All the Small Things. (edited)

All the Small Things. (edited)

Only nine more minutes ‘til the platforms go up…

Cam ran through the doors that went below stage, four microphones clutched tightly in her arms. They were custom-made, just out of the plastic wrapping and boxes she picked up at the store an hour ago. Deep burgundy and black, one could just barely read the name Legionnaire inscribed in silver grafitti-like letters on the side. She turned the corner of the hallways, hitting and bruising her shoulder on the side of a brick wall she hadn’t noticed. She kept running.

Seven minutes.

The girl pushed open another door at the end of the dimly-lit corrdor, blinking back tears from the flourescent light of the ready room and grinning. “Hey guys! I have an early Valentine’s surprise for my favorite boys!” Cam began fastening the microphones to the stands and handing the old ones to a stage crew member. “Here’s yours, Danny--oh, don’t blush like that, you’ll look off-color in the spotlight--and this one’s yours, Jack…Lance… Drake!”

The last one looked up from helping Lance tune his guitar and smiled, his bright eyes lighting up. “Camlie! You made it!”

“You know I’ve never missed a show,” Cam said, blushing. She finished fastening his microphone and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. “I’m your biggest fan, remember?”

The young man was about to say something, but someone interrupted him.

“Drake! Three minutes!”

“All right!” he hollered back. Drake gave Cam a quick kiss. “You’d better go. I’ll see you after the show, okay?”

Her lips lingered on his as she untangled her fingers from his tousled, dyed hair.

“Yeah.”

“Two minutes!”

Camlie bit her lip in a half-smile and waved before running out of the room and heading upstairs. She could hear the roar of the crowd above her, deafening in all of its glory. The excitement in her chest was already reaching up through her throat and she let out a shout of warm exuberance in response. God did she love Drake’s concerts--

“Cam! C’mon already!”

“Kite?”

“Who else?” Her friend leaned against the wall at the entrance to the stairs, arms crossed. “Let’s go. You’re late.”

Cam just laughed and hooked her arm in Kite’s. “Oh you. Only you can have such a big stick up your ass.”

“Hey!”

The two girls giggled, just as the opening chord to a song striking their ears. They rushed a bit faster; a couple of times they even stumbled over their own feet in their attempts to reach the concert hall before the end of the first song. Camlie smiled at the bouncer who smiled back knowingly, and pushed open the doors.

The music, the voices, the lights--all of it washed over her in wave after disorienting wave. Her mind reeled at one of the only feelings that could make her already-ecstatic heart beat faster. She allowed her eyes to adjust to the odd lighting as Kite dragged her forward through the crowd. As they came closer and closer to the stage, Cam could see Drake’s spotlighted face between the heads of dancing fans. He saw her too; with one more reverberating strum of the guitar he finished the song, complimented by the enormous sound of elated praise from the onlookers. Drake waited a moment before tapping his microphone.

“Thank you, excuse me…”

The crowd quieted slightly.

“This next song is for my girlfriend, Cam. As a thank you for the new equipment she got us. After all the concerts we played for you guys, our stuff was getting kind of beat up.”

Laughter wove like threads amongst the murmuring.

“So, Cam, this is for you.” He pointed straight at her and she blushed, though no one really looked her way.

She was still blushing when the song started, its soft notes winding down to touch her heat lightly. The bass was sweet and low, the drums steady and pulsating, the lead now background. Everything was background compared to Drake’s voice. Even on the microphone it sounded natural, as if he was sharing a secret only for her, though she knew that even the people in the back of the concert hall could hear him and understand. That was why these people loved his music. They could understand.

The resonance of the sound rippled outward as soon as it made contact; she closed her eyes and let him bathe her with his lyrics, his words.

The feeling stayed with her through the night, though rougher and harsher songs wound their way into the program for the night. It was there when she congratulated the band and helped tally up the sales in the backstage room, laughing over jokes that seemed funny at the time. It was there when Drake took her home. It was still there when she went to sleep that night, staring at the ceiling until the early hours of the morning, arms cold as they lay on top of the comforter.

Always the same message, though not the exact words:

I love you, Camlie. Never forget it.

===

It worried her whenever he tried to take her out some place.

Drake was famous--what if he thought that she was just doing this because of that? Every time it crossed her mind Cam shivered. She couldn’t have him thinking that.

Her solution? Presents.

She offered him presents whenever the idea struck her, and it made her happy when she watched his face light up. It didn’t matter that Valentine’s Day was coming up. It didn’t matter that her birthday was on the same day. She couldn’t have cared less, as long as Drake was happy and the band was smooth-going. Things were fine. Nothing else mattered.

Cam thought of this as she whisked eggs in a bowl, waiting for the oil to heat in the pan beside her. The strong scent of maple bacon wafted through the air inside Drake’s apartment from the plate on the table. She hummed as she moved through the kitchen. Sunday mornings were always relaxing in comparison to the night before and the night to follow--the usual concert days. Camlie threw open the curtains; a bright person by nature, the daybreak sun was always welcome to her.

Drake padded down the stairs, rubbing sleepy eyes. “Mm…is that breakfast I smell?”

Cam turned to smile at him. “Good morning!” she answered brightly. “And you bet it is. Sunday Breakfast Special, coming right up!”

The young man laughed and stood behind her, slipping an arm around her waist and another hand over hers to help hold the pan as she used a spatula to flip the omelet. His presence was every bit as welcome as the sun’s…even more so. Though her pajamas and robe were warm, nothing really beat a Drake hug. She bent her head back and kissed him.

“I love you…”

Drake beamed. “I know. That’s what makes life so awesome, huh?”

Camlie laughed. “Yeah.”

“We’ve got another concert tonight.”

“As always.”

“You ready?”

“You bet, lover.”

Drake chuckled at the snappy response as he reached for a strip of bacon.

Valentine’s Day was coming up. Cam’s birthday, too, now that he thought of it. He had to get her something--something she couldn’t say no to. Something that she would love. But what? The musician couldn’t think of it. He knew it would come to him. And when it did, he’d feel as if he had been run over by a freight train.

As he stared out the window and mulled in his thoughts, he caught the beginnings of a song. It was a relatively old song, its tune stirring in his memory. Behind him Cam hummed was humming the intro, before murmuring the words. Her voice was soft and untrained, but sweet in its simplicity.

The young man smiled as an idea sprouted. Not exactly the freight train he was expecting, but it would do.

===

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Drake’s voice echoed off the stage from the surround sound speakers, and the audience’s response blared back with a hundred times the force.

Perfect. This was going to be absolutely perfect.

He scanned the crowd and found Camlie easily, near the front. Maybe it was the rush of adrenaline now coursing through his blood from excitement, but he couldn’t help but grin suspiciously, anxiously, in her direction. Cam saw the odd expression and gave him an uneasy smile. What was he planning this time?

He held the microphone close to his mouth. “As you all know, this coming Saturday is Valentine’s Day.”

The thunderous acknowledgement was nearly drowned out his racing thoughts. Nearly.

“What I bet you didn’t know was that it’s also my girl’s birthday that day. Cam, hun, please come up on stage. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Cam froze as everyone’s eyes turned to her for the first time. They had never noticed her before, no matter how many concerts she attended--and she had attended all of them. It was an odd, sinking kind of feeling, to be honest. She didn’t like it. In fact, she would have never even dreamed of walking up on the stage if people weren’t nudging her, encouraging her, congratulating her. She bit her lip, embarrassed, and hoisted herself up next to Drake. Butterflies fluttered around in her stomach, she looked up awkwardly at her boyfriend’s expectant face. What was she doing here? What was going on?

Drake turned and nodded to Jack, who’s drumsticks broke out into a bright and steady beat. He watched in wonder as Cam’s eyes lit up at the familiar tune and he struck the first few chords.

A few people began to sing along, the proverbial words resounding in the wide hall.


The spotlight burned her skin beneath its yellow gaze, but she ignored it. Someone handed Cam a microphone as she joined in, smiling as the words came to her. She was surprised at how easy it was.

“Say it ain’t so,
I will not go,
‘Turn the lights off--
Carry me home!”

She couldn’t remember being this happy. It was so much different to be here, right next to Drake, instead of watching him from the crowd. Not exactly better, but different. She liked it.

“Late night,
Come home--”

“--Work sucks,
I know.”

“She left me roses by the stairs…
…surprises let me know she cares.”

Everything was glowing. Suddenly, everything just looked a bit brighter. Cam wasn’t sure if her heart had literally melted, or maybe just stopped. Most likely the second one. She could see him looking straight at her. Not at the crowd, no. Her. He might as well have been speaking to her privately in a room. His voice--that magical voice--was the only thing ringing in her ears.

“Say it ain’t so,
I will not go,
‘Turn the lights off--
Carry me home!”

“…Keep your head still,
I’ll be your thrill.
The night will go on
My little windmill…!”

She was suddenly aware that her watery eyes threatened to overflow. Then she was crying. Then she was laughing. Drake was laughing, too, like a song all its own.

“…The night will go on
My little windmill…”

As the last chord faded and a hush fell over the crowd, Cam dropped her microphone from her lips. Somewhere, deep in her chest, she was being filled. Filled with an emotion she couldn’t express; it could best be described as euphoria mixed with a strange sense of calm happiness. It filled her ribcage and strangled her lungs. She didn’t mind…why was breathing important, anyway?

Drake spoke after the longest silence, still clutching the microphone stand in one hand, trembling slightly.

“Thank you for all the small things you’ve done, Cam; the little details everyone else missed.”

He wrapped his other arm around her waist instinctively and pulled her closer so her face was inches away from his, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

“You’re my Valentine; always remember that. I love you.”