CHAPTER 4: Talented

For the next 45 minutes, the back row was filled with whispers and silent laughter all stemming from the same three people. A few angry glares from other around them almost had Ash stomping over to the owners, however, Meena and Johnny managed to hold her back. By the time the clipboard had been passed to them, Ash finally realized how close they were to the end.

"Woah, that went by fast," Ash muttered to herself watching Menna write on the clipboard.

"Time flies," Johnny trailed off with a lazy smile, nodding to Menna when she handed him the clipboard.

"How the nerves, Kid?" Ash asked.

Meena shrugged. "Still there," she said. "Better than before, though," she added.

"That's good," Ash said sincerely. She noticed Johnny writing with finesse and couldn't help but mentally giggle at him when she saw the tip of his tongue adorably sticking out of his mouth his.

'Stop that, next thing you know you'll be mentally undressing him,' she thought with a slight blush on her cheeks.

Her thoughts ran away when she was handed the clipboard. Looking at it, she quickly glanced at the names, then handed it off to the man next to her.

"You aren't going to audition?" Meena asked seeing her pass of the clipboard.

"Hmm?" Ash hummed. "Oh no, I already went," she said.

"When did you go?"

"Eh, a while ago," Ash shrugged, leaning back into her chair. She had been there for what felt like days already, and the theater chairs were definitely not the most comfortable.

"Why are you still here then," Johnny spoke up curiously.

"I…" she began, but her voice soon trailed off. Sure, she was really hitting it off with these two, more so than she had ever with anyone else before. But she knew that there had to be some sort of limit with sharing her personal information.

"I.. wanted to watch the other auditions," she said. "You know, scope out the competition," she shrugged, trying her best to lie her way through.

"Well, how'd it go?" Meena asked. "The audition, I mean."

"Eh, it was fine," Ash said, not wanting to fully go into detail. "Better than some of our performances, but it could've been better," she said watching the current auditioner walk up the flight of stairs to the stage.

"Our?" Johnny asked, trying to pry open the subject she clearly wanted to keep shut.

"Uh, yeah," she said, focusing on the tall man singing on stage, who she admitted was not half bad. "Me and my boyfriend," she finished, trying to end the conversation there. By now, they were all focused on the man auditioning. Although she didn't recognize the song, she was a little shocked when he held the very last note, his voice soft and almost delicate.

While the other two watched the man finish his song, Ash noticed Ms. Crawly gingerly wall down the theater to where the three were sitting. She saw but couldn't hear the old woman lean over and whisper to Johnny, who only nodded and mouthed his thanks. He turned to them after.

"Looks like we're up," he said quietly, looking somewhat nervous. He donned a big grin, seeing the glint of fear in Meena's eyes. "Come on, Darling," he extended his hand to help her up, and she reluctantly took it.

"Break some legs out there," Ash whispered loudly, hoping to give Meena one last confidence boost. Meena smiled gratefully back at her as she walked side by side with Johnny down the narrow walkway. Without meaning to, Ash felt a warm smile wash over her; she felt a weird sensation of pride warm her entire body and couldn't explain where it was coming from.

As other people in her row made their way backstage, Ash took the opportunity to see how close she was to the end. Scanning over to her left, there was still quite a few people who hadn't auditioned, but nowhere near as many as before. Her smile vanished as she suddenly remembered Lance's instructions to her before he left. She begrudgingly pulled her phone out of her back pocket, selected his contact and quickly texted him. Not wanting to focus too much on her phone, she put it back in her pocket in what in what was just about perfect time.

Although she had missed him walking onto the stage, Ash looked up to see Johnny adjusting a mic stand to accommodate his incredible height. She leaned back in her seat, feeling a bit more comfortable now being alone in the row of chairs. She watched as Mr. Moon said something to Johnny, making him smile and respond back, all of which Ash, unfortunately, could not hear. She did, however, get to see his smile, which she could only summarize as adorable.

Stay With Me by Sam Smith

Before she had time to belittle herself for her impure thought, she heard music pour from the speakers of the stage and focused her attention back to the center. She immediately recognized the song; she constantly heard it play from any radio station or restaurant or any other venue that played music. Although she liked the song, (though she would never admit it) she recalled that the pitch was rather high, and Johnny did not strike her as a man with a high singing voice. She only shrugged, 'Don't judge a book by its cover,' she thought.

As he started to sing, Ash's eyes widen in complete surprise.

'Well, whatta you know? Look who can sing the high notes. And sing them well,' she thought smugly. Little did she know, that was only the beginning.


Johnny felt the nervous tension in his body, although he knew it would not affect his performance. As soon as the piano on the recorded song played, it felt as if the electric nerves in his body disappeared.

He had done his research the night before; knew why the song was written, what the song was about, how it became so popular, the whole sha-bang. To truly know what he was singing helped him sing the song better, he believed.

He sang, and when he did he forgot exactly where he was or what he was doing. It was as if he was in a trance, put under a witch's spell, and there was no point in trying to get himself out. He sang, regardless of whether or not he sounded terrible because for him singing was the only thing in his everyday life he had total control of, the only thing he has the was truly his.

And when he finished, he felt his nervousness crush him as his mind fluttered back to reality. He opened his eyes again, looking at the tiny man in front of him.

"Wow," Mr. Moon said enthusiastically, quickly writing something down on the clipboard in front of him. "Thank you, Johnny!" He said, finishing up what he was hitting down with finesse. Johnny couldn't help the large grin from growing on his face; he seemed to genuinely like his performance.

Johnny walked backstage again, trying to shake the high feeling away. He passes Meena, almost forgetting that he even knew her. He turned around, still feeling giddy, and gave her two thumbs up.

"Good luck out there!" he said and continued walking off the stage. Little did he know the small teen behind him felt like she was about ready to both hack and pass out.

He walked on clouds as he passed the other contestants, not giving a care in the world to the weird looks he got. He was oblivious to everything in his sight, a feeling he knew would not last, so he made a point out of savoring it. He finally made it to the back row where Ash was sitting, watching the stage intently. He quickly sat down next to her and looked up, trying to see what she saw.


As soon as Meena walked onto the stage, Ash could tell things were not going well. Her head was down, draping her face and blocking any of her features, including her eyes which was probably how she ran into the microphone. She mumbled a bit, adding apologizes here and there which were amplified by the fallen microphone. She couldn't hear the what the man said, but she heard the enthusiasm oozing from his voice and it made her want to puke. By this time she finally noticed Johnny standing like an idiot in the middle of the isle, staring at the awkward scene like she had. Without saying anything, she grabbed the sleeve of his leather jacket and pulled him down next to her, coaxing him to sit.

Now, both of them say, their eyes fixed on the scene in front on them as they prayed that everything went well for their hound friend.

Chandelier by Sia

The music started, and again Ash roughly recognized the song. But more importantly, she noticed that Meena hadn't started singing. Her long hair still right stuck to the front of her face, Meena looked quite literally like a deer in headlights. She could barely hear those soft murmurs that escaped through the speakers, and when the music stopped playing and Mr. Moon spoke to her briefly, Ash could tell the Meena was completely frozen. Suddenly, a voice from the side of the stage tore Ash's eyes away from the terrified girl. A small man walked on the stage heading toward the center, speaking loud enough that both Ash and Johnny could hear him perfectly.

"Alright, alright. That's enough of that," the small man said, ushering Meena off the stage. Meena barely even looked back, somewhat relieved to have a reason to leave the stage. The man stepped into the microphone, adjusting his tie. "Get off the stage, Helga."

And in that very moment, Ash saw red.