All That We Could Be

By the time Fallon had any time to think, a whole week had passed. April had brought on an onslaught of newspapers wanting to interview her. Plus she had to do the magazine covers. Her Saturday night performance with William watching in the crowd hadn’t helped matters. The more she was seen with him, the more the tabloids speculated on their relationship. William had already met Cheryl and Fallon had met his father and mother. So far William seemed clean. It was just his words that made him seem like a slick person.

Today was another Saturday that she was spending at Lively! because today she was going to announce her next singles and do an exclusive performance of the two of them. Fallon was nervous. Today had been full of surprises. Craig had made her agree to do a special interview with ‘The Daily Mail on Sunday’, plus she would have a spot on GM TV during the next week to announce her single to the rest of the public, and then of course Popjustice.com had asked to preview her re-release and single. Craig had been dropping hints that she may have to do an interview with them too.

Fallon waited backstage, Cheryl had gone out to do some announcements. Apparently there were some special guests in the crowd that needed to be mentioned. She could hear bits and pieces of what Cheryl was saying. “…To welcome the first team of…” Fallon had zoned out once again, not bothering to catch the rest. William would be here tonight also. Fallon knew that later they would probably go and he would take her to some high end club, where she would probably just listen to his stories…Fallon didn’t know why she was humoring Cheryl this way. It was all Cheryl’s bright idea to go out with William. Before Fallon could fret over this any more, she heard Cheryl announcing her.

Fallon got up on the stage. There was a large crowd present. Her eyes were drawn to a corner of the room. There was a large gathering of guys in the same team uniform. Fallon’s heart stopped and then started with a pound that she thought everyone could hear. There standing in the corner was Daniel and he was with his new team: Manchester United. Daniel looked just like she remembered him, gorgeous.

Fallon got the sudden urge to run off the stage, but immediately knew that there was no way out of this.

“Hi…everyone…” Fallon spoke tentatively. She gathered her words, hoping that once she got through this part that she’d still remember the words of the songs. She made sure to keep her eyes away from where she knew Daniel was standing. She could see William close to the stage. “Umm…tonight I have the privilege of giving you all an exclusive performance of my third singles. I decided that from my album and the re-release there was a pair of songs that just went together. So tonight I will be performing for you ‘Broken’ by Lifehouse and ‘By The Way’ by Theory of A Deadman. I hope you guys will like it.” Fallon said to the crowd, happy that she hadn’t forgotten the words just yet.

She stood on stage wearing a short sleeved pleated maroon dress, with black heels. Great…he has to be here the one night I might actually sing a song about breakups…-Fallon thought. She made sure that she didn’t even glance in Daniel’s direction. She was terrified that she might actually lose herself and forget all the words.

The backing track started. Fallon steeled herself.

“The broken clock is a comfort, it helps me sleep tonight, Maybe it can stop tomorrow from stealing all my time” Fallon sang, she knew the nervous feeling had started to pass. “I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing, With a broken heart that's still beating, In the pain there is healing, In your name I find meaning.”

Fallon tried not to look at Daniel while singing the chorus. In the end she lost. She glanced at him, he was sitting on a stool with a few team mates. He still had the look of perfection, even in his uniform. He had been looking at her, the moment their eyes met, he turned away.

Fallon glanced at the rest of the crowd, hoping they had not seen the exchange. They all looked oblivious to it.

“I still see your reflection inside of my eyes, That are looking for purpose, they're still looking for life.” Fallon kept going. Tonight had continued to present surprises for her. There was no point in letting her emotions get the best of her. “In the pain is there healing, In your name I find meaning, So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm barely holdin' on to you.”

Fallon had purposely chosen these two singles. Just because she wanted to show that she didn’t have the emotional range of a teapot. She had feelings and a heart, and this time her heart had been broken. She knew anyone who had ever had their heart broken would understand.

“I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing, With a broken heart that's still beating, In the pain there is healing, In your name I find meaning, So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm barely holdin' on to you, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm barely holdin' on…to…you.”

The first song had ended. The audience shouted and cheered, there was much applause. The sound of approval had been new to Fallon, but she appreciated it that much more.

“Thank you.” She told them.

Fallon stood waiting for the backing track. At last the music started for the next song. This one had caught Fallon from the moment she had heard it.

“A note by the door, Simply explains it's all that remains. Its no wonder why I have not slept in days.” Fallon started. This time when she looked towards Daniel, she didn’t freak out. She was ready to meet his gaze, but again he looked away.

“By the way, You left without saying good-bye to me, Now that you're gone away, All I can think about is you and me, you and me.” She sang the chorus. The song had been written with a rock feel to it, and she had loved how the chorus displayed so much feeling. Fallon had always thought that songs always had the right words to the feelings she had felt.

“It's not like before, You've left nothing here, it's all disappeared. It hurts me to see that we've been a lie, Would it have hurt you to try?” Yea Daniel would it have hurt you to try?- Fallon thought.

She could see the crowd was captivated. She hoped it was because they liked the song. The song was nearing to its end.

“By the way, You left without saying good-bye to me, Now that you're gone away, All I can think about is you and me, you and me.” Fallon sang as the song was almost over. “All I think about now is you and me…All I think about now is you and me… you…and…me.” The song ended. Fallon took in the crowd. It seemed like they had enjoyed her covers of the songs. She thanked them repeatedly before heading off the stage.
As Fallon got off, she saw Cheryl. At once her anger flared. “Cheryl! Why didn’t you tell me Manchester United was going to be here?” She asked, miffed. “They had come to my father, he made them a deal, they decided to come to the club for publicity.” Cheryl stated calmly. “And not once did you think… hmm… maybe I should give a heads up to Fallon, so that she doesn’t get a heart attack when she walks on to the stage and oh lo and behold sees Daniel…who just happens to be someone she had been recently dumped by.” Fallon said in one breath, she gasped for air.

“Honestly, had I told you, you would have cancelled on me.” Cheryl said, her voice in the as-a-matter-of-fact tone. “Maybe, but it would have been up to me. At least give me a chance to decide. It’s not like I ran away tonight.” Fallon retorted. “Yes, that surprised me. But I bet you thought of running at least once.” Cheryl said with a smirk. She had Fallon on that one. “Urgh…okay…but next time you have to tell me…I swear I won’t run.” Fallon said in defeat. Cheryl grinned. “Okay fine. Now go and find William, I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful night.” Cheryl left her staring at the wall.

Fallon walked down through the corridor that led to the part where the people were. She had grabbed her coat, but hadn’t changed since she had forgotten her other pair of clothes. She saw a shadow leaning against the wall. Fallon’s heart started to pound harder. Could it really be him? She wondered. At once her face lit up with a smile, just at the possibility that it could be him. Daniel. Her hopes flew.

As she got closer, she saw the person who was waiting for her in the light. Her face fell. It was only William.

“Hey beautiful, ready for a night on the town?” William asked with a smile. Fallon simply nodded. He took hold of her hand, and led her towards the exit.

As she walked out the door, Fallon took a last glance at Daniel, he was watching her being led away. This time he didn’t break their gaze. It was Fallon who had to turn away, as she walked into the night with her hand inside William’s.