It was a typical day in the city of Oakdale. It was soon to be a special one for Duncan because on Friday, The Sadie Hawkins Dance at Oakdale High was coming up. Duncan had his sights set on his long time crush Mia. Whom he plans to ask out.
He had been waiting to ask Mia out ever since he laid eyes on her but was too embarrassed to. She kinda knew he liked her, but only liked to think of him as a good friend. Around lunchtime Duncan and Wolf were sitting together while chatting about who they were thinking about taking to the dance.
Yangzi and Bex were there too.
Bex asks, "So, do any of you have dates yet?" Yangzi suggests, "If not, I have this Dating App!".
"Don't need Apps this time around!" Duncan implies. "You seem so confident." Observes Wolf. "Because I already have someone in mind.". Duncan speaks out.
"Let me guess, Mia right? No surprise!" Bex laughs. "I just know she's going to say yes!" Duncan cheers with pride.
"Yeah by the time you try to ask her, you begin to stutter dawg!" Yangzi reminds Duncan.
"Not this time!" Duncan says as he sprays his mouth with some throat spray. Mia tries to find a place to sit in the cafeteria.
She notices Duncan and walks over towards him. "Shoot she's coming this way!" Duncan panics.
"Just act cool, dude," Wolf tries to calm Duncan. Mia walks over and takes a seat across from Duncan. "You alright," she asks. Duncan calms and turns to her. "Huh?! Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" Duncan fixes himself up and smiles.
"Duncan just wanted to ask you something," Bex told Mia.
Mia turns around to Duncan. "Really? What is it?". Duncan begins to blush and struggles not to stutter.
"Uh...uh...want to go to the...d-d-d-ance this Friday?" Duncan asks in a nervous way.
"Well I don't work at Papa Moms tonight and I am going to the dance," Mia concedes.
"Cool, would you like to be my date?" Duncan says to her.
Bex, Wolf, and Yangzi all watch Duncan ask out Mia with bated breath.
"Oh," Mia blushes, as she rubs her shoulder. "I'd like to, but Wolf already asked me and we agreed to go." Duncan was left speechless. He laughed as he first thought it was a joke but only became serious when Mia walked over to Wolf.
"You're serious right! Him?!" Duncan says to Mia.
Mia rubbed her shoulder. "Sorry, Duncan. He asked me first." She plopped a seat next to him.
Duncan sat down in complete surprise, speechless from what he heard. Yangzi patted his back and tells Duncan, "Don't worry dawg! There'll be other girls!"
"No! I refuse to accept that Mia is going with Wolf!" Ranted Duncan!
"You can't go on your whole life thinking one person is for you. My grandma always tells me that all the time," Bex implies.
"Too bad! I'm going to do something at that dance that will win Mia over," Duncan makes a vow.
"Don't do anything Game of Thrones related!" Yangzi warns him.
"After school, meet me in the trailer. We'll all get together and think of a plan!" Duncan says.
"Okay we're willing to do that," Bex said.
"Just as long as it doesn't ruin your friendship with Wolf," Yangzi says.
After school got out, Bex and Yangzi decided to help Duncan win Mia over. Without it interfering with his relationship with Wolf.
The trio head to Duncan's where they sit in his room while coming up with a plan. Yangzi tells Duncan to just get over it but Duncan objects saying that'll find a way to win her. After a little bit of Bex comes up with the suggestion to write a song.
"And call it what?" Duncan asks Bex.
"I got the perfect title," Bex tells Duncan, as he grabs a piece of paper, preparing to write the lyrics. "Will call it Le Flame. Like The Flame."
He starts to write down some lyrics while singing it to the tune of The Flame. "Another day just blew, and I'm feeling so blue.."
Yangzi stops Bex. "And get sued by Robin Zander and Cheap Trick. No, way, dawg!"
"How's it copyright to go with the same title, look at other artists," Bex argues.
Duncan asks, "How can I learn the song?" Yangzi implies, " Easy, dawg! Just watch a YouTube video of how its done."
"Well, all right," said Duncan.
Deciding to use their own take on the song, Duncan uses different lyrics out of fear they would get sued by Cheap Trick.
Bex and Yangzi watch Duncan try out the song. "Just one thing is missing then we'll focus on the lyrics," said Bex.
"What is it?" Asks Duncan. " You'll need a guitar," Yangzi tells him.
"My dad is a classic rock fan, guess I can use one of his," said Duncan.
"Great," Yangzi gives Duncan a thumbs up. "Lets go."
He and Duncan look for his dad, leaving Bex behind to write some lyrics. Duncan and Yangzi find his dad in the living room listening to music. Duncan tries to get his attention but is unsuccessful.
"He always falls deep into his music," Duncan informs Yangzi. He nods.
Duncan turns to leave but not before he looks down at his dad's phone that's lying next to him and sees him listening to Cinderella. Song name; "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."
"Don't know what you got til it's gone?" He shrugs.
Yangzi gets surprised. "I know that song. It's pretty cool."
Duncan was now in a conundrum as to what song he wants to sing.
"Now I don't know what song to sing," Said Duncan, putting his hands on his face.
"I thought we were doing the Cheap Trick song," Yangzi implies.
"Maybe this Cinderella song would be better, you know to show Mia what she's missing," Duncan tells Yangzi.
"Say I know, maybe we can flip a coin". Yangzi says. "Wouldn't hurt," says Duncan.
"Okay, Heads we do The Flame. Tails we do Don't Know What You Got Until Its Gone". Yangzi tells Duncan as he flips the coin.
"Heads!". " Tails!".
The coin flips into the air and it landed... Tails!
"Alright," Duncan picks up the coin off the ground.
"Looks like we're doing Don't Know What You Got," Yangzi says. "Guess will keep The Flame as a back-up song."
"Sounds like a plan," Duncan turns to Yangzi with the coin.
"Let me just get your dad's guitar," Yangzi tells Duncan while walking behind the couch to look for the guitar case he saw earlier.
Duncan stood in the living room as he thought about making the song. It was gonna be a pain. He never really knew how to play guitar nor has he heard the song.
Yangzi walks back over to Duncan and the two leave back to find Bex still in Duncan's room writing lyrics. He turns his head to the two as he picks up the paper with the finished lyrics to show.
"Fresh off the press! Here are the lyrics!" Bex exclaimed, holding out the page. Duncan takes the paper with the lyrics on it and goes over it
"Good. Now all I need to do is try to play," Duncan says.
Yangzi says, "I got a solution! Listen to the song on YouTube. Then learn to play with my lyrics app!".
Bex said, " Good ol' Yangzi and his apps! Where would we be without him!"
"Don't want to find out," said Duncan.
"C'mon dawg! The dance is just hours away!" Yangzi reminds Duncan.
"Once we get through with you, you're going to as my Grandma always says, break a rib," Bex says.
"Think that's break a leg," corrected Duncan.
"Yeah, that," Bex smiled.
He and Yangzi decided to help Duncan practice the song. First Yangzi had Duncan listen to the songs to which he liked and then started to pick up a voice.
Yangzi reached in the case and pulled out an acoustic guitar and Bex pulled out an old coffee creamer can from under the bed to use as a drum.
"Why don't you guys start," Duncan insisted. "Just so I can have something to build up on."
The two nodded as Yangzi slowly started to strum the guitar while Bex slowly hit the creamer can. Duncan nodded his head as he liked it so far. He picked up the lyrics sheet and started to sing what was on there.
"Another long night is slowly closing in, and I'm feeling so lonely. Feeling the heat freezing on my skin, I pretend you still hold onto me."
Yangzi started to nod his head too as he transitioned to a higher note for the next bit.
"I'm going insane, I'm losing sleep, I'm in too far I'm in way too deep, over you. I cannot believe you're already gone. You were everything I always wanted," Duncan sang, but stopped only to realize the lyrics where the same as The Flames.
He turned to Bex. "Did you just copy the lyrics to The Flame but change them up?"
"Okay fine. I did. So what? They won't know the difference," confessed Bex.
"You know, guess you're right! Duncan keep perfecting the song!" Yangzi orders.
"So I shall!" Said Duncan. Two hours have passed and Duncan and his friends played The Flame and Don't Know What You Got until it was time for the dance. By then Duncan was already exhausted.
"How did I do?" Duncan asks feeling insecure.
"You're ready!" Bex and Yangzi both say.
With a whole new confidence, Bex, Yangzi and Duncan were on their way to the Sadie Hawkins Oakdale High dance. Wolf was already there with Mia.
Duncan peeked his head into the gymnasium where he saw Wolf and Mia grabbing some punch. He looked around and saw an empty band set that was setup near them.
Bex comes up behind Duncan and asks if he sees them.
"Yeah, they're grabbing some punch. But I also have other news. Somone set up a small stage with instruments, maybe we can use them," Duncan said.
"Cool," Yangzi nods. The two continue to stay out and wait for Mia and Wolf to be out of sight. Once the coast was clear the trio moved in to the stage. It didn't seem anyone cared as they were too busy talking to one another giving the trio time to set up.
Duncan picked up a bass in front of him and started to pick at the strings getting a tune. "There you go," Yangzi gave a thumbs up. Duncan smiled as he turned to the mic and stuttered to get everyone's attention.
"He-hello, students of Oakdale High. I'd like to de-de-dedicate this song to a fellow friend Mia Abara." Silence filled the room until Mia broke it. "Duncan, what are you doing?"
"I'd like to sing you a song, and I call it... Don't Know What You Got," Duncan smiled at her. He turned his head around to Bex and Yangzi and nodded.
"What! I thought we were doing The Flame," Bex sighed. He reached is pocket to and pulled out the lyrics sheet. "I already wrote the lyrics."
"This is my song, dude," Duncan whispered to Bex. He turned to Yangzi and nodded.
Yangzi went off stage to dim the lights then came back on and grabbed a guitar off the stand. Bex sighed as he clicked the sticks together to start things off and soon Yangzi would join in by plucking a few strings to match the piano opening.
Duncan came close to the mic as he began to sing. "I can't tell you Mia what went wrong," Duncan sung in a calm gentle voice. "I can't make you feel what you felt so long ago! I'll let it show!"
Mia stood near the stage with Wolf as she started to get into the song. "You can't give me back what's been hurt! Heartaches come and go, and all that's left are the words I can't let go!"
"If we take some time to think it over"
"Take all the time, to let me know"
"If you really want to let go."
Duncan gulped as he turned to Yangzi who told him to go for it. He held the bass up and started to hit a few strings.
"Don't know what you got, till it's gone!" His voice became a little higher. "Don't know what it is I did so wrong! Now I know all that's left is just this song! And it's never easy to get back. It takes so looong!"
Hearing this made Mia go red and feel bad about not asking Duncan like she had planned.
"Do you wanna see me begging, Mia?!"
"Couldn't you have just given me..."
"A little time!"
"Can't you see my hearts been begging lately!"
"I've been the only one waiting in line!"
Mia was near in tears as she could not believe what she was hearing. She really felt bad about herself. What really hit her more was the solo which she saw was being carried out by Duncan. Leaving her speechless.
When the song slowed. Duncan lowered himself to Mia still singing. "You don't know what you got, till it's gone. I don't know what it is I did so wrong!"
The whole gymnasium was left stunned and quiet. Duncan stood back up and then chuckled nervously.
Duncan goes to the microphone and calls to Mia. "So Mia! What did you think? Now will you be my date?"
Standing with Wolf who says, " bet he really embarrassed you."
"Let me think about it...". Mia says.
Then she shoved Wolf aside and says, " Yes! Duncan! I will! This was a beautiful thing you did for me!". Mia says as she runs to Duncan.
"Really!" Duncan's eyes widen.
"Of course," Mia giggled, pulling herself close in. "Me and Wolf weren't really doing anything except for talking."
Wolf interrupted. "I was gonna ask you to dance later." He walked up against the wall where he watched Duncan and Mia move onto the dance floor.
Duncan tells Mia, "Oh gosh I feel stupid. For a minute there I though you and Wolf were an official couple."
"I think you deserve a date with me to the dance!" Mia tells Duncan.
"Really? I can't believe it!" Duncan said with happiness.
"You went way out of your way to impress me. So why not?" Mia said.
"Dance with me my Sadie Hawkins date!" cheers Duncan with glee. The two slowly dance as the original Cheap Trick song The Flame plays in the background from a speaker.
"Watching shadows move across the wall,"
"Feels so frightening"
"I wanna run to you, I wanna call"
"But I've been hit by lightning."
"Just can't stand up for falling apart"
"Can't see through this veil across my heart"
"Over you, you'll always be the one"
"You were the first you'll be the last."
"Wherever you go, I'll be with you,"
"Whatever you want, I'll give it to you"
"Whenever you need someone to lay your heart and head upon"
"Remember after the fire, after all the rain"
"I will be the flame"
"I will be the flame."
"You'll always be my flame," Duncan whispers to Mia.
Mia chuckled, "And so will you."
Duncan and Mia dance as the spotlight beams over them. "Magical night thus is.". Mia exclaims.
"It is indeed! I hope it never ends!". Duncan answers back.