A/N: Thanks to all who's been reading this and giving kudos. I hope you like this chapter too, getting to know what has happened in Killian's life since he flew to England twelve years ago.
A huge thanks go to my beta for helping me with this.
I don't know when the next chapter is up, I have worked on it but it still needs to be finalized before my beta will go over it.
Enjoy.
Chapter 2:The crowd was still shouting and screaming as they played through the set list; it had been a fantastic evening in Dallas, Texas. Killian was in the right place in life, on stage singing and playing his music for all the world to hear. They had only one more song left, and he knew the audience was expecting him to play it since it was his latest single. In the month since its release, it had already skyrocketed up the music charts.
"Thank you, Dallas for a fantastic evening, it's been great." He glanced over his shoulder at his band, and called, "Ain't that right mates?"
Graham, the bass player, stepped up to his mic and roared, "Yeeehaw, go Dallas."
Killian laughed and shook his head. "Last song up, our latest single, you all know it I imagine, so here goes."
He waved to his drummer, Kristoff, for him to start up the slow beat of the song. As he turned around to the crowd, he spotted several fans already having their phone lights turned on. Diving into the song that had ripped his heart to pieces the moment he shared it with his band, he watched as more and more light spread over the crowd. This was his fifth time singing it on stage and it was a struggle to keep his voice from breaking. He usually closed his eyes and just soaked up the beat of the song and the distant chorus from the crowd singing along to the lyrics.
As the last notes echoed over the large stadium a female voice from the crowd shouted, "I love you, Killian."
When Killian scanned the first row he saw a dark-haired woman waving a white cowboy hat in her hands. The security guards were already heading for her, the woman shouted something else but it was drowned in the applause from the audience. Killian vaguely noticed that the woman threw the cowboy hat on stage, much to the dismay of the security guys. But Killian sauntered over and picked it up, what harm could one hat be, it was normal that women would throw anything from stuffed toys to flowers on stage, heck even a pair of thongs one time. With a grin, he took the hat and placed it on his head. As he lifted it up he noticed something scribbled inside. A phone number. He looked down at the woman who was waving frantically and when she saw him looking she held up her hand to her ear mimicking holding a phone. He was still flying high from the concert so he just gave the woman a small wink and waved to the crowd as he placed the cowboy hat on his head.
He walked off the stage with his band and, as expected, the crowd called for more and they let them hang for a short time before they moved on stage again. They played one of their older songs, one of the first hits they'd got out. Those first years had been a struggle and at some point, Killian had feared that he would be one of those "one-hit-wonders" that would burn brightly for a short time and then fizzle out. Then his manager, Robin Locksley, had pushed forward, and they entered the American music scene. Things went crazy after that, and in the past three years they'd toured America, and in the past year also a few other countries around the world. Robin's next big plan was a bigger world tour. Killian was still a little on the fence about that.
As they finished the very last song, Killian could see that the cowboy hat woman was still gazing at him, winking and waving, sending air kisses whenever his eyes passed by her. Killian tried to ignore this because it was getting more and more normal that they'd encounter a crazy fan girl who would try to jump the security lines as they walked into a venue. All in a day's work, being a new band from England, winning the hearts of America it seemed.
The band usually gathered in a common room after and the girls, his keyboard player, Alice, and singers Anna and Elsa were talking animatedly among them as they settled down with a bottle of water.
Will Scarlett, their agent, burst into the room. "Well done tonight, the crowd was on fire." He glanced around the room and chuckled, "And someone can get a booty call tonight if he wants to." He pointed to the cowboy hat Killian had thrown on a desk.
"Piss off," Killian grumbled, slumping down on the old worn leather couch, and rubbing his face with his hands.
"Not the first time some chick gives you their phone number," Kristoff laughed from his seat next to Anna, his fingers weaved with his girlfriend.
"Oh yeah, remember the one who had written her digits on her chest and practically flashed poor Killian when she pulled down the neckline on her dress?" Graham recalled and the guys high-fived and shared another laugh.
"Gods, you guys are still acting like teenagers," Elsa said with a huff, androlled her eyes. "Leave him alone."
"Yes, Mommy!?" Kristoff saluted the blond singer, which earned him a slap from Anna. "Ow that hurt."
"You're being an ass," Anna grumbled, her reddish brown hair was in disarray. Evidently her attempt to keep it together in a braid had failed.
Killian leaned against the wall, and allowed his band do their usual banter and light teasing, he didn't care. This was his newfound family and he bloody well could deal with them making jokes about it all.
"You okay there mate?" Will said, walking over to nudge his shoulder.
"Hmm, just thinking." Killian replied, absentmindedly.
"Thinking can be dangerous," Will mused. "But if you want to go chase down that brunette, go call her."
"Bloody hell, I'd never, fuck, no." Killian swiped over his mouth, trying to compose himself. "Every bloody time we play that song, I get all fucked up in my head." He pushed his hand through his long hair. "I should never have shared…"
"Oy, mate don't you ever! That song is a ticket to the big league. Have you seen the latest charts? We're bloody well this close…" Will showed a tiny space between his thumb and pointer finger, "... to getting our second gold record with that song alone."
"I know." Killian had never really shared with his band who the song was about, just some shite about a lost chance of love. They ate it all up and so had all their fans, apparently.
"Are we hitting the club downtown?" Graham asked and rose from his seat.
"Oh, I'm in," Anna said, pulling her boyfriend to his feet. "And so are you, Kristoff."
The wide-shouldered man grumbled at his girlfriend's assumptions, but one look on Anna's face was enough to have him relent and nod. The man was so fucking in love that it was sickening to watch sometimes. But Killian was happy for his friends, they found love when the band had been put together. Will had pulled a few strings and wrangled Norway's wonder drummer boy to play along with Killian. The press had a field day when the first images of Anna and Kristoff appeared online, but everyone in the band supported them.
Killian parted ways with his band and headed for his hotel once they'd packed down their gear. Everything else was taken down by the roadie crew and driven to Kansas City. The next stops after that were Denver, and Las Vegas (Killian was still stumped about how Will had got them to play at that venue), finally ending in L.A.!
The band still had three more weeks on the road before finishing. After that, they would have several months' worth of downtime. Killian planned to find a remote location and find peace for his soul.
As he got ready for bed, his mind kept going back to the concert tonight. The crowd had been crazy and he was still trying to understand how he'd ended up as one of the new stars on the American music scene. But he loved what he did. The entire process of writing the songs, and picking the right lyric, was often assisted by Alice who had a special way with how she saw the world. Most often he would find a cabin and bury himself in his music, not seeing anyone unless they showed up uninvited. Will Scarlett had a tendency to do just that, but his excuse was that he only wanted to make sure that his new star singer was still breathing.
It was rarely easy to fall asleep after a concert, and the lyrics for "My Forever Girl" flowed through his mind, setting his soul on another long and twisted road filled with regret, and self-loathing. He'd been an utter fool twelve years ago, letting the death of his father ruining his chance with the one girl he'd ever loved. Plowing their way through the aftermath their father had left behind in England had been setting a rift between him and Liam. Liam's big brother instinct had kicked in and he'd tried to shelter Killian far too much from what their father had really been doing with all the money left for them to deal with. Groaning, he turned around on the bed, giving the pillow a few more hard jabs with his fist, before closing his eyes again. He tried in vain to ignore the flashing images of Emma sitting on their front porch listening to him playing his songs. But it was no use, soon he was dreaming of the past, a crazy ride to stardom and fame, even if he squinted he wasn't able to see what the future would bring.
The shrill ring of his phone jolted him from his sleep and he rolled to the side fumbling to locate his phone on the unfamiliar nightstand. Will Scarlett's name flashed on the screen so with a low groan he pressed the receive button. "What's up, mate? Lost your way around Dallas last night?"
"Nah I'm back at the hotel, and just received quite an interesting phone call from L.A," Will informed him.
"Are they canceling our shows?" That was the first scenario that flashed before him.
"Do you know who Mills Movies are?"
"Aye?" Killian swung his legs to the side of the bed, rubbing his face trying to remove the sleep still lingering over his brain.
"They're offering you a job," Will said with a low chuckle.
"Are you joking?" Killian grumbled, not really in the mood for Will's usual teasing comments.
"Nope, Lady Mills, Regina I believe her name was, want to hire you for a part in their next big venture."
"What?" Killian shook his head. "Where do they want us to sing?"
"Oy, mate, get your head out of your bloody arse." Will admonished.
Killian suddenly realized that this might be something else entirely. "As in a movie role?"
"Bingo, my man." Will made a whooping sound on the other end of the phone line.
"I can't act," Killian grumbled. "Why the bloody hell do they want me?"
"Firstly, you can sing. Secondly, you have acted in high school, or so your online profile claims. Finally, you're every woman's fantasy right now." The teasing note in Will's voice made it clear that he took great pleasure pointing all these things out to his mate.
"Piss off." Killian grumbled, still not entirely sure that Will wasn't joking with him. He scratched behind his ear. "Why do they need someone who can sing?"
"Mrs. Mills said something about the main male character being a singer in this script."
"Main character?" Killian said, gulping. "Bloody hell I thought I was just going to be some background singer for a club scene."
"They want you to play the main male role," Will assured him.
Killian wasn't sure what to say at this moment. He'd never imagined, or given any thought of going into acting. But he was also slightly intrigued by the idea. "So when do they want my answer?"
"I told them we're in L.A. in three weeks. So they will send the script via courier to our next hotel. That way you'll have time to read it and give it some thought," Will explained.
"Don't they want me to audition first? I mean what if I can't act!?"
"I'm sure you can, you're used to being on a stage, and you're able to show emotions when you sing," Will reassured him.
"Aye, I can always try it," Killian shrugged, his mind reeling with the potential outcomes of this new project.
"Splendid, I'll give the Mills ladies a call and let them know they can send the script to you." Will told him, said a last farewell, and left Killian with his own musings.
Slumping back onto the bed Killian looked up into the ceiling. The tiny dots in the material swam before his eyes. "Bloody hell," he mumbled out loud to himself. "Me an actor, who would have thought?" He tried to imagine how his brother would have looked if he'd been in this world to hear it. Liam would definitely look pointedly at him and make him swear that he'd remember to not give too much of himself to the public. Well, that's a little too late now, older brother, I'm flying over the American music stages with stars shooting out my bloody arse.