“How’s the song coming along?” JJ asks as we’re finishing up breakfast.
I’m about to complain that it’s not, but the hopeful look on his face stops me. I glance at Charles, and he pauses with a forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth and raises an inquisitive brow.
It’s pretty obvious that they’re both waiting for good news. They don’t want to hear about how I spent the entire day locked up in their home library only to come out with absolutely nothing. That I didn’t write a single verse. Scratch that. That I don’t even have one line.
All I have is a concept. An idea.
“An outline!” I blurt. “I wrote an outline.”
Isn’t that what professionals do? Outline things? I’ve always let songs come to me, but that’s because I’m not a real song writer. If I was, I would have gotten into LUV Academy. And I wouldn’t have spent all day failing to write one measly song.
“An outline? That’s great news!” Charles says, and some of the tension seeps out of his shoulders.
My own posture mirrors his as I sag in relief. At least I managed to make it sound like I know what I’m doing. And the guys think I made some progress, even if it wasn’t much.
“We told Silas you could do it.” JJ grins.
“Y-You did?” I ask hesitantly.
“Of course we did.” JJ shoots me a flirtatious wink, one that makes my cheeks flush. “I’m going to text him the good news.”
“The thing you need to understand about Silas,” Charles adds just as I’m about to protest, “is that he hasn’t been able to write a single song since the school year started.”
“But I heard him practicing,” I protest. I don’t think I could ever forget the very first time I saw Silas, sitting at the piano, and pouring his heart out into that one song.
My heart runs deep
Like the bottom of the sea
You touch my soul
Each time you run to me
I’ll be your king
You’ll be my slave
I’ll be your death
You’ll be my grave
“Please, stop,” JJ moans, and I realize I was humming Silas’s song and singing the words under my breath.
“I’m sorry, I—”
“It wasn’t you, Roonie,” JJ adds quickly. “It’s just that he’s been singing that same chorus over and over again all semester. It’s been driving us all insane.”
Charles nods in agreement.
“Which is why it’ll be such a relief when we have our new song,” JJ adds. “Do you think you’ll be done by next weekend?”
“Next weekend?” I whisper, hardly daring to breathe.
JJ nods. “You don’t know how much we’ve been dying to start rehearsals. It’s not just Silas singing that song. It’s the competition coming up and our new vocal coach. It’ll be such a relief to finally have a song.”
“Oh... right... of course.” I nod.
“Great!” JJ beams. “I can’t wait to hear it. I know it’s going to be amazing!”
A wave of panic courses through me. I can’t write an entire song in under a week. I—
The panic must show on my face, because Charles quickly adds, “If it’s anything like your other songs, we’re going to love it!”
Which would help if I had a song—or even part of a song—or even a chorus like Silas.
I’m still panicking when Charles gets to his feet and picks up our empty dishes—or in my case, half-empty, because I completely lost my appetite. “I need to go to the watch repair shop at the mall. Does anyone want to come along for the ride?”
“People still wear watches?” My words leave my lips before I’ve had a chance to think about them.
JJ snorts. Charles frowns.
“This isn’t just a watch,” he says, holding up his wrist. “It’s an expertly-crafted timepiece. An art form. A reflection of style.”
“Right. Of course.” My cheeks flush, and I look away. Why did I have to open my big mouth? Now Charles probably won’t want me to come to the mall.
“I’m in,” JJ says, and my heart sinks. Great, now they’re both going to go, while I’ll be the sad princess, locked up in the castle tower, all but forgotten.
“Roonie?” JJ presses.
“Huh?”
“The food court has the best french fries,” he says in a very familiar tone, one that suggests he’s said those exact same words at least once already. “Are you in?”
“Really?” I shoot a hopeful look at Charles, who nods.
“I won’t be having any fries, of course,” he says, “but I’ll join you after I drop off my watch.”
“Okay.” I grin and jump to my feet, relieved that he’s not holding the watch comment against me.
“We can also stop by Simply Tech,” JJ adds. “They have some great stuff there!”
“They do.” Charles nods. “And if we’re making a trip of it, then I’d like to go to the bookstore as well.”
“I love books!” I blurt out and then feel another wave of embarrassment over how stupid I sound. At this rate, I’ll get myself uninvited before we even leave the dorms. Dorms I’m not even supposed to be in.
I race back to Tate’s room to get ready... not that I have much getting ready to do. Mostly, it’s an excuse to get away from the guys before I say anything else I’ll regret... or blurt out the fact that I haven’t actually made any progress on their song.
When we’re all set, we make our way downstairs. The guys flank me like they’re my own personal entourage, but I don’t feel safe. Marcus the RA could pop out at any minute, and my eyes dart around, making sure he’s not lurking around some corner.
“Are you all right, Roonie?” JJ frowns.
I nod and give him a serene smile. The sort of smile a princess would give her knight.
JJ frowns at me for a second, like he’s trying to gauge whether I mean it, and then shrugs and leads the way outside.
The three of us head across campus, retracing the exact same path Tate and I took when I first got here. The walk is familiar, yet different. The sun is shining, for one, and neither of my princes is carrying me the way Tate had. Plus, that peaceful, magical fairy tale feeling in the air when I first got here is gone, replaced by fear.
Fear that I won’t finish the song and disappoint the guys. Fear that Marcus the RA will tell them I have to go and they’ll kick me out. Fear that someone’s watching me.
I can feel their eyes on me, but when I look around, the campus seems ordinary. Emptier than usual since it’s a weekend, but without evil witches lurking in the shadows.
When we reach the parking lot, Charles leads us to a shiny black sports car. It’s only got two doors, and I wonder how he plans for all of us to fit. Would I get to sit on JJ’s lap while Charles drives? Or will I get sandwiched between my two princes as the three of us try to squeeze up front?
Charles unlocks the car door with a push of a button, and another button has the driver’s seat sliding forward and tilting to reveal a spacious back seat.
I’m about to climb in, but Charles stops me and raises an eyebrow at JJ.