The It Factor

Chapter 16

After running upstairs and putting on my Happy Bunny pajamas, I hurried back down stairs.  Hopefully my acting skills would be on my side, because if I wanted to know this secret, I needed to make Kyle believe I was happy.

I skipped into the kitchen where Kyle was scooping the last of the frosted brownies onto a plate.

"Hi," I chirped, putting on my best 'I'm so happy but not really' smile.  He rose an eyebrow at me, handing me the plate full of brownies.

"Hey," He said suspiciously, going to the fridge and pulling out the carton of milk, "Do you want ice cream too, we have your favorite,"  I shrugged, going and grabbing some spoons from the drawer.  French Vanilla was my favorite ice cream flavor, and it would go great with Hope's brownies.

"Wait, did you take the whole pan of brownies?" I asked, my eyes locking on the empty brownie tin on the stove.  "Hope will be pissed."

Kyle chuckled, "We probably won't eat them all-"

"That's a lie and you know it," I interrupted.  The last time we had eaten all of Hopes brownies she had gone ballistic.  It was probably because she had made them for a business dinner, but we haden't known that.

"Whatever, we can make more before she gets home," Kyle insisted, grabbing the ice cream and heading into the living room.  I followed him, setting the brownies and spoons on the coffee table. "I'm going to put on my pajama's too so you don't feel left out."

"I don't feel left out," I deadpanned, grabbing a brownie and shoving it in my mouth. "You made me put on my pajamas, anyway.  I was perfectly intent in my clothes."

"Shut up and eat your ice cream," Kyle laughed, heading up the stairs to change.  I rolled my eyes and grabbed the carton of ice cream, ripping the lid off and taking a huge bite.  Mmm, so good.  I have to admit, Kyle knew just what to do when I was upset.

A few minutes later Kyle came back down wearing a t-shirt and blue pajama pants.  He went over to the movie case and looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Any requests?" He asked.  I shook my head, leaving it up to him. Which probably wasn't a good idea. "Lord of the Rings!" He cried, pulling out all three movies and running to the DVD player.  I chuckled softly, shaking my head. "They are great movies!"

"I don't disagree, but you watch them to much," I responded, grabbing another brownie.  Kyle watched them all at least once a week.  He claimed he didn't, but we all knew the truth.

"I don't make fun of your movies," Kyle pouted, sitting down next to me.

"That's because I don't watch them obsessively," I pointed out.  He rolled his eyes, sticking his tongue out at me. "So what did you need to tell me?"

"Not now, Ren," My movie is about to come on," He said, grabbing the carton of ice cream from my lap and sticking some in his mouth.

"We are not doing this," I sighed, "You said when I was happy you would tell me, and I'm happy, so spill." He looked at me, letting out a long, frustrated sigh.

"Should've never agreed to tell you," Kyle said, shaking his head, "You would't killed Scott."

I laughed, "I won't kill you, either!"

"How do you know?  You don't even know what I'm about to tell you." I sighed in frustration, running a hand through my hair.  Why was Kyle so difficult?  I loved him to death, but it shouldn't be such a big deal.

"Look, no matter what it is I promise I won't be mad." I told him, setting my hand over his. "You can tell me anything!"  I gave him a smile, trying to reassure him of my words.  Honestly, I had no idea what he was about to tell me, and I was starting to get scared.

He was silent for a moment, having an internal debate, before he finally said, "Have you heard of the TV show The it Factor?"  I blinked at him, my jaw becoming slightly slack.  What the hell...?

"Yes?" I questioned, urging him to go on.  That wasn't enough information, I was still so confused.

"Well, I sent in a audition tape of Silent City..." He trailed off, searching my eyes for some kind of anger.  What was I supposed to be mad about?  There had to be something else. "We got in."

"Oh my God that's great!" I gasped, throwing my arms around him in a hug.  His band was going to The it Factor auditions!

The it Factor was one of those TV competition shows where thousands of people who wanted a carer in singing came to audition.  There was the video round, which Silent City had gotten through, and then two levels you had to pass before going to the live shows.  In the live shows the judges no longer voted, it was America.  It was all about your voice, and if you won, you got a singing contract with one of the biggest labels in LA.

"You're not mad?" Kyle asked, hugging me back.  I couldn't stop smiling, this was such huge news!

"Why would I be mad?" I asked, wrinkling my eyebrows and pulling away. "I mean yeah, I'm a little bit upset that I won't get to sing with you guys anymore, but I'll get over it." I spoke honestly, trying to get him to see I wasn't mad in the slightest.  Why would I be?

"No," Kyle said, shaking his head and standing up, "You don't understand, you're part of the bad...." I narrowed my eyes, standing up with him.

"Kyle..."

"The tape I sent for the audition...Well, you were in it...And we can't move on in the competition unless you're there, preforming with us."  My jaw dropped all the way to the floor when he said that.

What the hell had he been thinking?!  Did it ever freaking occur to him that I have stage fright?!  I couldn't preform in front of judges, not to mention the thousands of people that would be in the audience!  What was wrong with his brain?!

I opened my mouth to speak, anger flowing through my body, when I remembered my promise.  I promised not to get mad.  Dang it!  Instead of responding I closed my mouth, spun on my heel, and marched out of the room.

"Ren, I-"

"Stop Kyle," I hissed through gritted teeth, not even looking back, "If you follow me right now, I will yell."  Silence was my response, so I stormed up to my room, slamming the door with as much force as I could muster.

How dare he?!  He knew stage fright was something I still struggled with!  He knew what happened when I preformed in front of people!  There must be something seriously wrong with his brain if he thought I would be able to do it.  I was so freaking pissed.

But at the same time, I couldn't be mad at him.  This was something that had been his dream forever, not to mention the other boys'.  Who was I to take this away from them when they were so close?  Who was I to screw them over just because I didn't have the balls to sing.  Didn't I owe them at least that much?

Angry tears bit at my eyes, blurring my vision.  I balled my hands into shaking fists, taking deep breaths to calm down.  I had to calm down, this needed to be thought about rationally, something I couldn't do when I was practically seeing red.

Suddenly, my phone rang from my purse.  I walked over to my bed, fishing it from my bad.  An unknown number was calling me.  Curious, I pressed 'talk' and lifted it to my ear.

I coughed, "Hello?"

"Is this Serenity?"

The phone fell out of my hand, hitting the floor with a thump.  It couldn't be.  I was just hearing things.  After three months there was no reason for him to call me.  He owed me nothing.  Not an explanation or an apology.  And at this point, I wasn't sure I even really wanted to talk to him.  But, he had called me, after all this time, and he wanted to talk.

Vincent.