Jason approached the door, his heart pounding as the door loomed over him. This was it.
"It's all or nothing now Ace, all or nothing" Jason whispered, trying to give himself the courage to open this door, trying to not think about how this could make him or break him, about how this would change his life fore-
Jason opened the door.
It certainly wasn't what he was expecting. Unlike the past houses, it seemed more... him. In the main living room where he entered from, the walls were purely bricked and covered in graffiti. Jason squinted slightly, spotting phrases like 'Gleek', 'TGP4Eva' and 'Don't stop believing' in neon spray-paint. Jason finally let out a chuckle, shaking his head. After fist-pumping the air, he began to examine the rest of the room. There were two long sofas which stretched out in a right angle on one side of the room, covered in more splats of paint. The floor was a soft, white carpet, with music notes painted carefully every few steps. Jason opened the door to his right, a smile growing on his face.
"No way!" He exclaimed, rushing into the black and white kitchen, opening the fully stocked fridge and laughing, feeling as though he was in a dream. From behind him, he heard the door open, the bottom scraping the carpet making a familiar whooshing sound. And that's when it set in: This was a competition and I, I was gonna win.
Penny entered the room quietly, her bright red strappy heels digging into the carpet. The belt on her fifties style dress hugged her stomach, holding back some excitement that she felt. Just being here, in the real world, was yes, daunting, but it also felt a lot like home, and that's something Penelope cherished. She took in a sharp breath, astounded by the whole interior. It may not have been... classy, but it reminded her of home, of British cities. Of the darkened alleyways where the only means of light are dim streetlamps which light the way to the other side. You don't know what's coming, but you know there's something ahead. Whether it's a brick wall or an empty passangeway is your call. That summed up this whole experience, and it fitted her nicely. As she bent over to look at the huge chest of DVD's, Jason entered through the door behind her, stopping breifly to do a double-take.
"Penny, Penny Hinders. Fancy seeing you here!" He exclaimed, rushing up behind her, grabbing her stomach and spinning her round, over-joyed by her presence.
"Hey! Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" She responds, eyes gleaming. Having someone she knew really softened the blow and home-sick feeling of leaving her friends, family and long-term girlfriend Kate. Before they can say much else, the door opens once again, revealing someone they hadn't met before, yet Jason wanted to know more about.
Jaia let a high pitched squeal escape her lips before hugging both competitors, introducing herself politely.
"Hey you guys, I'm Jaia but you can call me Jae, JJ or, if you prefer, Sexy." She says matter of factly, biting her lip. Colour begins to appear on Jason's cheeks while Penny inwardly sighs, shaking her head. Jason however, is completely awestruck. Penny nudges him suggestively, making him move forward.
"Jason but you can call me Ace" He stutters slightly, fumbling his words like a nervous kid in the school yard on his first day. Jaia just smiles back sweetly, nodding.
"Nice to meet you Ace, damn that has a ring to it!" Jaia outstretches a hand and Jason shakes it, his own hand jittering as his heart flutters. He pushes the feelings away and begins to engage in conversation when the door once again opens to a boy with short brown hair, brown eyes and a body Jason would never be able to compete with.
"Hey I'm Pierce, nice to meet you." He says, his voice low and rough. Jason gives him a slight smile, ignoring the flirtatious looks Pierce and Jae are exchanging through the corners of their eyes. "You're Penny, right? I remember watching your submission online, you've got a real talent!" Penny nods modestly before Pierce moves on to Jae who leans against the large doorframe, watching each of us with a satisfied grin.
"Jaia King" she says, a seductive grin creeping onto her face. Pierce cocks his head, taking her hand and kissing it gently.
"Pleasure," Softly, he moves her hand back to it's original position by her side and turns his head as another person comes in. She has bright brown eyes and looks around 5'1, with her hair falling just past her shoulders.
"Hey guys, I'm Emily, nice to meet you all!" She says cheerily, grinning ear to ear. She hugs everyone before slinking over to the guys, looking them up and down and nodding politely.
"Well, Robert's done a damn good job this year!"
After a few minutes, the door opens once again. A boy stops by the door before charging in their direction. After a moment, it clicks. This is none other than the infamous joker Jack who basically ruled callbacks with his humour and talent. The group of six went and settled down on the couch, waiting for some other people to arrive.
"Did you try and guess who you thought was going to be here?" Penny asked, the first time she'd spoken in about ten minutes.
"I thought about West and Jenna, also Peter." Jaia says, twirling her black heart pendant through her fingers.
"Is this just cause they were hot as hell?" Emily asks, raising an eyebrow in Jaia's direction. Sure, she was pretty, but her attitude was already irritating Emily. She thought she was the best, the best looking, the sexiest, but as long as Emily was here, she wouldn't take that crown. But still, she decided to put a brave face on it and give her a chance.
"What? No, of course not!" Jae replied, overdramatically gasping. Everyone laughed but the chain was broken by Jack jumping off the couch and tearing towards the boy who stands by the door, smiling broadly.
"Ollie Ollie Ollie, oi, Oi, OI!" Jack shouts at the top of his voice, throwing his arms around the boy.
"Keep it down will you? Some of us have a wicked case of jet lag!" Penny calls from the couch, standing up and skipping over, dragging her feet as reality set in in her brain. After the usual introductions, someone else entered, who seemed much more reserved than the rest.
"Hey guys, I'm Chesney" She says in a quiet voice, giving a small wave to the rest of her competitors.
Wow, this isn't going to be easy
Almost as soon as Chesney sat down beside Penny, another girl entered, running towards Emily and embracing her in a strong hug, before running over to Ace and squeezing him tightly.
"I told you!" Cindy screams happily, making Ace whince at the sound. Immidiately, those three seperate from the group, engaging in a private conversation. When the door opened again, the three of them bounded towards West, gripping him tightly in a bear hug.
"Uh... Ouch?"
"So, one more to go, right?" West says. Chesney begins counting each person and smiles, nodding.
"No, two more. Any thoughts?"
"I think either Peter or Jenna, but probably Jenn, especially because she is fierce!" Jaia exclaims matter of factly, making Pierce smile.
"I dunno, Peter was great..." Pierce defends, smiling at her.
"Did Jon audition again this year? I told him to but he might not have." Cindy asked, recieving shakes of heads as an answer.
"What about that Max kid? He had swag." Jack suggests.
"If you burst into Bieber I am going to punch you SO HARD." Ollie states, pointing at him, eyeing Jack warily.
"Yeah, I think Max will get in, or maybe Travis." Penny says, trying to change the subject. Just then, Max entered through the huge door, black rimmed glasses gleaming in the light. Penny leaped up, hugging him tightly. "Welcome home" She says.
When the door opens for the final time, all the heads turn round, staring to see who enters.
"I knew it!" Jaia screeched, picking up Jenna and spinning her round, laughing with her excitedly. Jenna beamed, so happy that she got here but slightly bitter about being last.
"Who got here first?" She asks, scanning the crowd and recognising a few faces from callbacks.
"Uh, it was Ace, then me, then Jae, then Pierce, followed by Emily, then Jack, Ollie, Chesney, Cindy, West, then Max and they saved you till last. I guess the whole 'best till last thing's' a whole of bollocks.'" Penny explains, grinning wildly. Jenna settled down on the couch, joining their conversation about their favourite glee characters and ambitions. And, for the first time, Jenna felt okay being herself.