Susie's face lit up as she entered The Cat's Meow. The graffitied tables and dim lamps had never been so inviting. She inhaled deeply and smiled, as though she smelled a rose garden or fresh laundry, rather than grease and flat beer.

"This is your favorite place in the whole world?" Phil asked.

"Yeah, isn't it great?"

"It's kind of a dump, isn't it?" he said with a crooked smile.

Susie gave him an indignant look. "It's beautiful."

He kissed her cheek. "If you think it's beautiful, then I think it's beautiful."

"I've trained you well."

"Hey—"

"Susie Q!"

Susie whipped her head around and smiled widely. "Felix!" She let out a very un-Susie like squeal and literally ran to the bar, behind which a stout, friendly looking older man stood, looking even more excited than Susie.

"I can't believe it!" he said. "Where ya been?"

"Working. Studying."

"Sounds terrible."

"Worse than your singing."

"Hey now, Susie Q, play nice."

She laughed. "You know what I think it's time for?"

He threw down his towel and held out his arms. "Awkward over the bar hug?"

"Awkward over the bar hug!" confirmed Susie excitedly, and the awkward over the bar hugging commenced. Phil stood in the background, one hand in his hair uncomfortably. After a moment of chatting, Susie (finally, thought Phil grumpily) turned around and introduced him to the famous Felix.

After they'd both gotten beers (on the house), they sat down at a table on which Johnny had professed his never-ending love for Michelle in blue Sharpie. Phil took a swig of his drink and took in his surroundings. On the little stage where a group of inebriated boys were singing Journey's Don't Stop Believin' was an outdated karaoke system. Red and blue lights shone down on them, and a string of multi colored Christmas lights lined the stage below them. Covering the walls were posters celebrating America's finest pop culture achievements, from The Breakfast Club to the Beatles' White Album. Every space not covered by a poster was covered with pen, pencil and permanent marker. Phil got the feeling that this was the kind of establishment that encouraged graffiti. He looked at his girlfriend, whose face was aglow with the kind of rapt wonder one usually reserved for spiritual revelations.

"I can't believe you haven't brought me here before."

Her gaze broke and she turned to him. "Me neither…I haven't been here myself in the past year. Been so busy." She finally took a sip of her beer.

Phil frowned. "It's just that I feel sort of left out."

She set down her glass and gave him a weird look. "What do you mean?"

"It's like…there's this whole other part of your life that I was never a part of. Tonight…I've never seen you look so happy, and you haven't even gotten up on stage yet."

"Phil…" She covered his hand with hers. "Singing's only one of my passions. You're the other. You're always gonna come first, you know that, don't you?"

He shrugged. She leaned close. "And you're part of my life now, that's what matters. And you're gonna be part of my life, the most important part, from now on, I hope."

He brushed a finger against her cheek. "You can bet on it." She smiled and he leaned in a bit further to kiss her.

"Gross, Carmichael, get a room."

Susie rolled her eyes. "You always have to ruin my fun."

Angelica set her purse down on the table. "I think you've got it backwards. You always ruin my fun." Peter grinned and pulled out a chair for Angelica. She eyed it warily but eventually sat. She immediately lit up a cigarette. "Whatcha singing, Carmichael?"

"Dunno yet."

Angelica exhaled and used her free hand to push the ketchup-splattered book in Susie's direction. "Well, go on, pick something."

"What about you?"

"I'm not singing tonight."

"Oh, come on," said Susie, with a wicked smile, "We all know how good you are."

"Well, obviously. But I don't wanna outshine you."

Susie opened the book and started to flip through the laminated pages. "Gee, thanks," she replied, still smiling.

Phil pointed at a page. "Spice Girls! Do that one!"

"Only if Angelica sings with me."

Peter reappeared behind Angelica, two drinks in his hands. "What's Angelica singing?"

"Wannabe." Phil said.

Peter laughed. "Oh, I can't wait to see this."

"Well you're not going to see it, because it's not going to happen." Angelica said.

"Oh, come on!"

She snubbed out her cigarette and grasped her drink as he handed it to her. "What's this?"

"Martini, extra dry, extra olives. Your favorite."

"Well, yeah, but how'd you get it here? They never make them for me, no matter how persuasive I am."

"Well, I guess I'm more persuasive. About $200 more persuasive."

Angelica raised her eyebrows. "You paid $200 just to get me a martini?"

He shrugged as he pulled up a chair beside her. "I just want to make you happy."

"Ok," broke in Susie, "I got a song." She scribbled the title down on the slip of paper and left to turn it in. When she got back, Angelica lit up her second cigarette and smiled. "It's good to see you happy, Susie…it really is."

Susie smiled back. "And it's good to see you happy, Ang."

Angelica exhaled and gave her a weird look. "Whaddaya mean? I was never unhappy."

Normally, Susie would have just let it go, but she felt that it was a night for honesty. "You know what I mean…It's usually like a superficial happiness, isn't it? But I think that, for the first time since…in a long time, you're genuinely happy."

Peter gave Angelica's leg a squeeze under the table, and she gave him a weak smile in return.

"Next up," said a voice on the microphone, "is Susie, singing 'I will always love you.'"

Susie stood and made her way up through the red and blue lights. Whispers and then shouts came from the crowd as the regulars realized who she was. She grinned and waved back at her old fan base, before taking the microphone that was handed to her. The lights dimmed and the spotlight brightened over Susie and her heart sped up. The familiar butterflies pervaded her stomach and the adrenaline coursed through her body. The feelings were welcome. Susie had missed the excitement terribly. The music started. Lyrics appeared on the screen, but she didn't need them. She opened her mouth and started to sing. She wrung beauty from the simple words effortlessly, and applause from the audience just as effortlessly. Susie paused with the song briefly and, in that mere second, seeing the audience cheering her on and feeling the heat of the spotlight on her skin, she realized that singing in this little dilapidated bar was a great blessing.

"And I—I—I—I—I"

After all, few people get the opportunity to do what really makes them happy in life.

"—Will always love youuuuu—"

And Susie understood that. And she was grateful for that night, even if she never got to sing again.

Everyone was on their feet, cheering, but no one was as loud as Phil, who was standing on the table, whistling. Susie laughed and jumped off the stage. "You idiot." She called up to the table.

"You goddess."

"Susie."

She turned to face Peter, who was looking at her as if she were a completely different person. "I never knew you could sing like that."

She shrugged and sat down. "Hey! Felix! Hit me up with a Blue Moon, draft."

Peter sat beside her. "I'm serious. That was…wow."

Felix showed up with her Blue Moon.

"How much?"

"For you, Susie, on the house, you know that." She tipped her glass at him.

"Have you ever thought about singing professionally?" asked Peter.

Susie dropped the orange slice into her beer and took a sip. "Well, yeah. All the time, actually. But it's just a fantasy. Something to daydream about in class."

"It doesn't have to be just a dream. You're very talented…I'm just saying, think about it. I know a lot of people who could help you out. Sometimes I golf with this great guy, used to work with Mariah."

Susie eyed him incredulously. "Mariah Carey?"

"Yeah. He'd love you."

Angelica lit up her third cigarette. "What do you have to lose, Susie? I say go for it."

"You say go for it? What is this, like some kind of weird, alternate universe?"

"Like I said, I'm happy for you."

"You're happy for me?"

"Why is that so hard to grasp?"

"Dunno…"

"Just think about it," said Peter, trying to flag down the server. "I'll give him a call sometime…"

Before Susie could even wrap all this around her head, Phil was grasping her arm. "Come with me." he insisted. She let him lead her to a seemingly overlooked nook on the other side of the room. On the wall, next to a Beastie Boys poster, was 'Phil loves Susie forever' in black ink. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Forever and ever." he whispered in her ear.

She laughed. "You're too cute."

"But I mean it," he said seriously. "We'll come back here, years from now, to see our names on this wall." He kissed her and she smiled against his lips. He leaned his forehead against hers and smiled. "I'm so glad I'm part of your life, Suze."

"You're being cornball," she breathed, trying not to cry in front of all these people.

"Hey, I'm never this sappy, so enjoy it."

"Oh, I'm enjoying it, alright." She brushed a hand through his hair. "Love you."

"Love you more…but I think we should head back. They're probably missing us." He indicated Angelica, who was none to subtly craning her neck to spy on them. When she saw them looking, she whipped back around in her chair. Peter stood and flagged down a server. "Excuse me, could I get another martini for this beautiful lady here?"

Susie laughed, suddenly feeling very giddy.

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author's notes:

i think this might be my favorite chapter! the reason there was a slight delay for a few days was that i couldn't find this chapter anywhere! and i really like it as is, so i was upset because i had to sit down and try to recall it from memory. but i couldnt remember the exact wording. so i kept looking, though all my computer files and such, before remembering that i wrote this chapter a while ago, on the plane ride home from costa rica, where i was studying abroad over the summer. so i rummaged through all my old spanish notebooks and, voila!, lo encontré! ! yay!!!

thanks, everyone, for all the reviews! they really keep me motivated. new chapter up soon. and im starting writing on the next part of the series very soon.

((much love))