Chapter 44: Backstage

Backstage. 

It was almost Blake's turn.

Rip couldn't help feeling nervous even when the actual party involved who'll be performing was not nervous at all.

Despite the calm expression inlaid on the face of the black-haired and black-eyed young man, and his quiet and gloomy demeanor, an unmistakable air of apathy oozed out of his body.

Lightly grasping the neck of the aged acoustic guitar hung around his body, he patiently and silently awaited his turn on stage.

Noticing Blake's calm, almost uncaring demeanor, Rip couldn't help but feel curious.

So he pulled Blake's sleeve and shook it, asking tensely but curiously, "How are you not nervous at all? After him, it will be your turn!"

Rip eyed the young, talented man on stage singing a gentle and soothing song that reminded people of the clean. Vast and all-embracing. A wrong or two can be tolerated in its eyes, unlike the world that could not stand even the tiniest bit of dust in its eyes. Albeit, it was a bit disconcerting at the beginning.

In Rip's eyes, that applicant wasn't trying to pass a job interview but was an opponent going against Blake for the number one spot in the competition.

Slipping from his mind completely was the fact that there will be no ranking placements for this test.

"There's nothing to be nervous about."

At this moment, Rip seriously admired Blake's lack of sense. When it had been his turn, he was so nervous that his calves shook like newborn lambs.

After the trio established their friendship, Blake mysteriously started talking more to them, which made Rip and Chase surprised but happy. Although he never took the initiative to speak unless asked.

Like now, when Rip asked a question, he would openly answer with his words rather than with his eyes and head movements.

"What are you being nervous for? The emperor isn't anxious but the eunuch is," Chase said jokingly.

"I can't help it! I was also super nervous when you were going on stage, afraid that you might get nervous and tremble, causing the pots and pans to spill over, cut yourself with a knife, or cause a fire accident!" Rip ranted exaggeratedly but with all seriousness.

Apparently, he truly thought that all of the above would have happened to Chase.

Chase laughed dryly. He didn't know that that was what was going on inside Rip's head while he was leisurely—might he add, skillfully—displaying his skills.

Chase shook his head, helpless. 

"Oh, look! He's done!" Rip jumped and pointed at the applicant who had just finished singing on stage and bowed to the judges. 

Taking a deep breath, Rip turned to look Blake in the eyes. The other calmly looked back with inquiry in his eyes, not knowing what was going on.

"I know you will be amazing. I believe that you will be the greatest star today! The brightest in the whole universe!" Rip stated in a solemn tone, as if what he said was not an encouragement but a firm declaration. Anyone who heard such words would feel touched in their heart, it might even bring tears to their eyes.

However, the person in front of Rip was Blake. The guy who hardly, if ever, had emotional fluctuations of any sort. 

Saying these words to him was like saying them to the deaf. Unable to appreciate it or care about it.

Blake's heart was waveless and still as a lake.

Like nothing bad can influence him, neither can anything good.

He nodded and did not say anything.

But Rip didn't mind, he knew that Blake's personality was like this, so he wasn't that disappointed. In the first place, he did not deliberately say those words to make the other person feel his sincerity or be emotionally swayed by him.

He only said what he said because that's truly what he felt. He was honest and clear-hearted, so he spoke his mind without disguise or vagueness. He did not and would not expect anything in return for his good words.

That's just Rip.

The applicant who just sang was called Benjamin. As he left the stage and Blake heard his cue to go up, the lights in the auditorium started flickering on and off like crazy before everything went dark.

"Ah!" Someone screamed.

"Why are the lights out?!" Another exclaimed in panic.

The unexpected disappearance of light immediately set everyone into a frenzy. 

The darkness before their eyes seemed to enter their minds, kidnapping their rationality and unstabilizing their mind.

Rip's mind was also thrown into confusion, but before he could dwell on it for too long...

In the inexplicable panic of others, Rip was accidentally pushed and fell to the ground.

Good thing the floor was paved with smooth, sanded wooden boards and not protruding stones, or else both his hands and his legs would have suffered terrible scratches from the collusion. 

The only injury Rip really suffered from was the force behind the push and his own weight that crashed onto his supporting limbs.

Coming to a sitting position on the floor, Rip weakly hissed from the numbness and pain he felt after his pain receptors transmitted the sensation in his hands and knees into his brain.

Neither Chase nor Blake noticed what had happened to Rip or his current miserable state because they could no longer see anything. Their sense of positioning weakened; all the noise and pushing made them uncertain about each other's positions.

Moreover, it wasn't just Rip that fell, a few other applicants were also pushed down. Some were even trampled on. 

Rip was lucky in that sense, at least he wasn't stepped on by others.

Standing up and avoiding the incoming crowd of invisible people, Rip tried his best to hold on and find Chase and Blake.

Because Rip was the youngest and the shortest among the applicants, he had a hard time pushing past the adults and even breathing became harder because of the limited space and the tall fences around him that narrowed the air entering his space.

Just when Rip felt extremely uneasy and scared, wanting to call his dad for help—he saw that Ian brought his father here today to watch their performances—the sound of a familiar guitar echoed without any sound system support throughout the hollow auditorium that was intentionally designed to amplify sounds.

Then the interlude of a familiar song that he had been hearing over and over again for the last two weeks began to play out.

Upon the strum of the guitar, the chaos within the backstage seemed to hit a dam and was unable to continue forward. Everyone stopped what they were doing and focused their attention to the source of the melody, momentarily forgetting the pounding panic in their hearts.

Rip could finally breathe easy again, and had the mind to savor the music being played.

A sense of inexplicable ecstasy filled his heart as he thought about what was going to happen. He had been waiting for a long time for this moment.

Yet as the intro lengthened, everyone was starting to get antsy again and the complete darkness before their eyes made everyone uncomfortable and agitated, unable to calm down. The momentary calmness brought about by the beautiful and meaningful, moving music could no longer be maintained.

One applicant in particular was deathly afraid of the dark, every night they had to sleep with at least a night light on or else they'll get nightmares or suffer through insomnia. 

They had no flashlight or phone on them.

Every applicant's phone had been taken away before the start of the test to avoid distractions and sneak shots.

Now wrapped in darkness so thick it felt real, the absolute absence of light created a rising fear that threw his rationality off-balance.

They seemed to be unable to stand the darkness any longer, rushing forward blindly, they were about to knock Rip off his feet. The body size difference was no joke. Compared to this nyctophobia guy who possessed the stature of an elephant, Rip was a cute little hamster that could be squashed to death with a single stomp.

Without knowing it, Rip had been placed in danger.

At the same time that happened, something happened on stage that instantly gave everyone's brain a punch that not only numbed their minds but also knocked out all the lingering fear brought about by the darkness and confusion. 

At once, it wiped out all negative feelings like a soothing potion.

Rip froze, dumbfounded.

Blake's singing was the opposite of Blake himself. 

Attractive. Striking. Attention-grabbing. Pleasant.

Usually, no matter what Blake did, he had no sense of presence or existence. However, the moment he opens his mouth to sing, it catches the attention of every living being around him. 

His voice was like that of an immortal's. Powerful, enchanting, and ethereal.

That day, two weeks ago. 

After Rip came clean about his accidental but intentional spying on Blake outside, with a light heart and no expectations, Rip heard Blake affirm that he'll sing for the talent showcase test.

One cannot imagine the shock in the heart of Rip at that moment, to say less of the elation he felt.

Both Rip and Chase supported his decision.

From that day on, besides Chase practicing the dish he'll be cooking for his performance and Rip racking his brain to think of a talent he can use to impress—and even after he decided on acting—they both eagerly helped Blake in the choosing of the song he was to sing.

They even helped him choose the outfit he was to wear on this important day as well as the styling of his hair. And other preparations.

The only thing they didn't know about Blake's upcoming performance was his singing.

They never actually heard Blake sing. Even when they practiced together, with the two being the audience and Blake practicing his performance, Blake only strummed the guitar and did not sing. It was a purely instrumental performance. At most, he hummed.

However, neither Chase nor Rip minded because they thought he was just shy and because they also thought that Blake's guitar playing skills were very impressive. When they felt playful, they made numerous requests to Blake for him to play different songs of different styles and genres, and the latter was able to fulfill all of their requests to beyond a T.

So this was the first time Rip had ever heard Blake singing.

And goodness was Rip astounded. Blake's heavenly voice simply took his breath away.

Not to mention, the emotional and stirring voice coupled with the moving lyrics touched the hearts of everyone present. As if the story wasn't a story but their reality, when in fact, the majority of them had never gone through such a thing.

Yet the words melding with the melody aroused unstoppable sympathy and heartache and pain that it felt as though they were the protagonist journeying in the story. Beset with a pain that spoke through the indifference and the numbness.

Unknowingly, whilst immersed within the song and Blake's enchanting voice, Rip did not notice the dim light coming towards him until someone nudged him. 

The nudge didn't get Rip's attention that was focused intently on the song so the nudge of a hand turned into a vicious pinch of the fingers.

"Ouch!" Rip screamed. However, despite the sudden pain, Rip subconsciously controlled his volume so that his voice wouldn't be heard and interrupt the beautiful performance still going on onstage.

Angrily turning to the side wanting to settle accounts with the person who pinched him, Rip was surprised to see Chase. 

Who was holding a flashlight. However, the small flashlight seemed to be almost out of battery as the glow of its light was dim and weak. It barely allowed Rip to recognize Chase. It was only due to the long time of being around each other and the familiarity of seeing each other every day that Rip was able to recognize Chase just from his outline and the almost unseeable body and facial features.

"What's wrong?" Rip asked, confused as to why Chase came to find him when they should be enjoying Blake's performance. After all, they had both been looking forward to this day.

Chase rolled his eyes.

But this was the exact reason why Chase was here to find him. Such a good performance should not be overshadowed.

Rip really tended to forget important matters. 

Despite the dense darkness before his eyes that can even be felt and touched, Rip had asked him what was wrong, Chase really gotta hand it to him. Maybe this was his secret to being so cheerful and optimistic.

Noticing Chase rolling his eyes with a ridiculing smile on his face, Rip suddenly realized that they were still in the midst of a situation. 

Rip blushed. He had been too focused on Blake's singing to remember or care.

But now that he remembered, he immediately deduced the reason why Chase was here.

Chase, upon seeing the dawn of realization on Rip's face, knew that Rip read his mind. So without saying anything, he led Rip in zig-zags around the people standing in place like statues to the back of the backstage where the lights were controlled.

The light breaker was currently deserted.

Opening the cover, Chase illuminated the inside of the breaker box with the dim light of the flashlight. 

Although weak, it was better than nothing.

Observing everything, Chase did not see anything that could be the problem. Closing the cover, Chase walked around while Rip followed behind him cluelessly. Rip understood nothing about wires, lines, and electricity, so he could only leave all the work in Chase's capable hands.

Having worked multiple jobs at different workplaces since he was a child, Chase gained many valuable and useful skills. 

This was one of them.

Soon, Chase found the problem.

The main lines for lighting were cut. But that wasn't the main problem, the cut was only slight and shouldn't affect the function of the lights at all. In fact, it was barely noticeable, if not for Chase's sharp eyes, no one would have spotted it. It was cleverly slit. 

However, around the cut were traces of water that have yet to dry.

Someone must've poured water into the cut parts of the lines to cause the power outage.

Chase furrowed his brows. He was afraid this would happen.

It was one thing for the lights to shut down by themselves, however, it was another matter altogether if this was deliberately planned by someone.

No one would come to this area unless they had business here, so the cut and the water marks must've been their good deed.

Malice.

Who would have enough malice against Blake to do this specifically when it was his turn? Everyone hardly even notices him.

But if it was not malice, for what reason would anyone do such a pointless thing at the last second?

Chase was deep in thought, but Rip didn't know, so he squatted down next to the unmoving Chase who's flashlight aimed at the water drops that reflected the light shone onto them.

Confused and knowledgeless, Rip asked Chase childishly, "Can this be fixed?"

This question shook Chase out of his thoughts.

Pondering for a moment, Chase said, "Wait a second. Let me get some tools. There should be some placed around here in case there is a need."

Saying that, Chase got up to find the tools he will need to use. Rip sensibly waited next to the problematic lines.

After Chase came back, with some work, the wire parts that were wet were cut off and the dry parts were reconnected.

However, this was only possible because they are a special type of wire.

This electricity wire was particular and high quality in that if a part of it breaks or malfunctions, only that part needs to be cut off and then the rest reconnected and it will work again like nothing happened. The most difficult part was determining the source of the problem, whether it was the breaker, the wires, or something else. Even if it was the wires' problem, it is difficult to find out which part of it needs to be taken out.

If a senior electrician were here to witness Chase's identification skills and his hand speed, they would be amazed and praise him for his talent and so young at that.

The moment the wires were reconnected and running, the stage lights beamed down onto the black-haired and black-eyed youth sitting on a long stool hugging a guitar in his arms.

His iridescent voice uttering the final line of words in the song.