Take Me Anywhere

The days had flown by while Mia was cooped up in her hotel room, strumming endlessly on her guitar. She hadn't really gone out to watch any events, but she heard about the hockey updates. The Canadians had lost the game against the Americans, 5-3. They had won the last few, but Sidney remained scoreless. She was worried about him. She hoped it wasn't her fault that he was so distracted.

It was the night after Canada's win against the Slovaks. Mia decided that tonight was the night when she would actually go out and maybe perform. She heard that one of the local taverns was having an open-mic night, and she figured it would be fun to play for such a small audience.

She showered and got herself ready, blow-drying her pin-straight hair and pushing her bangs out of her eyes. She applied a hint of eyeliner and mascara before slipping on a pair of skinny jeans and a plaid long-sleeved button up. Throwing her coat on, she grabbed her guitar case and headed out.

Alice was already at the bar when Mia got there. She waved to her and then asked the bartender, "Is anyone else performing right now?"

"Hey, you're Mia Masterson," he grinned. "No, go ahead and set up. Do you need any help?"

"No," she smiled. "I think I'll be okay."

* * * * *

"I don't want to go to a bar," Sidney grumbled. "I want to practice for the gold medal game on Thursday."

"You have all day tomorrow and the next day to worry about that," Jordan scoffed. "Come on. You have to cut loose and relax a little bit. I mean, you guys just barely won that game against Slovakia. I can't believe they scored on you guys twice in the last five minutes of the third period."

"Yeah, yeah," Sidney said gruffly. "Fine, I'll go. But don't expect me to consume any alcohol."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Jordan laughed. "You'll have fun. It's open-mic night."

Jordan pushed the door to Sam's Tavern open and met up with Alice by one of the tables closer to the back. He gave her a peck on the lips as Sidney asked, "Hey...where's Mia?"

Alice just pointed to the small makeshift stage. Sidney's eyes trailed in the direction Alice was pointing and he saw Mia taking her electric acoustic guitar out of her case and plugging it into the amplifier. She sat on the tall bar stool carefully, adjusting the microphone so it stood in the right place.

The bar wasn't very full, only about fifty people were seated at the round tables. Sidney couldn't help but think how beautiful she was as the golden spotlights hit her and she crossed her legs, adjusting the position of the guitar.

"Hi everyone," she greeted with a smile and a wave. The crowd clapped politely as she tuned her guitar. Placing the capo on the fourth fret, she introduced herself. "My name's Mia Masterson, and I'm from a small town called Ajax, Ontario. You might know it better as the home of Sum 41."

The crowd laughed a little and so did she.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she grinned. "Anyway, this song...was actually not written by me. It was written by my good friend Tegan Quin of the folk duo Tegan and Sara, who actually lives here in Vancouver."

A few cheers were emitted.

"Anyway," she continued. "It's a song that I've always loved and wanted to perform, and I've been going through a lot of stuff and it just summed everything up so perfectly. And they do talk about age in this song, and just so you know, I'm twenty-three, so just pretend with me here. I wanted to dedicate it to a friend of mine...because I really screwed things up. Anyway, this song is called Nineteen."

Sidney gulped slightly as Mia gently strummed a 'C' chord to make sure she was in the right key. He held his breath slightly as she started to sing.

"I felt you in my legs before I ever met you,
And when I laid beside you for the first time, I told you
I feel you in my heart, and I don't even know you.
And now we're saying bye.
Bye, bye.

When you're nineteen, call me.

I felt you in my life before I ever thought to.
I feel the need to lay down beside you, and tell you
I feel you in my heart. I don't even know you,
And now we're saying bye.
Bye, bye.
Now we're saying bye.
Bye, bye.

When you're nineteen, call me.
When you're nineteen, call me.

I flew home back to where we met.
I stayed inside, I was so upset.
I cooked up a plan, so good except
I was all alone, you were all I had.

Love you...you were all mine.
Love me...I was yours, right?
I was yours, right?

I was nineteen, calling.
I was nineteen, calling."

Mia strummed the final chords and let them ring as the crowd cheered for her, giving her a standing ovation. She stood up and bowed. When she looked back up again, she locked her eyes directly with Sidney's. She gave him a soft smile and packed her guitar away. She knew that it was finally time for them to talk.

Outside of the bar, Mia saw Sidney starting to walk across the street to one of the isolated parks. She followed him and stood there in the cold, her knees shaking from the drop in temperature and out of fear of what he was going to say.

"That song..." Sidney finally said quietly. "Did you perform that for me?"

Mia bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah."

He exhaled slowly, a small smile creeping up on his face. "It was really good."

She let out a laugh that seemed to cut through the tension in the air. "Thanks, Sid. I really appreciate it."

"I know that you didn't write the song," he began. "But did you mean it?"

Mia inched towards him slowly, tugging him closer by the fabric of his jacket. "I did." Then she stood up on the tips of her toes and pulled him down to her, capturing his lips in a sweet, perfect kiss. His arms snaked around her waist as her hands reached up to play with his hair as the kiss deepened, generating enough heat between them to melt the snow.

Mia's mind was racing as quickly as her pulse. So many thoughts flew through her head, demanding her to stop what she was doing, that with their conflicting schedules, they could never be together. She pushed all the negative thoughts out of her mind and smiled as Sidney pulled away for just a moment to study her face, his eyes glimmering with happiness before he pressed his lips against hers again.

They were together at that moment, and that was all that mattered.