The Crystal by Jones M (the chimp paradox .txt) 📕

for Selena and me because we used to wake up early at times to read. 

We basically adapted to it! 

Unlike us, the boys were extremely tired by morning. Even though we got less than the recommended 8 hours of sleep, I felt as chirpy as a bird.

"I love England," I said.

"Could you keep it down?" Logan groaned as he placed his hands over his ears. "Some of us are trying to get some much-needed sleep."

I snorted. Currently, I was in a limo with him and Harry. It felt uncomfortable for a moment, seeing that I usually shared a car with Selena, but I basically got over it once the boys started sleeping. It was fun to watch them cuddle. Could it be possible that there was an ongoing bromance that I had no idea of?

"We're here!" the driver of the vehicle shouted. Harry and Logan instantly flinched at the voice. I held in a laugh at their reaction, but then I immediately felt bad for them.

They looked exhausted, and yet they were powering through it.

We all exited the vehicle. I found myself staring at a huge building. It seemed like a theater. It had brick walls, and it had the words 'CITY HALL' placed above it.

"Where are we?" I asked just as the vehicle we had come with drove away.

"Newcastle City Hall," Harry replied.

Oh yeah! I recalled Trevor saying something about the boys' next performance being on some city hall. I frowned at the building in front of me. It seemed small like it was intended for a small banking institution or something. 

Hmm... maybe the concert was intended for a few people...

The sounds of a car approaching could be heard within our proximity. Logan, Harry and I turned to see if the others were approaching, and we were right. The black limousine came to a stop beside us. Since we were standing on the sidewalk, the three of us moved behind to give space for those on board to alight.

The doors of the vehicle opened. Selena was the first one to exit. When she saw me, she grinned as she extended her arms. I didn't have time to react before she engulfed me in a hug.

We had basically seen each other about three hours ago, but who was I to complain about a free hug? I hugged her back for a couple of seconds.

My attention turned to the people behind her. Liam was talking to the rest of the boys. The subject was probably tour-related. Selena and I decided to talk about other things as we waited for the boys to finish talking. Once they were done, we headed towards the entrance of the structure before us. We walked past a hallway into one room, and I was amazed by what I saw.

My cousin, the boys and me continued walking forward, all the while looking at my surroundings. There was a floor above the seats around us with more seats arranged in an ascending order. The stage had a couple of curved stairs. Lights were placed at high points on the walls in a manner that they mostly faced the stage.

Even though the building looked noticeably smaller than the one the boys had performed at in Glasgow, it still looked big to me.

A couple of minutes later, the crew was seen entering the building. The owners of the building helped in preparations for the boys' performance. Afterwards, we all dispersed to get lunch. Selena and I spent time taking more photos outside the theater. 

Hours later, everything was ready for the concert. The security personnel had arrived hours ago, and we were all preparing for the live performance.

"Five minutes!" someone shouted. Selena and I were backstage. On the three performances of the boys we had seen, we were always on the front. Seeing that we would be enduring that for the next months, we decided it would be fun to be in places other than the front. We wanted to see how things were to people situated in different spots.

The back of the stage was bustling with a lot of activity. Some guys were performing a sound check, others were arranging the lights while others were just ordering people around.

"Where is our opening act?" Trevor shouted as he moved through the area. "We are four minutes away from the concert starting!"

That was another thing I noticed about the boys' tour. They had other musicians start the concerts before they did. Apparently, it was important to build excitement or something like that.

On my right, I felt sudden movement from my cousin. I turned to face her, planning to talk to her, but then she had already moved swiftly before I could say anything. My eyebrows furrowed as I saw her talking to Trevor. 

What on earth was that girl planning?

Selena's P.O.V

I wasn't sure, but the lack of the opening act was some kind of sign to me. Maybe I could dismiss it and wait for another. But then, when would I get another chance to do what I decided?

I had developed an interest in singing ever since I first joined high school. My parents, however mean they could have been to me, complimented my talent. I developed singing as a hobby. It inspired me to write a couple of songs. I wasn't that good because I was a beginner, and so I had asked Justin to help me develop them. 

That was before we started dating.

He said they were pretty good, and he urged that if I was determined to pursue a career in music, I should do it.

I had been thinking a lot about it especially since I had found out what I would have to learn in medicine. I winced when I heard about the modules, and so I knew I couldn't actually do it. I thought about changing courses, but I wasn't certain of which one to pick.

That was until I joined the Ordinary Brothers on their tour with my cousin.

"Hi, Trevor," I greeted the bodyguard in front of me. In reply, he raised an eyebrow. "Is it possible for me to open for the boys?" I asked him. He raised a finger, motioning for me to wait for a moment before yelling at other people nearby. The tour manager then turned to face me with a look of disbelief.

"You can sing?" he questioned in doubt.

"Pretty much, yeah," I said with a shrug.

Trevor continued to eye me, and then he finally shrugged.

He shrugged.

"Okay. This concert might as well be the disappointing one on this tour."

I gave him an offended look.

"What? You say you can sing, but I don't know if you really can. We don't even have enough time to judge that. Either way, people will forget about this after assuming the boys had one of their fans..." Trevor trailed off as a smile took over his features.

What?

"That's it! You can go sing or do some karaoke version of a song, and we'll tell people that the Ordinary Brothers had..." he trailed off again. "That seems like a bad idea, and management would not like it. Damn it! Time is running!"

Trevor rolled his eyes as he sighed. "We have no other option. Go and have fun!" he said with a fake smile, pushing me towards the stage.

I continued to frown as the memories of what he had said replayed in my mind. I successfully buried the thoughts away and went to the sound crew. I gave them my phone and told them to copy a file into their system. It was an instrumental of a song I had written with my boyfriend's help. 

Nobody needed to know that.

We were one minute until the concert began, so there was no chance of changing my clothes to look the part of a musician. I didn't mind, seeing that Trevor mentioned the concert would flop.

I was met by applause as I walked towards the stage. It was after the curtains had been unveiled that what I was planning to do really sunk in my mind. My breathing suddenly became ragged due to nervousness. The OBers kept looking at me in expectation. I gave a small nervous smile before taking in deep breaths to calm myself.

The familiar tune of the song I wrote began to play. I was getting ready to sing, but my eyes betrayed me by looking at the numbers that had come for the show. There were so many people, and they had mixed expressions of confusion and expectations. 

I was starting to think against singing in public. What if I became a laughing stock?

I gulped, then I noticed I missed my beginning. The beats of the songs had even begun to play. There was soon a moment of silence, and the song began playing again.

You can do this, I told myself.

I repeated the thought. I closed my eyes, and the nerves calmed.

   

"I wouldn't wanna be anybody else,

Hey!

You made me insecure,
Told me I wasn't good enough,
But who are you to judge,
When you're a diamond in the rough?
I'm sure you got some things,
You'd like to change about yourself,
But when it comes to me,
I wouldn't want to be anybody else!

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na,
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na,

I'm no beauty queen,
I'm just beautiful me,

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na,
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na,

You've got every right, to a beautiful life
C'mon!

Who says, who says you're not perfect?
Who says you're not worth it?
Who says you're the only one that's hurtin'?
Trust me,

That's the price of beauty,
Who says you're not pretty?
Who says you're not beautiful?
Who says?

It's such a funny thing,
How nothing's funny when it's you,
You tell 'em what you mean,
But they keep whiting out the truth,
It's like a work of art,
That never gets to see the light,
Keep you beneath the stars,
Won't let you touch the sky!

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na,
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na,

I'm no beauty queen, I'm just beautiful me

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na,
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na,

You've got every right, to a beautiful life
C'mon!

Who says, who says you're not perfect?
Who says you're not worth it?
Who says you're the only one that's hurtin'?
Trust me,

That's the price of beauty
Who says you're not pretty?
Who says you're not beautiful?
Who says?

Who says you're not star potential?
Who says you're not presidential?
Who says you can't be in movies?
Listen to me, listen to me,
Who says you don't pass the test?
Who says you can't be the best?
Who said, who said?
Would you tell me who said that?
Yeah, who said?

Who says?

Who says you're not perfect? (yeah)
Who says you're not worth it? (yeah yeah)
Who says you're the only one that's hurtin'? 
Trust me, that's the price of beauty (hey yeah, beauty)
Who says you're not pretty? (who said?)
Who says you're not beautiful? (I'm just beautiful me)
Who says?

Who says you're not perfect?
Who says you're not worth it?
Who says you're the only one that's hurtin'?

Trust me (yeah), that's the price of beauty
Who says you're not pretty?
Who says you're not beautiful? 
Who says?"

Emery's P.O.V

Applause filled the area around me, but I was standing in shock.

Selena could sing?

"Thank you!" she screamed to the audience before she came backstage. She had a grin on her face as she was heading towards my way.

I still trying to process the events of the last five minutes. 

My cousin could sing. My freaking cousin could sing!

B-but, how? I didn't even know that!

And then there was something nagging at the back of my mind; that song... I had never heard of it. Could it be that my cousin wrote an original song?

On her own?

"YOU CAN SING?" Logan screamed beside me as Selena closed the distance between us. The loudness of Logan's voice forced my mind back to my surroundings. 

The rest of the boys were passing me by, flocking around my cousin and showering her with compliments. She laughed, enjoying the attention she was getting. Even Trevor and a couple of the members of the crew went to congratulate her!

"That was beautiful! I'm sorry I doubted your talents earlier," the tour manager apologized.

"It's okay," my cousin replied with a smile.

"Do you think you can do it again?" he asked. Selena looked undecided. Her eyes finally met mine, and an uneasy smile graced her features.

"Emery!"

I rolled my eyes at her with a smile. 'You sneaky bitch!"

Trevor and the guys laughed.

"You can sing? You can freaking sing, and you didn't even bother to tell me?" 

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It's just that I didn't want people making a big deal out of it."

I couldn't stay mad at my cousin. My smile turned into a full grin as I went to hug her.

"I'm so happy for you," I told her.

And I so wished I had her guts.

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but boys, you're next in three minutes," a member of the crew told us before leaving the scene.

The boys moved quickly, leaving my cousin and me alone. Trevor gave Selena another compliment before he too walked away. 

"Is this why you didn't want to talk about college?" I asked after a moment of silence. She did not reply, and that alone was an answer.

"Why?"

"You wanted us to go to college. You looked so forward to it