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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.

Author Note: Many of the songs that Sarah sings are "inspired" by real life songs. I'm not a songwriter, but I can tell a story. A special thanks should be given to the artists that helped shape the music that is Sarah Carerra. Embedded in this chapter are the songs that inspired this part of the concert for you to enjoy if you wish to. They are here to give you an idea of what Sarah's songs sound like.

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

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Sarah Carerra Book 3: Concerto in A-

Chapter 3.14 - L.A. County Fair

I had mixed feelings when I awakened on Saturday morning. On one hand, it was a concert day and I always enjoyed performing for a crowd. But on the other hand the concert marked the penultimate stop on my debut tour. It felt like the tour had just started, and I didn't want it to end.

I knew that Dad and Scott wanted me to perform another concert tour at the beginning of next year, but I wasn't sure how likely that was to happen now that I was in charge of everything. I wanted to perform another concert tour, but trying to balance it with school was difficult, especially if it involved performing on school nights. Tuesday's concert had taught me how awful that idea was.

I tried to push all of those feelings out of my mind while I got ready for the day. I spent much of the morning doing phone interviews with radio stations in the greater Los Angeles area. When I finished those I had some time to eat breakfast before it was time to head down to the Fairplex.

When the door rang before we left, I smiled. I had no extended family or friends coming to this concert, because they had all come to the OC Fair to see me perform. Emily and Ethan were going to come as Chloe and Xander. And today was the first time that I would see the new look that Ethan had decided on for Xander.

I opened the door as Sarah, for the first time in my life. My tour bus was parked on the road in front of our house waiting for us to board, so the whole neighborhood knew that Sarah was here. If it was someone other than Emily and Ethan, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

I was stunned when I opened the door, because my cousin was on my doorstep!

"Tracy!" I screamed happily. "What are you doing here?"

She smiled in response. "Don invited me to ride with you guys," she said.

"You're coming to the concert?" I asked.

"Of course," she replied as if I had just said something stupid. "I wouldn't miss one of your concerts if I had the chance to attend. You're my favorite singer."

I laughed lightly, and stood back to let her in. Tracy stepped inside and then held out the squirming bundle of joy who was reaching out for me. I gladly took the little infant from her.

"Hi Heather!" I said excitedly and her face lit up immediately. I started to push the door closed when I saw Emily and Ethan, dressed as themselves, hurrying up the walk. I held the door in one hand and Heather in the other while waiting for them to come in.

"Sorry!" Emily said, almost out of breath as she flew past me and down the hall. Ethan did the same thing.

"What's up with them?" Tracy asked as she walked over to the couch in the front room and took a seat. I followed her and took my own seat.

"They're running late and they still need to change," I replied.

"Change?" she asked, confused.

"You didn't think I had two other best friends, did you?" I said, and her eyes opened wide as she realized who Chloe and Xander really were. I thought it was pretty obvious to those who knew Sarah's real identity, but apparently not.

I sat there and played with Heather while I waited for my friends to get dressed. Mom, Dad, and Austin were at one of his soccer games, so they'd be coming to the venue later.

Eventually I heard the door to Sarah's room open, and I watched as Chloe came out and walked down the hall.

"Are you ready?" she asked me excitedly. I nodded and turned my attention to the hallway.

When Xander appeared, I started laughing! That wasn’t the reaction he was expecting, so he became nervous that he had made a mistake before I could say anything.

"Sorry," I told him. "It just isn't what I expected. But you look great!"

He nodded gratefully in understanding. Xander did look great. In fact, he was dressed just like Ethan did every day with the exception of the blonde wig that covered up his normal brown locks. The clothes were more expensive, however. I had given them some extra cash to build his new wardrobe, and he had used it well.

But best of all, he looked happy. Ethan had hated the preppy look we had forced him into the first time around, and it was now apparent that I should have let him have a larger say in how he looked.

"Let's go to a concert," I said, and they smiled before following me out to the bus.

It was about a 45 minute drive to the Fairplex, but it flew by as I played with Heather nearly the whole time. I let Tracy and Heather sit in on the Starshine meeting, but it was having Chloe by my side as I talked to each of the girls that made the meeting really special.

It was nice to have friends and family with me at a concert again. Mom and Dad had usually been there, but having Emily and Ethan with me made this day so much better. Tracy and Heather were just icing on the cake.

* * *

The strum of Jason's guitar signaled the beginning of the next song. The happy notes filled the venue and led us in to the last cover song of the concert. As I sang through 'Torn', I couldn't help but think about how torn I was about the end of the concert tour. After tonight there would only be two more performances, one in Washington and the other at my school. After that, I might not even be performing until the Christmas special that the Chorus would be performing with me.

But when the song came to an end, the fans didn't care that the tour was almost over. Any lingering doubts or feelings that I'd had about the tour ending were washed away in the roar of applause that erupted around the venue. I basked in it for a brief moment before the lights went out and I was rushing for another costume change.

As the simple, glamorous dress was pulled over my head and the shoes were replaced on my feet I smiled at what was coming next. I could hear the video playing on the screen behind the stage as I talked about Chloe and how we had come up with the next songs, and I was so excited to take it a step further.

The dress that they shoved me into next looked like a fairytale. Unlike the dress that Julia had picked out for the music video of ‘Ever After’, this dress had a more voluminous skirt. It was a mix between a soft yellow/tan and gold which really caught the lights pointing at the stage well to make it look even more spectacular.

After I was finished changing I rushed as quickly as I could to find Tim waiting for me holding Sparkle. I smiled again at the sight of my guitar and took it lovingly from its caretaker before pulling the strap over my head. Then I continued my way onto the stage and over to where my microphone had been put back into its stand. Then I had to wait for the video to end. Somewhere out on the first row Chloe was staring up at that screen, and I hoped that she wasn't crying...yet.

The video came to an end, and I felt the anticipation build as the entire venue was bathed in darkness for a few moments. Then, a soft glow encircled me as I stood in front of my microphone, strumming my guitar softly to begin 'Enchanted Forest'.

The atmosphere was surreal as I softly played and sang through the first part of the song that Emily and I had written together earlier this year. Both of us agreed that 'Ever After' was the better song, but in reality it didn't win the contest by much. The two songs were very different, and the soft melody and soothing words that began this song really set a light, happy mood to the concert. It was also one of the longest songs I had ever written.

'Enchanted Forest' was an urban fairytale. As I sang I introduced the audience to a fairytale forest filled with large steel buildings rising above the walkways and streets that crisscrossed through it. It sang about the glimpse that the heroine had of a knight in shining armor as she walked down one of those streets. A second glimpse another day as their two carriages stopped next to each other at a traffic light. Then a third glimpse as they stood in line at a shop. But the knight never saw her. She saw him nearly everywhere, unable to approach him and unable to even learn his name.

After a full minute of the peaceful, serene melody Jason joined me with a nice melody of his own as I sang about how the heroine was pining once again for her knight, wondering how she could meet him. Then, with an increasing beat from Stacy's drums the song started to become louder until a loud crash of his cymbals lit the stage with color as we moved into the chorus. Dancers were moving around fervently behind me as the heroine walked around the corner of a building and straight into the knight. Sparks flew and her emotions were nearly overwhelmed as he apologized, helped her pick up the bag she had dropped, before he smiled and turned to walk away.

It was a fleeting, brief moment that tugged at her heart as she desperately tried to find the words to make him stop. She tried in vain to find a way to make him turn back around. But she was speechless, and eventually she turned and walked the other way just before he turned and glanced back over his shoulder.

The song fell back into a more peaceful melody again, but the addition of Stacy's drums and Connor's bass gave it the fervor that was still roiling around in her heart as she tried to figure out what to do next. Her feelings hadn't changed, but she had been unable to catch his eye. She had been unable to even speak to him. She battled with her emotions until she realized there was nothing she could do. She still didn't even know his name.

Another day she found herself approaching the very same corner, remembering her earlier encounter. As she turned the corner once more, lost in thought, she walked right into the knight once again. Another crash of Stacy's cymbals moved us into the chorus and a burst of light around the stage showed that the sparks were still there. No words were spoken as they stared into each other’s eyes. Then, the knight apologized once more with a wry smile on his face before turning to leave once again.

As the chorus came to a close the song moved into a fast paced, frantic piece where she once more tried to bring herself to say something. She tried once more to get his attention and to keep him from leaving. She tried to push herself to do anything to get his attention. Then the song calmed into a serene melody once more as things became clear to her. A smile spread across her lips as she called out to him with her name. The knight stopped instantly, slowly turning around. A smile formed on his face moments before he replied with his own name.

The song burst into the final chorus as he took his first step back toward her.

Later, as the chorus ended and the song came to a close I looked down at the front row to where Emily was sitting, and even from the stage I could see the tear streak down her cheek. I struggled to keep one of my own from doing the same thing. Emily was my best friend in the world, and the two songs that we had written together would forever bind us throughout our lives. Any time I performed or heard one of these two songs, I would think of Emily. She was likely doing the same thing.

"Thank you," I told the crowd when the noise dropped to a level where they could hear me again. I then took Sparkle off and handed it back to Tim, and then I started moving toward the edge of the stage, continuing to talk to the crowd as I went. "That song and the next one I'm going to sing for you have a special place in my heart. I got to write them with my best friend in the whole world."

I took the first step off the stage, causing the first few rows to scramble to get into a position where they could touch me, get near me, or even speak to me. I tried to shake their hands and acknowledge them as much as I could as I made my way down the row until I was directly in front of Emily. She was cowering in her chair now because she seemed to have some idea of what I was planning.

I grabbed her arm, and tried to pull her up. She was resisting, but I successfully pulled her to her feet, and then led her down the row back toward the stairs. Many of those around us were scrambling to understand what was happening. Many of them were screaming at me to pick them instead. But I only smiled back at them as I led Emily back up onto the stage and over to a stool that had been brought out while I was in the crowd. Emily's face was now being broadcast on the big video screen behind the stage, and she was taking on the complexion of a tomato. I knew she wouldn't want to be up here on stage, but I wanted to give her the experience so that she knew what I faced all of the time. I had her sit down on the stool before I turned back to the crowd.

"Anybody know who this lovely young woman is?" I asked the crowd. There were a number of people yelling back names. Others seemed confused. But some recognized her.

"This is my best friend in the world," I told the audience. "Chloe, say hello to the L.A. County Fair. Fair, say hello to Chloe."

Emily nearly yelped in embarrassment when the whole audience replied with "Hi Chloe!”

I held the microphone up to her, and after a moment she realized what it was for.

"Hello," she told them meekly before clamming up once more. I knew we weren't going to get much more out of her, sadly.

"Earlier this year Chloe and I sat down to write a couple of songs about fairytales," I told the crowd. "You just heard one of them. But both of us are also very proud of this next one."

I paused for a moment to take Sparkle back from Tim then I looked at Emily again. She was more of a baby pink now as she was starting to get over her initial embarrassment. She likely wouldn’t be back to her normal color until sometime after the concert ended.

"Chloe," I told her, and her eyes met mine. "You're going to be my best friend for 'Ever After'."

I started playing the happy song that would be debuted as my next single within the next week with as much emotion as I could. I wanted this to be one of my best performances of the song as I shared the stage with the wonderful young woman who had helped to make it such an amazing song. I wanted it to be perfect for the young woman whom I owed my entire career to.

As I performed I could see two things happen to Emily. Initially, she tensed up every time I approached her. She was afraid I would make her sing, but I would never do that to her. The second thing I noticed, however, was that she was starting to enjoy herself. Her embarrassment seemed to be fading as I sang and she started to enjoy being on the stage with me. I knew she would thank me later for the experience.

All too soon the song came to a conclusion, and as the crowd roared its approval I turned to Emily and we wrapped each other in a long hug.

"Thank you for everything, Emily," I whispered into her ear just as the lights dimmed until it was completely dark, and the two of us were alone in the world.

* * *

"Don't ever do that to me again!" Emily screamed as she entered my dressing room later that night. She sounded irate, but the smile she was trying to hide told a different story.

I smiled back. "You loved it," I told her, laughing. She soon joined me, and even Ethan and Tracy were laughing too.

"That was amazing," she said once we were able to calm down. "I never realized how exciting it could be to stand in front of a crowd like that. Don't get me wrong - once was enough, but wow!"

I laughed again at her description.

"It certainly gets your adrenaline pumping, doesn't it?" I asked.

"Five minutes!" Amy called into the dressing room, preventing a response as I started to gather everything I would need for the Star Party.

"Oh," Tracy said as something popped into her mind while we were leaving the dressing room. "You're still doing Katy's party on Wednesday, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," I told her with a smile. My cousin Katy's birthday was on Wednesday, and Tracy and I had a huge surprise planned for her. When Sarah Carerra showed up to sing some songs she was going to freak out!

I could hear Tracy giggling as she thought about what it would do to Katy, but I continued down the hall to the Observatory, arm in arm with Emily.

A short time later I was taking pictures with the fans who had been invited to the party. I was happy to have the opportunity to give Emily the chance to be a part of the action once more. Ethan appeared to be jealous while he sat on the couch next to Tracy and Heather. However, Emily was showing a lot more composure than she had on stage as she talked with each of my fans while they waited their turn to get their picture taken with me.

Right now she was talking to a beautiful girl who had dirty blonde hair. I watched as the girl seemed to light up at meeting Chloe, who talked to her for a bit before she was able to come over to me.

"Hi," I said and watched the elation in this girl that Chloe had started grow into a near frenzy.

"Hi!" the girl replied excitedly before jumping up and down for a moment and giving me a hug. She appeared to be about 12, and it was apparent that she had already had a hard life. I didn't know what had happened to her, but I hoped that I could take away some of that pain for a moment or two.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"Annie," she replied, and she looked like she couldn't believe she was actually talking to me. "Annabelle," she corrected a moment later. "But all of my friends call me Annie."

"It's nice to meet you then, Annie," I said, and she lit up again as she realized that I was calling her a friend.

"I can't believe this is happening!" she said, and she had a faraway look in her eyes for a moment before she refocused on me. "This is the best night of my life!"

I chuckled slightly at her exuberance, but unlike many other fans who had said the same thing, I believed that she was actually telling me the truth. I had a feeling that something had changed her life tonight, and if I had been the cause then I hoped it was for the better.

We posed for a couple of pictures to be taken, one from my official photographer and another from a man whom I assumed was her father, though they didn't look related. But once he had the picture he turned toward the woman whom I had no doubt was Annie's mother. He had tears in his eyes. I didn't know what was going on, but it looked like it was a good thing.

"Thanks for coming tonight," I told Annie as we separated after the flashes had stopped.

She paused and looked up at me for a moment.

"Thank you," she said, and I watched as a tear fell from her eye. "You don't know what tonight means to me. This wouldn't have happened without you." She paused once again, unsure what to say. "Thank you," she eventually repeated again.

"I'm glad I could help," I told her truthfully before wrapping my arms around her once more, and giving her a longer hug this time. "If you ever need a place to get away from your family or anything, let me know, okay?" Annie nodded as I let go of her once more, but she had wide eyes that proved my guess about her problems had been accurate. Amy was there immediately with one of her business cards and I took it from her and handed it to Annie. "Call this number if you need anything, okay?"

Annie stared at the card. Even if she never called, I knew that just having that number was enough to lift a heavy burden off her shoulders.

This wasn't the first time that meeting me had seemed to touch a fan like this, but something told me that this girl was special. She needed to know that there was someone else out there willing to help her. If giving her a phone number that she could contact me with could give her hope, then it was the least I could do.

Annie stepped away from me with a dazed look and into the arms of the man who had taken her picture. She looked up at him and smiled before wrapping her arms around him and I was forced to turn toward the next fan.

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