A/N: The part in brackets when Adonis is singing is done by the backup singer.
***
Cal stepped into the Cove's grand dining room. It was a nice place. The walls, tables, counters, chairs, and floor were plated with gold and reflected the warm amber light from the rows of glass chandeliers above their heads. Two bartenders in tuxedos worked behind a counter to the right of the room. A mass of elderly, yet affluent people filled the tables and chairs. They wore clothes that were unmarked by time as if they had only been worn once or twice— exquisite and colorful tuxedoes, or dresses in the women's cases. A few young people were hanging around as well.
Cal felt their eyes on him. They glared as if they knew he didn't belong there. Like they knew he had worn the same grey double-breasted jacket and matching trousers a hundred times before. Like they knew he didn't have different clothes for each day of the week. And like they knew he came from a village where people shat in outhouses and lived in small tents.
He chose to ignore them. He wasn't there for them, so he paid no attention to their stares and watched the stage as Adonis and his band prepared to play. Adonis tested the microphone that was looped around his ear and curved near his lips. He said, "Mike, can we increase the volume a bit? Also, my voice sounds weird, can you make it clearer?"
A man near the back of the room was standing behind a holographic screen that showed fluctuating sound levels, dials, and switches of all sorts. He was bald and dressed in a black shirt and jeans. He was slim running on fat with the beginnings of a potbelly, but his arms were buff. He gave Adonis a thumbs up. "Should be good now."
Adonis said, "Thanks."
It wasn't long before someone approached Cal. A young waiter with short, brown hair walked over to him with a tray of margaritas. He spoke quietly so they wouldn't be overheard, "Sorry, sir, but I'll have to ask you to leave. This dinner is only for our club members and their guests." Behind him, two robust security guards were walking over. Cal tensed for the confrontation; his fingers balling into a fist.
On stage, Adonis had been going over some warmups with his small band, which consisted of him, a drummer and a pianist; the latter two looked like they were in their fifties. Adonis looked great, a striking figure that the audience watched with lust-filled eyes.
Cal would have chuckled at the scene, but one of the guards held his shoulder as Adonis played a tune on his lead guitar. The band still had another five minutes till the event started, but Adonis spoke, his voice coming through the speakers carried authority, "Sorry, Teddy, that guy is with me. Don't give him a hard time, alright?"
The guard who Cal guessed was named Teddy was built like a lumberjack and had a thick, curly beard. He didn't look like a teddy at all. He smiled and apologized to Cal. "No offense, man. Got to take precautions, right?" the burly guy said with a smile.
Cal nodded.
The waiter stared intently at Cal. Unable to hide his displeasure at having Cal in their establishment, he scowled and walked over to a lady with a wide-brimmed straw hat and asked if she wanted a drink.
After the guards ascertained that Cal was no threat, they slapped his back cheerfully like they were comrades and went back to their posts. Cal's back stung, but he kept the pain off his face. Adonis smiled at him. He returned the smile. The attendees were now regarding him with curiosity instead of distaste. Adonis had basically announced that Cal was his date. Either cops would show up and arrest him on false sex charges, or no one would mind them. And since Adonis seemed to know the staff and so many people had gathered to hear him sing, Cal guessed it was the latter. It was rare to see gay-friendly places. This must be a safe haven for Adonis.
Adonis beamed and proudly told Cal, "Sit near the front. You are my guest; you get a front-row seat."
Cal bowed playfully and did as instructed, sitting at an empty table near the stage. Adonis adjusted the strap of his electric guitar, face tight with concentration. He wore a white T-shirt with torn sleeves and jeans. Adonis sported a white headband that he had tied at the back of his head; the two ends disappeared behind his shoulders. Cal thought Adonis looked ridiculous, but Adonis' confidence made him appear more attractive than usual.
As time ticked down, Cal felt nervous for Adonis. Adonis had invited him out, saying that the food was excellent and that singing was a hobby—Adonis had said that he would show Cal that even though he was a pain in the ass, he had things that he was good at.
Cal wasn't expecting anything much, but the venue was impressive though he suspected that Adonis had lied about his age. No place this extravagant would hire a fourteen-year-old to perform; he hoped Adonis didn't completely embarrass himself.
Adonis addressed the audience, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We are Midnight Crush, you know our names, so I won't bore you with them. Let's get to the singing. Rob...." Adonis nodded at the drummer.
The guy with stubble lining his jaw grinned and hit things off with a slow, steady, bass rhythm.
Adonis' face changed, becoming more alluring under the glow of the bright lights. His lips parting to breathe in a way that made the ladies in the room shriek from excitement. Some of the guys grunted in response. Cal held in his laughter. All he saw was the lazy boy that lay in bed all day. Adonis' guitar kept the tempo set by the drums. Though he expected nothing, he had to admit that Adonis had a beautiful tenor as he sang. He started with a thrilling shout, then returned to normal volume:
"Hey! I'm doing it all for us
Dad ain't home
I got to be the man
Fighting for loved ones
But always getting beaten up (Knocked out)
Always working like a slave
Night ain't for sleeping
I'm tired to my bones
(Riot) (Riot)
System's got me hurtin'
Feeling like a shit show
(Shit show)
Everybody's watching me go crazy
Got my head in the clouds
Feel like I'm floating
(Floating off the ground)"
A waitress brought Cal a can of coke, a bowl of poutine, a bowl of buffalo chicken wings, and a plate of risotto. They were his favorites, but he rarely got them since eating out was expensive. The girl smiled and said, "From the gentleman on stage."
"Thanks." Cal chuckled and shook his head at Adonis' showing off.
The girl retreated towards the black door that led to the kitchen. Cal was mesmerized by the singing. Adonis was very talented. If he settled down and worked hard, he could become a famous celebrity. The backup singer's deep voice alongside the piano's melody only added to the majesty of the whole performance. Cal could relate to having to step up and work before he was ready, because his father had left when he was young. He had been helping his mom since he was ten years old.
Adonis continued,
"Hey!
The pianist played a descending staccato measure.
Adonis sang:
"I'm doing it all for us (mother, brother)
Sacrifice my freedom
Working hard to get paid
(Never gonna sleep, no)
Gonna change my hand
I'm fighting for the future
Best comes from rebellion
I won't give up, no
I'm Fighting till I make myself a king
And everyone knows not to fuck with me
Because I ain't gonna let them win."
The audience applauded. With the electric guitar and piano, and the echo provided by the backup singer; the piece sounded great.
Adonis sang another ten songs, some of them he danced to. He moonwalked across the stage, spun, and did fancy footwork much to the thrill of the audience. When it was over, he said goodnight and exited the stage, getting loud cheers and some standing ovations from the audience. He jogged down the steps and took the seat across from Cal, breathless. A sheen of sweat covered his light brown skin. Adonis leaned against his chair, removing his headband then said, "Well, that went better than yesterday's rehearsal."
"Yeah, you were pretty good out there."
Adonis winked and said, "Thanks. Not so bad to go on dates with me, is it?"
Cal reminded himself that he was straight as adonis held up a glass of apple juice. Cal did the same and said, "No, I guess not." They tapped glasses and sipped their drinks. Adonis was the one person he had pretend-dated twice so far. He wondered if he should get a girlfriend to dispel any notions of him being gay, but a part of him felt it wouldn't change people's perceptions of him. Cal and Adonis were good friends, but others might think they were more than that, and Adonis definitely knew how to cause misunderstandings.
The boy was different than the people Cal had worked for before. Adonis cared for him and treated him like an equal, albeit Cal cooked and fixed things around the house, but he got the feeling that Adonis didn't seem him as someone beneath him.
They shared a moment of comfortable silence.
A man walked over to the table. He was tall and strapping, seemingly ready to burst out of his tight black suit. His short black hair was gelled into spikes. He smoothed his black tie as he walked over to them. He dropped an envelope on the table near Adonis and said, "Pay for tonight and some tips collected from the audience."
Thanks.
Adonis pocketed the envelope.
The man leaned close to Adonis, placing an arm on the table in a manner that Cal found threatening. Cal tensed to fight. The man said, "Some soldiers were asking about you."
Adonis stiffened and asked, "About my sexuality?"
"No, they just asked if I knew that you were a minor. I said 'no', but I have known for a while— Look at this hairless face" He squeezed Adonis' naked cheeks playfully, then turned serious again and said, "But you're not officially on our payroll, so it was easy for me to tell them you don't work for us, and that you just come in and sing every now and again." He rubbed his chin distractedly. "But they also asked if you displayed any antigovernment sentiments. I said, 'No' but—" He clucked his tongue and let Adonis fill in the rest.
Some of the songs that Adonis had sung called people to rebel against the iron hand that governed their society.
Adonis smiled. "Thanks for giving me a head's up, Mirtrum."
"No problem, we look out for our own, right?" Mirtrum squeezed Adonis' shoulder. "Be careful out there. Other people aren't as easygoing or as accepting as us."
"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind."
Adonis' expression darkened as Mirtrum strode towards the bar. He said, "I've got to make a call. Will you wait here?"
Adonis didn't wait for an answer and disappeared into the hall for a few minutes. When he returned, he was anxious; he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah." Adonis said, "I'm just having a hard time contacting someone."
"Why do you think the soldiers were asking about you? Did you break the law or somehing?"
"No." Adonis' gaze flickered to the left then back to Cal. "Not really."
"What do you mean by that?"
He muttered, "There's no way for them to know I did anything. I left no traces. No traces. Why are they...." Nervous, he bit his thumb, caught himself, and wiped it on a napkin.
"What did you do, Adonis?"
"Nothing." He avoided Cal's gaze.
"You clearly did something. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on."
"Fine.... Lean close to me."
Cal leaned across the table and so did Adonis. Adonis' warm breath caressed his ear as the boy spoke into it. Cal bet that from the side; it looked like Adonis was kissing his cheek. This was the second time he felt that he had accidentally played the role of Adonis' boyfriend, and he wondered if he liked the boy too much, and it clouded his judgement. Adonis asked, "Are you listening?"
"Sorry."
Adonis sighed and repeated himself, "You know the flier that fueled the #nokillRelar movement—the first one that was sent out with the boy kneeling while another player put the gun to his head? I made that."
Adonis sat back in his seat; his usually bright eyes were dark with worry. Cal reclaimed his chair as well as he digested the news. His employer had picked a fight with the government and had likely gotten caught.
Cal said, "But one stupid flier—" He stopped and fell silent. It was not stupid. By some hand of faith, it had spread like wildfire and inspired celebrities to stand up. Many people had called President Lanc a murderer because he had killed dozens during his season and had never been charged.
Relar's President Fidel had been called a money-hungry dog who cared more about views and sponsors than the players that fed his pockets. They were the two most prominent figures in their society. While they couldn't attack the celebrities openly out of fear of backlash, they could secretly go after the people that discredited them—especially the person that made the poster that started the whole thing.
Cal glanced at the slender boy in front of him. He had considered Adonis a weakling who did nothing but sleep all day. Tonight's performance and the confession about the poster had convinced him that he had been very wrong about Adonis. Unfortunately, Cal liked Adonis and wanted to protect him, so Cal couldn't abandon him although his boss' actions put him in danger.
Deep down, Cal admired Adonis for taking the risk because killing should have never been allowed in Relar in the first place.
Cal said, "Here's what we'll do. They don't know you did it, like you said, you left no traces. If they come after you, we'll get a lawyer and deny everything."
Adonis said, "I have tried to get Gregory, but he isn't answering. His parents won't let me inside his house. This was his plan, and I'm afraid everything's gone to shit. I think something happened to him." Adonis scratched his neck absentmindedly.
Cal was distracted by the mention of an unknown guy, but it didn't last for long, and he said, "Calm down; we don't know anything for sure. All we know is that some soldiers asked about you, but they haven't made any arrest. That probably means that they have nothing to hold you on."
Adonis raked his hand through his hair, the muscles of his jaw rippling as he gritted his teeth. He fell quiet for some time, then said, "I think I'm fucked. I think they might have tortured Gregory, and he might have spilled my name. If they are digging dirt on me, and I can't reach Gregory, and no one else can either. Maybe they already know everything. Maybe they're toying with me, and I'm living on borrowed time." His eyes showed his fear.
Cal said, "Hey, you need to calm down. Why don't we go home, Okay? Right now, you have got a lot of adrenaline from performing, and it's messing with your head. Sleep it off, and tomorrow,we'll make plans about what to do next."
He covered Adonis' hand with his. While Cal's hand was rough, Adonis' was soft like it had never seen a hard day's work. Cal gave it a small squeeze but Adonis continued to look defeated. Cal said, "You'll be okay, I promise."
***