One more step.

It was an awful feeling, you know? The people at the bar with us went on stage and took their turns singing their hearts out. Some were pretty good, some were pretty bad, but… everyone seemed to be having fun. And then it was Mila and Alice’s turn.

We watched them go on stage while laughing among themselves, giggling shyly as they realized they’d be singing in front of about 40 people. Nevertheless, they did. Their song started, they held the microphone together and sang. They sang well, too. No shame, just pure fun. Helped that their song was pretty upbeat. Some people sang along with them while others kept to themselves and kept chatting with their groups.

Those who cared, listened. Those who didn’t care continued doing their own thing. This was set to be karaoke night from the get go, so people singing was something you just had to accept.

Mila and Alice returned, laughing heartily as they sat down with us again.

“I can’t believe we did that! Ahaha!” Alice said.

“I’ve never sang in front of so many people before!” Mila added. “How did we do?”

Noelle and I gave them a thumbs up. “You were amazing,” the redhead told them.

“You got people to sing along with you. You were a big hit,” I told them.

“Should we queue another song?” Alice asked.

“I don’t know. It was fun but my hands are shaking, hahaha!”

“Will you sing, Diana?” Grace asked her. “You’re already 3 cups in.”

Diana drank the last of her third Old Fashioned and set down the glass. “I said I’d consider it after three cups. Now that I’ve had them, I’ve decided I’m too shy to sing in front of this many people, so no, I’m not singing.”

“Boo!”

“Boo!”

Alice and Mila booed her with thumbs down.

“Yeah, I’m not going, either,” Grace said. “I can’t carry a tune to save my life.”

“Well, Noelle and I are singing after three more songs, so look forward to that,” Sarah said, raising her beer in toast.

“W-Wait, are we!?” Noelle asked, shocked.

“Yeah. I queued the song to your name,” the blonde told her.

“Sarah!”

“Come on, you go live in front of 100 people or more, don’t you? And don’t worry, it’s a song you like.”

“W-Which one?” After hearing the song Sarah picked, Noelle reluctantly agreed. “Alright, fine! But at least ask me next time!”

As they talked, I began to stare at my phone’s black screen, gripping it tightly. I was so deep in thought that Diana caught me off-guard with a quick kiss on my neck.

“W-What?”

“What are you thinking about?” she asked me.

I chuckled. “Can’t you tell?”

“I think I have an idea, but I’m not sure. Besides, I want to hear it from you.”

“...” I sighed. “It looks like fun. Singing there, with people listening and joining in. It’s… tempting to go in there, but…”

“But…?”

“I don’t know. My taste in music doesn’t seem to fit here. Besides, I’ve never practiced singing, so I’m not confident. I’d be more confident getting in there with an ocarina than singing.”

“What happened to the Oliver that asked 5 girls to prom at the school cafeteria?” Mila asked me with a smirk. “Done that before?”

“...” I groaned and shook my head. “The atmosphere here is nice. I don’t want to ruin it.”

“Hey, don’t worry. That could be us in just a few minutes,” Sarah told me.

The girls all laughed, but I couldn’t. What Sarah said, even as a joke, was… enlightening. Yeah, I know it’s pretty obvious, but sometimes things just CLICK.

Everyone singing is putting themselves at risk of being the ones who are bad. Hell, some already sang and it was a little painful. What was it that I told Fernanda the other day? Even if it goes wrong, it’s not the end of the world and most people here won’t even care. Better follow my own advice, then.

I browsed through the available songs and hit gold with one. Old, but mainstream enough to at least get a few people interested. Right up my alley, too. In fact, I almost wanted to have my guitar with me. I could even play it. I queued it.

Sarah and Noelle stepped on stage and sang together. Noelle was visibly nervous, but people began to whistle in encouragement. Also, Alice was right. Noelle did sing really well. Like, shockingly well. People were clapping when they were done and the whistling had become cheering.

“See that? We killed it!” Sarah said.

“That was 80% Noelle and you know it,” Grace told her.

“Are you contractually obligated to sing well as a V-Tuber?” I asked her teasingly.

Noelle was blushing hard, but she laughed. “I really hope they don’t make me sing…”

“And what are you gonna sing, Oliver?” Sarah asked me.

“You’ll see.” I let out a heavy sigh. “Can’t believe I’m really gonna do it.”

“Come on, you’ll do great,” Mila told me.

“Okay, but if I botch it I want you to boo me,” I said.

“Sure.”

They wouldn’t. Knew it in my bones.

Song after song, my turn finally came. By that point I had two Irish Coffees in me and one soda, so… Yeah, tipsy but not **** enough to not feel the nerves.

I stood on stage, seeing over 40 people in the bar. Some were talking, ignoring me. Some looked on with casual curiosity. It made me remember the talent show, made me remember what I wanted to do with my performances.

…

The song started with some of the most iconic guitar strumming in history. It was quickly followed by the drums, and I already saw some ears perking up and heads turning. It gave me the last push I needed.

I grabbed the mic. “Hey now, I wanna see the old heads raising their hands! Where are you!?”

“WOOOOOO!!!”

Like seven other dudes cheered, all from different tables and older than me by at least 10 years. Other people laughed, others grinned. I kept my eyes on all of them, looking them in the eyes. Don’t fucking back down, Oliver.

I sang. I sang from the bottom of my heart and the pit of my stomach. Slow and soft at first, then letting it drop when the chorus came in. And I wasn’t alone there. The dudes that cheered all joined in.

“With the lights out, it’s less dangerous! Here we are now, entertain us! I feel stupid, and contagious! Here we are now, entertain us! A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido! YEAH!”

It wasn’t professional singing by any means. I felt my voice almost crack a few times, had to catch my breath mid sentence and even tripped over the lyrics once. But even so, I left it all on the stage. And… I think people noticed.

There was applause. Louder cheering from the dudes who liked the song. I felt my chest swelling.

“Thank you everybody! Have a wonderful night!”

The cheering and applause got louder with that. I think people just appreciated being addressed. That was good to remember.

It was just a song sung during karaoke, but for me… I felt like I was one step closer to the kind of showman I wanted to be. I’m still very glad I took that step.

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