I stepped through a door to an outside area, where a few people were smoking, and found an empty spot by the chain-link fence separating the space from the parking lot. I kicked some trash away, sank to the ground, and closed my eyes. My leather pants would probably get all scuffed up, but at this point, I didn’t care.

I’d thought I could handle all of this, but the paralyzing fear had crept back in and this time it was mixed with dread. Did it even matter if we performed today? We already knew Angel would never let us stay on her team, even if we blew The Static Klingons away. And odds are I was going to mess up and embarrass the band during our show. I couldn’t even remember how the guitar went in “Somebody Told Me.” What had been simple in practice now seemed impossible. I'd given up my internship for this show, and now we'd be going home in the second week. It didn't seem fair.

“Hey.” Jared’s voice made me snap my eyes open. “Are you not okay again?”

His reference to the song he’d sung for me before our audition made me smile—barely—but I wished it had been Kyle or even Hector who had found me. Jared looked especially handsome today, with his hair spiked up and the barest hint of eyeliner making his blue eyes pop even more. Being alone with him was a delicious agony.

“I just needed some air,” I said.

“Sorry. Should I go?”

“No,” I said, a little too quickly, and then cursed myself for it. It would be better if he left, but I also wanted him to stay. I was a hot mess.

He sat next to me on the ground, his long legs stretching in front of us. “I always get stressed before shows, too.”

“You do?” I found that hard to believe. Jared was always so confident on stage, so sure of himself. “You make it look easy.”

“That’s all an act, but it does get easier every time. You’ll be a pro soon, too.”

“Assuming we don’t get kicked off this week, you mean.”

He leaned his head back against the fence and stared up at the clear sky. “Trust me, I’m still beating myself up for that.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

Jared was silent for a minute, picking at a rough spot on his black jeans. “So you and that Sean guy, huh?”

“What? No. I mean, he seems nice and all, but that’s it.” I nudged Jared with my shoulder. “You jealous?”

He flashed me a smile that made my toes curl. “Maybe.”