Prologue
AN: Hello! This is my first book on here. Before you jump in, I just wanted to say that this book will divided into three parts. Enjoy!
PART ONE
There we were: me, Vincent Bianco, Nicolo Cavallaro, Matteo Di Dio, and Angelo Russo. We were all backstage at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Illinois, about to find out the results of the competition.
We had all traveled throughout the country, starting from New York and ending here in the Midwest.
This was the semi-finals, we were the last four. After this, two of us would compete in another round of competitions until the finals in July.
I was sitting in my dark green suit in a chair eating a Snickers bar from the vending machine while Nicolo, Matteo, and Angelo all stood in a group around me.
"Good luck, gentlemen," Nicolo put his arms around them. "In a perfect world, we'd all make it to the finals."
"Eh, don't be so modest Nic." Angelo said, "We made it this far; it's alright if we have to go home."
"Absolutely not!" Nicolo replied, "What was all the hard work for then? All the practices, the late nights, and," He nudged Matteo, "all the wine."
I scoffed, "All the late nights aren't necessary; some people just make things harder than they need to be."
Nicolo dropped his arms from his friend's shoulders; he turned to look at me. "Well, if it isn't Mr. I'm-better-than-everyone. Oh, we could never live up to your greatness."
I frowned, "You don't have to be so sarcastic, Mr. I-have-to-touch-everyone. I was just making a point."
They all stared at me as I took a bite of my candy bar. Then, Nicolo laughed. "Whatever you say, Snickers."
That got a laugh out of Matteo and Angelo. I looked at the wrapper in my hand and crushed it, smashing the candy in it.
"I prefer The Silent Pianist." I shot back.
"Oh, that's just the name the press gave you." Nicolo rolled his eyes. "Of course you like it."
"But you saw how he was after his performance; he didn't say a single word to the audience!" Matteo said to Nicolo.
"Yeah, he didn't even take any of the flowers. Look how much I got!" Angelo held up a makeshift bouquet.
"Maybe he just doesn't care." Nicolo shrugged.
I hated when they all talked around me like I wasn't there.
"It's not that I don't care!" I said. "I get anxious." But they weren't listening to me; they had all formed a group again.
A couple of minutes later, all of our agents came over to us. My agent was Cameron Dixon, and Nicolo's was Jonathan Wolfe.
At that time, I didn't really have an opinion on Jon, but Cameron and I got along pretty well.
Cameron spotted me and made his way over to my chair. "You were great, Vincent!"
I smiled, "Really?"
"They loved you! But," he leaned close to me, "you have a lot of competition."
I waved him off, "They're nothing compared to me."
Cameron's eyes drifted to the smashed Snickers bar in my hand. "I see, well," He glanced at Nicolo and Jon, "Just try not to let them get to you."
"Oh, please." I stood up, fists clenched. "They all act like a couple of grade school boys. I'm going to throw this away."
As I walked over to the trashcan at the end of the hall, I passed by Nicolo and Jonathan huddled together.
"I-I'm not sure that I really did alright." Nicolo whispered.
"See, that's your problem." Jonathan rolled his eyes. "You're not confident."
I tossed the wrapper into the garbage and quickly sped past them to act like I wasn't listening.
I walked back over to where Cameron was standing and leaned against the wall.
"Are you nervous?" Angelo appeared at my side.
"I'm surprised that you're asking me when you're the one sweating like a pig." I replied.
Angelo frowned and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "It's hot under these lights if you haven't noticed."
I shrugged, "Not really."
"So," he asked, "how do you think you did, like, really? Do you know any of the judges? I heard that—"
"Hey," Cameron cut in, "Vincent, I think they're about to call you guys on stage. Come on, let's get ready."
"Just a minute, Cam—"
"Now, Vincent." He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Angelo and into a hallway.
"What the hell?" I asked when he dropped my arm, "What was that for?"
"I'm sorry, but you can't trust them! They're leeches, Vince. Always wanting something from everyone!" Cameron said.
"Well, I think he was just nervous." I shrugged.
Cameron sighed, "I don't think you understand how much pressure you guys are under. The press is watching your every move; any friendships or enemies you make here, they'll never let you forget."
"But, friendship isn't all that bad." I replied.
"No, but those guys aren't your friends. Just stay out of their way." Cameron said.
Then, Nicolo peeked his head into the hallway with a grin. "Oh, there you are, Snickers. They're about to announce the results."
"I'm coming." I walked away from Cameron and stood next to Nicolo in the lineup they had formed.
"Ready?" One of the backstage crew asked, "You're on in thirty seconds."
I watched as the three of them joined hands as the curtain started to come up.
Almost as an afterthought, Nicolo grabbed my hand as well. Then, the curtain came up and the applause started.
People were cheering, and flowers were thrown onto the stage. I felt my hand go up as all of them threw their arms up to show the crowd our joined hands.
I felt important; I felt respected. It's a powerful feeling; you don't really expect it to happen until it hits you: you are respected.
When the clapping died down, Nicolo tossed my hand aside like it was a used tissue. Then, the announcer came on stage.
She tapped her microphone and started speaking. "This has been an exciting semi-final this year! I'd like to personally thank our performers here for coming out and showing us their skills!"
She stopped and smiled at us. "Now, the moment you've all been waiting for." She held up the envelope in her hand.
Now, I started to sweat. This was it; after this came the finals, but that was months away. No need to worry, right?
"The winners of the semifinals...who will move on to the finals in July are..."
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Please let it be me, please. I've worked so hard…
