A/N: Yay hooray I literally feel like this fic is writing itself hehe. I must be very inspired- this chapter is one of my favorites due to reasons. ;) Anyway, enjoy & let me know what you guys think!
Disclaimer: Don't own The Voice or Adam Levine, but you knew that already.
CHAPTER THREE: The Knockouts
"It was literally one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, I'm shocked he didn't kick me off his team."
"Oh please, don't be so dramatic."
"No I'm serious, S, he was being super nice but there was like…a snarky tone in the way he talked with me. He almost seemed pissed."
"Well, you know how Adam gets during competitions…he's very competitive."
Arianna groaned and flipped over in her bed onto her back. Sierra was on speakerphone and she was lamenting about the horrible conversation she had had with Adam after practice.
"I just feel so dumb. I didn't mean to be hungover, but when they literally give me like a two hour warning, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to sober up that fast."
Sierra sighed, "It's fine, I wouldn't worry about it. You'll just have to prove to Adam in the knockouts that you're taking the competition seriously. I'm sure he won't hold it against you, I mean; it's pretty obvious that he gets drunk off his face all the time. How's your song coming along anyway?"
"It's going good, I'm excited about it but I'm also ridiculously nervous. I hope Luke doesn't end up surprising me or anything."
"The knockouts are in a few days, right?"
"Yup, this Monday."
"Ah, good luck, girl. I know you're gonna kill it."
"Thanks, See. Alright I better go practice or do something productive."
Sierra laughed, "Alright, try not to get drunk. Love you!"
"Love you too. Bye!"
Arianna clicked off her phone and sighed deeply. The knockouts were only two days away and already she was feeling nervous beyond belief. The competition was getting heated; she had already heard of a few people getting very unfriendly with each other, and it was beginning to stress her out. She was being overly nice to Luke whenever she saw him (though honestly, she didn't think Luke had a mean bone in his body) just in case he got any bad ideas. Arianna decided that the only way to calm herself down was to hit the gym, changing into a pair of her favorite cropped yoga pants and racer back tank, she made her way to the Hotel's fitness room (a lot of the contestants were staying at the same hotel, since most of them were from out of town, usually Arianna wouldn't pay for something like that, but she figured it would be easier if she were nearby that way if she ever wanted to practice on a whim, she had musicians readily available).
She was mentally making a checklist of all the things she wanted to do when she got there, 2 miles on the treadmill, squats, leg lifts, maybe get on the elliptical… When she totally rammed into someone's arm.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." She sputtered, "I totally didn't even pay attention to where I was going." She looked up at her victim, and was met with deep-sea blue eyes. Her heart skipped a beat for a second.
"Oh that's alright, love. It was my fault anyway. Are you alright?" He had a thick Australian accent, and light brown hair. Arianna felt like she couldn't breathe.
"Uh, yeah, fine- totally fine. Sorry."
The boy laughed, "No need to apologize. I feel like my arm is bigger than your head so it's really you that I feel sorry for."
Arianna chuckled- it was pretty massive. "Well I should have watched where I was going."
"It's not a problem." He scanned her up and down quickly, "Headed to the gym?"
"Er, yeah, actually. It's just on the second floor, right?"
The boy nodded, "Yeah, to the right. I was actually headed there; do you mind if I walk with you?"
"No not at all." Arianna smiled, but inside she was freaking out. Who was he? How old was he? Was he in the competition? She couldn't remember if anyone had mentioned any foreigners making it past the blinds. If he wasn't in the competition, then what was he staying at a hotel for? For business? Is he only in the states for a while? Her musings were cut short when she heard him ask her a question.
"So what are you staying at this hotel for?"
"Uhm," Was she allowed to tell him that she was on The Voice? Technically none of the blind auditions had been aired yet… "I'm here on business, working."
The boy nodded, "As am I."
"What do you do?"
"I work for an international business company, mostly boring stuff so I try to keep it alive by staying fit." He laughed to himself, and Arianna felt like she was in a daze. "What do you do?"
"I sing."
"Oh wow- that's brilliant! So then you're pretty good, yeah?"
Arianna shrugged, "I'm alright. I haven't had my 'big break'" –Arianna made air quotations- "or anything yet, but I might be getting there soon."
"That's amazing. Good on you for doing something you enjoy. Or at least, I'm assuming you enjoy it."
Arianna laughed, "Yes, I definitely enjoy it."
"Well, looks like we're here. Let me know if you're around for a while, I'd love to buy you a drink."
Arianna blushed, "I'd enjoy that."
The boy grinned, "Excellent. I didn't catch your name, by the way?"
"Oh, Arianna."
"That's beautiful."
"Thank you, and what's yours?"
"You'll find out once you actually go on that date with me." The boy winked and kissed her cheek, before heading to the opposite side of the gym where all the heavy weights were.
God have mercy.
"…he was absolutely gorgeous, S, I think my heart is still pounding."
"Oh my god this is AMAZING. You audition for the voice in hopes of sleeping with Adam-"
"I did not audition for The Voice to sleep with Adam." Arianna corrected, though Sierra continued, ignoring her comment.
"-and instead meet a hot Australian boy. God I wish I could have your life."
Arianna laughed, "Oh please, like you don't have enough boys trailing you!"
"Meh but they're all American and douchey."
"Well why don't you come out here? I'll set you up with mystery boy and I'll have Adam."
"Met, I'd rather have Adam actually."
"You're such a bitch!" Arianna said between laughs, rolling her eyes. "Alright well I'll see you on Tuesday, yes?"
"Yessss you most definitely will, bestie. Say hi to mystery boy for me. He sounds so dreamy." Sierra said 'dreamy' in a horrible Australian accent that made Arianna giggle.
"I'll definitely keep you posted. Love ya."
"You too!"
It wasn't until Monday night (the night before the knockouts) that she got a phone call in her room around 9 o'clock.
"Hello?" Arianna answered after the first ring, wondering if it was Carson or someone from The Voice filling her in about her schedule for tomorrow.
"Ms. Montano?" A voice asked her,
"Yes, speaking?"
"I have a note to deliver for you from a Mr. Schafer: he says he met you a few days ago, and was wondering if you'd be up for that drink tonight."
"Oh, er, thanks?"
"He'll be at the Hotel bar waiting for you. Goodnight."
"Goodnight!"
Arianna glanced at the time, 9:10pm. Was it too late to go out and have a few drinks? A flashback to her previous conversation with Adam made her hesitant. But what was just one or two drinks- it's not like she was going to get drunk, right?
Wrong. So very, very wrong. Arianna looked over at the time: 8:30?!
"Fuck shit fuck damnit FUCK!" Arianna moaned and yelled as she popped out of bed, throwing on the nearest thing she could find and trying to look decent in as little time as she could. She was supposed to be rehearsing with Luke for the knockouts today and her slot was at 8. Adam was going to murder her.
She was halfway to her rehearsal room when she heard a voice call after her.
"I wouldn't bother if I were you! I think they finished about 10 minutes ago."
Arianna froze in her tracks. She recognized that voice. It was Australian… she turned and was met with those blue eyes she had spent last night with.
"You…you're…wait, what?"
Daniel (as she found out his name was last night) laughed coldly, and a chill went up her spine, "Yes, love, I'm auditioning for The Voice as well."
"You- you sabotaged me!"
Daniel held his hands up; "I merely asked a pretty girl out for drinks, I didn't make you sleep through your alarm."
"You totally did this on purpose! You're such a dick!"
Daniel laughed, "I'm merely looking out for myself. You're one of the biggest competitions, best to get you out of my way early. See you later, love."
Arianna was furious. Her head and heart were pounding. She stormed into the rehearsal room, not really knowing what she was going to do, but feeling her blood boil. She saw Adam sitting on a stool, and he glanced up at her with a cold expression.
"You're late." He said, his eyes narrowing at her.
"Look, it wasn't my fault, I met this guy and-"
"You really expect me to have any sympathy for you when your story starts off with 'I met this guy'?"
"No but, he hit on me and forced me to drink and-"
"He literally poured drinks down your throat?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Then he didn't force you, Arianna. Look. I get it- you're young, drinking is fun, and you want to have a good time. I've been there. But you're not taking this seriously, at all. How the hell can I count on you when you can't even show up to rehearsals on time?"
"Adam, I'm sorry, really, I didn't do it on purpose it's just-"
"Arianna, I'm trying to be here for you and help you but you've gotta help yourself. You have one of the best voices on this show, and last week? I would have said that you were gonna win it hands down. But now you're just self-destructing and honestly your only enemy is yourself. Now, I said this once, and I'm not going to say it again: get your shit together. This is your big break, don't blow it. And you might want to apologize to Luke, too, when you have the chance. The guy's so freaking nice he offered to hang around all day and wait for you to show up."
Adam stood and headed towards the door, "I'm sorry, Are, I really am. You have it in you to be the best, you just need a little more focus."
And with that, he was gone, leaving Arianna alone with her tears and the realization that she might have royally fucked her only chance at actually being good at something she loved.
This day could not have gotten any worse.
Later, Arianna had found out that Daniel was on Christina's team, and that she wasn't the first person that he had targeted. She was just dumb enough to fall for it. And now, without a final rehearsal with Adam, (Luke and her had practiced after she had apologized a million times) she was feeling even more unprepared, nervous, and sick to the stomach than ever. Great. Just what she needed before she went in front of Adam to try and convince him that he should pick her over Luke. Luke, who hadn't done anything wrong these past few weeks, Luke, who had been so kind to her and never been upset over her delinquent behaviors.
Fuck, Arianna wasn't even sure that she would pick herself at this point.
"Break a leg, darlin'." Luke said, before both of them went out on stage together. After their introductions from Carson, the lights dimmed, and the song started. Arianna dug deep to find the place that made her the unhappiest; the place that could give her the rawest emotion to help draw Adam back to her.
It wasn't until the final chorus when Arianna really felt like she had her moment, and the tears sprang to her eyes as she finished the song.
Don't get too close
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide…
The crowd erupted into roars of cheering and applause, and Arianna quickly wiped her eyes as Luke hugged her gently. Blake and Cee Lo were both standing and Arianna smiled slightly, still not feeling completely confident, but instead reassured.
"Wow! Adam, a tough decision to make, but first let's hear from the other coaches. Blake, how'd they do?" Carson asked, standing beside Arianna and Luke.
"Wow, I mean, shit, I don't know! At first I was like man Luke really has this in the bag, and you know how I feel about country artists."
"Yes, Blake, we know. You've mentioned it a few times." Adam said, laughing.
"Just once or twice. Anyway, but at the end there Arianna really had me going and I think pitch wise and all that stuff, I'd have to go with Arianna."
The crowd cheered and I smiled, my heart still pounding. It meant a lot that Blake would choose me, but I wasn't out of the clear just yet, it all depended on what Adam wanted, and I wasn't very high on his list of people he liked.
"Christina?" Carson prompted,
"You know I think overall Luke was stronger in his performance, so I think I would have to choose him."
The crowd also cheered for Luke, though Arianna heard some "boo"s from the audience. She smiled and glanced at Adam, who literally looked like he wanted to kill himself. Arianna's heart raced. It was Cee Lo's turn to decide.
"Look, I turned my chair around almost instantly after I heard Arianna sing, and like I keep saying she connects with the words and it isn't just a song, you feel me? And so with no doubt in my mind I would choose Arianna."
The crowd roared and Arianna bit her lip, it was up to Adam now.
"Alright, Adam, who's it gonna be?" Carson asked, glancing from Luke and Arianna then back to Adam. Arianna wondered if Carson, or anyone else on the show for that matter, knew about Arianna's little fuck up. Her heart was pounding too wildly to even focus on that right now, or anything for that matter. All she could focus on was Adam.
"Ok, alright. I don't know if I can handle this but hopefully I'll just talk it out and convince myself as I go along. Luke, you have been amazing this entire journey; your commitment is really, I mean, it's impressive, and I know that you're going to go far in life. You had a few pitch issues, but you worked on what we talked about in rehearsal and that's important to me. Arianna," Arianna barely had the nerve to look him in the eye, Adam had his serious face on, and she was scared she was going to get reamed. She braced herself. "You and I have had our…differences." Adam chuckled, "But I would be stupid to turn away your talent. And so, I'm going to have to pick Arianna."
The crowd screamed with approval and Arianna almost fell to her knees. The tears sprang to her eyes and she ran to Adam (well, as fast she could in heels, anyway), and half jumped on him while she hugged him. Adam stumbled slightly but held her close.
"I'm sorry, I won't let you down." Arianna said, wiping her tears.
"I'll believe it when I see it." Adam joked, but smiled at her as she walked off the stage.
She cut that way too close.
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