' Killian grumbled, grabbing his bottle and gulping down the remains of his water. He would never admit it, but secretly he was jealous of his bandmates. Robin and Will had both found their soulmates. Luckily, Smee hadn't found his soulmate either, even though he did have long-distance singing battles with her. Whilst Smee was a huge Rolling Stones fan, his soul mate always sang songs from the Beatles. He had perfected the trick of switching songs when his unknown soulmate briefly stopped to take a breath. Killian was happy his soulmate didn't sing too much, as it would be intensely embarrassing if he was suddenly forced to sing a different song whilst on stage. The door opened, revealing the charming Ana in a pretty red dress.
'You guys are finally taking a break? Thank God. Regina and I are getting very sore throats.' Will had met her in his home village and the two had run off together when they were 17 for Ana's mother did not approve of their love. She apparently didn't care that the two were true love, and instead intended to marry her daughter off to some rich old man. Robin had found his soulmate when they were searching for a manager. It had been truly amazing to see the look on both their faces when the Dashing Rapscallions had performed in front of her when she was deciding if she wanted to be their manager.
'Sorry love,' Will replied, a huge grin of love on his face. 'Killian here wants to be perfect for tomorrow.'
'And he needs all the practice he can get, that false crow!' Smee added, laughing.
'Sorry lads, I'm just nervous. It's our first gig in America, if we break through here we can make it big.'
'I know mate,' Will replied. 'We're all nervous. Let's just go out for dinner. How about pizza?'
/ / /
'How do I look like?' Mary Margaret looked doubtingly in the mirror.
*You look gorgeous, as ever.* Emma signed, sitting with her head slightly tilted whilst Ruby braided her hair. She was happy that, although the soulmate bond forced her to sing along with whatever they were singing, she herself could control the volume, so she was whispering vocal warmup practices.
'If you unbutton those top two buttons on your blouse you'd be perfect.' Ruby replied. Mary Margaret laughed.
'I doubt David will be happy if I go out in public like that!' When Mary Margaret had met David she thought he was his twin James, who had garnered quite the reputation for being an insufferable douchebag. She had been devastated when she learned that he was her soulmate, and it had taken a while for the miscommunication to be resolved. Now, the two were engaged and sickeningly happy. Not that Emma minded, for if there was anyone even remotely deserving of a happy ending it was the woman who had taken her in and helped her get back on her feet, even though Emma had been a complete stranger to her.
'All done Emma, you're going to catch all of the boys like this.' Ruby got up, admiring her own handiwork.
'Thanks Rubes!' One look in the mirror confirmed what her friend had told, she indeed looked gorgeous. 'Shit you guys, it's already 8! We need to leave now!' And in a rush of giggles and last-minute shoe changes, they were off.
/ / /
'HELLO STORYBROOKE!' Killian loved the view from the stage. 'Welcome all! This is Robin, that's Smee, the idiot over there is Will and I'm Killian.' His hands found the first chords on his guitar easily. 'And we're going to rock tonight. Who's with me?!' He looked at the crowd gathered in front of the stage, relieved that none of his nightmares that nobody would show up had come true. It was quite packed, actually, and it seemed like the audience was ready to go. With a dashing smile, he winked at a girl in the audience, nodded to his bandmates and struck a chord.
/ / /
They had come in last-minute, as ever. Right as they walked in, the famous Dashing Rapscallions swaggered on stage. It seemed like the entirety of Storybrooke had come out to attend, the room was filled to the brim with people. 'Damn, they really are dashing.' Ruby whispered. 'Are they single? I have got to get me one of them.' Emma laughed but had to agree. She had seen pictures and videos of them before, but in real life they were even more handsome than she had imagined. It was surreal to see them in real life, and as she sang along with the music - for she knew the lyrics by heart through the endless repeating of her soulmate - she understood why her other half was such a fan. They were really good and knew how to rile up a crowd. She didn't think she had ever heard such a good concert, and that was certainly saying something. And the fact that they were handsome to look at did not hurt either.
/ / /
Killian's eyes gleamed as he looked out over the crazy audience. That is what he loved about this life, the enthusiastic crowds. He could see the day-to-day worries disappear from the faces in front, and he knew that he, with his music, managed to give people a break from whichever shit life threw at them. He hadn't really seen the value of starting their US tour in this little town, but Regina had insisted. Apparently she used to live here, and she wanted to give something back. Now Killian understood, this town was indeed amazing. As the last chord of their hit single 'Red lips, Red heart' faded away he grabbed the microphone tighter. He liked the sound of the fans singing along with the songs they knew, but he loved the silence when they introduced a new song even more, although it was infinitely more terrifying. The Dashing Rapscallions had practised this one over and over again, and he was sure it could be the straw that broke the camel's back and truly made their stand in the American market.
'Storybrooke, we have a surprise for you… We have been working really hard on a brand new song for you!' The audience cheered.
'And with 'really hard' he really means hard!' Will laughed behind him.
'Sorry mate, but only perfect is enough for our lovely fans in Maine!' More cheers. 'Nobody has heard this song! Well, except for us and our poor soulmates of course. So here is for you, brand new, 'the Mystery of Love'!'
/ / /
'So here is for you, brand new, 'the Mystery of Love'!' Emma's heart stopped mid-beat. It couldn't. It shouldn't- but the first chords played by the dark-haired lead singer confirmed her worst fears. The supposedly unknown song was the one her soulmate had been singing for years. Next to her Mary Margaret looked at her in a mixture of horror and delight. 'Emma-' she whispered, but it was too late. As the lead singer opened his mouth to sing, so, involuntarily, did Emma's. And, in the middle of a completely silent crowd, she was forced to sing along.
/ / /
The audience was silent, the air brimming with anticipation. Or, at least, that was what Killian had expected the audience to be. But in the middle of the crowded venue, ever so silently, he heard the soft voice of a woman singing along with every word flowing out of his mouth. His brief hope that it was only his imagination was immediately squashed as the people in the audience noticed and turned towards the source of the sound. Panicked, he turned to his bandmates, but it was clear they weren't much help either. They stared at him in shock, instruments forgotten, as they, too, heard the voice. There was no escaping it. Nobody could know the lyrics to this song, nobody but their soulmates. There was only one conclusion to draw. Turning back to the audience he lowered his microphone, continuing to sing whilst scanning the audience with his eyes, looking for the source of the lovely voice accompanying his own.
/ / /
No. Shit. Fuck. No. Emma covered her mouth with her hands, desperately trying to stop singing, but it was too late. The two girls in front of her who had, when Emma had accidentally bumped into them and apologised, introduced themselves as Alice and Robin, had already heard her sing and were now staring at her panicked face. And they were not the only who had noticed before she knew it hundreds of eyes looked upon her as she tried to flee, to no avail. Instead of moving to the exit, several hands - including those of a shocked but happy Mary Margaret and a mischievous Ruby - pushed her in the direction of the stage.
'It seems that my mates' soulmate is in the audience guys!' Will called in his microphone, his voice full of what could only be described with childish glee. 'Why don't you all help love a little and make sure that we can see who will finally tame our friend?' Sometimes Killian really felt like killing his friends, but now he didn't have time. He would take his revenge one day. Now his eyes were locked on the gorgeous, singing blonde pushed in the direction of the stage by an overly enthusiastic audience.
There was no way out. The people had pushed, carried and pulled her in the direction of the stage. And there she was now, standing in front of the stage with bright, endless blue eyes staring down on her. He - Killian, she remembered- continued singing, and she was completely and utterly helpless. Her mouth unwillingly formed the words Killian sang, her vocal cords trilling in a way she could not control. Soon enough she was pushed against the stage, lifted onto it by a couple of strong men encouraged by their girlfriends filming every second of her embarrassment. She herself had watched plenty of videos online of awkward moments when people found their soulmates, and she had always found them very amusing. But now that she was on this side of the camera it was a lot less humorous. In front of her, her soulmate held out his hand. And even though she was embarrassed and panicked and horridly mortified, she did the only thing that made sense. She took it, climbed on stage and met the man that had been tormenting her vocal cords her entire life.
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
The band name & members are stolen from a different fanfic. I wrote this in a hurry and I haven't really proofread so I hope it's any good. Thanks for reading!