Hey guys! Believe me when i say that it's so good to be able to put this up. This chapter is dedicated to those (like myself) who had to go through Hurricane Sandy. It wasn't really pleasant, let me tell you that right now. ANYWAY... Thanks to Becca-Loves-Yuge & The Queen of Water for their reviews ^.^! I really appreciate it! Oh and i had promised some surprises, i will PM the both of you later of what they are.
Saki: Ok, enough already! I wanna see whats happening!
Tadao: Me too!
Me: Fine, fine, hm... where's Duke? Oh well, you snooze you lose!
DISCLAMIER: I OWN NOTHING!
Chapter 5
"Alright, just calm down and-" Atem was cut off by the woman jumping from her spot to tackle 'Tea' where she stood. Anzu chuckled and moved away with ease. The lady missed her by a mile.
"Don't stress yourself out Courtney. You know you can't beat me." Courtney stood up frustrated. She puffed some steam and left. They all sat down. "Well, now that, that's over, Atem what is your act going to be tonight?" asked Tea (A/N I got confused between writing Tea, 'Tea', and Anzu. So I'm just gonna say Tea until she takes off the wig or something. Oh and Courtney is the same deal as Dave. Put on your imagination caps people!). Atem cringed and Joey snickered. Tea knew that Atem won't answer unless Joey wasn't there. "Hey uh… Joey was it, there's a brunette over there that's been checking-" Tea wasn't able to finish her sentence as Joey rushed off to find the fake brunette she was talking about. Atem chuckled.
"Let me guess, there's no brunette." Tea laughed.
"Nope!"
"Huh… that sounded familiar too. There's no way she can be…" thought Atem.
"As I was saying, what are you going to do Atem?" asked Tea.
"*sigh* Joey wants me to dance but… I'm not feeling it tonight. I was thinking about singing though…"
"I'm guessing you would've if someone was here that you needed."
"Something like that. I met someone the other day and I can't get..." Atem trailed off.
"Hm… sounds to me like someone has stolen your heart." Atem sighed.
"I don't know Tea. I've only seen her once and-" Atem covered his mouth. Tea snickered.
"OH, I got it! So what's her name?"
"Maybe I shouldn't… her name is… wait, before I tell you, let's make a bet." Tea raised an eyebrow.
"About?"
"The winner of the talent show has the loser of the bet do whatever that person says."
"You're joking right. You do realize that I've been the champion here for almost two years. If I win tonight then it will have been two years." Atem chuckled.
"Who knows, maybe I'll surprise you. So, if you win, what do you want me to do?"
"Hm… I'm not sure but I'll think about it. What do you want if you win?"
"I think you mean when I win. Anyway, I want you to do something for me."
"What?"
"I get the feeling you're the type that likes to be alone. When I win, I'm going to help change that and I want to get to know the real you better." Tea went wide eyed. She was scared now. If she were to lose, she could kiss goodbye Tea Gardner and hello to people mobbing Anzu Mazaki. "Do we have a deal?" Atem held out his hand waiting for Tea to shake it. She hesitated; can she really risk her identity for a silly bet? She then noticed her hand. It was slowly moving to meet his. She was shocked at her own arrogance towards this. Tea sighed.
"Deal." They shook hands.
"Alright, now I gotta find Dave to tell him what I'm gonna do." With that, Atem got up and went to look for the manager. Tea sank in her seat.
"Great, just fucking great! Way to go Anzu, you blew it!" thought Tea.
Atem searched everywhere, but with no luck. "Where is he?" Atem turned around and bumped into Dave. "Oh good! I found you."
"Is something wrong Atem?" asked Dave.
"No, it's just that I figured out what I'm gonna do."
"Oh! Ok what are you going to do?" Atem whispered in his ear. A smile appeared on Dave's face. "An excellent choice if I do say so myself!" Atem nodded in agreement.
"Thanks."
"Ok, I'll go prepare the stage for the talent show. It's almost time to start."
"Wait, what time is it now?" Dave looked at his watch.
"It's 7:45, the talent show starts at 8:00." Atem went wide eyed. He's spent over two hours there! He then looked over to Tea. His gaze softened a bit. He then shook his head and he thanked Dave and went back to sit.
"So, when is it going to start?" asked Tea.
"In about 15 minutes. And don't worry; I won't beat you too bad." Tea laughed.
"I'm going to let you in on a little secret of mine. I've never sang to my full potential here. I've only used… hmm… maybe less than 50%." Atem went wide eyed. If she's not lying, then he's really in trouble.
"I have to win, I have to know if…" Atem was brought out of his thoughts by an angry Joey. Atem looked up to him and smiled. "Well, it's about time you figured it out."
"Oh ha ha, you're a real comedian you know dat." said Joey sarcastically. Atem chuckled.
"Uh… yeah I know I'm a comedian." Joey shook his head and stared daggers at Tea. She didn't flinch because it didn't even compare to her own.
"Well, I need to go prepare. I hope you're ready Atem." Tea then got up and left to prep herself. Atem was left sitting there pale as a white blanket.
"Uh… did I miss somethin' bud?" asked Joey.
"N-no… Joey, you didn't miss much." said Atem in a scared, cracking voice. Tea walked behind this mini-stage they had there. She walked behind the curtain and she saw all of the contestants. Some were there practicing their juggling, dancing, flexibility, magic act, etc. Tea went and hid behind some boxes to scope out the competition and to fix her wig.
"I don't know how Atem sings, so I'm just going to have to go all out!" thought Tea as she was watching the dancers. Dave walked up to Atem and noticed his paleness.
"I'm guessing you're finally intimidated by Tea." said Dave. Atem nodded slowly and Joey snickered. "Yeah, she has that kind of effect on people. I swear it's like she's Anzu Mazaki or something. Beautiful on the outside, but once you talk to her she's so-" Atem interrupted.
"Strong-willed, risk taker,-" Joey interrupted.
"Intimidating, a liar,-" Dave interrupted.
"Yeah, you guys get it. Anyway… Atem, there's a slight problem."
"What?"
"Well, you'll be going last since you were a last minute entry." Atem nodded.
"Ok, I got no problem with that. When's Anz- I mean Tea going?" asked Atem. Dave and Joey blinked.
"Uh… she's going second to last."
"Alright, uh what do I do now because Tea went somewhere to get ready and I don't know where to go." David chuckled.
"Just go backstage and you can get ready there while watching the competition." Atem nodded and got up to do just that. Atem walked backstage and chuckled.
"Just like Madison Square Garden all over again." Atem then noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He looked to the side and saw some blonde hair moving. Atem slowly walked towards it. He then saw a hand below the blonde hair. Atem got closer. Out of nowhere, he saw brown hair. Atem went wide eyed as he found himself walking faster. His heart was pounding and he didn't even know why. Atem was finally there but made sure he wasn't noticed. He was looking at the woman on the ground from behind. He saw her brown hair and that it went to her shoulders. He went wide eyed. He couldn't believe it. "A-Anzu?!"
Tea then stood up and Atem dove behind the curtains. Tea fixed her wig and contacts as she walked away. Atem was hiding in the curtains horrified. "H-How… why… why is she in disguise… AGAIN?! Wait… I KNEW IT! Everything was so familiar about her; hmm… she must've been wearing contacts to change her eye color." Then it hit Atem. "I know what I'm gonna sing." A smirk appeared on Atem's face. Atem got out of his hiding spot when he heard…
"And now, our undefeated champion! Tea Gardner!" yelled Dave. The crowd went crazy. Atem peeked through the curtain at the mini-stage.
"Hello, um, I'm going to try a new type of singing. Tell me what you guys think." said Tea. Atem raised an eyebrow but then realized what she meant. Atem gulped as the music started. "I'm going to be singing My Immortal (A/N you guys can either imagine the band or piano version, this is because I favor the band version and I wasn't sure if you guys liked that one), by Evanescence." The crowd mumbled a bit. Tea was known to sing happy, upbeat songs like Price Tag or Love On Top and songs like that. But to sing a song like this, something was wrong. They then decided to just see and find out if they like it. Tea cleared her throat and she began singing.
I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
Your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me
You used to captivate me
By your resonating light
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts
My once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away
All the sanity in me
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me
As she was singing, there were faint sniffles in the audience. She must've hit their emotional side.
I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me
I've been alone all along…
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me… me… me…
Once the song ended, Tea had gotten a standing ovation. Atem was still in his spot standing in awe. She was so talented. Atem knew right then and there why she was in disguise. He understood why when he looked in her eyes for the first time, why they were so filled with despair with a hint of hope in them. Atem chuckled to himself and turned around. He leaned against a wall he knew 'Tea' would pass. And sure enough, here she comes. "You guys are too kind!" she then went to walk off the stage. She then noticed Atem leaning against the wall. "So, what did you think?" she asked with some arrogance and a sly smirk plastered on her face. Atem chuckled and pushed himself off the wall. He was standing so close to 'Tea'. She tried to back away but he caught her wrists. She had nowhere else to look but into his eyes as did Atem. To Anzu it felt as if he were looking passed the contacts to her blue eyes, no… to her soul. She then noticed the gap closing between them. She wasn't moving towards him, he was moving towards her! But… he went passed her lips and went to her ear.
"You did wonderfully." he whispered. When his hot breath made contact to her ear, an unknown sensation, a new feeling was beginning to form inside her. There was nothing going through her mind. It was blank. "Now it's my turn." he whispered into her ear again. He then backed away and let go of her wrists. Atem made his way to the curtains that he will go through after his introduction. Anzu was left there trying to make sense of what had happened. She then walked to Atem's spot from where he had watched her.
"Alright folks! We have one more person for you to enjoy due to a last minute entry." The crowd whispered a bit. "Settle down, settle down. Most of you already know him, hell, most of you freaking love him! His act is singing even though he is known to make people laugh. That's right, you know him, and you love him, ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for… Atem Mutou!" Atem came out from the curtain and danced to the background music. He shuffled a bit but then the song ended.
"Thanks Dave for that over-the-top-dramatic entrance." The crowd laughed. Dave had a small blush of embarrassment on his face. He then walked off the stage at a slightly fast pace. Atem chuckled. "Alright, I'm gonna be singing Just The Girl by The Click Five. I would also like to dedicate this song to a certain someone here who is in hiding when that person shouldn't be." The music started and Atem turned his head to Anzu. She looked at him wondering why he wasn't looking at the crowd. She looked at his face and saw that he had winked to her. She looked away quickly and slowly looked back feeling some heat on her face. Atem chuckled to himself and prepared to sing. "Let's see if I can do something about your wall Anzu." thought Atem.
Saki: 0.o
Tadao: Why did she sing that?
Me: Don't ask me ask her.
Duke: Well, what's Atem gonna do?
Me: All in due time my friend... all in due time.
Ok, you guys know what to do! Review please for a surprise! Oh, and check out my profile to see what i'm working on, upcoming stories, ya-da ya-da ya-da blah blah blah and stuff like that. Don't forget to review.
See you next time :D