Skipping Beats

Chapter 1: Kathy-Moose

It was hot and boring. Katharine Moss couldn’t stand the summer sun and the unimaginable silence that had taken over the entire crowd. No performers were on stage; there were a few technical people setting up sound equipment, again. It had gotten so hot that apparently even the performers were suffering. Many in the crowd around her complained of the heat and the absence of their entertainment. Katharine was not a patient person, nor was she one to listen to whining. Deciding that enough was enough, she weaved her way out of the large crowd. People moved out of her way automatically, something that she was starting to get used to.

“Oh my, gosh, you’re Kathy-Moose!” a younger girl said, instantly recognizing the artist that had been trying the entire day to ignore the stares she’d been receiving. Katharine, being the polite child she was raised to be, turned and smiled at the girl. She was probably in high school, Katharine decided. It was typical that her fans were high school students, albeit the artist would have preferred a larger range for her audience. Or, more preferably, an audience of her own age-range of early-twenty-something-year-olds.

“Kathy-Moose, at your service!” Katharine said cheerfully. It was her trademark line- something that she’d been thinking about getting a copy right or trademark for. It’d be nice to have something she could claim.

“Can I get a picture with you?!” The high school girl asked, squealing a little, as she retrieved a sleek silver camera from her pocket. Katharine forced a grin to her face and nodded. Katharine wasn’t a very famous artist. She needed to get herself out there, and what better way than to show up on some random high school girl’s MySpace? After the picture was taken, a few questions were asked, Katharine was finally able to continue her way out of the massive crowd.

Kathy-Moose. That was what everyone seemed to be calling her now-a-days. Although Katharine absolutely loathed the nickname, she could only blame herself. What person in their right mind would make their online username for practically everything Kathy-Moose? Katharine Moss, of course. Katharine also couldn’t complain because it was the name that brought about her little slice of fame, even if the fame was only from the internet. There were videos of her comedic nature and soulful voice sang.

Katharine was an internet sensation after her first two videos on the internet. She didn’t know why anyone would even look at her videos, let alone sit there and listen to her sing to absolutely no one but her camera. It hadn’t been that Katharine was looking for the fame. It was just something that she did because during spring break her senior year of high school, she was bored. When Katharine was bored, she’d call a friend. Make plans with her little brother. That day, she decided to do something new. She sang, to her camera, in her bathroom (because it was probably the place she most confidently sang). After two videos, she had “subscribers” and “fans.” She was getting marriage proposals, compliments from all over the globe. And she absolutely hated it.

It was Katharine’s younger brother, Brian, that pushed her to continue giving the internet community something to entertain them. After some time (a year or so) Katharine was being recognized on the street. It wasn’t a lot, since she was no “WasteTimeChasingCars” or anything. She was more or less of a person that instead of getting millions of views, she only received a couple hundred thousand. And the people that recognized her were few and far between. It was online that people praised her. She had two fan sites (one of MySpace, and one actual website), and a handful of FaceBook groups. The hype on Kathy-Moose became so much that Katharine was almost scared to go anywhere. She wasn’t born for fame. She’d always joked with friends, “I’m not in it for the fame, just the fortune.”

“Kathy-Moose!” Someone shrieked when Katharine had finally escaped the crowd. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that the person would just not recognize her. miraculously. Some how. They would just simply forget? It was hopeful. “Oh my gosh! You’re Kathy-Moose! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.” Katharine had never met a fan so enthusiastic to meet her.

“Hi,” she said meekly. Katharine only wanted to get out of the crowd and just the entire vicinity of the concert. “Picture?”

“NO! CAN YOU SING? I’LL MAKE A VIDEO!” the fanatic all but shouted, hopping from foot to foot. Katharine sighed, but agreed. The fanatic gathered her friends (about five of them) and pulled Katharine to the outside of the concert vicinity. Cameras were wiped out of pockets and giggles of excitement erupted from the entire group. The group giggle so much they caught the attention of passer-bys. Soon, it wasn’t only the group, but others that wanted to see what Katharine had to give.

Nervous. That was the only thing Katharine could say about the way she felt. She’d done a few live performances, but she’d never done anything so spontaneous. It was good for her, she decided. She stood in the middle of the crowd, her hands slapping her thighs to a song playing in her head.

“What are you going to sing?” someone in the small crowd shouted to Katharine. A little flustered, she blushed and shrugged her shoulders.

“Kathy-Moose, at your service! I’ll take the first request I can understand-“ Song names were shouted, but Katharine couldn’t decipher any of the names from all of the yelling. The fanatic panicked and took hold of Katharine’s wrist, her eyes large.

“Can you sing that PCD song? I Hate This Part? That’s my favorite cover you did, recently!” Fanatic said, tugging at Katharine’s wrist. Katharine looked at the younger girl and sighed- she couldn’t say no to puppy dog faces.

“Guys! I’m going to sing I Hate This Part for..” Katharine looked at Fanatic, who mouthed her name “Lily.” “I’m singing for Lily today! Clip claps for Lily?” The crowd clapped and hooted for Lily, who in turn blushed three different shades of crimson. Katharine smiled and cleared her throat. Then stopped. She didn’t have music, and it was going to be all acapella. She couldn’t do it- she knew she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t sing without something to support her. Katharine was not that confident of a singer. Or rather, she just felt it completely uncomfortable to sing without any support.

“No one happens to have an instrumental on the phone, or anything?” She laughed. The crowd laughed, assuming she was joking. Katharine gulped.

Suddenly, a figure fought through the crowd. A hand was raised above the person’s head, guitar in hand. When the person emerged from the crowd, Katharine almost died. It was the singer she’d come to watch today. His name was Avian Kondo, and he was half Canadian, half Japanese. Katharine had been practically obsessed with his voice when she first heard it. It was soulful and so filled completely with emotion that it could move Katharine to tears or smiles. He had a gruff undertone and his looks were only a plus. If there was something Katharine had a weakness for, it was moles. She absolutely swooned when she saw a stray mole on a man’s neck, or even his arm or chest. It was just something she could never wrap her head around. Worse yet, Avian Kondo was making his way to her and all she could see was a distinct flat mole on his collarbone, just visible when his v-neck t-shirt opened up just right.

Katharine almost died.

And then he strummed his guitar and she was almost certain she was dreaming.

“I’m Avian Kondo,” he greeted her, extending his hand. Katharine grabbed it and shook automatically, the manners her parents had hammered into shone through. “I couldn’t help but noticed this crowd was focused on something other than the concert.”

“Oh, hah. Yeah, well, I’m Kathy-Moose, crowds just follow me!” Katharine said, letting go of Avian’s hand. His hand had been smooth and calloused, warm and so as she had imagined. He had a strong hand shake and Katharine admired that. His dark brown hair hung in his boyish face, his lopsided grin ever petulant.

“Kathy-Moose! You’re videos are all over the internet,” Avian said, smiling dazzlingly at her. Katharine felt her heart pitter-pat in her chest. Getting his attention was enough, but knowing that he was a possible fan almost killed her. Katharine felt that she was either definitely dreaming, or definitely already dead. “You’re really good-“

“START THE SONG!” an impatient person in the crowd yelled out. Katharine was between being upset with the person and thanking them. Her heart couldn’t take the excitement, but her eyes couldn’t move from Avian. He smiled, a blush dusting his tan cheeks lightly, before turning to her. “Ready?”

“Nope, but let’s do this thang!” Katharine laughed turning her eyes away from her version of Adonis. Avian was taller than Katharine had anticipated. He was almost a whole head taller than her. Avian gave her a grin, leaving her a little star struck, before starting up an acoustic version of the requested song.

The crowd hushed in silence so that they could clearly hear the acoustic guitar Avian held. A little unsure of when to start, being that she'd never sung this particular song acoustically, Katharine threw glances at Avian. She wasn't confident enough to actually look at him. Avian watched Katharine the entire time, noticing her shy glances and her unsure smile. To Avian, she was easily read. So, when the time came for her to start singing Avian opened his mouth and started singing with her. This only made the silence in the crowd so much more prominent, most in awe of the harmonizing between both Avian and Katharine. The crowd watched as the two watched each other. There was an obvious connection through the way they slowly drifted towards one another.

Katharine sang with all she had, trying desperately to hide her cold. Her voice was nasally in the morning, and had been for the past few days. She was afraid to embarrass herself in front of her Adonis. Avian's voice, impeccable as always, slowly slipped from the song. He was allowing her to sing alone, and it was something that Katharine did not want to do. She didn't let on though, closing her eyes instead to focus on her performance. She felt like her heart was skipping beats- the nerves, the adernaline, and the crowd did more harm than good for her skittering heart.

Avian, too in-awe to sing, slipped from the song. He mindlessly played his guitar, the notes memorized by his fingers that it took no thought. He simply watched this Kathy-Moose girl sing. Obviously, she was very good. And obviously, she was capturing the attention of a lot of people including Avian Kondo. It wasn't her voice that had Avian awe-struck. It was the emotions that were so plainly displayed on her face, the way she connected with the song so well. The way a sad smile with form on her lips as she sang, and how her dark eyelashes tickled her cheekbones. Avian was mesmerized.

A new story. I don't know where it's going. It's just something that started and never stopped.

Reviews are very much appreciated. Thanks for reading this far.