"I'll love you till the end of time,  

Until my heart stops beating, 

I'll shelter you from any storm,  

Until my breath stops breathing"                                                 

- Bach's Revenge debut album, track 2 

He peered through the curtain to watch the two final acts. They were good, no doubt  about it, but not good enough. Sawyer busied himself with a mirror, ensuring his hair  was spiked in his signature hairdo, that his sleeves were rolled three times each to the  exact bend in his arm, showcasing the ink he'd spent several painful hours to acquire.  

He held firm to the belief that there were no second chances to make a first impression.  

It was like the clock stopped. The tension backstage stretched across the air, a  hundred times worse than it'd been out front, when they were doing their thing.  Sebastian wanted to win or lose and forget all about how they played the game.  

Once Sawyer finished admiring his reflection, he walked over. "Nice work,  telling Charlie and stuff. Couldn't pay me enough to do some crazy shit like that." He  slapped Sebastian's shoulder. "Good for you though man, I hope it works out."  

Sebastian swallowed hard. "Yeah. Me too."  

"That was intense," Robbie approached, weaving his drumstick through his fingers like a baton twirler.  

Sawyer let out a laugh. "Yeah, man. That was crazy. Where's Lane?"  

"In the washroom I think."  

"He's gone all girl," Sawyer muttered. "Heshe has five minutes to show or I'm  gonna go in there and drag her out, kicking and screaming." 

"Forget Lane," Robbie said, "I don't think Seabass is doing so hot."  

Sawyer squinted at Sebastian, trying to determine if Robbie's observation was  accurate. "Hey, you alright man?" 

"Fine." His response held no conviction whatsoever.  

Sawyer turned to Robbie. "He says he's fine."  

"Dude," Robbie pointed at Sebastian with a drumstick instead of a finger. "Look  at the guy, he's gonna hurl."  

"I'm fine!" Sebastian snapped. "It's fine."  

Sawyer held up his hands, indicative of surrender. "Okay man, we were just  askin'."  

The look on Charlie's face during his song was stuck in his head as if he was  looking at a snapshot of the moment. He couldn't tell if she was shocked and repulsed  or shocked and awed. He made the sign of the cross and prayed that it was the latter.  

They called on the contestants, who filed out onto stage like they were about to  meet a firing squad. Spin made some stupid remarks, trying to build on the intensity of  the entire situation but the audience was so tweaked, if he didn't make with the results  soon, he was going to have a riot on his hands. Finally, Marley started to peel away the  backing to the results envelope. 

"And the winner of Real Media Zip 90 Pacific FM's 'Battle of the Bands' is," she  paused for drama and Sebastian clenched his fists. "Bach's Revenge!"  

The way the words exited her mouth in slow motion and he heard her only from a distance. Lane's gaped like a chick that saw a fifty percent off sale at the mall, Robbie's  cheekbones looked to be on the receiving end of a facelift with how big his smile was  and the side of Sawyer's lip curled up in the biggest smile Sebastian had ever seen him  give. Sebastian still had some serious nerve damage. 

Charlie bolted from the front row, with his mom right behind her. He opened his  arms wide, and with the running start she got, she launched herself into them and  wrapped her legs around his waist. She screamed like a lunatic. "Sebastian! I knew it! I knew it! You're going to get a record deal!"  

He kissed her cheek and moved his mouth next to her ear. "I know! I know!  

Bella?"  

"Yeah," she replied, using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe away tears from her  eyes.  

He pulled back so he can look at her face. "What did you think, I mean, about  the song?"

Charlie examined Sebastian like he was an advanced math problem. His focus was  transfixed on her face, the intensity of his stare enough to make her want to squirm.  Dismounting from her current position, she planted her feet safely on the floor, praying  the stance might allow her to think straight. Cameras went off at lightning speeds in  every direction; it was blinding and made it hard to concentrate. "Well," she began, but  was interrupted by Marley, taking his hand and leading him away. Just like she wasn't  even there. She wanted to be mad, but couldn't decide if she was angry or relieved.  

Angry for the interruption or relieved to be rescued from saying something she wasn't  sure she meant.  

Sebastian followed Marley, but turned his head back around to glance over his  shoulder. "It was great," Charlie muttered, her voice so quiet, there was no way he  could hear her. Everyone wanted a piece of him. She shrunk a little because she wanted  all of him, at least for the moment. She wanted to ask him why he wrote it, why he  looked at her the way he did when he sang it. She retreated to the shadows with Rosa to  wait, and pondered what was going to happen.  

"Come on, honey," Rosa coaxed, "Let's go get a cup of coffee. Sebastian will be  home later."  

One glance at his current location told her she wasn't getting close. People  surrounded the band in a virtual blockade, a human Fort Knox. If this is what the local  craze was going to be, what would it be like if they really, truly made it? "Okay, sure.  Rosa. Can we go to the new coffee shop? The Human Bean," Charlie asked. "It's Mitch's  dad's place. It's right on fourth and ninth. Today's their grand opening and I kind of  promised I'd come." 

Rosa smiled. "Sure sweetheart, wherever you want to go."  

Charlie didn't want to see Mitch. All she could think about was Sebastian kissing  her, and his song. Would Mitch know as soon as he looked at her? Did Rosa know now?  Were the questions she'd been asking herself for the last hour written all over her face? 

It began to rain, an ominous sign, she thought, as they drove. Rosa drove so fast,  she'd give any NASCAR driver a run for his money. Maybe it was an Italian thing, the  lead foot. Rosa was always the cool mom, the one every kid at school wished was  theirs, so maybe she just drove the same way. The fifteen minute drive took them seven.  

Charlie held the door open for Rosa. Stepping inside, she gasped. It looked like  a carnival blew up, regurgitating shrapnel of balloons and banners, and glittered  confetti. Charlie bent to pick one up and study it.  

"Confetti coffee cups," she said. "Clever."  

"Try saying that five times," Rosa challenged.  

Charlie laughed. "I could do it."  

"Want to make a bet?"  

She looked at Rosa. "You're on. Loser buys the coffee."  

Rosa shrugged the end of her sleeve up, and placed her hand on the button  located on the side of her watch. "I'll take and Earl Grey tea latte. Ready. Set. Go." 

"Confetti coffee cups clever. Confetti coffee cups clever. Confetti coffee cups  clever," as she spoke, the words began to mesh into one another. Like the mess of  feelings in her head. "Confetti coffee sucks. Lever. Confetti hockey pucks. Never."  

"Ha!" Rosa pointed a victorious finger. "Knew it!"  

Charlie laughed and looked up to see Mitch standing behind the counter. He  waved. "Come here babe, drinks are on me for you and your friend."  

Rosa leaned in to whisper. "Is that Mitch?"  

"Yeah," Charlie advised. "That'd be him."  

"Well, he thinks I'm your friend. If I didn't like him before, I like him now."  

"Why wouldn't you have liked him before? You've never met him."  

"No reason," Rosa replied too quickly. "No particular reason at all. I'll get us a  seat. Earl Gray tea latte. Extra foam."  

Charlie sauntered up to the counter and leaned over, giving Mitch a light kiss. It  should have been normal but it didn't feel right. Guilt gnawed at her insides, knowing  Sebastian's lips had touched hers not so long ago. "Hey baby," he said. "So. Something  you want to tell me?"  

Charlie's heart pounded in her chest, her breath hitching. How could he know?  "What do you mean?"  

"How did it go? Did they win?" Mitch slid a coffee over. "Two soy, one  sweetener. What does your friend want?"  

"Oh." She looked down at her shaking hands. "Earl Gray tea latte. Extra foam.  And yeah, they won. Bach's Revenge won."  

Mitch smiled as he went to work steaming the milk for Rosa's drink. "That's  good news. Tell him I said congratulations."  

"That's Rosa," Charlie nodded behind her. "Seb's mom."  

It was barely noticeable, but Mitch's mouth dropped. "Wow. She's so--" 

"Young?" Charlie finished for him.  

"Well I was gonna say pretty, but young too. Here," he said, handing her the  cup. "Listen. I thought we'd be able to hang out for a bit, but this place is a zoo. I  haven't even eaten lunch yet. Is it okay if I stop by later?"  

"Yeah, sure. That sounds good."  

"Love you."  

"Love you too."  

Rosa sat at a wicker table and Charlie took the seat across from her. "That was  some song," Rosa spoke thoughtfully.  

Of course she was going to mention it. Sebastian said that every chance she got she was pushing him to get together with Charlie. "Yeah, it was a great song, one of his  best." As much as she wanted to see if Rosa might be willing to spill it, she didn't want  to have this conversation with his mother before having it with Sebastian himself.  

They spent the rest of their coffee date imagining which of the band's songs they  would want released on the album, or if they'd make Sebastian write new ones. They  speculated when they are going to whisk him away from home and for how long. The  coffee did nothing but add to the buzzing in Charlie's veins.At home, she relayed the results of the day to her parents and her sister who  were all watching Wheel of Fortune. Chances were they watched the contest. They saw  everything already. They heard everything. If they were any the wiser, they didn't show  it, instead demonstrating appropriate levels of excitement. She excused herself and  went upstairs to reflect on the afternoon.  

Charlie headed to her dresser, pulling out a well used pair of sweats and a grey  t-shirt. It was tattered and worn, it was his.  

She changed, slumped down into a heap in her chair and began to run a brush  through her hair, not caring that it was yanking knots out cruelly. The pain was a small  distraction. She was in mid-wince when her door opened.   

Longest day of Sebastian's life. He pushed the door open to find Charlie curled in her  Papasan chair, using her hairbrush as an assault weapon. "That looks like it hurts," he  said.  

She remained looking at the floor. "It does hurt."  

He shuffled closer and placed his hand over hers so she'd stop the hair brutality.  

"Then you should stop doing it, no?"  

"Probably." She set the brush down and looked up at him.  

Sebastian held out his arms, remembering what she felt like wrapped around  him. "Come here. I hardly saw you today."  

She stood and moved over to him, head-down. Her arms circled his waist and  she placed her cheek on the left side of his chest. "I know, if you didn't just win a record  deal, I'd say today sucked." He didn't need to see her face to tell she was pouting.  

"Me too," he whispered as he pulled away. "You need to get dressed, 'kay?"  

"No way. I want to stay in my pajamas, throw on a movie and eat popcorn till I  explode."  

"Get dressed," he repeated. "My mom wants to take all of us out for a  celebration dinner. I kind of have to be there."  

"But it's like nine o clock!" she objected. 

"Seven. On a Saturday and did you eat yet?"  

Charlie shook her head.  

"Did you at least take your pill?"  

Her eyes darted to the bottle of iron supplements prescribed for her anemia  sitting on the bedside table and she nodded.  

"Well you still need to eat. Get dressed. I'll be outside."  

He stretched out on the only chair that sat on the balcony, a lounger. The damn  space was miniscule and the only thing that fit was the chair and a potted plant. It  could do without the plant. He looked up at Charlie when she stepped out and thought  if he never saw anyone else's face again, he'd be happy.  

He inhaled and ran a hand through his hair. This was it. There was no going  back. He had to tell her. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her to  him. "Come here. That was some day huh?"  

She sat on his lap and curled herself against him. To the two of them it should  have been perfectly normal, only it hadn't actually been normal since he'd started  feeling this way about her, and after today, it most definitely wasn't normal now.  "You can say that again."  

"That was some day, huh?" He teased.  

Any other time, that would've earned him a punch in the arm, but she  seemed...sad. His smile faded and he swallowed the lump lodged in his throat. He  could do this. "I need to ask you something." His voice dipped to just above a whisper.  

She bit her lower lip and looked at the wrist cuff on his arm. "What's that?" 

"Well, my song, what did you think about it?" He tightened his grip on her  wrist, bracing himself for her response.  

She huffed and paused. "It was great, one of your best." 

Sebastian's heart pumped harder as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it  with slow deliberation. "That's good. That's really good. I wrote it for you."  

Her mouth dropped and she gave him a blank expression.  

"You're surprised?"  

"Yes. You wrote that for me?"  

"Every single word."  

She opened her mouth to reply, he hoped with a declaration that the feeling was  mutual, but they were interrupted by a knock at the door.  

"What?" Charlie shouted, making no attempt at all to hide the irritation in her  voice.  

"Mom and Dad and Sebastian's mom are waiting," her sister, Devin said. "Hurry  up, I'm starving."  

"We're all going?"  

How was that for crap timing? He shrugged and pushed her up off his lap...  

"Sorry, I guess so."  

"Seb, wait, we need to talk about this." Her hand pressed his chest, trying to stop  him.  

He moved it. "We do, but not when my mom and Devin are hungry. Listen, the  sooner we go, the sooner we get back and the sooner we can talk about it."  

She twisted her hair around her finger and scowled. "Seb, this is kind of  important."  

"I know. Believe me, I know. Don't worry okay, I promise we'll talk about it all  night long if you want to, let's just get this over with." He pulled her to the door and  put her protests to an end.