Absolute silence.

All eyes rested on Jen, wide and baffled, including Elise's. Had she heard that right? Join the band? The band Jen was in? Jen's band? That band?

"Wait," she said, fully prepared to ask a very eloquent and reasonable question before her train of thoughts hit a bump and trailed off into nowhere. "Hang on, uh…what?"

Jen only gave her a questioning look, and Elise's speech center abruptly started working again. "Like, what would I even do?" she asked. "You do know that I can't play any instruments or anything, right?"

Jen's face fell so much that Elise regretted her protests, despite knowing they were the only reasonable thing to do. "You can sing," she said.

"First of all, that's your personal opinion," Elise replied. "And second of all, you're already the singer."

"Does there just have to be one?"

"Of course not, but—hey, don't look at me like that," Elise spluttered, laughing nervously to hide the very real distress Jen's expression caused her. "I'm just confused—you could've brought this up before, you know?"

"Okay, stop."

Holding up a hand, Shine stepped in between them, looking in confusion from one to the other. "Could one of you guys tell the rest of us what's going on?"

Elise smiled awkwardly. "I don't know either," she admitted. "Jen invited me here to finish up the songs we wrote together, but—"

"You didn't even tell us you invited anybody," Felix remarked, turning to Jen.

Her gaze turning hostile, Jen backed away into the wall. "I meant to, okay?" she burst out, glaring like a cornered animal. "I forgot, I know, I'm sorry I keep forgetting stuff all the time! Can I at least explain before you judge me again?"

Elise looked down, not knowing what to say or how to handle the situation. Somehow she felt like the whole thing was her fault, even though rationally she knew she couldn't possibly have averted it.

"We're not mad!" Zahir spoke up, sounding panicked but genuine. "Please don't get upset, we just want to know." He tried to smile. "Okay?"

Taking a jittery breath, Jen looked down, her hair sliding over her shoulders and into her face. "Whatever," she snapped. "I know I screwed up, I'm not doing it again, okay? That's what you wanna hear, isn't it?"

Felix' expression softened. "Hey, we'd just like to know what's going on," he said.

"Nothing! I'm sorry." Jen's voice cracked, her eyes glinting suspiciously. "I don't know why I ever thought that'd work, and now I'm wasting everyone's time…"

Elise's throat felt tight. Suddenly she felt like an intruder, a needless cause of conflict in this band that normally seemed to get along so well. "Okay," she said, her voice coming out choked even as she faked a smile. "I guess I'll just…leave you guys alone or something, and let you work this out. If anyone needs me, uh…Jen has my number."

God, she thought, I just hope that didn't sound passive-aggressive. I didn't come off as attention-seeking, did I?

Zahir held out a hand. "Don't go!" he said. "Don't fight, everyone. How about we try working on the songs first?" He tried to smile, though he was visibly distraught. "We can talk about this later."

Jen shifted against the wall and didn't answer.

"Yeah," Elise said, "if that's okay with all of you, let's do that. We can still figure out the rest when everyone's calmed down a bit."

With a shaky breath Jen pushed herself off the wall, wiping a hand over her eyes and forcibly putting on a calm expression that didn't fool anyone. "Fine," she said. "Let's do that." She moved to stand beside Elise, though not as close as she had before this whole confrontation, Elise noted with a sting of disappointment. "You know, Ellie and I have been writing some songs together. I've been doing the melodies, and she did the lyrics."

"It's just two songs so far," Elise explained, smiling. "But we're pretty happy with how they're turning out, so…"

Felix gaped at them, starry-eyed. "Original songs?"

"Yep," Jen replied, slowly returning to her usual self. "What, are you curious already?"

Shine grinned lopsidedly. "If this were a group chat, I'd be spamming eyes emojis," he said. "How many till you show us the song?"

Clearly enjoying the attention, Jen smirked as she opened the lyrics on her phone. "One million," she said. "Just kidding! Hang on." She turned to Elise. "Wanna sing with me?"

Elise lifted a hand in polite declination. "You do it," she said. "I'm not prepared to sing."

"But you got my back if I mess up the lyrics, right?"

"Sure, sure."

Taking a deep breath, Jen reached for the microphone, tapped it twice like she was at an actual sound check, and began to sing.

"My voice is loud
But people still don’t listen
I am proud
People say I got no reason
I can't be who you want me to be…"

Her voice echoed off the concrete walls, amplified by the old microphone, knocking down the air with a wave of sound and spirit. Elise stood captivated, mouthing along the lyrics, yet barely recognizing the song. Phone recordings with poor sound quality were one thing. Hearing the thing they had created live, with an actual microphone, was a whole different thing.

Jen got through Welcome To My World flawlessly, without missing a beat, a single word. If her performances had been stunning before, this one was a knockout. Before, she had been a brilliant actress. Now, however, she wasn't acting anymore. She wasn't emulating any other artists; she was only Jen, singing a song that was completely, entirely, deeply her own.

When she finished, she was smiling again as she caught her breath, truly, honestly smiling. "How's that?" she shouted into the microphone like she was on stage. "Who wants a goddamn encore, everybody?"

Raising his hands in the air, Shine clapped and whooped. Felix and Zahir joined into the cheering, and the next moment even Elise couldn't help it. Jen's smile turned into a grin, electrified by the applause. "I said!" she yelled. "Who! Wants! A! God! Damn! Encore!"

The guys cheered even louder. Satisfied, Jen tapped through her phone and finally started Ground Breaker.

For most of the song, everything went fine. But when it came to the part she had struggled with before, Jen suddenly stumbled again.

"I rise from the concrete," she sang, "I am—ah, shit—"

"My roots can bring down cities," Elise jumped in. Her voice sounded horribly off-tune in her own ears, but she tried to ignore it and keep going. "I am stronger than your stone, no, I don't need your pity, I can do this on my own…"

Jen's face lit up as she took over again, her voice bursting with a newfound energy.

"You see a sapling
I am a tree
Just 'cause I'm still growing don't mean you can tread on me
Even the wind, the storm, the rain
Couldn't break me out of my lane
Let me in your life, and you will call me
Ground breaker"

Elise smiled proudly, allowing herself to relax. That had been the only tough spot; Jen should be able to handle the rest on her own.

Except, after the chorus, she suddenly found herself with a microphone in her face.

Her body and mind flashed an error message, but she couldn't allow herself to break the flow of the song. Forcing out note after note, she sang a few lines before Jen took over again. Jen's smile widened and widened. Pulling her by the arm, she yanked her over to stand at her side, holding the mic in both their faces as a silent invitation to sing the second chorus together.

Elise felt like a complete idiot, but for Jen's sake she played along. She had to be so off-key, completely off-key. And yet…she found herself relaxing. Singing alongside someone else wasn't as stressful as singing solo. Her voice sounded less stiff, less awkward. And…she was beginning to have fun.

Side by side they performed the rest of the song as a duet, sometimes singing individually, sometimes together. Little by little, Elise let loose. At home, she could never truly sing at the top of her lungs the way she wanted. But here…here there were only musicians, and the walls were well-isolated. No one would judge her or get her in trouble here.

And when the song was over, suddenly she almost wished she'd had the chance to sing more.

"See?" Jen's triumphant voice rang out beside her. "I told you you could do it!"

Turning around, Elise blinked, slowly coming to the dawning realization that Jen had played her like a video game.

"You wanted to make me sing," she burst out, half shocked, half laughing. "That was your plan all along!"

Jen smiled angelically, batting her eyes. "Maybe," she admitted. "Did you like it?"

"I mean, yeah, but that's not the—"

"Not to interrupt," Felix remarked, "but I think your voices go very well together."

Elise's mouth gaped open. "You think?"

"Seconded," said Shine. "They're pretty different, but in a good way."

The smile on Jen's face kept widening and widening. "That's right, tell her!" she said. "She didn't believe me."

"Okay, okay. Compliment accepted," Elise said, stepping away from the mic. "So what about it? I mean, you're the singer, not me."

"We could both sing," Jen replied nonchalantly.

Elise froze.

Sing in a band together with Jen? That sounded…

…like a dream come true.

She had always liked to sing, but life had never truly given her a chance. Even when she had tried, she had never been satisfied with the results; and eventually she had stopped, except so quietly that her parents couldn't hear it and comment on it later. Being the sole vocalist was a burden she'd never be willing to take on; but in an arrangement like this, she had Jen's powerful voice to support her, to have her back when she couldn't keep going alone.

But on the other hand, this was a commitment. It needed time and still more time, and she already felt like she didn't have enough time to do everything she wanted to do. Who was she to say she wouldn't come to resent this later, like she had with all her other regular activities that she had eventually ended up quitting? A band wasn't like ballet classes or riding lessons. If she agreed, these four would be depending on her to keep going—even when she was swamped in other things and her motivation was at zero.

But then again…was she planning to keep spending her best years alone at home forever? The only friends she had were online, or else not close enough to make memories with. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—would she pass it up?

"I…need time to think about that," she said. "Don't get me wrong, it sounds awesome. But, you know…I need to figure out if I can make time for it, so…"

Jen nodded excitedly. "Got it!" she said. "Unless you guys have a problem with it?"

They both turned to the band. Once again Elise felt like an uninvited guest—like someone being forced on the guys by Jen's iron will, and she didn't want to intrude like that. She didn't want to stay if she wasn't welcome here.

"It's okay if you say no," she told them honestly. "Jen's already the singer, and she's doing a great job. I feel a bit rude to take away from that too, so…"

"I'm okay with it!" Felix exclaimed at once.

"I'm cool too," Shine added. "As long as you don't enable this weirdo any more."

Jen flipped him the finger. He laughed.

Squirming, Zahir looked from one to the other, avoiding his bandmates' expecting gazes. Then he smiled weakly and nodded. "Me too."

Elise very much wanted to ask him if he was sure, but she doubted that would get a more truthful answer out of him.

"Good! Now let's get to work." Jen clapped her slender hands together. "Time to work on the instrumentals!"

It would become a long session, but also more productive than anything they had ever imagined.