More Than Music (15 page)

Behind me, tiny explosions went off on the side of the stage, and the band kept going. No, I couldn’t run. I couldn’t abandon the guys, who were still trying to keep it together without me. No matter how embarrassed I was, the show had to go on.

I waved to show I was okay and then hopped up to sit on the edge of the stage. Kyle had filled in for me, but now it was time for the guitar solo. All I could do was go for it and try not to think about how I’d just ruined everything. With my legs hanging into the crowd and the security guards holding people back, I played my heart out. The high notes squealed as my fingers flew, and I blocked the world out, closing my eyes and letting the song take over. Just me and my guitar and an intimate performance with 7,500 of my closest friends. And somehow, it worked.

After the solo ended with the last hard riffs, I jumped back on stage with a little help from the poor security guard I’d tackled, and the crowd went crazy. I returned to my mic and joined in with Jared on the last chorus, and we ended together in perfect harmony.

The audience’s cheers shook the theater, and even the mentors looked shocked by our performance. Jared threw one arm around me, holding his other arm out to the audience like I’d just won a prize or something. He whispered in my ear, “Are you hurt?”

“No, I don’t think so.” I leaned against him while Kyle and Hector joined us, adrenaline still pumping through my veins. Soon we were all holding onto each other, feeling the audience’s enthusiasm like tremors coursing under our feet.

Ray sprinted across the stage. “Wow, what an… unexpected performance! That was Villain Complex on Team Dan. Angel, they used to be on your team and you let them go last week. Are you regretting it now?”

“Sure.” She shrugged and inspected her nails, like she was bored with it all. Whatever, Angel.

“Lance, what did you think?” Ray asked.

“Great song choice. What I want to know is, what happened with that fall?”

The host shoved the mic in my face, and I froze. This was all live and Jared was so much better at this stuff, but I decided to be honest.

“That was an accident, but I thought, whatever, I’m going to own it. Sometimes I fall down, but I get back up again and keep going. That’s life, right?”

The crowd screamed again so I must have said the right thing, and Jared squeezed me tighter.

“Very wise words,” Ray said. “Lissa, what did you think?”

“I thought it was brilliant how you turned an accident into a triumph. That’s so important in this line of work because things do go wrong sometimes, and you just have to roll with it.”

“Very true. Dan, they’re the newest member of your team—how did they do?”

“All I can say is, I’m so glad I rescued them from Angel. What were you
thinking
?” He leaned over to smirk at our former mentor, who huffed and crossed her arms. When she didn’t respond, he sat back and continued. “They’ve already improved so much in the week I’ve been working with them, and I can’t wait to see what they do next week. I’m really proud.”

My heart swelled at Dan’s words, and it sounded like he actually meant them, too. He must think we weren’t completely doomed if he was already talking about next week. I prayed my screw-up tonight hadn’t cost us our spot on the show.

“Now it’s up to you at home,” Ray said, staring at the camera. “If you like Villain Complex, download their song and vote for them on the website or by texting or calling this number.”

The stage turned so the next band could play, and roadies ran around us and broke down our gear. Kyle wrapped me in a big bear hug as soon as we were out of view. “Are you all right? Are you injured?”

“No, I’m not injured,” I muttered into his shoulder, which was pressed against my face. I tried to pull away, but he had me in a death grip. “Really, I’m fine!”

“Are you sure?” Jared asked, when I finally broke apart from his brother. “Does it hurt anywhere?”

“I can’t feel anything, but that might be the adrenaline. Tomorrow I might wake up with a broken leg or something, but at the moment, I feel great.”

Hector thumped me on the back, knocking all the air out of me. “That was hardcore
,
Maddie. Not sure I could have done that.”

“Um, thanks.”

The show had a medic check me out before they let me do anything else. She said one of my ankles was twisted and told me to ice it and stay off my feet for a day or two. Someone found me some flip flops, and then we had another interview with Ray about how we felt about the performance. He said I was really brave, but I replied that I just didn’t want to let the other guys down. When he asked them what they thought, Jared leaned into the mic and said, “I nearly had a heart attack when she fell off stage, so I’m just happy she’s okay.”

We had to return to the stage with all the other bands on Team Dan one more time to wave while Ray reminded everyone at home how to vote, and the other musicians all patted me on the back and asked if I was okay. I may have fallen, but this felt like a victory.

B
y the time we got back to the hotel, I didn’t think I could keep my eyes open even a second longer. Plus my ankle had started to throb now that the buzz from the performance had worn off. Even breathing seemed tough. Maybe I was more beat up from the fall than I’d thought.

I wanted to crawl right into bed, but the guys said we should check the Internet and see what people were saying about us. I was too tired to argue and soon found myself in their room again, sitting beside Jared on the bed while he opened up his laptop.

“Don’t forget to vote for us, too,” Kyle said. “And remind everyone to vote by 10 AM tomorrow.”

I checked my phone and saw that Carla and Julie had been sending me panicked texts for the last hour or so. I texted them back that I was okay and reminded them to vote for us. I’d call them both tomorrow and give them the full scoop when I wasn’t so tired. That reminded me: I’d never called my mom like I’d promised Julie I would. I’d meant to do it, but things had been so busy these past few days and I’d completely forgotten. Yet another thing to add to my to-do list.

“Holy shit,” Jared said, staring at his screen. “Our Twitter account shot up to thirty thousand followers tonight.”

“Thirty thousand?” I asked, choking out the words. Last I’d heard, we were at ten thousand. Kyle and Hector crowded around us to see the screen, and Hector whistled.

“That’s good, right?” Kyle asked. “That means we’re going to get enough votes to stay this week?”

“Maybe,” Jared said. “Some of the other bands have fifty thousand. We should post more photos on Instagram and Tumblr. That might bring in more fans.”

“I can ask Alexis to take photos of us rehearsing one day,” Kyle said.

“Good idea.”

“Thirty thousand,” I repeated, still in shock. “We have
thirty thousand
fans?”

“Probably more actually,” Jared said. “There’s a huge segment of older people who watch the show who aren’t on Twitter. I’ll make sure our Facebook page is updated, too, and the website…” He rubbed his face, looking tired, and for the first time, I appreciated how Jared ran the entire business side of the band by himself. I had no idea how he kept up with it all on top of the rehearsals and other things we had to do for the show. I could barely find time to eat, sleep, and shower.

“What are people saying about tonight?” Kyle asked.

“I don’t want to know,” I said, biting my nails. “Unless it’s good. No, don’t tell me. Oh, god, it’s probably all over YouTube already.”

“Some people seem to think what happened was cool,” Jared said. “One girl tweeted, ‘I love how she kept playing, she’s so fierce!’”

“I don’t feel very fierce, but that’s nice of her to say. What else?” I leaned over again, trying to get a glimpse of his screen.

“Nothing.” He quickly yanked the laptop away, but not before I saw “four-eyed cow” and “she only did that to get attention.”

“Is that what people really think of me?” I tried to reach for the laptop, but he passed it to Hector on the other bed.

“Only stupid people who shouldn’t be allowed on the Internet,” Jared said. “Besides, we’re trending on Twitter, so I think your fall off the stage might end up being a good thing.”

“The world is full of haters,” Hector said. “Don’t let them get to you.”

“I guess so.” Those comments stung, but I was too tired to stress about them right now. I yawned and checked the time. “I should get to bed.”

As soon as I stood up, my ankle went out from under me with a sharp pain. I yelped and slammed into the side of the bed, bracing against it for support.

Jared was at my side instantly. “Do you need help?”

Kyle jumped up, too. “Should I get some ice?”

Talk about embarrassing. I didn’t need both brothers hovering over me like this. I stood up a little slower this time, balancing on one foot. “I’m okay. I just got up too fast. I’ll be fine after I get some sleep.”

Jared slid his arm into mine, and every nerve in my body woke up. “Come on, I’ll take you back to your room. I need to walk off some of this energy before bed anyway.”

“You don’t need to do this,” I said as we moved to the elevator together. “I can get back by myself.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I make sure you get to your room safely. I can’t have my guitarist injuring herself again.” He winked and hit the elevator button while I leaned against him, taking comfort in his strength. His breath ruffled my hair as he quietly added, “Besides, I’m worried about you.”

The elevator door opened, and we stumbled in. “Really, Jared, I’m fine. It’s just a twisted ankle, not that big a deal—”

The door shut and his lips were on mine, cutting me off mid-sentence. His kiss was tentative and searching, a question he wanted me to answer, but I was so surprised I just stood there while my brain caught up to what was happening.

He pulled away and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Sorry. I’ve wanted to do that forever, and when I saw you fall…”

My mouth opened but no sound came out. I swallowed and tried again. “You’ve wanted to do that forever?”

“I know it’s a bad idea. We have to stay single while we’re on the show, and the guys would kill me if they found out, and you’re into that Sean guy anyway…” His voice trailed off, and he looked away.

I’d never seen Jared be anything but cool and confident, and it sent a thrill through me, knowing I’d done that to him. The elevator didn’t move, waiting for us to hit a button, but suddenly I didn’t want to go back to my room anymore. I grabbed the collar of Jared’s jacket and pulled him down to my mouth, kissing him hard, showing him that he was the one I wanted.

We broke apart long enough for me to whisper, “It
is
a bad idea, but I don’t care.”

“Good. Because I can’t resist you any longer.” And then our mouths met again.

We kissed like we were drowning and our only hope of living was each other. He devoured my mouth with his tongue and lips while I tangled my fingers into his thick hair, drawing him closer. Knowing we shouldn’t be doing this only gave our passion a desperate edge, a recklessness that had us gasping and clawing at each other, like we had to cram everything into this one brief moment we were alone. His hands slid down to cup my butt and lift me to his height, my back slamming against the side of the elevator, my skirt riding up to my hips. While he pinned me to the wall and teased me with his mouth, I smoothed my hands across his rough jaw, down his neck, along his broad shoulders. After weeks of fighting my desire for Jared, I needed to touch every inch of him, with my fingers, with my lips, with my entire body.

The elevator started moving, though neither of us had pushed a button. It said, “Lobby,” and reality came crashing back, like a bucket of water had been tossed on us. We broke apart to opposite corners, breathing heavily. I yanked my skirt down just as the door opened.

Lacey, the blonde country singer from Fairy Lights, stood there wearing the sexy school uniform she’d performed in when she’d sung “Mean” by Taylor Swift tonight. Her eyes honed in on Jared as she sauntered in and hit the button for her floor.

“Hey there,” she said, her voice accented with a Southern twang.

“Hey.” Jared’s hair was messy, but otherwise you’d never be able to tell he’d just been kissing me.

She touched his arm with a pink fingernail after the door closed. “I heard you’re the guy to see if a girl is lonely at night.”

Her words spread like ice in my blood, cooling my passion instantly. Did Jared get this a lot? How many girls’ rooms had he visited in the few weeks we’d been here?

“That’s me,” Jared said, but he sounded tired. “How old are you anyway?”

“Seventeen.”

He took her hand off him. “Sorry, we only serve eighteen and up here.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.” She flicked her hair and looked at him from under her long, fake eyelashes. “It’ll be our little secret.”

“I’m sure your mother would love that. She has to be here while you’re on the show, right?” He moved around her to stab the button for my floor, like he couldn’t wait to get away. I accidentally let out a faint chuckle, and she glared at me. Oops.