Louder

Chapter 6

     Serena, Liam and I stood in the practice room, waiting for Carson to come back. Serena was pacing around the room, looking stressed, and I bit my lip. I wasn't sure of what to do either, so I rocked on my heels.

      "Relax Serena, everything's going to be okay," Liam said.

     "How could you say that!" Serena exclaimed. "How am I going to practice with Carson in the room!"

     "Ugh, I don't know. Maybe tell him he's not invited to your practice session?"

     Serena narrowed her eyes at Liam and he shrugged. I sighed lightly, tensing for their fight to begin. But before it could, Carson popped into the room.

     "Hey, is everything okay?" Carson asked, looking at Liam and Serena who glared at each other.

      "Yes, everything is great," Serena said, breaking into a huge smile.

     "Are you going to practice now? Would... I be able to watch?"

     Serena hesitated for a second and I stared at her, wondering what she would say. Carson had asked her to come over to practice, even after Serena told him she preferred to practice at home. And even though the smart thing to do would have been to refuse his offer, Serena didn't have the heart to do it. So there we were, in the basement, unsure of how we would practice singing when I was the one who actually sang.

      "I... Sorry Carson, but I prefer to practice alone," Serena said, looking down at her feet. "I mean, I'm okay with Nivenah and Liam being here because we've been friends since we were children, but... I just met you. Singing with you there would feel... too intimate."

     "Intimate?" Carson blinked. "What? I'm lost. You sing in front of crowds of people but you can't sing in front of me?"

      "Singing in front of a crowd of people is different than singing in front of a few people," I said.

     Carson looked over at me, a confused look on his face. I stared at him, wondering why I spoke up.

     "How?" he asked.

     "Well, a crowd is like a sea of strangers," I said. "You don't know anyone and you don't focus on anyone within the crowd. But with a small group of people, you're so much more aware of everyone in the room. You know their faces and you can clearly see their reactions, which... is more intimate."

     Carson looked up thoughtfully and I stared at him, feeling embarrassed. I wasn't sure why I felt the need to tell someone that, but there I was pouring the idea out.

     "Make sense," Carson said, looking back at me. "I never thought of that."

      I nodded, unsure of what to say.

      "Exactly," Serena added, bringing Carson's attention to her. "I'm really sorry Carson, but I would feel too nervous to sing in front of you."

     "No problem," Carson said, his eyes softening up. "I have to do something upstairs anyways, so I'll leave you guys alone for now. I'll come back in a bit."

     "Sounds good." Serena grinned.

     Carson smiled and then turned around and left. As soon as we couldn't hear his footsteps, Serena let out a sigh of relief and I smiled. She then plopped down on the couch and looked up at the ceiling, seeming thankful.

     "We dodged a bullet," Serena said. "Thank god."

     "What do you even see in him?" Liam asked, surprising the both of us. "He's just so..."

     "What?" Serena asked, narrowing her eyes at Liam. "He's just so what?"

     "You know... All too cool for everything and everyone. I don't know how to explain it and you're to infatuated to see it."

     Serena jumped off of the couch and marched up to Liam, and I found myself groaning. I knew what would be coming next.

     "Carson is a sweet, kind and caring guy," Serena said, glaring up at Liam. "You're the one who thinks you're too cool for him. I haven't heard you say one word to Carson!"

      "That's because I don't like the guy." Liam crossed his arms over his chest and looked away from Serena. "I get a bad vibe from him."

      "Why?"

      Liam and Serena continued to argue about Carson. For some reason Liam seemed to despise Carson, while Serena adored him. I watched them and shook my head, wondering why they could never be in the same room without arguing. Every time they saw each other, something was triggered within them to start arguing and I had no idea why.

      Suddenly, we heard footsteps nearing the room and Serena threw her hand up to cover Liam's mouth. Liam glared at her, fuming, and Serena rolled her eyes. And right before Carson entered the room, Serena whirled around and grinned at him.

      "Hey," Carson said. "I brought snacks."

     Carson walked towards the table in the centre of the room and placed the platter of mini sandwiches he brought on the table. Liam stared blankly at him, Serena stared in awe,  and I simply watched Carson. When Carson turned back, I was surprised to see his eyes land on me for a moment before they went back to Serena.

      "Thank you so much!" Serena exclaimed, smiling. "You're the sweetest."

     Carson shrugged, looking uncomfortable from Serena's comment. Liam rolled his eyes and I bit back a smile.

      "You know, it meant a lot when you said my voice is angelic," Serena said, catching all of us off guard. "That was the sweetest thing I've ever heard."

      Carson froze for a second, looking mortified, and then blushed wildly. And then to my surprise, I began to blush. I looked down at the ground and tried to hide it, but I could feel my heart pounding against my chest. Something about that compliment always had my body going into overdrive.

     "Um, I have to go back upstairs... to do something again," Carson said. "I'll... see you again in an hour."

     Before I knew it, Carson was running off and Serena laughed lightly to herself. I looked up at her and my eyes softened when I saw a look of adoration on her face. She was still looking towards the door, where Carson had exited, and I knew she was still thinking about him.

     "See, how could you not like Carson?" Serena said gently.

     Liam ignored what she said and looked at me. I nodded my head, wondering what he wanted.

     "You hear that, your voice is angelic," Liam said, smiling a bit.

     I blushed again and shrugged, unsure of what to say. I knew I wasn't a bad singer, but I never expected my voice to be loved as much as it was. It was touching and I felt proud of the hard work I put in throughout the years.

      "How do you feel about letting everyone know about your voice?" Liam asked. "I know you never wanted your voice to be known, so how's it been so far."

      "Surprisingly it's been great," I said. "I never thought I'd be able to sing without people knowing it's me and... it's nice. I've been enjoying it a lot more than I expected."

      I had surprised myself. Never in my life did I think I would enjoy letting others hear my voice. But to my surprise, I loved seeing the way the crowd reacted to my voice and I loved the way Serena looked happier than I'd seen her be in years. And to my surprise, one of the best parts of this was seeing Carson look so mesmerized by me. Something about seeing him look so in awe to the point where he looked at peace left my heart feeling light.

      "I'm really glad to hear that," Liam said, glancing at Serena who was also smiling. "It's nice to see everyone's happy with this."

     I nodded, agreeing completely with what he said. Despite the situation I had been afraid to enter, I was genuinely grateful of how it turned out. It was better than what I could have ever imagined.