Last Kiss

Voice Lessons and Recognition

"Excuse me, what?" Lindsey squeals in disbelief. 

We're sitting on the couch in my living room watching TV. "You're opening for who?!" 

"Uh, Party 'Til Dawn?" I can hardly believe it myself.

"Oh my gosh," Lindsey tackles me into a hug. "I'm so proud of you. I haven't heard you sing in years."

"I know right. What if I'm not good enough? What if I make a total fool of myself in front half of the teenage girls in America?" I say.

"You won't, Stevie. You performed all the time in high school, remember?" Her smile fades. "Wait, what about the photography job?"

"Matthew's letting me keep it. I still get to do the photo shoot and everything for the boys and then go to rehearsal after," I say.

Lindsey's phone is out now and she's typing furiously. Winnie's whining softly, wanting her to rub her some more. When she doesn't, Winnie trots over to me. I kiss her nose.

"Here, I found one of their songs. Let's listen," Lindsey says showing me her phone.

The music is soft.

"Hair soft like honey, eyes like a dream,

Girl not everything is what it may seem

I loved you forever, but I made a mistake

Now I'm hoping there's more you can take

Where have you gone,

Where have you gone

Girl I know I've been long, but where have you gone?"

"Wow. They're actually pretty good," I say, reading through the rest of the lyrics. I don't mention the part about Sammy's voice loud and clear in the first verse.

"It's called 'Gone,'" Lindsey says, tapping away at her phone again. "Rumor is it's a song to some specific girl. At least that's what all these crazy fan girls are gossiping about. They are blowing up this song's forum. Can songs have forums?" She shakes her head and puts her phone down. "I better head out. I gotta a date with Blaine." Blaine's her newest conquest. He's nice enough but I'm not sure I really like him.

I nod. "Bye Linds,"

"See ya, Stevs." The house is quiet, yet again.

The next morning, I meet up with Hannah in the lobby of BoomMusic. "Hey!" Hannah glides over to me. "How are you?" Her bubbly voice was as bubbly as ever.

"Good," I say as she shoves a coffee in my hand. "You?"

"Just splendid! It's a good day!" Hannah takes my hand and leads me through hallways and through rooms until we come into set room. A white backdrop is set up and the boys are scattered, getting their hair done and shirts steamed. I spot Sammy with Matthew. 

"You again?" A thick British accent startles me.

I still manage to turn around with a polite smile, "Amanda."

"What's your name again?" She asks, tilting her head, innocently.

"Stevie."

"Ah, yes, Stevie. I'm surprised you came back. I heard you can sing, too."

"It that the word around town?" I reply with a shrug.

"Well, you don't worry about opening for Party 'Til Dawn!" She smiles sweetly, "Because, I'm going to be opening. My voice is spectacular and I've been in this business a lot longer than you. I do believe Matthew will have me sing instead. So, lucky for you, you won't get to embarrass yourself onstage!" Amanda pats me on the shoulder and skips away.

"Wow," I mutter.

"Stevie, hello!" Matthew calls me towards set. The boys are huddled around him. "Get over here!"

"Hi guys," I say, joining their huddle. "I didn't realize we'd be shooting today."

"Oh, don't worry, we aren't," Matthew patted my shoulder. "We're going to be doing rotations today," The boys groan in unison.

"Brad and James, you'll be going to stage etiquette."

I look at Hannah. "What the hell is stage etiquette?"

"They teach you how to own a stage and stuff. Kinda self explanatory," Hannah says.

"Right," I say. How to own a stage. A skill I would need to know now, since I would be on stage.

"Zach and Lucas, you're going to dance." Matthew says.

Zach rolls his eyes. "I am not a dancer!"

"Too bad." Matthew says. "Stevie and Sammy, head to voice with Val."

And suddenly, I feel pressure in my chest and Sammy's eyes staring at me.

"What about the photo shoot? I mean shouldn't you put me through training? I don't think I should be intruding their rotations," I say, trying desperately to escape my newfound dilema.

Then his voice, clear and handsome says, "I don't mind."

And I know there's not backing out now.

*

I find myself in a recording studio. A young woman, probably a little older than me, is sitting across from me on a stool. Sammy's sitting next to me.

"So, you must be Stevie," She smiles at me and shakes my hand. "I'm Val."

"Nice to meet you," I say, ignoring the occurring thought that my palms must be so sweaty.

Val glances at Sammy and I. "Do you have a song preference, Stevie? I want to hear your voice in whatever's comfortable."

I only shrug. I'd rather not sing, actually. Val looks at Sammy. "What about you, Sam?"

Sammy grins. "What about some One Direction?" Val chuckles as Sammy turns his attention to me. "Do you know Little Things?"

Without looking at him, I say, "Yeah, okay. You can take the first verse, though."

Sammy clears his throat as Val stands up and slides into the piano bench. The familiar tune enters me and I shiver slightly.

"Your hand fits in mine
Like it's made just for me
But bear this in mind
It was meant to be
And I'm joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks
And it all makes sense to me

I know you've never loved
The crinkles by your eyes
When you smile
You've never love
Your stomach or your thighs,
The dimples in your back at the bottom of your spine
But I'll love them endlessly"

Sammy's voice is so sweet and familiar to me. I bite my lip and look at him. He's staring directly at me now. I open my mouth and squeeze my eyes shut.

"I won't let these little things slip out of my mouth
But if I do
It's you
Oh, it's you they add up to
I'm in love with you
And all these little things"

Val looks up at me and grins. "Stevie, your voice!"

"I have to go," I stand up and hurry out of the room. I hear footsteps behind me and a hand touches my shoulder. I flinch as I look back. 

Sammy looks into my eyes. He gives me a mischievous smile.

"Not bad, Jones. You still got it."

I never told the boys my last name. He remembered me. He knows of my existence and that I was his girlfriend and I'm standing here in front of him.

I shake me head, turn on my heels, and walk away.

___________________________
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Heyo!

Update!!!

Ok so to the side we got out Stevie.

So Sammy recognizes Stevie! What's gonna happen next!?!?

This is a really short author's note.

Mkay bye!

Love,
Ally<3