All Eyes on Him
Round One
There was a time when Chance only played in the privacy of his bedroom. Shortly after meeting Lena, that all changed. He had made the fortunate mistake of befriending her sometime during sixth grade and, as a result, she became privy to his secret talents. For the longest time, he played to an audience of one and Lena was happy to be Chance’s biggest fan even if it was because she was his only fan. Their senior year, on a dare, Chance performed at their school’s talent show and the rest is history. Their small town couldn’t get enough of Chance and soon, he was playing at every birthday, wedding, and bar mitzvah. Lena was faithfully by his side for every event, acting almost like a manager.
Then summer ended.
Lena had been accepted into NYU and she wasn’t looking back. As fate would have it, Chance got a deal with a small record label that was based in New York. Barely a year after their big move and Chance had been booked to open for Maroon 5. The night of the performance, Lena was where she always was- right beside Chance. Unfortunately, he was experiencing terrible stage fright and had locked himself in the bathroom.
“I can’t reason with him Lena,” Bonnie said as she paced in front of the door with her fingers tugging at her dull brown hair. She looked like she would snap at any second. “He goes on in, literally, seven minutes and he’s saying he refuses to sing.”
Lena put her hands on Bonnie’s shoulders. “Calm down. Go do your breathing exercises and I promise I’ll have him out in three minutes.”
Bonnie opened her mouth to protest but Lena pointed her to a chair. She shook her head with slight amusement as she walked away from Chance’s neurotic agent. Tapping on the door lightly, Lena announced who she was. The door cracked open and Chance yanked her inside. Lena looked at Chance from head to toe and decided that although it seemed impossible, he looked worse than Bonnie.
“What’re you doing Chance?” Lena asked. His normally wavy blonde hair was standing up at all awkward angles and his shirt was wrinkled with a stain on it. “Geez, did you heave on your shirt too?”
Chance glanced down at his shirt and waved it off. “It doesn’t fucking matter. I’m not going up on that stage. I can’t.”
Lena folded her arms over her chest. “Why not? You’ve sung in front of hundreds of people a hundred times before.”
He shook his head and began pacing around the small bathroom. “This is different Lena. There are ten thousand people out there. I’m opening for Maroon fucking 5. Do you know? This pressure is way too much to handle.”
“Then why are you even here?” Lena demanded. “I thought this was your dream but if you’re just going to punk out like a little bitch then stop wasting everyone’s time.”
Chance put his hands on his hips. “Wh-what?”
“This is a tough industry Chance. Everybody’s watching… Everybody’s waiting. They want you to fuck up and you have to go out there and prove them wrong.” Lena grabbed both of Chance’s hands. “All you have to do is what you were born to do. All you have to do is sing from your heart and keep your eyes open.”
Chance took a deep breath and looked directly into Lena’s eyes. “Doesn’t it feel like yesterday we were just children? How did we grow up so fast Lena?”
She chuckled and shrugged. “I don’t remember. It was all a big blur for me.”
Chance let his thumb caress the back of Lena’s hand for a minute before he cleared his throat. “I’m going to give you the best show you’ve ever seen.”
Lena smiled and flung her arms open to give her best friend a hug but remembered he had his dinner on his shirt. Chance cleaned himself up and put on a new shirt before emerging from the bathroom. Bonnie shot out of her seat and hugged Lena tightly.
“You’re a treasure!”
Lena laughed and awkwardly hugged her back. Chance was ushered towards the stage and held his trusty white guitar. Lena could see him perfectly from where she stood and as stage lights hit him dead on she clasped her hands together tightly. His head was down and he had already missed his cue.
“Come on Chance,” she whispered. “Keep your eyes open.”
As if he heard her, Chance raised his head and began to play. His voice was like a warm embrace and Lena relaxed to enjoy the show. It didn't matter that she hadn't been able to study for her test tomorrow. Nor did it matter that she was tired from a long day of class. It didn’t matter that thousands of screaming people were around. To Lena, it still felt like they were back in high school and she was sitting on his bed while he sung the first few lines of yet another song. The smile on his face let her know that he was feeling it too. All eyes were on him but every opportunity he could, Chance glanced to his left to see Lena cheering him on. Hers were the only eyes that mattered to him.
Then summer ended.
Lena had been accepted into NYU and she wasn’t looking back. As fate would have it, Chance got a deal with a small record label that was based in New York. Barely a year after their big move and Chance had been booked to open for Maroon 5. The night of the performance, Lena was where she always was- right beside Chance. Unfortunately, he was experiencing terrible stage fright and had locked himself in the bathroom.
“I can’t reason with him Lena,” Bonnie said as she paced in front of the door with her fingers tugging at her dull brown hair. She looked like she would snap at any second. “He goes on in, literally, seven minutes and he’s saying he refuses to sing.”
Lena put her hands on Bonnie’s shoulders. “Calm down. Go do your breathing exercises and I promise I’ll have him out in three minutes.”
Bonnie opened her mouth to protest but Lena pointed her to a chair. She shook her head with slight amusement as she walked away from Chance’s neurotic agent. Tapping on the door lightly, Lena announced who she was. The door cracked open and Chance yanked her inside. Lena looked at Chance from head to toe and decided that although it seemed impossible, he looked worse than Bonnie.
“What’re you doing Chance?” Lena asked. His normally wavy blonde hair was standing up at all awkward angles and his shirt was wrinkled with a stain on it. “Geez, did you heave on your shirt too?”
Chance glanced down at his shirt and waved it off. “It doesn’t fucking matter. I’m not going up on that stage. I can’t.”
Lena folded her arms over her chest. “Why not? You’ve sung in front of hundreds of people a hundred times before.”
He shook his head and began pacing around the small bathroom. “This is different Lena. There are ten thousand people out there. I’m opening for Maroon fucking 5. Do you know? This pressure is way too much to handle.”
“Then why are you even here?” Lena demanded. “I thought this was your dream but if you’re just going to punk out like a little bitch then stop wasting everyone’s time.”
Chance put his hands on his hips. “Wh-what?”
“This is a tough industry Chance. Everybody’s watching… Everybody’s waiting. They want you to fuck up and you have to go out there and prove them wrong.” Lena grabbed both of Chance’s hands. “All you have to do is what you were born to do. All you have to do is sing from your heart and keep your eyes open.”
Chance took a deep breath and looked directly into Lena’s eyes. “Doesn’t it feel like yesterday we were just children? How did we grow up so fast Lena?”
She chuckled and shrugged. “I don’t remember. It was all a big blur for me.”
Chance let his thumb caress the back of Lena’s hand for a minute before he cleared his throat. “I’m going to give you the best show you’ve ever seen.”
Lena smiled and flung her arms open to give her best friend a hug but remembered he had his dinner on his shirt. Chance cleaned himself up and put on a new shirt before emerging from the bathroom. Bonnie shot out of her seat and hugged Lena tightly.
“You’re a treasure!”
Lena laughed and awkwardly hugged her back. Chance was ushered towards the stage and held his trusty white guitar. Lena could see him perfectly from where she stood and as stage lights hit him dead on she clasped her hands together tightly. His head was down and he had already missed his cue.
“Come on Chance,” she whispered. “Keep your eyes open.”
As if he heard her, Chance raised his head and began to play. His voice was like a warm embrace and Lena relaxed to enjoy the show. It didn't matter that she hadn't been able to study for her test tomorrow. Nor did it matter that she was tired from a long day of class. It didn’t matter that thousands of screaming people were around. To Lena, it still felt like they were back in high school and she was sitting on his bed while he sung the first few lines of yet another song. The smile on his face let her know that he was feeling it too. All eyes were on him but every opportunity he could, Chance glanced to his left to see Lena cheering him on. Hers were the only eyes that mattered to him.
♠ ♠ ♠
888 words