Now or Never (An Austin Mahone and Crew Love Story)

Love?

I sighed. “I‘m not going to sing. I‘m not good and I‘ll ruin everything.”

Austin pulled his phone out and pulled up some voice recording app. “We‘ll sing one more time, but this time you‘re going to hold this up to your face so we can play it back and prove you can sing.”

I threw my head back and took the phone from his hand. “Then what? Are you going to send it to people too?”

Austin smiled and played the intro of the song on his guitar. I hit record and we both started singing the song one last time. I hated the fact that I was doing it, but I still trusted that he knew what he was doing. He hasn’t turned me in the wrong direction yet, has he? 

He took his phone back from my hands and hit play. I’d heard what my voice sounded like before, and this time, I cringed. “It‘s terrible! Turn it off!”

“Let me see your phone.” I handed it to him. “We‘re going to see what Alex thinks about it.”

“Why?” I asked him. “He‘s obligated to tell me I sound good. He‘s not exactly allowed to put me down… ethically at least.”

“Fine. Then I‘ll call my friend Tyler.”

There was no stopping him from dialing the number and playing my voice for Tyler. He never told Tyler who it was, he just asked if Tyler thought she was any good. “I don‘t know,” Tyler told him. “Her voice is a little shaky. Who is she?”

Austin grinned. “She won‘t let me tell you. What if she sang for you live over the phone. No shaking voice?”

I shook my head. No. There was no way I was ever going to sing live for someone I didn‘t know. “She‘s with you?” Tyler asked him. “I guess that‘ll make up my mind. Are you thinking about using her for a video?”

Austin smiled at the phone. “Yep. Hold on she‘s trying to tell me something. I‘ll make her write it so you can‘t guess who she is.”

I picked up the sharpie and paper on his desk. “NO!”

“Aww she‘s resisting Tyler. She‘s so shy!” He handed me the phone and picked up his guitar. “I‘m going to start and she‘s going to sing along or I‘ll post the recording on my Twitter.”

He played his guitar yet again. And repeated the intro. “I‘m not kidding I‘ll do it. I‘m not afraid to post.”

With that he started singing and I had no choice but to sing along. My voice started shaking even more and Austin stopped. “Are you seriously that nervous to sing for a guy over the phone? It‘s not like Tyler‘s recording the conversation. Come on. Calm down.”

I shook my head. It was seventy times worse than having people read my writing out loud, and I hated that. My voice was terrible. Tyler talked on the other side. “Look, I don‘t know who you are. I have a guess, but it doesn‘t matter who you are. Your voice isn‘t THAT bad, and I‘ve only heard it when it was shaking. Seriously. Take a deep breath and try again. I want to hear what you really sound like. Don‘t be afraid to sing. I do, and I don‘t sound like a music god.”

Austin laughed. “He really doesn‘t sound like a music god. Be proud of your voice. Now take a deep breath and we‘ll try this one last time.”

I took a huge breath and stared at Austin. Why did he think I could do this? It seemed like he believed that I could do anything. That was encouraging. No one ever believed in me so much. He seemed to think I didn’t have any flaws; that I was perfect.

He smiled at me reassuringly and started the song one last time, and this time when I sang my voice didn’t shake, because he believed in me. Wow. I’m cheesy, I know. I should have more confidence and be more thankful for what I do have, because to be honest the only things I was missing were a New York Times Bestseller and a decent father. I had a lot to make up for it though and I realized this when Austin finished out the guitar.