Friday morning, Andie went down a little apprehensively. Hannah looked up at her from her bowl of cereal as she came into the kitchen with a grin. Her father was reading his morning paper, the familiar smell of coffee filled the room. There was a plate with toast and orange juice waiting for her. Maybe they weren't too mad, anymore.

“Hey, Andie!” Hannah said.

Andie, relieved, stepped forward and gave her a raspberry on the cheek, making her laugh.

“Morning, honey,” Hank said, smiling tentatively at her.

“Morning, Dad,” she said, smiling back

She looked up at her mother, busy with the coffee maker.

“... Morning, mom.”

“Morning, Andie.” her mother said without looking at her.

Andie held back a sigh. At least she'd answered...

“Hey, Dad, I found my song for tonight,” she said.

“Excellent,” Hank said. “Which is it?”

“... I'd rather you find out tonight,” she said.

“Okay, then.”

“D'you want me to take Hannah?” Andie asked.

“No, we'll do it.” Hank said. “But we will need you to pick her up.”

“Okay. I'll put a reminder in my phone...”

She did so, finished her breakfast and headed out.

“Bye, love you!” she called as she closed the door.

“I couldn't believe it was actually you.” Bane said.

They were walking towards their class, wrapping their coats tightly around them. It was starting to get colder. They were talking, of course, about her argument with Balon the night before.

“I know,” Andie agreed. “I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry, Bane, I hope he didn't give you a hard time about it...”

“Don't worry about me,” he said. “So, it's your big moment, tonight. You nervous?”

“Nervous doesn't even begin to describe it...” Andie said. “I'm terrified... but Jessica is counting on me.”

“If you ask me, I think it takes a real friend to go through something like that,” Bane said, smiling sympathetically.

“Or a really crazy one,” Andie amended, laughing. “You haven't seen her when she doesn't get her way. You don't want to, either, trust me.”

“I believe you,” Bane smiled. “I wouldn't want to be in her bad books. It's hard enough being in her good ones.”

Andie laughed again. It was strange, she thought as they sat at their desks in Spanish. Jessica and Emily had made her laugh countless times since they'd become friends, but it was different with Bane, somehow. She wasn't sure how or why, but she could tell it was. They sat quietly through an hour of Spanish, then made their way to their next classes, which were near each other but different subjects.

“Hey... I was thinking...” Bane said, sounding like he was fighting not to appear nervous. “If you... about tomorrow... I shouldn't have asked you... if it makes you uncomfortable, I... I'm ready to go alone...”

“What? Where did that come from?”

“I... I know we said we'd go as friends, and really, I'm okay with that... but if it makes you feel awkward...”

Andie stopped and caught his arm.

“Bane, stop...”

She hesitated, trying to find the right words.

“I... Look, I won't lie by saying it isn't a little weird. But I didn't hesitate to accept your invitation because I don't want to go with you. It's because I didn't want to hurt you, and every moment with you does just that, so I didn't want to make it worse. But... if you're ready to do it... then I don't see how it's fair to refuse. And besides, I didn't say yes to back out at the last moment,” she added with a smile.

She was maybe sugarcoating it a little, but the part about her not wanting to hurt Bane was true.

“And anyway, you said it yourself, it's better than a Saturday night both all alone in our corner.”

Bane smiled, but there was something in his eyes that Andie thought said he knew she wasn't being entirely truthful.

“Okay, then. Tomorrow at eight.”

“Tomorrow at eight.”

The bell rang so they waved and parted ways, Andie hoping the dance really would help point her in the right direction about her situation with Bane.

The rest of the day wore on normally, with Jessica trying to get Andie to tell her what song she was going to sing.

“Jess, Andie's already going up there for your benefit, leave her alone,” Emily said at lunch.

Andie was thankful for the intervention, because oddly enough, Emily was the only one who could contain Jessica. Or a little, at least. And Andie was nervous enough without Jessica bugging her all day. Isabelle then managed to change the subject and things went back to normal. Even Andie managed to relax somewhat. For a short while, anyway, because by four, the prospect of the audition drawing ever nearer made her stomach queasy. And when she left school to pick up Hannah, she was trying very hard to keep calm.

“Hey, Andie!” Hannah said cheerfully, clambering into the front seat.

“Hi, Hannah, good day?”

“It was okay. Hey, can I come listen to you sing, tonight?”

“Of course, I've already reserved seats for your guys;” Andie said.

“Really? Cool!” Hannah grinned. “We'll be like VIPs!”

Andie chuckled.

“That's it,” she said.

They made their way home, where Andie headed to her room and changed, as the contestants were supposed to be at Washington Center two hours early.

“You sure you don't want us to come with you?” Hank asked as she pulled her coat on.

“Yes, I am. I'll be fine,” she said. “I'll see you later.”

She kissed his cheek and headed out.

Washington Center was already rather busy that evening. It was dark, cold and noisy outside. Eventually, they were let inside where they checked they were on the list. Andie could see why. It would be easy for someone who didn't fit the criteria to say they had been accepted and slip in, which would mean no end of complications. She was indeed on the list and let through with a number tag. She followed the signs backstage, where people were already gathering. She thought about trying to make conversation, but soon saw they were too tense to want to do that. Which didn't help her calm down. After a while, a member of the staff came in and called for attention:

“Now, the judges will be in the audience, in the front row, and they'll call out your number. So when that happens, you go on to the stage. You give your name, and tell them whatever song you're going to sing. Okay? Good. Break a toe, or whatever the saying is...”

And she marched out. If the tensions ran high before, they were positively peaking now. Andie worked carefully on her breathing.

“Psst! Andie!”

Andie looked round, and her eyes widened.

“Bane?!” she cried.

Sure enough, there he was.

“Hey,” he grinned mischievously.

He had sneaked inside unnoticed. How, she had no idea.

“Hey!” she beamed, unthinkingly hugging him. “Are you crazy, what are you doing here? If you're caught, you'll be thrown out!”

Some of the other contestants were glaring at her but she ignored them.

“I just wanted to wish you luck,” he smiled.

“Thanks,” Andie said, touched.

Just then, the host came out and called for attention.

“Welcome one, welcome all! Thank you for coming!”

Andie was almost sure someone would come, so she turned to Bane:

“Go, go, before someone sees you!” she grinned, pushing him gently away.

“Okay, okay, I surrender,” he smiled. “Break a leg!”

With that, he caught her hand, kissed it swiftly and disappeared. And all Andie could do was wait.

Slowly, the auditions began. All the numbers were good, though not all matched Andie's tastes.

“Number twenty five.”

Everyone waited for the person to come in.

“Number twenty five, please!” called the host.

Just then, Andie noticed someone looking at her.

“That's you, dumbbell!”

Glancing at her number tag, she realized they were right. Steeling herself, she stepped forwards.

“Ah, there she is! Welcome!” the host said.

She stood in the middle of the stage, and notice Bane and her friends in the audience. Andie looked ahead and saw the four judges, the members of the band.

“Hello there,” said one of them.

“H-hello,” she said, hoping her voice didn't shake.

“What's your name?”

“A-Andie Galestone.”

“Okay. So what are you going to sing for us?”

Andie took a deep breath, glanced at her friends and family, and gave the title.

“Alright, then. The stage is yours.”

She heard the first few notes fill the air. Taking a few deep breaths, she began. At first, she could tell her body was tense, and it probably affected her voice. She glanced up at Bane, for some reason, and his smile made her feel better. And she was singing one of her favorite songs, she should be happy. So, after a few lines, she found herself able to relax, her voice came out stronger, clearer. She tried not to pay attention to the judges in front of her, whispering amongst each other. She had to force herself to look at the entire audience, but found her eyes often coming back to Bane for courage, But after a while, she felt better. It wasn't so scary anymore, it was fun, being up here. Oh, she didn't think she wanted to live her life doing it, but once from time to time... maybe. Soon, the song came to an end. She stayed still as the applause echoed loudly around her. She flushed, but smiled and bowed.

Andie quickly made her way to the entrance hall where everyone was gathered. It would take a few days for the judges to deliberate, so they would all be called back later.

“Andie!”

It was a miracle she even heard her name in the crowd. Looking around, she saw her friends and family coming towards her.

“Hey, guys,” she smiled.

“You were awesome!” Jessica cried, pulling her into a bear hug.

“Thanks,” Andie smiled.

They all hugged her in turn, including her mother.

“Does this mean you're not mad anymore?”

Lauren sighed, but she was smiling.

“Of course I'm not mad.”

They hugged again. the last being Bane.

“Thanks... your little intrusion helped,” she smiled.

They reached for each other and hugged into each other. And to her surprise, Andie found that she actually liked feeling Bane's arms around her, the gentle rhythm of his heartbeat against hers, his minty scent...

“Come on, let's get out of here,” Jessica said.

They broke away with a start.

“Uh, yeah,” Bane agreed.

They followed them out, avoiding each other's gaze.

It was past midnight when the Galestones arrived home. Hannah was already dozing in the back seat with Andie. Hank gently lifted her out and said he'd tuck her in. Andie was feeling pretty tired herself, and made her way to her room with a “goodnight, Mom, goodnight, Dad”. She slid into her room, kicked off her shoes and pulled on her pajamas. As she sat on her bed, her eyes fell on a picture of her and her friends from her birthday party. She smiled at Jessica's huge grin. She always looked crazy on pictures like that. Her eyes rested on Bane, standing behind her. She was looking at him and he at her. They were smiling at each other.

“There's a strong bond between you,” Ardente said behind her.

“... Yeah...” Andie nodded.

“Have you told him how you feel?”

Andie blinked at her.

“What?”

“Well... you have feelings for him, don't you?”

“... What makes you say that?”

“... Am I mistaken?” Ardente asked, confused. “It's just that... the expression in your eyes when you looked at each other earlier tonight...”

“... I... I'm not sure...” she sighed. “And I don't know how to go about figuring it out... I'm hoping tomorrow night will help.”

“How?”

“Well... I'm not sure... Ideally, I'd like it to just hit me...maybe it will, maybe it won't...”

“If you don't my giving my opinion,” Ardente said, sitting beside her, “I don't believe you would have accepted his invitation if you didn't think there was something between you other than friendship.”

Andie had to admit she'd never thought of that.

“...Maybe... I think you paint me in a better light than I deserve.”

**************************************

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WIll the dance offer Andie the answers she hopes? What is in store next for the Fateful Five? Let's find out in the next chapter!