Wildest Dreams | EJ Caswell

𝚏𝚒𝚟𝚎

"Ahem, all right," Miss Jenn clapped her hands, raising her voice to gain all of our attention; we all sat dispersed around the auditorium, preparing for auditions, "as you all know, this year's auditions will be a two-step process. One, a group vocal warm-up to the classic song, Belle. And two, a song of your choice; whatever shows off you the best."

I took in a shallow breath, shutting my eyes for a second; I didn't sing in front of people very often, making me already feel very underprepared for this audition. "Okay, circle up, take your neighbor's hand," I hold my hand out to Gina first, who interlocks her fingers through mine, before turning to see EJ on my right, holding his hand out to me.

I sighed, placing my hand in his much larger ones, looking towards Miss Jenn as soon as he interlocked our fingers, but I could feel him watching me, probably proud that he'd gotten me to hold his hand... "For a moment of silent reflection."

Our moment of silence lasted less than a minute because unsurprisingly, Miss Jenn broke into song, "certain as the sun, rising in the east." I bit my lip, repressing the giggle that so terribly wanted to escape, "Beauty and the- "

The sound of the door swinging open cut Miss Jenn off, all of our heads snapped in that direction; I let out a breath, shaking my head with amusement; some things never change.

"Is this Mamma Mia 2?" Carlos asked, "Cause here we go again."

Due to being late, Ricky had no time to go over the song Belle, and I'm sure that means he also didn't have an audition song prepared either... maybe I'm not the most underprepared person here after all.

"Here, you can use my sheet music." I held out my sheet of music to Ricky; luckily, I was obsessed with beauty and the beast as a kid and still knew every word to every song.

"Thank you Ro," he let out a breath of relief, "you're a lifesaver."

We started Belle a few minutes later, and I guess the sheet music had helped Ricky slightly... I mean, he was still off tempo and off-key, but at least he was singing the correct words; Big Red was doing somewhat better than his best friend, although he was so nervous, he was hiding behind his script.

"With a dreamy far-off look, and her nose stuck in a book." I sang my part; I immediately got why my friends had been so nervous; it's weird having all these people watch me; at least for my other song, I'd have an instrument to focus on, instead of all the eyes watching me. "What a puzzle to the rest of us, is Belle."

I moved to the piano, where the rest of the girls stood as Ashlyn stepped forward, singing her part, "Ooh, isn't this amazing? it's my favorite part because you'll see." She walked over to the rest of us; we all smiled at Ashlyn, playing along with her, except for the blonde girl from earlier Lily, who read her script intently. "here's where she meets prince charming, but she won't discover that it's him till chapter three."

The "Gaston's" were next, and then it was my turn to sing again; Ricky went first, deepening his voice slightly to sound more intimidating. Then EJ, who, as much as I hate to admit it sounded pretty good, he was the perfect fit for the role, not that I'd ever admit that to him; and finally Carlos went, his eyes wide as he sang his line.

"Madame Gaston, can't you just see it," Gina sang, sounding absolutely flawless, might I add.

"Madame Gaston, his little wife," Kourtney added, her eyes rolling with disgust.

Ashlyn, who stood beside her, held her hands out in an X shape, "No sir, not me, I guarantee it."

I took in a breath before singing my line, "I want much more than this provincial life." I sang, stepping forward slightly, as the boys joined us behind the piano.

Before I could sing the following line Lily, pushed past me, causing me to stumble back slightly. Whoever was behind me grabbed my arms, steadying me, "I want adventure in the great wide somewhere," I turn to look behind me to find EJ, already looking down at me; he drops his hands as soon as we make eye contact, but it hadn't even phased me. For one, this girl Lily has definitely done theater before; she was amazing. And two, she literally just pushed me out of the way; even if it hadn't been very hard, who does she think she is.

As we all started singing the final part together, Lily took the spot in the center; dramatically holding her arms out as she sang; Miss Jenn moved to stand in front of us as we wrapped up, excitedly clapping her hands once we'd finished.

"All right, all right, I've already learned so much," Miss Jenn smiled at us, letting out an excited laugh, "that's it for the warm-up; please prepare your individual songs."

I quickly walked away from the group, ignoring EJ's worried glances and Lily's not-so-humble acceptance of compliments that went flying her way. Even if her push had been weak, did no one else find it a little hostile?

"Rory," I sighed, ignoring EJ calling me, now walking through the hallways, "Aurora." This time his hand found a place on my shoulder, gently pulling me to stop, "are you okay?"

More people started entered the hallway, all too busy talking about their auditions to notice EJ and I, "I'm fine," I step back, brushing his arm off of my shoulder; I was not fine, what was I doing? I'm not cut out for this; I don't exude star quality like the other girls did; I'm making a fool of myself. "I just need some water."

I walked past EJ and over to the water fountain; not surprisingly, EJ follows behind, trailing behind me; I sighed as I turned the corner, finding Lily and Gina at the fountain; the blonde had her back to EJ and I, "what are you trying to say?" I could hear Gina ask her.

I should probably have stopped walking closer, but my feet don't stop, and neither do EJ's; until eventually we're a couple of feet away, able to hear the blonde girl's response. I lean against a locker, pretending to be busy, not that it mattered; she was facing away, and Gina was too busy glaring at her to notice EJ and I. "that we both know we're the only real contenders for the lead here. So, may the best Bella win... smiley face emoji."

I felt offended, but more so for Kourtney and Ashlyn, who deserved it just as much; also, smiley face emoji? Could this girl be any more annoying.

"Actually, my friends are incredibly talented." I smile at that, Gina from the beginning of last semester, probably would have reacted completely differently; I guess she's proof that some people can change for good.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry. I thought this was an audition, not a friendship circle. Good luck." She finally walked away from Gina, whose glare was easy to see, even from a few feet away.

I'd almost forgot EJ was with me, listening in on the conversation, "you're not gonna quit, are you?" He asked, causing me to look over at him, "cause that Lily girl may be good, but she definitely doesn't know what she's talking about; and Gina's right, you're really-"

I cut off his rambling, "I'm not quitting," I hold my hand up, gesturing for him to pause; I had been considering it, but Lily had made one vital point. In her mind, this was a competition, and I'm too competitive to quit and let her win. "I have to go work on my song," I stepped away from EJ, "break a leg, Caswell."

Can we take a minute to appreciate how competitive Aurora is...
And also how protective EJ is of her🥺🥺🥺