Only Exception

Chapter Four: Phillip

“The Toms?” he asked sheepishly.

“Er... Yeah.” they were the only shoes I'd brought.

“Oh, they're by the couch.” he said.  Was he... Blushing? “You fell asleep there last night.  I sort of thought you were gonna freeze or something so I moved you to the bed.”

Ah.  Mystery solved.  Only my heart was beating out of my chest.

“O-Oh...” I stuttered, “Thanks.” I needed to get away and breath.  “I'm gonna go grab them...”

“Right.” he stepped out of my way.  He was definitely blushing.

Once I was alone in the room, I stopped.  I took a deep breath.  My Toms were neatly set at the foot of the couch, as he'd said.  I slipped them on, but the shoes weren't what I was thinking about.

I could not fall for Colton Dixon.  It wasn't a question.  Or a choice.  I flat out could not do it.  And he definitely wasn't making it easy.  I took another deep breath and rejoined him in Sky and Maggie's room, grabbing our key from the table on the way.

“Ready?” I asked him.

Downstairs was a mess of people.  There was a buffet in the middle of the tables with all the breakfast food you could possibly imagine.  Everyone flocked the table.  The surrounding seats were entirely filled.  Maggie and Schyler were nowhere in sight. 

“Well.” I said, looking around.  A tall guy wearing a cowboy hat zoomed past me, knocking we closer to Colton.

“Proceed with caution.” a familiar voice drawled from behind us.  I turned to meet Phillip's amused gaze.  He was holding a banana and chewing it lazily.

“Hey bud.” Colton smiled when he recognized him.

“How on earth did you get in there?” I asked in awe.

“With a lot of pushing.” he grinned, and reached into his bag, producing two more bananas.  He tossed one to each of us.

“I figured it'd be hard to get back in there.  I got a stash.” his eyes twinkled, and I laughed.

“Woah, thanks.” Colton smiled.  I began to peel mine.

“So, what do you suppose they have us doing today?” Phillip asked as we settled back against the far wall.  There were fewer people in this area.

“Solo songs.  Weeding out whoever they missed.” Colton answered automatically. “We get a list to pick from.” he added as an after thought.  Phil gave him a look. “I was here last year.” he explained.

“Ahh.  So you really know what's up.” I was beginning to notice dark circles under his eyes.  And his skin was paler than last night.

“Are you feeling ok?” I asked him, slightly worried.

“I'm fine.” he shrugged, “A little stomach ache's all.” I wasn't totally convinced, but I let him be.  “So what's after solo songs?” he asked Colton.

“Group performance.  I think with four or five people.  Then another solo performance, but with instruments if you want them.”  he thought a moment, “Then it's final cut.  You sing by yourself.  They pick 24 out of that.  Then it's on to the live performances.”

“Where did you make it to last year?” I asked, not thinking. 

“Final cut.” he said solemnly. “They weren't crazy about it, I guess.”

I was sort of shocked.  He'd gone really far.  “You must be really good.” Phillip said, voicing my thoughts.

He shrugged. “I bet you'll go to the top 12 this year.  At least.” I said honestly.

“You've never heard me sing.” he laughed.

“Where do you guys know each other from?” Phil seemed slightly confused.  He took the last bite of his banana, then tossed the peel about 5 feet, into the trash can.

“Savannah auditions.” I rolled my eyes, “He's been bugging me ever since.” Colton stuck his tongue out at me.

“Savannah?” Phillip raised his eyebrows. “Small world.”

Colton looked at him questioningly.

“I auditioned there, too.” he laughed.

“No way.” I laughed.

“Way.” he replied.  We were still laughing when the red and blonde blur that was Maggie and Sky appeared in front of us.

“Who's that?” Maggie asked immediately, pointing at Phil.

“Excuse her rudeness.” I rolled my eyes. “That's Phillip.”

“I'm not rude.  I'm Maggie.  How are you?” she smiled at him.

“Tired.” Phil laughed.

“I'm Sky.” Schyler glared at Colton. “I'm his sister, although I think he's forgotten.”

“You guys disappeared!” he insisted, laughing.

“We were examining the competition.” she argued. “Whereas you were making friends with it.”

“Hey, he got me food.” Colton held up his hands still chuckling, “What's a guy to do?”

Phil was watching it all go down with a look of slightly preoccupied amusement.  I didn't blame him.  Sky and Colton could be a totally legit comedy show.  Just then a loud voice came out over everyone else's.  I looked to the door and saw a tall guy with a megaphone, who I assumed was the one talking.

“If I could ask everyone to settle down, stop moving, be quiet, and listen.” I leaned back against the wall between Phil and Colton, crossing my arms.  The noise began to die down just slightly.

“Thank you.” the guy said. “Now for those of you who don't know, today you will all be performing a capella solos for the three judges.  You will choose from a list of songs that will be handed out in bit.  This will all go on in the conference center across the street.  In just a moment, I will ask you all to carefully cross over.  Once there, you are expected to remain calm and respectful as you practice your solos.  Then you will be called in to perform for the judges in groups of ten.”

I froze and turned to Colton.  His attention was still on the man.  I slowly turned back to face him, feeling my throat begin to close up.  Then, without warning, he took my hand and squeezed it.  And didn't let go.