-2 weeks later-
Here I was, standing backstage. 10 minutes away from auditioning for Juilliard. This was it. I took deep breaths in and out. I was terrified.
"You've got this Aria." My mom smiled at me and gave me a hug. I silently ran through my piece over and over in my head. I felt like I was going to forget my words and ruin my whole audition. I tried to stay positive but it wasn't working. I knew my mom could tell that I wouldn't calm down.
"Sweetie stop thinking about the bad things that could happen. If you make a mistake then it's okay, just keep going. Just do what you do best and don't think about what other people might think. You'll do great." My mom gave me another hug, when the judges called my name.
"Aria Winters!" I felt hesitant to go out there.
"I hope this is what I really wanna do." I said to myself. I walked out and smiled at the judges.
"Hello my name is Aria Winters and I'm going to be auditioning to be a vocal major." The faces of the judges terrified me. They didn't look ugly or anything it's just, all judges scare me. They can be tough and mean, or they can be sweet. I opened my mouth and started to sing my piece along with the piano. All I could think of was what I would do if I didn't make it into Juilliard. I would have to go to my second choice, University of Central Florida. On the bright side, if I don't make it, I don't have to leave my hometown. It felt like I was singing for hours. It felt like the time moved slower. I looked at the judges faces every once in a while, and they seemed amused. I finally finished my piece, and I felt like I did good.
"Thank you." The judges said. I felt relieved. I walked over to the back of the stage where I saw my mom clapping silently. She had the biggest smile on her face.
"I'm so proud of you." My mom whispered.
-back at home-
It felt good to stare up at the stars again. I was glad that the audition was finally over.
"Ari!" I heard someone whisper. I sat up and looked across the street. It was Luke.
"Do you wanna chill at the Café? I have something to tell you."
"Sure, hold on." I walked into my room, grabbed my phone and my jacket, and walked to my moms room.
"Hey mom I'm gonna go to the cafe with Luke real quick."
"Hold up Ari." My mom got up from her bed and walked over to me.
"You should really tell Luke that you auditioned for Juilliard and that there's a possibility that you're gonna make it, which means that you're gonna move."
"Mom I really want to, but I'm so afraid. I try to tell him but I can't."
"Well at least try. Please? He's gonna find out eventually. The longer you wait, the more hurt he's going to be." I was silent for a moment.
"I'll try." I said quietly.
"I can't promise anything though." I let out a sigh and hugged my mom.
"I'll be back in a few." I waved goodbye and ran outside. I walked outside to the sight of Luke's smile. I walked up to him and planted a kiss on his soft lips.
"So what's this thing that you wanna tell me?" I felt super curious, hoping that his news wasn't anything bad.
"It's better if I tell you once we are in the cafe, that way I can look at you and have a full on conversation with you."
"Okay cool." I grabbed Luke's hand and folded my hand to his. All I could think of is how I was going to tell Luke about Juilliard. I probably won't be able to tell him.
-at the cafe-
"So, are you ready?" Luke took a sip of his ice coffee.
"I guess so." I gave him a soft smile.
"So, Calum, Ashton, Michael, and I made an official band." I covered my mouth in surprise. I let out a laugh.
"That's fucking awesome. What are you guys called?"
"Well, it took us a while to think of a name. We first thought of bromance but I thought that was really stupid."
"Yeah I think so too. I'm glad you guys didn't go with that name." I laughed.
"We are called 5 Seconds of Summer." I thought about the name for a second.
"That's actually very catchy. I like it." I took a sip of my mocha frappe.
"I'm glad you like it. We are actually working on some songs right now, just for fun."
"It would be awesome if you guys made it big in the future."
"Definitely." I looked down at my drink and thought about if I should tell him or not.
"Are you okay? You seem uncertain about something." Luke lifted my chin up so that he can see my eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I put on a fake smile. Luke let out a sigh.
"What is it?" He looked at me in the eyes.
"I-I... I'm sorry, I'm not ready to say." I looked away for a second hoping that he wouldn't get mad. He didn't respond. I looked at him again. He was staring at me, like he didn't know what to say.
"I'm sorry. I know I'm supposed to tell you everything, but this is hard for me to say."
"It's fine I understand." Luke let out a soft smile. Deep inside I knew it wasn't fine. I knew he was just worried about me, but I just couldn't say. It was too hard. Now he's going to find out in a way that's going to make him even more angry. I touched his hand and rubbed it with my thumb. I smiled at him.
"I really am sorry." I said softly.
"I know Ari. I know."
