I'm Yours (PRN)

xxvi

"You lying. She ain't married," berates Andre as he follows Prince through the hallway leading them to the back. Laughing, Prince keeps his secrets to himself. "You're a liar, man," Andre chortles.

Prince boldly stands on his claim. "She is." He and Andre burst their way into the back room, immediately stripping themselves bare along with the rest of the band in anticipation of the party to be attended in celebration of the final show. "Don't believe me? Ask her yourself."

Fresh off the stage they tore down to shreds, Andre caught a glimpse of Jill, the bright-eyed singer Prince had been creeping on for the tour's entirety. Iris' light implication of Jill's possible romantic interest revved him up. Since, Prince has made sure that as long as Jill thought she could ignore him, she'd be forced to see him. His appearance in the cars she was to take, his floating around during Teena's soundchecks. He knows how to stay on a girl's mind.

How well Prince can pull off the ultimate infiltration of a female brain is seen in Monica.

For weeks, she's gone without sleep in the name of trying to understand how he was removed from her as fast as he was. Life was well and they lived in each other's presence with no complaints. Having her pride ripped out of her body by his blatant involvement with other women, how platonic or romantic the relationships are remaining unclear, left her in a hole of despair. She was losing, she'd say, and Monica hates to lose.

In the rain, with an umbrella, she stands outside of his tour bus. Lindsey sits in the car with Lauren, watching in anticipation of the reunion of lightly scorned lovers. Louisiana's weather isn't on its worst behavior, light droplets of rain cascading from the cloudy sky, but its weather agenda does not match with the stretched bouncy curls attached to Monica's scalp as the umbrella shields her hair more than her outfit.

Her best clothes, her best hairstyle, and her best jewels. Monica stands against the hood of Lindsey's car as she waits for the band to load their tour bus. I can't lose, she chants to herself as if all is one big competition.

The amount of life changes Monica has gone through is a matter of weeks amazes her immediate support system. Moving out, finally getting a car, maintaining her practice schedules alongside her new coach. Monica is thriving in her new surrounding upon freeing herself from a poisonous cloud nicknamed Benny. Out of her mother's house and finally pushing her own four wheels, Monica has become dead set on doing whatever she wants. Since hearing Prince's music played at her job as she taught an eight-year-old girl to ice skate, she made the choice to follow her impulsive thoughts. Quickly, a roadtrip to Louisiana for his final show became the plot. It's the first real Prince concert Monica has ever been to.

"Say, man, don't that lone star groupie out there look like Mo." Andre's crass statement is heard fifty feet away as he comes stomping out of the venue's backdoor and into the rain. "No, really. Look at 'er." His second statement pointed in Dez's direction, not wanting Prince to beat anyone else to the punch of approaching the young lady seated on the car.

"Even if I was a groupie, I'd still go for the leading man," Monica smartly shouts back at Andre.

A mainly positive connection between Andre and Monica for most of their lives has placed them in a category of relation resembling familial ties. Although, with this love comes periods of hate. Andre's disdain for Monica's existence in Prince's life is never left unsaid. Since they were teens, he's found her to be a distraction and after Thanksgiving, nothing will ever change his mind. Monica's noticed, but Monica's also never cared.

The spoken confirmation of her identity piques the band's attention as their lead singer's head snaps from a glance at the floor to the door they walk out of.