Chapter Three: For Ashley, It Doesn’t Go Up
So now it’s around five o’clock and the preparations are nearly over. I’m sitting in a corner as everyone swoons over him and he seems happy enough. It’s just kind of weird to see your boyfriend wear more make-up then you. Oh well, he was so nice to look at that I forgot to feel secretly mad and left out. Or maybe it’s because I think Ray is too important to ever feel that way. Anyway, I was staring at him (like staring at the television) my backstage pass over my neck, daydreaming of our future. It was really relaxing and I wished he had more time to himself. Or maybe this is his time, maybe he loves this a lot more then I’ll ever know…
As the make-up artist and hairdressers left the room bumping into me I came alive again and took a small breath. Then I noticed an odd look on Ray’s face. Like he hated to sit there with pre-performance jitters.
He turned to me, “ Cecee get over here.”
I smiled and walked over to him, I stood behind him my hands on his shoulders. We both looked in the mirror. My caramel-red skin glowed in the room quite nicely, it shocked me.
Suddenly with no warning Ray got up from the chair and went to the door calling the people back into the room. I stared at him curiously, “ What, Ray? Is one of your highlights off?”, of course I said it with a playful smile.
He didn’t answer as the hairdressers and make-up artist got in the room he blew various commands. The first one apparently at me, “ Alicia, sit in that chair.”
It was like I was on autopilot and I sat down no questions asked. Then he said various other things to the people in the room. Evidently, most of it had to do with being polite to other people, which according to Ray they were not. Then all a sudden they all attacked and start poking at my hair and my face. Somewhere in this cautious Ray said he would be warming up.
And when I was made-up head to neck, more people took me to wardrobe. Which were apparently emergency outfits for Ashley Simpson. Wow, these people really didn’t want Ray pissed. Piss, he was like a cuter Jesse McCartney. Why not follow his divo demands? Ah, see new word, divo! The male diva, I’m going to see how Ray likes it…
Finally I got a peek into the mirror, I nearly gasped. I looked good, really good. My hair was soft and shiny, my make-up perfect, and my out-fit topped it all off. “ I look good, dinnna nana nana Na, I knew that I would. That’s right, Ahhh!”
And I started dancing right in there because I was alone, then the door burst open. I stopped abruptly to Mike the meanest manager on Earth staring at me.
“ Uh…Hi, Mike, how are you?” I said trying to get over the fact that I was caught dancing while ruining a James Brown song.
“ Who the hell are you?” He demanded,[ he was average height, blond forty year old male. The type of man, that the moment you saw him you felt intimidated.]
“ It’s me, Alicia!”
Why was he always forgetting who I was? He was Ray’s manager; he should know I held a place in Ray’s heart. In other words he should’t treat me like crap.
“ Oh, you? I thought he broke up with you… How’d you get all the clothes and make-up?”
Mike had walked in the room by now calming down a little, which was never good. He tended to say rude thongs in this state. “ I don’t know, Ray got those people to do it…”
“ Well, there’s only so much they could do.”
I look at him in anger and he laughs it off, “ Joking Alicia, just I’m not sure what your doing here.”
“ Ray invited me.”
“ Sure, you stalk him to his bungalow unexpectedly, just… We wouldn’t want Ray to get distracted with GIRL-friends. Now would we?”
“ Ahem, soul-mates, and of course not.” I walk up to him in anger, “ How many times do I have to tell you people my intentions with Ray are nothing but good? I’ve known him a LOT longer then any of you have! And I should ask YOU what YOUR intentions with Ray are. You don’t know him or care about him like I do! Never!”
I was yelling so loud, and I walked out the room slamming the door. I didn’t win though; making a big old fuss was exactly what Mike wanted. I walked in a huff down the hall my arms folded across my chest and as I pass another hallway I hear my name called.
I turn around curious; I see Ray and smiling walked over to him, “ Hey Ray!”
Ray smiled a big smile taking my hand, “ You look great! Wow, I thought I was the most beautiful one here, but I’m like an nine compared to your hundred.”
I laugh my utterly annoying laugh, the one I used to envy girls for, because when you have a boyfriend laughing like a horse comes natural. “ Ray, I couldn’t believe you did that, it was sexy.”
Ray seemed aroused at the word; I realized to late, it was because someone very weird looking stood next to him. Nonetheless Ashley Simpson! Wow, ugly- haired, big-nosed, boyfriend stealer Ashley Simpson! (Beware of that last one).
“ Oh, my gaaa…” Yeah, of course that was me talking.
“ Well. Alicia this is—.”
“ Ashley Simpson naturally. Hey, nice to meet you, I’m, I’m Alicia!” Like some kind of Emma Roberts reject I stuck out my hand and she looked laid back and well… mean. Just a little.
“ Hi, nice to meet you. Are you a friends of Ray’s?” [She seemed nice enough in person, her hair currently blond, like maybe in real life she wasn't just like the rumors said. Made me a little guilty looking at her in person, to believe those rumors. But then again, any girl i didn't know by Ray i had to watch.]
Now, what could I say not to embarrass Ray? Usually when I told people Ray was my boyfriend I’d go on about our whole lives…. And I couldn’t do that in front of a celebrity, nonetheless a boyfriend stealer. [ most likely]
“ Well, yeah, I’m his girlfriend! And it is so nice to meet you. Ray,” I say turning to him, “ I don’t see how you do it! Meeting all these celebrities and staying so calm! Ashley don’t you just love him?”
She grabbed my arm, “ Definitely he’s a sweetheart and he’s got all the girls after him. I think it’s so cool how he can sing Christian music and be so popular. I wish Jessica had done that…”
I smiled I was hanging out with a celebrity walking into a back stage party, with my boyfriend!
Ray had a sweaty palm in my other hand. “ What’ s wrong? You never have sweaty palms.” I whisper to him, i knew every particular thing about Ray and sweaty palms was not a good thing.
In fact looked a bit fatigued as we paused at the door of the party and Ashley went inside to greet all the guest, her entourage finally caught-up with her.
“ Yeah, let’s not go in there, let’s sit.” Ray suggested , pulling me back away from the door. It was like a door into another dimension, and all i saw was the back of a certain white rapper.
“ Okay, but jeez I’ve never been to a backstage party.”
Ray smiled ignoring my rants and pulled me way, way down the sound stage hall into an empty sitting room.
We each sat down on a comfy couch. “ What did you want to do in here Ray?” I ask dumbly.
So rather then tell me he showed me, exactly what he wanted to do. And it totally helped that the room was a bit dim. Soon our affection of love got carried away.
“ Ray…” I began nervously, but embarrassed he got up.
“ Never mind, I’m going on in two minutes come watch me from the side of the stage”, he said, although as we talked we were breathing a bit shallow.
“ Wait a second.” I protest but Ray grabbed my hand standing me up. He rubbed my cheek a little, and I ask,“ You nervous Ray?”
“ No, not really usually I pretend you’re the on the side watching me. But this time there’s no need now. This is going to be my best performance ever.”
“ Yeah. Good thing it’s on television.” I say sarcastically.
…
However Ray wasn’t nervous a bit in his opening act. He looked like he’d been doing the music thing for years. Seriously the crowd went wild, and Ray looked so happy like he’d do this for the rest of his life, with me his main supporter, always by his side. [If that were possible].
Ray ended up singing THREE songs instead of just one.
I told him people were really there to see him and not Ashley Simpson, but I guess he thought he just warmed up the audience for her. As he walked off the stage he came and hugged me, we were both laughing, and he said “That was so cool Cecee!”
“ You look like your high, with happy!”
“ You, with laughing gas?”
He was right we couldn’t stop laughing, and we would have seen exactly what happened if we weren’t. But of course I saw it on television later. So we were catching our breaths and all a sudden we hear the yelling and screaming from the crowd.
It took me a second to realize they were booing at her. It suddenly all made sense. Ashley Simpson 2004 Saturday night live lip-sings losing one quarter of her loyal fans. Then later big ass super bowl, Ashley sings entire audience of like 34,000 boo her. Then earlier this year Ashley has big concert, but she cancels because she’s sick. Sneaky photographer catches her ice-skating; fans waste 800 or more dollars on tickets and an idol.
And Ray the hottest new artist of the year, hot guitarist CHRISTIAN SINGER! Come on Ashley was trying to use him to recollect her fame and it backfired BIG time. I thought it was amazing how EVERY single person could agree that she deserved a good booing. I know there’s some kind of mob terminology… Like with an angry mob that ‘s yelling at someone you could hide and say something out loud to make them change their minds or do something violent. And these ex-fans were kind of an angry mob. So groups of people must have started booing, causing every other person to boo. Amazing, I learned all this from a Series Of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.
When I told all of this to Ray, he looked confused for a moment, “Yeah, I think her sound system got messed up…. Where’d that all come from?”
“ What’d what come from?”
“ All that stuff you just said.”
“ Live and learn baby, live and learn.”
Ray smiled, “ That kind of turned me on…. But we’ll talk about this later I have to save the concert.” Make-up artist tried to freshen Ray up and Mike was talking a mile a minute as Ray got ready to hit the stage again.
But Ray began to walk away, but I grabbed his shirt, “ Wait, must you forget so quickly?”
“ Forget what?”
And I showed him exactly WHAT I meant.
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