Page 12 of Omega Rock

Sable smiles again. “Good work, Mia. Everything happens for a reason, I believe that. So take this opportunity and smash it.”

I grin back at her. “I will.”

I won’t let these alphas down, or Wes. They’re all taking chances on me to some degree, and I’m frankly tired of disappointing people.

Sable says her goodbyes and hangs up the phone. My thumb switches to my favorites list and then hovers over my parents’ house number. They swapped it over to a cell phone rather than give it up entirely. I’d thought it cute at the time, but now I wonder if it’s because they always want to make sure I can call home with a number I know by heart.

I want to call. I want to tell them what’s happened today. But my thumb never quite hits the screen.

This is too new, too fragile. Why get their hopes up if it doesn’t work out, or if I somehow screw it up? Would they even understand how insane this opportunity is to begin with? They know of Aiden and Leo. I had posters of their old bands on my bedroom walls for years. And Noah…

Wait, whendidNoah go to Juilliard? Did he say? Dad really could already know Noah. We could have all been connected by various invisible fate strings from the start.

Exit Fate.How ironic is that.

But then I remember: Noah was apparentlykicked outof Juilliard. So yeah, maybe not telling my parents about this yet.

I don’t want to ruin the magic we’re making. Even if this crashes and burns in a few weeks, what I felt while playing onesinglesong with Exit Fate today was the closest to actual magic I think I’ll ever get in my life.

It sure felt like fate.

* * *

By the time I find and park outside Al’s Wing’s, I’m convinced I’ll be the last one thereagain. Luckily, that’s not true as only Aiden is sitting inside, near an exit door that’s been cracked open. The table is situated in such a way as to catch the cool air draft from the perfect early summer night.

I approach with a wave and sit across from him. “This place looks great.”

Aiden smiles wryly. “It’s quiet, which honestly, is the most important thing.” He’s got a beer on the table for everyone already, along with his phone that keeps buzzing with messages and missed calls.

“Yeah, I, um…” I want to ask how he’s doing with his break from Designation Outsider. I can only imagine how much that must have andstillhurt, even with how well today went.

Aiden shakes his head a little but sadness dulls the bright green of his eyes. The motion sends a few strands of his longer black hair into his face. He sweeps them out of the way in a practiced motion. “It’s okay. I mean, it’snot. But it is what it is. I guess I can say it was a long time coming.”

“Doesn’t make it easier, I imagine.”

Aiden purses his lips for a moment’s consideration. “No. Are you, uh, a fan?” His jade gaze rolls over me, and I can already hear the question without him saying it.Are you old enough to be a fan?

“Iwas,” I make a point of saying. “Designation Outsider isn’t much without you, honestly. Their mistake is our boon though, I guess.”

“That’s not fair,” Aiden is quick to say. “They’re all talented in their own right.”

“But every band ends up having a heart,” I say with much more courage than I think I could’ve found earlier today. For some reason, being so open with someone who I was starstruck by for years is… easy.

Flashes of earlier today zip through my mind. I was definitely starstruck when I walked into that room and found what Wes had planned. But the second we started playing together everything fell away. It was just us, our instruments, and the magic we were making.

And now I’m sitting in front of Aiden Paltiernotin an autograph or meet and greet line, but as his bandmate.

“Someone stands out and apart, they become the lifeline. I think that was you. Just my two cents anyway.”

Aiden considers this for a moment so long it becomes awkward.

Before he can say anything, I quickly brush non-existent hair out of my own face as a blush creeps up my cheeks. “Anyway, I just mean that?—”

Aiden waves it off. “No, I appreciate it. I honestly haven’t really talked to anyone about any of it. They fucking hurt me, and I’m definitely still upset about it. But I’m excited and more importantlycommittedto giving Exit Fate a go.”

“You want to stick it to them.” It’s not unreasonable, and even I have to admit that a chance of being in a band more popular than Designation Outsider would be a wildest dream come true. But it’s not that simple, and I know Aiden knows that.

Aiden nods. “I would fucking love to, yes. It’s just all still fresh, you know?”

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