The Voice

It was gonna be nice to only have two cars to take us from place to place. Having three and piling in nineteen people was getting to be a headache. Despite the fact that most of the people here were at least eighteen, most of them were arguing about who went in which vehicle. Niall thought it was as ridiculous as I did, so while they argued, we climbed into the backseat of the first SUV and just waited on them to either realize it or figure it out.

Noah, who was one of the few people who wasn’t arguing, actually climbed back here with us and took a deep breath. “You know, I think there are much more important things to worry about than who sits by who.”

“Agreed,” Niall murmured, but about that time, people came flooding in. It was nice to be squished between the two people I was most comfortable with, despite the fact that Brinley kept shooting me looks the entire car ride. Before doing it, she made sure Niall wasn’t looking, but a few times, Noah was, and he made faces right back at her.

It made me laugh, which I really needed.

The ride from Niall’s house to the theater was actually a much shorter one than what it felt like. I was trying really hard to just put everything in the back of my mind—my frustration at Brinley, my frustration at Ella’s family, my sorrow at what Ella had to do, my irritation at my problem that made my mouth slimy and nasty, and my confusion about Niall—but it all kept clouding together and jumbling up everything I did.

When we finally got there, everyone climbed out and began trying to breathe to relax themselves. Breathing, in my case, wasn’t enough, so instead, I started hyperventilating.

This is it, Everit. This could be the end of your time on this show.

Once everyone was unloaded from all three SUVs, we got moved inside for makeup preparation. Luckily, the redness on my face was gone, and all that was left was the memory. I hadn’t checked to see how Brinley was doing, but quite frankly, I really didn’t care.

From far away, you couldn’t tell any of the guys even had makeup on, but from up close, you could definitely see it, and it was really funny on some of them. Some of them, it really wasn’t a big deal, but others, it was hilarious.

We all knew that there was a month in-between the battles and the live performances, so for a month, the world wouldn’t know who won and who lost. That was something we all had to do—keep it quiet. If we told anyone, we had to know without a doubt that they would keep it quiet.

That’s why I was sticking with Max and my dad, and those were the only people who were gonna know where I lived.

Team Adam was in the middle of their battles as we were getting prepped and did our warm-ups. Niall immediately had to go and sit in the chair to give his opinion of Adam’s team, so we didn’t get any long speeches or massive pep talks. All he said was, “Good luck, to all of you. Know that anyone cut tonight, I will miss you and hope for the best in your career. It’s nothing personal.”

And that was all we got, except for the piece of paper he handed to me, in front of everyone, with the order everyone was going in.

First, it was Caleb and Rose singing a song by a pretty much unknown band that I actually loved a lot. They were singing Patience by Abandoning Sunday. After them, it was Kiley and Weston singing It’s Not Over by Daughtry. Noah and Brendan were after them with Everyone Talks by Neon Trees, which Noah was incredible at. Brinley and Olivia followed them with Halo by Beyoncé. Olivia, from what I had heard, was amazing, so I was hoping she would knock Brinley out early. I wasn’t sure, though, because I had never heard Brinley sing. Only rant and rave and be a jerk to me.

Let’s see . . . after Brinley and Olivia were Madi and Landon with Ever Enough. Following them was Eleanor and Braelyn singing Set Fire to the Rain by Adele. And of course, the final two pairs would be Zane and Ella singing Kiss and Sell by the Maine and then Jesse and me. Really, that only freaked me out even more knowing that I would have to watch her throw it all away right before I went out there.

Tonight, anything could happen, but the only victor I knew for certain was Zane. And that tore me apart. My life was never really an easy one, and I had made it through a lot of things, but something that was hard for me to face was other people suffering. I hated that, especially when they were such good and kind people.

With each battle for Team Niall that passed by, I began slowly losing my mind and slowly getting worse. Ella noticed and was trying to convince me to put it out of my mind so I could win this thing, but even when I tried, it didn’t work. Caleb killed Patience, and Rose, though she did well herself, was eliminated. Kiley beat Weston, quite noticeably too, but my favorite victory was Noah’s victory over Brendan. Don’t get me wrong. Brendan was cool and all, but Noah was one of the best friends I had made here, and I wasn’t ready to see him go.

Unfortunately, Brinley nailed that song and beat Olivia, but I got to see that Brinley very well could win this thing. Madi, despite the fact that she was singing something she had never really tried before, dominated Ever Enough. Eleanor beat out Braelyn, but it was close because they both got so nervous that they didn’t do as well as they had in rehearsals.

As the time came for Ella and Zane to battle, she actually handed me a tiny slip of paper while they made sure her earpiece was working. I had no idea what it was, but when I looked, I saw an email address scribbled down on there.

“I would give you my phone number, but this is free, and it’s going to change when we move,” she murmured. “Your promise really does mean more to me than you’ll ever understand.”

And just like that, I watched her walk possibly the most difficult walk she would ever have to walk. I was already crying, before she even got into the battle ring, and Jesse, who was the only person left backstage, looked very confused.

“I, uh, don’t want to lose either one of them,” I managed to lie, but I wasn’t sure if he bought it, nor did I really care.

Zane really didn’t have the talent Ella did, but by the way she performed, she certainly made it sound like he had more. Niall looked confused, mostly because he had heard the week of practice where she had done much better than this, but the other coaches never heard that. They just kept saying that they believed Zane was the right choice.

Niall was so hesitant that I almost laughed. “Ella, I don’t know what happened on that stage. All week, you’ve nailed that song. It’s been really impressive, but just then . . . I don’t know what’s happened. Zane, you did better than you have been all week. Dude, that was sick. I just don’t really know what happened.”

That caused me to practically break down, and the makeup ladies weren’t happy with me. They tried to fix it and hide the fact that I had been crying, but you can’t fix bloodshot eyes and a shuddering body, even with colored contacts.

“I’m gonna have to pick Zane.”

I lost it right then, and I mean I legitimately had to clutch my stomach because I was crying so hard. It didn’t make sense in my brain that I was having these deep and heartfelt reactions for someone I barely even knew, but my heart hurt for her. I was an emotional wreck, it seemed.

Most people when they got eliminated went out the doors and just left, but Ella turned and ran backstage, something that surprised everyone.

She threw her arms around me and squeezed me against her. “No, Ev. Remember? You have to clear your head. You can do this. You can win this entire thing. Don’t worry about me. Your promise is enough. For now, go out there, sing your heart out, and win it for me. If that’s what it takes to make you feel better, fine. Do this for me.”

And somehow, just like me giving her my promise helped her, that helped me, so after taking a deep breath and wiping the tears from my eyes, I nodded. The makeup ladies just gave up hope and instead began packing up to leave. Tomorrow, Team Blake and Team Christina would battle, so they didn’t have to stay any longer.

Jesse frowned at me. “You alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” I whispered, and as they were calling our names and the crowd was cheering, I stepped out from behind the stage with Jesse following behind me. He wore a huge smile while he walked out with a confidence I didn’t understand. I kept my face serious because there was no way I was about to smile.

Three of the coaches looked eager to hear this, or maybe they were just eager to get to go. Either way, they looked eager about something. Niall, however, was the one coach who just didn’t know what to think. He looked really scared about this, mostly because he wanted me to do well but also knew that I might think and screw it up.

“Singing Bite My Tongue by You Me at Six, here’s Jesse Hunters and Everit Eberly!”

Jesse actually started the song, so I had a few extra moments to get a grip on myself and my emotions.

“I hate to break it to you but
You’re just a lonely star
I try to bring you down but
Our level isn’t good enough.”

I had a clear head and began just letting the song take me wherever it wanted me to go.

“You always do as you please so
I’m gonna follow suit and take a seat
I’ll watch you fall apart
I’ll watch you fall apart
Cause in the end what are you without me?”

Something dark flashed across my mind, something that I thought I had buried a long time ago.

But there I was, four years old and shackled to the floor of the practically lightless room.
I had to fight the urge to cry as Jesse sang his part perfectly. Mine wasn’t far away, and I had to do this right.

Clear your head, damn it!

“I’ll slow this down
‘Cause I know that you can’t keep up
Oh maybe I, maybe I was wrong from the start
I might be proud
But at least I’m proud of something
You’ve taken pride in becoming nothing.”

And somewhere in the middle of my part right there, I lost it and began crying. Literally. It wasn’t just Ella either.

This song . . . I hadn’t listened to it in so long because it brought up so many memories that I wanted to keep bottled inside, and now, they were playing in my head. They were clouding my mind, and all I could think about was Ella and the past I tried to forget ever happened.

After the lightless room, I saw myself strapped down to a gurney with various needles being poked into my arm. I saw them cutting me open while I was wide awake. I saw scattered images of people watching me, always watching . . . .

“You keep me on the edge of my seat
I bite my tongue so you don’t hear me
I wanna hate every part of you in me
I can’t hate the ones who made me.”

They did make me . . . made me what I am today—the freak of a girl trying to appear normal in an almost overwhelming singing competition.

“I’m married to the music, for better or for worse
You say that I am privileged, but my gift is my curse
I can’t recall the last time someone asking how I was.
Last I checked I was a freaking wreck
I called for help and no one showed up
So I sit in the dirt

You keep me on the edge of my seat
I bite my tongue so you don’t hear me
I wanna hate every part of you in me
I can’t hate the ones who made me

You keep me on the edge of my seat
I bite my tongue so you don’t hear me
I wanna hate every part of you in me
I can’t hate the ones who made me.”

The audience, surprisingly, cheered really loudly, but it didn’t help me at all. Niall kept his face hidden behind his hands while Christina looked like she was in pain. Blake didn’t really look sure of anything, but Adam . . . he had this huge and proud smile on his face I didn’t quite understand.

“I believe that this just simply was not a good song choice,” Christina said, and Niall came out of hiding so he could frown at her. “Niall’s new and learning, but I just don’t know. I’ve never heard the song before, but I just don’t know if I liked that. You’re both extremely talented, and it sucks that he put you two against each other. Everit, sweetie, you look hot, you’re so incredible, but that just . . . I don’t know. Jesse, you were incredible. This may have been a better song choice for you than her, but you just don’t perform. Everit has that edge, so I would say Everit if it were up to me.”

That surprised me, completely, but even through tears, I said, “Thank you.”

“I don’t think it was the song choice,” Blake disagreed. “Everit is not happy about something, clearly, but I think she also knows as well as we do that she did not do her best on that song. I’ve seen greatness in both of you, and Niall is gonna have a hard time deciding. Jesse, you did well, but like Christina said, Everit performs. This competition isn’t just about singing. You can stand up there and sing all you want, but it gets boring. Everit puts everything into it, and even though she wasn’t on top of her game tonight and wasn’t in the right focus, she wasn’t boring. But, people can be taught to perform a lot easier than they can be taught not to let their emotions get the best of them, and I would go with Jesse.”

Jesse looked so relieved, but he was as surprised as I was when Christina said me. They tear us apart and then pick us. Awesome.

Adam was still just smiling. “I disagree with most of what they said. I agree that this was a good song choice. Actually, I love the choice. I’ve heard a few You Me at Six songs, but never this one. This one, though, was perfect for you two, and I still love you, Everit. I still think you’re the one to beat. You were emotional. Something is bothering you, but even through all of that, you still performed. Maybe it was a little pitchy here and there, and maybe it wasn’t perfect, but the fact that you still perform and you still let the music move you in such a way is powerful to me. Jesse, you’re incredible, and it sucks to say this, but I would go with Everit. It sucks that he put you two against each other, but I would’ve done the same thing. I still say Everit, though.”

I was now barely even able to stand as a smile tried to fight its way out onto my lips. The most important coach hadn’t spoken yet, but to know Adam still loved me so much made me feel better.

I had to get Niall’s vote, though.

He was slow to start. “I can see, Everit, that you really did try to listen to Josh and me when we told you to clear your head, but the problem is, you didn’t. There’s so much going on in your head that doesn’t need to be there, and it really did affect your performance. I agree with Adam when he said it’s incredible you were still able to perform, but the problem is, things are gonna happen. You’re gonna have to face hard times and still perform like you always do with a smile on your face. Everyone knows that I fell in love with your voice the moment I heard it. I haven’t denied that, but that just wasn’t what it needed to be. I’ve heard way better from you. Jesse, you did a solid job. You sang it as good as ever, even when you realized she wasn’t doing her best. You have performance issues. That much is obvious, but those can be fixed. Unfortunately, though, one of you has to go, and I have to look into the future. I have to think about more than just this performance, and that’s why I’m going with Everit.”

The crowd began screaming as I just stood there. Somewhere in the middle of his speech, I gave up all hope. It was so clear to me that Jesse was the choice. The way he talked about my performance, and then the way he talked about Jesse made it seem like he was choosing Jesse.

It wasn’t really surprising that Blake pushed his button to steal Jesse, but what was surprising was that Christina did, too.

“I chose you!” Blake reminded him. “I said you should win. She picked Everit.”

“I gotta go with Blake,” Jesse said with a smile, and Niall laughed, despite how distressed he was. I think he was glad to see that Jesse wasn’t out of this yet.

Adam cheered and clapped as he rushed up to the stage, before Niall could get up and get up here, and he gave Jesse a bro-hug. “Dude, have fun on Blake’s team. It’ll be awesome there, and maybe the next time you two meet up will be in the finals.”

Jesse, though he was surprised, laughed. “Thanks. Maybe so.” Then, he turned to me and hugged me. “It’s been nice knowing you, Everit, and I may actually miss having your crazy hot Irish self around. I’m sure we’ll see each other around, though.”

That, despite everything, made me smile, and I actually hugged him back. “It’s been fun, and I’m sure we will.”

Adam then hugged me against him as he let out a deep breath. “I’m sad he chose you. Niall got me excited for a minute there, but listen to me carefully. You’ve got to learn to put it all away when you walk out on the stage.”

Niall was actually laughing a little as he came over and said his goodbyes to Jesse and then tried to hug me. “Adam, lad, can I have her now?”

Adam shook his head. “I’m magically transferring her to my team. Go away, Irishman!”

That made me laugh, and the relief I felt from such a simple action was mind numbing. Adam let me go, though, and I had to look at Niall with, I’m sure, smeared makeup and bloodshot eyes. I had to look at the guy who saved me, despite the fact that I possibly just utterly failed up there. He hugged me tightly, tighter than he ever had before, and sighed.

“Evie, we’ll talk later.”

That scared me, a lot, but I nodded and let myself breathe. Somehow, miraculously, I made it through. I screwed up, really badly, but I made it.

That’s why I was able to hold my head up because despite the fact that I had almost ruined everything for not only myself but also Ella, I had gone through to sing another day. There was still hope.

Do this for me.

Okay, Ella. And okay people who destroyed me . . . I’ll show you that I can make something of myself.

Notes

This is the chapter where the Sci-Fi genre starts to kick in.

If you're not into that kinda thing, I totally get it. I just wanted to do something different, and this is different.

I hope you continue to enjoy this. I know I'm enjoying editing it as I post. Thank you for the ratings, subscriptions, and comments! They mean a lot, and I hope you continue. :)

Most importantly, though, I want you to just enjoy this series. :)