“You couldn’t be more of an asshole if you tried,” Aksel said. “It’s just an audition, dude.”
“But we need to see if he can do it, right?” Kaj said matter-of-factly.
“He has a point,” Xander agreed. “Though we haven’t asked anyone else to try it before.”
“Would you be okay with that?” Niels asked Noah. “There are other songs that would be great for us to analyze your skills.”
Noah dragged his gaze toward Kaj, fixing it on him with searing determination. “I’ll manage.”
Electricity crackled between them as they stared at each other. Kaj had no idea where this poised serenity had come from. Noah used to be a good boy who never talked back and was nice to everyone, even when they deserved a punch in the throat. Sure, he had stood his ground several times when Kaj tried to bulldoze him in the past, but he’d never been so daring.
Anyhow, he didn’t like this new ballsy attitude. If Noah defied him like that again, Kaj might need to teach him a lesson.
Letting himself fall on the couch while Noah entered the live chamber, the drummer released a deep breath.
“What’s bothering you so much?” Xander asked as he sat beside him.
“Nothing.”
“Even if you don’t talk, you always have subtitles written on your face. You know that, right?”
“I don’t like this dude.” Kaj crossed his arms, legs slightly apart as he reclined on the back of the sectional.
The way Noah tried in vain to put the locks of hair falling over his eyes behind his ears as he listened to Niels’s instructions had Kaj equally enraged and hypnotized.
“Why? We know he’s good, and he doesn’t seem afraid of a challenge.”
“He seems so… conceited. I don’t know.”
Aksel snorted on the other side of Xander.
“What?” Kaj snapped.
“You know him from before, don’t you, sweet cheeks?” Grinning, Aksel peeked from behind the bassist.
Ugh. “Yeah. So?”
Xander turned his face to look at Kaj, a wrinkle between his eyebrows. “Why didn’t you say so before?”
“I wasn’t sure at first.”Lies.
“And later?”
“What difference would it make? Jesus. We haven’t talked in ages.” Kaj huffed.
“I get that, but why act like strangers? That’s weird as fuck,” Aksel said.
“We haven’t acted like strangers. It was just… awkward.”
“To put it mildly. You wanted him to sing ‘Outsider.’ Were you archenemies or something?” he mocked.
Kaj frowned, feeling cornered. “No. I—Why do you have to know every little detail of my life? It just seemed pointless to tell you we went to the same school, as if that was so important,” he lied again.
“No need to get so defensive.” Aksel laughed. “But seriously, I’ve followed him for some time on social media and he looks like he knows what he’s doing.”
“That doesn’t make him the best.”
“Well, you said it yourself; we don’t needthe best, but someone good enough who’s also capable of adapting to our needs,” Xander noted. “Or do I have to remind you the tour is starting in less than three months?”
