He squeezed my arm and my heart gave another (now quite familiar) flutter. “Look for me in the audience. Okay? I promise I'll be there, right up front.” I bit my lip and nodded.
“Or you could look at me,” Phillip joked lazily, “But I'm warning you, if ya' suck I'll definitely be booing you.”
“Gee thanks Phil.” I laughed.
“Welcome.” he grinned. I glanced at Colton, who was raising his eyebrows, but laughing.
“I'll make sure to sit in front of him.” he added. Whenever he laughed his nose wrinkled up in a really adorable way.
I pinched my leg to distract myself. It was getting harder and harder to just ignore how quickly my heart beat around him. He made even the simplest tasks impossible. For example, walking. Yeah. You've seen how that works out. And the fact that he'd actually carried me in my sleep made me blush like mad.
“Hey, I'm gonna run to the bathroom before they start announcing groups,” Colton said, “I'll be back in a minute.” He glanced at me then added, “Don't go anywhere.”
“Really?” I said. He was already walking away.
Phil and I sat in an awkward silence for a moment. Then he spoke.
“So what's your deal?” he asked me simply. I had no idea what he meant.
“Huh?” I replied.
“Well you obviously like Colton. And he obviously likes you. But you seem incredibly uncomfortable about it.” He spoke like it was the most apparent thing ever.
A chill went up my spine. He was the first person ever to realize so much about me. And I'd known him for under a day.
“I'm not uncomfortable, and we don't like each other.” I said, shrugging in what I hoped looked like disinterest.
“Right. And that's why you blush every time he looks at you, then inwardly beat yourself up.” He was sitting up now, looking at me closely. He was quiet as he studied me. “Seems to me like you've had some heck of a bad relationship.” his green eyes met my brown ones firmly, holding my gaze. I didn't know what to say. Memories were piling up in my mind and I frantically pushed them away. I felt hot tears trying to form in my eyes, and squeezed them shut.
“I'm sorry,” he quietly said after a minute, “I didn't mean-”
Deciding the tears were gone, I reopened my eyes. He was looking at me with concern. I felt a single tear escape and begin to slide slowly down my cheek.
“It's not your fault.” I wasn't going into anymore detail than that.
He regarded me quietly, then reached into his pocket. When his hand reappeared, he was holding a tissue. He offered it to me silently. I accepted it appreciatively, wiping my eyes and dabbing my nose.
“Thank you.” I whispered. About more than just the tissue. He nodded once and I knew he understood.
“Back! What'd I miss?” Colton plopped down next to me, smiling.
“Nuthin'” Phil was back to looking at my sheet music. Colton raised his eyebrows and turned to me. I hoped the evidence of my tears was gone.
“Did you see Sky or Mags?” I asked. The two had disappeared after breakfast, not to be heard of since.
“Nah,” he replied. He was studying my face. Crud. He was opening his mouth to say something when the megaphone voice from earlier spoke.
“I hope for your sakes you have all used this time wisely. Now we will proceed into the theater. Once situated, we will call you up in groups of ten to perform. Good luck. The theater is through the double doors on the left wall.”
Chapter Five: Sudden Death
Start from the beginning
