Chapter 47: We Are The Champions

            “I can’t believe this,” Chance said as she pulled on one dress after another at the little shop they stopped at on Rodeo Drive. “What the hell were those people thinking? They should have called us and told us we were up for twelve Grammies, not sent us a letter that took forever to get here. The nerve!”

            “Stop worrying,” Darren tried to calm her down.

            “That’s easy for you to say. All you had to buy was a suit, and you were done. It’s not fair being a girl!” she yelled, opening the door and showing him the last dress she tried on. It was puffy blue and looked absolutely disgusting. “This is so wrong! I can’t find one fucking thing to wear tonight. I’ve tried everything! Now what?”

            “Here, try this. It might not be a gown, but it’s something,” one of the sales ladies said as she handed Chance a colorful halter top cut far above the waist and a pair of black pants. Chance headed back into the fitting room and emerged minutes later with a satisfied grin on her face.

            “Oh, I like!” Darren happily expressed as he stood up and looked her over. “Damn, you look so sexy. You know what I was thinking?”

            “What?” Chance replied with a smile.

            “Since you already have a tattoo, you should get your belly button pierced. You would look so much sexier that way,” he suggested.

            “If I had the time, I would, but right now I think I’ll just settle for something fake. You know, so I won’t have the hassle of blood and Band-Aids on one of the biggest nights of my life,” she said. “Hey, could you ring this up? I’m just gonna wear it out,” Chance added to the saleslady.

            “Sure. I’ll be right back with your bill,” she kindly replied then headed for the cash register. Chance and Darren soon left the boutique and walked out to the limo that would take them to the venue where the Grammies were being held.

            They arrived in style, just the way Chance had imagined it. And on top of all that, they were the most sought out couple by photographers and reporters. After about twenty interviews, they headed inside and took their seats in the enormous auditorium about four rows from the stage.

            “Is it really cold in here, or is that just me?” Chance asked as she rubbed her hands together to stay warm.

            “It’s just you,” Darren replied as he took her hands into his and gently warmed them. “I’m boiling in this suit. What I wouldn’t give to be you at the moment.”

            “Could you remind me once more what we’re nominated for?” she questioned.

            “The whole list?” he answered. Chance nodded. “Okay, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Performance by a Group or Duo, Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Album Notes, Best English Album (non classical), Producer of the Year, Remixer of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video. That was a mouthful.”

            “I’ll say,” Chance replied under her breath as someone tapped her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Madonna standing behind her. Chance’s jaw dropped down to reveal the surprise on her face. She tried to utter a few words, but nothing her mind told her to do was registering.

            “Hi, you’re Chance Malone, right?” Madonna politely asked.

            “Ye… Yeah,” Chance finally said. “You… You’re… You’re Madonna.”

            She smiled. “You’re so cute. I love your song. Very powerful. I was wondering if you would like to get together some time and work on a song together.”

            Chance’s face lit up in delight and absolute joy. “Oh, Yes! Yes! I’d love to!” she answered.

            “Okay, here’s my card. Feel free to give me a ring when you have time. I know you’ve been very busy with your wedding and all. By the way, congratulations. I wish you the best in life,” Madonna replied as she walked off towards the front row.

            Chance still stood where she was, dumbfounded by the whole experience. She never thought that someone like Madonna would ever come up to her and ask to write a song together. She shook her head and turned towards Darren. His eyes were bugged out and his mouth hung wide open.

            “You suck!” he squeaked.

            Chance sat down and tried to calm herself. She didn’t even bother to reply to Darren’s remark. Her eyes stared out in front of her as she blankly stared at the stage.

            “Did that just happen, or was I dreaming?” she finally asked aloud.

            “That definitely happened,” Darren replied. “Madonna just asked you to do a song with her. Who’s next, Lenny Kra…” his voice trailed off. Chance turned around and saw who he was staring at.

            “R… R… Ra… Ricky… Ricky Martin!” Chance nearly collapsed as her hand took a hold of the chair beside her. She began to breathe heavily, but soon realized that would only scare him off.

            “Are you okay?” he asked in his sweet Latin accent.

            “Yeah,” she sheepishly replied. “I just wasn’t expecting another famous person to walk up to me again.”

            “Let me guess, Madonna was already here?” he said.

            “Yeah, about five minutes ago,” Chance answered.

            “Then I guess you already know what I’m going to ask you,” Ricky replied.

            “I do, but I’d like you to say it,” she stupidly said.

            “I’d like to record a song with you, if you have the time.”

            “I’d very much like that,” Chance accepted his offer.

            “My agent will call you. Thank you very much,” he replied, extending his hand. Chance shook it, and Ricky walked away leaving her just as stunned as before.

            “You really suck now,” Darren said from behind her. She turned to him and shook her head. Her mind was past diluted with the experiences of the night that she completely forgot where she was until the lights dimmed and the music began to play.

            “Oh, my God! It’s starting!” Chance squealed in delight as she took her seat beside Darren.

            The first category presented was Best New Artist, a category in which Chance was nominated by herself. She sat on the edge of her seat praying that she had won the award. After a long pause, the presenter, who was none other than Christina Aguilera, finally opened the envelope and said, “And the award goes to… Chance Malone!”

            The moment Chance heard her name being called, she looked over at Darren to see if it was true. He smiled at her and kissed her lips without any trace of the resent he felt towards her earlier that night. She screamed and stood up, slowly walking up the steps of the stage and to the podium. Chance took the statue into her hands and looked at it before making her speech.

            “Wow, I wasn’t even expecting this,” she almost laughed. “I’d first and foremost want to thank God for this honor. Without Him, I wouldn’t be here, and I wouldn’t have the inspiration to write my music. He’s thrown many obstacles my way, but I’ve been able to overcome them pretty well, I think. The second person I’d like to thank is none other than my fiancé, my best friend, my mentor, my producer, my idol, and my soul mate, Darren Hayes. If it weren’t for you discovering me like you did, I wouldn’t have such a wonderful existence.” By now Chance was on the verge of tears. She looked out at the sea of people and smiled. “I’d like to thank my family, Shiri, Danny, Grandma, and Grandpa. I’d like to thank MTV, and everyone over at Columbia and Rough Cut. And I have to thank all the fans. You guys have been great. You’ve supported me through thick and thin, you went out and bought the album. This is your award, you deserve it. Thank you, everyone that I forgot.”

            The next few awards were for the rock bands, and neither she nor Darren paid any attention to them. The more important awards would come later on that night, towards the end of the show. While they waited through commercials, many people came up to them to congratulate them on the other awards they won that weren’t going to be presented during the show. That was when Chance and Darren found out that they had won Best Album Notes, Best English Album (non classical), and Best Short Form Music Video. The rest of the awards they would have to wait for.

            “Next up, the Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration and Best Pop Performance by a Group or Duo,” the announcer said thirty seconds before the show started. Darren and Chance both straightened out as they waited for the winners to be called.

            “And the winners are…” Josh Hartnett and Jessica Simpson said as they opened the envelope for Best Pop Collaboration. “Chance Malone and Darren Hayes!”

            All smiles and completely taken by surprise, the two walked onto the stage, hand in hand, and accepted their award. That’s how it went for the next few awards, Best Pop Vocal Album, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year. The second to last category, Producer of the Year, had Darren nervously sitting at the edge of his chair waiting for the name to be called. He closed his eyes when he saw the envelope being opened, then heard, “Darren Hayes for ‘Chance and Darren, The Jam Sessions!’”

            Chance eagerly pushed him out of his seat then gave him a soft kiss on the lips as congratulation. Darren walked onto the stage and stood there for a few moments staring at the trophy and wondering what he was going to say. He stared at the crowd and found Chance, then began his speech.

            “This is the eighth award I’ve received tonight, and I’ve thanked almost everyone there possibly was to thank. Almost. I missed someone who was very near and dear to me. Someone who I couldn’t have possibly done this album without. She’s sitting right there in the forth row wearing the absolute most beautiful outfit I’ve ever seen,” Darren said as he pointed in Chance’s direction. She stared at him with a wayward smile. “If it wasn’t for her, my life would have no meaning, and neither would my music. She put me back on track. She inspired me to write and record some of the best music I’ve ever come up with. And I just wanted to let her know that I’m eternally grateful for everything she provided me with, and that I love her very much. Thank you, Chance.”

            There was not a dry eye in the house after Darren’s speech. Chance was crying hard enough for her makeup to begin running. She wiped her eyes with a tissue and smiled as the camera focused on her. This night was definitely shaping out to be one of the best. The only thing that could possibly top that was the wedding.

            As the commercials played in the background, Chance waited for Darren to come back to his seat. It had been nearly five minutes since he had left the stage, far too long. The commercials ended and it was time to announce the winner for Record of the Year. Chance sat alone shaking as she waited for the envelope to be opened. Her eyes and ears closed as the name was called.

            “’Chance and Darren, Another Dream!’” Madonna said after reading the name on the slip of paper. Chance shot up like a rocket, almost doing a cartwheel down the aisle before reaching the stage. This was the award she had been waiting to win all night, and she had finally done it. Darren had appeared onstage as if by magic and was waiting to kiss her when she got to the podium. As their lips locked, the crowd went wild. A whole minute passed before they let go of each other.

            “This has got to be the best night of my life,” Chance said into the mic as she took Darren’s hand and led him over to make their final speech. “Ten awards between the both of us. This is so crazy! Um… Who else can I thank? Oh, yeah, the people who I wrote this song for, my mom, my dad, and Scott, who are all looking down on us right now. This one is for them. I would like to thank them even though it’s been a very traumatic experience for me to lose all three in very tragic accidents. I want to dedicate this award to their memory. Thank you, guys. I love you so much.” She tried hard not to burst into tears.

            Darren pulled her in close as he spoke. “I don’t think I can come up with anything that compares to what she said, so I’m gonna thank my parents and everyone who made this record possible. I especially want to thank Leonie for doing all that she has done for me. Um… Dan and Shiri for their support, and everyone else that I seem to keep forgetting. Thank you all so much.” He pulled Chance in for another kiss as a way to perfectly end the show.

            A few hours later, after the parties and the interviews, Chance and Darren were finally able to go to their hotel and rest. Chance managed to flop onto the bed and instantly fall asleep while Darren took a little longer to get over his adrenaline rush. He stared at her as she slept in her outfit. He had never seen Chance so happy in her entire life. There might have been some times earlier on before they met, but he seriously doubted it. His eyes scanned her back until the fell on her butterfly tattoo. It was still as he remembered it, the wings spread between her shoulder blades and the three simple colors, red, yellow, and black.