One For All

Chapter Seventeen: Ch-ch-changes

Part Two: Journey

"Don't stop believing." - Journey's Don't Stop Believing

Chapter Seventeen: Ch-ch-changes

"We're not a team, we're each other's competition," Declan whispered while Darren smiled at them all. Mason felt his heart sink. They'd all been foolish. They'd encouraged each other to enter the competition without even thinking about the consequences. Mason himself had been so focused on the actual audition he hadn't really thought about what being in the competition meant.

"Ohh you'll all do fine I'm sure," Darren replied.

"Because you six are still in high school, your junior year correct?" Mitch asked.

"Yes. We're all juniors," Mason answered. There were only a few weeks left of the school year. Summer was right around the corner.

"I thought so, yes well we have to make an arrangement with your principal so you all can take your finals in say two weeks' time?

"Wait, Finals in two weeks? What the f...udgesicles!?" Owen exclaimed and refrained from swearing when he looked at the judges. "Do you have any idea how hard Finals are to begin with? Let alone having to do them early and having only two weeks to study?"

"I'd say we have an idea since we have graduated high school and college," Darren answered and Owen glared at him.

"The thing is we don't start filming the show for another three weeks. If you're going to be in it you need to be done with high school. It will take just about all of summer to finish filming the show. You could request a leave of absence and we could fill out all that paperwork but why not just be done with the school year?" Clara asked and Mason thought about it. It was true. He preferred to just get it over with.

"You do have a point," Madison answered.

"I need to study my butt off," Owen groaned.

"And after you've taken finals the day after Clara or I will come back and fly you guys back to the location of where filming will take place," Mitch explained.

"Where is it going to be filmed?" Noah asked and suddenly looked nervous.

"We're flying?" Aiden asked and frowned.

"Yes we are flying, why are you scared of heights?" Darren asked and smiled. Aiden blushed.

"I've never been on a plane," he mumbled.

"You've never been on a plane?" Madison asked looking shocked.

"The opportunity has never come up," he mumbled and blushed.

"Anyways where is it being filmed at?" Mason asked trying to change the subject and not make Aiden feel more uncomfortable.

"It's in LA. Hollywood. Surely you six know of that little town?" Darren asked and smirked.

"You don't have to act like we're ignorant," Declan replied and Darren turned to look at him. Mason thought back to Declan's mom yelling at Darren and smiled.

"Ohh but you all are. You're in high school. What do any of you know about life?"

"We know a lot more than the average teenager," Noah answered and Darren turned to look at him.

"Really? Because I seemed to have trouble understanding your story during your audition."

"Just because you don't understand or know what my story is doesn't mean I don't have one. You act like we're all characters in a book that you're reading or rather just itching to skip to the end and find out how we end up," Noah replied and Darren grinned.