Chapter 15

"HMM, THIS WAS A TOUGH ONE," Brady grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze, "BUT ACCORDING TO MY SOUND METER," I squeezed my eyes shut in anticipation, "THE WINNER IS… STEVIEEEEEE!"

I jumped up with a "Woo!" as Brady cussed. Everyone cheered and clapped as I gave Brady a hug. "Told ya I'd kick your ass again." I whispered.

"Yeah, yeah, you're so amazing." He rolled his eyes but gave me another hug.

"CONGRATULATIONS STEVIE ON ANOTHER WIN!" Everyone cheered for me again and I took a bow. "NOW IT'S TIME TO OPEN IT UP TO THE CROWD. DO WE HAVE ANY CHALLANGERS?" I looked into the crowd and internally smirked when I saw no one volunteer.

"I challenge her!" a voice yelled from the crowd. Both Brady's and my head snapped towards the back of the room where the voice came from. Jared threw back what looked like a shot and made his way to the front of the room. I was shocked that Jared volunteered, I didn't know he sang.

"AND WHAT IS OUR CHALLANGER'S NAME?" Jared took the mic while I continued to stare in awe and him.

"Jared McCarthy." He smirked at me and gave me a wink. I heard Brady chuckle from next to me.

"Good luck." He whispered, walking to the side of the stage.

"NOW YOU REALIZE STEVIE IS A CROWD FAVORITE, CORRECT?"

"I do."

"AND YOU KNOW SHE WINS EVERY TIME SHE SINGS?"

"I do."

"AND YOU KNOW EVERYONE HERE WILL MAKE FUN OF YOU FOR CHALLANGING HER AND LOSING, CORRECT?" the crowd laughed as did Jared.

"I do." He gave me another wink.

"ALRIGHTY THEN. SO, WHAT WILL YOU BE SINGING TONIGHT?" Jared thought about it for a second and then walked over to the DJ, whispering something in his ear. The DJ smirked and nodded. Jared took his place at the front of the stage and I moved to the side next to Brady, becoming nervous about what was about to happen.

The music started and I felt my mouth drop open at his song choice. It fell even wider when I heard him begin to sing.

I'm at a payphone trying to call home
All of my change I spent on you

My hand grasped Brady's forearm in shock. Jared was so much better than I expected.

Where have the times gone, baby it's all wrong
Where are the plans we made for two

Whelp, I lost this round.

Yeah, I, I know it's hard to remember
The people we used to be
It's even harder to picture
That you're not here next to me

You say it's too late to make it
But is it too late to try
And in our time that you wasted
All of our bridges burned down

I've wasted my nights
You turned out the lights
Now I'm paralyzed
Still stuck in that time
When we called it love
But even the sun sets in paradise

Jared sang the rest of the Maroon 5 song and the crowd went wild for him. Even I couldn't help but clap and cheer for him. He was amazing and it was no surprise when the crowd declared him the winner. I wasn't even upset. We hugged and walked back to our table in the back.

"Since when could you sing?!" I yelled, smacking Jared's shoulder as we got back to our group. Jared chuckled.

"I could always sing decently well, it's just nothing I ever pursued."

"But you were amazing! You should absolutely pursue it!"

"Eh, I'm happy with just being a were… just being me." He said, winking and turning to give Kim a big kiss. I just laughed and shook my head.

Seth had come over and gave me a hug, congratulating me on beating Brady but then losing to Jared.

"Hey, I didn't lose. I simply just didn't win…" the whole group laughed at me and we spent the rest of the evening listening to music and dancing. Even Juliana seemed to be getting along and having a good time with everyone.

"…being understanding and like I totally get why she wants to back off but I don't know if I can stay away because she's so perfect and pretty and oh my gosh have you seen her eyes and- Stevie are you even listening to me?" Something smacked into my head and it took me a second to realize it was one of my stuffed animals. I opened my eyes and saw Brady pacing around my room looking more distressed than usual. I groaned, letting him know I was half listening.

"Brady, it's 6 in the morning. What the hell are you doing here?" I pulled my covers higher and repositioned myself on my pillow, I had at least another 40 minutes of sleep before having to get ready for school.

"I got off of patrol and figured you'd want company." He said sheepishly.

"You thought I'd want company? Or did YOU want company?" I mumbled, drifting back asleep.

"…and then I walked her up to her front door and was gonna try and make a small move, like a kiss on the cheek and that's when- STOP FALLING ASLEEP ON ME STEVIE!" my eyes shot open.

"What do you want Brady? I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!" Brady's face dropped and he collapsed onto my floor, covering his face in his hands.

"She has a boyfriend. Of three years." He muttered. Shit. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, accepting that I was waking up early for school whether I liked it or not.

I sighed, "What happened?"

"I don't know! Everything was going great last night. She was laughing at all my jokes and she even let me hug her a few times. I had walked her to her door to say goodnight and was probably gonna push my luck by kissing her cheek but when I went to make the move she backed up and told me she was sorry but she 'didn't think her boyfriend would like that'. And so, I asked about him and she told me he lives back in Colorado, which is where she's from, and that they've been together for 3 years. And that she was sorry if she gave me the wrong idea. And then she ran inside and shut the door in my face… and that's when my heart shattered into a million pieces." Brady had started pacing somewhere during his spiel and collapsed onto my bed at the end. "Stevie what do I do?"

I pulled my legs into a pretzel so he couldn't crush them, "Maybe just start by being friends? I mean, you just met the girl yesterday and she's brand new to town. She could probably use some friends so start with that so just see where it goes."

"She's not going to break up with him Stevie. They've been together for 3 years. That's a really long time."

"Yes, but sometimes when people move apart things happen and feelings change. I'm not saying it'll happen overnight but there's a chance they'll lose feelings for each other and drift apart and she'll realize she's better with you."

"I doubt it." He muttered.

"Brady, she's your imprint. That means the universe thinks you two are perfect for each other and knows you two will end up together. Give it some time and have a little faith. It'll all work out in the end and if it doesn't then-"

"'Then it's not the end.' Yea I know the saying." He said, rolling his eyes and picking at the hem of his shirt. "It's just, it's not fair. Imprinting is supposed to make everything easier, not harder."

I felt bad for Brady. He's never had a steady relationship with a girl and even though that's partially his fault and he always says he doesn't care, I can see it bothers him. He deserves to finally find someone to settle down with and be happy. He's a great guy and Juliana is going to be so lucky to have him around, I just hope it doesn't take her too long to realize that.

"Here is my advice to you Brady," I said, sitting up straighter and grabbing his hand from his shirt. "Be the bestest friend you can possibly be to her. Show her how great you really are and how sweet and caring you can be. Make her realize that you're better than her current boyfriend without actually coming out and saying it." He chuckled. "You're an amazing person Brady, and she's going to see that I promise. Just be patient and love her as much as you can as a friend." He smiled. "And maybe flirt a little bit." I added.

"Thanks Stevie." He laughed and pulled me into a side hug. "See this is why I came to you and not Seth or Col. They would've told me to just ignore the boyfriend part and make a move anyway."

"Yea I don't recommend doing that…" I said as I got up and started searching for something to wear for school since it was getting closer to 7. "C'mon, let me get ready and then we can go get coffee before school so you can surprise her with one before class." Brady jumped up.

"Ou good call! Girls love coffee."

Brady left to go wait downstairs and I went and changed for school. Seth had to go in early to make up some work so he wasn't walking with me today. Luckily, I now had Brady for my ride to school. After throwing on a pair of leggings, a sweater, my boots, and a scarf I ran downstairs. Brady was standing in the kitchen scrolling through his phone. He looked up when he heard me.

"We have to hurry, she's at school already- she posted a picture from the parking lot." He turned his phone to show me.

"You found her on Instagram already? Brady don't be a creep." I laughed, knowing damn well I would've done the same thing had I been in his shoes. He followed me out the door and we got into his jeep. He drove to school and stopped at a small coffee shop along the way. We both knew Emily's coffee was better but her café was 10 minutes in the other direction. After getting our coffees, I got one for Seth, we drove to school in silence.

He parked in the spot across from a bench where we saw Seth, Collin, and Kat sitting. Seth looked at me confused and then checked his watch, probably surprised I'm at school so early. He walked over and greeted me at my door.

"You're here earlier than I expected." He gave me a quick kiss and I handed him his coffee, which resulted in a second and much nicer kiss. I giggled. "Thanks." He smiled at me.

"Brady woke me up this morning at 6am with his antics over Juliana." I rolled my eyes but I noticed Seth stiffened slightly.

"He was in your room alone with you this morning?" he asked.

"Yes, but just to talk about Juliana." I told him, hoping Brady didn't hear us.

"Get over yourself dude. I got my own girl now." Brady said as he walked by, winking at me. I grabbed Seth's arm before he could say anything and kissed his lips.

"I love you." I said. He didn't say anything, continuing to glare daggers at Brady instead. "I said: I. love. You." I almost growled.

Seth looked down and laughed at me. "Yea, because that sounded so loving." He kissed my forehead. "But I love you too." I smirked as I felt his posture lighten up. He threw his arm around me and walked with me to my locker.

The morning passed by quickly. Music was quiet between me and Brady. He had been very focused on writing a song and I didn't want to bother him so I quietly worked on my own music. He hadn't mentioned anything about Juliana so I assumed maybe the coffee thing didn't work. I continued scribbling words in my journal and humming a tune to go with them. Another song was due next week for the country genre and although I loved country music, it wasn't a personal favorite to write.

"Having a hard time?" I jumped at Brady's voice, not realizing he had gotten so close. I sighed and closed my journal.

"You know country isn't my thing." I muttered. He chuckled and ruffled my hair.

"Pretty ironic for someone who likes to listen to it so much." I rolled my eyes as we walked out of class. Brady jogged ahead of me and it took me a second to realize he was going to meet Juliana at her locker before math. I kept my distance since I wanted to walk with her to class but didn't want to interrupt them. Something warm wrapped around my waist and I instantly knew Seth was behind me.

"Hey pretty girl." He whispered in my ear. I couldn't help the blush that crept into my cheeks. It was crazy but even though we've been together for months, he still gave me butterflies whenever he was close to me. I turned around in his arms and smiled.

"Well hello there handsome." I stood on my tippy toes and gave him a kiss. The hand that was around my waist pulled back slightly until his hand was resting on the small of my back, pulling me closer to him. I was about to deepen the kiss when someone next to us cleared their throat, pulling me out of my trance and reminding me we were in the middle of the school hallway. Brady was next to us with a giant smile on his face while Juliana looked everywhere but at us. I turned away from Seth with a blush and tucked my hair behind my ears.

"Don't you have a class to get to?" Brady smirked. I rolled my eyes even though he was right. I waved bye to Seth and Brady and walked with Juliana to math.