Disclaimer: I still don't own Spectacular! If I did, Ta-Da wouldn't have won; Janet would've cos I love her!

A/N: I have a challenge for you. Roll on over to Youtube, find Simon Curtis' (aka Royce) page and check out deets on his new song Delusional. It's pop-tastic and I love it cos A: it's Simon and B: it sounds like Darren Hayes and I LURVE Darren Hayes. So yeah. Oh and do what the man says so we get free downloads. K, link is… watch?v=IcgaCu2wiAI. Stick that behind the Youtube usual and enjoy pop greatness! Oh, and Ghostbusters. And heck-larious footage of Simon mouthing along to this own song. Hee hee. Anyways, enough from me…

Shout-out to everyone who has this on Story Alert. Cheers peeps. Review?

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Insufficiently Spectacular!

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Summary: Royce bargains his way back into Spectacular!, but is the backstabber really in for the long haul, or is he playing games? (Love Square - Janet/Royce/Courtney/Nikko)

Previously: Royce did something nice for Janet, but was there a motive behind it? Courtney realised she would have to face Kentucky without Nikko, and Royce sang and danced his way not only back into Spectacular! but back into control as well…

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"Courtney!" Janet's voiced bridged the distance between them as Courtney stormed from the auditorium and out into the school's halls. People stopped and looked at the commotion as Janet's voice rose again, emotion cracking. "Court, please, stop." Courtney did just that, but she didn't turn to face her best friend. "Please, can we talk?" Janet's voice lowered as she came closer. "Please."

Her pleading eventually got the better of Courtney. "What do you have to say Janet? Because I don't really want to talk right now. All I really want to do is sit in a corner with my stuffed rabbit and wonder what I did to deserve being stabbed in the back like this by my best friend."

Janet sighed. "Court please, I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Then what was meant to happen? I'd suddenly forget everything he did and we'd go back to how it was before he left us to perform with Ta-Da? All happy and forgotten?" Janet's head sunk and Courtney realised she hadn't really thought this through. "I just have one question Janet. Why? Why him?"

"I don't know, it just kinda happened." Janet shrugged. "I didn't think, I'm sorry. But please, we can work through this right? You don't have to leave Spectacular!"

"I can't perform with him Janet, I won't."

"Well, then, maybe…" Janet shuffled nervously, dropping eye contact. "Maybe you could stay and just let me sing lead female soloist?" She looked up with a look like she expected Courtney to slap her and walk away. "I mean, I know I'm not as good as you but…"

Courtney cut her off. "Are you kidding? Janet, your voice is amazing and I'm sorry we never found out before." Janet gave a shy smile and Courtney knew what she had to do. "You really want me to stay?"

"Court, it won't be the same without you. Plus I don't want to do it without you. You're my best friend Court, have been since we were six. I signed up to Spectacular! because you did. If you leave, I'm leaving too."

Courtney smiled. "Okay, okay, enough dramatic speeches, you're going to make me teary." Janet grinned then, before Courtney could say anything else, Janet was hugging her. She hugged her friend back. "I guess I'm staying then?"

Janet grinned as she pulled away. "Thank you. And I promise to side with you in any arguments."

But Courtney shook her head. "No favourites Janet. If you think I'm wrong, tell me, okay?" Janet nodded with a grin. Courtney sighed. "But you'll have to go a few days without me."

Janet frowned. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong. My grandfather is retiring and we're headed to Portland for five days for his big retirement do. I told you this three weeks ago," she tapped her friend's head. "You have the memory of a goldfish sometimes."

"What did you say?"

The friends laughed before Courtney turned serious, glancing back at the auditorium. "You really like Royce?" Janet looked guilty again. "No, I want to know what you see that nobody before you has."

Janet shrugged with a smile. "I don't know, just little things. Like he remembers what nights I have to cook and comes with dinner prepared, has these insanely long and complex conversations with my dad that he loves and I don't understand at all. Publishing stuff I think. He just says and does the right things when they need to be done."

"He has a lot of charm." Courtney muttered, failing to hide the disgust in her voice.

"But that's not it. It's genuine, I can tell." Janet read Courtney's look correctly. "I know I'm probably being naïve, stupid even, but I really do believe him. I know the things you said about him are there, somewhere, but he doesn't show them. He shows a side of him that I don't think anyone else sees."

Courtney was taken in by the faith and honesty in Janet's tone and smiled. "You really like him." Janet shrugged. "You do, admit it."

Janet chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I do."

Courtney nodded. "Okay." Janet glanced up at her. "If you tell me that underneath all that arrogant is a human being, I'll believe you. But he hurts you Janet, if he's playing on your sweet faith in humanity…" she slammed her fist in her open palm, "I'll crush him like a bug."

"Only if I don't first!" Janet laughed. Courtney grinned and dropped her arm around her friend's shoulder. Janet glanced at her. "So, the song for Kentucky?"

Courtney frowned. "What makes you think I've already thought of a song?" Janet simply raised an eyebrow. "Fine, I have, but really it's been costume. Now, how do you feel about plaid?" Janet feigned being sick. "Really? I thought it sounded like a good idea."

"Okay Court, whatever you think." Then, with a grin, the friends strode from the hall and out into the afternoon sunshine.

*

"Royce, you have a visitor." His mother's voice hit Royce's ears as he pushed open the front door and stepped inside his house. His thoughts stuck on the day's events, he didn't hear her at first. He was caught up in the reality that he was in charge of Spectacular!, a job he hadn't had exclusively before. Last time he and Courtney had been the unspoken leaders of Spectacular! despite not being the eldest in the jazz choir. Now he owned the team, something he'd wanted since he'd joined.

Well, in reality he wasn't sole leader, it went unsaid that Janet would help. Janet. He frowned at the reality of them. Janet and Royce. It even sounded weird. She was so unlike anyone he'd ever known, so unlike all his previous girlfriends, but there was something about her that drew him in. Something that he'd never thought to look for in a girl before. She was sweet, naïve, caring and in no way keen to be in control. She was the exact opposite of…

"Tammi?" Royce frowned at the figure standing before him in the sitting room. She gave a bright smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. Her smiles never reached her eyes. "What do you want? I told you to leave me alone."

Tammi smiled. "I heard you had good news. You regained control of Spectacular!"

Royce narrowed his eyes. "How do you know this?" He dumped his bag at the foot of the lounge and motioned for her to follow him back outside. She did so slowly.

"It's my job to know. To keep tabs on the competition… if you could call them that." Tammi's airs and graces didn't deter Royce from the point at hand. He was used to it. He'd endured a lot from Tammi, even a stage where she spoke in the third person, so none of it put him off. "My point is, last time I was here you didn't let me speak, make my peace."

"You don't make peace Tammi, you specialise in war." Royce took a seat on the front steps and Tammi followed suit, crossing her legs lightly as she swivelled to face him.

She ignored his jibe. "I'm only giving you this opportunity because you're clearly so desperate to perform that you've joined that thing they call a show choir run by Courtney Lane," she spoke the name with a sickened look on her face and fluttering eyelids, more like she'd just eaten something disgusting than said the name of a girl she barely knew, "plus Royce," she gave a sickening smile and touched his arm, "you are still the best male soloist in show choir history. Ta-Da really are one of the best jazz choirs in show choir history. It's not rocket surgery Royce."

He ignored the mixed anecdotes of 'rocket science' and 'brain surgery' and skipped to the question. "You're asking me to return to Ta-Da?" She gave a curt nod. "Let me guess, none of the tachies shaped up?"

"Tammi Dyson does not work with inferior products." She breathed in deeply through the nose like she was on the verge of gagging, the sheer memory of auditions overwhelming her. Then she gave that sickly-sweet smile again. "This is a good thing for you."

"You have got to be kidding."

"I know, who'd have thought you'd get a second chance?"

"No, I mean, you've got to be kidding if you think I would return after everything. You're insane Tammi. Clinically insane. You're a narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive tyrant who would sell her own grandmother for 15 seconds of fame." Tammi didn't look shocked, just giving him a blank look that read 'and your point is?'. "I wouldn't return to Ta-Da if you offered me every trophy for the next two years and creative control."

Tammi chuckled. "Creative control? Well, we'll see, but as for the trophies? Done." She held out a hand expecting him to shake it.

He just stared at it incredulously before pushing himself to his feet. "Not going to happen Tammi. Not in this lifetime."

Tammi nodded. "Alright, well, when you get sick of playing games with that rag-tag bunch of musically-challenged misfits and remember what kind of performing school three AFJC Nationals titles could get you, then give me a call. I'll be waiting." Then, hopping gracefully to her feet, Tammi left his property with the usual bounce in her step, confidence in her stride. Royce cursed her silently before pushing open the front door of his house and stepping back inside, fishing into his pocket for his phone and Janet's phone number.

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Next chapter; Royce brings to the fore a new song for Kentucky. Courtney returns from Portland but will she return to Spectacular! like she says? And who returns to strike up more trouble for Royce?