"He turned to me as if to say, hurry boy, it's waiting there for you!" Hank belted out. His voice was flat and cracked on the last word, but it didn't slow does his enthusiasm. He beat the air along to the drums that led into the ionic chorus. "It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you!"

What he lacked in talent, he made up with gusto. He had taken the stage like a seasoned performer, calling for everyone's attention. By the second verse, his jacket had come off and been flung into the crowd.

By the last chorus, his shirt was half open and his hair stuck out in different directions as he threw his whole body into his performance. He had the crowd in his hand, half the room was on their feet swaying to the beat as they clapped along.

Ty wasn't sure if it was the alcohol that had caused him to leave all his inhibitions behind, or if he was naturally like that. She happily clapped along from the back of the room and cheered loudly as he struck his final pose.

"You really shouldn't encourage him," Hudson said, as Hank took a bow.

"What are you talking about? He was amazing!" she said as she continued to clap.

She cheered again as Hank took a final bow and left the stage. She started to chant "another song" and the crowd quickly picked it up until the whole lounge was calling for Hank to sing again. He motioned for silence and the crowd obeyed.

"I'm going to need a few more drinks if you want another song," he said.

The crowd laughed and cheered as he took his seat and didn't stop until he stood and took one last bow.

As the large room settled back into the reasonable hum of noise and background music, Ty looked at Hudson. He looked bored. This was the fourth time he had come to talk to her since the Hamilton party had arrived an hour ago at karaoke night. He always had a reason.

"Another drink, another round for the table."

But even after Ty had fulfilled his request, he hung around. She enjoyed his company, but she was also aware of the eyes that were constantly searching for him and had to send him away, much to his displeasure.

This time, he hadn't bothered with a reason to come over. She nudged him playfully.

"Just because karaoke isn't your thing, doesn't mean you have to hate on Hank. I'm actually surprised. I wasn't sure how 'The Hamilton Group' was going to handle karaoke."

"Unfortunately, they handle it just as well as six am morning workouts," he grumbled.

"They have such a diverse set of skills."

"'Skills' is being generous," he said.

She shrugged. "The crowd didn't have a problem with his singing."

"People confuse confidence with skill. Hank has confidence. Too much of it." He griped like an old man.

"I get it. Some people are comfortable being in the spotlight," she gave him a pointed look, "and some aren't. Not everyone has the confidence to be onstage." Her smile was an unspoken challenge.

His eyes narrowed as he studied her and she shifted her attention. She looked at the back of the lounge where Johnny and a group of her co-workers were huddled around a table. They had arrived early in the night to judge the performances. She had stopped by to put some fear and respect into them to make sure they behaved.

"Anyways." She smiled brightly at Hudson. "Was there something you needed?"

He had followed her line of sight and was studying the table. When he shifted his attention back to her, he eyed her suspiciously.

"Was there anything you needed?" she asked again.

He shook his head. "No, I think I have everything I need."

"Great. I'll see if anyone else needs another drink." She moved towards the Hamilton Party and wasn't surprised when he didn't follow.

Instead, he walked in the opposite direction. For his part, he was subtle in his approach of Johnny's back table. He wandered out to the restroom and when he returned he stood at the entrance watching the performance onstage for a while. He didn't head to the back until Ty had her back to him.

Unfortunately for him, Ty had learned how to keep tabs on a whole room no matter where she was standing or who she was talking to. She kept one ear in the conversation with Kate while finding a reflective surface to watch as Hudson approached the table. She smiled as he pulled the group into a conspiratorial huddle.

Next up for karaoke was Kate and Grant. After watching several performances from the Hamilton Party, Ty was prepared for an excellent show and Kate and Grant delivered, plus some. It was like watching a well-rehearsed comedy show as they took the stage.

They began to stretch as if they were about to participate in an event that required physical prowess, Kate did squats while Grant did push-ups. They had the whole lounge cheering before the music even began. And once the song started the crowd's support only grew.

The upbeat fifties song started and it was like someone had turned Kate and Grant on. They danced and bopped around each other while sharing the lyrics back and forth. It was by far the most entertaining performance of the night. Ty was sure Johnny and his group of 'judges' would be giving the couple a perfect score.

When they finished, the audience wouldn't let them go. They kept cheering as Grant and Kate took bow after bow. It continued so long, the DJ asked if they wanted to do another song, and when they agreed, the cheers grew louder.

"You shouldn't be that impressed," Hudson said, once again at her side. He spoke loudly to be heard over the cheering crowd.

She looked at him in disbelief. "What are you talking about? That was amazing!"

"It would be amazing if they hadn't been doing it since their eighth-grade talent show."

"Practice makes perfect," she said, clapping defiantly

"Since eighth grade," he repeated, enunciating every word. "Too much practice makes it nauseating."

The cheering died down as Kate and Grant prepared for their second song. "If you aren't going to sing, you can't criticize the people who are."

"Who says I'm not going to sing?" he challenged. She laughed. "Funny." He looked like she had seriously offended him and she laughed harder. "What?" He looked around like there must be something else that she found so laughingly funny. He didn't find it. He looked back at her and waited impatiently for her to calm down.

"I'm sorry." She forced a serious expression on her face. "What are you going to sing, Hudson?" Her voice came out sounding like a robot.

"I ran into Johnny," he said.

She frowned. "I haven't heard of that song. Who sings it?"

"The back table in the club," he said flatly.

She squinted thoughtfully like she was trying to place the name. "I haven't heard of that band. Are they good?" His shoulders fell in annoyance and he shook his head. She smiled, because despite what he was trying to convey she thought he looked very cute. "You ran into Johnny," she prompted.

He eyed her suspiciously like he couldn't trust her to hold a normal conversation. She nodded encouragingly.

"Yes," was all he said.

She waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't seem interested in talking anymore. "Fun fact," she said.

When he didn't add anything else, she turned back to the stage. Grant had Kate spinning then dropped her into a dramatic dip on the last note of the song. The crowd went wild. Ty clapped and turned to see which type of unimpressed look Hudson was wearing, but he was no longer by her side.

She wasn't worried about him being annoyed with her. She knew soon enough his annoyance with his group would outweigh his annoyance with her and he would be back. But the next time she saw him, he was on stage.

His back was to the audience as he waited for the music to start, but she recognized his sharp posture. The beat of a classic eighties song began to play and he started to sing without turning around.

"Clock strikes upon the hour, and the sun begins to fade." The lounge grew very quiet as the crowd looked at the stage curiously. When Hudson finally turned around, the Hamilton group whooped and hollered.

As much as he had mocked Kate and Grant's choreographed performance, he was taking a page right out of their book. He looked well-rehearsed as he strutted around the stage, playing to the crowd like he had spent his life performing. He kicked it up a notch when he hit the chorus and added a few spins. By the final chorus, he had the crowd on their feet and singing along.

The chant for "another song" started almost immediately after he finished the song, and while he took his first, second, and third bow. It only stopped when Hudson had left the stage and the background music started to play again. Hudson was bombarded as he stepped off stage. Grant threw an arm around him as the rest of their group surrounded him.

With the Hamilton party preoccupied, Ty headed to the back table. It was a flurry of hushed actions as Johnny instructed the group on how to record the results of Hudson's performance.

When Ty had stopped by the table at the beginning of the night, Johnny had proudly boasted about the point system he had created for each performance and how the bets would be placed based on it. Ty had listened with interest until he had reached the part where he planned on holding up scorecards numbering one through ten for each performance.

"Johnny..." she had said.

"It's going to be just like those competition shows." He had missed the warning tone in her voice or chosen to ignore it.

She had said his name two more times with very pointed looks before he started to catch on that she didn't love the idea. He had made several bold arguments in favor of the point system, but in the end, she had pulled rank and refused to let him do it. But she had eased his disappointment by placing a bet of her own.

It was that bet that brought her back to his table. She waited as he instructed his crew, his commands as serious as if he were running a military operation. When he finally stopped talking, he was out of breath, but he still managed a devilish smile when he saw her. He looked at her with awe and gave her a high-five.

"I don't know how you do what you do, and I don't want to, 'cause I'm pretty sure it involves some dark magic," he said and she laughed. "You just won yourself two-hundred dollars. Plus, the extra fifty we agreed upon."

She grinned. "It's nothing really," she said while preening like a peacock.

"It was legendary," Johnny corrected. "It went exactly like you predicted. I played it cool when he came over and he jumped to his own conclusions."

"Like candy from a baby," she laughed gleefully.

"Speaking of..." Johnny nodded to something behind Ty.

She turned and saw Hudson moving through the crowd looking for someone. When he spotted her, he set his course in her direction a smug smile on his face. He still carried the glow from his performance and he caught the attention of everyone he passed.

"This isn't going to be pretty," Johnny whispered. He conveniently disappeared by the time Hudson reached Ty.

Hudson held his arms out victoriously like he was a monarch who deserved worship. Ty begrudgingly obliged with a few weak claps.

"Thank you, thank you," he said with a self-satisfied grin. "No really, you're too much."

"In that case..." she stopped clapping.

"Surprised?" he asked.

"I am," she nodded. "Whitney Houston is a bold choice."

His casual shrug wasn't very convincing with the smile on his face. "I don't shy away from a challenge."

"So I've learned."

"I'm sorry. I'm being rude," he said, putting minimal effort into showing concern. "Here I am, gloating, while you must be upset after losing another fifty dollars."

"Fifty?" she questioned. "I bet a hundred."

His insincere pity turned a little more real. "That's rough." He put a consoling hand on her shoulder. "Some people weren't made for the betting world."

"Some really aren't." She shook off his hold and smiled. "I guess it's a good thing I'm not one of them. I just made two hundred and fifty bucks." She returned his gesture, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for that!"

At first, he didn't believe her, snorting at her attempt at a cheap trick. But when she didn't change the tune of her song, she could see the doubt creep in. Johnny reappeared as if they had planned it.

"Hudson, how's it going?" he said. He gave him a friendly slap on the back then handed Ty a slip of paper. "You can pick up your winnings tonight on The Deck."

She happily accepted the paper and slipped it into her pocket. Hudson watched her skeptically like he was still sure there was a 'just kidding' coming at any moment. She borrowed his look from earlier and smiled smugly.

He frowned. "But you were acting like you wanted me to sing."

"I was."

"But I know you didn't actually want me to sing. There is no way you would be that straightforward about it," he argued.

"So you thought when I was taunting you to sing something I was really trying to be misleading and get you to NOT sing?" she voiced it like it was an absurd idea.

"Exactly! There's no way you thought I would fall for your reversed psychology again. Not after you antagonized me into doing water aerobics."

"You're right," she admitted. "I knew you would catch on, which is why I stayed two steps ahead of you. I knew you would come to the conclusion that I didn't want you to sing, and being the gentleman you are, you would sing just to spite me. Which is why I bet that you would sing. You were smart figuring out the first step. I was just smarter."

She watched him try to think through her explanation. After a minute, she could see he had reached a verdict, and by the disappointed look on his face, it looked like he had come to the correct one. "I think I understand now." She grinned triumphantly.

"I have a headache," he grumbled, "and a sorely bruised ego. I need a drink."

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

Mooi ry! (Afrikaans)

Thoughts?💬🗯💭🚢🛟

Am I saying that I could survive in a fictional world? Yes. Yes, I am.

But not like a fantasy world. Definitely not. I'd be eaten by a dragon or killed by a villain. And not even an isolated killing that would spur the hero to take action. No, like in a mass killing where my death wouldn't even be noticed.

I'm saying I could survive in a teen fiction fictional world. I feel like I give off Quirk Main Character energy. Though I think I'm also a very simple person so maybe I don't have the complexity of a main character.

Dang then that means I'm just the odd but lovable side-kick/best friend. If I am that means I don't have to deal with any character development which makes my life easier.

Okay, it's official, I can survive a fictional world as long as it's teen fiction and I am the odd but lovable side character!

I'm okay with this. I've accepted my place in life.

If you know what role and world you'd survive in let me know!

Vote, comment, follow! I'm glad I could share this deep personal truth with you.

Also if you're looking for the most amazing and historic karaoke moment, it's this one.

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