"Right now, I'm in a state of mind
I wanna be in like all the time
Ain't got no tears left to cry
So I'm pickin' it up, pickin' it up
I'm lovin', I'm livin', I'm pickin' it up
I'm pickin' it up, pickin' it up
I'm lovin', I'm livin', I'm pickin' it up."

~ No Tears Left to Cry by Ariana Grande

"Attention please! Everyone, gather around!"

A microphone crackled to life, carrying Leo's voice around the room.

The Ravens slowly made their way over to the makeshift stage that had been set up in a corner of the room.

Leo nodded at all of them as he proceeded, "So, I'm pleased to announce that we have four new candidates for the Ravens this semester. Let's give them a hand, shall we?"

As the round of applause issued, Leo nodded at Adalynn and Max, motioning for them to come up on stage.

"Uh oh. Why do I get a bad feeling about this?" Adalynn muttered under her breath as she trudged, annoyed, towards the stage; Max at her heels.

"Let me introduce Max Miller, Adalynn Stanton, Emma Geller and Aspen Fairchild," Leo said, holding out a hand to welcome the foursome onto the stage.

Max and Emma fell back in line, allowing Adalynn and Aspen to be the first ones to advance forward.

As they reached Leo, Aspen suddenly sprang forward and whipped the microphone from his grasp. Clutching his arm and leaning in close to him, she laughed loudly and spoke, "Aw thank you so much, Lee Lee, this is - indeed - a great pleasure, the greatest pleasure!"

Leo cringed away, his face flushing with heat and embarrassment, but Aspen didn't stop. "I - I hope you don't mind, Lee Lee," she said, reaching up to pinch his cheek. "But I want to give something back to each and every one of you that have made my stay here feel so warm and welcoming."

"Aspen!" Adalynn hissed. "W-what are you doing?"

Aspen held out a hand to silence her as she continued, "I'd like to sing you all a song."

Adalynn inwardly groaned.

"Uh - actually ..." Leo started to say.

Aspen raised her eyebrows questioningly and shoved the microphone back in his face. "Yes, Lee Lee?"

"C-can you please stop calling me that? I'm not two and - er - I was going to ask that each of you new students do an item for us," Leo finished with a sigh. "You know, just for fun ..."

"Looks like I was way ahead of you there!" Aspen giggled hysterically. Tossing her heavily curled hair over one shoulder, she proclaimed in a lilting tone, "Tonight, I'll be performing 'I'll Always Love You' by Whitney Houston. It's an oldie, but a goodie." She motioned for the DJ to begin the music.

"Uhhh ... she does know that that song was released in 1992, right?" Max whispered into Adalynn's ear from behind.

"Apparently not," Adalynn huffed and rolled her eyes.

"It's like over 30 years old," Emma piped up softly. "No one listens to it anymore."

A mournful, violin-based tune began to play. "Oh - oh - oh," Aspen closed her eyes as she began to harmonise.

Adalynn flinched and gritted her teeth.

"She's not even in the right pitch," Emma muttered under her breath.

"How do you know that?" Adalynn questioned.

"I - I like music. I used to play the piano all the time when I was little," Emma shrugged. "Not to sound too uppish, but my dad used to say I had perfect pitch."

Adalynn smiled reassuringly at her. "I'm sure you do."

"If I should stay, I would only be in your way," Aspen sang the opening line. "So I'll go, but I know I'll think of you every step of the way ..."

"Oh damn, she better hurry up, Ethan will be here any minute," Max muttered under his breath as he consulted his watch.

"Sooo ... Max? What's your special talent?" Adalynn asked him in a hushed tone.

"M-my special talent?" Max's eyes grew big as he glanced from Adalynn to Emma. "Uhh ..."

"Aw, c'mon, Max, everyone has a special talent," Emma encouraged him as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What's yours?" Adalynn turned to face her.

"Uh ... I - I can rap?" Emma responded.

"Rap? Seriously, that's bae!" Adalynn shook her head. "Wow."

"What about you, Max?" Emma probed him.

"I - I ... I can tap dance!"

Adalynn froze. "W-what ...? You - you can tap dance?" she nearly choked on the last sentence. She could barely get the words out, her laughter was threatening to overflow.

"Uh huh," Max nodded eagerly.

"I - I would love to see you tap dance, Max," Emma smiled shyly.

"You - you would?" Max gasped, surprised. "I - I'll do that than! I'll tap dance! Thank you so much Emma!"

Aspen finished her song and was met with a very small round of polite applause. She curtsied and handed the microphone back to Leo before going to stand with the others.

"Oh, isn't he the cutest?" she gushed, gesturing over at Leo.

Adalynn stiffened. "Yeah ... sure."

"Adi?"

She raised her head and glanced up at Leo.

"What's your secret talent?"

She hesitated, a thousand different thoughts swarming around her mind.

"C'mon, Ad, I know that there's something," Leo smiled warmly as he walked over to her. Grasping one of her hands, he pulled her forward. "Alright guys, I think she needs some encouragement, yeah?"

At this, shouts of laughter and yells of reassurance erupted and resounded throughout the room.

"C'mon, Ad, you can do it!" Hayley called out.

"Whooooo!" Jackie cupped her hands around her mouth to yell.

Adalynn flushed. "Oh, uh, you really don't wanna see it."

"Oh, but we really do, don't we guys?"

Another round of shouts and clapping ensued.

"C'mon, Ad, humour us for a few minutes, will ya?" Leo pleaded.

"Oh alright," Adalynn finally conceded.

"Yesss!" Leo raised his hands triumphantly. "Sooo ... what can you do?"

"Hip hop," Adalynn chuckled.

"Oh my gosh! Take it away!" Leo motioned for her to began.

Adalynn nodded towards the DJ. "No Tears Left to Cry by Ariana Grande, please," she yelled over the excited buzz of the crowd.

The boy nodded and the steady back-drop of music filled the air.

"Whooo!" Hayley screamed out, adding her voice to the ruckus. "Break a leg!"

Adalynn rolled her eyes and grinned as she stood still, waiting for the base to drop. As the beat kicked in, she began by a simple twist and turn manoeuvre leading into a pop and lock move. From there, she went straight into the Soulja Boy move, which she repeated a couple of times. Then she added some liquid and digit moves into the mix.

Straightening up to regain her breath, Adalynn's eyes wondered over to the open doorway across the other side of the room. She instantly froze.

For there, his tall, athletic body leaning against the doorframe, his dark, wavy hair hanging low over his forehead, his deep, hazel eyes watching her every move, was none other than Max's older brother, Ethan!

____

Gif: Adalynn performing her talent.