"And the last member of Machinima is...Brendan Davis!"
The crowd erupts in thunderous applause. In the distance, Cyrus can make out a few sporadic screams desperately trying to make themselves known, presumably from Brendan's family.
A young man, or rather, Brendan, clasps his mouth as he makes his way to the left end of the stage. He stops for a moment, spins around and yells back, "I had such a great time knowing all of you! I hope you guys can debut one day."
Cyrus lets out something between a snort and a laugh. Even in the midst of swelling emotions and sweeping applause, the first thing Brendan thought of was to give a parting goodbye to his former...teammates?
Teammates wouldn't be quite right. Neither are rivals. They are companions, bound together by their shared love of all things idol, sometimes spending upwards of sixteen hours a day together. With time, they forged deep friendships over shared frustrations, passions, stressors and accomplishments, all the while aware they're competing with each other over the slim chance of debuting.
Then again, Brendan is known for being too sweet for an alpha. If he told Cyrus that he's a virtuous being handcrafted by the gods to test the goodness of humanity, Cyrus would believe it.
As Brendan rushes to the embrace of his six other debut members, it dawns on Cyrus that this is it.
Right now, it's merely the difference of standing on-stage and backstage. After that, the distance between members who debuted and failed to debut will only stretch farther and farther away, until the chasm becomes too deep to even peer through.
As the applause dies down, Cyrus hears an audible sigh of relief next to him.
Eli.
Cyrus turns to the right and gives Eli the faintest grin. The clamoring sounds of elated screams and deafening applause would be enough to agitate most people—let alone someone with sensitive ears like Eli. Even after the auditorium resumed its state of quiet (but buzzing) chatter, Eli's hands betrayed his shaken composure.
Cyrus forces his eyeballs to focus on the sea of attendees in front of him.
"We are certain that these seven members will rise together and become a global sensation the likes we haven't seen before! Now, let's proceed with a few words from our members."
Ah. It's that time.
One by one, each trainee begins to give their speech of gratitude.
It's such an honor to be selected for this group.
It means so much to represent LoveLie Entertainment on the global stage.
Thank you for the support of my friends, family and most importantly my mentors. Without you all, I wouldn't be able to stand in front of all of you today.
Cyrus scoffs. As if.
The universe finally allowed Cyrus a bit of reprieve when the microphone was handed to Brendan.
"I'd like to thank everyone in this auditorium for your time, energy and support. I'm beyond grateful that you guys decided to put your trust in me, and I will do my utmost not to let you guys down." He begins.
Then a pause.
"I'd like to extend a thank you to all my other trainees who were part of my journey as a trainee, no matter how big or small. Even during times of immense pressure and mounting stress, your words of encouragement, as well as the close bonds we created were what kept me going."
A deafening applause erupts in the room that completely overshadows the ones before. Brendan opens his mouth but doesn't speak until the noise has quieted down considerably.
"I'd like to especially shout out two people who I believe demonstrated remarkable persistence and hard work throughout the intense training. It wouldn't be any exaggeration to say that their presence is what spurred me on during dancing classes."
A few "awww's" echoed in the auditorium.
"As we all know, it's been a longstanding belief that omegas cannot be trainees due to their weaker physique and limited stamina. I used to think the same, out of the arrogant belief that chasing them out of the idol industry is for the safety of omegas."
A chorus of confused murmurs ripples from the audience. The debuting members, the trainees, Eli….heck, even the announcer is stunned into silence.
"But the truth is," He continues, "We never gave them a chance. I hope that someday my omega friends will be the trailblazers of a new generation of idols."
After what seems like eternity, as though the audience finally remembered that clapping after a long speech is part of established social custom, a round of polite applause finally makes its way to Cyrus' ears.
To her credit, the announcer recovers from her surprise with the expected professionalism of an experienced actor.
"Wow! What a rousing speech. It almost made me tear up." She says, "This concludes the unofficial debut announcement of our new boy group Machinima! Please keep your eyes peeled for the official debut ceremony. We anticipate great things coming for you all! Thank you so much for tuning in today."
In a way, Cyrus is thankful. He's backstage, away from the public eye, where he can process what on Earth happened just now.
Although Brendan did not mention him and Eli by name, it didn't take a genius to know that Brendan is talking about them.
That's right. Brendan spent his entire speech essentially praising two random omegas from the agency.
Only someone like him would have the guts to commit social suicide before his debut.
Cyrus shakes his head. Maybe he'll ask Eli later on what he felt about Brendan's speech. There's no point in talking to an Eli staring at the stage as entranced as a boy in love.
"Everyone, great job today." A booming voice cuts through his thoughts, "Tomorrow, we're going to resume training. Eli, a word."
He doesn't need to turn around to know the booming voice is from the manager, James.
Cyrus turns to look at Eli, whose face looks about as panicked as someone caught naked in the shower.
"You're gonna be fine, Eli. I'm sure it's something good. You've been doing so well in the singing and dance evaluation." Cyrus lowers his voice into a whisper.
Eli nods, though his hand is still trembling.
As Eli exits backstage with James, Cyrus notices a man a head taller than Eli stride forward with the unearned arrogance of a generic villain. With a head of neon red hair and dull grey eyes that glared at his vicinity like it personally offended him, it's impossible for Cyrus not to recognize him.
Gavin Parnon.
"Ah, my favorite omega," Gavin says with a tone so thick with sarcasm that Cyrus suspects that all his meals come with a spread of sarcasm.
"Fuck off."
"That's not a very nice way to greet your senior, is it?"
"Senior is a generous term for someone who's still a low mid-tier trainee." Cyrus replies coolly, "For someone with such a fat mouth, you sure don't have skills to back it up."
Gavin turns a beet red.
"At least I'm an alpha who has a chance to debut. You'll be stuck as a trainee!" Gavin yells back with the anger equivalent of a deflating balloon.
Hah.
"At least I'm not an alpha who gets threatened over a talented omega three years younger than him," Cyrus shrugs, not bothering to turn back.
Why does he have to deal with emotionally-constipated manchildren with the intelligence of a wooden block?
If they hated the idea of omegas becoming idol trainees, they were more than welcome to go to other smaller idol agencies.
They had the choice.
Cyrus clenches his fists. There's no way he'd leave for their comfort. He wouldn't allow them the satisfaction.
"Mom, they loved my audition! They want me to become an idol!"
"Forget about silly things like idols. You aren't made for it." The woman in Cyrus' memories slammed her hand on the table so hard he felt the reverberations on the ground he stood.
"But…!"
"You need to focus on your studies, get into a good school and marry a good alpha. That's what your father would've wanted." The woman spat out each word like it was venom, "Forget about what he wants, it's what we need to survive. Understood?"
Cyrus shakes his head. There's no point in entertaining useless things.
So what if he was mentioned during some person's debut speech? He never asked for it. So what if a couple of fuckwits are too butthurt to admit they aren't skilled? That's their problem.
He and Eli are going to be the ones to debut in the end.