Played By Strings Of Fate

11th String - I Could Probably Do Better

I looked over to Clark, raising an eyebrow in inquiry.

He just shrugged, probably questioning Jesse's sanity as well. Then again, when did he not?

A song started playing. It wasn't Clark's voice. That was the first thing I noticed. My head bobbed to the beat of the upbeat song. The singer was a guy. He sounded young, almost like a boy who just hit puberty but his voice seemed to develop early.

In the middle of the song, my eyes fleeted to Clark who was standing

beside me. He stared at me with a frown on his face. I then turned towards Jesse who, in turn, was smiling victoriously.

I gave them a bewildered look, not sure what they want from me, and not sure if I wanted to find out.

"It was great, wasn't it Jade?" Jesse asked after the song ended.

I was about to nod when Clark suddenly spoke.

"It was not," he spoke with conviction, "It's pretty obvious he wasn't using his real voice."

I raised an eyebrow at him, "You're saying it's fake?" I questioned.

"The voice is. It's completely edited."

I frowned at him. Sure it sounded too good at the beginning but it was definitely real. I wonder why Clark disliked it so much.

"You're being ridiculous," I muttered with a sigh.

"See Jesse? I told you you were being ridiculous." Clark said smugly and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"She's talking about you moron," Jesse chimed, leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head in a relaxing manner.

I nodded in agreement, "Clark, you can't hate the guy just because he has a great voice and you think he's a threat."

His jaw dropped, "You're teaming up with Jesse? But you hate him!" he reasoned.

"Hey! I'm right here!" Jesse protested, his face contorted into a frown.

Choosing to ignore his manager, Clark was looking at me, forlorn, "I'm your best friend! You're supposed to be teaming up with me," he reasoned like a child.

I arched an eyebrow at him. Jesse snorted as he mumbled, "What an excuse."

Clark narrowed his eyes at Jesse first and then at me, "Fine," he crossed his arms across his chest, "I'll prove to you that he's fake."

Jesse grunted as he got up, "You do that."

"Where are you going?" Clark asked when Jesse began walking towards the door.

"Home. It's been a long day and I'm knackered," he answered, not even bothering to turn around.

"You're knackered?" Clark echoed in disbelief, "What do you think I am? A robot?"

Jesse gave him a lazy look, "Go home if you want. But weren't you going to prove something?"

Clark blinked, taken aback.

If there was something Clark Stephens hated, it was not being able to prove a point before the day ended.

"I-I was." he stammered, "Am. I am," After a moment, he took out his phone, typed in a few digits, and pressed it against his ear, "I'll ring Johnny and ask him to come at once."

My jaw dropped. He was going to ring 'Johnny'?

"You mean to tell me that you guys asked me to come all the way here at six thirty in the evening to argue about a guy regarding his singing, get my opinion, then, not being adult enough to just let it go, argue again when I should really be at home, sleeping my tired arse off?" I said in one breath.