Dance With Somebody [Discontinued]

Twenty-Seven

"Also, regarding auditions–"

"Wes, why do you seem so happy?" one of them interrupted.

He shook his head. "That's an inappropriate question at this time."

"You're not even angry at me, though. Normally you'd be all stern," they persisted.

Wes subtly rolled his eyes, and his face went stony as he picked up his gavel, pointing it at the boy. "Speak out of turn one more time and you'll be singing in a higher pitch."

The boy's eyes went wide and he nodded, promptly shutting up. They were all mildly afraid of how quickly he got angry.

"Alex, as you were saying," Wes said, setting down his gavel.

Alex picked back up again as if nothing had happened. "Auditions for the new Warblers start this Thursday and go until Tuesday. This leaves a weekend for people who are busy on weekdays and weekdays for those who leave for the weekends."

"If you know any Freshmen or anyone at all who would like to audition, we're always looking for new members," Thad added. "Remember, the criteria is that it's on one of those days, in person, and at least one council member is present."

Alex nodded. "Formal auditions give you the best chances; however, we do understand that some people want to audition to be part of a group and get stage fright when they're up alone. Only potential lead singers or soloists must prove their ability to preform with all the attention on them."

They ended the meeting after that. As soon as everyone left, Wes burst out laughing.

"What?" Thad asked.

"Their faces! They went from curious to, like, 'oh-shit-he's-pissed,'" he said through laughter.

"Wait, you weren't actually mad?"

"Of course not, Alex!"

"But you– you looked mad!" he protested. "It looked real!"

Wes shook his head, beginning to stop laughing. "I'm a pretty good actor."

"Is your boyfriend auditioning?" Thad asked.

Wes reddened. "What?"

"Is your boyfriend gonna audition?" he asked again.

"I don't have a boyfriend."

"Aw, c'mon. You're so happy and you can't stop smiling, it's obvious you two are official now," Thad said, laughing. "We all saw you making heart eyes at each other."

His blush deepened, but it wasn't bashful. "Shut up."

"Don't deny it. But is he auditioning? Is he gonna come support his lovely boyfriend? Is–"

Alex got up abruptly, grabbing his bag and leaving the room.

"Alex?" Thad called after him.

"Thad!" Wes hissed. "Stop saying shit like that around him! You're going to make him mad!"

"What do you mean?"

"He's got a crush on me," he whispered. "I don't want to upset him. And yes, David and I kissed, but you cannot tell anyone. My parents are super strict and homophobic, they'd kill me."

Thad frowned. "Okay, I won't tell anyone, but why are you so worried about upsetting Alex? He probably knows you're not into him."

"He knows, but I don't think he's accepted it." Wes got even quieter. "That's what the whole thing at the end of the year was about. He was drunk, and mad I wasn't paying attention to him. I didn't tell him what happened because I'm afraid of it happening again."

Any trace of amusement faded from Thad's expression, seeing the look on Wes's face. It was pure, unadulterated fear.

"Wes, what did he do to you?" Thad asked gently.

Wes swallowed, mouth dry. "He... He shoved me up against a wall and kissed me," he admitted. "I was terrified, but he didn't seem to care. It... The thought that he could do that is just..."

He shook his head, horrified. "You need to talk to him. That's not okay. It's– I can be there with you, if you're afraid to be alone."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Wes, of course I would. You're my best friend, I'm here for you."