Tiny Voices (A Calum Hood fanfic)

chapter one

-Brooke's POV-

I sat in my seat, bouncing my leg up and down impatiently with my guitar by my side. I can't believe my friends had convinced me to do this. I was playing with the edges of my shirt nervously.

One of the attendants called out the next name and the guy sitting beside me got up and walked with the attendant down the corridor. I moved up a chair and took the place that the guy had just been sitting on.

"So, are you nervous?" said the girl next to me. I jumped at the sound of her voice because I was so concentrated, making her laugh.

"Sorry, I was just lost in my own thoughts," I said, laughing with her. "Yeah, I am nervous. I haven't really sung in front of an audience before".

"Wow. And you picked The Voice to be your first performance? That's really brave," she said, making me frown slightly. "It genuinely is though, I wasn't like being sarcastic or trying to make you feel worse or anything," she said defensively, in reaction to my face, probably.

"Okay, you ready?" said the attendant who had just reappeared at my side. I nodded slowly, grabbed my guitar and stood up.

"Good luck," said the girl I was sitting beside, "I'm sure you'll smash it".

"You too," I smiled at her.

I walked with the attendant down a brightly it corridor and into a small 'green room' type place. I had to give a brief interview, saying my name, the song I was singing and what winning a competition like The Voice would mean to me etc., then they took me out of the room and stood me in the wings of the stage and I peeked around the corner.

The guy who had been previously sitting beside me was onstage, rapping. He was alright I guess, but his voice wasn't that strong or powerful and none of the judges had turned around yet. The song ended and no judges had turned around. I looked away from the stage and squeezed my eyes shut, taking deep breathes. I must have stood like that for a good 5 minutes. It felt like an eternity.

"You can go on now," said the attendant encouragingly. He nudged me forward a bit.

I looked at him and swallowed. My heart was beating so fast and so hard I thought it might actually beat out of my chest. I moved out into the blinding strength and heat of the stage lights. I couldn't see anything past the judge's chairs, which was probably a good thing.

I took a few deep breathes and told myself to just pretend I was in my room by myself. My palms were getting sweaty, making holding the miniscule guitar pick hard. I was taking a risk singing a song that I'm not entirely sure the judges would know, but I really loved the song and I've been told that it "flaunts" my voice, whatever that means.

I waited for the familiar first new notes to ring out in the venue from my guitar and I started to sing. Shakily. I closed my eyes and continued.

"Every night replayed over and over," I sang, squeezing my eyes shut because I felt the emotion that the song was written with as my voice sang them. I didn't feel as if I were standing in front of a lot of people. I really did feel like I was alone in my bedroom, singing along to the original version of the song. I'm not sure if that was a good or a bad thing yet.

I launched into the next verse, improvising falsetto to show off my voice slightly. Then, the loudest noise interrupted me and reminded me I wasn't alone, making me jump slightly. I opened my eyes, still singing, to see Danny O'Donoghue standing on his platform, waving his hands in the air. I kept singing, my confidence boosted slightly. Then, Will.I.Am turned around, sitting down with his brow furrowed and eyes closed in concentration.

I reached the end of the song, and applause burst out all around me, like a wall of sound on every side. I shook my head in disbelief and brought my hands up to my face, hiding the hint of embarrassment I was feeling.