by Mia Harlan
With a shuddery sigh, I look up at the guys. I try to maintain a confident exterior—or at least a semi-normal one—but I feel like I might break down at any moment. I should never have agreed to this. If I hadn’t, they would have had time to come up with something better. Now, I’m their only chance.
I can’t screw this up. They don’t deserve that, not even Silas. They're counting on me to get them through tomorrow's audition. They put unwavering trust in me and they're about to pay for it.
“So, Madame Director?” Silas croons, disdain weaving in and out of his tone. “Shall we begin?”
The guys move into position. Well, three of them do. Silas takes a long time slinking over, his movements like those of a predator on the hunt. I choke.
“You got this, Roonie,” my Prince Charming smiles at me.
I nod and force myself to cross the room. My hands start to shake, and I stuff them in my pockets. The cold, jagged pieces of my pendant dig into the fingers of my right hand and I take comfort in the pain. I even summon enough courage to face the guys. “T-thank you for coming.”
"What?" Silas asks, cupping his ear with his hand. "Speak up."
"Silas." Charles shoots the Dark Prince a scowl. The look would bring a lesser man to his knees, but not Silas.
He responds with a shrug that reeks of false innocence. "Sorry man, I just couldn't hear her."
"Why don't you move a little closer, Roonie?" JJ takes my hands in his and tugs me forward until the toes of my shoes are almost touching his. “Much better.”
I blush.
“It’s just us.” He loops a strand of my hair around his finger and gives it a tug. My heart does a summersault. “There’s no pressure…”
“It’s just an audition,” Silas adds. For a second, I actually think he’s trying to help. “Just an audition that will make or break our entire a cappella careers. So yeah, no pressure.”
“Not helping,” Charles snaps.
“Sorry,” Silas says, though he’s clearly not.
“You’ve got this, Roonie,” my Prince Charming reminds me.
I nod. I don’t have a choice.
If I can just focus on the song, I can get through this.
I picture it in my head until it’s so clear it’s almost like the guys are performing it right in front of me. I know the high notes and low notes. I know the tone and richness of each guy’s voice. I can imagine them melding together to form something that will sound amazing. Or, at least, a whole lot better than they had when they sang Apples.
What matters is that I know what the performance should sound like. More important, I know what it should feel like. I just need the guys to sing it the way I’m picturing in my head. Hopefully, that’ll be enough.
“Let’s begin,” I croak, my voice barely audible.
The guys nod. Silas smirks.
Focus on the song, Roonie, I remind myself. Focus on the song.
“JJ,” I say, my voice much stronger this time, “please lead the warm-ups.”
Chapter 30
“You want me to lead the warm ups?” JJ sounds hesitant.
“You should always warm up your vocal cords before singing,” I explain at barely above a whisper. “It’s important—”
“We know what warm ups are for.” Silas rolls his eyes at me. “And JJ doesn’t lead them.”
I turn to him in question.
“It’s usually Silas’s job,” JJ confirms. Silas smirks. “But it can’t be that hard. I’m sure I can manage.”
It’s obviously a dig at Silas, who glares at me.
“N-no. Silas can do it,” I whisper. I don’t want the Dark Prince to hate me any more than he already does. I also don’t want to make JJ lead warm-ups if that’s not his job.
Silas smirks—but unlike JJ, who turns the look seductive, Silas makes it look predatory.
He saunters forward. There are plenty of other places to stand, but he takes my spot and I barely have time to scramble out of the way. Then, he gives one small, barely perceptible nod, and the guys transform. With military-like precision, they stand at attention and take deep breaths almost as one. Then, with a flick of his wrist, Silas guides them through a series of warm-ups, their voices rising and falling up and down the scale.
The Dark Prince joins in, a smirk dancing on his lips as he sings. My gaze is instantly drawn to his piercings and I have to force myself to look away. Unlike the other guys, Silas slouches, and I’m pretty sure he does it on purpose. He wants me to see that he’s putting in zero effort and still getting results. He wants me to know that he can do this in his sleep.
I think Silas always wants to intimidate me, but it doesn’t work. Okay, fine, it works, but I’m not any more intimidated than I was before the warm ups. I know the guys must have done this precise vocal drill dozens of times before. They can do it on autopilot, so there’s no need for Silas to do more than just stand there.
Maybe I can do that, too.
The guys have done plenty of rehearsals before. I don’t need to give them complicated directions or treat them like they don’t know what they’re doing. If I just tell them where to stand and what to sing, it might be enough. Then, the guys can take care of the rest.
I grow more confident as the warm ups progress. By the time I take over from Silas, I’m even able to speak. “Let’s begin. Tate, you stand near the front, on the right…” I hold up my hand and divide the imaginary stage in two.
“Stage left,” Silas calls out, challenging me.
“No. Right,” I shake my head and point at the spot where I want Tate to stand.
“Stage left,” Silas repeats, his tone mocking.
“Stage left and house right are the same thing,” Charles purses his lips. The look is aimed at Silas, not me, but I still feel like an idiot.
“W-what?” I whisper.
“If you want us to move to our left or right, say stage left or stage right,” Charles says. “But give directions from our perspective. Since you’re in the audience facing us, your left and right are reversed.”
“Right.” I nod. I should have known that. I’ve probably heard it before, in rehearsal videos, and just never paid attention.
“Left.” Silas rolls his eyes.
I suddenly want to cry. Or scream. Probably scream.
Tate speaks up before I get the chance. “If it helps, you can turn around and stand on a pretend stage,” he offers. “Or say house right and house left. The audience sits in the house, so those are from your perspective.”
Silas scoffs loudly at the idea that I might need to do either one.
My throat goes dry. I open my mouth to direct Tate to stage left, but no sound comes out. I try again, but when I get the direction past my lips, my voice is weak and crumbly.
“Do you need to get some water?” Tate offers.
I nod desperately and he jogs over to his backpack and retrieves a water bottle. He hands it to me, then moves where I want him at stage left. The icy cold bottle gives me something to focus on other than my fear. Biding my time, I take a long, slow sip of water. With a nod, I thank Tate and set the bottle down on the piano bench.
“You know we only booked the room for an hour, right?” Silas mutters impatiently.
My mind goes blank. I can’t remember what I was doing or where anyone was supposed to go. I look at the guys with panicked eyes and stop when I reach Charles. He towers over the others, his posture tense, but there’s something in his eyes. They tell me that he believes in me, and I see the same look reflected on Tate and JJ’s faces. Silas is still glaring, but I ignore him.
“T-Tate, please stand stage left,” I say, my confidence slowly coming back even if my voice still quavers. “And Charles, you’re at stage right.”
The guys quickly take their places.
“JJ, you’re in the middle.” He gets into position and I smile. “Silas, you’re over there behind Charles.”
Silas stays rooted to the spot. “Should I be?” he asks like he’s tal
king to a small child. “Basic rules of art suggest symmetry, and Charles is taller than the rest of us.”
Charles shifts his weight and pulls in his shoulders, almost like he’s trying to look smaller. Of course, at his size, it proves impossible.
“You have everything off-balance,” he continues, “and we haven’t even started. Charles, you should stand on the other side of the stage, behind Tate.”
Charles looks at me hopefully. I can tell he wants to move, and I quickly nod.
“Tate, you’re good where you are.” Silas nods approvingly. “And JJ, you’re at stage left. I’ll take center stage.”
The guys move into position. It’s not at all how I pictured it, but Silas is right. The guys do look a lot more at ease. Their postures relax and they smile—at least Tate and JJ do. Charles has a blank expression on his face and Silas a smug one.
I force down my frustration. The Dark Prince has clearly been doing this a lot longer than I have. He knows what he’s doing. I don’t. So what if this new arrangement doesn’t feel right? So what if it’s not how I pictured it? Does it really matter where the guys stand?
My mental image of how the song should be performed gets a little blurry, but I push through. It’s their audition. If this is how they want to stand, I need to make it work.
“Charles, you’re going to start us off by crossing the stage,” I direct, falling back on my old choreography.
Charles nods and crosses the stage, coming in from the wrong direction. He’s supposed to look confident and graceful, but in reality, his shoulders are slightly hunched and his steps hesitant.
“Can you try that again?” I ask. “But this time, remember that you’re in a fairy tale and—”
“You want him to try walking again?” Silas interrupts. “You know this is an a cappella audition, right? We’re here to sing.”
“And we will. I mean, you will.” I close my eyes to block out the image of Silas’s smirking face.
I have to focus on the song. Because Silas is wrong. This performance isn’t just about singing. It isn’t just about lyrics and sounds. It’s meant to inspire feelings. To transport the audience into a magical fairy tale where anything can happen. My fingers tingle with anticipation and I focus on that feeling. That’s what I need the guys to recreate so the song can come alive.
“Charles, remember you’re a powerful prince. Confident. Strong. Bold.” I look up at his incredibly tall, broad figure. “You’re in an enchanted forest…”
“That’s set design,” Silas snaps.
“Right.” I keep my eyes closed and try to get back to that place in my mind where I’m excited about the song. “Imagine you’re in an enchanted forest. Tenors, you’re going to hum to fill in the sound effects. Make the forest sound full and deep. Bring that magic to life.”
“How?” Silas asks.
I open my eyes to find him frowning at me from center stage, arms folded across his chest. I glance at the other guys, but they all look equally confused. “Well…” I stall as I listen to the sounds in my head and try to figure out how to get the guys to sing them.
“Well…?” Silas presses.
“Can you just let her do her thing?” JJ shakes his head at Silas. But when he looks at me, his tone is light. “Roonie, just tell us what you want us to do, and we’ll do it.”
Charles nods seriously and Tate smiles encouragingly.
I scramble to think up instructions, but I don’t know how to explain what I want them to do. I don’t know the right terms and my own whiny voice can’t replicate a tenor’s. How do I get this right if I can’t even demonstrate?
Silas exhales loudly, his annoyance echoing through the room.
“H-how about we start with the opening verse?” I say in a rush. “Then, we’ll go back to the enchanted forest?”
I get three nods and one scowl.
My voice shakes as I continue, “You’re all going to chorus together. Sing ‘Once upon a time,’ as you cross to the center of the stage.”
“Downstage,” Silas directs. The guys nod, but I can’t be sure if that’s directed at me or him. Silas’s smirk seems to suggest it’s the latter.
“JJ, I want you to hold the final note a split second longer than the others. Let me demonstrate.” I sing the line, trying to make my voice deeper and less whiny, and failing miserably. It’s a good thing I’m not actually in this performance. “Are you guys ready? Okay, let’s give it a try.”
Following my instructions, they raise their voices and create a dreamy echo of a fairy tale. They’ve got beautiful voices and as a group, they sound amazing. Not perfect, since Silas is singing far too quietly to be heard, but still amazing.
“Let’s do that again,” I suggest. I want to tell the Dark Prince to sing more loudly, but he’s already glaring at me, so I keep my eyes shut.
We go through the line four more time. Silas sings out of tune. He enters off-time. He sings for a split second too long. He sings too loudly. He’s obviously doing it on purpose, and I’ve had enough.
“I think we should try this again, but this time…”
“Roonie?” Silas raises his hand, his expression mocking.
I was going to say ‘but this time without Silas’ but I can’t seem to form the words.
“Not to be rude or anything,” he smirks, “but shouldn’t we move on? We can’t sing the same line over and over again.”
I glance at the guys for help and they look back at me hopefully. I give in.
“Tate, Charles, I want you to sing the second line.” I start to sing the words, to remind them how the song goes.
“Tate and Charles?” Silas interrupts, sounding skeptical. “Are you sure?”
I nod.
“Charles always harmonizes with JJ,” Silas explains, speaking slowly and condescendingly.
“He does?” I frown. That doesn’t sound right, but I’m suddenly not feeling so sure anymore.
Charles and JJ both nod. Silas smiles triumphantly.
“Oh…” I hesitate.
“Why don’t I swap with Tate?” JJ grins. “I’ll sing his lines and he can sing mine. Problem solved.”
“Well…” I hesitate, but Silas answers for me.
“Good thinking, JJ. Alright, everyone. Places.” He claps his hands and the guys instantly stand tall and get into position. “Everyone memorize the first verse?”
The guys nod and Silas motions them into action. Charles crosses the stage. They sing “once upon a time” with renewed gusto. Silas actually stays in tune. It sounds good.
Then, JJ sings Tate’s line. His voice is beautiful but completely out of place. It doesn’t work when Charles tries to harmonize with him, and they both grimace but keep singing.
JJ and Charles take the lead on the next line. When Silas and Tate try to harmonize with them, the entire song goes haywire.
Silas waves a hand, and everyone stops. “That didn’t sound right to me. Did that sound right to you?”
They hesitate, but their silence says it all. They glance at me hopefully, but I don’t know what to do. This isn’t my song anymore.
“Let’s try that again.” Silas takes over. “From the top, everyone. But this time, Tate, you hold that note instead of JJ. And Charles, instead of crossing the stage, stay where you are. JJ, you cross to stage center.”
They run through the song, over and over, until it barely resembles the version I started with. If it weren’t for the lyrics, you wouldn’t even know I wrote it.
Their rendition isn’t as terrible as Apples—I doubt anything can compete with that—but the entire song sounds chaotic. I’d pictured a magical fairy tale but instead, we’ve got a complete mess.
Finally, Silas calls a time out. “We have to free up the room for the next group. I booked us in again at seven, so we’ll resume from where we left off. I know we’re not there yet, but I’ll get us ready for that audition.”
The guys smile and nod. My chest tightens.
“Roonie, stay back
a moment. I’d like to go over a few pointers before our next rehearsal.”
My heart suddenly feels like it might explode right out of my chest.
“We’ll wait right outside.” Tate smiles at me and my shoulders sag with relief.
“No need. I’ll walk her back to your apartment,” Silas says and the pain in my chest is back.
Something about his tone sends a chill down my spine. He’s not scowling though, and he doesn’t seem annoyed with me. Could he actually want to work together? Is he willing to put aside our differences for this audition?
“Be nice,” Charles growls, but he steps out the door.
JJ heads after him but stops when he passes me. He wraps a strand of my hair around his finger, winks, and gives it a gentle tug. His tone is flirtatious, but his eyes serious. “You got this, Roonie.”
Tate takes his place and hugs me in parting. “We’ll pick up something to eat. What would you like?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I whisper.
Tate nods, but JJ shakes his head. “No, you pick Roonie.”
“Anything you like,” Charles adds from the doorway.
“Anything.” Tate agrees with a sweet smile.
The three of them stare at me, waiting. I glance at Silas and an annoyed glint flashes across his face only to disappear seconds later, almost like it was never there. He’s probably just impatient to start talking about the song. I hope.
“Burgers?” I say quickly. JJ grins. Charles doesn’t. “Mini burgers,” I amend, and he smiles, too.
“Mini burgers it is.” Tate agrees. “We’ll see you back at the apartment. Okay, Roonie?”
At my nod, the guys head out the door. It bangs shut.
A few seconds pass in silence. My mouth suddenly feels dry and my heart pounds in my chest, marking the passing seconds.
“Well, that was interesting,” Silas finally drawls. His voice drips with sarcasm.
I gulp.
“They let you stay on their couch. Then, they asked you to choreograph our song. If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was all a prank.”
“A prank?”
Silas’s eyes narrow. “You think you have them wrapped around your little finger, don’t you?”
