more for us | grayson dolan (book two)

thirty five

Now that Carter and I have set aside all of the lying and hidden truth to our lives, we have become closer than ever. That's the most important aspect of a partnership. You need to trust each other and not hold anything back.

With the showcase only days away, our rehearsals have been longer and harder than ever. I'm feeling really good about our upcoming performance.

Walking into the auditorium, I smile the second I see Carter in the back row. All semester he hasn't moved, which I love.

"The big weekend is days away." I happily state while sitting down next to him. He slightly jumps at my presence, which humors me. He should be used to me sneaking up on him by now.

"My throat has been killing me from singing so much." He groans while looking at me.

"Well, make sure your vocal cords are all ready for the showcase. We have no time to mess up." I remind him while shaking my head.

"I would never jeopardize this performance, trust me." I believe his words, he's been working his ass off on making this performance the best one yet.

My eyes scan the room, seeing Ian and Violet in their usual seats in the front row. "How's it going with Ian?" I lower my voice, making sure nobody can hear me.

"He's still very pushy, and extremely persuasive." Carter mutters while gulping.

"Don't feed into his bullshit." I roll my eyes while glaring at the black haired boy across the room. "You're better than that, Carter."

"I know. I'm trying to break out of his toxic cycle. I just want to meet a guy who likes me for me." His sad and trembling voice makes my heart break.

I never want Carter to feel down on himself when it comes to his sexuality, but he still seems unsure of this new territory of his life.

"You will, trust me." I reassure him with a tiny nod.

"All right class, settle down." Laura's voice suddenly speaks up. She's standing on the stage with a clipboard in her hand. I shift uncomfortably in my seat while staring directly at her.

"As you all know, this weekend is the mid-semester showcase. I know each of you have been working extremely hard and we can't wait to see your performances." She says with a wide smile.

"We want to give you the rundown on how things will be handled this weekend." Professor Hill chimes in, causing my attention to shift to him. "The showcase starts at seven pm, but we want you to get here around twelve, so you have time to get dressed and run through anything you need to."

"There is a dress code that you all should follow." Laura speaks up while clearing her throat.

"Girls, you must be wearing some sort of dress or gown. Boys, a suit and tie is preferred. We want each and every one of you to shine during your performances. Talent scouts and music producers will be in the audience. Juilliard's goal with this showcase is that your talent gets recognized as both singers and pianists."

"Plus the five thousand dollar prize. Judges will be rating the best performance." Professor Hill's words really sink into my brain.

This is the most important event of my life. Amazing opportunities can come out of this. Carter and I look at each other with slight nervous expressions. It's finally settling in that it's almost time to showcase all of our hard work.

"Today we are putting together an official order list in which the performances will take place. The opening and closing numbers are usually the most substantial."

"Violet and I want the opening spot." Ian quickly speaks up, giving the rest of the students no time to even process the information Laura is telling us.