Fairy Lights was picked for Team Lissa, of course, and Lacey blew kisses at the audience when she strolled off stage. I still wanted to strangle her a little, but I knew in my gut she hadn’t broken my guitar. It was back in Dan’s studio now, but I had no idea if it was fixable. Not only had the producers been unable to find who had done it, they’d said it wasn’t their responsibility to pay for the repairs, even though it happened while my guitar was in the show’s care. Dan knew a guy who would look at it, but I wasn’t optimistic. It would be expensive to repair, enough that I could buy a new guitar for the same price or less—but that was my guitar. I had to get it fixed.

Brazen won the final spot on Team Lance, and then it was Team Dan’s turn. We stood on stage with the many members of The Quiet Battles (I finally counted them—eleven!), and I rocked back and forth on my heels, unable to stop moving. Kyle linked his arm with mine, probably to get me to stay still, but then we dragged the other guys in, too. Please, please, please, I chanted in my head as the band clung to each other. We couldn’t go home now, not when we were so close to the end.

“And the band representing Team Dan in the finals is…” Ray Carter opened his envelope at sloth speed. “Villain Complex!”

The audience roared and lights flashed around us. Did Ray really say our name? Oh my god! We were in the finals! The four of us exploded with a burst of jumping, hugging, and laughing. We’d made it, we were going on tour, and we were one step closer to winning the record deal. My arms were shaking, and I could barely catch my breath. I wanted to let out a happy scream and kiss the guys and tell them I loved them. Hell, I loved everyone in the entire theater right now. And when Jared picked me up and spun me around, I grabbed his face and kissed him.

He stepped back, yanking his hands off me like he’d been burned. “What the hell, Maddie?”

Behind him, Kyle and Hector both stared at us like they weren’t sure what they’d just seen. Oh god, what had I done? I hadn’t meant to kiss him, I’d just been so caught up in everything, and with his arms around me, my body had taken over and done what felt natural.

“Wow, that was some reaction,” Ray said. “We’ll talk to Villain Complex in a minute. Let’s give a hand to The Quiet Battles, who did a great job, too. We’ll miss them.”