A/N: Soooo... I guess this is called Chapter 3! The story's slowly developing, isn't it? This will be quite an important chapter, so get ready for some little and nice surprises!

3. Failed Attempt

"What will I tell her now?" Crider asked himself. He was sure Keira wouldn't have taken the news so well. After all, he understood her. No one of that age could bear for too long the extreme pressure a career like that one caused. He needed to do something to change the situation, make the girl smile again... but how?

"If I don't find a solution, that fat asshole would be able to fire me just because I didn't take enough care of that girl!" Crider said through gritted teeth. His boss was one of the worst people he had ever met, without a doubt... and that would've been a compliment. If he didn't make Keira feel better, Limburger could've put an end to her whole shiny career, and Crider had noticed how much that job meant to her. He couldn't let that man get away with it.

Not to mention he himself was in the middle of that whole mess too. Because he was never safe when something happened in that damn place called "space behind the stage" or whatever its real name was.

He took a deep breath and knocked at the girl's door, words and sentences twirling in his mind, anything he could try to use to explain her the situation... and he couldn't choose only one. Or maybe, he couldn't even choose all those, because words were useless with an angry female. His past two girlfriends, that he had had respectively at 19 and 27 years old and that were named Monica and Esther, had made him learn that lesson. Never, EVER try to calm a woman.

"What was that sentence again? 'Hell is nothing compared to a woman's fury'?" he thought "Quite useful, it saved my ass I don't know how many times already"

"Is that you, Crider?" Keira's voice came from inside the trailer "Hold on a sec, gettin' dressed! ...this costume couldn't even let me breathe!"

CRASH!

Crider jumped. What was happening inside that trailer? He was starting to worry...

"Ow..." he heard her saying, and he brusquely opened the door to find that teenager lying on the floor with her short violet dress with the light blue belt not fully on, her violet strapless bra showing under the violet strands of her wig.

"Fuck." he said through gritted teeth.

She had her eyes widened while looking up at the man, sign that she did not expect to be found in that state by him. Half dressed and half in her undergarments.

"Nice one, Keira...!" she told herself, quite embarassed for the whole situation she had gotten herself into. She quickly stood up and turned away from him, finishing to dress up.

Behind her, Crider was just standing still and waiting for her to feel less awkward. He seriously had never thought being a manager also meant finding himself into situations of that kind.

"Forgive me, Keira" he murmured

The girl turned to him again, finally fully dressed "You don't need to be forgiven, you were just worried for me. I admire that, you know? I never imagined Limburger would've given me a manager that actually cares about me" she paused for a while, then remembered what she had asked him ten minutes before "Neverthless... what did he say?"

"Just guess, child" Crider replied, calling her with a nickname for the first time ever

"He said no, didn't he?" the teenager asked, a hint of sadness in her voice "I knew that. Now what do I do? I'm tired as hell of this world tour!" she started crying, burying her face in her hands and sobbing loudly

Crider felt guilty. He couldn't bear seeing her like that. He went closer to her and spoke in a calm, reassuring voice even though he wanted to take a knife and go murder his boss because, as far as I knew, he was that cruel with everyone. He also wondered how Keira's parents comforted their daughter when she was sad.

"Now, don't cry... I know you'll find out how to be fine even in this situation..." Keira looked at him and felt the sudden urge to embrace that man so tight because that behaviour of his reminded her so much of her father. Though, even if she didn't even remember her parents' voices anymore because they had died when she was 6, she had still in her mind how sweet they had been with her in the very few years she had spent with them.

Crider was trying to stand still even with Keira almost choking him. She was obviously desperate. Then, after a few minutes, she broke the embrace; her tears had disappeared from her eyes and she had finally a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Okay, I'll face this endless world tour and I'll come out alive from it!" Keira exclaimed "There will be worse things than this one in the near future, surely"

"You bet there will be, with a record company like the one you have...!" Crider rolled his eyes, then noticed Keira was staring at his gold bracelet "You like it?"

"Uh, it's not the kind of bracelet I would wear, though... why is there an S on it?"

Crider swallowed. He had never noticed that!

"Is that the first letter of a name?" Keira asked "You're engaged?"

"Not at all! I have no rings, if you have noticed...!" Crider tried to end the discussion before she could discover the truth

"Then why is there an S on this bracelet? Your name starts with C!"

"Actually... it doesn't." the man gave up

"Okay..." Keira chuckled "So you've lied to me when you said your name was Crider?"

"Kinda... Crider is my second name because my parents liked weird names, but my first name is... well, it's Seymour."

"Seymour?" Keira couldn't believe that "...seriously?"

"I guess now you know one of the things that annoys me the most" Crider snorted

"Being called with your real name?"

"I hate that. I find Seymour a stupid name, it doesn't fit with my personality at all...!" he confessed, laughing

"If it makes you feel better, I really like both names you have" Keira winked "Though Seymour seems sweet!"

"You're one of the very few that knows it, feel honored" he said "And keep it for yourself"

"I will... Seymour"

Done, finally! Wheeee! Four more chapters to go, y'all! And I hope you have liked this one!

Your Spirit Ella