Pluto was practically bouncing off the walls, which was what caught Scorpio's attention. Sure, he was usually excited and nervous for shows, but this was different. But they weren't in District Two. So, really, the boy from Eleven had no idea what was so special about this one in particular.
"You seem hyped up!" Thor said, smiling, and Scorpio knew he wasn't the only one that noticed.
"Yeah, I guess," Pluto said, giving them all a smile.
"Who doesn't love the Capitol crowd?" Wolf laughed.
"True," Phil said, "Last time I got a ringbox thrown at me."
Thack, who was making some last-minute adjustments, looked up. "Are you serious? Was there a ring inside?"
Phil laughed. "Yeah, there was."
"Dude, I want a ring thrown at me!" Wolf chirped.
"Probably just bras for you," Thor teased, bumping him on the shoulder.
"Surely To's not excited about that, though," Scorpio said. The others were always so hyper and loud they sometimes forgot Pluto was even there.
"No, thanks," Pluto said. "I'm excited because Cerena's coming tonight."
"Cerena?" Thor asked.
"You mean Cerena Mai!?" Thack squeaked.
"Yeah!" Pluto said happily. "She's my escort. She was, I mean. But she hasn't seen me sing live yet."
"Oh, well that'll definitely change then!" Wolf said cheerfully, slapping Pluto on the back good-naturedly.
"I hope she likes it."
"We'll just have to play super duper well!" Thor said, and the others agreed.
"That would be good. Thanks."
"You guys are on in ten," Thack said, smiling. Pluto felt the familiar feeling of his heart pounding in his chest as nerves started to creep up on him. He always got nervous right before showtime, and he was convinced that it would never change no matter how many times they played.
"Let's give it our all tonight," Wolf said, grinning at them all.
"Fifty cents says there's a glowing I <3 Phil sign," Thor said, which caused Pluto to laugh a bit.
"A dollar says there's a Marry Me Phil sign!" he said.
"I think it'll say Marry Me Pluto," Wolf teased.
"I think it'll say You Bet On Weird Stuff," Scorpio teased.
"And they'd be right."
Thack did one last check to make sure all of their mics were on before they gave each other high-fives for good luck (yeah, some spanks were given as well) and walked out on stage, under the practically blinding lights.
Cerena was there watching. Her husband Ashton sat next to her, and her son Demetrius was beside Ashton. On her other side was Vesperus, who attended pretty much every show and would take them all backstage after the show. The band gave as good a show as ever, and Cerena couldn't help but smile. She hadn't seen Pluto look so comfortable before in her life. And boy, that Philander had a voice on him as well. Halfway through, she thought of other songs they could sing, songs that the President had done everything to bury. And she couldn't help but show interest in their drummer. He had quite a history about him.
She leaned over to Vesperus and had to speak in his ear for him to hear over the cheering crowd and the loud music.
"They could change the world," she said. Nudges. Small nudges in the right direction. Vesperus believed in the cause, he would eventually budge. Cerena understood his devotion to his sisters, but at the same time this was a cause that was a bit bigger than just two people. She knew that she could get him on her side, and Pluto was a great tool. But until then, patience. Small nudges.
Vesperus smiled proudly. "Yeah. They could."
.
After the show, during which no rings were thrown (much to Wolf's dismay), Vesperus took Cerena, Ashton, and Demetrius to the backstage area. He showed his pass to gain entry and went to find the band.
As soon as he knocked on the door to the lounge, where they were chatting excitedly and cracking a cold one, or whatever the kids were saying those days, Pluto got up and hurried over to greet them.
He gave Cerena a big hug, even though he was a heavy, sweaty mass of pure strength. She hugged back, smiling.
"Thanks for coming," he said.
"Of course," she said, "It's nice to see you so relaxed and happy." She knew that he wasn't always that way. On his Victory Tour, he often had nightmares about his Games. Cerena's heart broke for the poor child. Here they were, all alone, forced to fight through the guilt of killing so many people, including their own District partner. Sure, Pluto had a good support system, but sometimes that didn't matter. It wasn't fair that he'd ended up such a hollow shell. It was all the fault of the Games, the oppressive Capitol. She couldn't help feeling compassion for him. He was only a few years older than Demetrius, after all, and here he was expected to manage all the stress of being the lone survivor of a death match. When he was awake with nightmares, she stayed up with him. It was just a mother's instinct. Sometimes she told him stories to pass the time.
"Did you like it though?"
Cerena smiled. Pluto had never looked so alive before. "I loved it," she said.
"Hi Ashton," he said, "Thanks for coming." He was still breathing heavily, from belting so much and having so much adrenaline pumped through his veins.
"Sure thing," the man said, patting Pluto's shoulder.
"Good to see you too, Demetrius," Pluto said, giving Cerena's son a firm handshake. "How're things going?"
Demetrius gave him a smile. "Good. Every day I'm closer and closer to being an escort! Soon!"
"Well, If you're anything like your Mom, you'll be great," Pluto said, which caused him to huff slightly.
"Oh, I should introduce you to the others." At that cue, the rest of the band got up and walked over, each of them waving when Pluto introduced them. "That's Phil, and Scorpio and Thor and Wolf. And Thack is... Where is Thack?"
"Probably doing something important," Phil said, laughing. "Nice to meet you all," Cerena said.
"It's an honor to meet you too," Wolf said. He could remember a time when he was younger that she'd escorted in his District. Six was a shithole, though, so she didn't spend too much time there.
"Oh, that's silly talk," she said, as he gave her a firm handshake and a bright smile. The others broke out into different conversations, so Cerena gave the drummer a knowing look. "You were best friends with Tuck Carver, weren't you?"
Wolf looked nervous immediately. "I... Yes, we knew each other." It was very fragile to talk about. After all, the person who had once been Wolf's best friend had been taken into custody after being caught making anti-Capitol graffiti all over District Six. He wasn't about to pledge his allegiance to that kind of person in the presence of a Capitolite he barely knew. "How did you know that?"
"I'm very esteemed in the Capitol and found some records." She gave him a fiery smile. "How would you like to carry on his legacy?"
Wolf looked around nervously before giving her a wide grin. "I'd be listening."
"Wonderful," she said, smiling. "I'll get in touch with you."
"You're... Really... A-"
"Not here. I'll explain more later." She was interrupted by Pluto and Demetrius, who wanted to meet Wolf, came back over.
"Hey Pluto?" Cerena said, causing them to turn around and cock their head curiously.
"Hm?"
Cerena smiled. "I'm really proud of you, Hun. You've done good for yourself, even through the worst times."
He gave her another tight, bone-crushing hug, but Cerena just smiled. She was sure he didn't hear that all too often, especially not from a mother-figure.
Overall, it was a successful night. Not only did she get to show support for arguably her sweetest Victor, she also planted some very important ideas into some very important people.
Where one goes, surely the others will follow.
She hoped that was true.
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