Seeing Sarah again, even just on his computer screen, made Chuck miss her even more. The affection he saw in Sarah's eyes during interviews, and the devotion that had obviously been put into 'Her Nerd' album, made Chuck regret so many things. Regret it with every fibre of his being. But what could he do about it now? Then he remembered that Sarah had left her phone number.
But he'd hurt her so badly; why would Sarah see him, let alone be with him, again? If only Chuck could go back in time and invite Sarah in when she'd stood at his bedroom door trying to explain. If only he had listened to his heart, and not his fear. Was it too late now? He wouldn't know unless he tried.
Chuck got his phone out of his pocket and found her number in his contacts. With a deep breath, he clicked the dial button and put the phone to his ear.
"You have reached the personal voicemail of Saz," Sarah's recorded voice spoke into his ear. "As there are very few people who have this number: Beckman, try my music studio if you are looking for me, but if this is Chuck calling, don't for a second think that my failure to answer my phone means I don't want to talk to you, because I do." Chuck listened to the peep, but didn't leave a message. Instead, he hung up the phone.
Chuck supposed he could try calling her later, and if he got her voicemail again, he could just keep calling her over and over until she answered, but he didn't want to. All Chuck wanted to do was run, move. Just standing still was making him jumpy. The idea of sitting still while he waited to dial the phone again was unbearable. He'd already wasted so much time. Chuck wanted to act.
But she lived in Toronto. Despite being in the same country, the US states on the west coast were closer to him than Ontario. What other choices did he have?
"Mom!" Ellie's voice was faint, but audible from downstairs. "I just found the list of her spots on tour and Saz is gonna be in Vancouver tomorrow! Please, please can we go?"
Chuck's head snapped up, his mind forming a plan even before he'd finished thinking about what he was doing.
He bolted downstairs and found his mother and sister in the kitchen. Ellie had clearly just arrived to talk to Mary who was doing meal prep.
"How much are the tickets?" Mary asked her daughter.
"That's not the problem. I just checked and they're already sold out," Ellie whined. "I wish I'd known about this concert sooner! I'm actually surprised dad didn't mention it."
"That is a good point," Mary replied. "Knowing your father, he might have pre-ordered tickets in the hopes of being able to find time to go."
Without a word to his sister or mother, Chuck ran down the hall and into his father's study.
"Dad!" Chuck called as he burst into Stephen's office.
"I take it from the look on your face you're going after her?" Stephen inquired. Chuck nodded.
"In that case," Stephen said, opening the top drawer of his desk and pulling something out. "This is for you." Chuck took the thick rectangular piece of paper and stared down at it. "These things are best done in person," Stephen added with a wink. "Trust me. Oh, and you can take the car," Stephen added, handing over a set of keys.
With a smile, Chuck gave his father a huge hug and then ran back to his room to pack. By car and ferry, it would be about six hours to Vancouver from Tofino, assuming everything was running on time. This meant he could leave first thing tomorrow, or now. He much preferred now, before he lost his nerve. Chuck grabbed his wallet, phone charger, put some clothes in a bag, along with the basics required from the bathroom, then slung the bag over his shoulder. He carefully packed the CD that had changed everything into the bag. Making sure his cell phone was still in his pocket, Chuck bolted back down the stairs.
"What's going on?" Ellie asked. "Does dad have tickets?"
"Ticket," Chuck corrected, then added to his mother. "Oh, and I'm taking tomorrow off work. Gotta run. Ask dad for details." And with that, Chuck was out the door and driving down the road. Tofino was on the west side of the island, and the ferries were on the east coast. It was a small island, however, and Chuck was confident he'd make the ferry today.
During the drive, Chuck listened to Sarah's CD over and over again, the last three words of her voicemail playing in his head. The hope in her voice on that recording kept him moving.
Waiting in line for the ferry was like torture. He'd already driven the three hours from Tofino to Nanaimo, but now he was stuck with cars behind him and in front of him in line for the ferry. Chuck's lack of momentum was making him anxious. The act of driving had helped disperse his nerves. Now Chuck had way too much time to think about what a terrifying thing he was attempting.
When the line of cars finally moved forward, Chuck drove onto the ferry behind a green minivan. Entering the confined metal ship put Chuck on edge. What the hell was he doing? He was now miles away from home chasing an international pop star with no guarantee that she wanted to see him. That voicemail could have been recorded ages ago. The album proved she'd loved him before he'd messed everything up, but that didn't mean she would forgive him or even be with him again. This was probably all going to end in him making a fool out of himself in public, and then that image of him would be forever captured on social media. There would be a new hashtag on Twitter along the lines of "Chuck makes a spectacle of himself because he assumed the album meant something when it didn't, and showed up out of the blue like a total freak." Okay, so that was too long for Twitter, but Chuck never used the silly site, so what did he know?
For the whole boat ride, Chuck dithered. He went up on deck and got something for dinner, but he was too anxious to appreciate the view. The beautiful coastline, with its mountains covered in trees and clear blue skies, couldn't hold his focus. He paced, checked his phone compulsively, and finally returned to the car to just sit and wait.
By the time the ferry docked, Chuck had talked himself into calling it quits. This was ridiculous and he should just get off the ferry, get back on another one, and go home. He could try calling her again tomorrow. He didn't need to be so dramatic.
The doors ahead opened, and light filled the parking level. Chuck sat in his car, his knuckles white on the steering wheel, he drove off the ship and moved forward until he was out of the way, then parked on the side of the road.
"Okay, just breathe," he told himself. "Nothing's been done that can't be undone." Chuck took a few deep breaths as he realized he'd never been this far away from home before. Chuck never did stuff like this. He wasn't a spontaneous person. He was a planner. His days were all scheduled before he even woke up, and today had been no different. He had planned to get up, go to work, play video games, have dinner, game night with the family and then go to bed. But his day had been hijacked during video games, and now Chuck was over 200km away from home, alone in his car chasing what: a dream, a girl?
Chuck's phone rang, interrupting his panic and creating a whole new one. What if it was Sarah calling?
"Hello," Chuck said, as he picked up the phone.
"You're bat shit crazy," Chuck had never been more disappointed in his life to hear his best friend's voice. "When your dad told me game night was canceled because you were halfway to Vancouver, I was like, no way does Chuck do anything that spontaneous."
"You're right. This is insane," Chuck agreed. He was sure at this point that he'd lost his mind. "I am just going to get back on that ferry and come home."
"Like hell you are!" Morgan snapped at him. "You're going to hang up on me right now, and go to that concert." Chuck scoffed and Morgan added, "No really, I mean it. If you don't date her, she can't set me up with any of her famous friends."
"I should have known this was actually about you," Chuck laughed.
"Why are you still on the phone?" Morgan scolded him. "Go get the girl already!" Chuck hung up as per his friend's request, before tossing his phone on the passenger seat.
He was going to do this, even if it all ended in embarrassment and heartbreak, because he needed to do this. If he didn't try, Chuck just knew he'd regret it for the rest of his life. Making a mental note to thank Morgan for the pep talk later, Chuck got out his ticket. The concert was at the Rogers Arena tomorrow night. He could totally do this.
It was quite late when Chuck checked into the hotel. He couldn't help but remember how much of their time together had been in a hotel as he lay on the bed trying to sleep.
Chuck had always been a good sleeper. Usually he laid his head down and was out in minutes, but tonight was different. Chuck tossed and turned, his mind going over and over details until he wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't. The sun was starting to rise before Chuck finally fell asleep.
He woke in a room full of bright lights. Being an early natural riser, Chuck had long ago stopped bothering to set alarms. He always woke before everyone else, so there was no point to them aside from annoying his sister. Therefore, when Chuck checked his phone and realized he'd slept past noon, he almost had a panic attack.
Of all the days to sleep in, of course, he'd chosen this one! Scrambling to pack up his bag, Chuck muttered angrily to himself. He'd stayed in a hotel in Horseshoe Bay right near the ferry because it had been so late when he'd gotten in last night.
Once he'd checked out of the hotel, grabbed breakfast at the nearest take-out place, it was almost two o'clock. According to the GPS on his phone, it would take him at least forty minutes to get to the Rogers Arena from here with good traffic.
Deciding it was best to be early rather than late, Chuck headed to the concert. It took him all of five minutes to realize driving in Vancouver was his least favourite thing in the world. It was like every single person wanted to get somewhere fast, while at the same time, the sheer volume of cars made that impossible. Yesterday, Chuck had driven from one side of the island to the other in less time than it took him to get downtown.
When Chuck arrived at the Arena, he discovered a whole new problem: parking. He watched people get off the skytrain, and casually continue on their way free of the burden of having a vehicle that needed putting somewhere. Having a car suddenly felt very silly, though getting from his parents' house to the ferry, without the car would have been impossible on the island.
In the end, Chuck was forced to park about a fifteen minute walk away. Though still early for the concert, Chuck went straight there rather than kill time. He was irrationally scared of missing the concert. It was very obvious that the Rogers Arena was meant for hockey games, not concerts. The oval shape of the building, and the hockey team logos on the outside walls rather gave it away, but Chuck knew this was the right place.
Slowly, other early concert attendees started to arrive, and a line formed around the building. Chuck was towards the front of the line. He knew he could have left and come back when the doors were open, but again there was a comfort to know he was exactly where he needed to be.
"I can't wait to hear her sing!" one girl was saying behind him in line.
"You know that concerts aren't live music right?" the girl standing beside her added. "They just lip sync to the recording." Chuck didn't turn around to see what they looked like, but listened into their conversation nonetheless.
"I know most of them lip sync, but Saz always sings live! She's amazing!"
"Oh my god, really?" her friend squealed.
"Yeah," the other replied also in a high pitch.
"I just love 'Her Nerd.' It's Saz's best album yet. This Chuck guy must really be something amazing! To inspire such incredible music." Chuck suddenly felt like he wanted to duck out of sight, but there was nothing to hide behind. "And have you seen those pictures of him in the towel?"
"Oh my god, yes!" her friend giggled. "So hot!"
"I know right!" The two girls were all but jumping up and down with glee. "I totally ship it. I mean how could you not."
"Wouldn't it be amazing if he was here," one girl said. "Like here to see the concert!"
"Surely, he wouldn't be in the line with us. I mean he knows her knows her, he could just walk in, I'll bet." The way the speaker emphasized the first 'knows' made Chuck feel like it had a meaning to teenage girls that was completely lost on him.
"Man, I wish I could afford a VIP ticket," the one girl complained. "Then we'd get to meet her."
"Megan has one," the other girl whined. "That's why she isn't in line with us. She's in the super short line around the corner." Chuck checked his ticket and was oddly relieved to see that it wasn't a VIP one. At least he was in the right line. Though now that he thought about it, he had no idea how seeing her concert would mean he'd get to talk to her.
Slowly the line moved forward. Chuck was in a constant state of worrying someone would recognize him because of those stupid photos taken of him by the tree lady.
Once inside the huge structure, Chuck couldn't help but turn and look in every direction. The stage was set up on one side of what was probably an ice rink that had been covered up. The seats facing the stage were filling up with fans, while all the seats behind it were empty. While he'd had time to kill on the ferry, Chuck had googled the Rogers Arena and knew that it seated over eighteen thousand people. He suspected with those empty seats meant that there were significantly less people than that here tonight. Still, once this place filled up, it would hold more people than Chuck had ever seen at one time in his whole life, having never left his hometown of less than two thousand people before.
Chuck sat down in his plastic seat near the bottom of the stands. In front of him was the open half of the ice rink where people who'd bought standing tickets would be. They had covered up the ice with something for the concert so no one slipped.
Just knowing Sarah was here, so close to him, and yet still so far away, was making Chuck nervous. As he sat through the opening band, Chuck tried to think of what in the world he was going to do next.
He didn't notice the whispered voices all around him.
So what do you all think about Chuck's reaction to the album? Is he finally doing what he should have from the start or over reacting and likely to end up making a fool of himself on the internet?
Not much story left now guys! I am curious to see what you think of the ending. I do have one epilogue planned so 21 chapters total. Unless you guys can coerce an encore out of me. ;) Otherwise I am hoping to get back to Protect the Prince after this story end.