[rewritten]
Here is the next chapter! Sorry it's on the short side.
Enjoy!
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Caitlin's P.O.V
It was nearing ten o'clock in the morning and I was beginning to grow restless. The thirty acts that were due to perform today were coming to a quick end. There were only three more acts to go through, including myself and my partner, Danny. His last name starts with a Z, though I don't know it. He's in his early thirties I believe. He's a nice guy, he's just... old? He's only a little more than ten years older than I am, I suppose, but it feels like such a big difference at this time. It feels like he's at least twenty years older than me.
Either way, he was a good singer. He had a nice voice, it was average I guess. I know it's a mean thing to say but I don't fully understand how he's gotten this fair. To get this fair you have to have something special but he... well he doesn't. He's super nice and I feel bad just thinking it, but it's true.
The only problem with him is that the song we picked for him isn't one of the bests. I love the song and know it like the back of my hand, but he doesn't. I mean, he knows the song but he just can't seem to remember it. It was such an easy song to remember, who hasn't heard of the song A Thousand Miles? It was such a popular song in his day. I was eight when that song came out and I remember dancing around to it and singing it at my camp talent show - which I won. But he just can't seem to get it down.
I was nervous for our performance, I kept worrying over him messing me up. If something were to happen... I honestly don't know. I just want this so badly, I can't have anything ruin it for me and I'm scared that Danny will ruin it for me.
"Caitlin West and Danny Zabrowski." I heard my name being called and I felt the blood drain from my face. It was our turn to shine. I let out a breath of air and rose to my feet, Danny standing next to me. We had been going over the lyrics before I got lost in my own thoughts.
We started making our way over to Mark, who smiled when he saw us. "Hello you two, so this is what you're going to do. Just head through those doors and make your way onto the stage. " Mark said.
I nodded my head, already knowing all the information. I've heard him tell it a thousand times. Danny and I made our way through the doors and he stopped to tell Justin the song. I was given a microphone and I waited for Danny to catch up to me. Once he did, we both walked out onto the stage together.
"Hi guys, how are you?" Demi said, smiling brightly towards us. She was always so energetic when it came to her job of being a judge.
"We're doing great Demi." I smiled at her.
"Great, so what song are you singing for us today?" She asked.
"A Thousand Miles." I said.
"I love that song, alright, start whenever you are ready." She said, leaning back into the chair.
I heard the familiar notes begin to play and I tapped my fingers along with the tune. I was going to be starting off the song and soon enough, it was my turn to sing. I was able to get through the first verse easily, being that I've known and loved this song for so long. It was one of my favorites, if I'm being honest. If it comes on shuffle I can never skip it.
But no matter how much I love that song, it would never be enough to save me from what happened next. We had been getting through the song perfectly fine, until the bridge. Unfortunately for me, that was the part that Danny had the most trouble on. And just like when we were rehearsing, he had missed his cue, forgotten his line, and confused the hell out of me.
With him trying to save himself by singing the part of the song he does now, and the beat of the song not being what he's singing, I stood there dazed. I had no idea what to do or how to save my career that was falling on the floor in front of me.
So many things were happening at once. Danny was still trying to catch up, the music was way ahead of him, and the judges were all shocked at what was going on. My eyes were filling with tears at the thought of how this could impact my chance of getting into the judges homes, which let's face it, were getting completely ruined.
But finally, I was able to recognize the part of the song that was being drowned out Danny. I had to make this quick and I knew I had to do it now. All while getting ready to sing, I pushed Danny back and stood in front of him, cutting off his mismatched singing.
"If I could fall," I sang, "Into the sky, do you think time, would pass me by? 'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles, if I could just see you. If I could just hole you, tonight." The end of the song came just as I finished singing, and I thanked God that I managed the time right. Hopefully I just saved my ass with that.
I looked out at the judges, watching as they slowly came back into reality. I was so nervous for what they were going to say. Would his mishap effect me? Would I be punished because he didn't have what it takes to get through? Singing was my dream and I needed this so badly.
"Danny, what happened up there?" Simon finally broke the tension filled silence. "It was going so well until you fell apart."
"I don't know Simon, I just... I couldn't remember the words and..." He trailed off, shaking his head. I stayed quiet, not wanting to draw attention to myself.
"Alright, well I guess that's that then." He dismissed us.
I bit my lip to keep myself from crying as I walked off the stage. I handed the microphone to the person and walked through the doors, all while trying to keep myself from crying.
I don't know if it was because of karma, or because of God's twisted sense of humor, but it seemed as if everyone in the entire room knew that I was almost crying. I had eyes on me and I tried to keep myself from crying. I had to get down to the bathrooms where I'd be able to cry quietly to myself.
Julie's P.O.V
After the pink haired girl, Carly or something like that, ran out of the room almost in tears, my name was called and so was Denise's. I stood up from my seat and looked around for Denise, finally spotting her on the other side of the room. We had spent earlier this morning and last night working on the song. Being that we both knew the song really well before this, we didn't have to practice as much as some other people did.
Hey There Delilah had always been a popular song and since Denise and I both loved the song, that was the one we chose to do. After telling Mark of our song choice last night, as all the other contestants were required to do, we had split it up and begun to practice. Now this morning, I feel confident in the song.
The two of us met up in the front where Mark stood and he directed us to the stage, the same one that we had performed on with our solo song. We walked through the big doors and made our way onto the stage, but not before receiving microphones from the people who worked for the show. I twirled mine in my hand as the two of us walked out onto the stage.
"Hello girls," L.A. said, "How is everything going?"
"It's going good," Denise answered, knowing that I did not care for causalities like that.
"Great, great. And what song will you be singing for us today?" He asked.
"Hey There Delilah." I said.
The judges all nodded and soon enough, I heard the guitar playing. I smiled at the familiar tune, already loving it. This really was such a great song, I loved it. Anyway, the way that we split the song up is that Denise would sing first, then I would. We would go back and forth like that, to keep it less complicated.
"Hey there Delilah, what's it like in New York City? I'm a thousand miles away, but girl, tonight you look so pretty, yes you do. Times square can't shine as bright as you, I swear it's true." Denise said, her voice coming out better than I had expected. I've got to work for it now.
"Hey there Delilah, don't you worry about the distance. I'm right here if you get lonely, give this song another listen. Close your eyes, listen to my voice, it's my disguise. I'm by your side." I sang, my hand going to my stomach as it always does.
"Oh, it's what you do to me, oh, it's what you do to me, oh, it's what you do to me, oh, it's what you do to me, what you do to me." Denise sang.
"Hey there Delilah, I know times are getting hard, but just believe me girl, someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar. We'll have it good, we'll have the life we knew we would. My word is good." I sang, moving closer to the judges panel.
As we went through the rest of the song, I swear I saw a ghost of a smile on Demi's lips. That shot my confidence right up, even more so than how it usually is. We finished the song perfectly, as we had planned it last night.
We didn't stick around to hear anything that they say, being that they weren't allowed to comment on things aside from the 'thank you' or something along those lines. Denise and I high fived after passing through the doors, though we then split up to go back and hang out with our friends. Well, she went off to her friends. I went off to find Ivy and pretend to be friends with her and her other friends.
Though this time around, I was much more confident in the turn out.
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Sorry it's a little short, but I hope you liked it!
How do you think Danny's fuck up is going to affect Caitlin??
Please VOTE and COMMENT my lil' Gummy Worms!! It means so much when you do!
~Amanda xx
-Picture on the side is a gif of Caitlin