There was an eerie sort of silence settled upon the stage at the Fame Theater. The only semblance of sound was the humming of the bright neon lights that were rotating around and illuminating the space where they’d be occupying in an hour or two.


“This is it, man,” Nick surveyed the whole theater while standing next to Orion.

Orion crossed his arms and felt a knot of anxiety hit his chest. It was a big venue. He took a deep breath to calm himself. It wasn’t just that he had been having an internal struggle about Cypress lately, but for all his talent he still got jittery in front of crowds.

Though hardly anyone was there at the early hour.

“Are you playing tonight?” a voice from the side asked and the boys turned to see a man, presumably someone in charge of something as evident by the clipboard in his hand.


“Yeah we’re Incarcerated Heart,” Nick adjusted the strap on his guitar case across his shoulder and smiled.

“Sweet, well just go on back to the Green Room. It looks like you guys go on at eight-thirty tonight so feel free to check your settings. Catering will arrive at seven-thirty and the theater doesn’t open to the public until seven.”

Orion and Nick walked down the long hallway and entered the Green Room where there were a few other members of other competing bands hanging around. The Green Room had exits to the stage, vending machines, and plenty of cushy seating. There was cork board with a pinned list of upcoming shows and the Battle of the Bands schedule. Nick glanced over it and saw there were 10 bands playing total.

“Where is Cypress?” Orion asked, checking the clock.

“He called me before I left and told me he had to run some errands and should be here around six-thirty,” Nick answered, “I’m going to go configure the amp settings since we have time to kill.”


Nick exited the Green Room onto the stage and could see across the theater to where they had first entered. He smirked as he crouched next to the amp, just imagining the cheering crowd and the upcoming electric energy the night promised. He unpacked his guitar and plugged it into the amp, strummed a bit and then twisted the knobs until he got the sound he was looking for. He had a sense of Déjà vu and grinned to himself, wondering if Illyana would need help with configuring her amp settings. He knew she was his competition but he couldn't wait to see her again.


When he was satisfied he returned to the Green Room to find Orion had been accosted by some girls from school. He smoothly stepped in to join the conversation, putting his best smile on for the brunette in the pink skirt.

“Hey there, are you two in a band?”

“Not really,” giggled the one in pigtails he may have had algebra with, “We helped carry in my brother’s equipment and saw Orion.”

Orion gulped, feeling his anxiety flare up, “So you’ll be watching tonight?”

“Duh,” she replied with a playful roll of her eyes. “I know I’m supposed to be rooting for my brother’s band but I like you guys much better, so good luck!”

“You know, they say kisses are the best way to wish good luck,” Nick raised his brows and puckered his lips at them. They giggled even harder before they ultimately were called away by the coordinator because they were not in any bands and shouldn’t be lingering backstage.


“You’re sick,” Orion shoved Nick lightly in the shoulder, and he fell into one of the cushy chairs with the side of his face cupped in his hand.

Orion sat in the chair next to him and crossed his arms, seeming worried.

“What’s wrong dude?”

“I’m just nervous.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll win.”

“It’s not that. I’ve had issues playing live before, you know that.”

Nick sighed and gave a nod, remembering the last gig they played at a local restaurant and pool hall. Orion had choked while in the middle of a song, ran offstage and Cypress had to chase him down in the bathroom to calm him. Which left Nick entertaining the crowd to the sounds of improvised guitar solos. They only got paid half of what they were promised.

Orion’s leg was tapping the floor in increasing time, jittery like a kid who had too much coffee. Nick kicked his leg out and pinned Orion’s down, giving him a level stare, “Stop and take another deep breath and you’ll get through it, I promise.”

Orion nodded and inhaled.

Idle chatter had grown as more bands arrived in the Green Room but a voice rose above the chatter and Nick clearly made out one he recognized as it said his name. Though when his eyes landed on the voice he was familiar with, their image was something he wasn't.


“Nick!” Illyana repeated and waved from the Green Room entrance.

She was hardcore rocking a style to match her music. Her hair was let down with streaks of red to match her guitar, her jeans were torn to get that edgy punk rock look, and her lips were shimmering in a ruby red lipstick - smiling wide at him. She came to win and look good doing it.

It may have taken a moment for Nick’s brain to start again, to form a cohesive sentence after taking the new appearance in, “Hey.”

Her drummer stayed back to chat with the coordinator, as Illyana made her way to where Nick and Orion were sitting.

Nick gave a low whistle as she approached, “Damn, Ill, you look amazing. I hope you wear that on our date.”

She narrowed her eyes at him as her cheeks adopted a shade of red but didn’t dignify him with an answer, instead, she asked, “Where is your drummer?”

“He’ll be along. What about your new 'secret weapon' of a singer? Where are they?” Nick shot back, not forgetting Illyana’s proclamation at the comics store a few weeks ago that her new singer was they key to beating his band.


lllyana called a name out over the other talking musicians and an extremely beautiful girl emerged, walking toward them and stood next to Illyana.

“This is Alarie’s sister, Alanna, our new singer.”


It took Nick and Orion a moment to realize they had actually seen her before at the Starboard Lounge. Nick’s jaw dropped, “You were Cypress’s date!”

Orion sort of grimaced at the memory but still seemed amazed at Alanna’s transformation. She was a true chameleon, and they wouldn’t have recognized her otherwise.

She was wearing hip-hugging jeans with black high heel boots and a blue halter top that revealed a pierced navel. Her hair, instead of being in a braid, was pulled into a side ponytail and teased.

Little did they know all of the effort and pains her sister had to deal with to get Alanna into such a get-up.

“Yeah, but that didn’t really work out,” Alanna replied.

“What do you mean?” Orion leaned forward with sudden interest and a raised brow. He’d always wondered how Cypress’s date went but Cypress never mentioned it and he was too afraid to ask.

“We didn’t really have any chemistry,” Alanna met Orion’s gaze, “He’s a nice guy and you’re lucky to have him as a friend.”

Orion knew that! Why did she sound so adamant as she said it?

She didn't explain herself, just smiled warmly and wished them luck before Illyana ushered her back toward her sister in an attempt to regroup.

“We don’t need luck, we’re going to win!” Nick cockily called out after them, causing Illyana to turn around and roll her eyes with the utmost exaggeration.


“Can you call Cypress and see if he’s on his way?” Orion asked.

“I’m sure he is on his way, it's only a quarter after,” Nick shrugged.

“Can you please just do it?” Orion snapped. Nick looked a bit struck at his friend’s impatient demeanor but then figured it was Orion’s nerves driving him to act that way. So he shrugged and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed.

It went straight to voice mail. Nick hung up and a touch of worry reached his eyes as he looked to Orion, “Dude, he didn’t answer.”