★ Warning Mature Content ★
Asher Kells is a Rock Star and Rapper, complete with tattoos on nearly every inch of his thickly muscled body. He has a badass ability to play the guitar, and he sang like crush diamonds, amber whiskey, and smoke. While I...
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"Truce?" I asked Kyle after rehearsal. It was the lead-up to the second to last show. The theme for the show was a chance to sing with all three judges. We had to arrange a cover that would work for everyone. The judges had three different styles, blending was going to be hard. Everyone was psyched up, and no one wanted to go back to the hotel. Instead, the entire cast sat in the parking lot with a barrel bonfire and no cameras. The nine-to-five TV crew had already gone home for the night. Only the streaming cameras were waiting for us at the hotel.
Normally, I'm the first to leave or the first to not stay at the hotel if I have to choose, but this time I hung out. Asher was there, Zoey was there and everyone wasn't being set up to snip at each other. The vibe by the fourth song we sang together in full campfire sing-along was fun. Like band camp fun and not weird band camp sex fun, but normal band camp fun.
When I saw Kyle head to the small cooler of drinks, I followed him. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do. But I was sick of the passive-aggressive snipping and the casual hate from his fan base. Kyle looked up from the cooler after he got his drink. The disgusted look he gave me the night I rejected his offer filled his expression.
"Truce," I repeat it again. Then I extended my hand to Kyle.
"Seriously, we got off on a bad footing, but I'd love it if we could have a truce?" He really hasn't stopped doing low-key dick shit. Yeah, he's being a little ass, but he's young. Seventeen with all cameras on him and Paulie and Slither Records drooling all over him. His ignoring me sucked because we work together in a sense. The dirty looks weren't fun either. But what really sucked was the wild, ugly way his fans talked about me. His not saying shit about it was pretty damn unprofessional. But he's seventeen in a high-pressure situation. Plus, we got off on a weird foot.
Kyle took my hand and shook it. He smiled at me and relief filled his expression. Maybe he didn't know how to fix it either. "Sure, truce." He bobs his blonde head, yes and his British accent made the simple words sound fancy. We talked for a bit about music artists we both like and when he left to sit by Lucia, he passed by Asher. Lucia was right about Kyle. He wasn't perfect, but he wasn't totally awful. Just a really young kid in deep.
Asher came to sit by me, and with Zoey on my other side, it was magical. I wanted to extend this time and make it a new normal. Whispers of what it would be like on the road with Asher and Zo if we won. That imagined world where I could have more that seemed so unattainable. But maybe....
All of us sitting in the Arena parking lot on blankets around a barrel fire wasn't an everyday event. Asher, Camille, and Adam have professional, fancy, powerful careers in music. Even if the three judges were around our age. I kind of wonder if Asher ever did something like this. It's kinda PG singing along. It's very band kids but so damn fun.
"Did you settle it?" Asher asked me.
"Yep," I wanted to say more, but I was hesitant. We talk all the time but also we have this contestant distance. I can't figure out where I stand with him and the more I think about it, the more I think I'm over-analyzing things. It feels like the first year of college again and it's Wheelz again. And I can't explain to my new friends why I feel so old all the time... because it will bring the mood down.
