Jordan

Jordan

By

Retta Michaels

Disclaimer:

If you are under the age of eighteen, or live in a locale which doesn't allow you to read these sorts of stories legally, then please don't. Come back when it's legal for you to do so and it will be great with us who are here legally. In fact, we'll support you and in the right circumstances help get you laid. Now, skedaddle and shut the door on your way out!

Now, for the rest of you who are supposed to be adults, act like it!

Chapter 12:

Our announcement to do the last tour was met upon New Year's Eve stunned everyone. The commentator was speechless. The crowd went silent. And, the press instantly lunged at Chad and I citing our separate albums being a sign of us breaking up and splitting up the group.

Everywhere we went for the next two weeks, Chad and I were questioned about our break up. It got to be ridiculous. We'd be standing there after having an intimate dinner holding hands, and a microphone would be shoved in our faces asking about our break up.

Finally, we decided to play with the media and had a twenty four hour a day crew follow us around for an entire week. The public saw us separately only in the morning as I tend to get up early and prepare breakfast while Chad sleeps in. They did learn we shower together and we're very intimate and sexual. Yes, we showed everything with censored black dots. Then we released it as a dvd and on our television stations. Then, we went out for two weeks and promoted the hell out of it.

The timing of the release was something we hadn't anticipated. We scheduled it to go on the air at the same time Barbara Walters was interviewing us on another network before the Super Bowl. Needless to say, fights apparently erupted at homes across the world because Dad wanted to watch Football and everyone else wanted to watch our DVD. All I can say is if I had known the ratings would have been where they were, I would have insisted the advertisers pay as much as they did for the Super Bowl for that three hours because our ratings surpassed it. Lucky them. Who knew?

After that, the press got better and then began wanting to promote the tour. By then, we'd already performed to a packed house three weeks solid in New York City. The encore of the tour was "In Memoriam...showing the video above while we sang below as a group."

Somewhere in that time, we received a call which would change the entire tour. Wend was ready.

We sent a plane over and he was picked up. When he arrived, we sent out six decoy SUVs which look alike body doubles exiting the hotel. The press followed and when they thought they were all going to Madison Square Garden, they regrouped and went back to the hotel. While doing so, we escaped out of the hotel via a restaurant supply truck.

We went a block down the street and got into the limo. RJ and Jill accompanied us and the security which had left with the SUVs all regrouped and met us at the hanger.

When we got there, we awaited the arrival of the plane and what we saw when the door of the plane opened was Wend seeming to be Wend and acting like nothing had happened. He didn't understand Kurt being with the group, but whatever they did to reprogram him apparently took away all the anger and delusions he had.

On the way back to the hotel, RJ spoke with Wend and told him he'd be allowed on tour with us, but one infraction and he'd be out. Wend's reply was, "I'm aware of my position and am only here to be nice."

RJ apparently was so stunned by the comment, he was speechless. When they emerged from the SUV in which they were riding, RJ came over to everyone and said, "I don't know what they did to him, but it's spooky. It's like he's the same, but apparently doesn't remember anything and all he wants to do is be nice, so it's your call."

Chad was the one who spoke up. He said "Guys, this is the farewell tour. Let him on and we'll figure out a place for him.

Bandy was visibly moved for more reasons than the rest of us. He wanted to know what Wend's role would be because he certainly refused to sing to Wend and he refused to make Kurt's position as his lover be diminished. I completely agreed.

What was uncanny was Kurt stood up and said, "Band, I love you, but let it drop. If no one else will sing with him, I'll get up there and do it." He turned and left the room. Those words instantly made everyone aware of how we were acting.

Band looked at me and said, "I'm torn. Parts of me want to trust him, but parts of me don't want a thing to do with him."

So, what happened was a collective decision was made for the entire group to go in with Wend and see what he thought his role would be with the group. He answered it best by saying, "Guys, I just want to sing. If you'll have me on the stage, I'll do whatever you want me to do."

Bandy looked at him and said, "Wend, Kurt and I are lovers and I'll tell you now there's not a song I'll sing towards you that's a love song. What you did hurt me and the group and I'll not let that go."

Wend looked at him and said, "Bandy, I don't remember a thing about what you're talking about. I'm trying, but I just can't remember it. Things flash in my mind, but it's like videos and I don't understand it."

Everyone looked at each other and RJ stood up and said, "Wend, we'll re-choreograph the tour. If you fuck it up, I'll personally see you never see the light of day again."

Wend nodded and RJ turned to the group and said, "Get this man a suite and I'll pay for the costs involved. You guys need to grow up."

What was hard was we began choreographing and it was like dancing with two left feet. Our group was trained for six and there were seven. So, we sat down and Wend said, "Why don't we just write some songs that have me on stage with the group and we'll choreograph those. The songs where the group is performing as a group, I'll be out there, but for the others, I'll stay off stage."

Chad looked at me and said, "Let's do it."

He looked at the group and said, "O.k., this is the last shot and I'm wanting two albums. One is going to be titled "Home Coming", and the other is "Seven". Let's get it done guys."

What came about from "Seven" was the theme. We openly discussed the past and we openly discussed the sense of betrayal we each felt. Even Wend's viewpoint got put into it even though he says he doesn't remember anything. What's interesting was a song which sort of to the beat of "We Are The Champions" by Queen, but not..it was a chant and it was more of a rap. Wend's viewpoint was written "By Myself"..

After the recording of the cds, we sent it to printing and in less than a week, we had twelve million printed.

We then went in and totally changed the line up of the concert. It was confusing because while we were preparing for the change, we were out performing the old version. I was so worried one night, I'd not be in the right spot, it physically made me jittery. When Chad asked me what was happening with me, I told him and he acknowledged he felt the same way.

He turned to me and the next line was a song, "If I could do it all over again", I'd go over there and get reprogrammed myself so we could relive it...

As soon as I heard it, I said, "Chad, we've got a song and I want it to be the one that closes the concerts.

I began to sing and he said, "Not now, we've got to finish this concert and then, we'll write it."

I said, "Chad, tell the guys to stay out on stage after "memoriam", because I'm going to write that song on stage. I want them to see what it's like to be a part of sharing in the experience.

He looked at me and he said, "Babe, you don't know how much that's going to go over."

So, we told the group in costume change and told Wend to come out and be a part of it.

When Wend entered the stage at the end of the concert, the place went Wild. Girls cried, and people screamed for him to sing something. He politely declined and then said, "We'll be back this fall and when we do, I'll sing"

Immediately, I knew at what point they'd reprogrammed him because our promise to everyone the first time we performed in New York was coming back in the fall and Wend was the one that said those words. A chill went through me and I turned to Chad. He looked pale and nodded to me.

The group looked at me and so help me, I stuttered, "ummmm....the reason we're all still out here was "In Memoriam..." was supposed to be the last song. Earlier in the show, Chad said something to me which instantly had me composing the lyrics for a new song to end the concerts. You see, even thought it's over for us and we're all tired, it's not ever going to be over for us. You get pieces of our hearts and I know you've got pieces of ours.

So, with your help and patience, I'm going to do something I don't think you've ever seen and I don't think has ever been done before live on stage. We're going to write you a song.

The screams and appreciation by the fans were all incredible.

Chad went over to the keyboard and I said, "You see, Chad said to me earlier, If I could do it all over again, I'd do it if we could start over." (More audience screams)

"When we were just starting out, we were young. We had the world ahead of us and no one knew us. It's like a baby. There are first steps and then we learned to walk. When we got to where we walked, we took those steps and we became more sure of ourselves and we began to run and dance and play and the learning process continued because we learned what it took to be showmen. (More Screams)

"Then, somewhere along the line, jealousy emerged and there wasn't a thing we could do about it. We weren't picking the songs. We were performing them. That jealousy festered and when it exploded, it was vile, evil, ugly, and it split a seem in our group that took Wend out. No one knows what happened that day, but the group had to do something fast. So, we hired Kurt while he was working at a KFC. Yeah, there's a song about that somewhere in us, but I think we got the sweeter end of the deal. They're probably still trying to figure out how to bread the chicken." (HUGE LAUGHTER)

"Then, when we got back, we hid Kurt from you and faced the press without him. That's when Wend self destructed." (Screams)

He was hauled off and I'd like to say things got better for him, but they didn't. For us, they did and we went right on rolling singing the songs and ignoring the pain. You see, in our lives, we got caught up in the machinery and after a while, we weren't allowed to have fun anymore, or be people anymore. We were personalities and we were stars. In paying that price, we couldn't go into a grocery store, drive around with the top down, or go to an amusement park without a huge crowd being there. No, I'm not bitching, but there should have been a happy medium. In a huge way, Wend was lucky because he got off the train before it got up to full speed.

Along the way, we toured and we performed in every city in the world it seemed. We met millions of people and they all were wonderful. You don't know how incredibly wonderful you guys really are....(HUGE SCREAMS!!!)

"But, you don't realize that with ever city we toured, and every person we met, there was one less place for us to be invisible and go without huge crowds of people. So, a little over a year ago, we had a meeting and we told our manager we wanted a tour with less dates. He gave that to us last year. Then, we told him we wanted to have the next year be our going away party. (Screams)

"You don't realize it, but there are other acts out there just as talented as us. Just as good looking as us, if not more..." (Huge Screams)

"So, in order to go on with our lives, we've decided to end things on top and to have a final tour." (Screams)

"What happened then was Chad and I bought a company. Well, we bought several companies, but they were all under a corporate banner of Flagship. It's parent to our record company. Then, we brought Bandy on as an investor and we got super popular for all those stations. It began to take up time. Time which we didn't have because touring was our life."

"Right after that purchase, we were up here performing at Carnegie when I received the call that took me down. My parents were killed in the crash. For most people, that would be hard to take. For me, I was told "the show must go on" and "work, it will help you with the pain". I'll tell you it doesn't. I'll tell you now that Chad's the one that holds me when ....(Voice breaking) when I lose it"

Chad stepped in, "What happened was Jordy came out of it by helping people. He put away his pain and he shelved it. It would come out and as fast as it did, he'd channel it into something which made everyone think he was going to be a business mogul. He'll tell you now. If that's the price to pay for that, he'd give it all up to have his mama and daddy back."

Band came over and put his hand on my arm, I turned to him and hugged him.(HUGE SCREAMS)

Band said, "Guys, what you don't see up here are real people. You see singers, and performers. You see what we put out there for you to see. You see someone who feels and who loves and who should be allowed to grieve."

"When I lost Wend, and Kurt stepped into my life, I didn't get the time to grieve the loss. One day, I was singing to Wend and the next it was Kurt. That's not natural if you loved someone. It put a huge wall up between Kurt and I. He was patient and he worked with me through it, and I dearly love him for it. We made it become something which is wonderful, lasting, and I can actually say he's my best friend in the world as well as my lover." (HUGE SCREAMS)

"We then went in and recorded albums and we did the tour last year. It was beautiful, but more often than not, I caught myself going through the motions and I told myself I wasn't liking this part of me...the faking it. It wasn't fair to you (SCREAMS) and it wasn't fair to me."

Red came over and said, "When that happens guys, you see a part of yourself dying. In Australia, Niles and I's relationship was ignored and we were subjected to having dates picked for us by promoters. Now imagine if you will loving your girlfriend or boyfriend and going out on a date with that person and the promoter here said, "Oh no, that doesn't look right, I'm going to put you with this person and you with that person and you and your boyfriend or girlfriend can't see the concert together." ( Boos)

"Yeah, but we had to do it because we're not supposed to have feelings and I love him."

Niles came over and gave Red a huge kiss. He took the mic from Red and said, "What they're not telling you guys is through all of this time, we really were lost. We really were feeling homesick. (CHEERS). We really wanted to stop this thing so we could just be ourselves. (Cheers)

"So, we made the announcement and started the tour when all of a sudden, Wend's back and he's better than ever!" (HUGE SCREAMS)

Wend walks over and I step out and give him a huge hug followed by Chad, Kurt, Red, and Niles. Band stood back and we all parted and looked at him. He put the mic up to his mouth and said, "Wend, for a long time I loved you, and I still do (HUGE CHEERS), but I cannot allow myself to love you like we once did. So, let's do what we can and let's be friends. (The screams which occurred when they hugged were deafening. Chad, snapped his mic off and a wonderful sound engineer hit the main switch so all mics were off.)

I swear I looked out at the audience and I see guys crying as well as girls. We all came together for a huge hug and then broke apart. Somewhere inside of me, I just knew that picture was going to be on the front page of ever newspaper in America and the footage would be shown on ever show.

When we broke apart, (mic back on) I said, "So, what we're going to do now, is we're going to write a song which we'll be recording and releasing and performing every night of the tour until we finally stop this tour. What we're going to do is we're going to be adding dates to the tour. Wend just said he wants to come back, so we will. When we do, he'll perform for you and with us. We'll have a tour by then which will showcase us at our best so we will be known in your memories by that performance."

I turned to Chad, and began to sing, "If I could do it all over again and I would begin it with you."

Wend stepped in and wisely went to the audience and sang, "If I could do it all over again, I'd give you my best."

Red and Niles walked hand in hand to another edge of the stage and sang, "If I could do it all over again, I'd not deny your love."

Band and Kurt went up to the top of the air lift and sang, "If I could do it all over again, I'd give more from heaven above."

Some time in this, I looked at Chad and gave him a wink. The Jumbos caught it and a huge cheer came out.. Chad sang to me and said, "If I could sing you a song, I'd sing it with you."

Wend went over to another edge of the stage and said, "If I could sing you a song, I'd sing it my best."

The other guys caught on to what we were doing and Red and Niles sang, "If I could sing you a song, I'd not deny your love."

Band and Kurt sang, "If I could sing you a song, I'd sing it like the angels from up on high."

Chad looked at me and said loud enough for the guys to hear, "If I could begin it with you, I'd do it all over again."

Wend sang to the audience while he hung his mic out to the crowd, "If I could give you my best, I'd do it all over again."

Red and Niles sang, "If loving you would be accepted, I'd do it all over again." (HUGE CHEERS)

and then finally, Bandy and Kurt sang, "If heaven's like this, I'd do it all over again."

By this time, everyone of us were cryining. And I hear the audience members were crying and hugging everyone.

What we hadn't counted on was this...somewhere in the audience, there were at least five prominent morning show hosts. I do know Regis and Kelly were there because she came up and gave me a huge hug. Connie Chung and Maurie were there and as tiny as she is, she came over and gave me a huge kiss. The same happened from several other huge news people.

Wend stood by us and I put my arm around his shoulder and had my other around Chad's lower back resting it upon his butt. A photo got taken of us that way and Wend turned and looked at me and said, "It's really going to be o.k., isn't it?"

"Wend, we'll make it o.k., what we'll do is we'll arrange for you to have a solo tour if you want, or you can do whatever you want with the proceeds you earn from this tour."

"I want a little house in the middle of nowhere. I don't care where, but I just want to write songs and be happy."

The first thing I thought was the land near Alice Springs. Instantly, I thought about building a house for him there, but then decided to wait and see how things went.

Chad turned to us and said, "Let's go back to the hotel and order pizza and run on a treadmill. I'm stoked up, but I'm not wanting to be here."

"O.k. Babe, we'll go back."

Wend said, "Can I ride with you guys?"

Chad looked at me and said, "Sure, come on."

We left and on the way back, Wend said, "Guys, you know Bandy wasn't really right for me anyway. I don't know why, but the perfect guy for me is going to have to be older and I mean a lot older. Something about gray hair and the person's maturity turns me on."

Chad smiled and said, "Wend, have you seen our house in California?"

"No, when did you get that?"

"Oh a while ago, but we've got a really cool neighbor that I think you're going to like."

"Really? Is he gay?"

"Yeah, and he's older. I think you'll like him."

"O.k."

Wend sat there with a huge smile on his face and I turned to Chad and smiled. I patted his knee and he said, "How about if we take the Cardinal out tonight. With the time change, Sam could be up and then they could meet."

I looked over at Wend and said, "Would you like to go to California with us tonight?"

"Sure, if you don't mind."

"No, we're wanting you to meet Sam"

So, that's what happened. Sam and Wend met and they began talking and finally after a while, Chad took my hand and said, "Guys, we're going to bed. The spare bedroom's open, or whatever, but we're tired."

We went to bed and as we lay there, I turned to Chad and kissed him. "Honey, I love you and with each day, it's in better ways than it was the day before."

"Oh no, I just got the melody of that...."

Notes From Retta:

Merry Christmas.

From My Keyboard To Your Heart,

Retta

RettaMichaels@Gmail.com

Copyright Notice - Copyright © December 2007 by RettaMichaels

The author, RettaMichaels copyrights this story and retain all rights. This work may not be changed or duplicated in any form, media, ( known or unknown) without the author's expressed permission. All applicable copyright laws apply.

Disclaimer: All individuals depicted are fictional, and any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental

-- From My Keyboard To Your Heart Rhett

Here is a list of stories I've written and where to find them:

With Love - Nifty - Beginnings Section Rural Love - Author Heading - DeweyWriter.com Write Me A Love Story - Author Heading - DeweyWriter.com To Love Him - Author Heading - DeweyWriter.com Military Zone - Nifty - Military Section Evan - Nifty - Beginnings Section Jordan - DeweyWriter.com If I Could Give It All Back - DeweyWriter.com