by Sian Ceinwen
The Eighth Song
They’d gotten into a familiar pattern, and although they still had separate rooms, at nearly every new location, Ariana took her belongings straight up to Gabriel’s room and bypassed hers altogether, now.
She’d discovered that while some hotels were definitely nicer than others, they were all essentially the same, and most of the suites were along the lines of the one in New York, although the Four Seasons was the nicest they’d stayed in by far.
They were in Washington, DC, the day that Gabriel came into the hotel suite with a mischievous grin on his face after the soundcheck for that night’s concert.
“What have you done?” She faux-grilled him from her position on the bed.
“Nothing,” he said with a wink.
“Then why do you look like the cat that got the cream?” She asked while poking out her tongue at him.
“Because I did get the cream,” he said and jumped onto the bed next to her. He kissed her and held her next to him in a hug for about a minute, “the cream is you, right?”
“Ha-ha, very funny,” she said.
“I did something cool,” he told her with another grin.
“Care to elaborate?”
“I don’t know, you might get angry at me,” he said carefully, and Ariana sat upright, then turned to face him.
“What did you do?” She repeated in a more solemn tone.
“It’s nothing bad, I promise…”
“I repeat the question, what did you do? Just tell me,” she said exasperatedly.
“I wrote a song for you.” He looked concerned, as though she might honestly be angry at him.
“Really?” She was flattered and also curious; she wanted to hear it straight away, “will you play it for me?”
Sometimes he sang to her while playing an acoustic guitar that he traveled with. Although he didn’t play it on stage, he played it in his spare time.
“I’m going to sing it tonight, you’ll hear it then,” he grinned.
“Awwww, you’re not even going to give me a sneak preview?” She asked.
“Nope, not a chance. I’m going to need you in the Pit, though.”
“Can’t I watch from backstage?”
Ariana had been back into the Pit a few times with Heather since the first night they had watched the show from there together. As cool as it was seeing the show from up front, she much preferred the safety of being backstage, away from the fans salivating over her boyfriend and the nasty comments they often made towards her and Heather.
“I really want to sing it to you, not some random people in the audience,” he said sincerely.
This obviously meant a lot to him, and if this was the way that he wanted her to experience the song he’d written for her, she wouldn’t complain about the way he wanted that to happen.
“Okay, I can do that,” she smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss, “you know the girls in the front row are going to think you’re singing it to them anyway.”
“Let them,” he said and rolled over so that he was lying on top of her when he kissed her back.
That quickly ended the conversation as they indulged in one of their favorite joint pastimes. Your sex life was bound to be good when you’re young, in love, and spending hours and hours together in luxurious hotel rooms.
Not that Ariana had told him that she loved him yet. Every time she was going to, she didn’t have the guts to say it first, and he hadn’t told her either. It was so hard not to say it when they were being intimate.
She would look into his eyes during sex, and the words would sit there on the edge of her tongue, begging to be said, but she didn’t dare. Ariana thought that Gabriel was either falling for her or in love with her by the way he treated her, but until he said it first, she was keeping it to herself. Afterward, they got up and showered. First Gabriel showered, then Ariana showered, then Gabriel decided he should shower again with Ariana. She loved that he was so into her that he couldn’t get enough of her.
At the back of her brain, she still had those dark thoughts that one day he was going to tire of her, but as long as today wasn’t that day, she was happy.
Because of their extended shower time, they were running late to get ready for the concert. There was a knock at the door as Ariana was putting her top on, and Gabriel was pulling on his jeans.
Ariana glanced over to check that Gabriel was decent before walking to the door and opening it to find Heather and Harrison in the hallway.
“Hi, guys!” Gabriel said as he wandered out of the bedroom wearing only his jeans and with a T-shirt in his hands ready to pull over his head.
“Woo, Gabriel,” Heather said, “take it off!”
“Maybe if you two weren’t in the room, I would,” he said and gave a salacious wink at Ariana, who blushed.
“Come on, you two, we don’t have time for this,” Harrison commented while looking at his watch, “hurry up and get dressed, we’ve got to leave in five minutes.”
“Chill out, Harrison,” Gabriel said as he put his shoes on and started grabbing last-minute things he needed, “it’s not like they can start the show without us!”
“Very funny, but Cooper will be pissed if he finds out we were late to the show because you two couldn’t stop screwing for five seconds,” Harrison said with a wry smile.
Sebastian and Hayden had apparently already left for the venue, so they shared a van with Harrison and Heather to get there. Harrison and Gabriel were talking, so Ariana struck up a conversation with Heather.
“Gabriel wrote a song for me,” Ariana said by way of a conversation starter and with a grin on her face.
“I know,” Heather said with a wink.
“You know?” Ariana was saddened that she couldn’t be the one to break the news.
“Harrison told me, sorry, darling,” Heather pulled a face, “I hear it’s amazing, though.”
“Gabriel wouldn’t sing it to me,” Ariana sulked.
“And rightly so,” Gabriel said, interrupting their conversation, “it would spoil the surprise.”
“I tell you,” Ariana joked, “what on earth is the point in knowing the band if you don’t get sneak previews!”
“Oooh, oooh, I bet I can tell you the point!” Heather said before Gabriel could comment.
“Do tell,” Ariana indulged her.
“Well, there’s the limo rides, the hotels, and above all, the really great sex!”
Harrison seemed almost as embarrassed as Ariana was. She had gotten the impression from him in the past that he was a quiet person like herself. It seemed as though he balanced out Heather’s dynamic personality well.
They had reached the venue by now and pulled up, right by the back entrance. Heather and Ariana moved aside to let the guys out first. It was a tactic they employed whenever they saw that fans were waiting for them. By letting the guys out first, it allowed them to slip by relatively unnoticed.
“Will you come into the Pit with me tonight when Gabriel sings my song?” Ariana asked Heather.
“No, I’m afraid I can’t,” she answered, much to Ariana’s surprise.
“Oh, how come?”
“Gabriel asked me not to,” Heather informed her, and Ariana frowned.
“Why would he do that?”
“I can only assume it’s because he doesn’t want you to get embarrassed like you might if I was there,” Heather patted her on the arm, “you’ll be fine on your own.”
“How do you know?” Ariana was nervous at the thought of being in the Pit on her own for the first time.
“Harrison sang me a song during a gig once. It was a much smaller crowd in Chicago before they became really big. I was in the middle of the crowd, but he sang directly to me. It’s hard to be nervous or think about anything else, you’ll see.”
They had wandered backstage, and it was a flurry of excitement as it usually was before a show. Cruise Control wasn’t due on stage for over an hour. Heather and Ariana walked to Harrison’s dressing
room after getting directions from Cooper. Once they were inside and the door was closed behind them, Ariana spoke up about something she’d been wondering for a while.
“Do you think Cooper doesn’t like me?” She asked Heather, biting her lip.
“What? No, of course not, why do you ask?” Heather seemed surprised.
“He just seems to talk down to me a lot, and sometimes I get the feeling that he wishes that Gabriel and I weren’t together,” Ariana shrugged.
“Well, he’s the only one if that’s the case,” Heather assured her, “none of us have ever seen Gabriel this happy. We don’t ever want you to split up.”
She smiled at Ariana.
“Thanks, that’s reassuring, at least,” Ariana managed a smile.
“You’ve got to remember, though, that Cooper’s looking out for the best interests of the band, and as much as I hate to say it, you’re not in the best interest of the band.”
Ariana cringed, “ouch.”
“I know, it sounds harsh when I put it like that, but Gabriel is the face of the band, he’s the heartthrob. Ask eight out of ten fans who’s their favorite, and they’ll say, Gabriel. One will say Sebastian, and the other will say Hayden,” Heather smiled.
“What about Harrison, though!” Ariana was indignant on his behalf.
“That’s where I come in,” Heather explained, “everyone knows he has a long-term girlfriend, so he doesn’t get a look-in with most fans.”
“Poor Harrison,” Ariana laughed.
“Hey, not ‘poor Harrison.’ He’s got me, remember!”
They were still laughing when Harrison walked in.
“Speak of the devil. It’s Mister Zero Fans, himself,” said Heather as she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Hey, Harrison,” Ariana said.
“Do I even want to know?” He asked Ariana.
“Probably not,” she replied with a grin.
“Hello,” he said to Heather and gave her a kiss.
“I’ll leave you to it, shall I? Do you know where Gabriel is?” Ariana asked Harrison.
“Two doors that way,” Harrison jerked his thumb to the left side of the door.
“Thanks,” Ariana said as she walked to the door and opened it, “see you guys later.”
Ariana turned left and quickly found Gabriel’s room. She opened the door without knocking and saw Gabriel relaxing on the sofa with his head resting against the back of it, his eyes closed.
He looked so composed, Ariana knew she would be wound as tight as a spring if she were about to perform in front of thousands of people. He opened his eyes and looked at her, and, as usual, she felt electricity shoot through her body.
“How long do we have?” She asked him, and he glanced at a clock on the wall before answering.
“About fifteen minutes before I have to go prepare,” Ariana walked over to the sofa and sat down, astride him.
“When do you need me in the Pit?” She asked him, leaning forward to drop a kiss on his neck as she asked.
“I’ll get someone to come and get you,” he said and, putting his arms around her, pulled her closer to him, “or we could just skip the concert altogether and stay here forever.”
“That doesn’t sound like a terrible idea,” she laughed and pressed her lips to his.
He opened his mouth and their tongues intertwined as he rubbed his hands up and down her back. When the kiss ended, they were both panting.
“It probably is a terrible idea, though,” she said as she slid off his lap to sit next to him and indicated to his crotch with a wicked grin, “you should also probably try and sort that out before you walk on stage in front of thousands of fans.”
“Hey, they might like it!” He winked at her.
Ariana wasn’t particularly comfortable about the idea of the girls she knew were already fantasizing about him seeing him like that, but she didn’t say anything. She snuggled in next to him on the sofa, and they just sat in silence together. Ariana loved these moments together with him. Her favorite place in the world these days was in Gabriel’s arms.
The sex might be amazing, but it was the closeness with him that she enjoyed the most. They had private jokes that nobody else was in on, and times like this when they could just enjoy each other’s company were precious.
“Are you nervous about tonight?” She asked him.
“No more than usual, really, except for one particular song,” he told her.
“What song would that be?” A smile played at her lips.
“The one I’m singing to you, of course, and you know it,” Gabriel nudged her with his elbow.
“Do you think the crowd might not like it?” She wondered aloud.
“No, I’m almost certain they’ll love it. I just hope that you do, too,” he kissed her lightly on her lips.
“I’m sure I will,” she assured him with a smile.
“You’ll have to be honest with me if you don’t,” he told her, trying to be stern.
“Yes, sir,” she replied with a mock salute, and he laughed.
“Okay, I guess we’d better go,” he sighed, “I could just stay here with you for the next two hours instead, though, what do you think?”
“I think that you love performing and you’d regret it if you did. Plus, the other guys would be beating down the door as soon as you didn’t show, anyway.”
“You have a point,” he said and removed his arms from around her before standing up. “All right, let’s go.”
Ariana stood too and walked towards the door. Just as she was reaching her hand out to turn the handle, Gabriel’s arms made their way around her waist and pulled her back against him.
“Gabriel,” she said in a warning tone, “we don’t have time for this.”
“I know,” he said as he dipped his head and kissed her neck before turning her around to face him so he could claim her lips with his.
She couldn’t resist kissing him back, and they stood together, limbs tangled and exploring each other’s bodies longer than they should have.
“Okay, okay,” Gabriel said when he finally pulled away from her, “no time, let’s go. Try to look a little less sexy, would you?”
“I’ll do my best,” Ariana said as she opened the door and winked at him over her shoulder.
They headed towards the area just behind the stage, walking hand in hand. Hayden was already there, as was Cooper. Once again, Ariana had that feeling that he didn’t approve of her by the way he looked at their linked hands.
Ariana, feeling self-conscious, let go of Gabriel’s hand and walked over to sit down on a stool that was near the steps to the stage while Gabriel walked over to Hayden and began discussing the show.
A few minutes later, Heather and Harrison walked towards them trailed by Sebastian. The guys grouped up and started going through pre-show rituals while Heather walked over to stand next to Ariana.
“Do you want to sit down?” Ariana offered.
“No, darling, that’s okay. I’m fine standing,” Heather smiled kindly at her, “are you looking forward to the show?”
“Kind of, I’m nervous. What if I don’t like the song? Gabriel says I have to be honest. I really hope I like it!”
“Don’t worry about that, from what I’ve been told, the song is amazing—and besides it’s pretty hard not to like a song someone has written for you unless it starts off with ‘your hair looks like crap,’ ” Heather told her and Ariana burst out laughing.
“Well, okay, here’s hoping that’s not the first line, then.”
They laughed as they joined the circle. Sebastian gave the pep talk tonight, and everyone went their separate ways as the guys prepared to go onstage.
Gabriel came over and gave Ariana a hug before he headed on stage, as he walked out in front of the audience the screams were deafening.
Heather had gotten herself a stool and placed it next to Ariana’s. From where they were, they could see the band performing. They were singing one of
Ariana’s favorite songs, and she sang along with them, laughing and clapping. She and Heather were having a great time enjoying the concert together when one of the roadies tapped Ariana on the shoulder.
“It’s time to go,” he told her.
“Thanks,” she said and looked at Heather. “Wish me luck!”
“I’ll do no such thing; you don’t need it. Now go,” Heather smiled at her.
Ariana walked out of the safety of the backstage area and made her way past the masses into the Pit. She showed her pass to the security guard, who granted her access and found a stool set up in the center of the stage.
She caught Gabriel’s eye as he was singing, and he gave her a big grin. Ariana sat down on the stool and waited for the song they were singing to finish. When it did, the lights dimmed so that there was only a spotlight on Gabriel.
“I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight, you’re a great audience,” the crowd cheered, “next, I’d like to sing something new. It’s a song that I’ve written while on tour, and this is the first time we’re going to perform it live. I hope you like it.”
The entire crowd went wild, thrilled to be the first ones to hear the new song. The lights shifted so that the stage was in a soft, pink glow, and Gabriel started playing his piano. The guys sang a note in harmony over a repeating piano phrase, Hayden’s drums kicked in, and Gabriel began to sing the song. Although he moved around the stage, he was looking directly in her eyes the entire time. Ariana couldn’t look away from him; he was singing to her.
The words were beautiful, and she had tears in her eyes. It was as though she was getting a chance to look inside Gabriel’s mind and see herself from his point of view. If she’d ever had any doubt that he was in love with her, this song proved otherwise.
Ariana could only ever see her flaws, and it was hard for her to see past them, but it was as though in Gabriel’s eyes, she was nothing short of perfection. The song was like a soothing balm on the ego that had taken a battering over the years with her own negative self-talk.
As the song came to an end, Gabriel stopped in the middle of the stage just in front of her and sang the last few words directly to her. There was no pretense between them, and it was as though there was nobody else in the arena.