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Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from iStockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

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Sarah Carerra Book 2: Summer Medley

Chapter 2.48 - Nautica Pavilion

The next two days were generally uneventful. We remained in Indianapolis for most of Wednesday, because Dad wanted to visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the museum nearby. Mom and I were dragged along, though I went sans wig.

It was boring.

Dad and Austin had a great time. Mom and I followed in their wake, letting them have some fun. I knew that we were going to do many things that I wanted to do on this trip, so I was willing to give them their day. Even though it was a "family" day, I still would have liked to hang out with the band or the dancers. We did get to go out to eat and see a movie afterward, so I didn't complain too much.

We slept in the following morning. After having a good breakfast with the band and the dancers at a nice restaurant, we left for Cleveland. The crew had left the night before to give them enough time to set up the stage today before it was needed for the concert tomorrow, so they weren’t able to join us.

After a six hour trip, we checked into our hotel. The band, the dancers, and I all lounged around the pool for most of the afternoon. It seemed low-key compared to most of the times that I wore the wig, but it was definitely a lot of fun.

Friday morning dawned much like all the other concert mornings. I did a number of radio interviews from my hotel room before we had to head down to the studios of CO-94, who was sponsoring the show. I had an in-studio interview with their morning show.

After I was finished with all of the media, it was time to have some more fun. Scott had surprised us with a VIP tour of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There were about 40 of us between my dancers, my family, the band, myself, and any of the crew who weren't required to finish setting up for the show.

But that number quickly grew once we got inside. I had let it slip during my interview at the radio station that I would be here, and it looked like a few dedicated fans had made the trip down to join us.

But sharing that time with not only the people that I worked with, but also with fans, was amazing. It only added to the wonderful exhibits that they had on display. We spent a lot of time in an exhibit that showcased the women who played a role in shaping the music industry. There were so many women featured, including many whom I had looked up to while growing up. I just had to have someone take my picture next to the small display about Taylor Swift!

I was too new to be featured, but as we left the museum and made our way over to the Nautica Pavilion, I wondered if my picture would ever be included among the many wonderful women that made up the exhibit.

I could only hope.

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"This is really cool," Austin said.

I nodded as we continued to watch a big ship pass by in front of us. The Nautica Pavilion was built on a bend near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. Austin and I were sitting in a pair of lawn chairs that had been set up outside my tour bus, which was parked within view of the river. We had watched a number of ships pass by since we had arrived. It was going to be an interesting show, because I was sure they wouldn't be stopping just because I was performing.

"Yeah," I replied after a few seconds of silence. The weather here was similar to the weather in Los Angeles, so it was somewhat warm, but not hot. The shade that we were sitting in definitely made it bearable.

I'd already completed the sound check, and it was still a few hours until Poptacular took the stage to open the concert. I was more than willing to laze away the time until I was actually needed again.

I glanced over at Austin, and I saw the same thing that I had been seeing for most of the week.

"How are you doing?" I asked him, even though I already knew the answer. "Are you having fun, or do you wish you were back home?"

His face said it all. I knew there were moments when he really enjoyed being on the tour with me. But there were also moments like this, when we were sitting around, that he was bored and unhappy. He had said that watching the ships was cool, and I didn't doubt that he was enjoying it, but I also knew that he'd rather be home with Susan. The two of them had been spending a lot more time with each other as the summer continued, and I wondered what their future held.

"I'm glad I'm here," he replied, even if it wasn't the whole truth.

"But you miss Susan," I finished for him. He didn't say anything, he just nodded. I had never really had a relationship with someone like he had with Susan. But I missed Emily and Ethan dearly. I wished that they were here with us, enjoying all the amazing things that we were doing. I was certain that was much the same way that he felt about Susan. At least I hoped so, because they were too young for anything else. Heck, I was still too young for anything else, and I had two years on both of them.

"It's only two weeks," I tried to comfort him. "And we're already almost half way through it. You'll get to see her again soon."

"Maybe," Austin replied. "But what if Sam gets to her first? He's been trying to steal her from me since the day she first came over to our house!"

I couldn't help it - I laughed. He seemed so serious in his worry! I knew that it was unlikely the two of them would be together for long, but it certainly felt like a life and death matter for him.

"Don't worry, Austin," I told him. I didn't know who this Sam was, but I knew that Austin had a lot going for him. "Sam doesn't hold a candle to you. Susan isn't going anywhere."

He looked up at me, obviously not believing my words. But I continued before he could say anything.

"Besides," I said. "Sam doesn't know Sarah Carerra. All you have to do is to bring Susan to our home again, and you'll have her hooked all over again."

I know I had a lopsided smile on my face at my words, but it had the desired effect. Austin cracked up in laughter and I promptly followed.

We sat in silence for a moment after we managed to calm down, watching the large boat finish its turn around the bend.

"Thank you, Megan," he said, quietly but sincerely. I briefly looked around to make sure nobody else had heard that, but we were still alone. Then I smiled and reached over and hugged him.

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"We've now met someone," I said to the audience from the stage later that evening. "We caught that glimpse. We realized that we were in love. What do we do about it?"

I held my microphone out toward the crowd, and a number of responses were thrown my way, though I couldn't really make out any of them. Instead, I turned toward Holly and Sophie.

"Holly, Sophie, any ideas?" I asked them.

"You totally have to introduce yourself," Sophie responded immediately.

"No," Holly argued. "That never works. You have to make them notice you."

"You have to make them notice you," I repeated. "Or possibly, you have to get them to open their eyes?" I asked the crowd.

A cheer erupted from the crowd when they realized what song was coming next, and as the quick cheer started to die down it was replaced with a soft tone from Connor's bass for the briefest of moments before Jason's happy, light-hearted melody filled the air.

'Open Your Eyes' had proven to be one of the fan favorites from my first album. It was no different as I continued to sing through the first verse that talked about the boy I loved, yet who had no idea I existed. When I started to vent my frustration during the first chorus, it was even more special when the crowd sang along with me.

Our shared tirade wafted throughout the grandstand, and I knew it could be heard from all around the area. It was such a great release of stress to scream and rant during a chorus like this.

The audience and I quieted down again as I sang the second verse about the awkwardness I felt around the boy of my dreams. I sang about how I had no idea what to do to get his attention. I didn't know how to make him notice me. The crowd sang with me as I ranted and vented once again during the second chorus.

When we quieted down and sung the short, soft verse where he finally opens his eyes, he finally notices me, it was almost deathly quiet other than the soft notes coming from the band and my own words.

But they joined back in with the same fervor as we launched into the altered third chorus, where I got to scream out and tell the whole world how I really felt and how great life was with that boy at my side. And as we started to come down to the peaceful conclusion, there was a palpable hum from the crowd along with us.

Then the entire place erupted into noise again as the crowd cheered in one of the loudest applauses of the evening. I basked in the glow and the warmth that the rush gave me, as I took a sip of my water before continuing. I hadn't written 'Open Your Eyes', but it was definitely my song.

I started scanning the crowd for a potential victim the moment I put my water bottle down. It didn't take me long to find her. She stood out in the crowd with her fiery red hair, but the freckles and the look on her face told me exactly what I needed to know about her.

"You right there, in the purple tee," I said while pointing to her. She screamed in excitement, naturally. "Can you come up here for a moment?" I asked sweetly. She screamed again, and started hopping up and down in excitement, but she eventually started making her way toward the stairs that I pointed to. She was as giddy as a school girl the whole way up the stairs and to the middle of the stage. When she was within three feet of me, she tried to calm herself down and stand still, but she kept fidgeting. I was forced to take a few steps toward her, and I knew immediately she was uncomfortable with me being there. I could still see the giddiness on her face, and I knew that she was excited to be so close to me, but this was definitely outside of her comfort zone.

She looked to be slightly older than me, perhaps 17. She was also quite a bit taller than me, but definitely skinnier. She really was a thin, lanky girl.

"What's your name?" I asked and then held my microphone up to her. She had to lean in to speak, since I was still a step or two away from her.

"Nikki," she replied before straightening out again.

"It's nice to meet you, Nikki," I said. "Where are you from?"

"Cleveland," she replied before straightening out once more. She was really nervous. Then she stepped toward the microphone before I could take it away and spoke again. "I'm your biggest fan!" she squealed before jumping up and down again. But now she was standing right next to me, and didn't seem to be so nervous. I smiled back at her.

"So, Nikki," I continued. "We know we're in love. We've met the guy, and now he's noticed us and we're together, right?"

"Uh huh," she replied while nodding her head vigorously.

"It's happily ever after now, right?" I asked.

She looked confused for a moment, but eventually responded. "Yes?" she replied. Yet the tone of her voice and the uncertainty on her face clearly proved that she was questioning her own answer.

"NO!" the crowd replied. They had apparently clued in on where I was going with this, even if Nikki hadn't.

"No?" I asked of the crowd, but held my microphone out to Nikki once again.

"I guess not," she repeated. Then she lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh! There's always that phase where you have to get to know each other and work everything out!"

I smiled at her again. I couldn't have said it better myself. "Thank you, Nikki," I told her with a smile. She squealed in delight once again before one of the concert workers appeared to escort her back off the stage. She was reluctant to go, but one look at my smiling face was enough for her to follow the worker. I always wished that I could keep my victims on stage longer, but the choreography for the next song didn't leave much room for them to stand nearby. Luckily, she would receive a nice ‘thank you’ bag from the worker that included a pass to come and meet me after the show.

"Nikki is right," I told the crowd. "Even when two people are destined to be together, there are those little things that can eat away at each other and make the relationship hard. Sometimes it can make you feel like the whole thing isn't worth it. But then you 'Turn Around', and fall in love all over again.”

There was an audible intake of air over the speakers as I took a deep breath to prepare for the fast-paced song, and right on cue I was singing along with the quick pace that the band was setting as they played.

When the first verse started, I started singing about the frustrations that can come in a relationship with a slightly negative, better-than-you attitude. The words came fast, and didn't give me much time to breath in between the lines. It slowed down slightly after the first few lines, but I continued to berate the person I was supposed to love with all the things that he did wrong. Then I sang a short line about how I didn't know if I could continue in the relationship just before we jumped straight into a much happier, loving chorus about how much I still loved him and couldn't see myself without him.

The whole time I had one of the cute male dancers, Aiden, playing along with me, pretending to be my boyfriend. He'd frown and withdraw at my tirade, and then he would come out of his shell during the chorus and we'd move in sync happily.

There was a slight lull in the song just after the end of the chorus, before I started my rant all over again. There were multitudes of things to complain about and hate this guy for, but once again I launched into the chorus at the end, and I expressed the love that still existed between us.

Then the song changed, and I was no longer the negative girlfriend who was poisoning our relationship. Instead, I was the one with her eyes opening, really seeing him for the first time. The dancer and I placed our palms together and circled each other for a moment while the music and voices almost seemed angelic, before we launched back into the fast paced song again, but without the negativity that had made up the earlier parts of the song. We continued to dance together, in a slower, more meaningful dance that helped to show our reconciliation with each other.

When the song came to an end, I had my back pressed against Aiden's chest while he had his arms wrapped around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder.

The crowd roared immediately, and Aiden held me longer than was required, just like he did at every concert. I knew he was hoping that I would stay there for a while, but I still had a concert to perform. More importantly, I wasn't looking for a boyfriend, so he was out of luck. Yet it was always hard to bring myself to be the one who pulled away.

But I was always the one who stepped out of the embrace. And every time I looked back to smile at him, he was always smiling back. I too, had to be the one to break the gaze, which I did as I turned back toward the crowd. As their cheering started to die down, I started to prepare myself for the next song by bringing the microphone up to my mouth.

The loud blare of a ship's horn echoed throughout the venue, surprising me. It was a second later, when I saw many of the crowd laughing, that I realized I had just shrieked into the microphone at the unexpected noise. That reaction had me laughing too.

This wasn't the first ship that had come by during the concert. We'd actually stopped and cheered on one of the captains earlier as he navigated his ship around the bend. But I had been so engrossed in the last song that I hadn't even known this one was passing by.

The big video screen that was a staple at the back of my stage blocked my view of the ship, so I walked over to the edge of the stage to where I could see the ship passing by. I waved into the darkness, which earned me two more toots of the horn in return. I was still smiling and laughing as I returned to center stage, as was much of the crowd.

"Well that was fun," I said into the microphone, eliciting another round of laughs from the stands, and even from those on the stage with me. I took another sip from my water bottle to help compose myself before I continued the concert.

"Love is a roller coaster," I told the crowd once I had placed my water bottle down. "But it's always more fun to ride a roller coaster with someone at your side, right?" I asked. The crowd responded affirmatively, and I had to smile at how wonderful they were.

"I haven't found that special someone in my life yet. But I do know one thing for certain," I continued. "No matter what happens in your life, in your relationships, or in your hearts, it can be overcome, 'Together'."

I lowered my microphone and closed my eyes for the briefest of moments as a loud beat echoed throughout the Pavilion. Connor's bass and Stacy's drums combined to create an experience that could be felt as much as it was heard. After a few seconds I joined them with a short, soft line about how my heart jumped at the first sight of 'him'. Jason then separated my lines with a short strum of his guitar before I continued with a line describing how out of breath I was. A second strum of Jason's guitar wafted throughout the venue before we jumped straight into the first verse. I continued to sing about the glimpses the two of us gave each other as we waited in line at the small ice cream parlor we were in.

Then the song ramped up into the chorus, where we made eye contact, and everything we needed to know about each other was shared in that one brief moment. We were meant to be together.

The song then calmed down again and I repeated the same lines I had at the beginning of the song, but this time I felt my heart pounding and I was breathless as I approached the altar on my wedding day. After the kiss, I looked into his eyes, and we ramped up into the chorus again as we shared another brief moment where words couldn't describe what we had for each other.

The tone of the song shifted slightly after the chorus, and I sang about some of the struggles the two of us faced, and about how strained our relationship had become. I continued to sing about how we were on the brink of losing each other.

But the song then softened once again into a moment where he put his arms around me and squeezed me tightly. I looked up into his eyes, and we moved into the chorus once again as our eyes met and communicated in only the way we could. Everything was resolved in that moment, and the song comes to a close with the brush of my lips on his.

"Together," I sang the last word that coincided with another strum of Jason's guitar, which was followed immediately by the loud roar from the crowd. That song combined the messages and themes of the four songs that preceded it into one culminating moment that was thoroughly enjoyable to perform, and that the crowd seemed to crave.

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