"So we have called you up here because the crowd seemed to love you guys, or maybe there was just something special about your audition that we thought could stand out. Either way we are very happy for you to be here, but we've only got about an hour for all of these interviews to be filmed, so we are going to get started right away with number 304, right this way." The man seemed calm and collected as he lead the attractive boy down the hall into a room that i assume was set for interviews.
The rest of the contestants that were being interviewed didn't really talk to eachother. We were all pretty nervous, I'm assuming. My parents still don't know I'm here and now I'm being interviewed. There's no way my parents aren't going to hear about this, even if I don't make it to the next round.
A few minutes later contestant 304 came back, a smile on his face. "What are you so happy about?" I suddenly blurt out, not thinking about what I had just said to this stranger.
"Oh well Hi to you too 320," The boy points to my number. He looks to be about 18, maybe a year or two older. "And nothing really, just the fact that we could be on our way to LA pretty soon."
I hadn't though about what I would do if I even made it to LA. Would my parents let me go? Would they want to come with me? I'm not even 18, I doubt they would let me go alone.
"What's your name?" I ask, pointing to his number. "You know, so I can stop calling you 304." I now recognized him as the boy from before, the only other contestant before Ava and I to get much applause. Probably because he was pretty attractive, but I wonder how his singing voice is.
"Marcus," He said, holding his hand out to shake. "I'm 19 by the way, and you? Or should I keep calling you 320?" He smirked.
"Hadley, or 320 from now on I guess. I'm 17," I took his outstretched hand and shook it. "How was the interview?"
"It went really well I think, but I'm pretty nervous about this whole thing. You know how many people are getting cut next round, even if we do make it there's an even smaller chance that we can go on to the next round where they don't put us in big groups like this," Marcus seemed to have the odds all figured out, but maybe our interviews would boost our popularity with the crowd.
"320! You're up!" The man called my number ad waved his hand. I quickly excused myself from talking with Marcus and followed him. "So we are going to make this pretty quick so that you guys can get back to the judges and hear the results."
"Okay," I say, unsure of what else to do. I follow the camera man in scilence as he leads me to the small room down the hallway. The walls are painted a redish color, and the white sofa is quite the contrast. I sit down in the middle of the couch as they refocus the cameras which point on me.
"So you're just going to start by saying how you are feeling, wether you're nervous about the results or not, and most importantly- why you're here," The camera crew started setting up as a woman came by and swipped some nude gloss across my lips. She asks me to close my eyes and I do so. I feel her quickly swiping shadow across my nearly nude eyelids.
I stop to think, why am I here really? What will seperate me from anyone else who has ever auditioned for this show? I guess I came here to sing and have fun, but being famous would be pretty cool aswell.
"Remember," The camera man says right as I open my eyes. "Why are you here, are you nervous? And when John over here clips the board together, you can start." He turns to John and gives him a thumbs up, which causes him to begin rolling the camera.
"My name is Hadley Lessa, I'm 17 and I'm from Pennsylvania," I took a small breath. "I'm here with my- my um- my best friend Jack." I suddenly remembered Jack and tensed up.
"Okay, let's try that last part again. Is this Jack boy not your best friend? I would sound a bit more happy when you mention him," John's boss says, peeking out from behind the camera.
"Oh, haha yeah of course," I laugh it off, and when I say things the second time, everything sounds perfect.
"Alright, now we've got one more thing," John says, as his boss repositions the camera. John smiles a tiny bit and points at me. "This is going to be great don't worry."
The red light on the top of the camera flashes, meaning it is recording me. They didn't tell me to do anything- panic flashe across my face. Without warning, Jack comes through the doorway and I don't know wether to cry or scream. Considering I'm telling people he is my best friend, I run up to him and hug him.
He smells just like he always does, with his collogne filling my nose. It's a comforting smell that reminds me of home, even in this large, mostly metal building. (which by the way, didnt feel like home at all)
"Alright we're done here, so Miss Lessa, you can go back to the room now. We'll give you a minute with your friend first." John said, helping pack up cameras and other lighting equiptment.
I didn't really know how to feel about Jack anymore. Of course we were still friends, but the fact that he wants to be something more scares me just a little bit. What if he just treats me like all those other girls he flirts with?
"You did amazing Lee," He uses the nickname that Cara and him had given me back in middle school.
"Thanks Jack," I half mumble, still upset. "It um- it means a lot that you were here." I rock back and forth on my feet with my hands infront of my body.
"Are you okay?" Jack asks, stepping foward and touching my arm. I pull away slightly.
"Okay?" I ask again. "What makes you think I would be okay? You take me to the audition that could change my life forever and then right before I go in you- you kiss me? Did you ever think I didn't want you to do that?"
"Well you never said no! Don't think Cara didn't tell me that you were into me, she could just tell and so could I. I don't understand why you wouldn't want to be with me when I've always been there for you!" Jack has a look of hurt plastered across his face.
"You flirt with everyone Jack! I don't want to be another girl you play with okay? I don't want to loose you as a friend because you want to be more, please hear me out," I feel a sudden pang of guilt and choke to get the last few words out.
"I'm afraid you already have. Good luck Hadley, when you're done pretending to be the next big thing let me know okay?" Jack turns around without saying another word. Did I really just loose my best friend over this?
As the tears begin to drip down my face, Marcus and Ava run into the hallway.
"The results are in! Room 2 just got eliminated so it's between us and room 3! we've got a 50% chance!" Marcus yells, never failing to put in a bit of math into what he says.
50% chance? Maybe I won't just be pretending to be the next big thing.
*Author's Note Below
Sorry this is kinda shorter than usual but iit needed to end here because the next chapter things are going to pick up. 5 Seconds of Summer is coming into the story within the next two chapters or so, so keep an eye out for them :)
Thanks for reading!
