Coming Home (A Ricky Wilson Fanfic)

Chapter 6.

I had waited for almost three hours and it still wasn't my turn to audition. I considered leaving but that wouldn't be fair to Ben. I had promised him that I would do my best and that I wouldn't be high on stage. The latter proved to be rather difficult. My hit from this morning felt so long ago. I craved another. I had brought some of the white stuff with me in my wallet and I nearly gave in when - "Jaime Lee Williams, Jaime Lee Williams, number 99876." 'Finally,' I thought. I followed the guy who had called me and was led backstage. "Wait here," he said. I stood there for what felt like another eternity with a cameraman walking around me. I sighed and looked at my trembling hands. "Are you nervous?" the cameraman asked. "As nervous as you'll expect I guess." I lied. I wasn't nervous. I knew I would fail and it was kind of a comforting thought. "Go," the man said.

I walked over to the stage. The people in the audience applauded courteously without even knowing if I would be any good. They soon would be laughing their asses off, I was sure of it. I was going to make a fool out of myself on national television and there was no one to stop me. I sat down at the piano and adjusted the microphone. I tested out a few keys and tried to sit as comfortably as I could. I felt my hands begin to sweat and I wiped them across my black skinny jeans before playing the first chords of the song I had chosen to perform.

"Help, I have done it again," I sang. I didn't pay attention to what was happening around me but some things I couldn't ignore. "I have been here many times before." The audience was really quiet. "Hurt myself again today. And the worst part is there's no-one else to blame." As I hit a high note the audience began to cheer and applaud. "Be my friend. Hold me, wrap me up." I felt a drop of sweat forming on my forehead. "Unfold me. I am small and needy." 'Just keep singing Jaime,' I thought to myself. "Warm me up and breathe me." More cheering and clapping. "Ouch I have lost myself again." My head was going to explode but I kept singing and worked my way to the end of the song. "Warm me up and breathe me," I sang the last sentence and looked up from the keys of the piano. The audience was giving me a standing ovation. They were making so much sound and I wanted them to stop. "Lovely, can you step in front of the piano so we can see you, please?" A voice tried to shout over the noise. I looked up and saw Boy George smiling at me. "Hi," he said, "What's your name?" The crowd quieted down enough for me to hear him properly. Before I could react another voice responded. "Her name is James." The blue-eyed man looked at me, "isn't it?" I looked at him and replied, "Jaime. It's actually Jaime Lee Williams." "Where are you from Jaime?" Boy George asked. "I'm from London." The crowd cheered once again. I didn't understand a single thing that was happening. "Do I hear a slight accent Jaime?" Paloma asked. "You might. I've lived all over the world." "That's dope, what were the last five places you lived?" Will.i.am questioned. I didn't really want to think about it, and I most certainly didn't think it was 'dope'. "Ehm... let me think... Cape Town, Perth, Marseille, Rotterdam and Leeds. Originally I'm from the Netherlands." I knew I had to answer, but I hoped they would move along with the questions quickly. "You lived in Leeds?" Ricky asked with a twinkle in his eyes. "We're all done for then," Boy George said smiling. I didn't understand why he said that.

"So you're a globetrotter with a beautiful throttle," the dark-skinned man said. What was he saying? "Oh my Will, you can do better than that!" The audience laughed at Paloma's remark. "I'm sorry for his rambling Jaime," Ricky apologised, "I love the way you sang that song and I would love to have you in my team." He paused for a second before continuing, "I don't have much to say about that performance, you made that song your own and turned it into a downright masterpiece, in my opinion." "I think Ricky is absolutely right about that. I do think that we have a bit of work to be done considering how nervous you looked up there," Boy George said. "Were you nervous Jaime?" Paloma asked. I had to think about my answer for a bit. "I wasn't really nervous, the lights here are just making me feel a bit hot." I hoped they believed my excuse for trembling and sweating like a nutter. "Do you want some water?" Ricky asked sounding a little worried. "No, I'm okay." I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. "Alright dear, you have to make a decision. Who will be your coach?" Boy George asked. I hadn't really thought about it. I thought about the advice Ben had given me. I looked at Ricky and contemplated choosing him. He seemed nice, but so did the other three. Which coach would bring out the best in me and wouldn't judge me when I came crashing down? "Jaime?" Will asked, "You have to make a choice now, girl." "I choose..." I paused and closed my eyes, "I choose Boy George." The audience cheered and clapped once again, making my head burst. I walked over to my coach and gave him a hug. When I walked out I heard Ricky say "You have a winner in your team man!" and I might have smiled a little at that.