Chapter 8-It's Showtime
The day of the Brightwood Summer Cocktail finally arrived. Since it was a high school tradition, the Brightwood students didn't have classes that day, so they could prepare and attend the event. Unfortunately for the ones coming from other high schools, a little skipping was needed in order to arrive on time.
It was four in the afternoon and the Brightwood Hall had already been nicely decorated with balloons, streamers and other lovely details. Normally used for the principal's boring speeches or for various shows organized by students, the hall was now the perfect setting for the dance. With all the chairs removed, it was now spacious enough to host hundreds of 'guests'.
Slowly but surely, teenagers were entering the hall along with their dates. They were all nicely, if not elegantly dressed and anxious to have a great time. After about an hour and a half, the hall was very crowded. Everyone was socializing, laughing and waiting for the live band to perform, replacing the songs put by an amateur DJ.
The Brightwood Hall had a stage perfect for live performances, with even a small backstage included. There, the Ironic Triangle was preparing for the gig. Dean sneaked a peek into the hall.
"Oh, damn." He muttered.
"What's the status?" Trent asked, while Kat was arranging his shirt collar.
"Full house, dude…and Kat."
"Spare me of the poker language." Kat laughed. "Everything's going to be just fine. Now come here, you look like you're going to get hanged."
Dean sighed and walked towards Kat, who just smiled.
"You know you can come closer." She chuckled, as she gently pulled him by the collar. "I won't bite."
"You'd enjoy that, wouldn't you?" He asked on a flirty tone, earning a light smack over the head from her.
Dean was wearing the white shirt and black pants Kat convinced him to buy. He considered the outfit much too formal for his personality, but Kat allowed him to roll his sleeves until they reached the elbows, so he accepted. Trent was also wearing Kat's clothing choice: the gray shirt she bought him and dark gray pants.
"Anyone got stage fright?" Trent chuckled nervously.
"Yeah, I'm mortified." Kat replied sarcastically.
Dean couldn't help gazing at his best friend. He and Trent looked silly in formal wear, but she looked superb, in his opinion. Kat was wearing a black dress that reached above her knees. The dress had a few lacy ruffles and a tiny black bow on one of the spaghetti straps and it enhanced her slim and graceful figure. Dean couldn't help staring at the beautiful blonde curls that were hanging loosely on Kat's bare shoulders. He loved it when she curled her hair for special occasions.
"All done." Kat said, interrupting Dean's contemplative state.
"Oh…Thanks." He said with a smile.
Kat smiled in return and then turned to Trent, who was walking in circles. She placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" she asked worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied. "It's our first gig, why shouldn't I be fine?"
Kat hugged him. "It's going to be alright. We can do this. We can…What the hell is that?" Kat asked angrily as she pointed towards the stage.
Both Dean and Trent turned around alarmed and saw that Kat had noticed the large piano set on stage for the other performance besides their own.
"Umm…It's a piano." Dean answered.
"Wow, really? Thanks for clearing that out, Captain Obvious." Kat replied irritated. "Why the heck is that thing there? It's blocking out half of the stage! Where are we supposed to play? Oh, somebody is going to die tonight. By my hand!" she almost shouted.
"Take it easy, Kat." Trent tried to calm her down. "It's for Nate and Fiona's number. We talked about this…"
"But I didn't know it would interfere with our singing! If I had known, I assure you, Fiona would be headless right now." Kat added.
"Great, what's going to happen next? A soap-opera-like twist, maybe?" Dean muttered to himself.
Kay entered the hall with a large grin spread across her face. She looked around anxious to see her boyfriend. Pulling her best friend's arm, she happily walked into the crowd.
"Come on, you can't just sit here and block the entrance." Kay laughed.
Gwen reluctantly entered the hall, looking around and cursing the fact that she had agreed to come to the dance. She was wearing a midnight blue cocktail dress that reached her knees and flattered her legs. Because the dress didn't have sleeves, she brought a black bolero, so as not to be too revealing. And although her mother protested for a few minutes, Gwen replaced the high heels bought by her, with a pair of black flats.
"Please remind me why I said 'yes' in the first place."
"Because you love me." Kay replied, as she straightened her short poufy peach ball gown. "Now where's my beau? Oh, there he is!" she happily squealed.
Gwen tried to look in the same direction as Kay. She saw a blonde, athletic guy with a large and charming smile walking towards them.
"Hi, I'm-" he tried to introduce himself, but Kay jumped into his arms.
"Oh, I missed you!" she exclaimed. "Gwen, this is Sheldon. Honey, this is my best friend, Gwen. She's the one that helped me come and see you today." She made the introductions.
"Hi." Gwen said, trying to be friendly, although she wasn't exactly in the mood for that.
"So you're the one Kay's been telling me about. It's nice to finally meet you." Sheldon smiled. "Hey, you look familiar."
"Yeah, I get that a lot." Gwen replied, putting on her 'o, really?' smile. After Total Drama everyone she met told her the same thing. That she looked familiar. A few times Gwen explained that they might have seen her on a famous TV show, but after a few months she grew tired of the routine and just went with the flow. "So this is the famous Brightwood Summer Cocktail…"
"Not impressed, eh?" Sheldon questioned cocking an eyebrow.
"Not exactly." Gwen answered
"Yeah, it's not much, but it's ours. We've been looking forward to it all year. We'll even have a band from Brightwood performing." He added.
"That sounds awesome." Kay added, while hugging him tighter.
"I'll just go get a drink or something." Gwen said, determined to leave the lovebirds alone to spend some time together.
As she walked through the crowd, she kept wondering how Kay could change so much in the presence of her boyfriend. But if she thought about it better, she couldn't blame her. Surely she turned from miserable to cheerful in less than a second when she was with Trent. Oh, why couldn't she jump into Trent's arms that evening just like Kay did? 'Because he's not here', came a response from her head.
"It's almost time to get on stage." Trent said as he glanced at his watch.
"No pressure." Kat murmured.
"Of course not." Dean added.
"All we have to do is relax." Trent continued.
"Forget about stress, anger and just be…zen!" Kat added, as she pressed her palms one against the other, with her eyes closed and a serene look on her face.
"Having stage-fright now, amateurs?" A familiar voice asked on a mocking tone.
The trio recognized the voice, when the boys looked behind their shoulders they saw Fiona, walking proudly in her short sparkly plum dress, along with Nate who was obligated to wear a matching shirt. But before she could spit anymore of her venom, Kat suddenly opened her eyes and glared at her with eyes filled with fury.
"You!" Kat angrily exclaimed.
"Oh, no." Trent muttered, as he quickly grabbed her by the arms, trying to avoid potential murder.
"You talentless peacock! I am going to shove that piano right up your…Trent, let me go!" Kat threatened. "You are going down! Do you hear me? Down, you little-"
"Dear students of Brightwood High School and beloved guest, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our annual Summer Cocktail!"
On the stage, Mrs. Leroy, the vice-principal of Brightwood was holding her welcome speech. She was a slim, beautiful woman, in her 30s, who besides making a few guys drool was nice and understanding towards her students. She was wearing a light green strapless dress that somehow managed to make her emerald eyes sparkle. As always, she was the one holding the speeches, due to her excellent oratorical skills.
"As always, our high school welcomes its guests and thanks its students for attending this traditional event. Like we do every year, the teachers wish you the following: Have a great time, darlings! And now, without further ado, get ready for our very own Brightwood band: The Ironic Triangle!"
The crowd started to cheer and everyone rushed to get a spot as close to the stage as possible. Gwen, who was next to the refreshment table, watched the anxious teenagers squeeze among others, just to see the band better.
Not understanding what the commotion was all about, she just shrugged and drank her punch. She couldn't see the stage very well, but she didn't care too much.
"That's our cue." Trent told Kat, who instantly calmed down and quickly straightened her dress.
"Let's rock." Dean grinned, grabbing his drumsticks.
Trent and Kat smiled to each other grabbing their guitar and bass respectively.
"Guys, let's make this gig a memorable one." Trent said, earning a nod from his band mates.
The three walked on the stage with a lot of cheering and clapping in the background. Dean took his position behind his drum set that had been placed on the stage earlier that day, Trent stood at his right a little bit more in front and Kat approached the microphone, getting ready to warm up the crowd.
"Hello, Brightwood!" She shouted, earning enthusiastic cheers. "Welcome to the Summer Cocktail, ladies and gents! We're the Ironic Triangle and we will be in charge of your entertainment!" The crowd continued to cheer. "But before we begin, we'd like to thank…JESUS CHRIST!" Kat exclaimed as her glance shifted towards the refreshment table, where she saw Gwen! Trent's Gwen! She felt overwhelmed seeing that his best friend's ex-girlfriend and still true love. Why was she here? Did she know that Trent would sing today? Apparently not, since she wasn't even looking towards the stage. A million thoughts ran through her mind in that moment and she felt stuck. The crowd wasn't cheering anymore; instead everyone was exchanging confused glances and staring at Kat with straight faces. She knew she had to say something to make her sudden exclamation seem not-so-crazy.
"Yeah, we should thank the divine forces for bringing us here today. Jesus Christ, thank you!" She added. "We'll perform our first song…after a few minutes. In the meantime, please try our delicious tropical cocktails. Non-alcoholic, of course!"
The crowd began whispering, although most of them did as they were told and went to get a cocktail or two. The songs from the pre-made playlists began to play.
Kat turned around and saw the guys' extremely confused looks.
"What are you doing?" Dean whispered.
"There's no time for that!" She exclaimed as she approached Trent. "Gwen is here."
"What?" Trent asked shocked.
"Your Gwen is here!" Kat repeated.
"But how…?"
"She's next to the refreshment table. There's no time for jaw-dropped moments, you've got to go and talk to her!" Kat instructed trying to keep her calm, although she was clearly stressed out by the unexpected twist of fate.
Trent looked at her still confused and opened his mouth to say something. But he quickly closed it, took a deep breath, nodded once and rushed off the stage, making his way through the crowd.
"What was that all about?" Dean asked, not completely understanding the situation.
"This might be the evening in which Trent wins back his true love. And we have to help!" She replied. And Dean could see determination sparkling in her eyes.
"So what do you suggest?"
Kat went backstage, where Fiona was applying makeup and Nate seemed worried.
"What happened? Why didn't you sing? Where did Trent go? Is something wrong?" he started questioning the blonde.
"Nate, we need your help." Kat murmured, as she took his hand, just like a mother trying to convince her child. "We need someone who can play the piano and-"
"Hold on a second!" Fiona snapped behind them. She walked towards them irritated, her heels performing a loud click noise with every step. "You're not going anywhere." She ordered, as she pulled her cousin by the arm.
"Fiona, I don't have time for your selfish stubbornness." Kat said, trying not to yell.
"And I don't care if you need his help. He's not going to offer it." Fiona hissed, as she placed her hands on her hips. "If you're such a good artist, why don't you just improvise?" She spat mockingly.
Kat smiled bitterly and in a few seconds, her fist met Fiona's makeup-covered face. Fiona fell on her back and Nate placed his hands on his head in desperation.
"Oh, my God! What did you just do?" Nate nearly shouted.
"I improvised." She replied. "How familiar are you with 80s love songs?"
Gwen didn't know what was going on. She had heard the girl on stage saying something about Jesus and refreshments, but after that, recorded music started playing again and everyone came to grab a cocktail. She didn't actually care too much about the band; she couldn't even see the members.
She was just finishing her peach-flavored cocktail, when she heard an incredibly familiar voice calling her.
"Gwen!"
Her eyes widened and for a moment, she wished that there was alcohol in the drink; that way, she could have blamed what she was hearing on consuming too many cocktails.
"Trent?" She murmured not believing what she heard and saw.
The long-awaited dance has begun. Will it have a happy ending? You'll have to find out by reading the next and final chapter of 'Love song inspiration'.
Once again, many thanks and lots of virtual hugs to all my reviewers! You brighten my day with every review you write!
Stay tuned, dears! :)