Orion, operating on minimal sleep yet still functioning quite well, was getting his things together, and then some. He’d gone back to his apartment, showering, grabbing Harley and heading back out with a few extras in tow. He went back through town, a nagging thought in the back of his mind, but the rest of him was buzzing too much to pay much notice to it. He’d contacted a few choice news stations, leaving detailed instructions, however vague.

    He smiled as he parked a few blocks from the cafe, searching for one of those ‘undiscovered’ young guitar players that were always in the area, hoping some music mogul would find them and make them rich and famous. It wasn’t hard before he found a girl who couldn’t have been older than seventeen, who was apparently a fan of his, and Jasmine’s for that matter, as he discovered when he began talking to her. Her name was Mindy.

Mindy: “Oh, my, gosh. You’re doing WHAT?”

    Her eyes lit up as he explained the situation, and the fact that he was more than willing to pay for her assistance in making it a reality. She let out a small squeal.

Mindy: “That is sooooo romantic! How did you two meet? Was it some dating website? Did you stumble across each other like one of her films? Oh, was it just like Once More? How long have you two been dating? Are you gonna get married?”

    She babbled quite a bit, probably could’ve kept going for hours, and that made Orion chuckle. The sound made the brunette girl quite self-conscious all of a sudden.

Mindy: “Oh, gosh. Sorry. I’m just so excited, I mean, I’ve never met either of you, but I adore both of you, I mean, you’re so talented and you kick ass! And she’s just so . . .  Well, she’s her! And now I get to help you serenade her on live TV! This is just incredible! Thank you so much! You don’t even have to pay me this is like a dream come true, you know?”

    She paused, blushing, blinking slowly, realizing she’d gone off again, a noticeable habit of hers. She struck the base of her palm to her forehead.

Mindy: “I am such a dope! I’m sorry, I just . . . I’m sorry!”

    Orion just smiled, shaking his head gently.

Orion: “That’s quite all right, Mindy. Trust me.”

    He quickly rattled off a few songs he wanted her to play, luckily, she knew all but two, which were ones he was less set on than the others. Two were absolutely critical in his eyes, optics, that Jasmine heard. And thanks to their bond, though he didn’t understand how it worked, he would be able to time it perfectly. And that thought was magical. He would be able to make this perfect for her, to make her understand exactly how he felt.

    Mindy nodded her affirmation, striking a few chords here and there, brown eyes bright when Orion smiled his approval at her ability to play. She was quite talented, really. He imagined it was only a matter of time before she had a record deal. Orion walked back to his truck across the street and down about twenty feet, he got the massive Harley out, and Mindy screamed excitedly.

Mindy: “HE’S ADORABLE!”

    Orion chuckled, amused at her enthusiasm with everything. He led Harley over by his leash, keeping him calm though the dog desperately wanted to greet the enthusiastic girl with energy to match.

Mindy: “Can I pet him?”

    She asked Orion, almost completely in awe of Harley in general. Or maybe it was the fact that she was working with her favorite MMA fighter to serenade her favorite actress on TV that was still sinking in with her. Either way, she was delighted and couldn’t imagine anything better at this point in her young life.

Orion: “Go right ahead. He doesn’t bite or anything. Just slobbers an awful lot.”

    She grinned, vigorously running her hands through the dog’s fur.

Mindy: “Oh you’re just a big baby, aren’t cha? Yes you are, yes you are!”

    Harley relaxed into her affections easily, loving every bit of attention that he got, typical of most dogs. It was only a few more moments before Orion left with Harley and Mindy, her guitar slung across her back, as they went up the street until they reached the corner the  cafe sat on. Where it always sat. But today, a news van already sat outside, and the place had just opened. James was outside, talking to the reporter, cameraman respectfully keeping the camera off and pointed down until they worked out the information.

???: “Look, I don’t know who called, I just know there’s supposed to be something ‘big’ and ‘romantic’ happening here in about half an hour or less, okay? I didn’t set the time or location, but I need to know what’s going on.”

    The female reporter was insistent, almost desperate to know what the story was, the one she’d gotten an anonymous tip on. Orion didn’t want to tell anyone what exactly it was right off the bat. After all, curiosity killed the cat. If the cat had known, curiosity wouldn’t have gained the upper hand. So it seemed logical enough to lead them down her by a hint and let them figure it out for themselves.

Jimmy: “Look Ma’am, I don’t know anything about this tip you got. I’ve got a shop to run, all right? If I hear anything, I’ll let you know, but I doubt-.”

Orion: “James.”

    Orion cut him, and the camera whipped up, recording prematurely, the newscaster rushing forward, her attention easily diverted.

???: “And what is your name, Sir?”

Orion: “Orion Pax, Ma’am. The MMA fighter. A former champion.”

    He was in a bit of lull right now. Some would probably say he was stuck in a rut, but they didn’t know the full story.

    They didn’t know how madly in love he was with Jasmine Tracy Brookes.

???: “And what are you doing here, Orion? Shouldn’t you be off training or something to regain your championship? Who’s the girl you brought with you? A long-lost daughter?”

    He chuckled, eyes bright as he thought of ‘daughters’. A slight pang hit him, but he kept smiling, trying to focus on the ‘training’ comment.

Orion: “The girl is Mindy. And she is here because today, I plan on serenading the woman of my dreams . . . Jasmine Brookes.”

???: “The actress?”

Orion: “The actress.”

    He confirmed, and the woman, Nancy, as he would later learn, turned back to the camera, going off on a quick rant before they cut the footage and made a few calls to their studio. Orion turned to Mindy calmly, James having taken Harley up to the rooftop for the time being.

Orion: “Are you certain you can play the songs I asked you to?”

Mindy: “Positive, Captain Pax!”

    She saluted him and giggled, overjoyed at the opportunity she’d been handed today. It made everything else seem miniscule. She couldn’t wait to flaunt it in front of her peers at school. All the early mornings of rehearsal paid off. He nodded gently.

Orion: “Good. This is very critical, Mindy . . .”

Mindy: “Do you know all the words by heart?”

    She asked innocently, no animosity in her words. He chuckled, looking up at the sky.

Orion: “I certainly hope so . . . Considering how much I’d listened to them after she stormed out . . . Sometimes a little music is all you need for some inspiration to do the things you wouldn’t even contemplate otherwise.

    Mindy’s brows edged together as she watched him, a bit taken aback at his words. She hadn’t been expecting something so deep and mysterious from him, like he was aged beyond the twenty-odd years he claimed.

Mindy: “What happened . . . ?”

    She asked quietly, and he looked at her, sighed, and shrugged gently.

Orion: “A horrible misunderstanding, really . . . And a bit of pride that took an extra bite into it . . . Some old walls that are hard to get past . . . And a bit of interference that makes adds just a little more difficulty to the situation . . . All in all, not a fun game to be playing . . .”

    He let out a small breath, a smile crossing his features.

Orion: “But more than worth it for what we could have when we get past all this.”

    Mindy smiled in return, eyes glittering in the morning light. Like she’d just seen her favorite fairy tale come to life.

Mindy: “You really love her, don’t you?”

    She asked, awe creeping into her voice. Orion nodded.

Orion: “I do. I couldn’t imagine an existence without her, really . . .”

    Her smile grew broader, and her insides jumped with absolute giddiness.

Mindy: “Are you gonna marry her?”

    He looked at the questioning face of the young girl. He hadn’t really contemplated that question before. He had just assumed she would always be there with him. It didn’t matter so much if they were married or not so long as they were together.

Orion: “If she’ll have me, I would love to . . .”

    Mindy squealed in delight, hands flying up to her face.

Mindy: “Oh my gosh! I’m going to get to tell everyone I was there when Orion proposed to Jasmine! You are gonna propose to her, right? Properly? You can’t just, not propose! I mean, you’re going on TV for her! Imagine if it  was all caught on film! It’d be the most romantic thing ever!”

    Orion chuckled, envisioning the film. They’d be able to look back on that moment and savor every second of it. It’d be an extra kick for them. An added fill-in to everything they’d already done, and would do, in the future.

???: “He’s gonna need a ring first, Sugar.”

    ~~~

    Jasmine and Ariel were in the car when they first heard the rumors circulating on a radio talk show.

    “So, apparently this guy is standing outside some cafe and is waiting for ‘the right moment’ before he actually does anything, but there’s already four news vans out there waiting for him to do something newsworthy! I guess they’ve been waiting for nearly an hour or something.”

    “Well, I think that’s ridiculous, I mean, if he’s going to do it, just do it already, what’s he waiting for? I wouldn’t want to wait that long.”

    “The thing is, apparently his name is Orion Pax, and he’s waiting to serenade Jasmine Brookes.”

    “You’re kidding! I never would have thought the MMA fighter to fall for the actress like that.”

    “Head over heels, apparently!”

    “How come we haven’t heard of this one before?”

    “They’re celebrities! They’ve become masters at keeping secrets at this point! But all good secrets come out at some point or another. Especially when you’ve got paparazzi roaming the city like rats.”

    “How have they managed to keep it under wraps this long? Sounds like a Romeo and Juliet thin if you ask me. Hard and fast. But no one’s died over it yet.”

    Jasmine’s spark skipped a beat as the pair, a man and a woman, went on talking about the morning’s ‘news’. Orion. Orion  was waiting to serenade her. She wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about that. It seemed surreal. And he’d gotten HOW many news stations out there? It seemed like pure insanity to her, but then again . . . It was Orion . . . And she loved him. She knew she loved him, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit it. And as he’d said . . . He loved her . . . She quickly flipped the station.

    And had landed on a live news feed from the scene. “And here we are, waiting for Orion Pax and his young, unknown helper to do something, anything, but he refuses to move a muscle until-. What’s this? Oh, he’s getting up from the steps. Mindy is right beside him!”

    ~~~

    He’d felt her spark surge as she tuned into the live news feed, and now was the time to make a move, to get her attention. He may very well end up embarrassing himself on TV, but if it meant Jasmine understood EXACTLY how he felt about her, then it would be more than worth it. He nodded at Mindy, and she knew the drill. She began strumming a few chords, instinct taking over as she set the tune into motion.

    For a while, everything was quiet except for that bit of music, even the reporters letting their voices die down to film the event carefully. People ate up stories about celebrities, and stories about romance. So a celebrity serenading another on live television? Priceless.

    Orion began to sing along to the lyrics he’d memorized so painstakingly.

Orion: “Going back to the corner where I first saw you,

Gonna camp in my sleeping bag I'm not gonna move,

Got some words on cardboard, got your picture in my hand,

Saying, "If you see this girl can you tell her where I am?"

Some try to hand me money, they don't understand,

I'm not broke – I'm just a broken-hearted man,

I know it makes no sense but what else can I do?

How can I move on when I'm still in love with you?

'Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me,

And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be,

Thinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet,

And you'll see me waiting for you on the corner of the street,

So I'm not moving, I'm not moving.”

    ~~~

    Jasmine listened to it quietly as they drove. Ariel looked at her and started to change the station, not quite sure what Jasmine was feeling, but wanting her charge to be comfortable. Jasmine batted her hand away from the knob gently, wanting to keep listening to the tune he sang.

“Policeman says, "Son, you can't stay here."

I said, "There's someone I'm waiting for if it's a day, a month, a year.

Gotta stand my ground even if it rains or snows.

If she changes her mind this is the first place she will go."

'Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me,

And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be,

Thinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet,

And you'll see me waiting for you on the corner of the street,

So I'm not moving, I'm not moving,

I'm not moving, I'm not moving,

People talk about the guy that's waiting on a girl,

There are no holes in his shoes but a big hole in his world,

And maybe I'll get famous as the man who can't be moved,

Maybe you won't mean to but you'll see me on the news,

And you'll come running to the corner,

'Cause you'll know it's just for you,

I'm the man who can't be moved, I'm the man who can't be moved.

'Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me,

And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be,

Thinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet,

And you'll see me waiting for you on the corner of the street,'Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me,

And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be,

Thinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet,

And you'll see me waiting for you on the corner of the street.

Going back to the corner where I first saw you,

Gonna camp in my sleeping bag, I'm not gonna move . . .”

    Her spark beat heavily as the music died out and his voice faded. She wanted him to keep singing s horribly, but knew it was over, at least for now. She also knew she wasn’t ready to just go running back to him. She still ached. And she wasn’t sure she could trust her judgement at a time like this. She mouthed the words ‘I love you’ without Ariel noticing as she continued driving to the set.

    Much to her dismay, the place was just as buzzing with activity from Orion’s stunt as her spark was. Meaning work would be hard to accomplish today, if not impossible. Which of course, meant more time to think about Orion. And his little stunt. And how hard it was not to give in and go rushing back to him at a moment’s notice.