Page 20 of Rebel

The guys ate it up, but I just sat there, confused.

Is this my life now?

Surely all of those prying eyes will get to the truth.

I try to swallow my panic and not let it affect me. They will ask what’s up, and I can’t exactly tell them. Luckily, the rehearsal space seems to be a well-kept secret and offers us privacy. Built upon the side of the river, the warehouse seems partially abandoned but has a new lock and security system. There’s a mapped-out stage inside, as well as instruments and equipment, and a seating area of mismatched couches to the right with a bar and small kitchen.

“What is this place?” I ask as I spin around.

“Our rehearsal space. We actually broke in here to practice when we first started out. We couldn’t afford a space, so when we signed, we negotiated with them to rent this place for us, and we did it up a bit. It felt wrong not to rehearse here, since it’s where we started,” Kolton answers.

“Oh,” is all I can say. I never expected that to be the answer. I never expected them to be sentimental either, but it’s clear this place means a lot to them, and as I move around a post, I see Polaroid pictures covering every inch of one side. I stop to look them over.

There’s one at the top from when they just started. They are smiling, and they look so young. The farther down I go, the tenser their smiles become, until they seem to disappear. There’s more at the top with one girl, but it changes a lot as the pictures progress.

Lead singers.

My heart stops, and I crouch to search the recent ones, but there aren’t any. It’s as if they stopped . . . or tore them down.

“You coming, Becks?” Trav calls.

“Coming,” I whisper before clearing my throat. “Yeah, sorry, coming.” I round the post and force a smile. Chase watches me with a confused glare, but the others seem oblivious.

Clearing my throat, I hesitate at the area they mapped out. I sang for them and with them at the diner, but we’ve never performed together. They gave me their set list and lyrics, and I’ve been memorizing them as quickly as I can, but I feel like a spare part as they set up, moving together in sync.

When Chase notices, he sighs, grabs my arm, and pulls me over to the mic. “Don’t worry about anything else right now. When we’re on tour, we’ll have sound checks and mics, but for now, we’re going old school. Just sing and perform. The walls are soundproof, and there’s no one around for miles, so relax, pretty girl, and show us why we picked you.”

“He’s right,” Trav says, and Chase snorts and walks away as Trav sets up the mic for me, lowering it as I fidget. “Relax, it’s just us here, and we don’t expect you to be perfect. We are here and have time to practice before tour, and that’s what we’ll do. What song do you want to start with? We’ll have to practice all of them, since we might need to adjust some chords to match your voice and choreography.”

“We should also add some new songs with Beck,” Kolton adds as Trav moves over to the drums. I blink at him, and Kolton grins. “You’re really good, Beck. It would be a shame to just play the released songs when you had no input in them, but that’s something we can discuss later. Okay, pick a song, and we’ll start playing. If we need to restart, we can, so don’t worry.”

“Hurry up, I’m bored,” Chase drawls, and that annoys me, chasing away my nerves.

“How about we start with ‘Crazy Girls?’” I snap, and when Chase smirks, I know what he’s thinking—I’m one of them, the ass—but I like the angry lyrics, and it was one of the first I was easily able to remember.

“Sounds good. Okay, so on that one, you have a count of thirty before you come in,” Kolton tells me, and then they start to play. This piece is a bit softer than some, and although it’s still rock, it isn’t all screaming and jumping around, thank fuck.

The drums begin, and I count, but I must miss it because they stop. “Shit, sorry,” I mutter, unable to meet their eyes.

“Here, let me help since you’re useless,” Chase mutters. He moves in front of me before the mic, and they begin playing again. Chase nods at me, and I take that as my signal and start to sing. I stumble over the lyrics but keep going until I even out. When the song is done, I wince.

“That wasn’t—” Trav starts.

“Fucking terrible?” Chase snorts. “You’ve got to feel the music, pretty girl, feel the lyrics. Let’s go again. Stop second-guessing yourself. Jesus, just fucking relax or this won’t work. You’re as stiff as a corpse.”

“Maybe because I’m staring at your fucking face,” I mutter, and he bursts out laughing.

“There she is. Okay, let’s try again. We’ll keep practicing until you get it right, but we don’t have all year.” They start up again, and I take a deep breath. This time, I sing as Chase nods, and I work through the song. When it’s finished, I wait.

“Definitely better,” Kolton murmurs.

“On the second chorus, I think Chase should join in.” I hesitate for a moment. They probably don’t want my opinion, but they asked. “I hit that higher note, and he goes low.”

“Let’s try it.” Chase shrugs. “You’re just desperate to sing with me again.”

Staring into Chase’s eyes as we sing is an experience, and when the lyrics fade, Trav whoops. “That was so much better! You were right. What if you go higher again on the second to last line? I think your voice would suit that better.”

“Sure.” I nod at him, knowing I need to make this work for now.