The It Factor

Chapter 31

My heart was pounding as we walked down the halls, preparing to preform.  Gosh, this was so stressful!  What if we didn't make it through?  What would happen?  I think we would all be crushed.

"Kyle, I'm freaking out," I whispered to him, "What if we're not good enough?"  He smiled down at me, taking my shaking hand in his own. 

"Take a deep breath, Ren," He whispered, leading me up the stairs that lead to the stage.  We had a minimal of sixty seconds before we went on. "We're good enough, and that's why we're here right now.  Don't forget it."  He kissed my forehead lightly, making a ghost of a smile appear on my lips.  Kyle was right, of course.

"Good luck, guys," Tristan whispered, wrapping us in a group hug.  That was a silent way of saying 'no matter what happens, we still have each other.'  I could tell by the way we gripped onto each other.  This was literally our dreams, and it was right there for us to take.  We couldn't screw this up.

"Guys, go on now." Someone said, giving us a little push.  I didn't even see them as I gripped the cold microphone in my hands, taking a deep breath.  There was that familiar feeling of nausea again.  It wasn't as bad this time, though.  We shuffled onto the stage, locking eyes with Matrix, the other band.  They had been lead to the other side of the stage, and were walking on at the same time as us.

"Hello," Ian, one of the judges said. "How are you all today?"

"Good," We all chorused into the microphones.  He nodded, looking at his paper, "Matrix, could you do me a favor and tell me your names?" 

"Drew,"

"Brent,"

"Taylor,"

"Nathan,"

"Mark,"

"Okay, and Silent City, your names, please?" Anther judge, Mia said, locking eyes with me.  I gulped.  Mia was the one who didn't like me, and said no in our first audition.  I had to impress her, show her I did have what it takes.  Of course, that's a lot easier said then done, especially because I wasn't even quite sure of it myself.

"Serenity," I said first, giving her a smile.  She frowned a little bit, obviously surprised I answered first.  Ha, good, because that was my goal.

"I'm Kyle,"

"Scott,"

"Andrew,"

"And I'm Tristan,"

"What song did you guys decide on?" Leah asked, placing her head in her hands.

"Blow Me," I answered immediately, not giving the others a chance to answer.  My stomach was doing back flips.  Could I even sing this whole song for them?

"Let's get to it, then," Leah said, showing no emotion in her face.  What?  I thought for sure they would be shocked!  Blow Me was the least obvious choice, but maybe that's why they weren't surprised.  Or maybe they had really good poker faces...

The music started without another word.  I eyed Leah, Ian, Robin, Mia, and Bill.  The judges.  I had to impress them, all of my boys did.  We had to do better then Matrix.

White knuckles, and sweaty palms from hanging on to tight.

Clinch your jaw, I've got another headache again tonight.

Matrix started out the song, but me and the boys came in right after.  We broke out into our harmony, giving it everything we got.  Even though I wanted to curl into a ball and cry, I really needed to keep it together for the next few minutes.

Eyes on fire, eyes on fire, and they burn from all the tears.

I've been crying, I've been crying, I've been dying over you,

Tie a rope in a knot, trying to hold, trying to hold, but there's nothing to grab,

I took a shaky step forward, stepping out of line to sing the next line, which was my only solo in the song.

So I let go!

Kyle took the hint and took a step to stand next to me, and I was soon joined by the rest of the boys, including the ones in Matrix.  Okay Serenity, this is a upbeat song.  Just pretend you're in your room, singing to yourself.  For a split second I closed my eyes before snapping them open, ready to sing my part in the harmony.  For the chorus, both bands sang.

I think I've finally had enough,

I think you maybe thing to much,

I think this might be it for us,

Blow me one last kiss.

I blocked out everything and just belted out the lyrics.  Have fun with it, Ren, I told myself.  With a burst of courage I ran across the stage, a huge smile on my face.  This set off a chain reaction, because soon everyone else was bouncing around, having a good time.

You think just to serious,

I think you're full of it,

My head is spinning so,

Blow me one last kiss.

Just when things get worse I've had a bad day,

You've had a bad day,

We've had a bad day.

I think that life's to short for this,

Want back my ignorance and bliss,

I think I've had enough of this,

Blow me one last kiss.

As we finished the song, I froze and faced the judges.  I was panting, a huge smile on my face.  Oh my God that was the most fun I had had in a long time!  The judges must of liked it to, because they were all smiling.  Well, except Mia, but I've officially decided she was just sour and bitter.  Slowly, they all started to clap.

"Impressive," Ian remarked, a huge smile on his face.  I squealed, glancing at Kyle.  He looked just as excited as me.

"We'll see you guys in an hour then," Leah said, jerking her head to the left.  We all rushed off, chattering none stop. 

"That was amazing!" Tristan exclaimed, grabbing us into a group hug.  Giggling, I hugged them all back tightly.

"I officially want to do that for the rest of my life!"  Scott yelled.  A man came up to us and told us we could go back to our room or wait outside with some of the other contestants.  Obviously they didn't want us backstage any longer, so we decided to go outside.  It was a nice day, and we had nothing better to do.

For the next hour we sat in a circle, talking about how much we had enjoyed that.  While we were singing, I forgot that we were competing, or that I had horrible stage fright.  It just went away.  We lost track of time, and before we knew it we were backstage again, ready to find out who was through.  I was shaking again.

"What if we don't get through?"  I asked for probably the one hundredth time.  Scott sighed, rolling his eyes at me.  Tristan grabbed my shoulders, giving me a light shake.

"Calm. Down." He said, looking me in the eyes.  I stuck my tongue out at him, laughing.

"Go on then, guys," Someone said, giving us a little push.  I grabbed a microphone that someone offered me, and walked on, forcing my legs to move one in front of the other.  Matrix was already walking on, and they were wearing their game faces. 

"Hello again," Leah said, flashing us a smile.  The other judges also gave us a smile, except for Mia, who was to busy giving us the stink eye.  Ya know, I think I just might hate her.  Wait, let me rephrase that.  I strongly dislike her.

"We're not going to beat around the bush," Robin stated, folding her hands in her lap.  The smiles faded, and my stomach dropped.  All I wanted to do was puke.  Does no one understand how terrifying this whole thing is?! "The group through to the next round is..."

"Matrix."