Immortal is both pretending that Icarus’ disaster on stage was part of a deliberate skit, which he is in on, and giving Icarus the chance to escape off the stage now.
Please, take it.
When Icarus glances at me, I give him a furtive nod. His shoulders slump in relief, before he backs off the stage.
Immortal turns to me, dancing across the stage like rippling water, as his coat twirls around him. I stand frozen, mesmerized by his beauty.
I’m a housekeeper.
How can I duet on stage with a rock star?
Immortal grips the microphone like it’s a cock between us. “Ready, love?”
I tilt up my chin. “Always.”
When the band begin the swing jazz version of the carol, led by the double bass, I allow Immortal to take the lead.
His voice is incredible.
It stuns the ballroom to silence.
It’s smooth like caramel, making me shiver. I have grown up to Immortal’s voice, fallen to sleep to his songs, and danced with Bird and Hatton to his newest hits, pretending that we were some type of wild rebels rather than three young Omegas.
This is different.
It’s jazzy, improvised, and from the soul.
When Immortal pauses to share the spotlight with me like that’s the most natural thing in the world, it’s earth shattering.
What Beta performer shares the spotlight with an Omega?
Yet he’s smiling at me encouragingly.
When I sing, it’s as if something inside me is unlocked.
I’m not singing because my stepmom is ordering me to, out of fear of my tutor, or to make the Frosts look good.
Instead, the rest of the audience fall away, and everyone else on the stage.
No one exists but Immortal and me. There is no one but him and me, singing this song together and loving every single fucking moment of it. The words are ripped from me, as we improvise this song exactly as we want to…because it’s making us fly.
I am held in Immortal’s gaze and in each note that he sings.
It’s freedom.
It’s a revelation.
When Immortal’s last, soaring note fades, we are both staring at each other, as if we have been having a deep conversation, kissing,living an entire lifetime together.
We’re both breathless, staring at each other in shock.
Is it possible to start falling in love through a single song?
Suddenly, the wild applause all around me snaps me back to the reality that we’re not alone.
I stumble back from the Idol in shock.
This new feeling — closeness — is too much.
