The Voice

“Welcome to the first round of eliminations in this season of the Voice!” Carson exclaimed in his usually eager voice when the camera people called to roll cameras.

All thirty-three of us were standing on stage, each of us bunched with our team members. Not so surprisingly, our coaches weren’t in their chairs, but they were standing in front of us, looking rather fierce and determined to win. Of course, it was so hard for Niall that he actually busted out laughing in the middle of looking fierce, which only made Adam laugh, too. Christina just smiled at them while Blake playfully rolled his eyes and said, pretty loudly, “Amateurs.”

“We have thirty-three people whose fate hangs in the balance, so there’s not much time for anything but the results and the fights to survive,” Carson informed everyone. “As much as I love messing with you guys and stringing you along, I’m not allowed. For tonight, we have three people from each team we’ll announce safe, the one with the most votes being named first. So, to start things off, we’ve decided to randomly shuffle team names on the screen back here. The team name chosen will have their top performer named safe. From there, we’ll continue shuffling to see whose fate is announced next. So, to begin, shuffle the names!”

On the screen behind us was, to start, Blake’s name. It slowly began shuffling to show that it was, in fact, only the four names, and when it got back to Blake’s name, it sped up so fast that most people wouldn’t have been able to see it. I could, however, and I just watched as it shuffled and began to slow down, stopping on Adam’s name.

“Team Adam!” Carson announced. “The top performance of the night for Team Adam was . . . Emma Nelson!”

That was the girl who did the Karmin song that absolutely killed it! She was so pretty, too, and she looked beyond surprised to hear her name first. With tears in her eyes and a bright smile on her face, she hugged Adam and moved over to the side of the stage Carson was directing her—my guess the “safe” side.

And, of course, the next team name that was shuffled was Team Niall.

My heart sank down to the ends of my toes while Madi locked one arm in mine, the other in Noah’s, and Kiley locked her arm in my other free one. We were super nervous but also super excited for whichever one of us made it into the top three.

“Okay, so, for Team Niall, I’m about to tell you the top performer,” Carson informed the crowd, grinning as he realized that he did, in fact, get to drag it out some. “But not just from Team Niall. The performer was the top performance of the entire two nights put together. Her name is Everit Eberly.”

To say that I had no words was the understatement of the year. While the audience began cheering and screaming, Kiley, Noah, and Madi all began cheering for me and hugging me one by one. After that, I had to make my Jell-O legs move so that I wasn’t holding up the show, but of course, on the way, I had to hug Niall. And I did . . . tighter than ever.

He was laughing as I squeezed him. “Congrats, Evie.”

I had to smile as I forced myself to pull away from him, and I, with tears in my eyes, made my way over to Emma.

She was cheering for me. “Congratulations! That’s quite impressive.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, but I wasn’t sure if she heard it or not.

I had to be very careful when I wiped the tears from my face so that I didn’t smear my makeup, but it was hard. With the crowd cheering for me and Carson’s word in mind, it was nearly impossible.

That’s why I was, oddly enough, grateful when they stopped cheering.

And Carson went on to announce the safe people from each team. Jesse, not so surprisingly, was the top for Blake’s team. I didn’t recognize the top for Christina’s team, but he was pretty cute.

After that, he announced two people from each team who would have to fight for survival. I didn’t know any of the people except the people from my team. Even the people who I had seen perform from Adam’s team, I didn’t remember them. There were a few I did remember, but the two mentioned—the guy named Keante and a girl named Clara—were unfamiliar to me.

However, Eleanor and Madi, I knew well.

There were tears in my eyes as she hugged Noah, then Kiley, then Niall. She looked so calm, but I wasn’t really that calm. Maybe I looked it, but inside I was crying, especially as she moved to the opposite side of the stage as me.

Carson just kept going back and forth, mentioning one person safe and then one person not safe. That left three people—four from Blake’s team, since he stole Jesse—left unannounced.
The next safe person was, in fact, Noah, so that made me feel a little better about Madi.

And then he announced the not safe person from our team. It was all I could do not to cheer when he said, “Brinley Pearson.”

Secretly, Noah and I shared a high five behind our backs, and Jesse, who noticed, laughed at us and muttered something in agreement.

The three left unannounced on our team were Kiley, Caleb, and Zane. Zane seemed to know something, so he didn’t look too worried. Caleb looked cocky, and Kiley looked freaked out.

“From team Adam, the remaining person who will move to the right side of the stage to join his other two teammates, is Mr. Seth Griffin.”

I remembered him. He was the one who sang Mr. Brightside by the Killers.

Like I expected, I didn’t remember the people from Christina’s or Blake’s team. I had seen them in rehearsals, but that seemed like forever ago. Yet it wasn’t even a full week ago. Just
Saturday . . . .

Whoa.

Our team would be the last one whose fate was announced. Niall, to no one’s surprise, had his arms around the remaining three members to the best of his ability. Kiley and Zane were the closest to him, which made me smile a little.

He had moved and positioned himself so he wasn’t directly beside Caleb.

“One more person remains safe,” Carson informed the crowd, once again stalling the fate of our team. He tried to do that as much as possible, even going to commercial breaks right before they were announced. Luckily, he had just gone to one before Blake’s team’s fate was announced, so he couldn’t do that here. “And that person is Miss Kiley Black.”

Kiley actually covered her mouth with her hands while tears filled her eyes, and Niall, with a blissful laugh, hugged her tightly. He said something to her, but with the screaming crowd and excitement, I couldn’t make it out.

I met her at our side with a super tight hug. Carson was talking to the audience and viewers, and we were allowed to leave the room with the audience members cheering and screaming as we passed.

Once again, they were shuffling to see which team’s members would sing first. I heard the order to be Christina, Blake, Niall, and Adam. So, mean as it was, I was in no hurry to get backstage. We were allowed free roam until the last team’s performers began.

Kiley started pacing back and forth the moment we were outside of the stage room. “What are we gonna do?”

“Relax,” Noah laughed. “Come on, guys. You can’t seriously be worried. No offence to Caleb, Zane, and Eleanor, but Madi’s much more talented.”

I sighed. “You may be right, but sometimes, people don’t vote based on talent. It’s a popularity contest.”

“Well, they certainly got one thing right,” Kiley decided, eyes on me as she smirked. “Top performance of both nights?”

I knew my cheeks were turning red as I looked to my feet. “I guess so.”

Noah laughed again. “Not surprising. Honestly, it’ll probably be that way every week. You rocked it, Ev. Just wait until next week. I know what Niall has planned for everyone . . . except myself, because he said that would be an unfair advantage.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“He’s actually giving everyone a couple of artists to choose from,” he admitted. “He’s giving you their names, and you’re picking a song and running with it. He wants us to make our own choices, not just do what he says, so he’s giving us some guidance and letting us decide what to do with that.”

My lips pressed together. “Hmm. Interesting. Are mine good?”

“You know, yours are actually surprising,” he informed me. “But both of yours are really good.”

We stood out there talking, since we were supposed to be quiet backstage, through Team Christina’s fight songs. When Blake’s team started, we decided to head backstage in order to be there to support Madi and just see how it all went.

On our way to backstage, we had to pass the bathrooms. In passing the bathrooms, we also had to pass by a few surprising people . . . our fans.

One girl actually let out a scream of delight when she saw us. “Oh. My. Gosh! This can’t be happening! Everit! And Kiley! And Noah!” She began hyperventilating as she rushed up to us, scrambling to pull out a Sharpie and random piece of paper out of her pocket. “Can you guys sign this for me? It would make my life! Picture too?”

I was hesitant, but Kiley, being the person she is, actually breathed it all in and nodded. She laughed as she took the paper from the girl and signed her name, but it wasn’t a mocking laugh. She was just so damn happy that laughing was the only way she could express it.

Noah had a huge smile on his face when he did the same, and as he handed it to me, something hit me.

This was reality. Eleanor Calder asked for my autograph earlier, and now a random girl I didn’t even know was asking for it, too. And a picture of us . . . .

So, with a bright smile, I took it and very carefully signed my name. There were others crowding around us, and after getting a picture with her, we did our absolute best to sign and take pictures with the majority of them. I heard Carson saying, “Next up is Team Niall, right after this commercial break,” so we couldn’t get to them all.

With a wince, I grabbed Noah and Kiley’s arms. “I’m so sorry, guys! We’ve gotta get back in there. Our team members are singing next.”

“Wait!” the original girl exclaimed. “Are you and Noah dating?”

Some people freaked out if they were wrongly paired with someone, but I didn’t find it weird at all. Sure, Noah and I weren’t together, and we never would be, but it wasn’t like the idea was so disgusting that I felt the need to freak out about it.

We both very calmly shook our heads and laughed a bit.

“That would be a rumor,” he informed her. “Everit’s just my best friend.”

Kiley smirked at him. “He’s in love with someone else.”

While he glared at her and the girls began freaking out, trying to figure out who he loved, I just laughed and started pulling the two away from the crowd. “Sorry! We really gotta go! Thank you for your support, and please continue!”

“We will!” one girl randomly called out. “I love you, Everit!”

My eyes were wide as we hurried our way backstage. The security guarding the door knew us by face, of course, so we were allowed in while the fans still following behind us weren’t. All of the other contestants named safe were already back here, talking normally, so I knew it was okay to quietly squeal as I turned to Kiley and Noah. “Did that just happen?!”

“I know, right?” Noah very eagerly agreed before hugging both of us. “We have fans! This is unreal to me.”

Kiley laughed. “Just wait ‘til we’re walking around somewhere besides LA. People here are used to famous people, so they know how to handle it. Some places aren’t.”

I took a deep breath, my eyes wide, as her words sank in. “Famous . . . .”

“Our dreams are coming true!” she squealed. “Just think, Ev. You’re one step closer to getting everything you want.”

I knew exactly what she meant by that, and my cheeks began turning red again. I couldn’t help but smile sheepishly at her and Noah, who was laughing at me. “I would be okay with waiting if necessary.”

“Only ‘cause you have to,” Noah snorted. “You wouldn’t be happy. First of all, you’d have to be quiet about it. Then you’d have to be away from him. Not exactly something you would be excited about doing.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “No, but I could handle it.”

“Welcome back to the first round of eliminations!” Carson greeted the cameras. “You’ve seen eleven people fight for their place on this show. Only four came out. Now it’s time for ten more with the same results. Starting first with Madi Pearce from Team Niall, let the fight for survival continue!”

I remembered what Madi’s song was immediately. She had always been a fan of Blake, but she refused to pick him because she didn’t think she could sing country. Turns out, that’s what Niall showed her she could do, but the point is, she picked a song one of his winners, Cassadee Pope—I was a huge fan of hers before the show, so I spazzed when she auditioned two seasons ago—sang called Wasting All These Tears. What was cool about this song was that it was her first single after the Voice, so it made it special.

That’s why Madi picked it. It’s got powerful vocals, and it was special.

Blake immediately recognized it. I think they all did, besides Niall. He didn’t seem to know just what it was, but that didn’t mean he was happy to hear it was country.

“I tried to find you at the bottom of a bottle,” she sang, her voice showing the right emotion for the song. Her voice came out quiet, as it should for the emotion of the song where she was.

“Laying down on the bathroom floor.
My loneliness was rattling the windows.
You said you don’t want me anymore
And you left me

Standing on a corner crying
Feeling like a fool for trying.
I don’t even remember why I’m wasting all these tears on you.
I wish I could erase our memory ‘cause you didn’t give a damn about me.
Oh, finally I’m through wasting all these tears on you!
Oh! These tears on you-ooh, ooh.”

She had to cut the song due to the time limit of a survival song, so she cut out the second verse and chorus and went straight to the last part, after the instrumental break.

“And you left me standing on the corner crying
Feeling like a fool for trying.
I don’t even remember why I’m wasting all these tears on you!
I wish I could erase our memory ‘cause you didn’t give a damn about me!
Oh, finally I’m through wasting all these tears on you!
Oh, oh!
These tears on you!
Oh, oh, oh!

Tried to find you at the bottom of a bottle.
Laying down on the bathroom floor, or.”

She nailed it! I mean, Blake, who knew how the song was supposed to be sung, gave her a standing ovation while the crowd went nuts. Madi was crying at this point while Niall, Adam, and Christina stood up to applaud her as well.

Blake, of course, got to talk first. “I’m very upset you didn’t pick me. I wanted you when I heard you singing pop, but Niall, a pop singer, has transformed you into an incredible country artist. I was the coach that led Cassadee to a victory, and I was actually there when she was recording this song. Madi, you did me proud, and I’m sure Cassadee is just as excited as I am to hear you perform that so well. Fantastic job. I would pick you for sure.”

Christina laughed at him. “You haven’t even heard the other four!”

Blake shrugged. “So? You can’t beat that.”

That made Adam laugh, too. “Of course you can’t. Hey, Madi, I thought you killed it Monday night. Honestly, you don’t deserve to be at this part, fighting to survive. You deserve to be in the top three, but as it turns out, I hate Niall, and he’s got a stacked team. You’ve got a lot to fight against, so here’s where you are. That was the best you could’ve done with that. Amazing job.”

Niall was laughing from the part where Adam said he hated him, but now, he was smiling that gorgeous and fantastic smile at Madi. “I do have an incredible team, and I really hope things turn out where you’re still on it. Honestly, this is the part I’ve dreaded—choosing to eliminate someone. If I had my way, I’d never get rid of anyone. I’ve faced elimination before from your side, and it’s scary. So, I know what you’re feeling right now. My point is . . . that was amazing, Madi. Spot on.”

After she was cheered for, a lot, she walked backstage to give the next performer—Caleb—room to sing his fight song. It was a little surprising, but I guess it was a good one.

He sang Keep Your Head Up by Andy Grammer. It was really good, too, but after hearing Madi, it was hard for me to find it awesome. He got some positive feedback, but Adam told him just how he felt it was. It just wasn’t good enough to be remembered. Niall, to my surprise, agreed.

And of course, after him came Brinley. She killed the song Try by Pink, and she got incredible feedback. Blake told her that she wouldn’t be there if she had done that Monday night, and Christina told her she wished Brinley had picked her at the blind auditions. Niall, however, told her that he was very glad she picked him, and he thought she was incredible.

I hated hearing that, even though I knew he didn’t mean it in the ways she was probably taking it.

Eleanor did really well with Come and Get It by Selena Gomez. We were actually dancing a little backstage to it, and she, like Brinley and Madi, got told she did really well.

That made us all nervous. Three people doing incredibly? What would that mean for Madi?
Would it mean Brinley would be eliminated?

One can only dream.

Zane did Rocketship by Shane Harper. The girls in the audience were squealing the whole time, and I was quietly singing to myself. It’s a really adorable love song by a guy with an insanely amazing voice.

Christina was horny. You could tell by the way she was talking about his performance, about how it must’ve melted teenage girl’s hearts all over America. Adam told him it was solid but a little forgettable from an overall stand point. Niall knew all about being the center of teenage girl’s fantasies, to a bigger extreme than Adam did, and he told him that the power of a teenage girl was a force to be reckoned with. The way he talked, it was as if he was considering him just on the fact that teenage girls would keep him alive.

The five who fought to survive had to walk back out there. Madi and Eleanor, being friends, had one arm around the other’s waist while Brinley stood there alone, trying to look bad-a. Zane and Caleb just looked nervous, which was understandable.

“Christina, who would you pick?”

“I would pick Brinley and Zane,” she said without having to think twice about it. “There were other really good performances, but that’s who I would keep in here.”

Blake looked over at her like she was crazy. “You’re insane! Madi killed it!”

Christina shrugged. “He asked my opinion. Not yours.”

Adam snorted. “I agree with Blake. Your opinion’s wrong. Completely. I would pick Brinley and Madi and be very upset about letting Eleanor go. Caleb and Zane did well, but they were forgettable.”

Niall took a very deep breath as Carson said, “Alright, Niall, this is your decision, ultimately. Who are you keeping, and who are you letting go?”

Niall covered his hands with his face as he let out a strange noise of discomfort. “Ugh! I hate doing this. I hate it. I hate it. It’s a part of it, though, and I have to deal with it. Brinley, Madi, Eleanor . . . you three killed it. Did absolutely incredible with what you chose, and I think you all chose well. Zane, you did well yourself. You definitely have a huge fan base out there, and I don’t think you’re done. Caleb, it was good but forgettable. I’ve seen you do really well, but unfortunately, you didn’t do well enough. It’s really hard to do this, but I’m gonna have to go with Madi and Brinley.”

Madi started crying while Brinley just nodded in agreement, giving the world a confident smile as she turned and headed off the stage. Madi walked off, too, and the moment she got to us, she began squealing in excitement, just like Kiley and I were doing.

Noah was the one who got to hug her first, and to my surprise, he kissed the top of her head. “Congrats.”

“I could say the same to you three,” she laughed. “You didn’t have to do that because you got voted in the top.” She smirked over at me. “Especially someone over here. Believe us now?”

I shook my head. “Honestly, I’m probably getting the most votes because of all of the One Direction fans.”

That surprised them all, but Kiley actually slapped the back of my head, which made me jump a bit. “They may be One Direction fans, but that’s not why they’re choosing you, hun. Hate to burst your bubble, but . . . actually, no. I’m really not.”

And that was how that night went.

Notes

The lyrics are from So What by Pink. I just...have no words for how much that song amuses me. I jam out to it every time I hear it.

Now...:3

I have so many things I wanna say...if you guys want a little incite into the next part of this series (which may or may not turn into a trilogy, depending on how things play out in part 2) I'll tell you the title of the sequel.

The Tour.

:)

Anyways, back to this story. x3 I hope you guys enjoy! You have no idea how badly I wanted to get rid of Brinley. Really. I had to remember that she was key to later parts of the story. :P

Let me know what you think! :)