Important notice for the chapter: For the purpose of this chapter, take the bracketed passages as imaginary scenes while you listen to the song. The scene will be written first, followed by the lyrics. So, the lyrics that come after a scene are the lyrics for that particular scene.
There will be three types of scenes. "Present time" scenes and 2 different "Flashback" scenes. Present time scenes will be (Bolded). Flashback scenes will be Bolded and Italicized. The flashback scenes are both a recent memory flashback (Scenes where Luke is alone), and also a flashback from a long time ago (scenes with Wanda).
Carter Ryan is a RELATIVELY indie singer-songwriter. As I already know the lyrics of this newly released song by heart, I can skip reading the lyrics, and therefore I can focus straight into imagining the scenes.
For those who are listening to the song for the first time, it might be harder to multitask reading the lyrics and imagining the scene without pausing the song. So I'd suggest you just skip the lyrics first and go straight into imagining the scenes while listening to the song.
Alternatively, you can read ALL the scenes first, and then play the song once you get the scenes in your mind so you can focus on the lyrics with the scene in the background as it is still fresh off your mind.
'Inner dialogue/thoughts'
"Normal dialogue"
[System]
[Diary entries]
(Word count: 2,258)
~ Later that morning with Natasha, in the Peach Blossom Cafe ~
Walking into the cafe, Natasha was met with the sight of Linda and Eve preparing the cafe floor for the day, while Adam was preparing the counter. Natasha greeted both the ladies as she walked past them and sat by the counter.
Today was the first time that Natasha had come into the cafe before opening hours. As she was a part-time employee, her working hours were normally during the peak periods until closing.
However, Natasha was feeling particularly radiant and joyful, as the night prior she had finally breached a barrier between herself and Luke. She had revealed her actual job occupation as an Agent of SHIELD and had also come clean with the reason why she had approached Luke initially.
Moreover, Natasha was more than relieved when Luke reassured her that everything they had gone through would not be affected by the revelations. Instead, it would only bring them closer together since Luke got to know more about the real Natasha Alianovna Romanova.
Not seeing the rest of the non-kitchen staff, Natasha voiced a question aloud, "By the way, where are the rest of them? Crystal's been telling me for the longest time now that I should come to the cafe before opening hours. Yet here I am, and she is nowhere to be found."
"Ah, they're in Luke's office upstairs. You may not know this, but some days, Luke would be playing music for us before we open. It's his way to get us settled and ready for the busy day ahead." Eve answered.
"Crystal is usually the one to draw the lots to decide who gets to listen and who has to prepare the cafe for the opening hours, and for today both me and Eve got the short end of the stick. But I swear, Crystal's cheating since she's never lost a spot since the start!" Linda added before exclaiming towards the end.
"Oh sweetie, we all know she cheats. But she's just too adorable for us to say anything about it. And be honest, would you guys really dare to upset Crystal?" Eve asked inquisitively.
Looking at each other, both Natasha and Linda had a look of understanding on their faces as they answered simultaneously, "Point taken." / "No, I would not."
The trio then chuckled before Natasha cheekily spoke to Linda, "Well as I'm just a part-timer, I'll go ahead and take a rest upstairs until it's time for opening." Seeing the smirk on Natasha's lips, Linda's jaws hung open as she watched Natasha walk away.
"YOU TRAITOR!" Linda yelled out as Natasha left her view.
~ At the same time with Luke, in his office in the cafe ~
(ending outro)
♬♪ I guess Peter Pan was right. Growing up's a waste of time. So I think I'll fly away, set a course for brighter days. ♬♪
♬♪ Find the second star I'm soarin'. And then straight onto the morn'. And I know that I'll be fine. 'Cause I know Peter Pan was right. ♬♪
A round of applause came from the audience as soon as Luke ended the song. Among the audience members were Crystal, April and Pepper.
Crystal, whose head was resting on April's lap, immediately rose up to make a demand. "One moar! One moar please!" However, instead of a demand, it came out more as a cute request.
"Crystal, Luke's already performed three songs for us. We should probably let him take a break, don't you think?" April said softly, not wanting to disappoint Crystal.
Hearing this, Crystal turned to face April and gave her the greatest puppy dog eye that could have ever existed. "But it's just one more, I promise I'll go straight back to work after one more. Pretty pleaseee!"
'How is she doing that.' Luke wondered. 'This isn't a fictional world. So, how is Crystal's eyes getting bigger and shinier! And how is there a shiny backdrop to go along with it!'
Suddenly, Luke felt a presence walking towards the room. Just as April was about to buckle under Crystal's unstoppable onslaught, the occupants of the room were interrupted by a sudden knock on the office door.
"Hey Luke, it's Nat. Can I come in?" Natasha's voice sounded out from behind the door.
"NAT!" Before anyone could reply, Crystal's eyes lit up as she exclaimed in excitement. Making her move in the blink of an eye, Crystal opened the door and immediately dragged Natasha into the room.
'NO SERIOUSLY, HOW THE HELL IS SHE DOING THIS?!' Luke wondered incredulously.
"You've finally came before opening hours! Took you long enough!" Crystal chided jokingly.
"Yeah, I thought I'd drop by earlier today since you kept badgering me to come early. Even when I ask why, you just kept saying 'It is a surprise so I can't spoil it for you'. Well, imagine my surprise when Eve tells me that Luke performs some songs for you guys on some days before opening!" Natasha started.
"And you, Pup, decided it would be better to not tell me about this? If I had known, I would've come early from the start." Natasha said as she pinched the cheeks of Crystal. Despite that, Crystal maintained a mischievous look throughout the ordeal.
'Oh, I have an idea on how I can raise Natasha's trust value. It's time to pull on some emotional strings.' Luke mused to himself.
"Alright, since this is Nat's first time coming this early, I guess I'll play one more song." Luke agreed to Crystal's earlier request.
"Yes!" Crystal gleefully shouted as she dragged Natasha to sit at one of the bean bags sprawled on the ground. On the other hand, April and Pepper watched on in amusement at Crystal's behaviour.
Seeing that all four of his audience members had gotten themselves into a comfortable position, Luke began playing a melody on the piano.
~ Another Life by Carter Ryan ~
(Luke, whose face is buried with sadness and sorrow, sat alone on an empty bed. In his hand, he held a picture frame containing a photograph of him and an auburn-haired woman.)
♬♪ It's four AM. I've been staring at these pictures once again. Hoping they'll come back to life. ♬♪
♬♪ I know I said. I've been coping doing alright since you left. But the truth is that I lied. ♬♪
Suddenly, all four ladies found themselves in a dream-like state. In this state, images flashed before their eyes like a movie being played out.
'That's Wanda!' Natasha was shocked at seeing who the woman was. She was the only one among the four who recognized the lady to be Wanda Maximoff.
(Luke is speeding along an empty highway in a car. His eyes on the verge of shedding tears as the scenery around him blurred.)
♬♪ I don't know how to live my life without you. I try to move on but I don't know how to. I don't wanna do this all alone. I swear to God if I could call your phone, I'd say. ♬♪
(Luke and Wanda, hand in hand, are walking along the shoreline of a beach during the evening hours. Wanda starts splashing water onto Luke, who responded in kind by carrying Wanda by her waist and twirling her around.)
♬♪ We'll take my car and drive all night. Leave all your demons far behind. Watch the sunrise one more time. Maybe in Another Life. ♬♪
(Luke and Wanda are now sat on the sand just before the shoreline, making idle chatter. Wanda's head rested on Luke's shoulder as she side-hugged one of Lukes arms.)
♬♪ I'll tell you all I never did. Maybe those drugs would never win. You'd still be standing by my side. ♬♪
(Back to Luke in the car on the highway, this time Luke's face had streaks of tears flowing down his eyes.)
♬♪ Maybe in Another Life. ♬♪
Unknown to Luke, Natasha was the only one in the audience who currently did not have tears trailing silently down her cheeks.
(Luke and Wanda are standing before a tombstone, with Wanda feeling overwhelmed and in tears. Luke, embracing her from the side, stood tall and acted as the pillar of support for Wanda in her time of grief.)
♬♪ I wish I knew, all the pain and all the darkness in your head. And it fills me with regret. ♬♪
(Now Luke is drenched in the rain, standing before two tombstones placed side by side. His hands were clenched, an attempt by Luke to prevent himself from crying.)
♬♪ And if it's true, that we're gonna see each other once again. I'll keep waiting till the end. ♬♪
'Luke. . .' Natasha thought, feeling sorrowful for Luke's loss.
(Luke is screaming in the car as he drives recklessly in the pouring rain. He slams his palms onto the steering wheel, venting his bottled emotions.)
♬♪ Cause I don't know how to live my life without you. I try to move on but I don't know how to. I don't wanna do this all alone. I swear to God if I could call your phone, I'd say. ♬♪
(Wanda just revealed to Luke that she was pregnant with his child. Luke's kisses Wanda and hugs her, before once again carrying her in a bear hug as he exclaimed in joy that he was going to be a father)
♬♪ We'll take my car and drive all night. Leave all your demons far behind. Watch the sunrise one more time. Maybe in Another Life. ♬♪
(Wanda and Luke are re-decorating a room into a nursery. Wanda looks to be a few months before she was due, as both Wanda and Luke had smiles plastered on their faces as they painted the walls of the new nursery.)
♬♪ I'll tell you all I never did. Maybe those drugs would never win. You'd still be standing by my side. Maybe in Another Life. ♬♪
(Luke is parked at the entrance carpark of the cemetery. He is seated with his hands gripping on the steering wheel, trying to muster the courage to do what he was about to.)
♬♪ Another life. Another life. You'd still be standing by my side. ♬♪
(Wanda and Luke are in bed. A pregnant Wanda is sleeping on her side, as Luke cuddled her from behind. Wanda whispers to Luke "I love you", after which the 'camera' zooms to Luke's hand, currently caressing Wanda's belly as Wanda's own hand is placed above Luke's.)
♬♪ We'll take my car and drive all night. Leave all your demons far behind. Watch the sunrise one more time. Maybe in Another Life. ♬♪
(Scene starts zoomed in on Luke's hand, and slowly expands outwards to show that Luke is standing in the cemetery.)
♬♪ I'll tell you all I never did. Maybe those drugs would never win. You'd still be standing by my side. ♬♪
(The 'camera' slowly rotates 180° around Luke to show Luke's back as he stood before the two tombstone from earlier.)
♬♪ Maybe in Another Life. Another life. Another life. ♬♪
(Frame by frame overlapping flashbacks of various moments between Luke and Wanda start appearing; from how they met, to the first kiss, to the first date, to the first time they said 'I love you', to Luke's proposal, to the wedding day and up till the day Wanda told Luke of her pregnancy.)
♬♪ You'd still be standing by my side. ♬♪
(The 'camera' zooms out further, showing another smaller tombstone in between the two larger tombstones.)
♬♪ Maybe in Another Life. ♬♪
~ End of Another Life ~
Natasha noticed that Luke ended the song in a whisper, as if speaking to another person not currently in the room. As Luke turned to face his audience, he saw every one of them, even Natasha, had tears trickling down their faces due to his performance.
Landing his eyes on Crystal, Luke understood that the song had affected Crystal the most. In response to this, Luke simply spread his arms open, at which Crystal launched herself as she allowed her tears to leave a stain on Luke's clothing. Luke could only make soothing sounds and rubbed Crystal's back in an attempt to calm her emotions.
The trio of April, Pepper and Natasha, sat still in their positions, quietly watching Crystal release her emotions in Luke's embrace. They knew that Crystal was the most emotional one among all those currently in the room.
"Shhh, it's okay Crystal. Let it out." Luke whispered.
~ A few minutes later ~
Seeing as Crystal was finally beginning to calm down, the other 3 audience members then moved in for a group hug.
- End of Chapter 50 -
Next time in *C51 - First contact with a Messenger!
A moment of silence filled the room at the death of Carlos. Seeing their newest recruit fall so easily, Flint immediately commanded "OPEN FIRE!"
.
.
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The creature twisted Jenkin's arm, a pronounced snapping sound filling the air, before biting down on her neck. Jenkins' screams were cut short, replaced by a gurgling choke as blood poured from the wound.
Please leave a comment and let me know if you prefer C50 template of the song (adding scenes to pair with the song), or C25 template (adding character reactions to pair with the song)!