The Boy Band Who Adopted Me!

Chapter 17 - The Ace of Hearts Revealed

The night before the show, while lounging in a living room in Wonderland, Gavin announced to everyone that I would be singing occasionally in Hearts for Sharks. The guys seemed excited at the idea, but a little skeptical at the same time.

"No, I know it sounds crazy, but just listen," Gavin said, taking Emmett's guitar out of his lap. He immediately launched into the ballad from the day I decided to 'join', without me knowing. I was startled, but managed to sing my way through the entire song. The guys didn't say a word.

When Gavin and I had finished, Cody started clapping and cheering overly loud, and the guys followed suit. Gavin handed Emmett his guitar back and took a deep bow in his seat. I just blushed and looked away.

"This is so sick!" Cody exclaimed. "Tomorrow night is going to be the best show we ever have!"

"Can you guys do that again for me in the studio?" Will said. "I want to put that on our EP to guarantee we sell out of them at the show."

Gavin and I beamed.

We ended up recording the same song again, and Will didn't need to edit it very much to make it album-worthy. The guys agreed it sounded great as it was. Cody flashed a flyer for the band in my face, which showed that we were opening for a popular local rock band. He tacked it onto the end of a playlist, and we all drove home. I went into detail in my diary that night, scribbling lyrics in the margins that described the happiness I felt.

In the morning, I walked into Creative Writing to see Will's head buried in his arms at his desk. His glasses were folded on the desk next to his coffee. I sat by him and tapped him on the shoulder, resting my chin on his desk.

"You tired?"

"I burned off 200 CDs last night. The good thing about being the manager is I don't have a performance to make, so I can pass out backstage if I want." He looked at me with sleepy eyes over his arm.

"Don't you have to be in charge of lighting?"

"Emmett paid a guy to do that. My hero." He closed his eyes again to sleep. Will was clearly very smart and had amazing grades, so the teacher left him alone. I took my hoodie off and draped it over his shoulders and head so the light wouldn't disturb his sleep, then did my work, eager to get the day over with.

We did nothing but squirm in our seats at lunchtime, excited for the end of the day. Music appreciation had the same amount of antsy excitement; I was barely able to get my work done. When the bell rang, we all whooped and clapped, running to Will's van. He'd already picked up the necessary equipment from Wonderland, and it was piled into the trunk, with smaller speakers littering the car. I sat with a speaker in my lap, and Jamie's own bass was strapped to the back of his seat.

"Here we go, guys," Gavin said, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. Cody was bouncing up and down in his seat.

"Ohmigosh ohmigosh I'm so excited," he said, each syllable following the next in quick succession. I sat between him and Emmett, who passed his phone to me to give to Cody. It was opened to Pokemon.

"Calm down, catch me that Snorlax," he said in his usual silky voice. Cody gave a determined look to Emmett and a wink as he leaned forward to concentrate on the battle. I reclined in my seat; Will said it would be an hour-long drive.

"Will, do you want me to drive?" Gavin said. "I know you're pretty tired."

Will looked back at Gavin with gratefulness. "Please?"

They switched seats. Gavin plugged his iPod into the van's audio jack and cranked up instrumental versions of some Hearts for Sharks songs they would be playing so that he could practice singing. Will slumped over in his seat, clearly asleep. Cody put down Emmett's phone long enough to drum on the back of Will's seat for a little while. I just relaxed and watched the guys have fun.