“Told you. It’s freaky, right?”

I bowed my head, but couldn’t hide the small grin on my face. My arms trembled with exhaustion, my fingertips throbbed, and my hands had cramped up, but I felt whole, like I’d been missing a piece of myself all my life and finally had it glued back on. And I never wanted to lose it again.

CHAPTER FIVE

The guys picked me up bright and early in their van, their gear already packed inside. I squeezed my way into the backseat next to Kyle, who wore a faded black T-shirt and a studded belt. He gave me a quick once-over as I got inside. “Perfect.”

I said a silent thanks to my two best friends. Julie had picked out a black babydoll dress with a hint of lace and loaned me some ropey chain jewelry and knee-high boots. Carla had given me smoky eyes, dark red lips, and a hint of curl to my usually limp brown hair. Somehow they’d made me look fierce, but still like myself, too. Even my black-rimmed glasses looked more ironic than nerdy now.

Hector gave me a nod, too, which I supposed meant he approved. He was dressed similarly to Kyle, except with his usual baseball cap with the Villain Complex logo.

Jared turned from the driver’s seat and looked me up and down. It might have been my imagination, but his eyes seemed to linger a little longer than the other two guys’ had.

“You look great,” he finally said, making my heart skip a beat. “We don’t have much time, so let’s go.”

The van’s door slid shut with a thunk, and we were off, driving along the sleepy Saturday morning streets of Los Angeles toward downtown. I picked at the hem of my dress, the whole situation surreal. I was in a car with three guys in a rock band, going to audition for a TV show I’d watched for years. It was hard to believe this wasn’t all a dream.

The guys didn’t talk much, and the closer we got, the more nervous I felt. This was really happening now. I couldn’t back out. Well, I could, but I’d completely screw the guys over and I would never do that. Kyle was my friend, and Jared had taken a chance on me. Yes, it was only because he needed me for the audition, but I still appreciated his faith in my skills.