Chapter 376: Good Boys Gone Bad (5)
As Mathew finished the chorus, he stepped backward to get in line with Ari, and the two of them clasped their arms before spinning and splitting to the side as Jamie and Levi slid into the middle.
With one hand on his hat and a sparkingly bright smile that didn’t look bad in any way, Jamie sang the next lines while doing the choreography
Cause I’m a good boy, gone bad
Tell you I’m a good boy gone bad
You broke me now, I’m a good boy gone bad
Watch out, ’cause I’m a good boy, gone bad~
- I don’t believe you can ever be bad, but I still love you, Jamie!
- Cutie pie!
- Too adorable!
As if he heard the audience’s cheers even as he sang, Jamie suddenly began scowling cutely even as Levi started rapping.
I’m a good boy gone bad, good boy gone bad, good boy gone bad, good boy gone bad.
Listen, I’m a good boy, gone bad, good boy gone bad, good boy gone bad.
Carlos then took the center from Jamie, his sweet voice spreading out as the choreography slowed down.
The darkness within has claimed its victim
You’re now a mirror with all of my flaws
Innocent eyes, now full of lies
The guilt inside burns its way out~
Levi then stepped forward, taking slow steps toward the front of the stage, he began rapping at such a fast pace that it was like he didn’t even need to breath.
Bitter, I’m bitter
But I won’t be alone forever
Corrupted another,
brought them to my ranks I tell you,
The darkness spreads, but here I am still thriving,
No guilt exists because
I really don’t care anymore!!
The music paused, then-
Hahahahaha!
As Levi laughed sarcastically, the music stopped as he squatted down and gestured for the crowd to come closer as if he wanted to whisper something to them.
As the audience hushed, Benjamin walked over, leaning on Levi’s shoulder as he spoke into his microphone while winking.
Shall I tell you a secret?
I like being bad~
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
As the sound of a ticking clock filled the air, Benjamin slid back as Levi hopped to his feet.
They both got into position in line with the rest of the boys, and as the music restarted, Ari began the chorus once more from the center.
That’s why I’m a good boy gone bad,
Tell you I’m a good boy gone bad
I’ve always been a good boy, gone bad
Watch out, ’cause I’m a good boy, gone bad~
Then Mathew took over, rapping the final part while dancing enthusiastically.
I’m a good boy gone bad, good boy gone bad, good boy gone bad, good boy gone bad.
Listen, I’m a good boy, gone bad, good boy gone bad, good boy gone bad.
We’re the good boys gone bad!
As Ari yelled out the final line, all 6 of them put on their coolest faces as they posed and stared out at the audience.
There was a momentary pause, then the audience began to cheer and scream.
*******************
As Ari stood there, taking in the audience reaction all in while trying to catch his breath, he desperately made a wish in his head.
Please!
First place!
We need to get first place no matter what!
Otherwise, won’t the stats that I worked so hard for disappear just like that?
NOVA hadn’t sounded like it was joking when it threatened him the last time, so he was actually very worried.
And even though the audience sounded like they enjoyed their performance and he thought that everything had gone as well as it could go, this time, he wouldn’t be fooled by the positive response, as he had been in Korea.
He would keep wishing for first place until the final moment.
In fact, if the MC gave him even 5 seconds to speak, Ari would immediately kneel down and desperately beg the audience to vote for his team to win.
As for the extra votes or whatever? It was fine. As long as he stayed in the top 7 and William got absolutely no votes and continued to suffer and would be kicked out, he was happy.
Just please!
Audience members, if you truly care for our team!
First place! First place, no matter what!
With desperate eyes, Ari looked at the audience while trying to convince them of his desperate need for their votes.
********
"It was a really good performance, right?" Justine asked, as she stood on her tiptoes trying to imprint Ari and his team’s appearance into her retina.
Once again, she wanted to praise the stylists for their amazing work today. The clothes fit their individual styles perfectly, and the performance was so good, and wow.
She had gone from seeing a stylish Ari at graduation, to a nerdy ari, back to CEO Ari. Her tastes were perfectly satisfied, and she was already planning the Lafufu doll outfits she would be making to replicate today’s amazing visuals of Jamie and Ari.
"Such a good performance! My heart is pounding from the thrill of it. Jumping off a helicopter! Wow!" Rachel added as she clapped enthusiastically.
The audience was the same, clapping and cheering louder than they had for other teams.
After all, this performance was simply on a different level.
Helicopter! They had jumped down from a helicopter! How amazing was that!
"They have to win now, right, Grace?"
"I hope so. The real question is, why is he glaring at us? Turn those green laser beams away."
***************
After making sure that she had recorded the performance to the best of her abilities, PD Emily stood near the side of the stage as she watched Team Bad Boys come down excitedly.
It was warranted because, by all metrics, their performance was very successful.
Not just for the fact that they had somehow managed to secure a helicopter to drop them onto the stage, but the fact that they had a story to go along with their song and had executed it very well, it was a smash hit that would most likely have them be voted the best performance of the day.
If not, PD Emily would personally go to double and triple check things herself to make sure that the voting system wasn’t broken.
It was just unfortunate that-
"Next up, I’d like to call our final team to perform. Please welcome Alonso..."
PD Emily could only click her tongue in regret as another team went up after Ari’s team.
To be honest, she felt very sorry for them, but there was nothing to be done, since they did it to themselves.
When deciding the order of performance, they had originally drawn lots, but Ari had campaigned hard for his team to go last.
However, the closing performance was a highly coveted spot that no one wanted to give up once they got it.
After all, when it came time to vote for the best performance, it would be fresh on everybody’s mind, and if there were similar songs and concepts, it gave that team an edge over those that had performed earlier.
But now, when the team before you dropped out of a helicopter, had a storyline, and executed the performance almost perfectly?
No matter how well the next team did, it wouldn’t be enough because the visual gap was just too much.
After all, how could you compete with a team jumping out of a helicopter?
PD Emily glanced over at Ari, who was sipping water while watching the next team enter the stage with an almost angry expression.
It was really his day.
Had a great graduation, made it in time to an event that was intentionally scheduled to exclude him, killed his performance, and to top it off, his enemy wasn’t even allowed to attend.
It was almost like he was blessed by the god of luck today.
*************
"Who did you vote for?"
"Team bad boys. You?"
"...team bad boys. Even though I wanted to support my pick...but...helicopter."
"Right, you can’t beat that."
The showcase audience was unbelievably loud as they discussed their voting choices after the final performance.
"Grace, do you think Ari’s team would win this time?" Rachel asked as she glared at the girls she had fought with earlier.
From what they were saying, she knew they weren’t voting for Ari and she hoped that other people wouldn’t be the same way.
"If his team doesn’t win, I’m calling the CIA, FBI, NSA, SEC, and all the other government organizations so that they can investigate this entire show for fraud," Grace vowed honestly.
Based on the positive audience reaction and what they were discussing even after the last performance, there was absolutely no way that Ari’s team shouldn’t come in first place now.
Especially because lots of people who had attended his graduation were now at the venue and had seen his performance.
Although anything could happen, she was a bit more confident than before.
As MC Ryan Leary came to the stage, the audience began to quiet down in preparation.
"WOW! Wasn’t that an amazing set of performances?"
- yeahhhhhhhhhhhh
Cheers and whistles sounded out as the audience responded enthusiastically.
"And did you all have a good time?"
— woooooooooooooooooooooo!!
"Good, good. I want to give a round of applause to all the contestants today for putting on an amazing show. They all did a wonderful job."
Clap clap clap clap
"Now, finally, the announcement that you’ve all been waiting for. The team that came in first place today is...."