Strings (A Reed Deming Fan Fiction)

2

I continued to bang on the door. I stopped and realized that there was another door that led from my room into the bathroom.

I snuck into my room and giggled before slamming the door open into the bathroom. He wasn't in there! How could he not be in here?! I looked around the bathroom. "Reed?" I called. I heard a mumbled moan come from behind me. I moved the door and saw that Reed was behind the opened door and I had crushed him when I opened it. I immediately cracked up.

I laughed at him as he rubbed his face. "Oww, Kayleigh. It's not funny! That really hurt..." he groaned. "Hey. That's what you get when you post pictures of me sleeping on the internet." I warned trying not to laugh.

* * * *

I ran down the stairs trying not to trip over my own feet. "Mom!! Dad!! Parker!! Come here!!" I called from the living room, excited to tell them the news. "Calm down, Kay. What is it?" Mom asked sitting on the couch. Once everyone was sat down, I took a deep breath.

"Okay. So I was online and I saw this ad for the X Factor so I clicked it. I thought about how you guys have said that I'm a good singer, so..." I paused, "I signed up to audition in Austin." I said holding my breath to see their reactions. "Oh my goodness, Kayleigh!! I can't believe this!! You are going to do a beautiful job!!!" Mom ran off the couch and hugged me. Dad and Parker jumped up to hug me too. "My sister's gonna be on TV!!" Parker laughed.

"You should go tell Reed!" Dad said. I smiled at him and ran out the door. I saw Reed running toward me too.

"I have to tell you something!!" We both exclaimed at the same time. "You go first!" we yelled at the same time again. We laughed. "Reed! You go first!" I yelled anxiously.

"Ok... So I signed up to audition for the X Factor!!" He explained, grinning. My anxious grin immediately vanished. "You what?" I asked with wide eyes. "I'm auditioning for the X Factor in Austin!!!" he cheered waiting for my reaction. I stood there staring at him with wide eyes.

We can't both audition at the same time! I could never compete against him! That would be so awkward! What if it ruined our friendship? What if I beat him and he got so mad at me that he never spoke to me again? What if I lost him like I lost Kristine? All these thoughts were running through my head and I had forgotten that Reed was right there.

"Kayleigh...?" he waved his hand in front of my face. I snapped out of it and blushed. "Oh my god, Reed! You're gonna do amazing!!! I can't believe it!!" I cheered and hugged him trying to hide my nervousness. I'm definitely backing out of this. I can't do it if Reed does it too. I can't beat him. I can't even compete against him. In P.E. when we play a certain sport, Reed and I always have to be on the same team, otherwise I'll find an excuse not to play. I get too nervous competing against him. I don't know why, I mean, we're so close.

"Oh yea! What was it you wanted to tell me?" he asked, pulling away from the hug and looking directly into my eyes. For some reason, when he did that, I got butterflies in my stomach. It was just the way he looked into my eyes, it made me feel... nervous, excited. I looked away from him, blushing a little and trying to brush off the feeling.

I realized that I couldn't tell him about my audition. I'm gonna back out anyways so there's no point in telling him. "Uhhh..." I stalled, looking at him and thinking of something to tell him. "I got Stairway to Heaven down on the guitar!" I sighed in relief, glad that I thought of something.

"Wow, Kayleigh! You've been trying to get it like all year! That's so awesome!!" he cheered as he hugged me. "Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked. I looked at him for a second. I noticed his red cheeks. "Yeah." I smiled at him.

We turned and started walking side by side down the road. I can't believe he's auditioning. He's gonna do amazing. His voice is so beautiful and strong and passionate... I can't do it. I can't audition. That's it. I'm gonna blow the audition... but this could be my chance to be known, to be heard. Singing is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Singing is how I express my feelings. When Kristine died, I never stopped singing. I sang and sang until my voice became numb, and even then I kept singing. Maybe I will audition...