I rolled my eyes. “He’s just a nice guy, and you’re being paranoid.”

“Okay, then he wants to get in your pants.”

“I highly doubt that.” Yes, Sean was the sort of guy I usually dated, but he was also our competition. He lived in Nebraska anyway. “And if he does, what do you care?”

It was a loaded question and Jared’s eyes widened for second, but then his cool exterior took over again. “I don’t. Just be careful what you say to him.”

“God, Jared, I’m not going to tell him anything.”

I walked away before he could reply. Did he actually think I would betray the band just because some cute guy smiled at me? And why did it sting so much that Jared didn’t care if Sean wanted me? Like the other guys, he only saw me as a little sister. While I found this charming in Kyle and amusing in Hector, when Jared acted like an overprotective big brother, I kind of wanted to kick something.

According to our schedule, Angel was supposed to show up during our final two hours of practice, but she never did.

That night I told the guys I was tired and watched the second group of auditions alone in my hotel room. I couldn’t handle another night of awkwardness next to Jared, especially after our conversation earlier.

For the next few days, we spent most of our time in rehearsal, and Angel still never appeared. I was starting to think she was a mentor in name only. Were the other bands on her team being ignored, too, or was it just us? I thought about asking Sean, but Jared’s warning echoed in my head. I didn’t think Sean was using me for info, but it wouldn’t hurt to be careful either.

In the evenings, many of the bands hung out in the lobby of the hotel, mingling and gossiping and flirting, but I didn’t join them. I had zero interest in seeing Jared slipping off to some hotel room with another girl. Besides, I felt like an imposter around the other bands, like as soon as I opened my mouth they’d realize I wasn’t really one of them. I didn’t want them to think, Why are you on this show, you hack?

Instead, I retreated to my room and ate alone every night. Being around the guys all day was exhausting anyway, and I needed some alone time to recharge. I sent updates to Carla, who was in New York on some fashion shoot, and Julie, who had returned to the town in Northern California where we’d grown up to see her parents.

On Thursday night, she called me while I was watching TV and painting my nails a dark burgundy. “Hey, Julie, what’s up?”