Beneath the Northern Lights

“Bam.....ummm... you should maybe come see this.” Nicole walked into the room that she had just come from. She had spent the night with Ryan. He was a nice guy and she was starting to notice it, but she wouldn’t let Ali know that. She had a blanket wrapped around her and was on her way back to her room to get ready for the day when something was off. Without investigating she turned and addressed the situation to Bam. Bam was already up and texting Ville about today’s plans. He raised a brow as Nicole came back. He stood up and laughed.



“If this is a fucking spider than I’m going to be hella upset.” Bam gave her a look and then took out his key to his sister’s room and opened the door. He looked around and tried to find something out of place. He then walked closer to his sister’s bed and noticed that the body asleep was not his sister. He walked closer and smiled widely seeing that it was Lauri. He celebrated silently. Nicole watched Bam’s actions. She shook her head, the gave him too much credit for being normal sometimes. Moments like this proved such theories. His random celebrations meant nothing to her, but she didn’t stop him. Bam walked around to the other bed and saw his sister asleep. He then stood up and rubbed his temples trying not to get angry. He looked at Nicole. He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, “Go back to my room and stay there until I come get you.” Nicole could tell he was serious and wasn’t playing jokes. Nicole turned immediately and went back to crawl in bed with Ryan. She felt bad though. Was Ali going to get in trouble with Bam for cheating? Surely not! Bam hated Zacky. It was all a puzzle to Nicole. She learned not to question. Once Bam heard the door click from his room, he walked over and dragged Lauri out to the hallway. He was fully dressed and just missing his shoes. Bam told him to be quiet as Bam pressed him against the wall holding his shirt firmly in his hand. Lauri was very disoriented and confused by Bam’s actions. His heart raced as he looked into the skater’s yes.



“What the hell?! Thank God you didn’t wake up Ali.” He said looking back at the door they just came from. Bam shook his head and looked over him.



“Are you stupid? Still playing the best friend card? She has one of those and her name is Nicole. You should be in the same bed as her... you know doing the flirting thing!!!! Fuck, why are you moving so slowly?!”



“Bam, please, I’m not going to do that. If she wants to, she can. I don’t want to make her cheat. You didn’t tell me how you wanted it done. Just done.” Lauri snapped bakc and took Bam’s hand off his shirt and then looked at him. “She danced with me last night. She met my sister...and my ex...unfortunately.” Lauri rolled his eyes at the thought. “I think I have her second guessing him. I want her to think that I’m doing this because I care about her, because I do. Very much.” Lauri looked down and then back at Bam, “My sister suggest I take her to Kakslauttanen. I will take her the day after tomorrow. I’m going to make reservations as soon as I get back to my place. I want her freedom just as bad as you, Bam. I just have a different approach than you.” Bam nodded a little annoyed. 



“Yah, my approach is I cut the guy’s dick off and give him beating like he wouldn’t forget.”



“You know what I mean, Bam.” Lauri sighed and leaned against the wall, “I won’t be around much today, but please make sure she is ok. I’m afraid is she hears anymore about Zacky cheating, that it would just break her.” He looked at Bam pleading. Bam nodded and smiled taking a step back. 



“I will keep her with me today. She’s spending the day with Adam tomorrow. Fuckin’ queers win with women everytime.”



“It’s because they are all ladies, they can relate to many.....many things.” Lauri laughed. Bam ruffled his hair.



“You are doing a better job than I suspected. Keep it up.” Bam smiled and then walked back to his room. Lauri smiled and then returned to Ali’s room. He smiled to find her still very much asleep. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and fixed her hair to see her face. Ali slowly opened her eyes and smiled widely seeing Lauri. She hugged him tight before sitting up and scrunching her nose and she yawned. 



“I forgot you spent the night. That was an awesome wake up call. Did you sleep ok?” 



“I slept very well. I had a horrible wake up call, but that is besides the point.” He looked at the door that he was dragged out of but didn’t say much more about it so he wouldn’t have to answer questions. He sighed and rubbed her arm lightly, “Today is my work day. I’m afraid I won’t be able to see you the next two days, but I have my phone. I will text or call as much as I can. It will drive the guys nuts, but it will be worth it. Monday, though, back your bags. I’m going to take you up to Northern Finland. Pack warm. We are going to be spending the night up there.” Lauri smiled as Ali’s grew more awake now. She bit her lip and hugged the other tightly. 



“I’m so excited, Lauri! What are we doing up there?” Lauri just smiled at her. 

“I will tell you when we get there.” 



“Not fair...” She narrowed her eyes and then laughed. He smiled and kissed her cheek before getting up and returning to the bed he slept in and worked on putting his shoes on. Ali slouched sleepily still and watched him. “So what work things do you have going on?” She knew exactly what he was doing, but she was curious to see what he said. “Song writing? Music Video shooting?” Lauri looked up as he tied his shoe laces. 


“Practicing till I ruin my vocal cords.” He smiled and then stood up reaching for his coat. She slipped out of bed as he was preparing to leave. Ali wished he would have gone into more detail, but she figured she would leave it at that. She smiled and walked over to him and hugged him tightly. “Thanks for last night. It was a lot of fun. I will see you soon, Peura.” He kissed the top of her head and then turned to the door and left the room. Ali watched him walk down the hallway. She was so happy to have him as a friend. He was so caring and so gentle. Most of the men in her life were the opposite. She got ready for the day quickly and then headed to Bam’s room to tell everyone about her evening.



_____

The day went by quickly. Bam had taken his sister out for lunch and the two of them just chatted about life. The paparazzi had finally caught wind that the American celebrities were there in Helsinki which proved to be a new challenge. Bam was told that next week he would be going to be a guest host at a competition in Helsinki. Ali and Bam went shopping to make sure he looked fresh for his competition. A word of Zacky never came up between the two the whole entire day. Just a brother and sister working on keeping that bond strong. Ali told Bam all about Lauri but never said one way or the other if she liked him. This frustrated Bam a lot, but he knew after Sunday it would be a much different situation. Ali spent most of her day texting Lauri just listening him complain about his bandmates silliness and other random texts. She couldn’t wait till tomorrow. She would finally hear Lauri perform. When they were in one of the stores, Ali turned and looked at her brother.



“Bam, get these for me, please?” She handed over 4 albums of The Rasmus. Bam looked at them and knew exactly what they were. He smiled and then nodded. 



“Sure, but why the sudden interest?” Bam smiled and poked his sister’s side. She shook her head and tried not to smile.



“Shut up and buy them ok?” Ali smiled and texted Sauli letting him know about her purchase. She spent all evening listening to them. He was an amazing singer. They all were so talented. ‘Dead Letters’, ‘Into The Sun’, ‘Black Roses’ and ‘Hellofacollection’ played through her laptop. The song called “P.S.” made Ali laugh when she realized who it was about. He and his sister had a beautiful relationship and that was something Ali adored. He valued family just like she did. That was so hard to find. Zacky hardly talked to his little brother. It made her so sad. Wait, she was doing it. She was comparing Lauri and Zacky. She sighed and looked out the window of her hotel room. She couldn’t start that. That was a bad sign. She needed to be happy with Zacky. He loved her very much. There was no need to compare the two of them. They were two different people with two different roles in Ali’s life. She paused and looked at Nicole who was busy getting ready to go out with Ryan and Bam. Ali had decided to stay in due to her evening last night. She had had enough visits to the ice bar on this trip than she had visits to the bar in West Chester the past month. Ali looked back down at her laptop and decided to call it a night. Staying up would only cause her mind to wander more.



----



The day of the concert was here. Lauri was pacing at the venue as they were busy building the set. He was excited to perform again. He watched as Aki put the last drum in place. They were about 3 hours from show time. The rest of the crew was messing with the lights. Aki brushed his hands off and jumped off the stage to where the pit would eventually be and walked over to Lauri. 



“Why didn’t you invite her? You are making yourself a wreck, Lintu. She’s fine. You will see her tomorrow.”



“I’m not worried about her safety, I just...I worry the more time I’m away from her, the more likely she will fall back under Zacky’s spell. Pitiful I know...” Lauri crossed his arms and called out to a crew member as king to adjust the one light more in Pauli’s region of the stage. “I didn’t invite her because I don’t want my career and stardom to be apart of the plan I have with Bam. I want her to listen to me because of Lauri’s feelings for her, not because he’s the lead singer of an awesome band. It makes more sense. When my plan is done and she’s single or with someone better, I will invite her to a show.” Lauri shrugged.


“She is here now, though! She would have loved to come to one of your shows. She’s not a Nikita. She is not going to use you at all. If she wanted to, she would have by now. You can’t think that every girl has ill-intention programmed in their system like Nikita. You know Ali isn’t like that. Text her and invite her. She already knows Lauri the person and loves him. It’s time for her to meet Lauri of The Rasmus.” Aki stated and looked at his best friend. 



“I know.” Lauri paused and pulled his phone out and stared at his last message to Ali and pondered what he should do. He sighed and then smiled at the drummer. “I will invite her.” Aki smiled and cheered in their native tongue before patting Lauri’s back and walking back stage. Lauri walked back to his dressing room and saw people preparing his outfit and makeup. He took a seat and started the message. “Hey, I know I said I was busy today, but it’s actually because I have a show tonight. I should have invited you earlier, but I wasn’t sure how available I would be to talk and I didn’t want you to be bored. You should come if you want to.” Lauri hit send. He read it over and over. It was a horrible lie. He shook his head and then moved to the chair so they could start on his hair and makeup. 



“He texted me! It says.....” Ali’s voice trailed off as she opened it. 

“Give it to Sauli, you are making me mess up....I need your eyes, baby, eyes!” Adam sang and laughed as he pulled the eyeliner pencil away. Ali huffed and passed it over to Adam Lambert’s boyfriend. The Finnish man was all ready for the concert and was helping his boyfriend doll up Ali. He took Ali’s phone and read it aloud for the two of them to hear.



“He wants you to go to the concert!!!” Sauli died laughing. Adam shook his head and concentrated as he carefully left black seductive lines on Ali’s eye lids. 



“Play hard to get, mama. He had his chance! Boy needs to learn to grow balls quicker.” Adam stated as he began on the other eye. 



“No! Tell him I will be there. I don’t want to put him in a bad mood before his show. Sauli, don’t you dare tell him I’m not going.” Adam pulled back and looked at his boyfriend.



“Baby, do this for daddy and tell the Finn that she has other plans and won’t be able to make it.” Adam then held Ali’s face and compared the eyeliner on both eyes. He closed the pencil and then brought out his eye shadow collection. Sauli smiled and looked at Ali and shrugged.



“I have to do what he says. Don’t worry. When he finally finds out you are there he will be so excited. It’s like a surprise! He will be thrilled” Sauli got busy typing a response. He read it aloud as he typed. “Lauri, my love!!!! Oh how I long to be.....”

“Koskinen....cut it out.” Ali demanded as Adam was busy applying eye shadow. Adam was holding in a laugh. He held delete and watched his message disappear.

“Fine...” He took a deep breath and tried again. “I’m so sorry I can’t make it tonight. I thought you were busy so I made plans with Adam and his gorgeous boyfriend who is the most glorious of.....” Unanimously Ali and Adam looked at Sauli and called out his name.



“Fuck you two! That was sounding good.” Sauli sat down and rolled his eyes. “so I made plans with Adam and his..... very cute.... boyfriend. I will see you tomorrow. Good luck at your concert.” Sauli put the phone in his lap and watched Adam work on Ali’s makeup. “He will be so surprised!”



Lauri paced with his phone in his pocket as they laid out his outfit. he was not one to be fancy. He wore all black and sometimes, if he was feeling adventurous, he would re arrange the feathers in his hair. When his phone buzzed he ripped it out of his pocket. He looked at the message. His heart sank and he looked at the ground. Aki was right. He should have just invited her. It was Lauri’s fault. He remembered Bam even saying that Ali had plans with the guys. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. “From now on, I’m taking every chance I get...” he whispered and then hit reply. “I will be looking forward to it. We can go out to breakfast. :) “ Lauri hit send and sighed. Breakfast would be fun, but it wasn’t until tomorrow. He wanted to see her tonight. He messed up though and he had to accept it. 


“Mmmm and a breakfast date is his response!” Sauli called out. He sat on the bed and watched as Adam was busy trying to choose a lip stick color. He had a limited selection due to the fact he never wore it anymore. Adam had a few colors in times like these when he would help a girl with her makeup. “Baby, you don’t even take me on breakfast dates.” Adam looked over his shoulder at his beau. 



“We usually don’t get up in time for breakfast.” Adam smiled and rolled his eyes. Ali sat there and smiled and reached out to take her phone from Sauli. She read over the message and then responded saying: ‘ Sounds perfect <3’ She couldn’t wait to see him again. Only an hour or so later, Ali was dressed in a black shirt with beading at the top, a pair of jeans and a fierce set of heels. Her hair and makeup was on point thanks to her friends. Adam and Sauli embraced as they looked over at their friend. “Perfect” Adam commented.



“Lauri will fall to the ground in the moment that life ceases when he sees you!” Adam and Ali looked at Sauli in confusion. Adam tried not to laugh as he rubbed Sauli’s back.



“Drop over dead? Like drop dead gorgeous?” Sauli looked at his boyfriend and then thought about it. 



“Kylaa, that’s what I meant. I hate your language.” Sauli shook his head and crossed his arms as Adam and Ali got a good laugh out of it. Soon they were off to the concert. Once at the venue they settled on the first balcony just behind the pit. There were some VIP tables set up where celebrities could enjoy the concert in a bit more secluded way, away from their own fans that might be apart of the audience. Adam and Sauli had reserved one and Sauli had invited some of his friends who shared their seating with them. Ali took a seat next to Adam. They were set a little off to the side. She crossed her legs and watched as fans gathered below them. Ali read the signs and smiled. messages of respect, admiration, love and even lust covered the paper signs. Ali could tell he had quite the following. Ali sipped a cocktail that Adam had brought for her and watched as people filled in. They were chanting Lauri’s name. Then they switch to Aki’s. Ali was happy to see that her friend’s band was so loved. Soon the lights had lowered. Ali moved to the front half of her seat. Cheers grew louder as shadows began to take the stage. Ali’s heart pounded. Before she knew it the sounds of Pauli’s guitar filled the venue. She bit her lip as she tried to locate Lauri in the darkness. Adam looked over and nudged her.



“Easy, you are going to ruin your lipstick” Adam called out and then smiled watching how excited his friend was. He looked over at Sauli who had already released his air guitar. Adam shook his head and sat back watching the stage. Soon the lights were up and there was Lauri standing with his hands tightly wrapped around the microphone stand. Ali couldn’t help but smile. Lauri sang out beautifully. He started the concert with “Guilty”. It was the song that Bam had placed on his Viva La Bands album. Ali knew it by heart. She sang out with Lauri. She was in heaven. She watched as he owned the stage. He wasn’t the high energy that Adam was, but he had oneness with his band. The band played on with a fantastic line up of ”Guilty”, “Funeral Song”, “Sail Away”, ”First Day of My Life, “I’m a Mess”, “No Fear”, “Livin in a World Without You”, “Not Like the Other Girls I Know”, and “Liquid”. Ali took a seat as the concert began to slow down. Her voice was sore from cheering and her face was tired from smiling so much.



_____

Lauri then paused after the last performance. He worked on catching his breath. He smiled as his fans cheered. He was starting to become exhausted. His band mates got a drink and refreshed themselves while Lauri set up the last bit of the concert. Lauri walked up to the microphone and then greeted the fans one more time.



“Helsinki! I’ve missed you.” He laughed as they cheered “It’s been so long since I’ve been home to all of you” Lauri clapped and opened his arms. “I have two more songs to share with you tonight that are very special to me right now.” The crowd cheered. Lauri nodded, “Yes. The first one I want to share is a song I wrote for a friend who passed away. I wrote it years ago and all of you I’m sure know it well. But tonight....tonight it is for a friend who soon will be very far away. Not quite THAT far away, but over an ocean or two.” Lauri took the microphone off the stand and then walked across the stage. “You see it’s a song about how you should never take for granted the things that are right in front of you. Sooner or later you might not have that chance ever again to have them near.” Lauri paused again, “I will tell you a secret. You and I... we are all friends and secret keepers. Most of you are.” Lauri laughed. “See, tonight I had a choice to spend some time with that girl tonight. I however, for selfish reasons, did not invite her here in time. Now she is out doing something more important.” Lauri laughed. The crowd started to boo. Lauri stopped them, “No worries! No worries! We have another date scheduled. She is in good company tonight. I am happy for her. The lesson I was reminded of though is to never ever, take for granted the things you treasure most.” Lauri finished as the band picked up. Ali’s jaw was hanging open and she her legs and arms felt like jello. Adam and Sauli just stared between the stage and their friend. Ali forced herself to look at Adam and then Sauli. Everyone was a little shocked at what just happened.



“I blame you two!!” Ali stood up and walked towards the railing of their balcony and wished so bad she could get Lauri’s attention and let him know that she was there. She pleaded desperately in her mind to catch his glance, but it was no use. She looked up as the dark haired man began to sing.



“ I wish you were here tonight with me, beneath the Northern Lights.
I wish you were here tonight with me
I wish I could have you by my side tonight when the sky is burning
I wish I could have you by my side

Cause I've been down and I've been crawling
Won't back down no more”



Ali stood in shock as he delivered a wonderful performance. She clapped loudly and then held the railing as he began to speak again. He wiped his brow and smiled.



“The last song I want to sing is a song that I wrote just recently. You see this girl I met. I just met her....what was it Aki, a week ago?” The drummer nodded. Lauri nodded, “About a week ago. She was a stranger that just changed my life. When I needed a friend the most she just appeared. I had just lost love and she knew exactly how to get my mind out of those dark places. Even though our friendship is a week old, it’s a strong one.” Lauri paused, “I’m so glad she’s not here. She would be so embarrassed if she knew I was talking about her this much.” The crowd cheered loudly. “I’m trusting all of you with my secrets.” He smiled and then walked back to his stand. “Never heard before song....Rasmus exclusive!! Stranger!” he yelled out and looked at his band and counted down to get them started.

“ I can't believe that it's over
I lost this one
Tonight I'll run free
I wish I had someone to guide me
And pull me up
'cause the lights can't find... me
Stranger... Take me home
I wish I had already found You
I've wasted time
My mind had grown black
I wish I had already known You
You'll save my life
You brought my faith back
Stranger... Take me home
Stranger
And I will love you
Only for tonight
I don't know You
But it's alright
Let me show you heaven
Stranger, take me home

Somehow I feel like I've known you all my life
And we have been together since the dawn of time and
I've been missing vital pieces of the puzzle
You might be the answer stranger

And I will love you
Only for tonight
I don't know You
But it's all right
Let me show you heaven
Stranger, take me home
Stranger... take me home””


Ali listened and had tears in her eyes. She bit her lip as she listened. Never had anything like this been done for her. She looked at Adam. “I have to go see him.” Adam nodded and took her hand and as Lauri sang Adam and Ali took off to go back stage. She forgot about security and had a rude awakening when she saw them standing there. She stopped as she saw the security guards. She didn’t have a pass. Adam tried to talk to them, but they weren’t going to budge. Finally Ali stood against the wall. If she stood carefully she could see Lauri still singing. Finally a hand was placed on her shoulder. She turned to see a familiar face. It was the guard that had taken them to the Helsinki Festival. He had recognized her.



“Come on. He will be glad to see you.” The security guard pulled them back stage. Ali smiled and watched as the crowd was in awe of his new song. Her heart was pounding as she waited to see Lauri. She was so anxious she didn’t know what all to say.