Midnight Music

Chapter 16

A rap on a door stirred me. What. . ? I squinted my eyes at my surroundings. I'm in my room, just lying in my bed on top of the blankets. The sun glinted through the blinds and pooled into the room. The door was cracked open, and a familiar face looked at me through the opening. Ace!

"Wake up, pixie. We're supposed to be heading to Lava Hot Springs so we can meet Dad and Lisa by noon." My brother said, stepping into my bedroom.

I groaned and felt around for my phone. What time is it? How long have I been asleep? Quarter after nine. I couldn't remember much about last night after I opened myself up to Platinum. I was so physically and emotionally exhausted, I probably blinked out like a light as soon as I came back to the apartment.

"Fine. I'm up." My head spun a little as I sat up. I'm still tired, and I've never been a morning person. I rubbed the remaining sleep from my eyes. "Just let me get-"

"Amelia Jane Carter!" I jumped at the sound of Ace yelling my full name in shock. His gray-blue eyes were wide as tennis balls, and he pointed at me. "What the hell is that?"

I looked down, and suddenly I wasn't able to breath. I'm still in my Iris dress! I glanced at the edge of the desk by my bed. My club & Star cards laid next to the glittering silver mask on the wood, almost laughing at me for being so careless last night. Damn it!

"I-I can explain!"

"Explain what?! That you are basically leading a double-life, somehow became a near-famous sensation on the internet and secretly perform at a club while going to college?"

"Wait, I'm almost internet famous? When did that happen?"

"When do you think? There are videos of your performances all over YouTube! Anyway, when were you going to tell me?"

"Honestly, not for a long time. This is just something I've been getting myself to do as a way of trying to perform again, and it grew from there."

"Oh, really? And now you're an employee of the club!"

"As of last month, yes!"

"Who else knows?"

"No one."

"Don't lie to me!"

"Okay! Aspen and Mason! Also known as Daisy and DJ Moon!"

"Anyone else?"

"The club owners know my real name, but I don't think they really know me."

"Is that all? What about your partner, Platinum?"

"No! Especially not him! And I'd like it to stay that way for a while longer!"

"HEY!"

Ace and I turned to the open door to meet eyes with an annoyed Aspen. She glared at us as she spoke, her face almost half hidden by her sleep-tangled mess of hair. "We have neighbors. Keep the volume of your fight to a minimum. And if you have to spill blood, you're responsible for cleaning it up. Got it?"

We both nodded, and she left with a huff. "Sibling rivalries. Jeez!"

My brother and I continued quietly. "If you so much as breathe a hint to Dad or Lisa, I swear I'll kill you!" I hissed at him, to which he responded with an eye-roll.

"Take a number, then we'll see you try. And don't worry, I won't say anything." Ace stepped out the door but kept it open an inch so that we could still talk while I quickly changed into a shirt and jeans.

"Promise?"

"Let me put it this way: if I expose you for your job at the Masked Muse, I might as well expose mine while I'm at it."

I froze as I pulled on my convers. "What?"

"Yeah. I work at the club too. Been performing there for about a year and a half now." Is he serious? How could I've not known?!

"Then how did we not do all of this sooner?"

"I know you couldn't have recognized me because I wear a wig as part of my costume. And you haven't heard me sing in a long time, so it's no surprise that you never got suspicious. Meanwhile, I know you and your voice. How did I not recognize you sooner?"

"Don't put yourself down so much. I barely recognized myself the first time I looked in the mirror." I opened the door and moved across the hall to clean the makeup off my face in the bathroom. "And who are you at the club?"

Ace pulled out his wallet, then presented a club employee card just like mine. It had the same logo and everything, but 'Beast' was printed at the bottom instead. My mouth dropped open. "No way!"

"Yup."

"So all this time, you've been living in Logan, lying to Dad, and making me live in a completely different place? I could save on rent if I lived with you."

"Ah, but I don't live on my own. I'm renting a place with three other guys. So even if you knew I lived in the valley, I couldn't let you live with me." My brother pointed out with a smug grin on his face.

"Why are you involved in the club?"

"It's all your fault, actually."

I dropped the wet rag after scrubbing my face raw. Glitter is so hard to remove! "What do you mean?" I asked as I started brushing my teeth. Good thing I can multi-task so easily.

"I was already going to the club with a buddy of mine a couple of years ago, just watching and enjoying myself. Pretty soon, I wanted to start performing, but didn't know if I should, considering Dad's hostility towards you and your music. But when you stood up to him and said you were going to study music, you kind of inspired me. So, I created the Beast."

Somehow, I could now easily picture him as the Beast I've met at the Masked Muse, wearing his blue and gold coat, black mask, and dark brown mane-like wig. "Why did you go with 'Beast'?"

"Like I said, you were my inspiration to get into performing. I knew that Beauty and the Beast was one of your favorite musicals, so I just decided to go with that. Plus, I still had half of the costume from one Halloween in high school, years ago."

I rinsed the minty toothpaste from my mouth, then wrapped my arms around my brother. "That's got to be the sweetest thing you've ever done."

"I know. It makes me gag every time I'm reminded." I punched him in the gut, but he hugged me back as we laughed. "We better get going."

"I'm ready." I pulled on a jacket, then grabbed my bag and cell phone. Calling out a farewell to my roommate, Ace and I left.

"So everything about the club is just between us, right?" I clarified.

"Yup," my brother said as he started the car. "I've got to ask though, how did you manage to get back onstage? I haven't seen you perform at all since. . ."

I shrugged as we got on the main road. "I don't even know. It just happened."

***************************************************************** So sorry for the late update! I've been busy for the past couple of weeks, some personal things in life came about & I forgot about writing the next chapter. But I'm back on track! Thank you for reading?