treacherous | ethma

14

TWO MONTHS LATER
Ethan

"Are you ready?" Emma asked, smiling as she straightened the collar of my shirt. I smiled.

"I am. This is going to be so much fun, Emma. The best way to find new talent."

Emma smiled. "I'm so proud of you, babe."

I smiled, kissing her on the cheek. It was time for me to go.

"Thanks, Cara."

"Hey, I'll be in the audience."

"Okay. I love you."

"Good luck!" Emma called as I walked into the hallway. I blew her a kiss before I walked backstage.

This was the first night of Blind Auditions for The Voice.

The host of our show, Carson Daly announced each coach one by one, starting with Blake Shelton, Julia Michaels, Camila Cabello, and finally me.

As soon as I sat down in my chair, I spotted Emma in the front row, and I immediately wasn't nervous anymore.

She smiled at me, and I winked at her.

Finally, the lights went down and the first auditioned came on stage. The drums tapped off, and then they started singing.

The girl was singing one of Emma's songs, and it was actually one that Emma and I had written together. She changed it up a little to make it more her own, adding a little country to it. Blake and I turned around at the same time. If you turned around, it meant you wanted them on your team. The audition was a "blind", so you couldn't see the singer until you turn around.

By the end of the song, Blake, Julia and I had all turned around.

"Hi!" Camila said. "Tell us your name, and where you're from."

"I'm Jacy Kellan, I'm 16, and I'm from Jacksonville, Florida."

"Hi, Jacy." Julia said. "Your style is so cool, and I love the way you changed the song. I would love to have you on my team, and change songs up to make them your own."

"I'd like to say that my wife and I wrote this song together, and that might make me biased, but the way you changed it is incredible, and you I can see you in the finale," I said. 

"Now, Jacy, I don't know if you know this, but I've won this show 8 times, and this is Ethan's first day," Blake said. "I think you have a very unique sound especially when it comes to country, and I think we could go far on this show if you choose Team Blake."

"Now's the time, Jacy. Who do you pick as your choice?" Camila asked.

Jacy smiled, trying to decide. "This is such a hard decision. But I'm gonna have to go with Julia."

All of our chairs turned around, and then it was the next audition. They were a regular pop-type of singer, but only Camila turned for them. It only one coach turns, that's the team the person gets. If multiple coaches turn, the auditioned chooses, and if no one turns, they go home.

One by one, people came in to audition, and I actually got a few pretty cool artists on my team. One was a girl who sang rock, a boy who sang a piano ballad, and a guy who sang country. You want variety on your team, so you have a better chance at winning in the end. I got a girl who was an indie-alternative singer, (can't believe she chose me over Julia Michaels) and I got another girl who's voice reminded me of Emma's. I also got two different guys who were pop singers, a male R&B/soul singer, a guy who sang Prince, and a girl who was only 14, but sounded like she was 25. She sang Adele. Us coaches started doing the auditions in the morning, and the last one was late that night, each of the teams partially filled. 

We spent four days of auditions, each coach slowly filling their teams. 

Each coach had ten artists, and next week we'd start the battles. How it would work is that your team gets put into pairs, and they sing a duet to fight to keep their spot on your team. The coach chooses who sang better, and the other person goes home. Another coach can steal them for their team, or the coach themself can save them, but the coaches only get one steal, and one save per week, so it's valuable.

My team was Katelyn Jade, Everett Young, Maxwell Huntington, Marin Freeman, Natalia Chase, Drew Dyer, Thomas Shannon, Samuel Vaughn, Calvin Patrick, and Tara Fields.

It was my job to pair them into groups for The Battles, so Emma helped me with that when we got back to our place the night auditions were over. We were renting a little house in Miami near where The Voice was filming.

I still remember like it was yesterday, seeing Emma concentrated on who should battle each other next week, and how cute she looked all concentrated, and not even realizing that I was staring at her. 

I leaned over, kissing her on the cheek as we sorted through my notes. 

We went to sleep that night, all cozy under the covers. Having my girl in my arms was the only thing I ever felt like I needed. 

Our parents used to let us have sleepovers when we were younger, and it became so frequently that I started not being able to sleep without Emma next to me. I mean, we spent almost every waking moment of our childhoods together. 

Anytime one of us fell asleep at each other's houses, it was almost like our parents didn't even notice, let alone mind it at all. They knew that Emma and I were each other's persons.

She's always been my person. I know we're married now, but sometimes I still feel like that 15 year old boy, looking at his best friend while she sits next to him playing the piano, and all he's thinking about is how much he loves her. 

I've always been hers. I know we were apart for a while after she left Connecticut for LA, but that doesn't mean my heart wasn't always with her. It was every single second, and still is. Emma is my person, and nothing will ever change that.