DISCLAIMER:This fanfiction will follow its timeline, however, I've tried to stick to the movie timeline as much as possible. It must be noted that this story is rated M as there will be some explicit content mentioned later in the story (depictions of sexual intimacy, and also mentions of rape and abuse) but forewarnings will be provided at the beginning of the respective chapter.

It must be noted that I don't own any of the Marvel characters or anything affiliated with the Marvel Universe. However, all OC and original content have been created by me.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"The One with the Performance"

[BUCKY POV]

"I told you we should have left earlier," murmured Bucky over to Sam as they walked up the creaking staircase to the rooftop, "I hate being late," he grumbled. Sam rolled his eyes in response, "It's a party, man, lighten up, besides they only told you 'bout it a few hours ago and you needed to get the flowers anyway," he pointed over to the bouquet of white peonies that Bucky rolled in his hands now. Sam was not Bucky's first choice for company to this party. He had asked Steve but he had just been requested to attend a last-minute meeting for an upcoming mission and then suggested taking Sam instead. Bucky got on fairly well with Sam but he could be a bit much sometimes. Steve kept telling him to 'spend more time with Sam' and to 'just give him a chance'. It just wasn't that easy for Bucky. So, he wasn't going to take Sam to the party, but of course, Sam walked in at that exact moment when Steve made the suggestion, making it very difficult and awkward for Bucky to not extend the invite to Sam.

Now, only just arriving, they stood against the back wall, desperately trying to blend into the shadows of the darkness after the door they entered through made a piercing squeak. A waiter offered them their welcome drinks as they listened intently to Lilah introduce herself to the crowd and say that the hospital staff would be doing a small performance for Holly.

The music began gently and Lilah's voice filled the air:

"Tale as old as time

True as it can be

Barely even friends

Then somebody bends

Unexpectedly"

Bucky almost took a step forward. He couldn't believe that was her voice. He was instantly captivated. At that moment, the woman whom he now recognised as Sophia, came out on stage in a great, golden glittering ball gown with a male colleague in a royal blue blazer. The other staff members danced out on stage all dressed in white, swaying and twirling around her to the song. Then Lilah's partner began to sing then:

"Just a little change

Small to say the least

Both a little scared

Neither one prepared

Beauty and the Beast"

Sam perked up at that point, "Oh they're recreating the scene from Beauty and the Beast! It's a movie," he said, "They're amazing. Did you know she could sing like that?" He whispered in Bucky's ear. He was too engrossed to form words and instead just shook his head, while keeping his eyes on the stage and Lilah. They finished one more verse of the song before all the dancers cleared off and it was just Lilah and her partner and they began to move on to the next song.

Bucky didn't recognise the next song either, but he noticed that Lilah was starting to enjoy herself more now. Her nerves were visibly shaking off as she and her partner started to sing the chorus of what Sam told Bucky was, George Michael and Aretha Franklin's I Knew You Were Waiting. Some people from the crowd couldn't help themselves and reopened the dance floor, taking Holly with them. Bucky watched as Lilah moved her body in sync with the music's rhythm while still managing to keep up a flawless singing performance.

[LILAH POV]

Hello gin and tonic, Lilah said to herself. She could feel her body literally starting to buzz from the drinks she had before getting on stage. She and Elton were wrapping up their version of George Michael and Aretha Franklin's I Knew You Were Waiting, and the next two were solo performances but at least they were upbeat numbers, which meant that Sophia, the ladies from the staff and now clearly the people on the dance floor would join in. Elton gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek, whispering "You got this," as he took a step back and squeezed her hand reassuringly. Lilah smiled at him nervously.

5 minutes later and there were even more people on the dancefloor! Lilah and Sophia had their arms wrapped around each other and were laughing at the crowd cheering below them. They had done a mash-up of Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Madonna's Like a Prayer, and everyone was going wild. Sophia was panting a little from the dancing as she looked back to the rest of the hospital staff on the stage behind her. They were just as out of breath but gleaming with smiles. It was clear that this had stopped being something they had to do and was now something they were just having fun with. Holding her hand to her chest, feeling her heart that was now thrumming away in her chest, Lilah laughed at Holly who was shouting and clapping with fangirl-like excitement at the foot of the stage. The birthday girl is happy, Lilah thought to herself. Taking a step back from the edge of the stage, Lilah noticed that Sophia and the rest of the group and had already peeled off backstage for their costume change. Turning to Elton, he pulled her into a squeeze, "You guys were fucking amazing!" he squealed. Lilah could barely hear him but she shouted, "Now you go get 'em, tiger!"

Lilah was grateful that Elton willingly wanted to perform a solo in the set. It gave her a moment to catch her breath after that double-whammy and soak it in. Her eyes grazed over the throng of people that were gathered here to celebrate Holly and she was simply blown away. There must have been 40 people here at least. Knowing Holly's parents, they probably wanted to invite a whole lot more but were restricted by the rooftop size and Holly insisted that it had to be near the hospital should something happen to her. Lilah loved that Holly was being so cautious but she secretly hoped that Holly would let the reigns loose a little for her special day – she would be surrounded by a fleet of hospital staff after all.

The ladies on the dancefloor ate up Elton's version of Michael Jackson's The Way You Make Me Feel, especially when he brought Holly on stage to dance with him. As more people shuffled around the rooftop to get a view of the Birthday Girl on stage, Lilah looked about the crowd once again as the strobing light moved, amused by their reactions to the activity on stage now. Then, a group of onlookers moved closer, giving Lilah a moment to see the back of the venue. With the backlight still strong enough to strain her vision, Lilah couldn't help but think her gin-infused mind was playing a trick on her. Was that James?

Before she could ponder the thought even more or give herself the chance to start panicking, the crowd was applauding, indicating the end of Elton's performance. He was clapping to Holly, who gave a small curtsey for her part in the performance and then made her way off the stage and back to her friends. Elton made his way back to Lilah, "Halfway there, girl" he said encouragingly. She nodded back and gripped her mic and its stand once again. Taking a great breath, she walked out to the front of the stage, while trying to stop her eyes from actively searching for James. He's not here, she said, grappling with her conscience. Placing the stand in front of her and readjusting the mic in its place, the bright backlight focusing on her, threatening to burn her corneas out once again. With an adjusting blink of her eyes, she addresses the partygoers, "Hi again, everyone," there was an immediate uproar of cheers and whoops from the crowd, "I know? Wasn't Elton amazing? And what about our dancers? Aren't they just phenomenal?" the crowd screamed again and raised their hands in response. Lilah smiled at Holly standing below, "Well, we're bringing them back out here just now but before we do, I'm going to slow things down a bit," Lilah explained, "these next two songs are very special to Holly and me, and I don't think I could not sing these this evening, Holly" she said with a smile and a cheeky wink at Holly, "I hope you enjoy them."

Author's Note:

Apologies for not posting sooner.

I had a little IT trouble but I am back online.

I hope you guys this chapter. I had fun writing this and part 2 as well – it took a while to narrow down choices of songs. Thoroughly enjoyed the time spent going through my playlist though. Too much of it led to spontaneous dance sessions!

I will upload part 2 soon.