Once Upon A Song

Chapter Six

"Again!" Adrien bellowed, and I grimaced, wiping beads of sweat off of my forehead.

"Seriously?' I groused.

Adrien narrowed his scathing emerald eyes at me. "Seriously. You're completely out of tune. You sound wretched."

"Well, excuse me," I snapped in annoyance. "I've been under a lot of stress lately. Give me a break."

"Stress?" Adrien repeated in disbelief. "You're a fucking celebrity now, get used to it. I'm sick of you bitching like a little girl. Seriously, man up."

I rolled my eyes, swiping a lock of hair out of my face.

"Whatever," I growled, ratherly lamely. 

"Dude, chill," Trey spoke up, taking a swig of water and tossing me a bottle. "He's doing his best."

"His best isn't good enough!" Adrien snarled. "He sounds nothing like he did when he won that bloody contest. It's like he's a completely different person!"

I choked on my water, and Adrien's eyes widened.

"Did you cheat?!" 

"What?" I sputtered. "N-no! Of course not!"

Adrien looked at me in disbelief. "Oh my God, you did."

"I didn't!"

"Adrien," Trey said calmly. "He sounds the same to me. Right, Charlie?"

Charlie looked at us all anxiously, clearly eager to avoid any sort of drama or conflict. "Uh, yeah. He sounds the same. Totally."

Adrien looked unconvinced. 

"I'm just...I'll do better, I promise," I said, desperate to convince him. I waited tensely, hoping my cover wasn't about to be blown.

Adrien finally let out a martyred sigh, tearing his scornful gaze from me.

"Take it from the top."

Relieved, I turned away and began to sing.

                                                                 ........................

"So how's it going with the guys?" Alexander asked, taking a huge bite of his hamburger. We were sitting in a crowded diner, eating lunch. 

"Well, Trey and Charlie are really nice and have been incredibly helpful, but Adrien...well, I'm pretty sure he hates me."

Alexander shrugged, pouring a ridiculous amount of ketchup on his fries. 

"That kid hates everyone. Don't worry about it. The good news is your rating is sky-high. Girls fucking love you, kiddo."

I grimaced, my vanity stinging a little.  "Great. Glad to know I pass as a guy so well."

"A hot guy," Alexander corrected, shoveling soggy fries into his mouth.

"Right," I said, watching in fascination as several bites of potato salad followed the fries. This man sure could eat. 

"Anyway, how ready are you for the concert?"

I poked dejectedly at my limp salad. "I've been practicing every day, but I don't think I sound like Justin. I sound too...girly."

"Well, that's not too bad. Your voice is very sweet. It mixes well with Adrien's deep vocals."

"I guess," I replied. "Have you heard from Justin lately?"

Alexander frowned. "No, he's refusing to take my calls. But the staff at the rehab facility he's in said he's making great progress."

"Thank God," I said. "But what are we going to do if I perform a concert sounding like a girl and then he comes back, sounding like..a guy?"

Alexander chugged down his coke, unconcerned. 'We'll just say you...I mean, he, finally hit puberty."

I winced. "Wow. Bet he'll love that."

"Who cares?" Alexander said jovially. "We're doing him a favor here! He better be grateful!"

I fervently agreed, hoping Alexander knew what he was doing.

                                                             .....................

"Hey, Justin," Trey greeted me casually as I pushed open the front door to the boys' house. 

"Hey," I replied, tossing my keys onto the side table. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. I was just about to go for a walk. Care to join?"

"Um, sure," I said. Trey shot me a lazy grin, running a hand through his pale blonde hair.

"Right on. Let's go, then."

I followed him back out the front door and down a winding stone path that soon gave way to the golden sand of a beach. 

"So..." I said awkwardly. Trey glanced at me, his crystal blue eyes amused.

"Yeah?"

"I dunno." I tried not to notice how the late afternoon sun lit up his glossy golden hair.

"Okay, then," he said, laughter clear in his voice.

We walked on in silence, the sound of the lapping waves and gulls echoing around us. 

"How do you like being in the band?" Trey asked me.

I shrugged. "It's way more work than I thought it would be," I admitted ruefully.

He chuckled. "Yeah, it is. You're doing great though."

"Thanks." I wasn't convinced he was telling me the truth, but I let it go.

He shot me another lazy grin, and I felt butterflies flutter in my lower abdomen. I averted my eyes, focusing intently on the sand crunching underneath our feet. But I couldn't help shooting little glances at Trey when he wasn't looking. He was so damn hot.

The sudden realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

I liked Trey.

Like, really liked. And he thought I was a boy.

Great. Story of my life, I thought miserably, glaring balefully at the ocean. I would just have to ignore these feelings.

Trey grinned at me again, and I sighed, knowing it was going to be easier said than done.