Zoe's POV
The lights inside the auditorium glowed warm and golden when I walked back in.
The noise that had filled the place earlier — cheers, laughter, excitement — had now thinned into a hum of nerves. The host stood at the center of the stage, holding a slim white envelope like it carried the entire world inside.
It probably did.
The hall had gone so still that even the air seemed to pause. The stage lights shimmered off the microphones, the shiny instruments, and the trembling hands of the finalists — bands standing shoulder to shoulder, fingers laced, heads bowed.
Everyone wanted one thing.
The prize.
The glory.
The validation that all those sleepless nights had meant something.
But me?
My eyes only wanted one thing too — him.
Brandon.
