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MOLLY: (TO THE CHEERING CROWD) All right, everyone! Thank you all for coming! How about one more song from Underground? (THE CROWD CHEERS LOUDER THAN BEFORE) What do you think, girls? I think that was a yes!
(THEY BEGIN TO PLAY MORE MUSIC, AND MOLLY
SINGS:)
Your eagle eyes, they hypnotize me
Sharp enough to watch me from across the sea
I try to hide, but you swoop down and...
(CHORUS)
Catch me!
Catch me before I fall
Catch me!
Catch me as I plummet from your grasp
Chase me!
Chase me through the trees so tall
Chase me!
Chase me as I look behind me and gasp
(MOLLY LOOKS OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE STAGE, WHERE A MAN, "DANGEROUS" NICK DOUGLAS, STANDS TAPPING HIS FOOT TO THE BEAT. HE HOLDS A BOUQUET OF FLOWERS IN HIS RIGHT HAND. MOLLY, FOR JUST AN INSTANT, LETS A STRANGE LOOK CROSS HER FACE BEFORE SHE GOES ON WITH THE SONG.)
You seem to be ev'rywhere I turn
Right around the corner, your stare on me burns
I try to run, but you fly back and...
(CHORUS)
NICK: Well, those weren't the words I remember from the CD...
(THE CHORUS IS REPEATED AGAIN, AND UNDERGROUND TAKES A BOW.)
MOLLY: We're Underground and all
around!
ALICIA: To all your hearts we are
bound!
RUTH: Just close your eyes and we'll
be found!
UNDERGROUND: Goodnight!
(THE LIGHTS ON THE STAGE GO OUT, AND UNDERGROUND MAKES THEIR EXIT. MOLLY TRIES TO FIND A WAY TO AVOID NICK, BUT HE SEES HER AND PULLS HER BACK BY HER WRIST. HE NO LONGER HAS THE FLOWERS IN HIS HAND.)
NICK: Hey, Mouse.
MOLLY: It's "Molly" to you, Mr.
Douglas.
NICK: You seem a little more feisty
tonight than normal. Hey, I left you something in your dressing room.
MOLLY: As long as it isn't you.
NICK: Why do insist on hating me?
You won't even give me a chance.
MOLLY: (ANGER SWELLING UP)
Two reasons! One, I'm taken. Two, you wouldn't understand.
You movie types are all the same. Don't have any talent other than
lying.
NICK: What?
MOLLY: That's all acting is!
It's all a big lie! Let me tell you something, Douglas... Singing
is something you can't pretend to be good at. You either are or you
don't perform live.
NICK: You always had such a brilliant
mind. (HE PULLS HER CLOSER AND KISSES HER. SHE PULLS AWAY
WITH A VERY ANGERED LOOK AND SLAPS HIM. SHE WALKS AWAY.) Well,
I don't think I deserved something that harsh...
(MOLLY GOES INTO HER DRESSING ROOM, WHERE ALICIA AND RUTH ARE WAITING. SHE SHUTS THE DOOR BEHIND HER, QUITE LOUDLY.)
ALICIA: Oh, just give it up, girl!
He's a heck of a lot better than the guy you've got now.
RUTH: Who are you talking about?
MOLLY: Nobody.
RUTH: Is it the guy who left you
the flowers?
MOLLY: Oh, brother....
RUTH: (RUNNING TO THE VASE OF
FLOWERS ON MOLLY'S DRESSING TABLE) Let me see who it's
from! (SHE LOOKS AT A TAG ATTACHED TO IT AND GASPS HAPPILY) To
Molly "The Mouse" LeGarre, From Your Dearest Admirer Nick Douglas...
"Dangerous Nicky"?! Oh my gosh, this is so great, Mol!
MOLLY: No, it isn't.
ALICIA: Aw, he can't be all that
bad.
MOLLY: You don't know him like I
do.
ALICIA: Uh-oh. Like how?
MOLLY: Okay, he's chasing after
me when I'm already engaged to Steven...
RUTH: Wow! When did that happen?
MOLLY: Always the last to figure
it out... Anyway, I think that's just selfish, going after something
you can't have. And then there's that factor of "Hollywood relationships".
They never work out.
ALICIA: How do you know? You've
never had one.
MOLLY: And I hope I never will!
When two people are together and they become famous after they've been
an item for a long time, it works out. But when two famous people
get together, there are conflicting schedules and so much stress from both
people that it just doesn't ever fit! And even when that much doesn't
happen, the tabloids are all over you. No matter if the relationship
is going well or horrible, they always find a way to butt in.
ALICIA: I see your point.
But you won't even give him a chance?
MOLLY: Because, he's a total pervert.
RUTH: I thought you just said you
didn't read the tabloids?
MOLLY: I don't. Why?
(RUTH HANDS HER ONE, OPEN TO A PAGE. MOLLY GETS A SICKENED
LOOK.) Okay, another reason is reputation. I'd like to
keep mine clean by staying away from him before the reporters notice that
he's trying for me.
ALICIA: So how is he such a pervert
when you haven't even heard about the other things he's supposedly done?
MOLLY: In other words, you didn't
see what he just did to me out there?
ALICIA: No, I was looking at your
flowers.
MOLLY: (SHE GROANS)
Well, other than that little token of his "appreciation," he just kissed
me without any warning whatsoever!
RUTH: Dangerous Nicky kissed
you?! (SHE STARTS TO SPIN THE CHAIR SHE IS SITTING IN.)
You just don't realize how lucky you are, Mol!
MOLLY: Yeah, I know just how lucky
I am to have a jerk like him hanging over my shoulder...
ALICIA: By the way, when did we
all decide to change the lyrics to "Catch Me," Molly?
MOLLY: Change the lyr... Oh.....
I couldn't think of the real ones with that creep watching me. All
I could think of were those words. Guess they sounded a little threatening,
but it's all that was going through my mind at that point.
ALICIA: Like he was stalking you.
MOLLY: He is!
RUTH: Have you tried putting a restraining
order against him?
MOLLY: With all these tours, I haven't
been able to get a decent night's sleep.
RUTH: I'll bet he keeps you up,
too. (MOLLY GLARES AT HER.) No, seriously! I mean
with him stalking you. It must make you really nervous.
MOLLY: Yeah. Sorry, Ruth.
I didn't mean to look like that.
RUTH: It's okay!
ALICIA: Don't you worry, Molly.
She'll forget about it in the next ten minutes or so. It'll seep
out of that thick skull of hers pretty soon.
RUTH: Don't start with that.
ALICIA: Well, someone had to laugh
about something in here, am I right? It was getting way too melancholy.
MOLLY: (PICKING UP A DUFFEL BAG)
I'm gonna walk around the city for a little while.
ALICIA: Are you sure you'll be okay?
I mean, a celebrity doesn't normally just walk down a big city street without
some sort of protection.
MOLLY: I know how to take care of
myself. I'll see you all later.
(MOLLY LEAVES THE DRESSING ROOM.)
RUTH: I wonder if she wants some
more water for her flowers...
ALICIA: I think that entire conversation
just seeped through... Throw them away. She doesn't want them.
RUTH: Okay, no prob! (SHE
TAKES THE TAG OFF OF THE FLOWERS AND SMILES AS SHE POCKETS IT. SHE
TOSSES THE REST OF THE FLOWERS IN A SMALL WASTEBASKET.) Dangerous
Nicky...
ALICIA: Give me that! (ALICIA
TAKES
THE TAG FROM RUTH AND PUTS IT IN THE VASE, WHICH IS HALFWAY FILLED
WITH WATER.) If Molly found that, she'd have a fit.
RUTH: Guess you're right.
SCENE 2:
IN A SMALL CAFE. STEVEN HOLDS A CUP OF STEAMING
TEA, READING THE LOCAL PAPER. THE HEADLINE READS "UNDERGROUND
TO PERFORM AT CONCERT HALL TONIGHT AT EIGHT O'CLOCK." HE SMILES
AS HE LOOKS OVER THE PAPER AND SEES MOLLY WALKING INTO THE
CAFE AS WELL. HE GETS UP AND PULLS OUT A CHAIR FOR HER.
MOLLY: (CHEERFULLY) Well, thank you, Steven.
(SHE
SITS IN THE CHAIR, AND HE KISSES HER ON THE CHEEK.) You know
I don't expect that from you.
STEVEN: It's the least I can do after not being able to
get to your concert.
MOLLY: Not like you haven't seen all but two anyway.
STEVEN: Yeah, but I just feel guilty not being able to
watch you as often as I wish. (HE SITS IN HIS CHAIR AGAIN.) Danger
Boy was there again, wasn't he?
MOLLY: Is it that obvious?
STEVEN: I can just tell these things. Your secrets
tell themselves.
MOLLY: Well, it's not like he's on my mind for anything
good.
STEVEN: Is he ever?
MOLLY: Once. When he said "Hello," and then walked
away. He isn't so polite any more.
STEVEN: What'd he do now?
MOLLY: Sent me flowers.
STEVEN: What's so bad about that?
MOLLY: (COVERING UP HER NERVOUSNESS)
I guess nothing at all! I mean, what's a few tulips and foget-me-nots
here and there? Heck, I wouldn't mind having more fans like that!
STEVEN: You're hiding something else.
MOLLY: No, that's it.
STEVEN: I'll figure it out.
MOLLY: (HER EYES BEGIN TO SHIFT.) Nothing
to figure out.
STEVEN: I won't get mad.
MOLLY: (LOOKING AT HER WATCH) Oh, look at
the time. The girls are expecting me back any minute now. I'll
talk to you in the morning.
STEVEN: If you don't tell me now, I'll let the tabloids
tell me.
MOLLY: (A FIERY LOOK CROSSES HER FACE) Don't
you dare tell me I'm in the tabloids. I don't do anything to get
in the tabloids. If I'm in there, it's a big mistake.
STEVEN: Just joking, I swear! But really, if something's
bothering you-- (MOLLY IS ALREADY OUT WALKING ON THE SIDEWALK.)
I
wonder
if she realizes that the Concert Hall isn't that direction. Something's
up. (HE TAKES ANOTHER SIP OF HOT TEA AS HE READS MORE OF THE FRONT
PAGE.)
SCENE 3:
THE DRESSING ROOM. RUTH IS STRUMMING A NEW TUNE ON HER GUITAR
WHEN NICK WALKS IN WITH SOME MORE FLOWERS.
RUTH: C7, then Em.... No, that's not going to-- (SHE
SEES NICK AND BLUSHES.) We told you not to come back.
NICK: No, that was just Molly. But she isn't here
at the moment. I'm just dropping these off.
RUTH: Have you even glanced at the wastebasket?
NICK: That's why I brought some new ones.
RUTH: Well, I tried to take care of them for you, but...
You know how Molly can get.
NICK: What're you working on there, Ms. Garret?
RUTH: Just a little song. Wanna read it?
NICK: Why not. (HE PICKS UP HER MUSIC SHEET AND
READS IT.) Looks pretty corny to me.
RUTH: (SNATCHING IT FROM HIS HANDS) You wouldn't
understand it, with you being the pig you are. (SHE COVERS HER
MOUTH WITH HER HANDS.) Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Douglas....
NICK: Ah, don't worry your cute little head about it.
Here. (HE HANDS HER THE FLOWERS.) I can tell that you're
the only one around here who's going to really appreciate the trouble I
go through with you girls.
RUTH: Really?! Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Douglas!
NICK: It's Nick, Ms. Garrett. (HE NODS AND WALKS
OUT THE DOORWAY, LEAVING RUTH SWOONING IN THE DRESSING ROOM.)
SCENE 4:
RUTH WALKS OUT OF THE BACKSTAGE DOOR. ALICIA IS WAITING, TAPPING
HER FOOT AND POINTING TO HER WATCH.
ALICIA: Girl, where have you been? I've been waiting
for almost an hour!
RUTH: Wouldn't you like to know?
ALICIA: I'm the one asking the questions here! (SHE
NOTICES RUTH'S BLUSHED FACE.) Uh-oh. Girl, what were you up
to in there? Did the gaffer boy start flirting with you again?
RUTH: No. Better. (SHE HIDES HER FACE AND
GIGGLES.) Much better.
ALICIA: Ruth, you must be kidding me. You got to
the sound guy, didn't you?
RUTH: Nope! (SHE GIGGLES AGAIN.) I just talked to
Dangerous Nicky!
ALICIA: Oh, stay back.
RUTH: What's wrong, Alicia? Aren't you happy for
me?
ALICIA: Well, about the only upside to him liking you
is that he'll finally leave Molly alone, if we're lucky.
RUTH: The only upside? (HER EYES WELL UP WITH TEARS
OUT OF PURE HAPPINESS BEING PUSHED AWAY SUDDENLY.) He's a really
nice guy, though! Molly was just a fling for him! I just know
it!
ALICIA: There's a reason why I tossed those flowers.
He's no good.
RUTH: And just how would you know?
ALICIA: Oh, I know.
SCENE 5:
MOLLY STEPS OUT OF A HOTEL ROOM SHOWER. HER HAIR IS WRAPPED
IN A TOWEL, AND SHE IS CLOTHED IN A SIMILAR TOWEL. AS SHE PUTS ON
HER SLIPPERS BESIDE HER BED, THE PHONE RINGS.
MOLLY: Hello?
NICK (OVER PHONE): Hey, Mouse.
MOLLY: Ugh... Hi, Douglas.
NICK: Why can't you just call me 'Nick' and just leave
it at that?
MOLLY: I feel that I'm not close enough to you to call
you Nick.
NICK: Well, can I just talk to you for a few minutes?
Friend to friend?
MOLLY: More like fiend to fiend. But yeah, I guess
so.
NICK: Those words in the concert you performed today...
MOLLY: I know. They were wrong.
NICK: Why'd you sing them, then?
MOLLY: I saw you sneaking up to greet me backstage.
I couldn't remember the lyrics, and that's what came into my mind.
NICK: You remember them?
MOLLY: I think so. "You seem to b..."
NICK: Could you sing it?
MOLLY: Why?
NICK: Please?
MOLLY: (SINGING) "You seem
to be ev'rywhere I turn, right around the corner, your stare on me burns.
I try to run, but you fly back and catch me, catch me before I fall.
Catch me, catch me as I plummet from your grasp. Chase me, chase
me through the trees so tall. Chase me, chase me as I look behind me and
gasp." There. Was that better.
NICK: My stare burns?
MOLLY: (BLUSHING) You of all
people should know that I didn't mean it like that!
NICK: Just playing with you!
Just kidding!
MOLLY: I've been working on a new
one.
NICK: A new song?
MOLLY: Yeah.
NICK: Can I hear it?
SCENE 6:
THE NEXT UNDERGROUND CONCERT. MOLLY, RUTH, AND ALICIA ARE
PERFORMING THEIR USUAL SHOW UNTIL THE VERY END. JUST AS THEY ARE
ABOUT TO DO THEIR SIGN-OFF, MOLLY STEPS UP.
MOLLY: Can I have your attention for a moment? (THE
AUDIENCE SILENCES.) Thank you. I have something very special
planned for all of you tonight. This is a new song that we've been
practicing. You know what it is, right girls? (RUTH AND ALICIA
NOD.) Good! Now, what they don't know is that I have someone
else that is going to sing it with me!
ALICIA: Mouse? What on Earth are you doing?!
MOLLY: Trust me, girls! I've practiced this before,
just wing it and play like you always do!
RUTH: Whatever you say, Mouse.
MOLLY: All right, everyone. I'd like to introduce
you to..... Dangerous Nicky Douglas!
RUTH: Nicky? Where?! (SHE LOOKS AROUND, THEN
GASPS AND POINTS TO A BACKSTAGE CURTAIN.) There he is! There
he is!
(NICKY STEPS OUT THE CURTAIN.)
NICK: Thank you, Molly.
MOLLY: No problem! All right, girls! One,
two, three!
MOLLY: She walks away from the warmth of a local cafe
Just around the corner to another
A band plays a familiar tune as she trips through the door
And as she walks back outside just in time
To see her old hangout fall to the ground
She was one of the many
(CHORUS)
MOLLY & NICK: And the first to regret
First to see a life crumble to waste
On the side of a street at a corner store
First to drop to their knees and beg for their burden to be lifted
NICK: "Get a job," he said to the main on the cold sidewalk
"You bums are all the same, just filthy slobs."
He did not leave a penny, just a single throbbing scar
The beggar, he had nothing to say
He'd gone through so much since that fateful day
He was the only one left
(CHORUS)
MOLLY & NICK: A woman with black soot covering her
skin wanders
A man with no home watches as she cries
For one fleeting moment, they look up, then look away
There was nothing they could do to help
It was all too tearful to discuss then
She sat next to him and cried
(CHORUS)
(THE SONG ENDS, AND THE AUDIENCE RISES TO THEIR FEET, A STANDING OVATION UNLIKE ANY UNDERGROUND HAS EVER SEEN BEFORE.)
MOLLY: Good job, Nicky.
NICK: Not a problem.
(THE CURTAIN CLOSES ON THE STAGE.)
RUTH: Since when do the two of you ever get together and
work on something?!
MOLLY: Well, he called me the other day, and...
RUTH: And what? Finally convinced you that he was
"the guy?"
MOLLY: No! He apologized.
RUTH: For what? Deceiving me?
MOLLY: Deceiving you?
RUTH: Yeah! What about those flowers you left for
me, Nicky?
NICK: Well, they were originally meant for Mouse...
RUTH: Don't give me that!
MOLLY: Hold on a second. I obviously missed something.
(MOLLY LOOKS AT ALICIA FOR SUPPORT.)
ALICIA: Don't look at me. I've had no part in this, except for advising the both of you to keep away from that creep you're both standing next to. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to pack up my drums. (SHE PICKS UP THE SYMBOL.) See you guys later.
(ALICIA WALKS OFF THE STAGE AND TO THE EMPTY TRUCK.)
NICK: Well, despite this tif we're in the middle of, I
had a great time on stage.
MOLLY: I had no idea you were such a talented singer.
RUTH: Who cares if he's a talented singer?! Both
of you are cheating on someone else!
NICK & MOLLY: What?!
RUTH: Nick, you are such a player! You started flirting
with me in the dressing room the other day, and now you set up a duet with
Mouse? And Molly! You should be ashamed, with you being engaged
to Steven!
MOLLY: It's not like that at all, Ruth!
NICK: Don't take it as the wrong thing. I swear,
all you blondes are the same. So stubborn in what they think they
see...
RUTH: Don't even go there, Nicky!
NICK: I just did!
MOLLY: Enough! Good Lord! I can't believe
any of you! I am still deeply in love with Steven, Ruth. I
don't see why you would ever see it any other way. (SHE LOOKS AT
NICK, A SOLEMN LOOK COVERING HER ONCE SMILING FACE.) Nick, just tell
me. Was this whole thing a setup to try to win me over?
NICK: (AFTER A LONG PAUSE) Why would I ever do that?
MOLLY: Ruth, you can have him. He hasn't made any
more moves on me since he started in with you, it seems.
RUTH: Like I should believe the two of you.
MOLLY: But I'm your best friend, Ruth!
RUTH: Does it look like I care at the moment? You
can have your new partner. I'm out.
MOLLY: See you at practice tonight at seven, then.
RUTH: No. I'm out of the group. Underground
has lost its Rabbit.
(RUTH STORMS OUT OF THE BUILDING, CHOKING BACK HER TEARS.)
SCENE 7:
THE BACK LOT OF THE CONCERT HALL. RUTH IS RUNNING OUT THE
DOOR AS ALICIA PASSES CLOSE BY. SO CLOSE BY, IN FACT, THAT THEY RAM
INTO EACH OTHER. RUTH CONTINUES RUNNING AFTER THEIR COLLISION, BUT
ALICIA SITS ON THE GROUND, STUNNED.
ALICIA: Ruth, where are you going? (RUTH STOPS, BUT
DOES NOT SAY A WORD.) Ruth, what's wrong?
RUTH: It's none of your business.
ALICIA: You just rammed right into me. You're lucky
I wasn't carrying one of the drums. You did, however, manage to almost
break my tailbone back there, and from that, I do believe it is my business.
RUTH: I'm sorry, Alicia. I really am.
(SHE TURNS AROUND, FACING ALICIA. HER EYES ARE RED FROM TEARS.)
ALICIA: Girl, what happened to you?
RUTH: It was Nick... You heard the argument...
ALICIA: Yeah, but was it really that bad?
RUTH: Worse, if you ask me... I'm surprised I didn't
bash their heads in with my guitar. (SHE REALIZES SOMETHING.)
Darn it.
ALICIA: What's wrong, girl?
RUTH: I left my guitar in there.
ALICIA: Then go get it.
RUTH: Can you do it for me?
ALICIA: Come on, Ruth...
RUTH: Just once?
ALICIA: Why can't you go in there and get it yourself?
RUTH: Because...
ALICIA: Because why?
RUTH: I can't face Molly like this.
ALICIA: Molly's seen you cry before! You did last
week when you broke the E-string on your guitar and there weren't any stores
in the city that had them in stock!
RUTH: No, it's not that.
ALICIA: Then what is it?
RUTH: I quit the band.
ALICIA: No, no, no. Really, what is it?
RUTH: Please, just go get my guitar.
ALICIA: (TAKING RUTH BY HER SHOULDERS) Tell me you
did not quit the band.
RUTH: I could never lie to you, Alicia.
(ALICIA IS TAKEN ABACK. SHE RELEASES HER HOLD.)
ALICIA: Okay. I'll go get your guitar.
(ALICIA STEPS THROUGH THE BACKSTAGE DOOR, AND RUTH SITS ON THE BACK OF THE LOADING TRUCK. SHE CAN NO LONGER CRY; ALL SHE DOES IS STARE INTO SPACE. SHE HEARS FOOTSTEPS AS STEVEN MAKES HIS WAY OVER, BUT DOES NOT MOVE.)
STEVEN: Hey, Ruth. You haven't seen Molly out here
by any chance, would you? I told her I'd meet her back here after
the show.
RUTH: So, you didn't realize what was really going on
in the show today?
STEVEN: What?
RUTH: Molly's got herself a new guy. Why else would
she have a duet with Dangerous Nicky?
STEVEN: No. Molly would never do that.
RUTH: Why are you so sure?
(STEVEN STOPS COMPLETELY. HE SEEMS TO BE FLIPPING THROUGH NOTES IN HIS MIND.)
STEVEN: Can you tell me?
(RUTH STANDS UP AND MOTIONS FOR HIM TO WALK WITH HER. AS THEY ROUND THE ALLEYWAY CORNER, ALICIA STEPS OUTSIDE THE DOOR WITH RUTH'S GUITAR. SHE SEES THEM, AND SHE PUTS HER HAND ON HER HIP.)
ALICIA: Now, where are they running off to?
