Theo watched anxiously from backstage as the final band of the night finished their act. Once they were done, the emcee would call back all the groups and let the audience decide which of them had been the best. His band, Red Velour, had had quite the favorable response, Theo thought, and although he felt confident about their performance his heart continued to race.
The song ended. The band rushed inside as the emcee explained the rules for voting to the audience. It was a contest based on popularity: whichever band received the most enthusiastic cheering after their name was called would be the winner. Theo quickly glanced around to check the others' expressions. Especially that of Paris', the frontman of The Hermit as they were the only band Theo felt had a strong chance against Red Velour. The tip of Paris' tail was anxiously swishing back and forth and his brows were pushed together. Seeing Paris looking as nervous as he himself felt secretly made Theo very happy.
The bands were called onto the stage. One by one each group was called and the loudness of the cheering audience was measured. Bands would be kicked off over three rounds. Even after Red Velour had made it past the first few rounds, the members' anxiety increased, except for Theo's. He had decided to zone out for as long as he could as he almost felt like paying attention to the audience's response and worrying about it would jinx them. This quickly ended, however, when the emcee announced Red Velour and The Hermit as the final two. The bands were asked to stand next to each other. At this short distance, Theo was able to get a good look at Paris. He had never met Paris in person before, but knew from people in his circles that Paris had a reputaion for being reserved, serious, and a bit of the tortured artist type. He could definitely see it, he thought, especially in his eyes, which he felt were the color of a cloudy sky. These eyes suddenly caught his glance and Theo snapped back to the reality of the situation.
