Forbitten

Chapter 5

My heart was pounding in my chest far too heavily for its small size. I was surrounded by boys with more skill and talent than I had and I wanted to leave immediately. However, not only was Terry forcing me to stay, I knew I had to. This was the only way I could prove I was better for Mr. Yoi than Richie Linkin was.

The outfit Katherine made me chafed against the skin on my neck. The sequins were rough and the shoulder pads uncomfortable. I looked like I belonged in a marching band, despite Terry saying I resembled Gerard Way's wet dream. He mentioned something about a black parade, which I did not understand. How was it a black parade if my outfit was blue, red, and white? I just ignored him.

There was a boy in stilts beside me on the right, eating a granola bar, and Terry on the left, holding a clipboard. He told me he was the stage manager, and had been planning this talent show since the summer. It was with his persuasion I was allowed to enter. I felt gratitude towards my friend.

Two people had already performed. One had danced ballet and the other performed a lap dance routine. The judges had given them harsh scores, and that only made me even more nervous. The judges included Mr. Papa Smoke, Nurse Ante, and Mx. LeGaBeTarae+. The surname of the last judge was apparently as long as anyone could imagine, but I could not remember it all.

Only three more people were left before me and my nerves were beginning to go haywire. Terry attempted to calm me down, smiling sweetly and rubbing my back, but goosebumps covered my body. In fact, I began to feel sick to my stomach. Terry noticed and rushed me to the stage door, pushing me in the direction of the bathroom.

"I'm sorry, Mos. I wish I could go with you, but the show must go on!" Terry said sadly. I would have told him I did not mind, but the words would have been followed by vomit. I decided it was best to continue to the bathroom. However, before I could enter the bathroom, I banged into the succulent, muscular, but still lean, chest that belonged to the only man I have ever adored: Mr. Yoi. My heart raced even more and I feared I would suffer a heart attack.

"Mos... I mean, Mr. Aedes, are you alright?" He asked. His voice was dripping with worry. I thought maybe if this was how I was treated when I looked ill, I did not mind being sick.

"Uh, yeah! Just some pre-show nerves," I replied. I began to feel better just at the sound of his voice and my stomach all but calmed upon his arrival.

"You're performing? I didn't know..." He hesitated before continuing. "You look very, uh, sharp." His compliment was barely a compliment, but I gleamed with pride at my Gerard Way outfit. The sequins no longer itched and instead seemed to drip with beauty at his approval.

"Thank you," I blushed and looked towards the ground. I could see the golden star pattern on his purple based socks. They matched his tie. "My... mom made it," I continued. I remembered when I told Katherine I was going to perform in the show. She stayed up all night to make my costume and I realized, even if she was not my mom, she treated me better than my birth mother ever did...

"She's very talented. Well, good luck. I have to go watch the other kids," he said, breaking me away from my thoughts about my foster mother. I waved goodbye as he left, realizing I was just one of those "other kids" he talked about. I tried to not let it bother me as I freshened up in the bathroom before returning backstage.

"Mos, you're up next!" Terry whisper-yelled. He grabbed me by my shoulders and shaked me with excitement. "You'll do amazing! We practiced all night, you've got this!" The boy on stilts shushed Terry loudly, which Terry replied with by sticking his tongue out at him. Angered, the boy sighed and walked away on his stilts. He still had granola crumbs around his lips.

I heard the act finish and the final round of applause and looked towards my friend for help. He only smiled again and ushered me towards the thick red curtain that I could barely push past. One of the other stage directors handed me a microphone and then, I was in the light. I could barely see, but I noticed the large family in one of the closest rows.

"Go, Mos!" Cole yelled before being shushed by his older brothers and parents. Terry's family had come and right beside them sat Katherine and Bryin. Bryin carried a bouquet of flowers and Katherine held a video camera up to her eye. I smiled and stopped myself from waving at the two people that took me in when no one else would.

As I scanned the crowd, looking for the one other man I hoped was here, the music began. The notes flowed from the speaker and vibrated my entire being. The lights began to dim, and that is when I saw him. He was in the back of the auditorium, leaning against the wall. One of his feet was completely resting on the ground while the other balanced on only his toes. His arms were crossed and a small smile played on his features. As my first line arrived, his glowing face was the reassurance I needed to begin. Whatever I thought I could not do, became possible with him.

I took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out, and then...

"Turnaround,"

The words flowed effortlessly through my mouth, as if I had been singing them for years. And, as I looked at my teacher, it felt as if I had loved him for years.

"Every now and then I get a little bit lonely,

and you're never coming round"

I continued as the crowd stared at me in awe. My voice belted from my small body as I felt the prickle of tears start to empty from my ducts. The tears rushed down my face as I moved across the stage, the spotlight following my every move. The gleam of light, that could only be described as heavenly, bounced off the sequins of my Gerard Way outfit. The specks of color dazzled across the stage and into the rows of people.

My tears kept falling and I felt embarrassed. I did not want to look at Mr. Yoi, but my eyes were drawn to him anyways. We locked eyes and I saw a single tear fall from his long, cow-like eyelashes and I was inspired.

"And I need you now tonight

And I need you more than ever

And if you only hold me tight

We'll be holding on forever

And we'll only be making it right

'Cause we'll never be wrong together
We can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time (all of the time)
I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight"

I could not look away. My lips kept moving, but I was not sure if I was even singing. I was so truly, madly, deeply distracted by the love I held for the man in front of me. Before I knew it, the song was closing and my tears were still falling.

"A total eclipse of the heart

A total eclipse of the heart

A total eclipse of the heart"

I choked on my tears and I could not finish the last line. But, when I looked back up into those hazel orbs, encircled by familiar, lovely glasses, he smiled sweetly and mouthed the words that would change it all.

"Turn around bright eyes"