Should Have Known (Camren)

Chapter 3

I couldn't calm my heartbeat down. I knew at that moment that she was the one from the booth. She was the one I had seen in the hallway on the night of my arrival. She was always so close to me, yet so far. If I had just gotten to know her a little bit, maybe I wouldn't have had the gut feeling that she was going to steal the competition right out from under everyone's feet. I could have been prepared for what I heard, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that her voice was just as breathtaking the second time around. No amount of preparation could have comforted me. I laughed under my breath as I remembered what she had said to me in the booth earlier in the day.

"How is it that I always end up going after you? I feel like I could never follow that."

Now it was my turn to follow her, and I knew exactly how she felt.

She finished her song and passed the microphone off to the next contestant who did the same, and eventually we were getting closer to my turn. Emblem3, the group that consisted of Wes, Drew, and Keaton went ahead of me, but I couldn't pay attention. All I could think about was how I was going to outshine Camila. What if I didn't outshine her at all? What if the judges placed us together to battle it out?

"Normani Hamilton," Simon called, causing me to lose my train of thought.

The African American girl from the hallway stood up to take her place and I actually listened, once again in a trance by another competitor. It made me feel a little better to know that Camila may have had some competition too, although part of me still wasn't so sure.

Dinah followed her, and again I was completely taken aback by the amount of talent she possessed.

I wasn't surprised in the least when the other, Hispanic looking girl from the hallway stood up when Britney called out, "Ally Brooke Hernandez," and again blew me away with her voice. Her small size and large voice didn't match, but the way they worked together gave her an undeniably adorable stage presence.

Keaton could sense the growing fear inside of me and placed a hand on my knee. "Hey, maybe you'll be like One Direction and they'll put all of you in a group. Then you won't even have to compete with each other. The best girls in the competition in one group."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "You haven't even heard me sing yet. You don't know if I'm any good. Besides," I said, looking around at the four contestants that stood out the most, "we wouldn't work well together. I can just tell. We're all polar opposites."

I heard Demi call my name before he could even respond and my breath caught in my throat, causing me to cough as I stood up. I regained as much of my confidence as possible as I made my way to center stage, telling myself that I wouldn't be there if I wasn't meant to be.

The music started before I even had a chance to regain my composure completely, but luckily I started on time, and I sang my audition song with not quite as much confidence but just as much talent as I originally had. It was over before I even knew it, and I let out a sigh at the sight of the judges who all nodded their heads in approval. I scanned the crowd for Keaton and decided to take an alternate route to him, careful not to fall and embarrass myself while I was already on edge. I traced the route with my eyes and started towards him, noticing that my path was going to take me right by Camila.

She's just a person, I thought to myself as I approached her.

Stop being ridiculous, just walk past her.

Don't be awkward. Just walk.

I inched closer and closer until I was finally upon her, stopping dead in my tracks when the contestant that was sitting in front of me stood up to take his place on stage.