Luke POV

Eliminations were never easy. People ran around like headless chickens, bumping into the hair and makeup stands and messing up the work of the makeup artists. Eyeliner smeared across people's cheeks, screaming (Mainly from girls who got their hairbrush snatched off them), fighting, and worst of all… dancing.

Un-necessary dance practices on the sides of the confined space of backstage. Ain't nobody got time for that! I mean, this is eliminations, not the next round. Dancing isn't required and neither is singing. We don't even dance on the performances, so why start now? Sure, the singer will wander the stage for a bit, and sure they'll pour emotion in it, doubling over sometimes to get the effect, but not proper dancing.

The girls had already gotten their makeup and hair done a few minutes ago, going with the all-natural look like usual, as they look best like it. Their outfits were matching, but casual, like ours.

Our hair had been gelled to the point where I'm sure it could work the same purpose as a knife, as it's that stiff. Our clothes were casual, the same vans from the first performance (Percy found his a few days after the performance), jeans of our own pick, and different coloured shirts.

The girls said that today they wanted to stay just within their band, not talking to anyone else unless completely necessary.

Usually this would piss people off, but they looked pretty serious, talking in hushed tones to only each other. Thalia looks tense, her jaw clenched and her posture as stiff as my hair.

By now I would have done something to loosen her up. Hug, maybe a shoulder massage? I have a feeling that I would get hit if I did that now.

I think I know why they want space. Piper is pissed at Jason and Percy is at Annabeth and stuff. Four out of ten of us (Which is almost half, may I add) is mad at another. Calypso and Paisley looked at least semi calm, taking in very hushed tones.

Meanwhile we were trying to keep Leo from joining in the dancing.

"Leo!" Percy snaps, holding back the shorter boy's arms, "No dancing."

"Why?" Leo whines like a small child, "I wanna!"

"We don't want you to." Jason tells Leo, as he calms down a bit. "I promise that as soon as we get back to the house, you can dance."

Dangerous thing to promise, Jason. We are going to pay for that later. Very dearly too.

After eliminations last week, this week was a whole lot easier because I knew what I was expecting. Scary music, dramatic lights, a lot of people, and a lot of crying.

The girls were carefully standing on one side of Venus, which kind of hurt, and we stood on the other. Roman Recruit was scattered around us, Reyna glaring at Piper.

"First band to go through to round three is… OUTCASTS!"

Well, that was over rather fast.

We all hugged Venus (Who held us in her clasp for a second too long) before we were allowed to go offstage.

It was roaring out there, and we got to get changed back into the clothes we came here in, which consisted of mainly the same thing. We couldn't really hear what was going on onstage, so we could only hope for the girls.

My heart was beating really really fast for Thalia. I mean, what would happen if she was eliminated? What then? Would she go back to New York? Would she stay with Sally and Aphrodite (Who we really need to visit)?

It would ultimately suck if that happened.

When I came out from the dressing room, I saw the girls. My nervousness disappeared at the sight of their relaxed faces. A small smile graced Thalia's lips (See what I did there?) as she headed over to me.

"Thank gods." I said as I pulled her in for a hug as a girl walked past us crying. Must not have been her lucky day.

"Yeah." Thalia agreed, "Well, you're stuck with us for yet another round."

Leo started to break out dancing as soon as we got back inside.

"YOU CAN'T TELL ME TO STOP BECAUSE JASON PROMISED ME I COULD!" Leo cheers, jumping about as Percy turns music on.

I glare at him, for his encouragement, to which he just shrugs.

"Leo, that's enough." Venus says, halting Leo's… movements by taking his hands and trapping them behind his back.

"But Jason said I could," Leo whinges again, pouting.

"I never said for how long," Jason says, raising his eyebrows and quite literally looking down on Leo because of the extreme height difference.

Leo looked genuinely sad, before Piper cut in and said "Guy's, loosen up and have a little fun. We're still here by some miracle because I thought that I was a crap bassist."

Okay, she does have a point there I think as I wrap an arm around Thalia's waist.

"Okay, you guy's can stay up," Venus smiles at us. Is it possible for her to not be so chirpy? "Don't stay up too late because we have a photoshoot tomorrow afternoon and we're practicing for next round in the morning."

"DID YOU HEAR THAT? I CAN STAY UP AND DAANCE!"

Well, this can't be good.

It was absolutely mortifying.

In the morning when I went down for breakfast, there were bits of newspaper strewn across the room. I don't remember there being newspaper involved in Leo's "Dancing", but I went to bed soon after it started.

Thalia was already awake and drinking a coffee, while slapping Paisley's hands away from the jug.

"You're already hyper enough." Thalia scoffs to the girl, who grinned back at her evilly.

"Has a point, Thalia does." Nico says, coming into the kitchen and heading straight towards the fridge, while I sit next to Thalia on the bar stools.

"When did you become Yoda?" Thalia asks accusingly, before I snatch her coffee off the bench before she can notice.

Nico shrugs, as I begin to drink her coffee. I found it hard to choke down a laugh as Thalia started looking for the missing drink.

"I swear, Paisley, if you have my coffee, I'm locking you in the basement." Thalia states threateningly, before seeing the missing object being consumed by me.

Her intense eyes train on me in a glare.

"Are you going to lock him in the basement?" Paisley asks Thalia as she just shrugs it off and gets another mug to fill.

"No." Thalia scoffs like it's the most ridiculous thing she's ever heard.

"Why not?" Paisley whinges, as if I want to be locked up in Venus' basement. Who knows what's in there. Expired makeup? Perfume? The horror.

"Because he's not going to go off the hooks crazy." Nico tells her, sitting beside her.

"You're all so mean to me." She says, slamming her head against the cool surface of the countertop.

"I'm being really nice," I grin, "And not saying anything."

Next it's Leo to come down and join us, complaining about some "Bigger than texas headache".

"Like, it's really really bad, man." He says as Percy and Annabeth come in. I don't question them entering together, although it does make me suspicious.

Weren't they arguing a few hours ago?

Couples these days. They're insane.

"Morning." Percy says grumpily, picking his sister up from a stool and sitting on it himself.

Annabeth sits on the other side of him, as Nico is occupying the last stool.

"So what's on the never ending agenda today?" Annabeth asks, just as Venus comes in, looking like she just got out of a beauty photo shoot, which could have been possible.

"We have practice this morning, and then an interview and photo shoots later this afternoon." Venus replies, taking the coffee jug and finding it empty. She shrugs, and fills it up again with water and puts in the ground coffee.

As everyone else begins to meander down to the kitchen, Venus smiles.

"Okay, busy day so everyone eat something substantial. Leo, clean up the newspaper. Everyone, dress nicely. Try not to sweat too much." Venus says, as if we can help how much we sweat.

After practice, which was as mediocre as usual, we were driven to another building.

It looked a bit like a storage unit from the back, with cement walls and a red roof. However, on the inside it was contrasting.

The walls were a plastered, clean white colour, with a set of doors on either side, one labelled in irritating yellow "DRESSING ROOMS" and the other, "RANDOM STUFF".

Well then, I think as I look at the fluorescent paint, I'm going to have sore eyes after this.

And the fact that once we were all dressed and sitting on a couch, in no particular order, the bright, white lights were blinding, and we were all squinting. Accept for Venus who was in her interview, which we were right next to, as there was a different set up for the interview.

Two chairs, the ones you see directors sit on in the movies, were standing. One for the interviewer and the other for the interview-ee.

We were constantly being hushed by the camera man and the technician.

The journalist, a too-peppy woman named Catherine, asked rather personal questions that a lot of people would find inappropriate.

Fits her personality. I bitterly think as I think back to the first time we met her when we walked in, our footsteps loudly echoing around the spacious room.

She's asking Venus personal questions, and ones that were sure to get the public roaring. Catherine would make assumptions, and would assume too much.

Like the kids in school. Assuming too much and not hearing the real story. Asking too many questions, and expecting elaborate answers and getting cross when they weren't given.

Catherine didn't get cross, however, she just tightly smiled and wrote down more.

"Okay, Roman Recruit, you're up. Whichever order you want to go in," Catherine smiles as Venus goes to sit where the four teens of varying heights once were and the new group came in. "Reyna? Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano?"

Reyna flinches at the sound of her long full name, as she settles in the chair.

I hope my interview doesn't go badly.

"So, Luke?" Catherine starts, her greedy hands on the arm of her chair, holding on as though it was a lifeline. "What did you think of the surprise round two?"

"Erm," I intelligently begin, "It was freaky at first, because we were worried that we didn't have a song prepared, but Jason was quick on his feet to remind us that we had gigs, and so we had more than enough songs. For us, after the panic had gone, it was just a matter of finding our favourites."

"Hmm, and what do you think of the girl's performance, in Individualz. I hear your band and theirs is rather close." And here it is. The personal questions.

"Yeah. They did really well." I say, unwilling to say more than needed. Boy was I just itching to see what would be written about this.

"Some of the younger fans wanted to ask a few questions. So we got them to send some in, would you mind?" Catherine at least had the decency to ask.

"Sure." Or maybe this was a plan to blame the innocent twelve-year-olds who don't know any better for the questions she was about to ask.

"Laura, aged thirteen, asks if you are single?" Catherine's eyes glint evilly. I bet there is no Laura. Okay, I myself know a few Laura's, so there are Laura's of the age thirteen out there, but the one she's talking about probably doesn't exist.

"No." I answer, grinning as Catherine raises an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yep. I'm dating the most beautiful girl to ever walk the earth." I say, as my group and Thalia's giggle.

"And is she here?" Straight forwards, aren't you?

"No comment." I reply, on the edge of my seat.

A/N

I wrote this at school (English class and we were in the library with free time). So school's started and I've been super busy. My parent's are being annoyingly strict and stuff, and Mum has changed the wifi passoword and won't give it to me.

And there also has been a lot going on in my personal life, I hope you all understand. I won't be updating as regularly as I would like to.

~KaleidoscopeColours

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(Mum put the wifi on my computer)