Chapter 1: Good Luck Out There

VOLUME ONE: ENCORE

Encore: Again (i.e., perform the relevant passage or an entire song or tune once more)

*

Tonight on Celeb Watch, Supernova comes to an end. After last night's episode it's anyone's guess on who will win, Austin the sixteen-year-old from Nebraska who's been the underdog since he entered the competition or Dawn the girl who's been tearing it up the whole time. Tune in after the show to hear our take on how it all went down.

"We're on in twenty."

Austin's heart pounded as he realized that his life was about to change. He knew it was cliché as hell, but he just felt it deep within. He wasn't supposed to be here. He and his girlfriend, Shelby, had watched Supernova together for a couple years, and she'd pushed him to audition. He never thought he'd make it very far on one of the biggest singing competitions in the US, but he had. He'd made it all the way to the end of finals before he'd been cut. It sucked, but since he didn't think he'd get that far anyway, he went home and that was that. A few weeks later fate threw him a bone when they called him back. Someone had been disqualified and he was back in. It wasn't until he got the chance again that he realized just how bad he wanted it.

Everyone thought he'd be cut early. He'd been coined as the underdog the instant he set foot on the stage. Hell, he thought he'd be gone in the first couple of rounds too. He was just a guy from a small town in Nebraska who sang to his girlfriend at night because it made her happy. He had only auditioned because she wanted him to. It wasn't that he didn't want it now because he did. At the start, though, he didn't think he had what it took.

Week after week the judges had sat in their seats and busted Austin's chops because he hadn't honed his craft, hadn't perfected what he had. They had given him so much crap because the others had been out doing something with their singing, and he hadn't. Most of the other contestants Austin was competing against were three to four years older than him. At sixteen, he was officially the youngest person in the lineup that year. He often wondered what the judges expected from him. Essentially this was a talent show. They wanted no-name people who had stars in their eyes and big dreams. That was the magic of it all; a no one could be fast-tracked into stardom just by winning this show. You could go from a no one to having a career in the industry overnight. No matter how much they tore him down and against all odds, he'd endured. He was still there.

After having sung his ass off for three months, Austin was starting to wonder if it was all worth it. He'd missed out on a lot of stuff at school, his family, and he just missed home. Life in L.A. was crazy compared to Nebraska. Every time he got down on himself or wondered what the hell he was doing, Shelby would tell him how proud she was of him, and that was all he needed to make it another day. He knew people thought they were stupid. He'd heard it all a million times, and if he had a dollar for every time someone told him no one married their first girlfriend, he'd be rich. His favorite was the guys who told him he didn't want to shackle himself down to one girl because he'd miss out on all the fun stuff kids their age were supposed to get into. Honestly, Austin didn't give a shit about all that. He'd been in love with Shelby for a while now, and there was no one else out there for him. He knew it just like he knew the sky was blue.

"How are your nerves?" Shelby asked as her arms wrapped around his waist.

"I'll be better in a few hours. I'm just ready for all this to be over with. I'm ready for life to be normal again."

Shelby's laugh made him smile. He loved her laugh. "Hate to break it to you, stud, but your life will never be normal again. When you win this, you're going to be a big name star, and life will be one venue after another."

"You really think I'm gonna win this?" he asked shaking his head.

"I know it. You killed it last night. You've come so far, and all these people love you."

"We'll see."

Shelby gave him a look that meant he was being stupid and then told him, "Ashley texted and said there are so many people who are coming to the watch party that they're showing it in the gym and lunchroom. They even have the auditorium set up in case they need more room."

"That's crazy. You know if I don't win, they'll all be really disappointed. I think they're just as invested as I am."

"They're just excited to have someone they know to cheer for. This is a big deal back home. When the other football teams come to play all the girls are looking around for you and trying to figure out where you live. It's been fun for everyone. Don't worry about how it ends. You did your best, and they all know that."

Those words meant so much to him. He loved that she had all the confidence in the world in him, but he hadn't always been so sure. Right now he was sure he was going to go out there and blow it all. He'd had a good night last night, but Dawn had been amazing.

"Time," the stage manager called from the door. This was it. His fate was being decided by America, and there was nothing he could do to change the results. All he could do was hang on and try and enjoy the ride.

"Guess I'll see you when it's over."

"Good luck out there," Shelby told him with a smile.

"I'm gonna need it."