Outside Work We... •[TNN One-shots]•

Karaoke •|| EVERYONE ||•

Prompt: Everyone witnesses a once in a lifetime event... Again.

It was another chaotic Friday night at Autumn and Winter’s house. The usual suspects—Reece, Marjorie, Mia, Charlotte, Autumn, Winter, Sorcha, and Clodagh—were gathered in the living room, drinks in hand, the energy buzzing with laughter. Tonight's entertainment? Karaoke.

Everyone had taken a turn, some more successfully than others. Marjorie belted out a surprisingly decent rendition of "Dancing Queen," and Sorcha had given her all with "Bohemian Rhapsody," though she forgot half the lyrics. Reece had butchered "Eye of the Tiger," but he made up for it with his over-the-top air punches.

Autumn, however, had stubbornly stayed on the couch, nursing her glass of wine with a disinterested expression.

“Come on, Aut!” Marjorie begged, grabbing the microphone and holding it out like an offering. “You’ve got to do at least one song!”

Autumn shot her a withering look. “Pass.”

“Oh, come on!” Sorcha chimed in. “You can’t just sit there like the Grinch who stole karaoke. Everyone’s gone except you!”

“I’m good,” Autumn replied dryly, sipping her wine.

Mia smirked, exchanging a glance with Reece. “Are we really going to let her off the hook that easily?”

Reece leaned back, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “Autumn, you’ve got two choices. Sing one song… or we show the video.”

Autumn froze mid-sip. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at her brother. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, I would,” Reece said, pulling his phone from his pocket. “It’s right here, Aut. One click, and everyone gets a front-row seat.”

“Wait, what video?” Sorcha asked, perking up.

“You’ll find out if she doesn’t sing,” Reece teased, waving his phone.

The rest of the group erupted in excited murmurs, now even more invested in the standoff. Autumn groaned, setting her wine down. “Fine. One song. But if you show that video, Reece, I swear—”

“Yeah, yeah,” Reece said, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

Autumn stood, grabbing the microphone with a resigned sigh. She scrolled through the options until she found "I See Red" by Everybody Loves an Outlaw.

The moment the music started, the room went quiet. And then Autumn began to sing.

Her voice was raw and powerful, full of emotion that seemed to pour out effortlessly. The sultry tone, the growls, the intensity—it was mesmerizing. No one spoke, no one moved; they were too stunned by the sheer talent Autumn had kept hidden all these years. Even Winter, who knew almost everything about her, stared with wide eyes.

By the time she finished, the room was dead silent for a beat before exploding into cheers and applause.

“WHAT THE HELL, AUTUMN?!” Marjorie shouted. “You’ve been holding out on us!”

“That was incredible!” Charlotte said, practically bouncing on the couch.

Autumn handed the microphone back, her face slightly flushed. “There. I sang. Can we drop it now?”

“No way,” Sorcha said, still clapping. “You’re singing every Friday night from now on!”

“Don’t push your luck,” Autumn muttered, grabbing her wine.

Reece, however, couldn’t help himself. “That was amazing, sis. But, uh… I still think everyone needs to see this.” With a wicked grin, he tapped his phone, and the TV screen lit up with a grainy, low-quality video.

The group leaned forward as the video played.

In it, a much younger Autumn, wearing a black tank top and ripped jeans, spun clumsily around a pole in what appeared to be a college dorm. She was laughing hysterically, clearly tipsy, and her movements were anything but graceful. At one point, she attempted an elaborate spin, only to fall flat on her butt.

The room erupted into laughter.

“Oh my god, that’s still GOLD!” Mia howled, clutching her stomach.

“I can’t breathe!” Clodagh added, tears streaming down her face as she remembered the night the video was taken.

Autumn glared daggers at Reece, who was still laughing, completely unrepentant. Without a word, she grabbed her empty wine glass and hurled it at his head. Reece ducked just in time, the glass shattering harmlessly against the wall behind him.

“Okay, okay! Truce!” he said, holding his hands up.

“You’re dead, Reece,” Autumn growled, advancing toward him.

Reece bolted, the others still howling with laughter as Autumn chased him out of the room.

“That was worth every second,” Mia said, wiping her eyes.

“Best Friday night ever,” Marjorie agreed, raising her glass.

And as the laughter continued, everyone silently agreed they’d just witnessed a truly once-in-a-lifetime event… again.

[A/N: Someone take my phone away from me. Or make my teachers come in for class.]