Page 46 of Caged in Flames

I guess the good vibes are getting to Charlie, too, because he says, "Can we do a rock, paper, scissors duel? I'm pretty confident in my abilities there."

"No way, dude. I've been saying since the fifth grade you have a mind reading ability because you've never lost a fucking round." Sawyer huffs out.

Giggling, I choose to ignore the rest of their banter as I go back to enjoying the sounds around me, content to have Gunner playing with my hair. As much as I want to tell the guys to fuck off, I’m emotionally drained from being the bad guy.

For the last few weeks, they’ve all made some sort of effort to get on my good side. Sitting with me at lunch or defending me in the halls. Every time I shut them down, I feel like a petty bitch. I know they deserve it. I do. But my head isn’t being reasonable with that fact right now.

"Alright, I see karaoke. Let's go bitch." Jane starts pulling on me, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Gunner, will you sing with me?"

"Not a chance, Jane." He cuts her off before she even finishes asking.

"Jude?" He doesn't even give her a response. Instead, he pretends he didn’t hear anything at all.

She isn’t accepting it.

"Here's the deal, fuckers.” Her eyes narrow, index finger going around and pointing at each of us. “Someone is going to get over there with me and make a fucking fool of themselves so I can get the attention of the second hottest chick in school. If not, I will kiss the first hottest girl…again.”

She smirks at me as she continues with her demands. “Considering you all seem to be fucking obsessed with her, I will make her like it so much not one of you will keep her interest."

Throwing my head back in a cackle, I volunteer as tribute. "Cool your jets, bestie. It's my duty to embarrass myself for the possibility of you getting it on with your crush." I get up and grab her. We skip over to the tent and when I pick out the perfect song, Jane squeals loud enough in my ear that I don't think I'll be able to sing after all.

Luckily, there's no time for the nerves to set in since our turn is up next. From the corner of my eye, I can see the guys making their way to the stage.

Good. Just the audience I was hoping for.

"You take the lead, Nix." While the violin is my musical home, I can carry a decent tune. I know from the class warm ups and our practice sessions that Jane can harmonize with me perfectly.

I laugh to myself, because she's going to kill this and I hope Jasmine is somewhere close to watch it happen.

We both grab a mic, and the music starts. "Shout Out to My Ex" by Little Mix starts to play. I don't shy away from the eyes watching either. I move my hips to the beat and see Jane doing the same.

I have no idea what goddess has decided to take over my body today, but I feel none of the usual performance jitters. Maybe life is really a drug you can get high on in the right environment.

You made my heart break and that made me who I am. I'm having too much fun with how on point these lyrics are.

Jane takes over the second verse and her energy matches my own. She's fanning herself and strutting the stage like the damn queen she is. I spot Jasmine in the crowd and she looks captivated by the sight of my friend on stage. I could have some fun with this.

Grabbing Jane's hand, I force her to twirl around while we dance out the bridge. I pull her back to my front as we belt out the last chorus with everything we've got. Staring straight at the guys, I sing the last line until there’s no air left in my lungs.

I want them to know I meant it when I said I wasn't that same girl from before.

You'll never bring me down.

Gunner comes to help us both down from the stage, and he's got the brightest smile on his face. "Jane, maybe your girl crush over there wants to hang with us the rest of the day?"

"You think? I'm going to ask." She’s barely finished speaking before she’s halfway to her destination. I whistle and holler for her as she marches confidently over to where Jasmine is standing, only looking back to grin at me.

"Nixy, baby, that was so much fun to watch. I think the three stooges over there are broken." He’s laughing through his words.

"Yeah, well that was for me. Not them." I don’t do shit for anyone but myself. Well, maybe it was a little for them. But I’m not diving into those feelings right now. What is it they say about denial?

"I know, baby. Let's go back over there and remind them of that. Jane and Jasmine are headed that way too. Plus, Vixen comes on in just a bit, so we can go find a spot to watch." He links my fingers with his and pulls me over towards the other guys.

"I'm so excited to see her. I can't wait. She’s everything I want to be on stage. I wonder if she wants a stalker. Do you think she has one? Who am I kidding, she probably has several.” I can’t bring myself to stop gushing over her, barely breathing in between sentences.

"I'm kind of hoping there's a big crowd." Gunner whispers this into my ear and the feel of his breath on me sends heat throughout my body.

"Why is that?" I make a show of leaning into him.

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