Is That Too Much to be Askin' For?

Oh, there’s something ‘bout a man in black,
Makes me wanna buy a Cadillac
Throw the top back
And roll down to Jackson town

Is that right or what? thought Stacy as she watched him up on stage. Just as perfect as ever, singing his heart out for the band. Singing from his soul, but the lyrics running through Stacy’s mind were Heidi Newfield’s lyrics. She hadn’t even confessed her attraction to this person to her closest friend, but she thought that Tara guessed it anyway. And if Tara Brooks knew, Stacy was wondering when Noah would find out, or if he already knew.
The rhythm of the song being played on stage finally filled her, and she stood to clap along with the others, but her heart and soul was singing a different song.

I wanna be there on the stage with you
You and I could be the next rage to
Hear the crowd roar, make ‘em want more,
And kick the footlights out.

The most energetic part of the song the band was named for - One Second More - came up, and the other girls were swooning left and right. So what if it was a battle of the bands at the high school? It was just like a real one to the students, and with One Second More on the stage, it had enough talent to be a battle of the bands. Of course, maybe she was opinionated, Stacy thought. After all, being head over heels for the lead singer can do that to a girl.

Stacy couldn’t help but watch from a distance, out in the crowd. The song was over all too soon, and it was the last of their three numbers, so they took a bow, and the stage was vacated. Stacy thought that it would be the end of the Battle of the Bands, but she was wrong. A chair was sat out on stage, and walking out to the chair with her acoustic guitar was none other than Tara Brooks, aforementioned best friend. Stacy was a little offended until Tara stood up again and said into the microphone, “Ace, get your butt up here for your song!”

Stacy was beet red. Not many people knew her as ‘Ace’, but she was positive that it was her, because Tara had given her that nickname not even two months ago. So, Stacy nervously made her way through to the stage. When she arrived, she hissed, “What are you doing?”

“Johnny and June,” Tara said into the microphone, grinning. “Heidi Newfield, ya’ll might know it. This time, it’s me on Mickey,” she indicated the acoustic, “and Ace here on vocals! Ready?”

The last was directed at Stacy, and she murmured, “As I’ll ever be.”

Stacy took the microphone, and Tara strummed the introduction.

I wanna love like Johnny and June
Rings of Fire, burnin’ with you
I wanna walk the line, walk the line
‘Til the end of time
I wanna love, love ya that much
Cash it all in, give it all up
And when you’re gone,
I wanna go, too
Like Johnny and June.

The nerves wore off. If she could be believed, Tara always said that Stacy was a natural performer. Her voice rang clear and true and, even if there wasn’t as much activity for them as there had been for the others, at least there was some.

I wanna hold you baby, right or wrong
Build a world around a country song
Say a sweet prayer, follow you there
Down in history

No matter how embarrassing it was for her, Stacy really would never forget what Tara was doing for her. After all, this was the theme song of Stacy’s life, and Tara was sensitive enough to her friend’s feelings that she picked up on that. And, whether she knew it at that point or not, Noah, the oh so gorgeous rocker with the winning smile and voice, liked her singing, too.

I wanna love like Johnny and June
Rings of Fire, burnin’ with you
I wanna walk the line, walk the line,
‘Til the end of time
I wanna love, love ya that much
Cash it all in, give it all up
And when you’re gone
I wanna go, too
Like Johnny and June
Like Johnny and June

Her favorite part.

The part Stacy always sang with the most gusto, the most emotion…it was coming up.

More than life itself
No one else
This endless promise
They don’t make love like that anymore
Is that too much to be askin’ for?

The crowd connected. It was noticeable, so noticeable. They heard the emotion she put into the last two lines there, the raw emotions, and the effort. Stacy was proud of herself there, but she had to move on, get slower. More raw emotions, building, building and building, throughout the next few lines.

I wanna love like Johnny and June
Rings of Fire, burnin’ with you
I wanna walk the line, walk the line
‘Til the end of time
I wanna love, love ya that much
Cash it all in, give it all up
And when you’re gone
I wanna go, too
Like Johnny and June
Like Johnny and June

The end: perhaps the second most emotional part in the entire song. Stacy prepared for it.

And when we’re gone there’ll be no tears to cry
Only memories of our lives
And they’ll remember, remember
A love like that.

Stacy panted for a moment, before letting her gaze sweep across the crowd, who began clapping. She felt accomplished, as though she had gotten some heavy weight lifted from her chest by just indirectly telling the whole school, the whole town her life’s theme song. And the lines…the They don’t make love like that anymore, is that to much to be askin’ for lines. Those were always her most emotional, and she pulled them off brilliantly, as Tara assured her many, many times.

And it didn’t matter that she and Tara didn’t place. It didn’t matter to either of them, because they did awesome, and got an honorable mention, and because Stacy sang her heart out, literally singing what she felt. And Noah - oh, Noah. One Second More got first, as if there had ever been any doubt. And Noah…Noah congratulated Stacy. He congratulated her, and said that, if she was interested, that he could try to work out a duet. He’d gone on to explain that he and the band had come to an agreement that Stacy’s voice would be a good female voice to match his own.

So, it didn’t matter that Tara and Stacy didn’t place. After all, Noah Harris of One Second More wanted to do a duet with a girl who had hopelessly fallen for him, despite failures in her love life in the past.

And little did they see that, years down the road, they would have a love like that, and for them, it wasn’t too much to be askin’ for.