Page 44 of Hard Rock Tease

"Why don't you get up and sing, if you're so hung up on it?" he shot back.

"No thanks. I'm good."

"Got stage fright?" he smirked.

"I'm not a very good singer."

"No one here is."

"I'd rather not."

Noah got an evil glint in his eye. He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the stage. I protested the whole way, digging my heels in. It was no use.

"Jessie," he called out. "Got your next one."

Jessie looked beyond thrilled. "This is going to be a nice change."

Somehow I found myself on the stage, microphone in hand. I looked out at all the faces staring up at me. I caught Noah standing right in front of the stage, arms crossed, still smirking. I glared at him, that jerk. He made a waving motion with his hand, as if to say,go on, get to it.

With a heavy sigh I decided to give in and just do it. I flipped through the song list, not sure what I should choose. I had been telling the truth when I told Noah I couldn't really sing. I supposed I wasn't awful, but I was certainly no Noah Hart.

I stopped when I saw one song in particular. It could be a great choice or a terrible choice, depending on how you looked at it. I decided to go for it anyway, programming the song into the karaoke machine.

I had a few moments before the song began. I cleared my throat. I didn't want to stand there awkwardly in silence.

"Um. Hi." I winced as the speakers gave squeaky feedback. "My name's Jen. Um. I chose this song because…" I paused, hesitating, before powering on. "I guess because it helped me through some tough times. So I guess I dedicate this song to Noah Hart. This isBeyond The Lies."

The song started and I began to sing.

Iextendmy hand

Our fingers touch

My voice shook at first. The words reminded me of my teenaged years. The words reminded me of too many things I'd buried deep down.

Cold and damned

You crumble to dust

Ifelttears sting the back of my eyes. My voice wavered.

Only two remain

In innocent eyes

By the chorusthe crowd was cheering and clapping, encouraging me. Noah had been right that these guys weren't so bad. Once I got through the sorrow of the first chorus, I was able to cling to the hopefulness of the last verse. Cling to the words I had heard Noah Hart sing to me a million times.

I'll takeyou away

Beyond the lies

The song cameto an end and I rushed off the stage, my cheeks flushed.

Noah was there to greet me. I was about to grumble and complain at him for making me sing in public, but I stopped when I saw the look on his face. It wasn't his usual bad tempered expression. Neither was he gloating, pleased with himself for forcing me to go up there.

His head was tilted and his lips parted as he scanned my face. His eyes were bright and shining as he gave me a curious look.

"What?" I asked nervously. "Why are you staring at me?"