The Music to His Lyrics

Bobby slammed open the door to lounge where all of the opening acts for the night had been preparing to perform. Emma and Vicky were close behind him, and the three ran up to the rest of Black Pens Write Red sitting anxiously awaiting their arrival. A woman with a headset and a notepad was standing beside them, tapping her pen and shaking her head as she was conversing with them moments before.

“Bobby!“ exclaimed Chase, the lead guitarist of Bobby’s band, coming over and placing a hand on his shoulder. “And you brought Em too! Thank God. Where the hell have you guys been, bro? We’re on in two minutes.” He gestured over to the woman he had been speaking to, as if to confirm that they were ready to go on stage. A tall, intimidating security guard stood before them, and Bobby, nearly breathless from his run across the parking lot, leaned his bass guitar against the wall and pulled his backstage pass out of his shirt pocket.

“These are ours as well,” Vicky said, zipping open her purse and holding up the other two passes.

The security guard gave a brief nod of approval. Emma turned to Chase and the rest of Black Pens Write Red. “Okay, so what‘s the plan?”

Chase smirked, “First off, might I say that you, Emma, look smoking in that dress?“

Emma frowned, and rolled her eyes, “Look Chase, honestly, we don’t have time for this right now. What are we going to start with?”

Chase glanced at Bobby, who nodded, and answered, “Em, I don’t care how much you feel like it needs to be tweaked, we’re going to perform ‘Fly Away to Freedom’. We took a vote, and it‘s unanimous.”

Chase added, “It is seriously the most kick-ass song we have, and it’s really going to get the crowd pumped.”

Emma sighed, “This isn’t our homecoming dance, you guys. This is a big deal. I haven’t sang this song since Bobby and I finished writing it almost a month ago. I know you guys have everything down, but do you really think it’s the best we’ve got? What about ‘The Unsung Hero‘?”

“That will be our second song,” Bobby replied.

Emma pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and shook her head. “I don’t know if I can do this, you guys.”

“No, Em. Don’t say that,” Bobby pleaded, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Think about all of the heart you put into that song. Now sing it that way. I know you can do it. I wouldn’t have asked you to write it with me if I didn’t think you could.”

Vicky nodded her head in agreement. “You’re going to make the most of this night. You promised me. I will be right there, first row, ready to cheer you on. Make every single person in that crowd feel what you did when you and Bobby wrote that song. You’re going to convey that same emotion to them with your voice, and that’s a gift only you can give. I know you have it inside of you,“ she smiled, then placed Emma's masquerade mask in the palm of her hand and whispered, “Let it out.”

The voice of an announcer could be heard, saying, “And now, ladies and gentleman, is the final opening act before Downhill Mystery takes the stage tonight: a local punk rock band that channels their creative vibes on stage from Good Charlotte and All Time Low. Please welcome Black Pens Write Red!”

The crowd let out loud screams and cheers, whistling and shouting excitedly. The clamor could even be heard from backstage. Emma felt her throat tighten and her heartbeat increase three times over. Vicky gave Em a quick hug before rushing off to find her seat. Bobby slung his bass guitar across his shoulder. Lifting the stage curtain, he gestured to Emma to follow him on stage. “This is it, Em! Show ‘em what you’ve got,” he winked.

Taking a deep breath, Emma slipped on her mask, ducked past the falling curtain and stepped out onto the stage. Nearly blinded by the bright lights being cast upon her, she walked over to the mike stand and adjusted it to her height. The crowd’s excitement lowered to a level of loud murmurs being tossed across the whole of the amphitheater. Emma bit her lip and gazed out at the sea of faces before her.

“There must be hundreds of people here,” she thought to herself.

At that moment, she found herself in a state of feeling that she hadn’t experienced in nine years. It was vaguely familiar to her. A feeling embedded within her heart, a growing warmth emanating from her fingertips as she wound her hands around the microphone. This wasn’t mere stage fright. It wasn’t that same nervous pulse that pumped in her veins. Suddenly, the memory clicked. She envisioned herself seated beside her step-father on the grand piano bench, gently pressing down on the black and white keys that were so breathtakingly beautiful to her. That was the moment she fell in love with music. The one moment in her life that she could truly remember feeling free to be herself, without judgment. This was the gift she wanted to give in the ballad she and Bobby wrote about being young. Emma looked up to the sky, and smiled. Taking the mike in her hands, she walked up to the edge of the stage, looked out into the crowd, knowing exactly what it was she wanted to say.

“How is everyone feeling tonight?” she asked.

The crowd whistled, applauded, and screamed in reply.

“This is Black Pens Write Red. One of my best friends, Bobby Levin, lead singer and bassist of this band asked me to perform this song with him. Now, let me ask you a few questions. How many of you have ever experienced heartbreak?”

A loud cheer followed.

“How many of you have had someone tell you that you‘ll never amount to anything?” she continued. The crowd cheered even louder.

“Well, what do they know anyway?” Emma said, listening to her own voice echo from the speakers. More whistles and exalted yells emanated from the audience.

Bobby laughed, and gave Emma an assuring nod and a thumbs up from where he stood a few feet to her left on stage.

“That’s what this song’s about,” she continued, “Proving people wrong and embracing your life while you’re young. Bobby and I wrote this next song together, seeking to be a voice for all of you who want nothing more than to just fly away and leave all of your troubles behind. We hope you enjoy it.”

Bobby smiled, leaned forward into his own microphone, and said, “This is ‘Fly Away to Freedom’.”

Another burst of cheering and applause from the crowd ignited the beginning of a steady drum beat, followed by a series of notes played by Chase on the electric guitar. Bobby jumped in with the bass, and then after a few seconds, Emma began to sing the first verse:

“I hear the music, let’s set a scene
Where young hearts raise their glasses,
Hands trembling.
Wishing they could freeze time,
They get in line…
For the freedom and the choices tied to growing up;
And as for relationships, I’ve never had much luck.”

Upon playing the chords leading into the chorus, Chase and Bobby climbed on to the large amps on stage and jumped off at the exact same time with a kick. Emma smiled, and proceeded to carry the melody of the song in the chorus.

“’Cuz I’m just a young soul trying to live my life;
Staring at the night sky, just
Dying to fly.
A pair of wings could make everything all right;
So take a picture, take a breath-
Remember this moment,
‘Cuz tonight’s all we’ve got left.”

As Emma took a breath and glanced at the crowd before her, she saw countless bodies jumping up and down, moving their hands in the air, and clapping to the music. She beamed, and waved one of her hands in the air along with them as she continued on to the second verse of the song and a repeat of the chorus.

“And I’ve never seen the sky before tonight;
The only thing that matters here is
You and I.
So forget about the dirty looks,
The chances that you never took.
We’ve got this night to make things right,
So we’ll know what it’s like
To live before we die.

Oh, ‘cuz I’m just a young soul trying to live my life;
Staring at the night sky, just
Dying to fly.
A pair of wings could make everything all right;
So take a picture, take a breath-
Remember this moment,
‘Cuz tonight’s all we’ve got left.”

The spotlight followed Emma as she leaned over the edge of the stage and grabbed the hands of the audience members in the front row, including Vicky, who was, as promised, screaming her lungs out and supporting her every step of the way. She placed the microphone back in the clamp of the mike stand, and held it the stand at an angle as she began to sing her heart out during the song’s bridge.

“And I’m so sick of hearing-
“You’ll never amount to anything“.
You know I can't go on living this way,
And one night, we’ll just run away.
I don’t care what people say,
I know I’m gonna make it someday.”

***
The Hastings twins peeked through the slit of the curtain at the performance being given by their opening act. They were bopping their heads to the beat being played by Black Pens Write Red just as Harry was about to walk past them.

“Damn,” Cole murmured.

“They’re awesome, aren’t they?” Harry nodded with a smile.

“And their lead singer is mad hot,” Ted added with a mused look on his face.

“One thing’s for sure,” Harry added. “She definitely knows what she’s doing. Her voice is freaking phenomenal.”

He had never heard of this band before he saw their name on the roster containing a list of all of the performers that would be putting on a show tonight, and yet that voice-her voice-seemed so familiar to him. He just couldn’t exactly match the memory associated with it in his mind. The whole fight with Emma had left his brain in shambles, and he just didn’t feel 100% tonight.

As Jared was walking past where the three of them were huddled up behind the curtain, he called, “Guys! Get your instruments from the dressing room. We’re on in the next five minutes; after the opening act finishes their second song.”

***
Emma jumped up and down as Chase took on the moment for his guitar solo, and led the crowd in a quick clap. She leaned against Chase’s back and held the mike to the sky before bringing it near her lips to repeat the chorus.

“’Cuz I’m just a young soul trying to live my life;
Staring at the night sky, just
Dying to fly.
A pair of wings could make everything all right;
So take a picture, take a breath-
Remember this moment,
‘Cuz tonight’s all we’ve got left.”

Emma stood at center stage, with her microphone in hand, knowing that she had done what she had hoped to accomplish that night. Glancing back, she winked at Bobby, who was beaming with excitement, and jumping up and down with the crowd. He and Vicky had faith in her. They were her support system. They knew that she was singing this song out for every person in the crowd, for the two of them, and for herself as well. She had managed to shine and share her gift with hundreds of people. She took a deep breath, and smiled before finishing up with the song’s coda.

“Oh, and I don’t care what people say.
I know I’m going to make it-
Someday.
So take a picture, take a breath, remember this moment;
‘Cuz tonight’s all we’ve got left.”

A final chord on the electric guitar and clang of the drums brought the song to a final close. The crowd erupted with praise, and Emma laughed. Bobby raised his hands in the air before the crowd and ran over to where Emma was standing. He swept her up in a warm embrace, lifted her off of the ground and spun her around.

“You guys were amazing!” she shouted, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“You were freaking awesome!” he yelled back, attempting for his voice to be audible enough to her among the cheers from the crowd.

“Can you believe it?” she laughed.

Bobby grabbed her hand and lifted it into the air, pointing to Emma before the audience with his free hand. The crowd went wild.

Emma smiled, and bowed before the hundreds of people in the amphitheater. She gave Bobby a quick hug, and waved to the audience before exiting on stage right. As soon as she moved beneath the curtain, she was greeted by Vicky with a hug in the form of a tackle that almost caused her to topple over and lose her balance.