Song of my heart

Chapter Twenty One: But do you have what you need?

"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."
                              - Oprah Winfrey
___________________________________________________________

Chapter Twenty One: But do you have what you need

As soon as Dani offered Maxine her next song, Maxine knew she was going to struggle. There was something about wreaking ball by Mylie Cyrus that didn't sound appealing to her at all. She tried to sing it, but she couldn't get into it, it wasn't her type of song.

"This is why I gave you this song Maxine." Said Dani. "To challenge you." Maixne didn't feel like she was being challenged. She felt like she was being caged in. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get into the song, she kept getting the lyrics wrong. Dani was frustrated with her, she was frustrated with herself. Her confidante levels were scrapping the ground when she went on stage a week after her first kiss with Jesse and that probably had a lot to do with her end result.
She was standing back stage after her performance, trying to keep the tears in when Heartbeat came on stage. Maxine took one look at Jesse and knew something wasn't right. He was pale with dark rings under his eyes though they're clearly tried to cover it up with makeup. He kept tapping his feet in the floor while Amber was introducing him and Maxine could see Noah and Oliver exchanging looks. They looked worried, both of them sneaking glances at Jesse out of the corner of their eyes. When he started to sing, it was clear they weren't going to do well. Noah and Oliver tried to hold the fort together, but with Jesse as main lead, the song fell apart from the beginning.

Maxine stood on the stage with her head down, waiting to hear who would be in the final two. She knew it was done between her, Heartbeat and a girl named Lucy Dune. Jesse standing beside her, had his hand resting on the curve of her lower back, rubbing his thumb against her spine every now and then. It was calming having him there, but the fear inside of her was eating her from the inside out. Finally, Amber announced the bottom two.
"And the two teams facing each other for a fight to the next round is, Maxine Waters and Heartbeat." Jesse's hand tightened on Maxines back and she saw his head drop out of the corner of her eye. Slowly, she stepped away from his. His head snapped up and he gave her a confused look, but she wouldn't look him in the eye. She'd already made up her mind.

Before the final performance, Holly came to see her in the dressing room. When Maxine saw her friend, she couldn't help it, she began to cry. Without a word, Holly put her arms around the other girl and hugged her tightly, gently rocking them back and forth. She smoothed Maxines hair down her back.
"It's okay." Holly said softly. "You're going to be alright."
"I'm not going to sing on that stage again after tonight Holly." Maxine said, her voice muffled by Holly's shoulder. Holly removed her head from her shoulder and stared at her.
"You can't give up Maxine. You have to fight for your place." Maxine smiled a sad smile.
"Not against Heartbeat. They're the reason I'm here. I'm not about to kick them out."
"Maxine..." Holly began, but then she saw the look on her face. With a sigh, she hugged her again.
"You've already made up your mind haven't you?" Maxine, running a hand through her hair.
"I'm gonna miss you Max." Maxine laughed feebly, pulling away from her friend.
"I'm gonna miss you too Holls." With a sigh Holly stood up.
"Maxine, I want you to meet someone. Two people actually."  Maxine nodded.
"Okay."
"Promise you won't judge me." Maxine frowned, confused.
"Why would I..."
"Use promise you won't judge me." Slowly, Maxine nodded.
"Okay, I promise." Holly let out a sigh. Then she nodded. She went over to the door of the dressing room and opened it, sticking her head out into the hallway.
"Jasper!" She called. "Jasp!"
A boy appeared in the doorway. His hair was black, curling in soft waves over his forehead. His eyes were a soft brown and he was tall, well built. He was holding a baby girl in his arms. She couldn't have been more then one, her hair a soft blond and her eyes the same brown as Holly's. She was hugging a yellow teddy bear to her chest, looking half alseep. The boy, Jasper smiled when he saw Holly and holding the baby with one hand, used the other to cup her cheek tenderly and give her a soft kiss. Maxine was compelty stunned. Then little girl in Jaspers arms, suddenly woke up, holding out her arms when she saw Holly. Jasper handed her over, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he did so. Maxine could see Holly taking a deep breath before she turned around to face Maxine. The baby was resting her head on her shoulder, sucking her thumb. Holly send Maxine a shaky smile.
"Maxine, this is Luna. She's my daughter." Maxine couldn't don't bring herself to move for a couple of seconds. She stayed completly motionless. Jasper took a small step closer to Holly and Luna, passing his arms protectively over Holly's shoulders. Holly looked worried, nervously shifting from one foot to the other. "Maxine?" She asked. Maxine swallowed, forcing herself to speak. She managed a weak smile.
"You make a great family." She said. A huge grin spread over Jaspers face and Holly let out a relieved sigh. Even Luna raised her head, waving her teddy bear around in the air, though she clearly had no idea what was going on.
"Thank you." Said Jasper. "You have no idea who good it feels to hear you say that." Maxine smiled at him, but turned her attention on Holly.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked. Holly sighed. She handed Luna back to Jasper and leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
"I'll see you outside." She said. Jasper nodded. He slid Luna into the sling and then took Holly's face in both his hands.
"I love you." He said, and Maxine could hear the honesty dripping off his tounge. Holly smiled. She reached up and kissed his lips again before planting a kiss on top of Lunas head. "I love you more." Then she bent forward to speak to Luna.
"You be good." She said. "Mummy loves you." Luna cocked her head to the side like she was listening. Then she buried her head against Jaspers chest. Jasper opened the door and walked out into the hall, pulling the door closed behind him. Holly sighed, running a hand through her hair. She turned back to Maxine and went to say something when the door opened and Maxines makeup artist came in.
"Shu!" She said to Holly. "Miss Waters has to be on stage in ten minutes." She bussled Holly out the door without giving her a chance to say goodbye and turned towards Maxine. "Right." She said, reaching for her makeup bag. "Let's get rid of those tears."