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Dream looked at Johanna with skepticism clear in his expression.
“ The label wants me to do what? ” He asked as if the words Johanna had spoken to him were unclear. They were crystal clear, but he was beginning to doubt his own comprehension of them strung together in a sentence. What Johanna had just told him could not be true.
“Appearing on the show will be a good promotion for the single and the album, Dream.” Johanna said, exasperated. “They’re not asking you to actually compete, just to do it once as a sort of prank on the coaches.”
“ A prank? Like me competing is a joke? ” Dream said. Now slightly offended by the thought that he wouldn’t actually be able to compete against the actual contestants.
Johanna rolled her eyes and sighed while rubbing at the bridge of her nose with a thumb and forefinger.
“No, Dream. A prank as in the coaches wouldn’t expect to turn around and see the lead singer of a well known band on the stage. The joke is on them .” Johanna looked up as a coffee mug was set in front of her by Hob, who was ever the gracious host. “You would do a bit of an interview before you go on stage, sing an arrangement of So Far Away, edited to mostly fit the audition time frame, do a little chat afterwards with the coaches and then it’s done.”
“ That sounds absurd, and embarrassing. ” Dream said as he took his own mug of tea from Hob, and smiling softly as Hob leaned down to give him a kiss and then sat next to him at their kitchen table. Theirs. Hob’s lease had officially run out at the end of the previous month and now the two of them shared what had once been Dream’s lonely flat.
“I could always do it with you.” Hob said as he wrapped his arm around Dream’s shoulders in a casual show of affection that Dream was nearly addicted to. “We could split verses and harmonize on the chorus. We’d blow them away, love.”
“That’s a fantastic idea.” Johanna said, pulling out her phone and no doubt emailing the change of plans to their contact at the label. “Hob’s much more personable than you are in any case.”
Dream scowled at that. It was true that Hob’s personality leant much better to these kinds of shenanigans, but he didn’t have to like being labeled a sourpuss.
“You are a bit prickly, love.” Hob said, a smile coloring his words. “Lucky for you, I’ve always been a sucker for hedgehogs.”
The scowl begrudgingly left his face and was replaced by the smallest of smiles.
.
“ When will we be doing this? ”
*~*~*
Dream watched as Hob slung the strap of the acoustic guitar they’d brought with them around his shoulder in the dim lights of the backstage area of The Voice UK. They’d decided that it would be more impactful to do an acoustic version since Death and Matthew wouldn’t be there to play their respective parts in the song. They had also decided that Hob should be the one to play the guitar to save the illusion of Dream being the lead singer.
They’d already done their interviews for a bit of footage leading up to singing for the coaches, and Hob had shone in that. Dream had managed alright in his own opinion and managed to smile for Hob’s enthusiasm when they talked about their album and being nervous to sing in front of Tom Jones.
Hob came over to Dream and gave him a smile after strumming a couple of chords to check the guitar’s tuning.
“You ready, duck?” He asked before leaning over to give Dream an encouraging peck to his lips.
“ I was under the impression I was a hedgehog. ” Dream joked back once Hob had pulled away.
“That too.” Hob smiled at him. “It doesn’t answer my question, though.”
“ What if they don’t turn around? ” Dream said quietly, voicing the fear that had been in the back of his mind for the last few weeks. It shouldn’t matter if these people turned around for him and Hob’s music. It shouldn’t . That didn’t stop the niggle of doubt in his brain about whether or not he was good enough .
“They will.” Hob said, emphatic in his assertion. “And if they don’t, I’ll personally give them the blues for not doing so for you.”
“ And I will do the same, because if they don’t for me, then they must for you. ” Dream responded, because it was true. Hob was in this with him as an equal.
One of the PAs came up then and told them that it was their turn. Their mic stands had already been set up for them, and Hob’s guitar was already wired and ready to go. The door that hid them from the stage was opened and they stepped out and rose to the brightly lit stage.
There were murmurs from the crowd as they approached their mics. They made an interesting duo with Dream in his customary all black; a cropped leather motorcycle style jacket, tank top, skinny jeans and boots, wild hair, nail polish and eyeliner; and Hob in a brown blazer, white tee shirt, dark jeans and brown boots with hair pulled back in a half ponytail.
Dream studied the backs of the four chairs fifty feet in front of them. Will.I.am, Tom, Anne-Marie, and Olly. All of these people were artists that Dream respected for their various influences on music and styles, as different as they were from his own. He also knew that Hob liked to listen and sing along to music from each of them around their flat while he did household chores with Dream, turning something dreary and boring into something to look forward to.
He wanted to impress them, despite knowing that their opinion of him and Hob didn’t matter, not really.
Dream looked over and saw Hob smiling and holding his finger up to his lips towards parts of the audience, like he was telling them to stay quiet and not reveal their secret. It made Dream smile as well while he reached up and gently held his mic with both hands in preparation. He gave Hob a nod after a moment to signal he was ready whenever he was. Hob strummed the opening chords of So Far Away, and Dream took up the first verse.
“ Never feared for anything. Never shamed, but never free. A life to heal the broken heart with all that it could. Lived a life so endlessly. Saw beyond what others see. I tried to heal your broken heart with all that I could. ”
No one had turned yet, but Dream had faith that they would soon enough. He’d seen enough of the show to know that sometimes the coaches waited a few moments to get the bearings of the singer before jumping in, especially on slower songs like this. This also was a newer song, and not a classic that was universally known. The beginning of it paled in comparison to the end where Dream’s specialty lay. Hob joined him in singing as they approached the chorus.
“ Will you stay? Will you stay away forever? How do I live without the ones I love? Time still turns the pages of the book it’s burned. ”
A chair turned, Anne-Marie. Right after hers, Olly turns, and then Will, and finally Tom. They’d done it. Four chairs almost simultaneously with him and Hob harmonizing together. Of course it was that way. Dream thought he always sounded best when Hob was with him these days. The sound they made together was greater than the sum of its parts.
“ Place and time, always on my mind. I have so much to say, but you’re so far away. ”
Dream watched as recognition crossed Anne-Marie and Olly’s faces, followed by Will. At least three of them knew who Dream and Hob were, and it made a bit of pride swell in his chest. The next verse was all Hob, and Dream couldn’t help but stay fixated on Hob as he sang the next lines of the song they had written together.
“ Plans of what our futures hold. Foolish lies of growing old. It seems we're so invincible, the truth is so cold. A final song, a last request. A perfect chapter laid to rest. Now and then I try to find a place in my mind. ”
Hob’s voice was so different from Dream’s. A clear tenor to Dream’s rougher baritone that always sent shivers down Dream’s spine. It was one of the most beautiful sounds he’d ever heard, and he loved how well it blended with his own.
Dream turned back to look at the coaches to see Olly and Anne-Marie standing and singing along, while Will and Tom sat back, smiling and listening intently. He and Hob sang together once again.
“ Where you can stay. You can stay away forever. How do I live without the ones I love? Time still turns the pages of the book it's burned. Place and time always on my mind. I have so much to say but you're so far away. ”
This was where they’d had to cut out some of the song so that they would stay within a reasonable range of the time limit given to contestants. They skipped a chorus, a bridge, a solo for Death, and a small moment for Matthew to give a bit of a different drum style.
“ How do I live without the ones I love? Time still turns the pages of the book it's burned. Place and time always on my mind, and the light you left remains, but it's so hard to stay when I have so much to say and you're so far away. ”
Dream took the lead for the end of the song, Hob echoing softly behind him as he kept strumming the guitar in his hands.
“ So far awaaaaaaay! ”
“ So far!”
Dream was nearly screaming at the end of ‘away’, showing off one of the skills he was best known for.
“ And I need you to know. So far awaaaaaaaay! ”
Dream was screaming at the end of this line, a primal thing that he threw all of his longing ache into. He and Hob finished the song together in soft harmony.
“ And I need you to, need you to know… ”
There was a beat of silence once the last chords of Hob’s guitar faded away, and then the crowd was on their feet and cheering, and the coaches were applauding. Hob repositioned the guitar so that it was slung across his back and waved at the audience as he pulled his mic from its stand as Dream did the same with his own and they set the stands aside as they had been instructed to do. Dream reached down and grabbed Hob’s free hand, giving it a squeeze and raised their arms up in triumph, a true grin spread across his face.
This was actually fun .
He lowered their arms, but held on to Hob’s hand for a few more moments as the crowd calmed down, and the coaches settled in their seats once again.
“Hello there.” Anne-Marie started it off with a smile on her face. “It’s so good to see you here! To what do we owe the pleasure?”
Dream and Hob knew Anne-Marie and Olly in passing from different industry events over the course of the last few months since the tour had ended.
“We came to crash your Blind Auditions. Were you surprised?” Hob said with a charming smile. He’d win over any audience within moments with that grin. It had done a number on Dream as well, obviously.
“That was so dope you guys, I mean. The rawness of it. Dude.” Will said as he sat back in his chair.
“That was amazing.” Olly spoke now, his jaw hanging open from the surprise still. “I’m just so surprised to see you two here. I was listening and I was just thinking ‘I know this voice, I know these voices but who the heck is it?’ Then I turned around and was so gobsmacked that I just couldn’t believe it.”
“For those of us here and at home, could you tell us who you two gentlemen are, so everyone can be in on the scheme?” Tom said in his signature raspy voice.
“ I am Dream Alatine, and this is Hob Gadling. We’re from the band Aeturnum. I sing lead vocals and play guitar, and Hob also sings and plays bass. ” Dream said, this was easy territory for him. Simple answers that didn’t need to be witty.
“You guys are just brilliant.” Anne-Marie spoke again, still smiling. She was so joyful that it was infectious in a similar manner to Hob, as was Olly. “I loved hearing both of you sing. Your voices are so unique. They’re the kind that people will be able to know who a song is by just from the sound of your voices alone.”
“ Thank you. ”
“Yeah, thanks. We were so honored when the producers came to us to ask if we wanted to come sing for you guys. And nervous as all hell.” Hob said, making light of the nervousness they’d felt before getting on this stage.
“What made you guys want to do it?” Will asked, “I know it's hella nerve wracking to get on that stage and hope that we turn around.”
“ That is a big reason for why we did it. ” Dream answered. “ It has been a very crazy year for our band, and it’s one thing to know that we have fans who love our music, but there’s a certain kind of satisfaction that comes from approval and appreciation from people whom we admire for their legacy and caliber of talent. ”
“What he said.” Hob said with a grin, and that got a chuckle from a couple of the coaches and the audience.
“You gentlemen have beautiful tones in your voices, and your harmonies are so tight.” Tom commented. “Did you write this song?”
“Yeah, it was mostly Dream, though. I helped a bit.” Hob said, bashful and modest in the face of compliments from Tom Jones, who Dream knew was one of Hob’s idols.
“ He helped with most of it. I don’t know if it would have turned out half as good if I hadn’t had him to get me through it. ” It was true. Hob had been instrumental in making sure Dream didn’t give up on writing it.
“It’s wonderful.” Anne-Marie said.
“The really important question is, who do you pick as your coach?” Olly said, lightening the mood further, making Hob chuckle and Dream huff a laugh through his nose.
“Tom.”
“ Anne-Marie. ”
Hob and Dream answered at the same time, and the audience laughed.
“Seriously, it’s been a pleasure to be here and sing for you all today. Dream and I talked about it, and we would love to come back as Guest Coaches in the future, if you would have us.” Hob said. They had talked about it, and said they would put forth the offer if everything had gone well, and it had. Dream saw Anne-Marie and Olly perk up at the notion immediately and Dream just knew they would get an offer to come back soon by one or both of them in the future.
“That would be awesome.” Will said. “We all look forward to seeing you guys again, and to see what you do in the future.”
“ Thank you all for this opportunity. ” Dream said and he and Hob gave a wave to the audience before stepping down from the stage to meet with the coaches for handshakes and hugs.
Both Anne-Marie and Olly said they would definitely have them as guest coaches if they were serious about the offer.