Michael or Mac Ep. 08

Hello, and welcome to the eighth instalment of Michael or Mac.

As usual, all people active sexually are over the age of eighteen.

I would like once again to give Ian D a big thank you for giving his precious time to edit my work.

Also, I would like to thank you, the reader, for taking the time to read my stories and sending all the good feedback.

Please feel free to leave a comment and score this chapter when you have finished. Apologies to all the American readers for my very English text.

We left Michael/Mac last time, getting closer to Emma. They had spent Thanksgiving at the ranch, and he told Paps about Uncle Calvin. During a live feed on Tik Tok, Donna let slip that Michael was Mac. We finished with Christmas, and everyone having dinner at The Johnsons.

Please Enjoy................

******

It's the Saturday before we go back to school. My anxiety is high, and I wonder what Donna's little slip has done. We have been cut off from the school's gossip, and I'm unsure what reception I will get when I walk through the doors.

Emma has got tickets for the Miley Cyrus concert tomorrow night. I'm a little surprised that we haven't had a visit, but I guess she is busy with the start of her world tour. We have six VIP tickets with backstage passes as well.

I am sitting in my rec-room with Emma playing music and singing together. It's been a relaxing afternoon, when my phone vibrates in my pocket. "Hi, Miley. Happy new year."

"Hi, Mac, and the same back. Sorry to drop this on you, but I'm in a taxi outside yours. Can you let me in?"

"Uhhh yeah, be straight down."

I get up and go down to the front door, followed closely by Emma. I open the front door. Outside is a taxi, the car door opens, and Miley, in a hoodie, jumps out and runs to get out of the rain. I close the door as she passes me.

"Shit, Mac, your hair's getting long," Miley says.

"He won't get it cut until he moves away from music. He thinks people won't recognize him," Emma says over my shoulder.

"Well hello to you as well. This is a pleasant surprise," I say trying to change the subject and getting a hug. I return the hug, and we make our way to the kitchen. "So, what's so important that a phone call won't do?"

"Well, there are two things. The record company wants to release the single next month. They also want to release samples without titles or naming the artists next week or two.......That reminds me, did you see the extra clause I put into our contract?"

"What, that no one can change any part of the finished recording without prior permission from either you or me? Olivia did mention it and liked the way you thought."

"Yeah, it stops the film company from putting anyone else's name on the record without our knowledge, so are we good with them not releasing names to start with?"

"People will know it's you. I don't get......ahhhh, what the heck? It doesn't bother me, but I get the feeling that's not it......"

"They want to do a big reveal with both of us onstage sometime." Miley looks at me with her big puppy eyes.

"Your Dad might fall for your puppy eyes, but I don't. We will have to see if I'm available to do the reveal."

"I know, it's got to fit around so much. Maybe we can play it by ear, but are you up for it, if it fits both of our schedules?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Great, I will let them know."

"Coffee?"

"Yes, please. Do you mind if I hang out for a bit? It's so nice to be able to talk to normal people."

"Hear that, Em; we are normal people."

"You know what I mean. Anyway, I thought you were rich?"

"This is Paps retirement home. He planned on escaping the rat race before my parents passed. Then Grammy passed, and we just stayed." I pause to get some mugs out of the sideboard. "That's my ranch there," I say, pointing to the aerial photo on the wall."

Miley walks over to get a closer look. "Wow, do I get an invite sometime?"

"Sure, we'll have to work out a date that suits both of us." I can see Emma sitting there looking amazed. "Emma, is everything okay?"

My question snaps Emma from where ever she was. "Yeah, sorry. I was just amazed that we are sat in the kitchen having such a normal conversation."

I smile. "What would you like me to do, scream and go 'My god Miley Cyrus, ahhhhhhh!' or something?" Miley smiles at my sarcasm. "You do remember our weekend in Nashville?"

"Yeah, but it's Miley Cyrus," Emma says, like I said something stupid.

"I know, but she's a person the same as us. It's just that she's a very talented one."

"Christ, Mac, If I were half as talented as you, I would be a very happy person. Anyway, it's good just to be treated normally for once."

I turn back as the coffee maker pings and pours our drinks out. "So you coming upstairs, or do you have to leave soon?"

"I think I could lose a couple of hours."

Emma gets up and picks up her mug. "Come on, Miley," she says, walking toward the stairs.

As I walk into my rec room, I realize Miley hasn't said the second reason for her visit. "So, Miley, what is the second reason for your visit?"

Miley breathes out heavily like she's worried to ask. "As you know, I'm in Charlotte to do a concert tomorrow night and would like you to make an appearance as my support act."

I put my coffee mug down and turned to reply. "I'm not sure, Miley. I don't think the band could do such a large gig at short notice."

"I was thinking of just you, Mac." She thinks for a moment. "Come on, Mac, think about it. Most of Charlotte knows we are friends. You are a local boy, and they will lap it up." She looks across at Emma, then back to me. "At least come down for the sound check and see how it feels."

I look over to Emma, and she's looking at me with those eyes and nodding her head. "Okay, I will come down for the sound check and a play." Both girls squeal and jump up and down. "But I'm not promising anything." I don't think either of them are listening.

Miley hangs out for a while, and we jam and sit around talking. It's very relaxed. Emma even gets me to play her the version of Emma that I played the other day.

"How many versions are there?" Miley asks.

"Just one, but I add or subtract content. I can overlap as many variations of the same melody with different instruments as I like."

"The Director is looking at sampling the song through the movie. If we can give him a longer version with all your variations, it could be made to fit each scene."

"That shouldn't be a problem. Does that mean we will need to do another weekend?"

"You better," Emma says, causing us to laugh.

"Yes, but at my recording studio and not Dad's. It will have to fit between shows. I will need to run it by the film company first, but I don't see any problem."

"Where's your recording studio?" Emma asks.

"LA. Anyway, guys, I need to go. Any chance of a lift back to the hotel?"

Emma's eyes widen. She mouths 'LA' to me, and I nod in response.

We dropped Miley off at her hotel. The tinted windows gave her enough privacy for her to sneak in the back door. On the way back home, Emma looks at me, all sad. "You realize that tonight will be the last night together, since forever?"

"Yeah, not sure I'm going to be able to sleep without you there."

"It's weird. Six months ago, I couldn't have even dreamed this."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It scared the hell outta me just thinking how I could approach you, let alone explain my absence."

"All I care about is that you came back to me," Emma says, coming over to give me a hug.

******

I pull into the underground car park of the Time Warner Arena, Charlotte. Emma looks across at me with eager eyes. The security seems to know I'm coming and lets me straight through. I'm not sure what I was meant to bring, so I packed the back of the truck.

As I get out, a woman with a clipboard walks over. "Hello, Mac, please take these." She hands us Access All Areas passes. "You're the first to arrive. If you follow me, I'll show you into the arena."

We follow her, a little amazed at how organized my turning up is. We walk in behind the stage and up a set of steps. She has a word with a technician who turns and looks our way. A smile crosses his face, and he comes down. "Hello, Mac, Emma, I'm Kent. It's a pleasure to meet you. Let me show you where you can slot in, and how to plug into the system. Then maybe you can help us with the sound check. The rest of the band, as usual, is running late."

"Yeah, no problem," I say, feeling slightly nervous.

We walk up the steps and out onto the stage. The arena opens in front of us, and the scale of what I've agreed to dawns on me.

"How much you got to set?"

"Not sure, maybe two guitars, two keyboards, a beatbox and my loop machine. I'm still not sure what is expected."

"That's not too much. If you can set up on that platform, it moves up and down. It enables us to clear you out of the way. Give me a shout when you're ready to plug in. I will be around somewhere."

Emma and I go out to the truck and start carrying what I think I will need. The platform is about ten feet square, so I have more room than I would with the band. It takes us four trips to get all my flight cases in. I unpack and assemble everything before calling Kent over when I am as far as I can go.

Kent walks over to a small control desk on the side and picks up a walkie-talkie. "Hey, Dave. Are you in the booth?"

"Give me a minute," came an answer from the other end.

Kent grabs a black pack from a box and walks back over. "Right, if I plug your sound in here. I have a set of earphones so you can hear yourself play. Once Dave is ready, you can give us a sound and level check. Then you can have a play; seems no one else is here yet."

I see a guy with long hair and a beard enter the booth. "Wow, we have Mac to do our sound check?" He says over the headset I am now wearing. Kent is busy connecting me up and nods his head. "Right, Mac, when he's finished, could you do a scale from bottom to top and then back again? Sorry, but it will give us the best overall test."

I smile. "Yeah, no problem." I play a couple of cords to check my guitar, and then it comes over the sound system. I feel the sound reverberate through my chest. I run through the scales a couple of times and then stop. "Was that okay?"

Dave laughs. "Yeah, great. Would you like to give us a tune?"

"Any requests?"

"Yeah, not Stairway To Heaven or Smoke On The Water. How about one of Miley's? Seems appropriate."

I smile, "Robbed," I say, and then start playing the intro to The Climb on my keyboard. I close my eyes as I begin to sing.....

I can almost see it

That dream I am dreaming

But there's a voice inside my head saying

"You'll never reach it."

As I go through the song, I see Miley has turned up and is sitting next to Emma. Their smiles are all the encouragement I need to keep going. I close my eyes and submerge myself into the past. I remember singing this song with my mom on more than one occasion. My Dad was tone-deaf, so I get my talent from her.

As the song goes on, I alternate between the guitar and keyboard, putting my spin on it with a heavier feel. As the song winds up, I just let go and open my eyes to see both girls dancing with their arms in the air. Now, I have more of an audience. The rest of the band is standing out front to see what's happening.

Nearing the end, I bring it back to the basics and slowly wind it down. Emma and Miley are jumping up and down, clapping. "Holy shit Mac, how am I going to sing that now?" Miley says and then laughs, shaking her head. She comes up on stage and hugs me. "Thanks for coming; after your set... you are doing a set?" I pull a face and then nod. A huge smile spreads across Miley's face. "After your set, will you come back on to do a duet?"

"Yeah, sure. What do you have in mind?"

"I would love to do Nothing Else Matters. It will be the only chance on the tour to play it, please, Mac?"

"Okay fine. Want to give it a go now?"

"Do you mind not? People can hear outside, and I want it to be a total surprise." I nod in response. "I tell you something. You've got the best male voice I've ever heard, and so bloody versatile." I don't take praise very well and get embarrassed. "Mac, do you mind if we do a little sound check? Then maybe we can do something together?"

I am a little relieved to get off the stage and go and sit next to Emma. She puts her arms around me and kisses me. "That was incredible, babe," she says.

"That it was," I hear Dave say into my earpiece. I lean forward and turn to look at the booth. He's stood there grinning. I stick my hand in the air to acknowledge him.

Miley goes through a couple of tunes, stopping and starting to make certain levels and instruments are working as they should. After a while, she comes down and sits next to me. "I was also thinking of keeping you on for Wrecking Ball - Mac style, after we do Nothing Else Matters. How's that sound?"

"Yeah, I guess. You realize this will be the biggest audience I've played in front of?"

"I'm sure you will be fine. Just go to that place you seem to disappear to, before doing something incredible."

"Miley, this is a one-off for the experience."

"Yeah yeah, Mac, I'll see you later." Miley walks off backstage, laughing and waving as she goes.

We pull up back at the house, and Donna is sitting outside on the step, looking decidedly cold. "You have been to the concert already. It's all over social media that you were heard playing."

"Yes, Donna, we were invited by Miley because this duffas won't play onstage tonight." Emma says trying to deflect the fact that I'm playing.

"What? Why not?" She says, being totally drawn into the lie.

"It's just not what I want to do, Donna," I say, backing up Emma. We hadn't discussed keeping it a secret, but what the hell. I'll let Emma have her fun.

"So, what time are you picking us up?" Donna asks.

"We'll be leaving at six. I'm picking the other three up from Mitch's place."

Donna squeals, "That only gives me two hours to get ready." She waves bye, and runs off towards next door.

We make our way into the house to get something to eat, and get ready for the evening's entertainment.

The arena is a short distance from Mitches house, but we figure it will be easier for me to drive us into the VIP area. We still haven't told the guys that I am playing tonight.

Again the security knows I'm coming, and lets me straight through. The same young woman is standing waiting, and waves me into my spot.

"Hello again, Mac, plus, one, two, three, four, five." She smiles when everything tally's up. "Great, if you want to follow me."

She hands us our passes, then guides us through several corridors into the VIP area. The arena is almost full, and there's a buzz of anticipation as people wait for the show to start.

Just before she leaves, she whispers in my ear. "I'll leave you to get some drinks. Just ask the waitress, and she will get you anything you want. I will be back for you ten minutes before you're on. Okay?" I nod, feeling my stomach doing summersaults and trying to return to the truck.

"Okay, baby?" Emma asks when she sees I'm looking a little white.

"Yeah, if you need anything, just ask one of the waiting staff." I take a deep breath to steady my nerves.

I feel a pat on my back and turn. "Hey, Mac, how's it going?"

I turn, "Billy Ray, Miley didn't say you would be here tonight."

"Are you kiddin? This is the closest she will be to me until the end of the tour. I will be joining her when my schedule allows, but tonight I am just a proud Daddy." He grins at me. "I'm surprised she's not got you onstage tonight."

"Are you joking?" I say, not knowing what he knows.

"Maybe another time." He says, looking around for one of the staff. He spots one and waves his beer bottle at her. Some fans call him over. "You have to excuse me; duty calls."

Emma hands me a water bottle, and I settle for an uncomfortable wait. Now and then, I hear a person call my name. I turn and wave in the direction the voice came from.

I see the woman come to the entrance and nod toward me. Emma sees her and smiles at me. I don't say anything to the others and disappear, leaving Emma to explain that I've gone to the toilet or something.

I run through my setlist in my head. It's strange; I used to dream of doing this very thing. I even had a set list that I would play, but it was always a dream in my head. During the hours since Miley had asked me, I had decided to live that dream. To play that list I had in my head and had already planned. There was one change to the list: Brown-Eyed Girl. I just had to play that for Emma.

I pick up my guitar from the side of the stage, just out of view. A curtain had been pulled across to allow me to get there without being seen. I stand there waiting for my introduction.

"ladies and gentlemen," a voice says over the sound system. I hear some people scream, not knowing what's happening. There's still an hour before Miley is meant to be on. "For one night only......." He leaves it hanging, and I start my synth going. An atmospheric sound reverberates around the arena. The crowd goes silent, still not entirely understanding what is happening. The lights dim, and I hear whistles from people, unsure of what to do.

I close my eyes and start to play the intro to the song that put me on that stage. As One's opening rift echo's around the stadium, I am lit by a spotlight. To my amazement, the crowd cheers as I hit the loop pedal and walk onto the stage. I have never been so scared and close my eyes to listen to the music in my ears. I walk up to the mic I used earlier and start to sing.....

"I can't remember anything

Can't tell if this is true or dream

Deep down inside I feel to scream"

As the last note fades, I hear the place erupt with chants of Mac! Mac! Mac! and clapping. I can't help but smile as I automatically go into my next song....

I got a feeling

That tonight's gonna be a good night.....

The crowd claps along as I go through The Black Eyed Peas classic. I don't stop there and blend seamlessly into Green Day's Wake Me Up When September Ends.

I do a couple more, including Radioactive and Adele's Set Fire To The Rain. As the song fades, I start plucking the beginning of Brown-Eyed Girl and look over to where Emma is. "This one's for you, Em," I say. I can see the pure joy on her face as I start singing.

I look over to the side of the stage, and Miley and the whole band are watching. I smile as she waves her finger at me, telling me that she's impressed.

As the song ends, I make my way to the keyboard and sit. "Okay, I have time for one last song, and I want to see everyone on their feet singing." As I start the piano section of Bohemian Rhapsody, a huge cheer goes up as I begin to sing...

"Mamaaa,

Just killed a man,"

The whole place bursts into song, and I laugh over the mic out of pure joy at their response. I let them sing at times, and at others, I join in. The buzz inside is incredible, and the song alternates from keyboard to guitar. I stand and let go when I get to the guitar solo.

"So you think you can stop me and spit in my eye," I sing the best I can. It's hard to emulate the late Freddy Mercury.

I walk back to the keyboard. As the song winds down, the crowd erupts once again with cheers and whistles as I sing, "Any way the wind blows..."

I sit there soaking in the moment as the audience, who is here to see Miley Cyrus, gives me a standing ovation. Finally, I stand and quickly bow before walking off-stage toward Miley. The grin on her face is infectious as I return it, plus interest.

"Mac, that was incredible," Miley wraps her arms around me shouting, trying to be heard over the crowd. "I'm worried about going on now. How the hell 'r we gonna top that?" She releases me after a while before saying, "I will see ya later. Make your way back up during On My Own." I nod, and Miley returns with the band to their room to wait for the stage to be reset.