Dreaming In Stereo

Part 2 - And Then There Was Chris

Chris lay on the soft window seat in his room, with his knees folded up against the opposite wall. A beautiful brown guitar was strapped across his bare shoulder, and Chris absentmindedly started strumming against the notes. The strings vibrated into beautiful tunes that seeped into Chris's ear. He closed his eyes and leant his head back. When Chris reopened those dark brown eyes, the whole world had illuminated into a brilliant white light streaming through the large glass window.

Chris tapped a hand against the side of his guitar. He stood up and started to sing a couple notes to himself.

"When your legs don't work like they used to before..." Chris sang, setting his guitar down against a whitewashed wall. "And I can't sweep you off of your feet..."

"Will your mouth still remember the taste of my lips... Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?"

Chris arrived at his wardrobe door. It creaked open and he rifled through a crumpled pile of clothes for a few seconds before pulling out a white tee shirt and a blue jacket hanging on a wooden hanger. Chris pulled a plain white tee shirt over his face, and stood for a few moments, shirtless, staring at himself in the mirror. He was tall and well-built for thirteen years old. Messy black hair swept across his face. He saw the reflection of himself in the deep ends of his brown eyes.

Chris slipped into a striped tee shirt and a blue jacket, and pulled on some khaki trousers. He then closed the door and made his way down the stairs to the dining room. Both his parents were already up.

His mum was sitting on a high wooden chair. A thin hairband pushed back streaks of black hair. Her freshly painted nails clenched tightly on a white mug splashed with an explosion of crayons and paint. There was her and Chris pictured on it, drawn in squiggly stick-men, and even messier handwriting from baby Chris. She sipped some of her rich, dark coffee and then placed the mug back onto the marble table top.

His dad was flipping through an old newspaper. A tall glass of pulp-infested orange juice sat in front of him, and Chris shuddered slightly. He opened the fridge door and examined its contents. There wasn't much. Most of it was cleared out.

"There's some pancake mix next to the pan," His mum called out.

"Oh," Chris walked over and saw the pancake mix sitting in a large glass bowl. "Yeah."

He added some oil to the pan and turned on the fire, and let the oil swim around the pan for a while before picking up a spoon and dribbling the pancake mix down into the pan. It automatically rippled into a large circle. Chris waited until the edges were turning a beautiful golden brown, and then flipped it over. Perfect.

"So how are you feeling?" His mum asked.

"Okay, I guess," Chris replied. "I don't know, mum. I hope I do well..."

"You're up against the two Jacks, aren't you?" asked Chris's mum. He nodded. The two Jacks were both younger than him, Jack Lyall and Jack H, and they were both extremely talented singers. Everyone on the show was talented. Chris was glad to have made it this far and he hoped the Maddens would take him even further.

"Wake me up," Chris said.

"That's the song." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Chris's parents had heard him practising it so many times that the lyrics were now rooted into their brains as well their son's.

"So wake me up when it's all over," Chris sang. "When I'm older and I'm wiser."

His parents groaned while simultaneously grinning slightly. "I'm never going to be able to get that song out of my head, am I?"

So much had happened in the past few weeks. The cameras... the music... the Maddens... and all his friends he'd met on the Voice Kids. Although it was too early to say, Chris had a feeling that him and the other boy Ethan were probably the closest friends on the Voice Kids. Chris met Ethan on the very first day.

Chris controlled his breathing. He was sitting on a single armchair humming nervously to himself. Across him was Ethan, sitting on a plush sofa in between Isabella, an eleven year old girl, and Jamie, who was thirteen as well. They were all in the same battle, Team Delta, singing Story of My Life.

The kids sat for a while in the waiting room, making half-hearted jokes. Then, a couple of people came in.

"Chris? Jack L and Jack H?" They called. "You're up."

Chris stood up and slowly and walked to the door. They spent about thirty minutes in a separate room doing hair, make-up and giving Chris a well functioning microphone. Then, Chris was led onto the stage. The cameras started to roll, the music played, and the boys started to sing. Jack Lyall went first, and then Jack H. Chris stood there grinning at the other two boys, waiting for his turn. He tapped his foot, and smiled.

"So wake me up when it's all over," Chris burst out, stepping forward. "When I'm wiser and I'm older. All this time I was following myself when I didn't know I was lost."

Jack repeated the chrous, and then Christ started again.

"I tried carrying the weight of the world," Chris sang. "But I only have two hands. Hope I get to travel the world, but I don't have any plans."

Jack bursted out with the chorus, and Chris waited for his final line.

"I didn't know I was lost, oh, I didn't know I was lost..."

Chris stood on the stage, waiting. Watching. Applause bursted out. He smiled, standing next to the other two boys. The judges made their comments, and Chris waited somewhat impatiently for the results. Would he...? Could he...?

"Chris." It was the last word of the sentence, but it was the only word that Chris's ears could catch. His name. Him. Going through.

He felt the camera focus on his face as his eyes widened in shock and happiness. The audience bursted out with a round of applause, as did the other judges. He warmly embraced the other two judges, grinning proudly as he did. No. It must've been a dream. But, no. No. It was real, it was happening. He was through.

So. I finished writing this part last night but then totally forgot to publish it, so here it is. Hope you guys enjoy it! Mr Delgado next, although this will be purely fictional, since i have no idea what he was doing when he was thirteen. I asked this question on my Instagram, but here it is again: Should I do separate short romance/fanfic about the boys separately? Like an Ethan one and a Chris one and  a Jakob one? Comment with ideas, and remember to vote if you enjoyed it! Again thanks for reading, sorry for the long message!