Chapter 93
Lucky glanced at his watch and sighed, then turned to Liz. “I have to go backstage now to get ready.”
She nodded, feeling slightly nervous about him leaving her alone there. “Okay.”
The auditorium was nearly full, so he knew there could be someone watching them at any time. Slipping into character, he smiled and reached up to touch her face. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Liz returned his smile. “I’ll be here.”
He laughed softly and leaned down to kiss her, lingering a bit longer than necessary. Their eyes met as he pulled away, both of them caught off-guard for a moment.
“Lucky?” Liz asked.
“Yeah?”
“I thought you had to go.”
“Oh, right,” he mumbled quickly, finally breaking her gaze. “Um...bye.” He quickly kissed her again, then jumped up from his seat and followed one of the usher’s to the backstage entrance. Liz watched him go, a small smile playing on her lips. He really did look good in those leather pants.
“So, you’re Lucky’s new wife?” a female voice said next to her, startling her from her daze. She looked over to see who had said that and was shocked to find Jennifer Aniston staring right at her.
“Um, yeah. I’m Liz.” Not sure what else to do, she held out her hand. Jennifer smiled and shook it.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jen.”
“Brad,” Brad Pitt said quietly, reaching to shake her hand as well and smiling genuinely. Liz giggled, totally starstruck.
“I know,” she said, grinning. She was about to say something else when she felt someone sit next to her.
“I’m sorry, that seat is....” she started to say, turning to the newcomer.
“Lizzie?” the man asked, his face breaking out into a wide smile.
“Chad?” She grinned and hugged him, shocked to see him there. Chad had gone to art school with her, and they had dated for a little over a year. They remained friends after breaking up, but once she returned to Port Charles, they had fallen out of touch. She didn’t even realize he was still in the city. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m a seat-filler,” he explained, smiling.
“A what?”
“Seat-filler. Haven’t you ever noticed that when they show the audience at these things, you never see empty seats? That’s what we do. When someone goes to the bathroom, or has to go on stage, we fill their seat until they come back.”
Liz laughed and shook her head. “And that’s what you do now?”
“Well, not as a career, but it’s a good thing to make some extra money. Besides, I get to see the shows for free. How can you go wrong?”
She hugged him again, just happy to see a familiar face. When she pulled away, he looked at her for a moment, smiling. “You look great, Liz.”
“Thanks.”
“What are you doing here? I thought I saw Lucky in this seat earlier. Are you his date?”
She chuckled and held up her hand to show him her ring. “His wife.”
“You’re kidding! He got married? Where have I been?” he asked, shocked. “How long?”
“A little over a week, so don’t feel too bad for not knowing. It was one of those whirlwind things, took us both by surprise.” Before she could continue, the band started to play the opening music and the lights dimmed. They both sat back to watch as the host, Matthew Perry, took the stage, eliciting a soft cheer from Jennifer.
~*~
“Come on guys, sit down, it’s starting!” Luke ordered, waving everyone into the living room. They all gathered around the television set as the awards ceremony began, studying the screen as the camera panned over the audience, looking for Liz and Lucky. The announcer was listing the evening’s performers, and they all cheered when he got to Lucky and Mariah, but there was still no audience shot yet.
“I wonder what they’re going to sing?” Carly asked, settling next to Jason on the couch.
“Not one of his songs, I bet,” Sonny replied with a laugh. “His music isn’t exactly duet material.”
Alexis laughed softly and looked over at him from her seat next to Jax. She was still as confused as ever, maybe even more so, about who she wanted to be with. The night Jax had shown up at her hotel suite had been wonderful, and ever since they were sort of dating, but she still felt that longing inside whenever she saw Sonny. His eyes met hers for a moment and she could tell he felt the same way, but he quickly looked back at the TV, not wanting to see her so close to Jax any more than he had to.
~*~
After a hilarious monologue and opening bit, Matthew Perry stepped aside to introduce the first act. “Before we get to the awards, I’d like to introduce our first performance of the evening. Everyone please welcome Mariah Carey and Lucky!”
Everyone applauded as the two walked onto the stage, then grew silent as the soft music began. Chad glanced over at Liz, who was watching intently, a proud smile on her face.
The lights dimmed until there were just two soft spotlights on the duo. Mariah reached out and took Lucky’s hand, raising her micropher in front of her to speak.
“This is a song I have always wanted to do, but was waiting for the right person to sing it with,” she explained, smiling over at him. “I couldn’t think of a more wonderful singer or a sweeter person than Lucky. As some of you may know, he was recently married, so I’d like to dedicate this to both him and his new bride.”
Lucky glanced out at the audience in Liz’s direction, but because of the bright lights shining on him, he couldn’t see her. The music grew louder, signaling for them to begin. He stepped closer to Mariah and lifted his microphone.
~*~
“Hey, who’s the guy next to Liz?” Nikolas asked, leaning closer to the screen as the camera panned the audience. They had shown her briefly when Mariah mentioned his wife, but then returned to the stage.
“It looked like Brad Pitt to me,” Emily said with a grin. “She’s one lucky girl!”
“No, the guy on the other side of her,” he clarified, rolling his eyes.
“Probably just a seat-filler,” Chloe explained. She saw the looks of confusion on their faces and laughed. “They’re paid to sit in empty seats whenever someone leaves to go to the restroom or go on stage.”
“How do you know that?” Ned asked.
“I’ve designed dresses for awards shows before, and sometimes they give me tickets to them.”
“Shh!” Carly hissed, waving at them to be quiet. “They’re starting!”
~*~
(Lines beginning with L are sung by Lucky, with M are Mariah, and B are both.)
L: I finally found someone, who knocks me off my feet;
I finally found the one who makes me feel complete...
M: It started over coffee, we started out as friends;
It's funny how from simple things; the best things begin...
L: This time is different;
It's all because of you!..
It's better than it's ever been;
B: Cuz we can talk it through;
M: My favorite line was "Can I call you sometime?";
It's all you had to say...
B: To take my breath away.
..
This is it!
Oh, I finally found someone; someone to share my life;
I finally found the one - to be with every night;
M: Cause whatever I do
L: It's just got to be you!
B: My life has just begun, I finally found someone..
.
L: Did I keep you waiting?
M: I didn't mind
L: I apologize
M: Baby, that's fine
L: I would wait forever
B: Just to know you were mine;
L: Ya know - I love your hair...
M: Are you sure it looks right?
L: I love what you wear...
M: Isn't it too tight?
L: You're exceptional!
B: I can't wait for the rest of my life...
Oh this is it!
I finally found someone; someone to share my life,
I finally found the one; to be with every night...
M: Cause whatever I do
L: It's just got to be you
B: My life has just begun; I finally found someone...
M: And whatever I do.
L: It's just got to be you!
M: My life has just begun...
B: I finally found someone...
Once the song had ended, Lucky reached over and hugged her tightly while the audience applauded wildly for them. She kissed him on the cheek and took his hand, then they waved at everyone one last time before leaving the stage. Once they were off, Matthew Perry returned to introduce the first presenters, for the Favorite Female R&B/Soul Artist award.
“He’s good,” Chad whispered, leaning over to Liz.
“Yeah, he is,” she sighed, strangely affected by the song. She hated watching them sing it, though, because they kept holding hands and touching each other, staring into each other’s eyes as they sang. Still, watching Lucky sing had moved her. The songs he usually did were so hard, very rock and roll, he didn’t normally sing ballads. His voice had been so strong and emotional while he had sung just then, it had almost brought a tear to her eye.
~*~
“Wow,” Alexis breathed, surprised at how good Lucky was.
“Yeah, I know,” Luke replied proudly. “Although, he certainly didn’t get his voice from me!”
“He didn’t get it from me, either,” Laura added with a laugh. She leaned in to Luke, lowering her voice so no one would hear. “I wonder what Liz thought of it?”
He smiled and shook his head. “If that didn’t get to her, then she’s not human!”
~*~
Once the winner was done with their acceptance speech, they broke for commercial. The lights came up a bit and the audience began to murmur excitedly.
“Usually, this is when they come back to their seats, so I better go,” Chad said, glancing over at the backstage door. Sure enough, it opened and Lucky stepped out, making his way to their aisle.
“It was great to see you again.” Liz reached over and hugged him, unaware that Lucky was approaching them.
“You too. It’s good to see you happy. And congratulations on the marriage,” he added with a laugh, pulling back from her. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek just as Lucky walked up. “Will I see you later?”
“Probably. This is my section, so if Lucky wins, I’ll probably be his filler again,” Chad explained. He glanced over and saw Lucky standing there. “There’s my cue to go.”
He stood up and patted Lucky on the back. “You’ve got a great girl there, man. Congratulations.”
“Um, thanks,” he mumbled, wondering who this guy was, and why Liz had kissed him before.
“Bye, Lizzie!” he called out, hurrying up the aisle before the commercial break was over.
“Lizzie?” Lucky asked sarcastically, taking his seat again. “Who was that guy?”
“A seat-filler,” she responded, smiling at his obvious jealousy.
“I meant, how do you know him?”
“Oh, that. We went to art school together. We dated for about a year,” she said nonchalantly, looking back at the stage as the theme music started up. “By the way, that duet was really good.” She looked over at him again. “You should do ballads more often.”
“Really?” he asked, surprised by the sincerity in her voice.
“Yeah.”
He smiled and turned back to the stage as the co-host, Alyssa Milano, walked on. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of one of the large screens which showed what the television broadcast was showing. While everyone was applauding her, the cameras were sweeping the audience. In case they were going to be in the shot, he quickly reached over and took Liz’s hand. She looked over at him, startled.
“We could be on any minute,” he whispered, motioning to the screen. Just as he did, the camera swept over them. “See what I mean?”
“You mean, everyone watching this at home is seeing what’s up there?” she asked quietly as Alyssa started to introduce the next presenters. Lucky nodded and sat back to watch the next award, forgetting to release her hand.
[Song Credit: “I Finally Found Someone” By: Barbra Streisand, Bryan Adams, Marvin Hamlisch, R.J. Lange © 1996, 1997 Out of Pocket Productions Ltd. Controlled by Zomba Enterprises]
