Dedicated to @TurnOutTheLight for awesome comments. You actually motivated me to update faster..... Enjoy

Having a million friends isn't a miracle. Having a Best Friend who will stand there by you when those millions go against you, is definitely a miracle......

Chapter 14 : Persuasion in Vain

The morning light seeped through the curtains, illuminating my room. I twisted in my bed, only to find Sam asleep, with her mouth slightly ajar. To be honest, Sam was quite pretty. Her auburn-brown hair came a little past her shoulders and her hazel eyes were always twinkling.

Yesterday, after my singing, both of the idiots almost squeezed me to death with their group hug. I did get a confidence boost yesterday, but only enough to sing openly to myself. I was really sad that I never sung even to myself, except those nights when I couldn't go without making some productive use of my vocal cords.

That was the only time I kept my voice in check. It's only because of those nights that I still remember how to sing.

So after the celebration of my singing, Sam stayed the night, since she was way too excited about my voice and it was also getting late.

My parents still weren't aware of this, though.

I looked at the clock. It was time to get ready for school. I gently shook Sam.

"Get up sleeping beauty. School awaits us," I said, still shaking her.

"Umnmfhphh," was her reply as she turned to face the pillow.

"Come on, other wise we'll be late," I said nudging her.

"Go away."

"Hmph! Okay fine. Don't say I didn't try nicely," I muttered as I went into the washroom and switched on the tap which started filling the bucket. I jogged downstairs and opened the fridge to take out ice cubes.

I ran upstairs and dumped the ice-cubes in the half filled bucket. I, then picked the bucket up and went towards Sam.

"Sammy, you sure you don't wanna get up?"

"Lehme sleeeep," came her reply.

It was my cue to dump the bucket on her. And I did.

"HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS!" Sam jumped up, soaking wet.

I laughed at her reaction.

"What the hell was that for?" Sam asked, shivering a bit.

"Well, you weren't ready to wake up for school, which reminds me that we have," I looked at my watch," only 30 minutes to get ready."

"Oh sh-"

"And I call the washroom first," I said and ran towards the bathroom.

It took about ten seconds for Sam to realize what I had said, after which, her eyes widened and she got up. But it was too late. I had already shut the door before she could even reach it.

"Open up!" she said banging my door.

I just laughed and hopped into shower. I quickly scrubbed and washed myself and went out with my bathing robe on. As I pushed past the bathroom door, I was received with the sight of a glaring Sam.

"You are so dead!" she said in a low voice as she took slow steps towards me.

My eyes widened as I began running around the room. I looked back to see Sam laughing, holding her stomach.

"T-That was s-so f-f-funny. Y-Your face w-was priceless" she kept on laughing at me since I, oh-so stupidly fell for her plan.

Before I could charge at her, she quickly went into the washroom and shut the door.

I turned around to change my clothes. I picked out black skinny jeans and a loose red shirt-top. I tied my hair into the usual ponytail and dabbed some moisturizer on my face.

I was checking the stuff in my bag when Sam called out,"Um, Ali?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you by any chance have something I can wear?" she asked popping her head out of the bathroom door.

"Yeah su- wait a minute! Why should I help you?" I asked with a mischievous glint in my eye.

"Uh, because I'm your really awesome new best friend?"

"Well, as I remember, my 'really awesome new best friend' just made a joke out of me. So why should I help her?"

"Wait, so you're saying that you really wanted me to chase you till we went out of breath and got late for school?"

Well, she had a point.

"And plus, you dumped ice cold water on me, so I guess we're even."

And there was another point.

"Okay, fine. Wait a second, I'll give you the clothes."

She grinned in victory, while I grudgingly went to my cupboard to look for some clothes. I took out my blue jeans and chose a purple top that said 'I'm too cool, even for me' and held it out for Sam.

After getting ready, we both headed downstairs since mom was going to drop us off.

We reached school in good time. The walls of the hallways were dressed in big blue and white posters announcing the auditions for the different categories of the Talent Hunt.

The auditions were going to be held throughout the week. There were usually four to five rounds in each category, depending upon the competition among the students. The first round was held after the auditions and the short-listed students went further into the rounds.

Usually the auditions were judged by professional artists that came from other states, to make sure that the teachers didn't favor any child and so that they could identify if the child used any unauthorized means of performing their act like, for the dance category, the students were prohibited to copy an act from anywhere. They were supposed to be original and make their own steps and moves. In singing, the judges checked if there was any kind of auto-tuning instruments used in singing etc.

After the auditions, the short-listed students went for the further rounds. The elimination of the students in those rounds depended upon the voting of the students, the school faculty and the guests that were sometimes invited to view the competition.

Basically, the whole week was spent in these activities so there were very less classes to attend.

"Wow. This Talent Hunt seems like a big thing," Sam said, admiring the decorations that covered the whole school.

"Yup. It is the biggest event for everyone, especially seniors since this event is capable of changing your future, for the good," I replied.

"Now even I'm thinking of participating."

"Really? That's awesome! But what category are you going to go for?" I asked, excited to see Sam's hidden talent.

"Um, I really want to be a well-known DJ. I mean I love mixing songs and different tracks. It is my favorite passtime and....hey wanna listen to one of my tracks?" she asked.

I nodded, with a smile.

She took out her phone and attatched the earphones to it and then handed me the ear plugs. As I put them in my ear, she hit play and it started.

The songs was a mix of 'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri and 'Titanium' by Sia ft David Guetta. And biy, was it perfect?

I was left gaping as I heard the whole song. It was as if I was listening to only one song instead of two different songs mixed together. The beats of both the songs matched so perfectly. I couldn't find any other word to describe it.

By the time the song finished, I was out of words.

"Like it?" Sam asked me a bit nervously.

"Are you crazy? I love it," I nearly shouted.

Her face immediately brightened up as if I'd just told her that Santa existed.

"Really?"

"Really" I answered.

"So do you have any category that I can take part in?"

"Ofcourse! The category of music is divided further into instrumental music and Dj. All you have to do is mix the tracks live, in front of the audience. You can go for auditioning on today itself."

"Are you sure I'm worth taking part in such a big competition?"

"Are you kidding me?! The judges will be the lucky ones if you be a participant" I nearly yelled.

"Tha-," was all she could say since the bell rung.

With a quick goodbye, we both parted ways and I rushed to my class.

*******

"No"

"Come on"

"No," I repeated for what felt like the fiftieth time.

"It's an awesome idea," Candy exclaimed.

"It's the worst idea ever!"

"I think Aaron is right," Sam joined in.

Great! My own best friends wanted me to jump of a cliff.

Not literally, though.

Right now, the three of us were sitting in the library since we all had a free period and also because there were very slim chances of anyone turning up in the library during their free time, so we could sit together and my idiotic best friends thought it would be a brilliant idea to convince me to take part in the singing competition.

"It's a great opportunity for you to try and come out of the fears that keep controlling you," Candy said.

"Aaron, Sam, if I sang in front of you both that does not mean that I am totally capable of singing in front of a large crowd. Do you even know how much courage it took me to keep myself from backing out last minute? If it was so tough for me to sing in front of you, how do you expect me to go and sing in front of unknown people?

It has been eight years since I sang in front of random people. And what gives you the idea that history won't repeat itself?" I sighed.

"Are you kidding me? Do you even hear yourself right now?" Aaron almost shouted, his expression filled with anger.

My eyes widened as I looked at him. I hadn't seen him this angry in a long time.

It was a good thing that even the librarian wasn't here right now. Otherwise we would've been kicked out not-so nicely.

"You do realize that you're THE best singer this whole school has? Scratch that, you are the best singer in the whole state. So just because you fell on the stage once, you're gonna leave your passion, yourself for your whole damn life? And what do you plan to do after school?"

That shut me up. Honestly, singing was my life and I wanted to be a singer ever since I started speaking. And I hadn't even thought of doing anything besides singing.

"Ali, what the hell are you doing with yourself, your whole life? You just can't throw it away like its some piece of trash. I've seen the way your eyes twinkle when you sing. Nothing makes you happier than your musical world. Please don't do this to yourself," he nearly begged.

My eyes softened at his words. He was absolutely right but could I do it?

The answer for me was: no.

It was a lot more difficult than it seemed.

My lack of response made my answer clear for Candy. He swiftly got up, his eyes hardening. He turned around and left.

Without a single word.

"You know, what he was saying was actually right. I've never heard anyone sing like you, Ali. You really need to stop underestimating yourself," Sam said.

"You think I don't know that? But I still think I can't do it," I answered, putting my head in my hands.

"I gotta go. I have class in five minutes. All I'm going to say is that try to believe in yourself more than anything. You just have one chance to prove yourself right now. Don't let it slip away from your grasp."

I let Sam's words roam in my mind as I sat there alone.

****

After my classes were all over, I proceeded to stuff my books in my locker. After the library time, I had left to attend my classes.

All the time in my class, my mind was on the conversation I had in the library. It didn't help at all when all the teachers decided to boost our confidence through their enlightening words in all of my classes.

As I went out, I found mom waiting for me. I quickly went up to her and sat on the passenger seat.

"Hey sweety, how was your day?" she asked.

"Boring," I replied," I didn't have many classes to attend so I ended up getting bored since neither of my best friends seemed to be free at that time."

I skipped the part of our little fight.

"Now that is what I call pure torture. That is why you should make more friends," she said, chuckling.

Only if you knew mom, only if you knew.

Mom dropped me home and went for work. I went inside and lied down on the couch. I twisted and turned, trying to figure out what to do.

I tried to look through the channels to see if anything interesting was coming. After a long search, I gave up.

I decided to call Aaron. I clicked on his name but hesitated from clicking on the 'call' button. He seemed mad at me in the library. I mentally debated and finally clicked the green button.

What harm would it be to call, right? He was my best friend after all.

I heard the ringtone start.

Each passing second, my nervousness increased.

He won't ignore my call, right? I hope he wasn't that mad.

I waited for a few more seconds. Just as I was about to give up, I heard my favorite voice.

"Hello?" Candy answered.

"Heyi!!"

"Who is this?" he asked.

I groaned. "Can we not do this now?"

"What do you mean? I'm really sorry, but I don't know who you are," he said.

"I'm sorry, Candy. I know you are right and probably upset with me, but come on, I know you won't be able to resist talking to me. And I'm getting really bored here. Please come over," I pleaded.

"You have to give me one good offer for not to be upset with you. Then I'll think about coming to your house," he answered.

"So you finally know who I am now, huh," I smirked.

"Don't change the topic."

"Okay," I huffed," how about I make you some food?"

"Not good enough. Plus you can't cook to save your life," he retorted.

"Hey! My peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are to die for," I replied, pouting.

"Do you want to offer anything else or do I hang up?"

"NO. Okay, let me think," I said, buying some more time.

"Tick tock. Tick tock."

"Okay, how about I sing you a song if you come over?" I asked.

He seemed to be considering the offer.

'Please say yes, Please say yes.' I prayed.

"Hmm. Okay, but my choice. Okay?"

"Deal!" I said, grinning.

"Okay, I'll be there in two."

He hung up.

True to his word, the bell rung in around three minutes, which made me wonder.....

I opened the door to see Aaron standing there in a white v-neck and dark washed jeans and messy hair. A sight that made most girls drool.

"Where were you exactly when I called?" I asked narrowing my eyes.

"I-uh was nearby," he answered.

"And were you by any chance coming to my house?" I asked, narrowing my eyes even further.

"Will you kill me if I say yes?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

I tried to shut the door on his face, but he caught it in time.

"Oh come on, Muffin, I was just joking around," he said entering my house.

"Hmph"

He rolled his eyes at my antics and gripped my shoulders, turning e around. He started pushing me towards my room.

"Now I want to hear the song I was talking about."

"NO."

"You made a deal, so you can't back out now. Remember, I can always go back to my house."

I stomped my foot in annoyance but still picked up my guitar.

"What song do you want me to sing?"

"Um, how about a Taylor Swift song?"

I raised an eye-brow. "Taylor Swift? I never pegged you as a Swiftie."

"Oh shut up and just sing the darn song!" he pouted, a faint red colour tinged his cheeks.

I simply shook my head, chuckling.

"There I was again tonight,

Forcing laughter faking smiles,

Same old tired lonely place......"

****

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