Rum and Coke

“Hey, Ellie, can I talk to you for a second?” Matt asked the girl as he pulled her away from the group by her arm.

“I guess so,” she laughed, slightly uncomfortable with his hold on her.

“Oh, sorry about that,” he rushed, dropping her arm. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet before he locked eyes with her.

Ellie looked up at him expectantly. “Well?”

“Right. So, how do you feel about singing?”

Ellie gave him an are-you-seriously-me-that look.

“Well, duh, you like singing…I meant…goddamn, why is this hard?!”

“Well, if you just spit it out and stop being such a girl…”

He took a deep breath and looked back at her, a smile crossing his lips. “You just- nevermind. What I would really like to ask is, hypothetically, what song of mine would you like to sing with me?”

Ellie laughed at him. “Yes, I would love to sing Gunslinger with you…acoustic version. See? It wasn’t that hard,” She cooed to him, pinching his cheek for effect.

“Stop it,” he whined, swatting her hands away from him.

“You’re so manly,” Ellie told him sarcastically before walking away.

Matt had to blink a few times- he could have sworn that he saw her mother standing in her place. Ellie took maybe two steps before he grabbed her arm again. “Just a heads up, the divorce papers finally arrived,” He whispered in her ear.

“Shit,” Ellie replied. It was all she could really think of to say.

“Yea. Gates feels pretty shitty. Maybe you can talk to him for us?”

“Yea, sure. Of course. What’s the catch?”

“Why does there have to be a catch?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ellie gave him a hard look.

“Fine!” he said, dropping his hand. “It’s Val’s and my seventeenth wedding anniversary tomorrow and I was wondering if you would mind helping me sing Warmness of the Soul?”

“Um, wouldn’t that be a bit awkward? You know, me singing a love song to your wife?”

“No, no. you’ll be singing it with me. like a duet.”

Ellie gave him another look. “So, you want me to sing part of a love song to you and we rededicate it to your wife? How does that make any sense at all?!”

Matt groaned. “It works out in my head, okay? Please, just do it for me? Your voice would go beautifully with the song. I’ve been waiting for someone with half your talent to come around and sing this with me for the longest time.”

“No. That’s really awkward.”

“Please?”

Ellie sighed and finally caved in, letting her performer side win. “Fine. If it means that much to you, I guess I can do it.”

“Thanks!” Dimples showing, he pulled her into a tight hug. “Here’s the sheet music, I had it written fifteen years ago. I hope it’s okay,” he said, whipping out the music sheets with everyone’s parts on it.

Ellie quickly looked over the female part before looking back up to him. “This is beautiful, I know Val is going to love it. But, you know I can go higher and do more complicated things if you would like.”

“I know, but it’s my song, and I don’t want you hogging the lime light,” he grinned, his dimples shining through. “So, how are we going to do your parts for Gunslinger?”

Ellie smirked up at him. “Don’t worry about it. I have an idea. You just sing it like you normally do and I’ll jump in. We’ll feed off of each other for the rest of it, kapeesh? I think I hear Ryan calling me.”

“Um…sure. You’re the musical genius.”

“Right-o! I gotta jet. See you in the greenroom!” Ellie said as she darted off.

“Finally! The Princess graces her with her presence! Now, just do your C major scale and we’ll jump right into click.” Ryan said as soon as she entered the room.

Ellie nodded and did what was asked before launching directly into song.

“Ja. Zeig mir, bitte Mann, was fehlt
Dir sags mir, Baby, weil ich muss es
wissen jetzt sofort.
Meine Einsamkeit bringt mich noch um,
und ich - ich gebe zu, ich glaube noch
(glaube noch).
Wenn Du nicht da bist, dann flipp ich
aus. Komm bald nach Haus Schlag mich, Baby, noch einmal-”

“As entertaining as that is, no. click.”

Ellie was in a German mood. The other would just have to get over it. “-Hey! Alles glänz, so schön neu.
Hey, wenns dir nicht gefällt, mach neu!
Die Welt mit Staub bedeck, doch ich will sehn wo’s hingeht.
Steig auf den Berg aus Dreck, weil oben frischer Wind weht-”

“Enough with the bloody German already! click.” By now, everyone was cracking up at Ryan’s obvious frustration. Ellie paid it no mind. She was having fun and she would be damned if he tried to pull her down.

“"Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?"
"Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht?”

“Nope, not happening. You’re nowhere near ready for that. Click.”

“Es war nur ein kleiner Augenblick
Einen Moment war ich nicht da
Danach ging ich einen kleinen Schritt
Und dann wurde es mir klar

Dieser Weg wird kein leichter sein.
Dieser Weg wird steinig und schwer.
Nicht mit vielen wirst du dir einig sein.
Doch dieses Leben bietet so viel mehr.

Manche treten dich.
Manche lieben dich.
Manche geben sich für dich auf.
Manche segnen dich.
Setz' dein Segel nicht.
wenn der Wind das Meer aufbraust.-”

“I’m not even gonna say it anymore.”

“Baby suchst du nur nach abenteuer
Spiel nicht mit dem Feuer-“

Ryan threw his hands up in the air dramatically. “That’s it! I quit! I’m leaving now!” He said, equally dramatic, as he stood up and walked toward the door. Panicked, Ellie rushed past him and blocked the doorway.

“Please don't go away
You're making a mistake
You and I were meant to be
You opened up my eyes
And made me realize
Now it's changing everything-”

“Oh really?”

She nodded her head vigorously since she technically wasn’t allowed to actually speak yet.
“Everything I promised them is here
All of us we used to be
We will always have each other
They will always be the fire in my heart
Here I go, and there's no turning back
My great adventure has begun
I may be small
But I've got giant plans
To shine as brightly as the sun
Here in all the smallest details of the past
Here in this attic suddenly life is something vast
The four of us forever here at last
As unexpected as can be
Astonishing”

“I see that you’ve seen the error of your ways. And that’s definitely not Astonishing” he said with a smirk.

Ellie shrugged her shoulders, effectively shaking herself out of character. Her hands, though, still braced forcefully on the door frame. “It never hurts to change things up. and, me? learn the error of my ways? Pft. Like that will ever happen,” she giggled.

“Alrighty, peeps! Let’s get this rollercoaster in motion.”

“I seriously don’t know either one of you right now,” Mark commented as he stood up and grabbed his face.

“What did I do?!” Ryan and Ellie asked at the same time with pouts on their faces.

“Wow, that’s just…freaky,” Jimmy shuddered.

Ryan and Ellie grinned evilly before touching their heads together. “Theater Terror Twins!” They yelled before linking arms and skipping off to the stage.