More Than Music (11 page)

In the live room, we played through the song together a few times, and then we each recorded our part of the song alone, too. When it was my turn, I played my guitar with the headphones on, just me and the music, the sound clear and beautiful while everything else faded away. Jared went last, recording the vocals while the rest of us watched, his eyes closed as he emptied his soul into the lyrics. I’d never seen someone who could channel emotion like he did every time he sang, like each word was being ripped out of him. His voice stirred something deep inside me, a longing that was almost painful, a desire I couldn’t ignore. I ached to pull him into my arms and press my lips to his, to feel him pour that same passion into me.

Saturday was our last practice before the battle, and it was starting to look like Angel would be a no-show for that, too. I grabbed some coffee during our break and prepared to settle in for our last three hours of rehearsal. We’d gotten the song down, and now it was only a matter of practicing until we felt confident we wouldn’t make any mistakes tomorrow.

We still had about ten minutes to relax before we started again, so I sipped my coffee and played with my guitar picks. Hector was sprawled across the floor drawing in his sketchbook while Kyle and Jared talked quietly, heads ducked close together. Brother stuff, I guessed.

The door banged open, and a stream of people entered with cameras and other equipment, followed by Angel and her assistants. The four of us just gaped at them as they set up around the room.

“All right,” Angel said. “Let’s hear what you’ve got.” When none of us moved, she snapped her fingers a few times. “I only have a few minutes, so hurry it up.”

Unbelievable. She didn’t show all week, and now she acted like we were wasting
her
time? Still, we each scrambled up and got in place while she grabbed a stool and sat in front.

“Any day now,” she said.

Jared scowled, but he adjusted his mic and we started the song. We were all off this time, the pressure of the camera crew and of Angel’s gaze making us each mess up. When she turned to me, I lost place of where I was in the song, and I had to make my mind blank for a second to find where we were so I could jump back in.

“Stop, stop,” Angel said, waving a hand at us. “You on guitar, what happened there?”

“I—I just got distracted, sorry.”

“Whatever, just get it together. And you,” she said to Jared. “You need to step it up.” She flicked a hand at the camera crew. “Okay, let's film this one and get this over with.”

Jared gripped the mic so hard I was surprised it didn’t break, but he said nothing and we started again. Angel let us finish this time and then plastered on her fake cheer now that the cameras were rolling.

“That was great!” she said with a little clap. “I love the way you’ve twisted the song and made it darker. I’m so happy you chose me for your mentor!”

Kyle snorted and then covered his mouth with his hand like he couldn’t believe that had escaped. Angel’s eyes narrowed at him, but then her phone rang—playing her band’s most popular song, of course. She held up a finger to us as she raised the phone to her ear.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jared muttered.

My thoughts exactly. Since there was nothing to do but wait for Angel, I picked up my coffee and took a sip, but it had gone cold now. Yuck. I moved across the room to dump the plastic cup in the trash.

“No, you tell him that doesn’t work for me. All or nothing!” Angel yelled at someone on her phone, pacing across the room like an angry jungle cat. She waved her free hand as she spoke and backed right into me, knocking into my arm. Coffee splattered all over both of us, and time seemed to slow as Angel looked down at herself and then up at me.

“You stupid bitch!” She wiped coffee off her leather jacket. “Look what you’ve done!”

“I’m so sorry!” I looked around for some napkins or something, my face burning. All of this was being filmed by the camera guys, who were probably thrilled to have captured some drama. I could only pray some kindhearted producer cut this moment so the entire country wouldn’t laugh at me. Kyle ran over and handed me some napkins, but Angel waved him off when he offered her some.

“I don’t have time for this shit,” she snapped and turned to the door.

“No, you don’t seem to have time to be a mentor at all,” Jared said.

She spun to face him. “What did you say to me?”

“You heard me.” He moved to stand in front of me, like he was going to protect me from her wrath. “And you need to apologize to Maddie.”

Angel pointed a finger at Jared. “You ungrateful little shit, you’re lucky to even be on this show!”

Seeing her shout at Jared upset me even more than her calling me a bitch. “We should have picked one of the other mentors.”

“No kidding,” Hector said. At some point, he’d moved to stand beside us, fists clenched at his sides.

Angel looked like she might strangle one or all of us. I was surprised the show didn’t intervene, but they probably loved this stuff. “You’re done,” she yelled. “Tomorrow you’re all gone!”

She stormed out, followed by her entourage, who either gave us looks of sympathy or ignored us completely. The door closed, and we were alone again.

“This is all my fault,” I said, my shoulders slumping. “She’s going to send us home because of me.”

Jared ran a shaky hand through his hair. “No, if anything that was my fault. Shit, what have I done?”

“I can’t believe you said that to Angel,” Kyle said. “Even if it was true.”

He sighed. “I know, it was stupid. I just can’t stand bullies, and when she yelled at Maddie, I lost it.”

There he went, being my big brother again, but this time I didn’t mind as much. I placed my hand on his arm. “Thanks.”

“What do we do now?” Hector asked. “We’re screwed.”

There was only one thing we
could
do. We had to nail this song and hope for a miracle.

W
e arrived at the Nokia Theater early on Sunday for a quick soundcheck, followed by an hour of hair and makeup. We got to pick our own outfits for this show, and of course we all wore black. I had on a low-cut top with leather pants, of all things, and after about ten minutes, my crotch was sweating and I was cursing Julie in my head. But I had to admit, I did look pretty hot—and we needed every advantage we could get tonight.

We filmed a clip about what it was like being mentored by Angel, and we’d forced smiles and lied through gritted teeth about how great it was. We’d decided being honest wouldn’t help us if the show was trying to cover up what she was really like. Now that our battle with The Static Klingons approached, I found it hard not to bite my dark red nails and tear out my extra-volumized hair. We already knew Angel was going to pick The Static Klingons no matter what happened today, and our impending doom hung over us through every step of our prep work.

Our gear had been transported to the theater and carted away, and it made me realize how much we left it in the hands of others. I hated giving up my guitar to strangers and trusting they wouldn’t mess it up or misplace it, but bands on tour did it all the time and
The Sound
had this down to an exact science after so many years.

We were shuffled into a waiting area for Team Angel’s bands, where we could watch what happened through giant TV screens. The battle rounds weren't live and didn’t use the rotating stage; instead, the two competing bands were both set up on opposite sides of the main stage. As the first competitors went on, I found myself munching non-stop on the chips and cookies they’d put out for us while trying not to watch Jared flirt with the mohawk girl from the punk band. The only way to distract myself was to eat my anxiety away, until Sean appeared next to me at the food table.

“You’re getting crumbs all over your shirt,” he said, trying hard not to stare at my cleavage and failing.

“Ugh, thanks.” I brushed off my chest with a sigh. “I thought eating would help, but now I just feel sick.”

“Me too. This whole week has been overwhelming. Very different from life on a farm, trust me.”

“I bet.”

For a few minutes we watched the screen, where two country bands from Team Lissa took turns performing “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum. The first band was good, but they were missing a certain spark, while the second one, Fairy Lights, was led by a pretty blonde teenager with an amazing voice. When both bands finished and Lissa chose Fairy Lights, it wasn’t a surprise at all.

Sean cleared his throat, reminding me he was still there. “So I saw your audition. Your band is really good.”

“Thanks, but you don’t need to be worried. The song is a much better pick for you.” I left out the part about how Angel wanted to kill us, too.

“Maybe, but I’m curious to see what you’ll do with it.”

Was he trying to get info out of me or just being nice? Hard to tell. Maybe I’d try the same tactic on him. “What do you think of Angel?”

“You mean when she actually shows up?” He laughed but then looked around like he was worried someone had heard him. I didn’t think they were filming us now, but you never knew. “She’s…okay.”

It sounded like The Static Klingons hadn’t gotten much more mentoring than we had. Of course, they probably hadn’t dropped coffee all over Angel and turned her into a screaming banshee either, but what could you do?

Jared laughed at something Mohawk Girl said, and jealousy sliced through me like a sword to my gut. I shifted my gaze back to the screen as two other bands went on stage, but that only reminded me that we were going up there soon. The walls in the stuffy room began to close in around me, and the urge to bolt grew strong. I desperately needed some air right away.

“I have to go,” I said to Sean. “Good luck today.”

“Thanks. You too.”

I stepped through a door to an outside area, where a few people were smoking, and found an empty spot by the chain-link fence separating the space from the parking lot. I kicked some trash away, sank to the ground, and closed my eyes. My leather pants would probably get all scuffed up, but at this point, I didn’t care.

I’d thought I could handle all of this, but the paralyzing fear had crept back in and this time it was mixed with dread. Did it even matter if we performed today? We already knew Angel would never let us stay on her team, even if we blew The Static Klingons away. And odds are I was going to mess up and embarrass the band during our show. I couldn’t even remember how the guitar went in “Somebody Told Me.” What had been simple in practice now seemed impossible. I'd given up my internship for this show, and now we'd be going home in the second week. It didn't seem fair.

“Hey.” Jared’s voice made me snap my eyes open. “Are you not okay again?”

His reference to the song he’d sung for me before our audition made me smile—barely—but I wished it had been Kyle or even Hector who had found me. Jared looked especially handsome today, with his hair spiked up and the barest hint of eyeliner making his blue eyes pop even more. Being alone with him was a delicious agony.

“I just needed some air,” I said.

“Sorry. Should I go?”

“No,” I said, a little too quickly, and then cursed myself for it. It would be better if he left, but I also wanted him to stay. I was a hot mess.

He sat next to me on the ground, his long legs stretching in front of us. “I always get stressed before shows, too.”

“You do?” I found that hard to believe. Jared was always so confident on stage, so sure of himself. “You make it look easy.”

“That’s all an act, but it does get easier every time. You’ll be a pro soon, too.”

“Assuming we don’t get kicked off this week, you mean.”

He leaned his head back against the fence and stared up at the clear sky. “Trust me, I’m still beating myself up for that.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

Jared was silent for a minute, picking at a rough spot on his black jeans. “So you and that Sean guy, huh?”

“What? No. I mean, he seems nice and all, but that’s it.” I nudged Jared with my shoulder. “You jealous?”

He flashed me a smile that made my toes curl. “Maybe.”

“Don’t be.” The words slipped out, and I wanted to cover my mouth the instant I said them. I’d meant it as a joke, but it had come out a lot more serious. But he didn’t respond or brush it off with another joke. His eyes searched mine, like he was looking for answers in them.

I dropped my gaze. “We should head back in.”

“Yeah, Kyle’s probably tearing the place apart looking for us.”

He jumped to his feet and reached down to help me up. I slid my hand into his, but as I stood, I stumbled into him a little, still unsteady on my new heels. I braced myself on his chest, our hands still entwined, almost like we were dancing and just as close. My eyes caught on the patch of skin just above the buttons on his shirt, and I itched to undo them and see what was underneath. His free hand rested on the curve of my hip, and my gaze traveled up to his mouth, to lips that begged me to kiss them.

“There you are,” Kyle called from the door to the theater. “I’ve been looking for you two everywhere.”

I jumped back, hoping Kyle hadn’t seen how close we’d been a second ago, and Jared shoved his hands in his pockets. I was equally grateful to Kyle for saving me and annoyed with him for ruining my moment alone with Jared.