Out of Tune: The Original 2015 Draft

chapter 20

And I will sing with my soul that my song should echo in thy heart for eternity—Emilie Petersen

The next week passed with surprising ferocity. It hardly felt as if a day had gone by, but suddenly I found myself in the backroom of The Boathouse, getting ready to perform in front of the scout from Starr Records. I didn't have much recollection of the past week. Just a lot of school, work and rehearsing. Not to mention the fact that the guys and I were planning something super special and super secret for tonight, which required even more rehearsing than normal.

To put it lightly, we were all stressed and exhausted and the show was about to start.

Throughout the week, Spencer had been spending much less time with me than what would have expected. You would think that living in the same house meant that we would see each other nearly twenty-four-seven but it was oddly surprising how little we saw each other. I knew that it was in part because he was avoiding me—that little factoid had become only too clear after he'd come back down to join us after my conversation with the rest of the guys regarding his, and my, feelings.

The only time we spent with each other consisted of the hours spent rehearsing, the drives to and from school, and a few meager passing's in his house. Other than that, he kept mainly to his room and I tried to let him have his privacy. I'd been constantly hanging out with Taylor and the rest of the guys without Spencer. To the best of his knowledge, it was only Taylor I was with, but I'd needed the guys' help planning a way to open up to Spencer and that whole plan revolved around the knowledge that he had no idea what was happening.

Spencer's evasion of me made me feel surprisingly empty. I had never really realized how much I'd come to depend upon him in the past few months but the void in my chest proved what he really meant to me. At times, it was as if I was wandering around directionless, not knowing where it was I was coming from or where I should be going. I hadn't reached my destination yet either, but hopefully tonight, that was all going to change.

In the backroom of The Boathouse, Zeke, Charlie, Miles, Taylor and I were getting everything ready for the show. Spencer was currently MIA. He'd made an appearance to tune his guitar and do a quick run-through of the set before he'd taken off, but that had been nearly forty-five minutes ago and he was still nowhere to be found. Charlie and Zeke were growing increasingly tenser while Taylor and I did everything we could to keep them from freaking out too much. Miles was off in the corner of the room, phone out, trying to locate his best friend.

"What if he doesn't show?" Zeke asked.

"He will," I said with certainty. "It's Spencer. He wouldn't dare to not show."

"A's right," Miles said though his tone held less conviction then mine did. "This means too much for Spencer to skip out.

As if he'd been waiting for a cue to come in, Spencer waltzed in through the door. He was dressed handsomely in a pair of black jeans, a red and white striped shirt and black converse. I'd never tell him, but in a way, he kind of looked like a hot Waldo, from the Where's Waldo? books but without the dorky hat and round glasses. Since we'd started performing on a larger scale, I'd seldom even seen Spencer in his glasses. I did miss them. They reminded me of the guy he was when we'd first met. The guy who was too scared to stand up to Kyle and Michael. The guy who told me I needed a Nerdication. The guy who played music just because he loved it.

I missed that guy. And above anything else that happened tonight, I hoped that our plan would help bring that Spencer back to me.

"You guys ready?" Spencer asked. He directed his question at the three boys, avoiding my gaze entirely.