But once I started, my fingers knew what to do. I forgot seeing and focused on hearing, feeling, being. On Hector’s steady beat and Jared’s baseline vibrating through my bones. On Kyle’s clear tones tying it all together. Our version of “Enjoy the Silence” sounded like we’d dipped the original in black ink and razorblades, and Jared’s voice was perfect for it. And with nothing in the world except me and the music, I could easily imagine he was singing the words only to me.

When the song ended, his arm took mine to help me move across the stage to the center. I pushed my blindfold back, grateful for his help since everything around me was a blurred mess of faces and lights. By the roar of the crowd, I could tell the audience loved our version, and I knew Julie and Carla were somewhere out there, cheering me on. The mentors praised our unique take on the song and on our interesting performance, and I hoped Lacey was watching this moment. Suck it, cowgirl.

The stage turned for the next band, and as soon as we were backstage, they wanted us to do an interview right away. On the way to the interview area, I stopped to ask producer Steve if they’d found my glasses yet.

“No, but we’re on it.” He had a rapid no-nonsense way of talking. “Don’t worry. Let us handle this, and we’ll get your glasses back to you in no time.” He checked his massive shiny watch. “Now if you could just hurry to your interview, that’d be great. Ray has to be back on stage in six minutes.”

Thanks for being no help at all, Steve. I rejoined the band, and we were hustled over to speak with Ray.

“That was a fun performance,” Ray said. “And what a statement! Dan said it wasn’t his idea—whose was it?”

“It was Maddie’s,” Jared said, leaning into the mic. “Her glasses vanished right before we went on, and she came up with this solution.”

“Talk about quick thinking.” Ray shoved the mic in my face. “We’ve never had anyone play guitar blindfolded on the show before.”

“It was really Jared’s idea,” I said, blushing like crazy, like I always did when the focus was on me. “He said he knew I could play even if I was blindfolded, and a light bulb went off.”

“You two are a great team.” He grinned at both of us. “And it seems like there’s some chemistry there, too. The fans want to know: Is there anything between you?”

“No!” we both said, too fast.

“We’re just friends,” Jared added. My least favorite phrase these days.

Ray laughed. “That’s too bad, though you’d both break some hearts if the fans knew you were off the market.”

“Don’t worry. Jared is still available,” I said and hated myself.