I heard Mae throw up again. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Ugh, I am NEVER drinking again," Mae said, walking out of the bathroom. Her hair was a tangled mess ontop of her head and she had dark circles under her eyes.

"Whatever. You say that every time you get really drunk. But then you do it again eventually," I said. She shot me a glare and climbed back into her bed, pulling the covers over her head. I glanced at the clock. "I have to get to work. I'll see you this evening though," I told her. She let out a muffled response that I couldn't comprehend. I grabbed my bag and walked out.

Work was boring, as usual. It was a busy day because it was Saturday. People were buzzing in and out. Right now it was a little slow because it was between meals. I yawned and tapped at the register, wishing for something interesting to happen.

"Excuse me," I heard. I looked up and my eyes widened. In front of me was the attractive bassist from The Velocity that I had seen on stage the other night.

"Umm, hello. How can I help you?" I asked. The guy had intense, dark brown eyes that matched his dark hair.

"This place attracts lots of musicians, right?" he asked. I nodded.

"Every Friday we have like a performance-" I began, but he cut me off.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Can I put this ad up?" he asked, gesturing towards the papers he held in his hand.

"Umm. I have to ask my boss. Wait one second," I said. I went to the back, looking for Mr. Newton. I wondered what the guy was doing there and what the ad was for.

"Mr. Newton, there's a guy here from a band and he's asking if he can put an ad up on our bulletin board," I told my boss when I found him.

"What kind of ad?" he asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know. I didn't ask," I replied. He gave me a look.

"Walk. I'm coming," he said, pointing to the door. I walked back out.

"What is the ad for?" I asked the guitarist.

"We're looking for a new lead singer for our group," he answered.

"What? But I saw you perform yesterday and you had-" I began, but he cut me off again.

"Yeah; he dipped last night. He said he was going solo and left. That's why we're looking for a new lead," he explained, looking annoyed at me. Mr. Newton walked out at this point.

"Yes, sir. How can I help you?" he asked the guitarist.

"I was wondering if I could put this ad up. We're looking for a new lead singer," he explained, handing Mr. Newton an ad. I peeked over his shoulder to look at it.

"Oh. Yes, of course," Mr. Newton said, handing it back to him.

"Thanks. And I was also wondering if we could hold the auditions here next Friday," he asked.

"Yeah! That's cool with me," Mr. Newton replied, trying to sound cool. The guy flashed him a smile.

"Thanks. I'll see you next week, then," he told Mr. Newton. And with that, he went over to our bulletin board, pinned the ad on it, and then walked out.

"He was from The Velocity, right? That's a good band right there. They're going to be famous one day," Mr. Newton said. Then he blinked and looked at me. "Well what are you standing there for?! Go wait on some tables!" he barked at me. I jumped and grabbed my pen and notepad.

                                                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~

"You have to do it!" Mae said.

"No," I replied.

"Why not? Come ON, Ness. This is a chance of a lifetime. Sign up!!!" Mae urged.

I had made the mistake of telling Mae about the incident at TFP and now she was telling me to sign up for the auditions.

"They're not going to want a girl lead, anyway. There's no point," I said. She let out a large sigh.

"When are you going to suck it up and put your fears down, Vanessa? You have so much freaking potential; you have the talent to make it big and this could be your big break. When are you going to stop standing behind closed doors, when you have the key in your hands right now? I promise you that when you get your accounting degree next semester and you find a job working for some small business, and you're sitting in a cubicle punching numbers, you're going to look back at this moment and think 'Why didn't I do it?' And then you'll be sorry and it'll be too late," she told me, empathy in her eyes. I looked at her. She had never said anything like that to me before. She looked at me, her eyes hard, and then walked away, shaking her head. I looked down at my hands which were wringed together in stress. What was I supposed to do?

                                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~

"Thanks for auditioning, man. We'll definitely consider you," the drummer said.

It was Friday night and the auditions were well under way. I was working, so I had no choice but to be there. The place was packed full of people who wanted to audition, people that were supporting those people, and then people who just came to watch.

Mae wouldn't talk to me the rest of the week. She was still mad at me for not signing up.

The people auditioning, though, were terrible. They either didn't fit the style of music that the band played, sounded horrible, or weren't serious. The drummer and second guitarist were giving words of encouragement, while the dark haired bassist was straight up telling it how it was.

"Next!" he said, not even letting a guy, who looked about 17, begin to sing. The guy dropped his head and walked off the stage disappointed. I noted that there were no girls auditioning. I could just imagine how harsh the bassist would be to a girl.

The night carried on and brought on some people that actually had talent and potential. By 8:50, I could tell that the band was getting tired and bored. There were only a few people left to audition and I could tell people all around were getting restless and anxious. I saw Mae walk in at 9:00 to see who the band would pick as their lead singer. Our eyes met and she looked away, still looking angry at me. At that point, the last person finished auditioning.

"Anyone else want to give it a go?" the drummer asked. The crowd didn't respond. I set my notepad down on the countertop in front of me,  pulled my visor off, looked at Mae, and stepped up.

"I do," I said loudly. The crowd all looked over at me. Mae raised an eyebrow. I went on to the stage and grabbed the microphone.

"Don't bother," the bassist said, looking up at me with his gleaming brown eyes. "It's a no," he added. The drummer punched him in the arm.

"Don't listen to him. What's your name?" he asked.

"Vanessa," I answered.

"All right, Vanessa. Show us what you've got," he said. I stood frrozen with the mic in my hands. I hadn't prepared anything to sing. I felt everyone staring at me, waiting for me to sing. I picked up the acoustic guitar by the band's table, and sat on a stool that was on the corner of the stage. I was going to do Paramore.

"I'm in the business of misery let's take it from the top. She's got a body like an hour glass, it's tickin' like a clock. It's a matter of time before we all run out. But when I thought he was mine, she caught him by the mouth. I waited eight long months, she finally set him free. I told him I couldn't lie, he was the only one for me. Two weeks and we had caught on fire. She had it out for me, but I wore the biggest smile. Woaah, I never meant to brag. But I got him where I want him now. Woaaah, it was never my intention to brag, to steal it all away from you now. But God, does it feel so good. Cuz I got him where I want him now. And if you could then you know you would. 'Cuz God, it just feels so good," I sang. They stopped me there.

"All right. That's good," the blonde guitarist said.

"Good? That was AWESOME," the drummer said, smiling at me.

"No," the bassist said.

"Ian, come ON. She was amazing," the drummer said. Ian, that's his name.

"We're not having a girl in our band. No discussion," Ian said, glaring at me.

"Why not? You're not the only person in this band. This should be up for discussion," the blonde guitarist said.

"Yeah, and me and Camron think that she should be in," the drummer said.

"I don't care. I'm the leader now and I don't want a girl to be in our band. It'll ruin the whole image," Ian argued, looking frustrated.

"It's a new direction. It'll be good for the band," the drummer argued.

"Liam's right. It'll make us stand out a little. And she has a really strong voice," Camron said. The others that auditioned that were told they had a chance listened eagerly to the conversation. I was beginning to feel really warm on stage and was hoping they'd hurry up.

"I vote no," Ian said firmly.

"Well I vote yes," Camron said.

"And so do I," Liam agreed.

"But it has to be unanimous, so it doesn't matter," Ian said.

"We never established that," Liam retorted.

"Don't listen to him; you're in," Camron said to me, ignoring Ian.

"No! No she's not!" Ian yelled. "No you're not!" he told me, standing up and pointing at me to stay standing where I was.

"Yes; she is," Camron replied, pushing him back into his seat.

"We're sorry everyone. Thanks for coming out and auditioning. We saw some great talent. But we've made our decision--" Liam began announcing, standing up and facing the crowd. Ian tried to stand up to, fighting against Camron's grip. "Vanessa is the new lead singer of The Velocity! Thank you all!" Liam finished. Ian let out an aggravated noise, pushed Camron off of his arm and stormed out the door.

I stood on stage, not really quite sure of what just happened. Liam and Camron climbed onto the stage to congratulate me and welcome me into the band. The crowd applauded and cheered for me. I saw Mae making her way up to the stage. I felt my knees grow weak and the place darken.

And then I fainted.

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UPDATE: 2/10/13 Thanks to HopeSilver for making the awesome band logo on the side! =)