The Real Thing

After the rehearsal, Stephanie and I took a taxi back to our hotel; I thought she was going to get me to sort it out, but perhaps she actually meant going to bed.

When we got to our floor, we didn't turn towards our rooms but instead walked towards Marcos. We stopped in front of his door, and she banged on it.

Marco came to the door in his dressing gown, his abs showing through the break in the gown.

"Blake? And Stephanie? What are you both doing here?"

"I'm sorry to do this so late, but we need to talk Marco. It can't wait." Stephanie said as she pushed her way in, dragging me by the arm. I made eye contact with Marco, who seemed to say, 'What's this about?' Honestly, I couldn't give him an answer.

"So what can I do for you?" Marco asked as he shut the door.

"We need to sort…" she motioned at us, "this out."

"What do you mean by this?" I asked.

I was already anticipating a response like, ' You two are forbidden from seeing each other.'

"Can you guys kiss or something so we can go back to focusing on the song contest?"

Huh? What did she mean by that?

"Are you saying you are okay with us being together?" I asked.

"I've never been against your relationship. I just don't want it jeopardising the contest." She sighed.

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Not at all."

"How's it any different?"

"Right now, being apart is distracting you; it is impacting your performance. So kiss, hold hands, and gaze into each other's eyes. I don't care what you do. Just push whatever is holding you back out of the way so we can focus on the song contest."

"What right this minute?" I asked.

"Yep, there's no time to waste." She replied

"Like, right now?"

"Yeah."

"While you are here?"

She sighed frustratedly.

"Blake, I swear to God that I am too tired for this. Hurry up."

I gazed at Marco, and he pulled me into him. Even though it had only been a day since we cuddled on the roof, his last touch felt like it was eons ago. As I looked up at him, he cupped my face and leaned in. I could feel his tongue enter my mouth. He had the longest kiss yet, so long that it took me a moment to catch my breath once we were done.

I turned to Stephanie.

"Are you into voyeurism?" I asked her.

"I can pull you away," she smiled. "But it sounds like you are feeling a bit better."

"A little, but I may need a little more," I tried to plead as I leaned in to rest my hand on Marco's chest.

Stephanie walked over and grabbed me by the ear.

"That's cute and all, but I think you've forgotten there is a performance tomorrow. It's off to bed with you." She scolded me like a slightly angry mother.

"Thank you, Marco. I'm sorry about interrupting your night," she acknowledged.

"If it involves Blake, it is never an interruption," He smiled.

Although I still felt a little anxious, seeing Marco slightly eased the knots in my chest. To hell with the negative comments. I'm going to show them. I'm going to win. I'll do my best. To hell with what anyone else thinks. I'm going to let my Devil out—the Devil Inside.

Hopefully, this emotional journey will carry through our song and the audience's reaction to it. The only way I will know is by tomorrow night's results, whether we qualify or not.

─── ༻ ☼ ༺ ───

The next day came, and I felt much more relaxed than I had the day before. Sure, I was still anxious; I wanted to express my relationship with Marco openly, but I wasn't letting the hate messages eat away at me. Also, it was somewhat reassuring to see Stephanie support us in her own twisted way.

We gathered to get ready. Before Darcy could do our styling, I had to talk to the band about the previous day.

"Guys I'm sorry." I apologised to them.

"You mean about yesterday?" Luca asked, sipping on some two-minute noodles, ones I think he smuggled in.

"Yes. It wasn't fair to you guys. I should have collected myself." I bowed my head.

"Blake, you had a breakdown for one day," Noah commented.

"Yeah I'm sorry."

"It was one day." He reiterated.

"I know I said I'm sorry."

"No I think you are misunderstanding. It was only a day. Like we all have off days."

"Jet's often has off days," Luca commented without a hint of malice in his voice.

"Hey!" Jet replied.

"Yeah, but it was important. Our Jury score depended on it."

"We will just crush today," Luca added, smiling.

"But the Jury."

I don't think they understood, I screwed up half our points. This could be the difference between qualifying and not.

"Steph said it was fine. Still in the top ten," Luca noted.

"Don't forget, it won't matter; once we smash it today, we'll have another jury performance on Friday night," Noah added.

"Still, that's a lot of pressure."

Jet sighed.

"Blake."

"Yeah?"

He stepped up to me and flicked my forehead.

"It's time to move on."

"That better not leave a mark," Darcy angrily signed to Jet.

"Sorry, but you can just hide it with your skills." He signed back to her, causing her to blush. Maybe Jet could occasionally fight Darcy back after all.

I laughed. I was glad to have such wonderful and understanding friends.

Darcy spent the afternoon getting us ready, and before long, the sun began to set, signalling the beginning of the first semifinal. Up until this point, I hadn't heard any of the other songs in this semi, let alone the rest of the competition. Well, besides Marco's.

Honestly, I felt guilty about not listening to any of our friends. I really should have, given how close we had become. I think I was nervous. Even in the Semifinal rehearsal the previous day, I didn't listen. I had other things on my mind.

It was time for the big show, for redemption, and to check out our competition and friends' songs.

─── ༻ ☼ ༺ ───

End of Chapter 31