Six Months Later
"Hey babe, can you get my guitar? Kind of in a rush here," said Charlotte, handing her red electric over to Dan, who was already holding what felt like a million various instruments.
"Sure, Char," he said, taking that too. Char had gotten a recording deal, and now she was announcing her first album. Which was amazing.
They were also announcing that they were a couple in the exciting announcement livestream. She'd be filming in a small theater nearby, in front of a few select fans who'd won tickets. First a few songs, then she'd announce the album, then a few more songs, the last being a goofy one with Dan trying to play piano. Then, of course, they would announce that they were dating.
Like every night Char had a gig, they loaded up the car with everything she needed, Dan driving. Charlotte would go through whatever songs she wasn't sure about, sometimes changing the lyrics minutes before playing. Recently she didn't go over as much. Maybe she was more confident.
There were a few "VIP" guests, like Pj, Phil, and Phil's boyfriend, Evan. Dan might've had something against Evan at one point, but he was a cool guy. An actor, but he did a lot of cinematography on the side. Plus, Phil was happy, so that was what mattered. Charlotte had a few friends from the recording studio, but Dan didn't really know them.
The show was set to start in two hours, leaving them until seven PM to get everything setup, maybe do a mic check, and eat a bit of dinner. There were snacks for all of the live audience, but Dan had a feeling they would get eaten by him and Char and the filming crew before they even got there.
"We're here," he told Char, who was leaning against the window with her eyes closed. He knew she was nervous, she hadn't slept for most of the night. Neither had he, but he wasn't the one performing. Just sitting off to the side of the stage, ready to plunk out some notes on the piano. Luckily they hadn't had to haul that over.
Charlotte looked up and smiled, hopping out of the car. She seemed happy enough, but she could've been acting. Usually her eyes gave it away, but Dan couldn't see them. She was in sunglasses, big retro ones that Dan liked a lot. He was pretty sure Gerard Way had worn them at some point.
"I have to go do stuff backstage. Can you make sure the camera peple are doing stuff right?" asked Charlotte, turning towards Dan. He nodded.
"Of course, babe," he said, kissing her on the cheek, "See you in a minute. I'll put all this stuff on the stage I guess." They parted and Dan threw all the stuff down, while Char went back to get ready. You could feel the tension rising in the building, mounting more and more as people arrived and final checks were made on all the cameras and instruments and microphones. The building felt as if it would explode.
And when it did, it took the form of Charlotte, jumping onstage and ripping at her guitar strings, bringing out strong notes, almost as strong as her.
Looking at her from the screen room (the VIP's couldn't watch from the seats, those were all taken, so they sat with the screens making sure the stream as running well), Dan thought back to the first night he saw her. The way she'd been a storm onstage, her voice rippling through his soul like a bullet. How she'd gotten inside of him with her songs and now there wasn't any way of getting her out without killing him.
He knew she felt the same way.
THE END
