Chapter 17: A Visually-Pleasing Upgrade

The rest of the week steadily passed by and within those span of days, every contestant was focused on giving their very best performances.

Vocal lessons were frequently attended to and taught by professional coaches, choreography sessions were always packed with contestants, a few legal meetings were attended to and just like Howard had said, there was a lot of filming during the entire process.

Regardless of that though, the contestants were asked to be as free as they possibly could as only a few scenes from the recorded videos would be used and their performances would actually be focused on the most.

Fashion stylists, make-up artists and professionals would also regularly come to the hotel.

The contestants were then asked to meet up with them at assigned time periods so they could do the necessary to upgrade their visuals before the day of their actual performances.

This was also done beforehand so that when the day of their blind auditions did come, it would be easier and faster for the professionals to do a quick and simple touch up here and there.

During all these, they had all also being assigned the dates which they would all perform and Kyle had found out that his was on the first day of the audition week, Monday to be precise.

He had also ended up finding out later on, that Lily and Steven would also be performing on the same day as he was, along with some other contestants too.

Not particularly minding it though, Kyle just focused on giving it his all by consistently working on his original song.

* * *

"-le… -yle… Kyle! Hey man! Wake up!"

Having tried to gently wake him up before, Joe finally decided to be more forceful and he succeeded in waking the young man up.

Watching as Kyle slowly and groggily woke up from his slumber, Joe couldn't help but shake his head in respect for him.

Over the past few days he had been rooming with the young man, he had never seen anyone so immensely dedicated to perfecting a song like Kyle was.

He hardly ever went out if it wasn't necessary and even though they had been given three free-days over the course of the week to relax and sight-see a bit, Kyle would still stay cooped up in his room, doggedly working on the lyrics and the lovely pop-ballad tune of his song that had gotten stuck in Joe's head.

"Sorry I had to wake you up but it's your turn to meet up with the stylists and make-up artists" he said to Kyle who was still blinking his bleary eyes, a lyrics sheet stuck on his face.

"Also it's 10:46 in the morning so there's that…" he added and moved over to sit on his own bed while retrieving his phone.

"Thanks Joe. I really appreciate it" Kyle finally responded with a thankful nod after getting his bearings.

Gently prying off the lyrics sheet that was smooching his cheeks, the young man got off the bed and slowly moved over to the bathroom.

Staring at the mirror in the bathroom, a few notifications suddenly appeared his field of view but having gotten used to it, Kyle just rinsed his face first before he then read the messages.

| You have successfully elevated the quality of your song! |

| 500 bonus exp. points have been awarded! |

| Total exp. points available (2102) |

| You're close to breaking through to Singing Level 8! |

| You're close to breaking through to Composing Level 9! |

| Keep singing and composing to improve your skills |

'Level 8 and 9 huh…' Kyle mused to himself.

Having been around a lot of contestants over the past three weeks, Kyle had come to realize that most had a singing level of level 7 like he was while the very remaining few like Ryan were around level 8.

The only exceptions were monsters like Lily and Steven, both at level 11 and level 10 respectively, along with Katie, Helena and Joe, all of whom were all at level 9.

'In due time Kyle. In due time…' the young man then said to himself with a thin smile, while proceeding to clean up and take a bath.

Walking back into the room, Kyle dressed up casually, thanked Joe once again and then, headed out of the room to meet up with the stylists and make-up artists.

On his way, Kyle encountered Ryan and Lily who were also on their way for their different appointments too and a friendly conversation followed.

"You two really should learn to relax more often" Ryan said with a sigh but Kyle shook his head in denial.

"No"

"You know I can't do that" Lily on the other hand casually replied and then spoke to Kyle;

"You getting used to the contacts?" she curiously asked.

"I'm managing" he replied and Lily then spoke again.

"Well, although it's not my place to say anything, for what it's worth, you do have very beautiful eyes" she genuinely smiled and said.

"Thanks" Kyle replied with a light smile too, not reading too much into her words though.

"Wait a minute! Did you just complement a guy?!" Ryan asked in utter disbelief!

The Lily Lockhart he had known since high-school had never been interested in the opposite sex much less have any reason to complement them.

Although he understood that it was because she had her own shit to deal with and having a relationship would've ended up being more of a burden than anything else, this was quite the shocking sight for him to witness.

"I've been your friend for years and the highest compliment I've ever received from you is 'You look nice'!" he added while squinting his eyes at her.

Lily simply shrugged her shoulders in response though and instead spoke while gesturing;

"I'll be moving up ahead since that's where the interview rooms are at. See you guys later" she waved.

"Yeah. Bye" Ryan returned the gesture as he and Kyle also separated a few seconds later.

He to the choreography classes and Kyle to the stylist and make-up artist's room.

* * *

"So, how do you feel knowing you're the contestant everyone believes will be the winner of this year's season of Rising Voices" Chris asked Lily with a friendly smile.

Seated just opposite him in a very composed manner, the young lady calmly replied.

"Like you said, they 'believe' that I will. That doesn't translate to me being the definitive winner" the gorgeous dark-blonde lady began.

"There are so many other talented contestants on the show that would definitely send me right off the show in a heartbeat if I let down my guard just because of a few praises here and there. I can only say that I am giving it my all to come out on top regardless" she concluded.

"That's certainly the spirit. Never say never until it's over eh?" the host flashed a small grin, a bit impressed with how she had handled the question.

Although it seemed like a completely harmless question, it was a question where if she had so much as slipped up once or had even shown a hint of pride while answering, the producers would have had an absolutely fun time twisting and devil editing her words to something else entirely.

"Is there any reason why you decided to accept the invitation to star in this season of the show? Because from what I've heard, this isn't the first time you had an invitation sent to you right?" Chris then returned to asking questions.

Lily mused to herself for a few seconds before she then opened her mouth.

"Let's just say I had a few personal reasons that prevented me from doing so"

"Do you mind giving a few more details regarding that?" the host asked.

"No. It's personal so I won't disclose anything" Lily gently smiled and said.

Chris couldn't help but just lightly chuckle and nod his head in resignation at her response.

He had noticed that she too, just like Kyle had been the toughest nut to crack among all the contestants this season.

While Kyle had this subtle, secretive way of evading the most curious questions about things he'd rather not disclose, Lily had a coy, foxy manner to her own approach at evading questions.

"Alright then. I have one more question here and then we can round this up" he said to which Lily replied.

"Ask away"

"Do you have any contestant in particular you'd like to get close to? One you'd like to be friends with?"

Hearing that question, the face of certain individual flashed across Lily's mind as she coolly replied.

"Yes. There is"

Having a bit of mild surprise wash across his features, Chris then asked with a curious smile.

"A boy I presume"

"What if I said it was a girl?" Lily then asked with a coquettish smile that indicated that she was unwilling to give a proper answer.

"Haha. That's certainly one way to evade my question Miss. Lockhart" Chris genuinely laughed at that and then said;

"Well. Thank you for your time Lily and I hope you make it to the end of the show"

"Thank you. I appreciate the sentiment" Lily replied and then made her way out of the interview room.

It had been a fairly short interview and considering Chris still had a few more contestants to interview today, it was understandable as to why it had been so.

As Lily slowly made her way through the fairly busy corridors of the hotel room back to hers, she soon watched as Kyle slowly walked out of the stylist and make-up rooms.

Glancing over to her as he closed the door, Lily offered a small wave with a light smile and Kyle did the same, his appearance so different from what anyone could've ever anticipated.

His previously messy-hair whose long locks mostly covered his forehead and almost obscured his eyes had been completely trimmed and swept back to reveal all of his hidden features and charms.

His now wavy, curtain-styled, voluminous dark-raven hair, properly highlighted his sapphire-blue eyes, his surprisingly chiseled and well-defined features, his strong jawline and his high cheekbones.

Having strong and attractive boyish charms that also seemed like it was on the verge of fully transforming into that of a handsome young man, the beautiful lady was sure he was going to get a lot of core fans after he performed with his new appearance.

Overall, Kyle currently looked far more handsome than most guys would, enough for him to effectively stand out on the reality show where there was already a plethora of handsome dudes.

With a small nod to her, he then turned around and began to make his way back, presumably to his room as Lily mused to herself while watching him go.

'Called it, didn't I? He'd be an absolute dreamboat if he had a makeover'

Nodding proudly to herself in satisfaction over her accurate prediction, Lily also began to make her way back into her own room.