Page 27 of You Started It
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Six days until the winter formal and I’ve set a goal so high, it rivals the CN Tower. But Axel needs me to show how much I love him. Words are not enough. So that’s why I’m here, waiting outside my dad’s work for Finn and Diesel to arrive.
A TTC bus pulls up to the stop in front of Kit’s Karaoke Dive and I wait with bated breath for Axel’s two best friends to come out. It was bold of me to reach out to them after having met them only the one time, but I needed to go big, and I needed them on my team. They step off the bus and nod when they see me waiting out front.
“Hey,” I say, smothering a nervous grin. The last time we were here together it ended terribly. Who knows what Axel has said to them about me or what they think themselves based on the horrible first impression I made.
“What up?” Diesel asks, hands tucked into their pockets.
“It’s cold,” I say. “Let’s go in.”
Finn tosses me a polite but strained smile before nodding.
We step inside the club. It’s empty, except for my dad, who’s sitting at a table balancing the books. Kit’s doesn’t open until after five on Sundays.
“Hey, Dad. We’re all here now.”
He looks up from the table and nods a hello to Finn and Diesel. “Feel free to use the stage or whatever else you need.”
I clear my throat and approach my father at the table as Finn and Diesel check out the stereo system. “Is there, like, an office in the back where you can work?”
He laughs. “Why?”
“Because.” I sigh and try to still my thumping nerves. “Finn and Diesel are going to teach me how to dance, and I really, really don’t need an audience. Even if it’s just my father.”
“Just my father,” he scoffs before closing his books and standing. “I get it. I’ll be in the back if you need anything. The speakers and mic are on, and I sent you the file with the song you asked for this morning.”
“Thanks,” I say, heart drumming in my chest. Dad grabs his things before heading to the back. When I asked my dad if we could use Kit’s to rehearse, I ended up telling him the truth about my entire relationship with Axel. He was so understanding. Almost too understanding. I forgot how nonjudgmental and easy to talk to he is. It’s been really nice having him back in my life.
“So,” I say, removing my jacket. Finn and Diesel have already removed theirs and are waiting by the front of the stage. “Where do we begin?”
They exchange glances and I mentally prepare myself to be let down, gently.
“Can we talk first?” Finn asks.
“Sure.” I swallow before clenching my jaw. Relax, Jamie. They said talk. They haven’t walked out. Yet.
The three of us sit at a table. The same one we sat at the night we met. They continue to exchange glances and I continue to wait for someone to say something, tapping my fingers quickly and obnoxiously on the table. I force myself to stop and, instantly, my knee begins to thump.
“The thing is,” Diesel begins. “We’re Axel’s friends, and I know this is something you’re doing for Axel, and we respect that, but it also feels like we’re going behind his back a bit.”
“He asked us if we wanted to perform at the winter formal with him and we said yes, obviously, not only because we’re always down to perform together but because we’re already going to be there—for you. But then…” Finn’s words trail off and he sighs, like he doesn’t want to say the next thing. “When he asked to rehearse today, we had to lie and say we couldn’t meet up until later. And it felt really shitty lying to him.”
I suck in my lips before releasing a nervous breath. “I’m sorry if you feel like I’ve put you in a difficult position. But I promise I won’t take up too much of your time. I’ll work really, really hard today and then I’ll rehearse on my own. I just really need your help. Like, really bad.”
“Really?” Diesel asks. Diesel and Finn laugh, and it’s clear they’re laughing with me, not at me, so I allow myself to join in.
“I screwed up with Axel,” I continue. “Repeatedly. And in so many ways. It’s not enough for me to say I’m sorry. It’s not even enough for me to tell him I love him. I need to show him how I feel, and it needs to be this big, public gesture because I don’t just want Axel to know how I feel, I want everyone to know.”
“We get it,” Finn says. “We’re just not sure if we can choreograph an entire dance in one afternoon. Especially since…”
“We’re working with a novice,” Diesel says, diplomatically.
“I may be a novice but I’m a really good student. I take direction well and I really want this.”
They look at one another again and smile. “Okay,” Finn says. “Did you pick a song?”
“I did,” I say, nodding enthusiastically. “One that holds great meaning. My dad already mixed it for us.”
“What do you mean by mixed it?” Diesel asks, their dark eyebrows scrunched.
“The idea is that you and Finn will begin the performance, and when the first chorus comes on, I’ll get on stage and sing my own version of the chorus. Which will be a declaration of love.” Finn and Diesel look at one another a bit apprehensively. “My dad manages this place and has access to karaoke versions of almost every song, plus he’s sort of like a low-key sound engineer. He faded out Dua Lipa’s voice and blended it with the karaoke version just in time for the chorus so that I could be heard loud and clear.”
“What happens after you sing your version of the chorus?” Finn asks, studying me like I’m a person who is clearly in over their head.
“The song will return to status quo and I’ll dance with you or—and this is what I’m hoping for—Axel will pull me off stage and we’ll kiss and make up.”
“She’s been drinking the delulu potion,” Diesel says, smothering another laugh.
“I have been. But I believe a little bit of delusion is necessary to make things happen.”
“So, let me get this straight,” Finn interjects. “We’re going to choreograph a dance that you may or may not join us on stage for? But you’re definitely going to sing your own chorus that we’re supposed to just pretend is normal and dance through?”
“Exactly.” I nod, plastering on a confident smile.
“Clearly she meant big when she said big,” Diesel says to Finn.
“It’s…different.” Finn shakes his head slightly.
“This has to be perfect…for Axel. So, you still in?” I ask, biting on my lower lip. “I know it’s a bit more than I’d originally pitched, but it’s really, really important to me.”
“Yeah. We’re in,” Finn says. “Not only for you, but because we really want to see Axel happy again.”
“Alright.” Diesel rises from the table and rolls up their sleeves. “Let’s get started. We don’t have much time.”
“Awesome,” I say, allowing a relieved smile to come out. “I’ll cue the music.”
We rehearse for three hours before we take our first break. We’ve chest-pumped and body-rolled so many times, I am going to feel it in my bones tomorrow. But it’s important I get all the moves down perfectly on the off chance I do have to follow through and perform the entire routine. We have less than an hour before Dad opens the club up to the public. Diesel’s seated, listening to the song on repeat, closing their eyes and tapping on the table, and Finn is chewing on his fingernail while staring down at his phone.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, bringing over the bottles of water that Dad left for us on the bar.
“Axel isn’t responding to any of my texts. I told him we’re running a bit late.”
“Did you try calling?” I ask, sitting at the table with them. “He sometimes picks up.”
Finn nods and calls Axel with the speaker on. My pulse quickens as the first ring comes through the phone—followed by another ring, and then a third before his voicemail plays. “Am I screening this call? Probably. Either way, no one leaves voicemail anymore. Don’t be that person.”
Finn laughs at Axel’s recording, but all it does is make me question if everything I’m doing is a huge mistake. “Do you think he’s onto us? Do you think he knows you’re with me and that’s why he’s not answering? Would he be pissed?” I ask.
“Jamie, you need to chill. Sometimes Axel doesn’t reply to our texts for days. He’s not obsessed with his phone,” Diesel says.
“He always responded to my texts immediately,” I say.
“That’s because he’s in love with you,” Finn replies.
“Did he tell you that?” I ask, hearing both the hope and desperation in my voice.
“It was pretty obvious the night we all met,” Finn says, tucking his phone away.
“You two know Axel better than anyone. Do you think this will work, or am I just wasting your time?”
Diesel looks up from their phone. “He’s hurting, and when he’s hurt, it’s hard for him to see outside those feelings sometimes. So yeah, there’s a chance this might not work. But there’s also a chance it might.”
“Axel’s worth taking the risk, right?” Finn asks.
“One hundred percent.” One million percent. “The clock’s ticking. We should get back to it.”
“You’re such a little keener.” Finn smiles.
“Funny thing about the word ‘keener,’?” I say before taking a sip of water. “It originates from the word ‘keen,’ which in adjective form has more than a handful of homographs.”
“Jamie,” Diesel says, nodding their head to the stage. “If you want Axel to be keen on you, I suggest we focus on the performance.”
“I’m keenly aware of what you did there,” I say, biting back a smile.
“No wonder Axel likes you so much. You’re almost as corny as he is,” Diesel says. We laugh as the three of us make our way back to the stage.