Stay the Night

Chapter 56

June 4th, 2004

"I'm proposing a joint show, we say it's 'for the lovers'" Randy explained.

Mariah and Michael looked at each other before turning back to their managers. In light of everything that was going on, Michael and Mariah discovered their pockets were a little tighter than normal.

Benny, Mariah's manager, grinned. "I like that. It'll help make those rumors go away for good, get us some nice cash, and Mariah gets more exposure for her next album,"

Mark, on the hand, curled his lip. "I don't like that idea. It's tacky and it makes it look like  they're trying to take the focus off the allegations,"

"We are," Mariah pointed out. "Besides, if we're doing it the theater here in Santa Barbara, that place only has like two thousand seats. It'll be just for the fans, not like a big stadium tour. I don't two shows look tacky at all,"

"I'm just saying, now is the time to be separating your brands." Mark countered. "Being associated with him will sink your album faster than anything else right now. He's a liability,"

Mariah noticed Michael clench his teeth from the corner of her eye. "I want to do it, I think it'll be fine,"

Randy leaned forward. "Mike?"

Michael crossed his legs, looking down at the floor. "I think it could be something different and I think the fans would like to see something like that,"

Mark rolled his eyes,  but Benny and Randy seemed too excited to notice.

"Great! We'll get the dates and everything together, you two start working on a setlist." Benny rubbed his hands together. "The first and last time anyone will ever see you two perform together on stage,"

Mariah leaned back in the chair and looked at Michael. "Why did we never perform together?"

He shrugged. "I never thought about it,"

"You know what we should do? We should pick each other's songs," Mariah suggested. "Ya know? Mix it up a little bit,"

She playfully nudged him with her shoulder. 

He chuckled. "Oh, we can mix it up alright,"

Mark cleared his throat in the corner. "Mariah, we should get going. You need to get to the studio,"

The grin melted off her face. "Uh, yeah."

She looked at Michael. "I'll see you around, okay?"

June 10th, 2004

Karrin hummed to herself while she brushed Nicole's hair into a neat bun. She was getting her ready for her dance practice for Michael and it took her back to when she was a kid going to her own ballet practices. 

Nicole quietly played with her Tamagochi while Karrin worked.

It was strange to Karrin. All of the kids had been quiet lately and she was starting to get worried. She wondered if had been a bad idea to break the news to the kids so soon. 

"All done," She announced, handing Nicole a mirror. "What do you think?"

Nicole looked at herself, lightly patting the high bun before handing Karrin the mirror back. "Thank you,"

Karrin put her hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Are you okay, Nicole?"

Nicole shrugged her off. "I'm fine,"

"Are you sure?" Karrin pressed. "You've been pretty quiet lately,"

Nicole chewed the inside of her cheek before shrugging. "I'm fine,"