chapter 10 - 1951
previous part
ELVIS PRESLEY
My shaky fingers strummed the guitar as my legs moved to the beat and the roar of the crowd. I felt a lot of things â things I didnât know I could feel in such an excessive way. My heart was racing faster than any competition horse, my hips moved like hypnotized and my wet hair was sticky against my skin.Â
My eyes wandered around, absolutely mesmerized at the excitement of tonightâs crowd, and at that point I didnât know which was louder â the desperate cries for attention or my beating heart. My worn out shoes were tapping against the stage as my eyes wandered around, still feeling amazed by such a wild crowd. Women were crying with mascara running down their cheeks as they were screaming for attention. Men werenât too different as they were whistling and screaming as well â with a little bit of hesitation, however as the minutes passed by they took their actions further, feeling more confident.
They were screaming someoneâs name â I couldnât tell. All their voices mashed up in unison, making it impossible to understand a word. But maybe it was meant in that way. Maybe I was undeserving of anyoneâs praise and encouraging words, so thatâs why I couldnât make out my name from the crowd. Iâve never seen anyone being so excited for any kind of show â let alone my own. And it made me wonder what these people saw in me. What did they think as they purchased their ticket and drove their car here?
Because I was nothing. Â
I was utterly nothing in my pink suit compared to the beauty of the woman standing on the front of the stage.
Her back was turned to me, giving me the view of her in a pink suit, matching my own. Her own shoes tapping at the beat of our music and her fingers never missing a guitar string. Long, brown hair cascaded down her back in endless waves, making me wonder what it would feel like to run a hand through it. But I needed more. I needed to make sure it wasnât a dream and that it was reality. So I took a step forward, but the music seemed to get louder and the crowd less tame. The womanâs leg twitched at the music as her body moved just like mine, making the sight in front of me even more unbelievable.
Who was she?
I turned around for a split second, looking at the man behind the drums and my other friend playing the third guitar. Those men were my best companions. I could clearly make out their features â it had to be real. I moved closer to them, still strumming my guitar, and spoke up.
âWho is she?â I said loudly as the crowd seemed to get even louder.
James laughed at my words. âWhat do you mean who is she?â
I grew annoyed at his attitude. âJust answer my damn question,â he rolled his eyes at my words and opened his mouth to speak up.
âItâsââ
His lips moved but no words came out. I looked at him and then glanced back at the woman.
âWhat did you say?â
Instead of an answer, the drums got louder and the crowd started to get violent. People were pushing each other, shouting nonsense.
âHey, hey, easy there. Easy. Thereâs a spot for everyone, yes?â the music stopped gradually. James smiled at me knowingly and nodded towards her. My fingers abandoned the guitar strings as my feet automatically carried me back to my spot. My eyes lingered on the people in the crowd â a couple got arrested by the police, but others were intently watching her every move â thirsty for any word she might have to say.
âToday is our tenth show a-and we canât thank you enough for the support youâve shown us,â the melodic voice said on the mic. I found myself having the same reaction as the people in the crowd. I was hanging onto her every word.
âSince youâve been so kind to us tonight⊠Let me introduce you to the band, yeah?â and the cheers certainly didnât disappoint.
âWeâve got James on the third guitar tonightâ You can tell he feels pretty special. Donât you, Jimmy?âthe crowd laughed at her words. Her hand pointing at the guitarist, who tugged at the guitar strings with a small bow.
âNext, we have Charlie on the drums. Give it up for Charlie, everyone!â more applause followed, but my amazement never ceased. How could someone hold so much power over a crowd of people?
âAnd finallyâ Oh, donât be shy, cÂŽmere,â she waved her hand and my heart skipped a beat. She was moving towards me. My head turned and my eyes sought hers â any detail of her face, but the more I looked the more she turned away from me.
âAnd finally, ladies and gentlemen, a man who needs no introductionâŠâ I inched closer until I felt her warm hand grasp mine. âElvis Presley!â
A smile played on my lips as my heart kept thumping when the cheers got louder and louder. They were chanting my name. My name. My eyes locked with a girlâs, making me wink at her as I blew her a kiss. She squealed and grasped her friendâs arm, shaking it violently as if making sure she had seen the small exchange between us.
But there was one pair of eyes I needed to look at.
âWonât you introduce me, E?â and there was her sweet voice again. I felt my hand burn in hers, not believing any of this was real. Because how could it be? I needed to see her. I needed to make sure that what I was seeing was real. Her touch slipped away, her feet carrying her to the other side of the stage.
âNoâŠâ fell from my lips in a slow murmur. I followed her, squinting and trying to get a better look. The artificial lights blinded me all of a sudden and I couldnât make out any silhouette.
âCece? Is that you?â I tried calling, but my throat felt all closed up. The lights were blinding me and sudden pressure was overwhelming me, making it hard to breathe.
And then I woke up.
A/N: uuu how we feeling so far? thank you for reading! hope you're enjoying the story so far!
index chapter 11














