Bands moved in and out of the lounge as they waited for their sets or recovered afterward, and I admired all of their costumes. Compared to some of them, our band’s sleek, futuristic, black-and-red military uniforms looked almost tame. Of course, mine had a short skirt and a low-cut jacket with nothing underneath, while the guys got pants and a jacket that completely covered them. Dan said it was necessary for the “young male vote,” but the blatant sexism still made me want to set my costume on fire, even if I did look pretty hot in it—especially with the tall black heels that made my legs look longer.

The Static Klingons took the stage and performed “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People, which the audience seemed to enjoy. When they were done, Sean ran over to me with a giant smile. “Maddie!”

“Hey, Sean. Great performance!”

“Thanks!” He reached out a little, like he wanted to hug me, but then pulled back when I didn’t respond. “I’m so sorry about the Angel thing. I just feel horrible about how it all went down.”

“Don’t worry about it—really.” Not this again. I’d seen Sean a few times in the hotel lobby since our battle, and he always apologized for getting us kicked off Angel’s team. Truthfully, I should be apologizing to him, since we now had a better mentor and he was still stuck with Angel.

“Are you doing something tonight after the show? Do you want to get something to eat or…?”

While Sean talked, Jared watched us with a scowl on his face. Probably worried I was giving away all our secrets again.

Hang on, was Sean asking me out on a date? I must have waited a little too long to answer because then he added, “You know, to talk strategy and stuff and, uh, just hang out… ”

Now I was even more confused. Did he actually like me or was he trying to get info out of me? I couldn’t tell, but it didn’t really matter because I had no interest in going out with him. “Sorry, I can’t tonight. I have a meeting with the band.”

“No problem. Maybe later this week?” His drummer called his name, and he turned to wave at him. “I’ve got to run, but we’ll talk later!”

He bounced off to join his band, saving me from further conversation. I’d need another excuse to avoid a date with him later, assuming we both lasted that long on the show. Who knew if either of our bands would still be around after tonight?