I pressed my hands to my stomach, willing it to be calm. “Honestly? No, I’m not okay.”

He laughed and sang my words to the tune of “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” by My Chemical Romance. He continued with the next lines in the song for a minute, and some of the other people around us turned to watch him serenading me. It should have been embarrassing, but instead it made me smile and some of the tension in my shoulders relaxed. It wasn’t every day a hot guy sang to me, after all.

He finished with an exaggerated bow, and I laughed. “Yes, that song popped into my head, too,” I said. “Unintentional song reference, I promise.”

“It got you to laugh, so my work here is done,” he said, and I melted even more.

Kyle returned and shoved coffee cups at us. “Rumor is, none of the mentors have filled up their teams yet. Sounds like we still have a shot.”

He leaned against the wall next to Jared while they sipped their drinks. When they were side by side, it was obvious they were brothers, with the same deep blue eyes, perfect mouths, and striking jawlines, but Kyle was like Jared with the volume turned to full blast. Kyle showed the world he didn’t conform—with his dyed-black hair, multiple piercings and ear gauges, and tattoos crawling up his neck and down his fingers—but Jared was more restrained. Only the tattoos on his arms hinted at his darker side, like his true self couldn’t quite be contained and had bled ink across his skin. If he wore long sleeves, you’d never know what lurked underneath.

Perhaps that’s why Jared was the one who took my breath away. I could relate to that restraint, to keeping a piece of yourself hidden at all times and feeling like everything had to be under control. There was a part of me—the part that played guitar in my room every night and felt more at home at a rock concert than in an orchestra—that I kept hidden away, too. Problem was, I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep that Maddie locked up anymore.

At one point, Jared made his way around the room to talk to the other bands. He was a natural at it, with his easy charm and charisma, but all I saw were the beautiful women placing their hands on his arms and the way he stood too close to them, laughing at whatever they said. He was supposed to be checking out our competition, not collecting phone numbers. I hated that seeing him flirt with other girls bothered me so much. Kyle had warned me, after all, and it’s not like anything would happen between me and Jared anyway.

“What’d you find out?” Kyle asked when Jared returned.