Euro High: A Eurovision High School AU

Chapter 8: The Real Deal Part 1

His eyes slowly opened, squinting in the shine of the bright light. Nikita sat up quickly, he was severely confused but as he saw his friends faces he felt safe. Then he saw Ari's stage attire and it all began rushing back to him.
"I-I fainted." He groaned, his mouth dry and his throat hoarse.
"Yeah, no shit." Kostya replied, trying to act casual while inside he felt so relieved that Nikita was okay.
"We got you straight to the nurses office as quick as we could!" Ari persisted nervously, "We were all really worried.
"Yeah the nurses couldn't find a makeshift stretcher or anything so I just had to carry you." Kostya sighed. Niki blushed but quickly brushed it off. It's what friends do right?

"I should've carried you really," Benji mentioned, "since I am the one getting A+ in PE all year round."
"Uh no!" Mikolas butt in. "I'm the one who does extra gym here."
"Well I still do care, I just didn't want to poke you with my spikes!" Ari added frantically. There was a heated discussion getting louder and louder until:
"Guys! Guys! It's fine, I don't care who did this or did that, I was unconscious, I couldn't care less!" Nikita shouted, the group abruptly stopped.
"So, you feeling okay?" Benji smiled.
"Yeah, I uh... got over heated..." he lied. Kostya looked at him, slightly unconvinced.
"You sure? I thought it would've been about the show. You seem a little more hectic and panicked lately. Do you need to talk to us?"

Nikita bit his lip cowardly, he didn't want to seem like he couldn't do it- he'd hate to spoil his friends' fun.
"No. I'm fine. I do it all the time, it's usually just at home. Well I did faint that one time in English..."
"Because you had to perform your poem." Kostya added, still very concerned for him. "Are you really sure you want to do this? You used to be really anxious about it and now you're acting the same way."
"I mean you've got three days 'til the show, you can drop out now if you really wanted to." Miki suggested, being as helpful as possible.
"No! I don't wanna drop out. A-and even if I did, that would be a shitty thing to do to you guys. I can and I will do this. I promise you." He said it cheerfully and confidently, so much so that he'd even convinced himself it was true for a while; but those three days went past before he could even realise.

Beep Beep Beep Beep. Niki slammed his hand onto the alarm clock. He rubbed his eyes, let out a yawn before he glanced over at the clock. 6:00 it read. He stared at it for a while, zoning out as mundane thoughts went through his mind- everything seemed pretty normal. That's when he concentrated on the clock a little too hard, spotting the date in the corner. His eyes widened. It was Friday, the live show, the real thing, the real deal. He quickly shot up, he didn't know wether he was excited or dreading it- his head and his heart seemed to be telling him different things and his whole body was beginning to become confused with the idea of the talent show. However he was feeling, he took a shower,got changed, ate his breakfast and dashed out the door.

Today they'd be out of classes all day just to practice, meaning he'd worn the white shirt with the long collar and the black pants and shoes; leaving the back piece in his backpack for ease. One side of him felt triumphant and ambitious to be performing that night while the other felt like curling up into a ball and whimpering at the thought of it. His inconclusive thoughts left him aimless, running towards The Five Guys' usual meeting stop; the running not being so necessary but his conflicting excitement making feel like it was needed. He locked eyes with Kostya as he saw him strolling up the street towards him. He took off his headphones and smiled.

"Big day today!" He chimed, hoping Niki had eased up to what he'd feared. Seeing him practically running up the street helped him think that was true.
"Yep!" He responded, exhausted from running but smiling as genuinely as he could. Niki couldn't comprehend wether it was a genuine smile or not- seeing as he still had no idea how to feel about the show anymore. They sat at the bus stop for a while, waiting for Ari and Mikolas to arrive and Benji to get off of his bus.
"Hello guys." The boys looked up. It was a voice they recognised but not from their clique; Matti. He was strutting down the street with Klemens, Einar, Miki and Ari.
"We thought we might stick around since we had to come over Ari's for his costume." Klemens said, fixing his hair. "Feeling excited?"
"Sure am." Kostya responded.

The bus soon arrived, Benji stepping off of it and The Five Guys plus Hatari walked to school, preparing for the big day- this was truly the real deal. As they entered the school gates, all eyes were on them, that was until they specifically began to gawk at Ari. No one beyond the contestants had seen him in his gothic BDSM attire: they were all so used to hoodies and blazers and polo shirts. Keiino even caught sight of them, Tom waved- running over to meet them.
"I'm so glad you guys have stuck around for so long, I think today is gonna go super well thanks to you guys."
"Aww gee." Ari blushed, flattered.
"I think it's going to be really tough competition, I never expected to have so many great acts. God help the people who have to vote!"
"Well we don't see it as a competition. It's just something new to try really. Who cares if we win anyway? This is a damn experience!" Mikolas protested. It was slightly over the top but inspiring never the less.

The rest of that day seemed to fly by. The Guys rehearsed their performances over and over, perfecting their voices along the way. Nikita couldn't keep his eyes off of the clock all day- it seemed like every time he took his eyes away just a second, a lifetime went by; bringing him closer and closer to the live show. He continued to stay calm however, determined to prove to his friends that he could do it. It felt repetitive after a while, the lyrics didn't seem like ones he had to remember, they just flowed out of his mouth automatically- it seemed to also entrance him in his performance, every step he took felt perfectly memorized.

"Alright guys, 15 more minutes then we'll start setting up!" Alex called, making all eyes turn to her. "It's almost 4 o'clock!" Some people began to cheer while others found this as an opportunity to take a bathroom break. Those 15 minutes struck Niki like lightning, he tried to make the most out of them, to cherish the moments he had to be away from the stage but those 15 minutes were nothing. Before he knew it, he was meeting up with the boys to help set up the main stage in the vast theatre in the centre of the school. They called over their lighting director- a fellow student named Donny Montell- to operate the lighting system and the pyrotechnics for the show. The stage was cleared, backstage was organized and the contestants were left, eagerly waiting for the theatre to fill up with excited students.

A lot of loud conversation could be heard beyond the curtains, the talking became louder and louder as the audience emerged from the wide, double doors.
"This is it!" Fred said excitedly, "Guys, get ready for your cue, remember the order and have fun!" Keiino sauntered out of the curtains stepping on stage. The whole room began to cheer as the lights dimmed and a bright blue spotlight hit centre stage. They began to sing, starting out facing back to back before they hit the chorus- dancing under the snow machines. The whole audience were on their feet- dancing and singing along. Benji peeked through the curtains, happy to see that the audience were reacting well to their performance but still hoping they'd like his act the same way.

As the song ended, the students cheered, whistled and clapped as the Keiino members bowed.
"How are you guys tonight?!" Tom announced into the microphone. The room began to cheer once again. He smiled as the spotlight hit his face. "We thank you all for making it tonight, it means so much to everyone involved in this show. Now we ask you to avert your attention to our amazing acts. Let us begin." He passed the mic to Alex.
"Contestants? Show us what you got..."