Page 96 of On the Beat

Finally, after what feels like an interminable length of time, Naoya appears on stage, his hair looking oddly dishevelled compared to his usual meticulous appearance. “Sorry I’m late.”

He stands next to me behind the other mike. The crowd cheers.

“We’re going to be singing a brand new song together,” Naoya says. “Though Ryder and I have had plenty of differences in our past… we’re glad to put them aside, to singMake The Cut!”

I’ve prepared for this moment for what feels like my whole life. To be on stage, performing at the Grammy’s, even if it is with my nemesis… it’s a thrill nothing else could replicate.

“We’ve been in this push and pull for years,” Naoya starts to sing the first verse. As much as I’d like to deny it he actually sounds decent. “Every time you call me, you want me to come running…”

His voice reaches a high falsetto, earning the applause of the crowd. “You want me to stay over, or go, or stay, or leave… There’s nothing I can do to keep away, but sometimes, I wish we’d just make the cut.”

I join him in the chorus. “But every time I think about it, something keeps dragging me back…”

“I don’t know if I can make the cut, because I don’t remember who I was before you…” Naoya sings.

I shut my eyes on the second verse, swept away by the lyrics. The second verse was written by me, while Naoya wrote the first, and we co-wrote the chorus. “I love you, you hate me, we go back and forth. This circle is never gonna end, baby, not unless we make the cut.”

My eyes still closed, I expect Naoya to go into the chorus with me.

But he doesn’t.

I hear footsteps clatter on the stage. The band stops playing. More than applause reaches my ears; I hear gasps, shouts, and even some laughter.

Horrified, I open my eyes and turn around.

Naoya Sugawa is still standing onstage.

The only problem?

He’s kissing my sister.

#

@ttang: First, there was #slapgate. Now, there’s #kissgate

@olliejames: @ttang wanna reenact that with me?

@ttang: @olliejames the former, sure. The latter, no

@MuseUnmasked: A lady doesn’t kiss and tell…

Epilogue: Isla Romero

“Are you ready?” I ask Ryder, right before the cameras start rolling. “I know you’re not used to being on camera. It’s okay, just follow my lead.”

He laughs. “I think you need to remember who the pro is here.”

We’re in the brand new recording studio forOn The Beat Music Reviews, which has now expanded into being a YouTube original. Far from the now-paltry 100k subscribers I had last year, my channel has now become monetizedandI have actual celebrities andVarietymagazine watching. It’s mind-blowing to think that just two years ago, I was still working at SnapBuzz, hoping for a dream that I didn’t bother to truly fight for.

“Just remember, don’t look directly into the lens, viewers don’t like that,” I joke.

He nudges me as a makeup artist comes over to touch up my face. “What are we filming again?”

“A music video reaction. Youpickedthe video to react to, remember?” I remind him, then scan his face to make sure he’s joking. “You did pick the video, right?”

“Of course, Isla. You can trust me.”

“Good, because you only had one job. Well, two, the other was to be in this video.”

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