Caught Between Two Worlds (paul stanley x oc fic)

Part 14

A Few Hours Later....

As Paul, Ace, and Peter were readying themselves for the performance, Ava stood next to Paul with one of his back-up guitars strapped around her neck, feeling nervousness set in the longer she waited for Gene to show up.

"god where the hell is he! He said he was going to show up" Ava exclaimed.

Paul looked over at her and saw her hands shaking profusely. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

"hey your gonna do fine...we've practiced the song with you until you nailed it...it's gonna blow him away.

"yeah," Ace agreed "you even got the guitar riffs right too..."

"well I do know how to play guitar that's not what im worried about...ive never really sung...in front of people before...well at concerts yes but never with a mic in front of my face...."

"how about this I take the intro first and then you start ok..." Paul said with a smile. "ok..." Ava said with a slight smile as she took the guitar off her shoulder.

"Hey guys if Gene comes in...just stall him or something I'm going to go get some water..." as she walked out of the room bumping into someone on the way.

As Ava looked up to apologize she saw that it was her cousin Dakota. "how?what?" Ava stammered. "hi to you to cousin..." Dakota replied pissed off.

"im sorry I bailed on you I just had to see him...and it was a good thing I did because Cody attacked Peter last night"

"WHAT?! Is he...is he...--"

"yes hes still alive thankfully...and right now im trying to convince Gene that I can keep up with them..."

"huh?" Dakota said obviously not understanding.

"don't you remember the original plan...to have me become apart of the band...well Gene wasn't all for it but I convinced him to at least have me audition...er perform with them to see how I do...so..."

"well at least that's something right..."

"yeah I guess im just nervous about the singing part..." Dakota laughed "well this has to be the first time ive ever seen you clam up before...youll do fine..."

"yeah.." Ava said, racking her hands through her hair nervously "that's what everyone else has been telling me all day but you never know I might just blow it..."

"so your just going to walk out on this opportunity...seriously?"

"no actually I was going to get some water, my mouth is a little dry.."

"oh ill get that for you...ill be right back ok cous'" Dakota said running down the hallway leaving Ava to go back into the room.

Ava goes back into the room as the boys are tinkering with their equipment. Paul looks up as he hears the door close "I thought you were going to get water?"

Ava huffed "yeah well I bumped into someone along the way..."

"Gene?"

"nope...Dakota...ugh I swear she picks the worst time to show up...always..." Ace perks up at this bit of information and walks towards the two. "Dakota, who's she?"

"oh just my annoying older cousin...."

Ace smiles at this and Ava notices "Ace don't even think about trying anything with her...she not what she seems..." Ace cackles at this "well then...I'm going to take that as a personal challenge then...."

Ava rolls her eyes at this. And then the door opens to reveal Dakota walking in with a bottle of water in her hand. Dakota walks up to Ava and hands her the bottle "here you go, it's not cold...its all the front desk would give me for free so..."

Dakota glances over at Ace who is smiling big, in response Dakota introduces herself "hi im Dakota, Ava's cousin, and your Ace right..."

"yep...that's my name don't wear it out...oh and back there", Ace points towards Peter on the drums, "is Peter..."

"Nice to meet you...." Dakota says cheerfully, then she looks back at Paul, who is standing next to Ava, and says with mirth in her voice "paul....nice to see you....again..." as she walks back towards a chair that was sitting in the corner.

Ava rolled her eyes at the exchange, as Paul just shook off the awkwardness and went back to fine tuning his guitar. Just then the doors to the room open again, Gene walking in this time. "so your ready right?" Gene asked pointedly towards Ava who responded with "ready as I'll ever be..." as Gene goes to grab his bass guitar and stands by his mic and says "we'll see about that....so what song are we going to play?"

"black diamond..." Peter answered as Paul started going the opening guitar solo. Then he started singing the opening line of

"Out on the street for a living

Picture's only begun

Got you under their thumb" then he looked over at her and whispered "ready.." to which Ava nodded her head slightly as Paul screamed "HIT IT!" to which Peter responded by slamming on the drums behind them, and Ava started playing her guitar and singing,

"Out on the streets for a living

Picture's only begun

Your day is sorrow and madness

Got you under their thumb"

She notice that her voice was tight and grimaced at the sound, until she looked at Paul who smiled and winked at her. She then relaxed and got the last verse of the intro out and Peter hit his and Paul said hit it. Just from that she felt like she was in control now and she sung Black diamond like she wrote it.

Whoo, black diamond

Whoo, black diamond

Darkness will fall on the city

It seems to follow you too

And though you don't ask for pity

There's nothin' that you can do, no, no

Whoo, black diamond

Whoo, black diamond

Out on the streets for a living

Picture's only begun

Your day is sorrow and madness

Got you under their thumb

Whoo, black diamond, yeah

Whoo, black diamond

After the song was over, Ava breathed a sigh of relief, just because it was done. She noticed Dakota standing up and clapping at the performance, as Paul bowed along with Peter, Ace and Gene and glanced over at Ava and saw her just standing there.

"come on, you gotta bow for the audience" as he pushed her back down playfully to which she giggled in response.

Then as she righted herself, Gene was standing in front of her and she stopped laughing. "so....how did I do...was I able to keep up or what" asked with a smirk on her face, knowing clearly that she performed better then Gene thought she would.

Gene responded with a straight face "your in...BUT you better practice so you know our whole setlist...I don't like looking like a fool onstage!"

"no problem" Ava replied with a big smile on her face as Gene walked out of the room as Peter, Ace, Paul and Dakota cheer Ava for the great job that she did.

"man you killed it on vocals and on the guitar...you might even be better then Ace" Peter said smirking at Ace who responded with a half-hearted "hey..no one can outplay me...." "oh yeah well let's see out of the three of us guitar plays who plays the best" Ava goated. To which both Paul and Ace responded by plugging their guitar in and all three started having a guitar battle.