"The next song is Replay, by Iyaz..." Jay smiled and said, it was already the 13th song he was singing tonight. His cheeks had heated up thanks to the excitement and he had started sweating even with his high physically-related stats but he was having so much fun he couldn't be bothered.
"... Na na na na everyday
Like my iPod' stuck on replay
Replay."
He finished, and just like his previous times, was greeted with unending cheers, whistles and hearty applause.
"Thank you, thank you everyone. I still have one more song for you guys before we wrap up..." he begun but was cut off by boos and jeers.
"Don't stop! We'll stay here all night!"
"JAYYY!"
"MORE!!"
Jay grinned and took a sip of water from the plastic bottle at his feet.
"Sorry guys, this will be tonight's last one. But before that, please give a warm round of applause to The LightRisers!" he yelled and started clapping as well while the members greeted the audience by either waving or nodding smilingly.
"And one more person, Kasim! Get out here!" he joyfully shouted and the guy came out grinning. "This is Kasim," Jay continued, "He's been staying backstage this entire time since he's in charge of the speakers and the light, please give him a round of applause everyone!"
And they did, they cheered for him so much the big guy started blushing and fidgeting and Jay couldn't help but laugh in glee. He patted his friend on the shoulder and whispered, "How does it feel? Not bad huh?"
Kasim grinned and gave him a bear-hug, "Thanks bro. I'm going back, show 'em what you got!" he said before leaving.
Jay waited for the crowd to quiet down, before he continued, "The next and last song, is an original. Some of you probably know that I recently woke up from a 6 year long coma. That's right, I'm that kid. And ever since I woke up, there have been people treating me with gloves on, my family and friends included. I wrote two original songs since then, one of which is about closure and is available on my YouTube channel since I won't be singing it tonight."
Hushed whispers had started spreading and he could see the reckoning on some people's faces when he had mentioned the coma.
"For those of you who would like the link to my channel," he began before looking towards someone on the side on the stage and grinning, "I was told Principal Higgins would make it available on the school's website."
That was, of course a lie. But he had made such an open announcement, and judging by the frenzied crowd, if Higgins didn't abide by it, she would have it hard. This was his little revenge for her cornering him in her office.
Jay turned back to the crowd, "The song I will sing tonight, is an empowering song. It's about believing in yourself and proving to your loved ones that you're okay. That you're alright. That you don't need to be monitored and babysitted. That you're no different from any other teenager in the world. This... is my fight song." he said and nodded to the band behind him.
The beat started and he began to sing:
"Like a small boat
On the ocean
Sending big waves
Into motion
Like how a single word
Can make a heart open
I might only have one match
But I can make an explosion..."
"And all those things I didn't say
Wrecking balls inside my brain
I will scream them loud tonight
Can you hear my voice this time?"
"This is my fight song
Take back my life song
Prove I'm alright song
My power's turned on
Starting right now I'll be strong
I'll play my fight song
And I don't really care if nobody else believes
'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me."
"Dyed my hair and I'm different now
Everybody's worried about me
In too deep
Say I'm in too deep (in too deep)
And it's been six years I missed my home
But there's a fire burning in my bones
Still believe
Yeah, I still believe..."
[...]
"And I don't really care if nobody else believes
'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me
Know I've still got a lot of fight left in me..."
He exhaled and the song came to a stop along with his guitar's final note.
That's when things got a little crazy, people started clapping and hitting the ground with their feet really loudly and chanting his name "JAY, JAY" over and over again.
Man did that feel good, he thought as he waved one last time before heading backstage.
***
Jay's family and friends made their way through the cheering crowd with difficulty before they managed to reach the stage he'd been singing on.
They circled back and when they saw Kasim, descended on him like a bunch of hyenas.
"Where is he?"
"You knew?"
Jay who'd been discussing with The LightRisers while packing his guitar couldn't help but smile in amusement. Kasim was so flustered he started speaking Arabic and so Jay decided it was time he stepped up.
"Leave him alone, I asked him to keep it a secret." he said.
"Jay!!" Lou wanted to go to him but Leah and Em got there first.
"You sing?" they said in unison.
"I do."
"Why... no, how... argh! Why didn't you tell us?!" Em felt stifled.
"I'm telling you now, aren't I?" he smiled to them both before picking Lou up from his father's embrace.
"Jay, you're here." she said with her eyes red, she looked about to cry.
"I'm here baby," he kissed her cheeks, "Did you enjoy the concert?"
She nodded her head furiously at that, "It was... it was so good. Jay you're aweschome!" she bit her tongue and blushed in embarrassment.
Helen laughed and hugged her son, "You were so amazing baby, I never knew you could sing like that!" then she slapped his shoulder and gave him the evil eye, "And when did you start playing the guitar?"
Lee grinned and followed in her steps, "That last song was amazing, I'm really proud of you, son."
Em and Leah glanced at each other then at some of the school's girls who were making their way here in a hurry and their faces sank.
"Aunt Helen, it's getting late and Jay is probably tired, why don't we all start heading back now?" Leah suggested.
Lisa raised her eyebrows at that, "I thought you and Emily were going to Amy Brooks' party?"
"No! No one is going, we're just gonna go home and sleep. Sleep is the way to go, it's so good for your body, let's go, come on, move it people!" Em hastily said before dragging them all away, and she only let out the breath she was holding when everyone was back in their respective cars and on their way home.
She turned to Leah who was sitting next to her, and blurted out a "we're screwed", something that her friend couldn't have agreed more on...
Meanwhile in the Aslan's car.
"How does it feel to have your own bodyguards?" Helen teased.
"It has its perks I guess." Jay laughed.
"Me too! I'll… help...!" Lou suddenly said with puffed up cheeks, "Emily and Leah said… They said that, hm… if someone weird comes near Jay I… I should start crying and they'd go away."
"... A security alarm?" Lee wondered out loud and Jay chortled before kissing the little angel.
He was really happy. No one could understand the thrill he had felt facing the crowd of people, it's something he would never forget. In the past he had been forced to give up on his dream, but this time...
He took a look at his system's logs:
[MISSION: "Get the approval of more than 80% of the crowd" accomplished! Rewarded, 500 EXP.]
He secretly clenched his fists. No one would stop him from reaching the top. No one.
***
October 19th 2010.
School the next day was crazy. Even Em and Leah's influence couldn't have stopped people from approaching him left and right.
Oh, and there were also the senior girls now. Apparently some of them had decided that his status as a lowly sophomore wasn't a problem anymore.
Amy was probably the most brazen. She had simply dropped on his lap during lunch and written her number on the inside of his palm, before kissing his cheek and strutting away.
An overall situation that had, some of his friends, fuming.
"Unbelievable." Em looked at the throngs of girls throwing themselves at her best friend and snorted.
"Maybe I should date one of them, so the others back off." Jay teased.
"Whatever, serves you right for keeping us in the dark." Em stated.
Leah laughed, "Jealous?"
"Why would I be jealous of him? I can't be happy enough."
"That's not what I meant." Leah wriggled her eyebrows at her friend who burst out laughing.
"You know what, you don't need to date anyone to keep them at bay." she stood up and sat on one of his knees and grinned at Leah who chuckled and did the same with the remaining one.
"... Girls, I don't think that's a good idea." Jay calmly answered.
"Sure it is, look they're staring." his friends laughed, seemingly oblivious to the situation.
He was ashamed to report that something in his nether region started stirring, so he decided to do something about it.
He pinched their butts, hard.
"Ouch!" "Jay!" they got off his lap and complained.
"Hey, you two, do you still see me as a 9 year old?"
"What? I thought we were past that…" Leah grimaced while massaging her butt.
"Right. In other words, you chose to purposefully sit on the lap of a guy you considered an able teenager?" he said with raised eyebrows.
That got their attention, and they diverted their eyes to his crotch for a second before looking away in shame.
"That…" "Sorry…" they apologized.
"Just keep it in mind." he said, flinging his arms across their shoulders and whispering, "Because next time this happens, I won't just pinch you."
They had the decency to blush, and he chose this moment to make his escape.
That was close, he thought as he scampered away with the most dignity he could muster.
High school girls were dangerous.
***
October 20th 2010.
Viral. The video of the homecoming concert had gone completely viral.
He had gotten a copy from the school's cameramen who had been projecting it on the huge screen, and had uploaded it to his channel.
540,673 views after two days and still counting. His YouTube subscribers had broken through 30,000, and the Twitter account he had created after the concert had gained roughly 5k followers.
He knew he would get some attention, but he had no idea it would be this much. It felt like a match had been thrown into a gasoline tank. It was just that crazy.
The comments ranged from both sides of the thermometer, some were hot, some were cold. But he surprisingly received more praises than hate, which was good, he figured.
He dropped on his bed with his phone in hand and started scrolling through his Twitter mentions with a smile, when his phone rang.
He frowned when he didn't recognized the number, and hesitated before answering.
"Hello?"
"Jay Aslan?" a woman asked.
His frown deepened, it obviously wasn't a dialing error if she knew his name.
"Speaking. And you are?..."
"It's Carmen Cuba."
***
Los Angeles, a few hours prior to the phone call.
Carmen Cuba was at her house, hanging out with her friend and mentor Mindy Marin.
Mindy was also a casting director, but lately things weren't looking good.
"I just can't believe this is happening to me," the woman complained to Carmen. "More than 20 years on this job and it's the first time an actor has bailed on me. The worst part is that we were so close to completion." she sighed and took a sip of the red wine from the glass she'd been holding.
"That really sucks." Carmen offered sympathetically, before going back to checking YouTube with the laptop propped on her lap. She had a habit of watching trending movie trailers.
"Tell me, how do I actually found someone to replace him? He needs to be young, and sexy, and if I don't choose from the celebrities' pool then he also needs to be charismatic enough to hold his own in front of Steve and the others." Mindy said, she was at her wit's end.
Carmen was about to say something but froze when she noticed one of the trending videos and hastily clicked on it. She wasn't wearing any kind of earpiece so the sound blasted off her speakers.
"Seriously? You haven't even been listening have you?" Mindy rolled her eyes at her friend.
"Shhh! Let me listen to this." Carmen shushed her.
Mindy raised an eyebrow at that and got up to sit next to her. She looked at the screen and saw a young man with white hair in simple jeans and a t-shirt. His top was tightly clinging to his skin thanks to his sweat, and the outline of his muscles underneath left nothing for the imagination. The contrast between his alluring body and childish smile would probably send the majority of American women into a rushing swoon.
Mindy blinked at the screen for a second before blurting out, "Him. It has to be him."