Third Act (Dark Falkon Book 3)

by J. O Mantel

  The band kicked off their set with one of their earliest hits, which Sienna knew only too well. She totally forgot that the show was being televised right around the world. “Are you okay?” Ivy asked, looking at Sienna suddenly.

  “Of course. Why?” Sienna replied.

  “You haven’t said a word since Lukas’s been on stage.”

  “I’m just enjoying the show, Ivy” Sienna smiled.

  The third song that Dark Falkon performed was their biggest number one hit, Way Back Home. When the song came to an end, there was a roar from the audience as everyone stood up and cheered. They finished their set with their own rendition of The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony,

  “Thank you” Lukas said. “That concludes our solo performances for the evening. We will be back shortly to perform with the guys from Lightning Ridge, so we’ll see you soon.”

  With one final outburst of applause, screams and whistles, the band turned and walked off stage.

  There was a brief break, so Sienna took the opportunity to go to the bathroom, again, before Jake and Lukas’s performance. She didn’t know whether to be excited or nervous about the two of them performing together. This was the first time Lukas and Jake were going to be standing side by side on stage.

  While the two bands prepared for the final number, Jake stood by the mirror adjusting his outfit. He looked up and saw Lukas approaching him.

  “So this is it” Lukas said.

  “I guess it is,” Jake replied. “And in a couple of hours, it’ll all be over.”

  Jake sighed, he would be glad when it was all over, and then hopefully he’d never have to deal with Lukas Dark again, well, for a while anyway.

  “Nervous?” Lukas asked.

  “I am a bit. I mean, this is a pretty big deal. The stage, the spotlight, the screaming fans. Not to mention my parents and the whole world watching me.”

  “Welcome to the world of being a rock star, Jake,” Lukas added.

  “I saw Sienna in the front row, she’s glowing and full of emotions right now. I think it’s all overwhelming for her,” Jake said.

  “Yeah, I guess it is. She looks so beautiful,” Lukas replied.

  “You know, the two of us are about to go on stage any moment, and this is perhaps the first time you and I have spoken without getting into an argument or wanting to punch the other one.”

  “I think that’s maybe because we both want the same thing, Jake.”

  “Huh? What do you mean, you got the girl, I didn’t” Jake replied, slightly confused.

  “I know that. What I meant was, we both want Sienna to be happy and we both want to know the truth. Not knowing whether you’re going to be a father makes it difficult to plan the rest of your life” Lukas told Jake.

  “I know, right? I know it’s taken me two years to accept this. But I think I’m finally ready to move on.”

  “What?” Lukas asked.

  “You love Sienna, and she loves you. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see it. I see how happy you make her, and although I wish it was me, I can’t take that happiness away from her. Even if I am the father, you and Sienna will always have each other.”

  “Jake. Dude, you know that regardless of the outcome, you’re going to be involved in their lives. The kids will need an Uncle Jake.”

  “Or an Uncle Lukas” Jake added.

  “Exactly.”

  It was at that moment, for the first time in two years, when Jake truly appreciated and respected Lukas, finally. The guy did have a way with words and Jake just wanted to give him a great big man hug.

  “Thank you, Lukas.”

  “You’re a great guy Jake and one day, some lucky girl is going to see you for who you really are. I know I’m with Sienna, and I can tell you now, I love her more than anything on this earth. Know this though Jake, if things between us ever change and we go our separate ways, Sienna’s going to need a shoulder to cry on. And I sincerely hope, that you’ll love her and respect her just as I have.”

  “FIVE MINUTES GUYS,” they heard Mike and Stuart yell from outside their rooms.

  “You know I will.”

  There was a brief moment of silence before Jake took a breath and looked back up at Lukas.

  “Lukas I… I want to apologize.”

  “For what?” Lukas asked.

  “For being a total prick toward you. I knew Sienna would never go out with the wrong guy, I guess I was just too jealous to realize how much she really loved you. I gotta tell ya, living with her for all these years and have her drool whenever your name was mentioned, or whenever you appeared on the television, it was pretty disgusting. But now after performing and seeing what the crowd is like out there tonight, I totally get it.”

  “The spotlight” Lukas said.

  “Huh?”

  “Now you’re the one that’s the center of attention. All the lights, cameras, girls throwing themselves at you, being the star of the show.”

  “Exactly. I’ve never had chicks scream out my name while I’m on stage, it was pretty cool.”

  Matt walked into the dressing room, interrupting their conversation.

  “Is it time?” Jake asked.

  “Yeah,” Matt smiled at them before turning to leave.

  “See you on stage” Lukas said, and before Jake had the opportunity to say anything, he was gone.

  The crowd started to fill the center again, Sienna made herself as comfortable as she could next to Ivy and they turned their eyes to the stage. Sienna rubbed her belly and desperately hoped she wouldn’t have to pee while Jake and Lukas were both performing. She placed one hand behind her back and rubbed it gently, while keeping her eyes on the stage.

  Finally, the lights in the center dimmed once more and the atmosphere turned electric. Everyone, including Sienna started clapping and cheering as spotlights lit up the stage. The music got louder, smoke rolled across the stage floor, as whistles and chants were heard from all directions.

  Lance was the first one to appear, followed by Ryan. Lance sat behind his drums, while Ryan picked up his guitar, and the two of them prepared for the performance as the audience yelled louder and louder.

  Next, Tori entered and made her way to the microphone, standing just beside Ryan. As she adjusted her earpiece, there was more cheering from the audience. Matt was the first one to appear on the stage for Dark Falkon, he walked to the middle of the stage and smiled before grabbing his guitar. Dave then appeared, and he made his way to his drums, which were alongside Lance’s. Girls whistled and screamed ‘I love you, David.’ Tyler appeared before them next, and as another roar of applause came from the audience, he took up his position behind his keyboards.

  This was it. Finally, Jake and Lukas were about to share the stage together. Sienna was nervous, for the first time, she was going to have both of her men on stage, together. Suddenly she was the one who felt nervous.

  There was chanting and cheering from all corners of the crowd, as Sienna looked around at her family and Jake’s.

  It felt like the crowd had been cheering and chanting for five minutes, and there was still no sign of Jake and Lukas.

  What’s going on? Where are they? Did the two of them have a fight backstage? Sienna thought.

  “Jake always knows how to make a grand entrance.” Olivia said.

  “What’s taking them so long?” Ivy asked.

  “I have no idea,” Sienna replied. Now she was really starting to get worried. She reached for her phone, when all of a sudden the audience clapped and cheered louder and Sienna looked up at the stage.

  Lukas made his way center stage, grabbed his mic and adjusted his earpiece. Sienna, Ivy, Dick and the rest of them, stood up and applauded, as Lukas stared out at the crowd, waving before his eyes fixed on Sienna. He winked at her and whispered the words ‘I love you’ to Sienna. Now they were all waiting on Jake to make his appearance. Lukas took a step forward and gradually the crowd calmed down.

  He looked out at the crowd once more as silenc
e filled the center. There was still no sign of Jake.

  “Where’s Jake?” Tom asked.

  “I don’t know” Sienna replied.

  “I hope he’s all right and nothing’s happened” Olivia said.

  “I’m sure if something happened, we’d know about it by now” Sienna said, although she herself was thinking the exact same thing.

  Lukas and the two bands stood on stage for a further five minutes and there was still no sign of Jake. Sienna could hear whispers from the audience, people were saying things like he’d chickened out, or he’d faked an illness.

  “This isn’t like him” Ivy suddenly said.

  “No, it’s not” Sienna responded. Now she was really starting to get worried. She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, but stopped as she heard whispers on the stage. Ryan and Matt both strummed the opening chords to Old Time of Rock n Roll and the rest of the band joined in. The crowd started cheering again, and there were still whispers about Jake’s whereabouts. Just as Tori was about to start singing, Lukas ordered the band to stop playing.

  “I got this,” Lukas said. He smiled at them, the two bands stopped playing their instruments and stayed in their positions, while Lukas walked into the center of the stage again.

  “What’s going on?” Margaret asked.

  “I don’t know,” Sienna whispered.

  Sienna looked around, she could hear the audience whispering amongst themselves. She then looked at Ivy and Dick, they were just as clueless as she was. She now turned her attention back on the stage and watched as Lukas grabbed his acoustic guitar.

  The huge screens showed a close up of Lukas’s face. Many people in the audience were still whispering.

  “Where the hell is Jake?” Sienna whispered to herself, furiously. She pulled her phone out of her purse and text Jake.

  Sienna: Where the hell are you? You’ve left Lukas all alone on stage, completely clueless.

  What the hell is going on?

  She hit send and turned her attention back to the stage. Lukas placed the guitar strap over his shoulder and swung the guitar around.

  He looked at Sienna, and the screens switched from Lukas’s face to hers. Sienna went bright red.

  “What’s he doing?” Olivia asked.

  “I have no idea. Knowing Lukas though, it’ll be something amazing” Margaret responded.

  Lukas still remained still on stage, and Jake hadn’t responded to Sienna’s text. Clearly he’d really fucked things up and left Lukas to fix everything.

  “How the hell could Jake do this? Tonight, of all nights? Why? Does he hate Lukas that much?” Sienna asked Ivy.

  “Sienna calm down. I’m sure there’s a reason why he’s not here.

  Finally, Lukas spoke. “Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the interruption. The bands and I were going to perform a duet for you, however I hope you don’t mind if I do something of my own instead.”

  The audience finally went silent, and as the cameras panned around the center, Sienna could hear Lukas clear his throat. The screens were back on his face, as he removed the earpiece from his ear.

  “I… ” he paused, it was as if he was struggling to find his words.

  “I want to tell you all a story. When I was fifteen, I was in high school, like most of us. I wasn’t the popular guy in school, or the guy who used to get all the chicks. The one thing I loved though, was music. At fifteen many guys are thinking about girls, and what they want to be when they leave school, but all I wanted to do was be a rock star and sing. When I got my first job, I used my first paycheck to buy an acoustic guitar and after that, I just started singing.

  At school, Matt and I were always the musical ones, we were the ones that would always stay inside in the music room, while the others were out in the yard. I would often break out into a song during class and my teachers would get really annoyed, I don’t know how many times I managed to avoid detention. Matt and I used to always talk about what it would be like to be famous, to be rock stars and be the popular ones.

  At home, I would often wander around the house using a pen as a microphone, mom and dad would always look at me and laugh, and at times they would tell me to keep the noise down while they were trying to watch the television. All my life, I was surrounded by music, every Sunday, I would wake up and dad would have his Buddy Holly or Dean Martin vinyl playing softly in the living room. Mom loved ABBA, and whenever she was doing housework she would have them playing.

  It was my dream to be famous, to be on stage with the likes of The Eagles, ACDC, Aerosmith and even Nirvana. But, I also wanted to be a normal kid and have a normal life, have friends, girlfriends, play sports and live an everyday life. I tried all of those things, and I even tried pretending to be something that I wasn’t. I never went to college, instead it was song after song, city after city, concert after concert, and chick after chick, all in the everyday life of a musician. Sure, it was great for a while, and I don’t regret a single moment of it, but at the same time, I also wanted to live a normal, everyday, teenage life and do the things that teenagers do.

  I’m thirty-six now, and I’m madly in love with the one person who truly makes me happy, and without her, my life wouldn’t be complete. She’s everything to me, and I love her, even if our lives are complicated. My life has been one crazy musical journey after another, and there’s always going to be concerts, tours, movie deals and all that, but I’m only ever going to get one chance to have a family and be with the woman that I love. This life has always been my dream, but my other dream was to fall in love. I don’t want to screw it up, life’s already complicated enough.”

  A tear ran down his cheek, and his eyes never left Sienna, whose own face was covered in tears.

  “I love you, Sienna” he said.

  “Babe, this one’s for you.” The entire center was completely quiet and everyone had their attention to either the stage or the large screens.

  He strummed the strings on his guitar gently, as he looked down and smiled at Sienna. As the rest of the band gathered together, the lights on stage dimmed and only a soft spotlight shone on Lukas as he sang a very special rendition of I Promise You (With Everything I Am) by the Backstreet Boys. Occasionally, he would look at Sienna, and tears streamed down her face as he sang to her. It was the most beautiful song she’d ever heard.

  The cameras moved from Lukas’s face to Sienna’s, and then the rest of the audience. Ivy wiped a tear from her eye, while Dick rested his head on her shoulder. Sienna looked around at her family, there wasn’t a dry eye around.

  Tori, Lance, Ryan, Matt, Dave and Tyler were all sitting together on stools, and Sienna could see all their faces covered in tears.

  When the song finally finished, there was thunderous applause from the audience. Each of the band members stood up and applauded Lukas, while the audience whistled and cheered. Suddenly everyone forgot all about Jake and the fact that he still hadn’t shown up. Sienna was beside herself, her face was covered in tears, smudging her mascara. Ivy helped her to her feet and when Sienna looked on stage, Lukas smiled at her, blew her a kiss and whispered “I love you.”

  Lukas hushed the audience by lifting a finger to his mouth, the cheering and clapping stopped and they all sat back down. And once again, there was a deafening silence throughout the center. People watched the large screens, as the cameras switched between close-ups of Lukas and then Sienna. As the crowd remained silent, Lukas took a step forward, his eyes never leaving Sienna.

  “Oh my God,” Ivy whispered.

  “What?” Dick replied.

  “I think he’s going to propose.”

  “Really? I don’t think that at all. Why would he propose to her in front of the whole world?”

  “Dick, it’s called being romantic. Hush!”

  The entire audience was still silent, Sienna’s face was covered in tears; she was an emotional wreck.

  The screens still showed Lukas’s face, as he continued to stand center stage. Sienna could se
e the sweat dripping from his brow.

  Sienna continued to keep her eyes on the stage, and she could see Tori and the rest of the band members whispering to one another.

  What the hell is going on? She thought, as she watched Lukas on the stage. Lukas took the last few steps forward, toward the edge of the stage. He scanned the audience once more, before his eyes finally stopped on Sienna again. Once more, the screens above switched between Lukas’s and Sienna’s faces, as the crowd and the rest of the world watched what was going on. He smiled at Sienna once more and mouthed “I love you.”

  Lukas took a deep breath, and addressed the rest of the crowd; “Ladies and gentlemen… my name is Jake Cooper and I’m in love with Sienna Forrester.” He raised his hand and pulled the wig off his head, revealing his messy, jet black hair.

  The entire center gasped and clasped their hands over their mouths. You could have heard a pin drop, as people turned to one another with looks of shock.

  “Holy fucking shit!” Ivy gasped.

  “Oh my God,” Dick said.

  “Jake?!” Olivia asked.

  “Oh my God,” Tom replied.

  “What?!” Margaret said.

  “Holy shit!” Carl gasped.

  The screens switched from a close up of Jake to Sienna. Her eyes were widened and she was incredibly pale. She still hadn’t said anything, nor had she removed her attention from the stage. She sat there staring at Lukas, or more to the point… Jake.

  “I love you, Sienna” Jake said.

  Sienna was still quiet. Her entire family and the rest of the center stared at her.

  “Sienna?” Ivy called.

  “Sienna?” Margaret said, placing her arm on her shoulder.

  Sienna tried to speak, but nothing came from her lips, not even a breath.

  “What the fuck? Jake?” Emily gasped.

  Sienna’s older brother, Robbie, turned and looked at Sienna. She was still in shock and hadn’t moved. He got out of his seat and wandered over to her.

  “Sienna?”

  “Sienna?” He called again, she was still staring at Jake.

  “Wh-where’s Lukas?” She stuttered.