Hey guys! This is it, the concert! Thank you all for being so patient, and amazing readers/reviewers! The first song Edward plays is called 'Remember To Breath' by Dashboard Confessional. The second is 'Gravity' by John Mayer, and the third is 'Lullaby' by The Spill Canvas. They are all FANTASTIC songs and I urge you to listen to them if you want the full effect of the story. This is the moment I have been imagining in my head forever! Feels so good to have it all down!
BELLA POV
I changed into the less formal dress Alice had packed me. It was a sort of boho style off-white dress, kind of like a loose shirt with a braided belt around my waist, but more flowy. It was lightweight and felt really nice. I pulled my hair up into another messy bun, curls escaping, and fastened the necklace from Edward around my neck again, slipping on some canvas flats. My mother was already dressed in a business suit, and she freshened up before heading down to the theater where the concert would be held. We filed in to the giant room full of soft chatter, and took our seats. I smiled in the dimly lit room, partly because I could feel the excitement mounting up inside me, and partly because Kyle was peeking from behind the curtains. We waited for the room to fill, not really talking. I flipped through the program, looking at all the different things we would see.
First was a performance from the dance students, a mix of jazz and classical ballet, and then some other solo dance acts. Then came the music. Edward Masen was written down third on the bulleted list, and I imagined him waiting behind stage, nervously pacing and grabbing his hair. I sent him a mental message to not freak out, laughing to myself. Edward and I used to pretend to be sending mental signals to each other across the classroom in elementary school. Suddenly, the room quieted down and the lights dimmed as Brooke stepped out onto the massive stage, now lit in an artistic way.
"Welcome." She said, smiling around at everyone. "Thank you for being here tonight. We hope you all enjoy the wonderful performances we have for you tonight, and we ask that you respect their hard work by turning off any electronics at this time. Please restrict yourselves to only clapping when a student finishes his or her performance, and if at any time you need to exit the theater, please use the doors at the back. Thank you." She finished, and everyone applauded heartily, ready for the show to start. The curtains closed momentarily and then opened again with a group of about 10 dancers arranged in elaborate positions. Their performance was certainly interesting, and it kept me watching their fantastic flexibilty and their fluid movements, but I was still waiting anxiously for Edward's performance. We sat through the solo dancers as well, and clapped appreciatively as they finished. Now, I was almost jumping up and down on my seat, and as Brooke announced the first music student, someone named Ross Day, I settled down in my seat. Ross Day performed three complicated songs on an electric keyboard, making an annoying techno noise. Though, when you thought about it it must be hard to make all those sounds mesh together and make a rhythm. Next was Kyle, Edward's friend, whose last name was Anderson, and I was curious to see what he would do. As the curtains opened again, I saw a grand piano, lighted beautifully. Kyle stepped up to the bench and took his seat, looking nervous. But when he started to play, I knew there was no reason he should have been. His playing was mesmerizing, smooth and almost tastable as the notes soared high in the air, lighting up the theater with waves of sound. The first song he played was called Piano Sonata No.5 by Mozart. The second was Nocturne in G Minor by Chopin, and it was my favourite. The third was his own creation, a beautiful mix of everything good, and I loved that one also. Everyone was perfectly silent as he finished his three, beautiful songs, and then applauded the loudest yet, some people couldn't restrain their screams and shouts of enjoyment. As they announced Edward's name, and closed the curtains, I sat up straighter, glancing over at my mother who looked equally excited, a huge smile on her face. They curtains opened again and there was Edward in a black dress shirt and white tie, his dark wash jeans ironed. All there was on the stage was a stool with Edward's favourite guitar resting against it, and a piano hidden in shadow. Brooke announced that Kyle would be playing minor accompaniments here and there to accent Edward's playing. His eyes searched the crowd as she spoke, and I smiled my widest smile as he found me. He smiled back, looking strained, and I gave him an encouraging look. As Brooke left the stage, he sat down on the stool and picked up his guitar. He took a deep breath and began to play. Now I had seen and heard Edward play his music in theaters before, but none so huge as this one, and the effect was momentous. It bounced off al the walls and made me feel like I was floating in warm air. There was just something about the way he strummed that guitar, that made everyone feel dreamy and content. I grinned again, I recognized the melody of this song. It was the one Edward had composed after his first concert of sorts in the local town hall, when we were 14. It was about us, how nervous he had been, what we wore, and what I said to him before he went on. It was simple, and yet described so much and conveyed so much feeling. As the opening guitar strumming finished, and he began to sing, I was mesmerized as usual.
"She fixes her lips they
Always look perfect
never a smudged line
never too much
I try on my blue shirt
she told me she liked it, once..."
I knew all the words to this song, and as my mother looked over, she knew what it was about, as I was mouthing the words. I looked up at him, the way he closed his eyes on the high notes and when he held long notes. The way his mouth formed the words perfectly, belting out the sounds with pure clarity, smooth as honey. The way his tongue caressed the end of each word like velvet.
"She wonders what I'll wear
she knows just what she'll wear
she always wears blue
so, sneakers or flip flops?
I'm starting to panic
remember she asked you
remember to breathe
and everything will be okay"
The song finished and the air trembled with the last note he had played. I clapped along with everyone else, standing up. As I watched people around me stood up as well, and I beamed at him until my mouth hurt, He beamed back just as hard and I broke the rules, letting myself scream heartily. The applause died down slowly along with other yells and shouts, and Edward bgean playing his next song. It was more slow, softer and kind of melancholy. I had never heard this one before. The notes made it sound like he was stuck in some sort of dilemma, and was wondering how to get out. I loved it, and the notes were slower as he began singing, his voice being the focus on this one.
"Gravity is working against me
And gravity wants to bring me down
Oh I'll never know what makes this man
With all the love that his heart can stand
Dream of ways to throw it all away
Oh Gravity is working against me
And gravity wants to bring me down
Oh twice as much ain't twice as good
And can't sustain like a one half could
It's wanting more
That's gonna send me to my knees..
Oh twice as much ain't twice as good
And can't sustain like a one half could
It's wanting more
That's gonna send me to my knees
Oh gravity, stay the hell away from me
And gravity has taken better men than me
Just keep me where the light is
Just keep me where the light is
Just keep me where the light is
C'mon keep me where the light is
C'mon keep me where the light is."
The song finished and I applauded again harder than I ever had in my life. He ran a hand through his hair and looked embarrassed, but also happy. I had loved that one, and I think it was one of my new favourites. The melody still stuck in my head as he sat down again and pulled the microphone towards him for his last song.
"This song is for my Best Friend in the Universe. Bella." He said, looking straight at me, and smiling a crooked smile. I took in a breath as he started to play. This was a new one, I had never heard it. Someone was playing the cello in the background, and it nearly brought tears to my eyes. Why had Edward never told me about it? I stopped wondering and just listened to the words he was singing.
"It's the way that you blush when you're nervous
It's your ability to make me earn this.
I know that you're tired,
Just let me sing you to sleep."
As he sang this first verse, there really was tears in my eyes, and I didn't bother wiping them away. This song was perfect. Absolutely perfect. It kept the room at an absolute standstill, everyone was staring at him. This described us in so many ways.
"It's about how you laugh out of pity
'Cause let's be honest, I'm not really that funny
I know that you're shy,
Just let me sing you to sleep.
If you need anything,
Just say the word, I mean anything.
Rest assured, if you start to doze
Then I'll tuck you in,
Plant my lips where your necklace is closed.
It's that nose that's buried in a book
Laughing at our own jokes, eating food that you cook
I know that you're spent,
Just let me sing you to sleep.
It's your finger, and how I'm wrapped around it
It's your grace, and how it keeps me grounded
I know that you're weak,
Just let me sing you to sleep.
If you need anything,
Just say the word, I mean anything.
Rest assured, if you start to doze
Then I'll tuck you in,
Plant my lips where your necklace is closed."
The tears were coming hard and fast now. This so special. I was shaking with something I had never known, like happiness and sadness and nostalgia at the same time. Edward was completely absorbed in his singing, his face angelic in concentration.
"While you were sleeping,
I figured out everything:
I was constructed for you,
And you were molded for me.
Now I feel your name.
Coursin' through my veins.
You shine so bright, it's insane.
You put the sun to shame."
The climax of the song was this, and my mother squeezed my knee. How had Edward managed to convey every single emotion we had ever felt in our whole lives with one song? How had he managed to make everyone else see it, everyone else believe it? How had he managed to share it and make it seem to real? These questions pulsed in my brain while Edward's playing cast a spell on the audience.
"If you need anything,
Just say the word, I mean anything. (I really do)
Rest assured, if you start to doze
Then I'll tuck you in,
Plant my lips where your necklace is closed.
If you need anything,
Just say the word, I mean anything.
Rest assured, if you start to doze
Then I'll tuck you in,
Plant my lips where your necklace is closed."
I burst out in more tears as the song ended, and everyone began clapping and shouting and yelling. I put a hand over my heart, and felt it beat hard and fast. I stood up, putting my hands together firmly over and over again. I felt standing wasn't enough, so I broke the rules farther and stood on my cushioned seat, clapping consistently. I was still crying as Edward spotted me. He beamed at me, looking me straight in the eyes. I tried to tell him with one look that he was brilliant, that he was perfect. I wanted to hug him right now, I needed too. I ran down the aisle and stood by the side of the stage, where the stairs were. People were looking at me, but I didn't care, and as Edward made his way down the stairs to meet me, I saw he had tears in his eyes too. I threw my arms around him, my face buried in his warm chest. He wrapped his arms around me as well, his head resting in the right place on top of my head, swaying us side to side. I squeezed him tighter than I ever had before, and whispered,
"Thank you." Before he released me, rushing backstage.
Don't worry. Edward will get up to courage to kiss her VERY VERY SOON. As in….SOON. Poor Bella doesn't even realize Edward is trying to tell her something with that song… I changed the lyrics in one of the verses of Lullaby cause it was about pills and it didn't fit haha…
Reviews?
xox