Chapter 18~~ Reflection
They watched movies until around 6:00 and at that time he called to order the pizza. The restaurant didn't usually deliver but was doing so per his request so they had at least an hour's wait ahead of them. He decided that it was the perfect time for them to have karaoke and set about getting everything from his car and set up. He flipped through his homemade playbook and made his first selection, afterward he went about making them a makeshift stage. Looking through the book she almost laughed aloud when she saw what she thought was the perfect song for her.
"Hey Alex, how about we do a duet at the end?" she asked innocently.
"Yeah sure, whatever," he replied absently.
He shrugged and continued setting up the machine. When he was satisfied, he sat in the middle of the floor.
"You can go first. I need a rest and a cigarette after all that work. Don't shake your head at me. You go, then I'll go, and then you, then me again and if you still want that duet by then it's all yours." He said making it clear that if his conditions were not met then she wouldn't get what she wanted.
"Fine be a hard assed dictator," she grumbled.
"I'll not be having any of your lip, young lady," He replied in his awful British accent.
"You sound just like Mrs. Potts," she quipped.
"Just get your happy ass on stage."
"Yes, sir, boss."
�Don't be a smartass."
"I try not to, really I do. I guess it's just another one of my many failings," she replied with a shrug.
"Stop stalling woman!"
"Fine, fine. Give me D-16," she said snatching up the mic and walking over to the stage. The 'stage' was in truth the top of the steps that led from her living room to the foyer.
The music began and AJ's face wrinkled with recognition as he tried to place the song.
*Look at me,
You may think you see who I really am
But you'll never know me
Everyday, it's if I play a part.
Now I see if I wear a mask I can fool the world
But I cannot fool my heart
Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me
When will my reflection show who I am inside?
I am now in a world where I have to hide my heart
And what I believe in,
But somehow I will show the world what's inside my heart
And be loved for who I am.
Who is that girl I see staring straight back at me.
Why is my reflection someone I don't know?
Somehow I cannot hide
Who I am, though I've tried
When will my reflection show who I am inside?
There's a heart that must be free to fly
That burns, with the need to know the reason why
Why must we all conceal
What we think
How we feel
Must there be a secret me I'm forced to hide?
I won't pretend that I'm
Someone else for all time
When will my reflection show who I am inside?
When will my reflection show who I am inside?*
She let her voice trail off and eased her eyes up to meet his expectantly.
"Damn girl, I can't ever remember hearing that song sound as good as it did just now. You've got some hellacious lungs don't you? That was amazing. Christina couldn't have done it better. I didn't know you sang."
"I don't, and if you tell anyone I'll probably murder you and hide the body in places no one would ever think to look. I picked that song for a reason, I already knew it. It was my solo in show choir back in high school. I do a pretty mean "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" too," she ended with a laugh.
"You sing, you dance, Howie told me you write too; is there anything you can't do musically?"
"There's a whole assload of shit I can't do. I can't play guitar to save my life. I do believe it's your turn. Boner, dazzle me with your splendorous talent and allow me to bask in the glow of your greatness," she said sarcastically, effectively changing the subject.
"I decided to stick with the Disney theme we have going and I feel like this is more me than any other Disney song," he explained before punching in his selected track. That done he took his place on 'stage.'
She heard the opening strains of "Go The Distance" and was immediately lost to the power of his performance. She was amazed by how naturally he fell into full performance mode; one minute he was the Alex she'd been slowly getting to know and the next he had turned into AJ McLean. It was an amazing transformation and before she knew it he was ad libbing the ending.
She just sat, her eyes wide, looking somewhat dazed.
"Um, I know I'm a bit rusty but it wasn't that bad," he joked.
"Oh no, just the opposite. You are a performer in every sense of the word. I was just... wow."
"So you know the song then?"
"Know it? I love that song and you sang it beautifully, why didn't you ever do that as a solo? It was just... I mean, damn."
He shot her a quizzical look. "You've got to be kidding. Like I could ever show my face in public after singing a Michael Bolton song onstage. All those gay rumors would be directed at me instead of at Howie where they belong."
She grinned, obviously enjoying her next words. "To tell you the truth, as far as the fans are concerned you're bi."
His face was a comical mask of shock and disbelief. "No fucking way! You're shitting me!"
She bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud at his discomfort. "I shit you not. It's pretty much agreed upon that you're playing for both teams, an anything will do in a pinch type. The view on Howard changes from circle to circle, there are some that think he's as straight as they come, others think he's a closet freak and pretty much an equal opportunity employer, and others still that think he's flaming," she said in a matter of fact tone.
"I don't believe this. Is there anything else they say about us that I should know about?"
She sighed dramatically, "I don't think you wanna know."
"Tell me. After that one nothing can shock me."
"Trust me, Alex. If that freaked you out then you really could live forever and die happy not knowing."
"Ana," he whined, come on if this is about those dirty stories, I've known about that for ages. You know I'm gonna keep buggin you til you tell me. I may have to call Nick and tell him how great your voice is, and he'll tell Brian and well, between the two of them they'll drive you crazy until you sing for them. For some reason I have a reputation for exaggerating and they'll want to see for themselves trying to catch me in a lie. Our two blue eyed wonders are a force to be reckoned with when they want something. I kinda feel sorry for you, darlin, they are gonna make your life hell in every way possible until they have their way. All of that can very easily be prevented if you just tell me what I want to know." He made no attempt to disguise the implied threat.
She glared, shooting daggers at him with her eyes.
He made a big show of reaching for his cell phone and opening it, he paused with his hand over the keypad and raised an eyebrow in her direction making his intent clear.
"You blackmailing little shit," she muttered through clenched teeth.
"It's your call, babe, spill or I spill." He gave her his best look of pity and waited a few seconds before he shrugged and said, "Oh well, maybe you can handle it, maybe you want to be pestered every spare moment they get. Now, what number is Kaos on my speed dial? I think it's five but I guess I can't be sure until I dial it." He left the threat lingering as he pretended to consider the numbers on the phone.
"You grimy little rat bastard. You have to be the most despicable creature I have ever encountered. I'm going to tell you, but remember two things. One, you asked for it and two, and this is just a little FYI for you, I like my revenge over ice so eventually your ass will be mine, McLean," she said frostily.
Upon receiving her glare of wrath and angry words he put on his best _expression of wide-eyed innocence only to ruin it with a wild cackle.
"Do your worst, mortal woman. You obviously have no clue who you're dealing with. I'm Big Bad AJ McLean and there's nothing you can throw at me that can bring me down," he said with a shrug, "Tell me."
Her gaze was as hot as her tone was cold as she grinned bitterly, "We'll see about that another time now won't we, Alexander? Ever hear of a thing called slash?"
"No, what is it," he asked cringing at the way she said his first name, like it was the filthiest of curses.
She looked thoughtful for a moment as she considered the most malicious way to explain to him what it was. Suddenly her eyes lit up as an idea began to form.
"Let's just say that you're getting more ass than you ever thought possible, literally."
"I'm not following you, explain."
"Simply put, slash is a form of fan fiction where the characters, who are presumably straight in real life, are written as gay for the purpose of entertainment and in most instances it includes all kinds of explicit and kinky sexual acts. In case you're wondering, you've been slashed with every member of BSB, as well as all of the shit weasels, both singularly and in groups, along with countless others from Eminem to Carson Daley. You make a good little bottom boy, Alex," she said with a wicked flash of teeth.
He sputtered, and floundered, searching for words to express his outrage. She took great pleasure in his dismay.
"Problem?" she asked without any hint of concern. Her face was devoid of all humor and if he hadn't been so flustered by her information he would've questioned how she put so much intimidation into one look and a few well-placed words. She waited for his eyes to meet hers and added, "For the record you'd do good to watch your back cause you just made your way onto my shit list and I never leave my debts unpaid."
Unconsciously, he took a step backward and then immediately chided himself for it. He forced a smile at the way that she used words like venom when someone got her feathers ruffled. He then pitied the fool who ever really pissed her off. If she could change gears and go from smiling admiration to spitting fire in just an instant, he could only imagine the extent of damage she could do, to an ego if nothing else, in an actual confrontation.
It took him a moment to realize that she'd asked him a question while he was lost in his thoughts.
"Hunh?"
"I asked what you wanted to do, I mean, you could go again or we could just do one together. In which case we need to pick a song," she explained.
"Actually, if I remember it right, the choice of song for the duet was yours."
"Okay I say we stick with Disney since it's worked thus far. Um, do you want "Beauty and the Beast" or "A Whole New World?" She smiled at his shocked _expression, he was obviously confused at her abrupt change in manner "Geez, Alex, it isn't that serious. I did mean it when I said I was gonna get you back, but I'm not gonna like, blow up your car or anything. Chill out."
He rolled his eyes. "I could go again but I'd rather we just do one together. By the time we're done the food should be here. Either song is fine with me, but in my professional opinion your voice is really too mellow and not nearly throaty enough to do Regina Belle. You have this sweet, smoothness that's kind of -. I dunno, your voice reminds me of, like Minnie Ripperton, soft and silky. You'd probably pull off Regina Belle a little better than the other one."
She smiled shyly, suddenly made uncomfortable by his critique. "Maybe we should just wait until later."
Instead of a reply, he walked over and searched though his cd's until he found the right one. He handed her a microphone and cued up the song. She got so caught up in listening to him that she almost missed her own entrance. As they sang, his mind was on how well their voices complimented each other; she allowed him to take the lead and followed without hesitation, while still holding her own. She managed to harmonize with him perfectly, using enough assonance to make the chords more defined, and sang with just the right amount of wistful longing to make the song believable. As the music ended, he gave her a wide smile of approval.
"You kept up. I'm surprised, there's only been one woman who could keep up with me like that," he said simply.
Knowing that he wasn't going to elaborate, she nodded her understanding. Rather than allow the silence to become uncomfortable he broke it.
"So you wanna hear about the press tour?"
"Not really. I figure it's none of my business, since your friend said nothing to me about it," she said trying not to sound hurt.
"Um, okay. What're your plans for next week?"
"I have to work and an old acquaintance from home is going to be in the area so I have to have dinner with him."
He noticed her look of distaste at the mention of her acquaintance. "Not on your list of favorite people?"
"Not by any stretch of the imagination. I would prefer being stuck in a room with no lights and nsync piped in through the speakers than to share air with the bastard for five minutes. Sadly, I have no choice in the matter," she said not caring to hide her bitterness.
"There's always a choice, Ana. Even when we think there isn't, somewhere there's a back door to sneak out of when no one's looking. That doesn't mean running from the people you love or those who love you; it just means that if there was a way in there's gotta be more than one way out. There's always an alternate route, or a hidden side street that's not on the map. If I learned anything from our security over the years it's that no matter what there's a back way, and if there isn't then you aren't safe there to begin with."
Aadriana sat silently, thinking carefully about her predicament. She took his words into account and decided to make sure she had looked at her upcoming meeting with Jason from all angles and try to figure out a way to get her child back without having to see his father.
"Thank you very much, Alex. That was surprisingly insightful and I will look over this thing for a detour somewhere. If I can't find one then I'm not gonna have any choice but to torture myself with his company for a few hours, and hope it won't be as bad as the dread I'm feeling about it."
"Sweetie, if you have a bad feeling about it then that's your little woman thingie telling you not to go. All women have this thing that warns them; like if you had a kid and it was in danger or something. My mom told me all about it. If that's telling you not to go then you shouldn't. Mom said that the woman thingie is like being psychic or some shit. You're supposed to take it seriously."
The doorbell rang just as he finished bumbling through his explanation.
TBC...
*-- Reflection*; Lyrics by David Zippel