A few days ago, I would have thought it was impossible. Now, this has somehow become our new normal.
I pour all the passion I feel into kissing JJ, and he groans in approval. That groan turns into one of frustration as his phone alarm goes off.
“Time for rehearsal?” Charles asks gruffly.
JJ nods, pulling away from me.
It takes me a second to process what the Beast is saying. Rehearsal!
My disappointment is quickly replaced by a mix of nerves and anticipation. I finally get to hear my princes sing my song. The only downside is that they’ll be singing with Silas.
The Dark Prince is meeting us in the practice room, and after the soda can incident from earlier this week, I don’t think he’s going to be too happy to see me.
For a split second, I consider staying back, but that’s absurd. I’m not going to avoid him, especially not when the guys are about to sing my song.
I wonder if I should wear JJ’s bracelet as a blatant reminder of what happened—an in your face to Silas—but the magnetic gift is a hazard. Before I finally stopped wearing it, my wrist got stuck to half the objects in the apartment, including Charles’s keys while they were still in his dress pants’ pocket. I definitely don’t want to risk that happening with Silas.
I put on my prettiest silk dress—pink with lace trim and perfectly suited for a princess. It makes me feel confident as we head to the rehearsal room—so confident I barely think to look around for Marcus the RA—but the feeling starts to wane as we make our way across campus.
By the time we enter Becket Hall, I’m so nervous I feel like my heart is going to explode. The refreshing breeze outside is replaced by the chilling indoor air, and I shiver. Yet the air conditioning does nothing for my sweaty palms or damp armpits.
“You should lead our rehearsal, Roonie,” Tate suddenly announces, his voice echoing through the empty building. And just when I don’t think I could possibly get any more nervous, I suddenly think I might actually throw up.
“I can’t.” I shake my head vehemently as I fight the growing nausea. “Remember what happened last time?”
“Last time, you got us through our audition,” Charles points out.
“I mean last time I led a rehearsal,” I clarify. When I completely fell apart and then ran back home, all because of Silas.
“It was your first time,” JJ winks at me, the innuendo clear and obviously intentional. “You were just nervous, Roon.”
And he does have a point. I was also nervous the first time I kissed him. And I was freaking out the first time I kissed him in front of Charles and Tate. But it’s gotten easier and has felt more natural each time... so maybe that’ll be the case for leading rehearsals, too. Maybe I just need practice.
As I follow the guys down the familiar hallway, I try to focus on the positives. I get to hear all three guys sing a song I wrote. I get to choreograph their competition song until it sounds perfect. I get to make a song I’ve only ever imagined come to life!
Chapter 24
"You're late!" Silas snaps when we enter the practice room.
The empty walls and hard floors send his voice bouncing in every direction. I never realized how perfect the acoustics are in here. It's almost like the Dark Prince is talking into a giant microphone, amplifying his beautiful voice and petulant words.
"Did you skip breakfast again?" Charles asks him. "I could always get something delivered from—"
"Chez Caviar," Tate, JJ, and I all say at the same time. It almost sounds rehearsed, and the three of us burst out laughing. Charles rolls his eyes in response.
“I’ll pass.” The Dark Prince scowls at us... all four of us, not just me.
Hopefully, once he hears my song, he’ll be in a better mood. And even if he’s not, my song is still absolutely perfect. I just have to remember that.
"Roonie's going to lead the rehearsal," Tate says, and I tense as my eyes snap to Silas.
"Really, Princess?" He sneers at me. "You sure you can handle this?"
The old Roonie would let him get to her, but I'm the new, confident Roonie. I'm the girl who kissed all three of her roommates. I’m the one who wrote them the perfect competition song!
"Of course she can handle it," JJ tells Silas a split second before I can. I'm disappointed that he beat me to it, but warmed by the fact that my Knight in Shining Armor rushed to my defense.
"Right," Silas spits, his eyes narrowing on me. "So what exactly is your grand vision for our performance, oh mighty director?”
His words are dripping with sarcasm, but I vow to hold my own. I take a small step forward, ready to defend myself.
"Enough," Charles snaps, startling me into silence.
It takes me a second to recover, but the one thought I hold on to is that I do have a grand vision. I can picture what the guys should sing, and where they should stand, and if I can just describe it all to Silas, I know—
“You need to chill out, man,” Tate tells him. “I know after what happened with Vibrato Lap—”
“Do not fucking talk about Vibrato Lap.” Silas’s entire face turns red, and then his eyes zero in on me. “I’m going to find proof that you’re working for them, and then I’ll make your precious a cappella group pay.”
“I’m not—” I start to protest, but my voice barely comes out above a whisper, and the guys easily talk over me.
“Do you realize how absurd you sound?” JJ snaps.
“Think about this logically, Silas,” Charles adds.
“Why would Roo Roo write us a competition song if she was working for them?” Tate chimes in.
“To humiliate us?” Silas demands. “I bet that song is stolen, just like everything else those bastards—”
“Silas,” JJ snaps.
“Come on, man.” Tate wraps an arm around the Dark Prince’s shoulder and leads him across the room, away from me. “I know that after what they did to you...”
He lowers his voice and I strain my ears, trying to catch the rest. I want to know what Vibrato Lap did to Silas. I need to know why he’s like this.
“If we're going to win this competition, we need to work as a team," Tate adds, a little louder this time.
Silas grumbles and shrugs off his arm, but he nods in agreement. "Let's get this over with."
That is my cue to step forward and lead the rehearsal. I have to do this. I can do this. I have all three of my guys by my side. They’ve proven they’ll stand up for me. They’ve proven that they’ll keep me safe. The rest is up to me.
“Go ahead, Roonie,” Tate says.
Charles and JJ nod encouragingly. Silas scowls, but then, he’s Silas.
“We’ll start with the warm-ups,” I say, my voice a little shaky but strong. It echoes through the room, amplified by the amazing acoustics, and the guys line up and wait for me to take the lead..
Since I’ve watched them warm up before, the steps are super easy to replicate. We hum and sing the notes together and I allow myself to get lost in the sounds. I relax enough for my voice to flow just as cleanly as the guys’. Obviously, it’s still high pitched and whiny, but my job isn’t to join them on stage—it’s to choreograph their song, and that I can do.