I hesitated. I didn’t want to abandon them, but Jared had already put his headphones back on and was in the zone again, and there wasn’t much I could do at this point. All my parts were recorded, and I didn’t have the energy to do them over another time. Kyle had studied sound mixing in school, so he was more of a pro at this stuff than me anyway. Besides, Kyle knew how to handle his brother better than anyone.

“All right, but I’m going to check on you both later to make sure you get some rest. Don’t let him burn himself out.”

“I won’t.” Kyle gave me a quick squeeze, and I left. Jared never even looked up.

Sean ran over to me the instant I walked into the lobby of the hotel. “Maddie!”

“Hey,” I said, with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. Naturally I’d run into him when I hadn’t slept, showered, or eaten anything other than coffee and bagels over the last forty-eight hours.

“I saw that whole thing with the photo. I can’t believe what people said about you. Are you all right?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s just a big misunderstanding.” I hadn’t even had time to think about that drama, not with the new drama of the song change, but his words reminded me I was supposed to go out with him. I wanted nothing more than to pass out in my bed, but eating real food sounded pretty good at this point, too. And maybe Jared was right, and being seen with Sean would dispel some of the rumors about us.

“Hey, do you want to grab that dinner I promised you?” I asked.

“Yeah, totally. Right now?”

“If you’re free,” I said, and he nodded. “But before we go, I want to be up front with you, so this doesn’t get weird. We’re just going out as friends, okay?”

“Of course.” He burst into laughter. “Oh, did you think I was asking you out on a date before?”

“No! I mean, I wasn’t sure, and I think you’re great and all, but with the show and…” This was getting super awkward. Time to shut up.

He grinned. “Hey, I’d totally be interested, but I have a girlfriend back home.”

“Oh, okay. Good.” It was a relief to know I wouldn’t be leading Sean on and that he didn’t expect anything from me other than a friendly dinner.

“Besides, Jared would kill me,” Sean added.

“I doubt that,” I muttered.

“You’re really not together?”

“Nope.” And this time, it felt like the truth when I said it.