Page 95 of Conquest

“Sorry, Jess, it’s the way it’s gotta be. I got the call asking if I could get you both to perform and couldn’t say no. It’s huge exposure for Conquest and for Evan’s comeback. Don’t worry, though. You’ll each get to perform on your own, then later in the show, you and Evan will take the stage together to do one of his songs, and at the end of the show when the ball drops, you’ll be on stage together again, but with all the other acts that will be playing that night and everybody will be doing ‘Auld Lang Syne.’”

“No!” Jesse roared. “I’m not doing it! I refuse!”

“The deal’s already been made, you can’t refuse.”

“The hell I can’t,” Jesse growled through clenched teeth. “Now if you’re done, I need some privacy to get changed.”

Greg stomped past him toward the door. The others trailed after him.

Jesse paced back and forth in the empty dressing room. Achilles jumped off a chair, pacing with him. Jesse sat on the floor and picked him up, holding him to his chest.

“You’re the only one who doesn’t drive me totally nuts, ‘Chilles. Why Greg is pushing so hard. Can’t he understand I have to distance myself from Ev to protect him? Doesn’t he get it that if I’m near him, it’ll break me?”

He tossed his head back and sighed. Evan. He didn’t even bother to show up to Jesse’s kick-off concert, and if that wasn’t bad enough, it was also October 7th, his birthday. He knew he shouldn’t have expected Evan to acknowledge it, but he held on to the hope all day that his phone would ring, or that Evan would surprise him by coming to the concert.

Jesse tried to shake away the growing hurt. He couldn’t let Evan affect him. He needed to focus. Everything he ever dreamed of waited for him outside his dressing room door. He lowered his gaze. Almost everything.

He forced himself to stand up. He changed into a pair of black leather pants, and instead of a shirt, he pulled on a short black leather jacket.

He pet Achilles. “You stay here and be a good boy while I go perform.”

Jesse walked out of his dressing room to Kenny, Julian, and Trish waiting for him, and the roaring voices of the crowd chanting “Conquest.” He held his right hand out, the others fell down on top.

“This is the start of the beginning,” Jesse said. “This is where we lay the foundation and let the world know we’re a force that won’t be stopped. Together, we will conquer the world. Let’s do this!”

The others yelled with him and headed for the stage.

The arena lights dropped. The crowd screamed louder in anticipation. Julian hit the keyboards, pulling out long, deep notes. Kenny’s guitar broke through the darkness with throaty smooth cords. A steady beat from the drums came in, getting louder and louder. Over it all, Jesse’s voice began to rise, growing stronger with each note. When he hit the top of his range, he could hardly hear himself over the roaring crowd. The lights flashed on. He ran to the front of the stage, and lit into the fast lines of “Vanish,”

“You look in my eyes,

Thinking you can see all the tears I’ve cried,

You don’t know me,

Don’t hold me.

I can’t believe I bought all the lies that you sold,

Took ‘em to my heart to hold,

Then you let me go.

You breezed through my life,

Night after night,

Pushing me to the edge,

With your smile so beautiful and cold.

Now you stand before me and cry,

Saying you want me by your side.

But I need to go,

I need to run.