Choosing America's Next Superstar

by Jeff Erno

  “Jimmy, calm down. Of course I have to go. Reuben’s the head of the show. He’s also a judge. If I ignore his request, I could get kicked off. And what’s it gonna hurt? It just doesn’t make any sense why he’d even want to see me in the first place….”

  Jimmy looked Corey straight in the eye, not speaking.

  “Oh my God,” Corey said, a dawning of realization striking him. “Reuben is summoning male contestants to his room late at night. Then they’re returning the next morning. And now… now he’s picked me.”

  “Exactly! Corey, you can’t go.”

  “But… Jimmy, I have to at least go over there. If he puts the moves on me, I can just tell him I’m not interested.”

  “And what’re you gonna say if he tells you to either give him what he wants, or you’ll be history?”

  “Blackmail me? I know you think he’s evil, but I doubt he’s that bad….”

  Jimmy nodded slowly. “Corey, he’s that bad. Trust me.”

  “And you’re telling me he’s been doing this shit with Tristan already, all along? Dude, that’s gross.”

  “I’m not telling you anything… or, well… I promised Tristan I would keep this secret. But I had to tell you—to protect you.”

  Corey stepped closer to him, pressing his body against Jimmy’s chest. Jimmy wrapped his arms around the shorter boy. “Actually, you didn’t tell me. I guessed. But what do I do?”

  “We’ve got to report him,” Jimmy said.

  “What’s there to report? And to whom?”

  “I wish Tristan would call me back. I wanna get him to show you.” Jimmy wanted to say more, but he couldn’t.

  “Jimmy, I know this much already. Just tell me. I won’t let on that I know anything. Please….”

  “All right,” Jimmy sighed. He took Corey’s hand and led him over to the bed. They sat on the edge of the mattress, and Jimmy turned to him before he spoke. “Tristan is really messed up,” he whispered. “He has bruises and scrapes around his wrists where it looks like he’s been tied up or handcuffed or something. He’s got deep scrapes and cuts all across his back.”

  “What? From Reuben?”

  “He’s into bondage or something. He’s beating Tristan, whipping him.”

  “No fucking way,” Corey said incredulously.

  “It started out that Reuben just wanted to touch him, fondle him. They had sex… well, Reuben’s into all kinds of stuff. He does drugs. Tristan said he kept doing lines of coke and then… then after each line he’d want to have sex again. Every time more extreme.”

  “How?”

  “He takes pills too. Drugs to keep him aroused.”

  “But, I mean, how is this happening? Why is Tristan letting it happen?”

  “He’s scared. Reuben told him point blank he’d be cut if he didn’t cooperate.”

  “That’s sick! And now… now he’s picked me? Why me? Why Tristan?”

  Jimmy slowly shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know how he chooses his victims.”

  COREY’S hand was shaking when he knocked on the door. He held his breath and waited, trying to hear if there was movement on the other side. After a moment the door opened. Reuben stood there, smiling wryly in his silk bathrobe. His welcoming expression quickly faded when he saw Jimmy.

  “I thought I told you to come alone,” Reuben said.

  “We’re together,” Jimmy said.

  “Well, you can just go back where you came from,” Reuben said flippantly. “If I have need of you, I’ll let you know… you’ll have your turn.”

  “Look, we know what you’re doing,” Jimmy said as Corey stood there, looking on.

  “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. On second thought, I have no use for either of you. You both may go.” He began to close the door, but Jimmy pushed his way through. Corey followed him inside.

  “I’m calling Security,” Reuben said, stepping briskly across the room and picking up the receiver of the house phone.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jimmy said.

  “I don’t know who you think you are….”

  “Tristan Devere has bruises all over his body because of you.”

  “You’ve no idea what you’re talking about….”

  “He’s fifteen,” Corey exclaimed.

  Reuben stopped, his mouth dropping open as he placed the receiver back in its cradle. “You’re lying,” he said. “I saw the paperwork. I saw his birth certificate.”

  “Don’t you ever watch TV?” Jimmy said. “Sometimes a birth certificate is not enough. Did you ask to see the long form?”

  Corey grinned. “Reuben, you’ve been fucking a fifteen-year-old kid.”

  “There is no proof,” he said.

  “You think these hotels don’t have security cameras?” Jimmy said, stepping closer to him. “You think the bruises and lacerations all over that boy’s body can’t be photographed? Do you think Tristan didn’t save the notes you sent over to him, summoning him to your room every night?”

  Reuben reached up with one hand and wiped his brow, then stepped over to the bar, pouring himself a scotch. “What the fuck do you want?” he said. “What’s your price?”

  “Our price?” Jimmy said. “You’re a sick bastard!” This was the very first time Corey had ever heard Jimmy swear. “We don’t want anything from you. We want you to stop hurting our friend!”

  “Mr. Jameson,” Corey said, “it’s right in the rules. Sexual contact is forbidden.”

  Reuben laughed. “So now you’re going to lecture me on the rules… my own rules?”

  “Okay, well, if you don’t wanna follow your own rules, what about the laws of the state of New York?” Jimmy said. “I’m sure having sex with a minor—a fifteen-year-old boy—is not legal.”

  “You’re bluffing,” Reuben said. “The minimum age to be a contestant is sixteen, and Tristan Devere presented proof that he was of age at his audition.”

  Jimmy stood there, glaring into Reuben’s face as the older man tossed back another shot. “The game is over, Reuben. Your child-molesting days are through….”

  Corey could tell the man was scared.

  Reuben stood there for a moment, obviously thinking. “You want an assurance? You want a guarantee that you won’t be cut? I can make that happen. I can put you through to the final round… if that’s what you want. I can make all your dreams come true.”

  “We do want an assurance,” Jimmy said. “We want a guarantee that you’ll stop hurting Tristan.”

  “Oh, for the love of God,” Reuben said, pouring yet another drink. “The boy loved every second of it….”

  Jimmy pulled out his phone. “I’m calling the police.”

  “All right! Wait, you have my guarantee. I won’t touch him again.”

  “Or any of the other contestants,” Corey said.

  “Look,” Reuben said, “I don’t know who you think you’re playing with here. I can make things really wonderful for you—for both of you. Or I can make your lives a living hell. I told you I won’t touch your friend. Until you provide proof of the boy’s age, that’s all you’re getting.”

  Corey looked at Jimmy, wondering what they should do. They had no proof of Tristan’s age. Tristan was seventeen, and the whole thing really was a bluff, but they had at least gotten a confession out of Reuben.

  “And if we get cut from the competition because our performance sucked… fine,” Jimmy said. “But we better not be cut just because of revenge.”

  “You’ll have your fair shot. If you’re good enough to earn the votes of the other three judges, you’ll go through, and I won’t stop you.”

  “We don’t want to hear from you again,” Jimmy said, “unless it’s when we’re on stage.” Jimmy reached in his pocket and pulled out a handheld recorder. “We’ll see you at the next round.” Then Jimmy turned and grabbed Corey by the arm, leading him to the door while Reuben was left standing behind them, mouth agape.

  “What do you think is gonna h
appen?” Corey whispered after they were in the hall.

  “He might try to kick us out. He might separate us….”

  “But we have his confession on tape.”

  “Corey, once he finds out we were lying about Tristan’s age, he’s gonna be pissed. Hopefully the tape will be enough to save us, but there are always scandals associated with these shows. I’m sure he doesn’t want the world to know he likes having sex with young male twinks, but he’s an egomaniac.”

  “Let’s go back to our room. This place gives me the creeps.”

  IT WAS 1:00 a.m., and the three boys were huddled together in Jimmy and Corey’s room.

  “Maybe we should call the media,” Corey suggested. “The TV station or the newspaper. What about one of those magazines?”

  “I think we need a lawyer,” Jimmy said.

  “No!” Tristan pleaded. “You guys, this would kill my mom if she found out. He said he’d stop, so let’s just drop it.”

  “Tristan, we can’t just drop this,” Jimmy said. “Do you honestly think Reuben’s gonna just drop it? He’ll go after us, all three of us. He’ll do anything he has to, to get rid of us.”

  Tristan’s eyes welled with tears. “But you have the tape. He’ll never risk it. He confessed on the tape. And we have the notes. We have witnesses….”

  “That’s why we need a lawyer,” Jimmy said.

  “But then my mom will find out.”

  “Your mom needs to know,” Corey said, placing a hand on Tristan’s shoulder. “Tristan, you are the victim here. You’ve nothing to be ashamed of.”

  “Tristan, if we don’t stop Reuben, he’s gonna keep doing this to other boys. He already said as much.”

  Tristan stood up and began pacing the room. “Why’d you have to go and interfere? He was probably done with me anyway. He didn’t even call for me to go to his room tonight.”

  “Because he’d moved on to me,” Corey said. “That’s what he does. He uses people, and if I’d have submitted to him, he’d have just used me until he got tired of me and then moved on to his next victim.”

  “Look, I can’t do this,” Tristan whined. “I just can’t. If you call the TV station or the police, I’ll just deny everything.”

  “You can’t deny it, Tristan!”

  “This isn’t my fault! Why are you doing this to me?”

  Tristan was now sobbing. Jimmy stood up and tried to embrace him, lend him comfort, but the boy shoved him away.

  “Please, if you care about me at all, you’ll just drop it. Let it go away… I just want to forget it ever happened.”

  “Tristan… please.”

  “Promise me! You’ve got to promise you won’t say anything to anyone. Reuben’s not going to mess around with any other boys. He’s too scared.”

  “Maybe for now,” Corey said. “But he will eventually.”

  “Well, that’s not my problem.”

  “Tristan, how can you say that?” Jimmy asked.

  “Look, you’re wrong about this whole thing. I’m not a victim. I liked it! Reuben was right. I loved every fucking minute of it, and I’m old enough to decide for myself. If they ask me anything about it, I’ll tell them that. I’ll tell them I begged for it, and you’ll look like a fool.”

  “Tristan, I know you don’t mean that,” Jimmy said.

  “I do mean it! Just fucking drop it!” Tristan stormed over to the door and rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

  “Now what?” Corey said, staring at Jimmy, whose jaw had unhinged.

  Jimmy shook his head. “There’s nothing we can do… other than sit and wait for the axe to fall.”

  Chapter Nine

  WHAT should have been Corey’s dream come true had suddenly turned into a nightmare. He’d made it through the first two rounds of the competition and was fully prepared for the next round. He had a fantastic voice coach and had selected a song that was perfect for him. He’d met the most wonderful guy in the world and was crazy about him.

  But now it all could be taken away. Corey was certain that Reuben would find a way to get rid of both him and Jimmy. He wasn’t the kind of guy who liked to take no for an answer, and when he found out that Tristan was not really underage, he would surely retaliate.

  What Tristan had said was disturbing. He’d claimed that he’d enjoyed it, that he was not a victim at all but rather a willing participant in Reuben’s sexcapades. That statement made no sense. He’d gone to Jimmy looking for help. He’d already stated that Reuben was forcing him to do things he didn’t want to do. It had to be that Tristan was just scared. He was embarrassed and afraid of what people would say. He was terrified his family would find out about what he’d done.

  That was how people like Reuben got away with this sort of behavior. Nobody was brave enough to tell on him. And even if they did come forward, the allegations would be hard to prove. Sure, there were security cameras in the hotel, but without a court order, they’d never have access to them. And there were the notes that Reuben had sent, but they didn’t prove anything either. The only evidence that they really had was the tape recording of their conversation with Reuben. But what he’d said on tape was that Tristan had loved every minute of it, and now Tristan was backing up that story.

  Even if the boys found someone in the media to listen to their story, it would just turn into another one of those “alleged sex scandals.” There were at least a couple of them every season, and no one really believed them. In the process of this revelation, they’d just end up hurting Tristan even more.

  So Corey feared his days were numbered in the competition. Reuben would influence the other judges to vote him off the very same way he’d done to Jeremy. And Jimmy would go down with him. Corey wished now that he’d not shown Jimmy the note. He wished he’d have just met with Reuben secretly. Of course, that wouldn’t have been possible. Jimmy was in the room when he found the note, and he’d have had no way of sneaking out.

  All they could do now was give their best performance and pray that was enough. Corey lay in bed, cradled in the arms of his boyfriend. Yes, he was beginning to think of Jimmy as more than just a guy he liked. He knew that what they had was more than just a casual affair, and in fact, he could not imagine how horrible it was going to be saying goodbye when the elimination round was over.

  “Jimmy,” he whispered, not even sure if he was still awake, “I love you.”

  Jimmy’s arms tightened around him. “It’s gonna be okay,” he responded. “Try not to worry.”

  It might have been a little easier for Corey to heed Jimmy’s advice, if only Jimmy had returned his sentiment.

  THE following day was all about rehearsal. Corey was thankful that the schedule was so busy. He met with the makeup artists, the wardrobe specialists, the hair stylist, the stage manager, his accompanist, and of course Stella, his voice coach. Both Jimmy and Teri had similar schedules, and the three of them saw far less of each other than they were used to. It seemed as if Tristan were nowhere to be found. Corey didn’t run into him even once during the day.

  Around four that afternoon, Corey had his first ever dress rehearsal on the Superstar stage. It was an exhilarating experience to be up there under the lights, dressed to the nines, belting out his song. He realized that this could be the closest he would ever get to being on the real ANS stage—the one in Hollywood where the whole world would be watching.

  A half hour after Corey’s rehearsal, Jimmy was scheduled, so Corey hung around in the auditorium. He took a seat and waited, and while he waited he texted his friend Megan. He told her about just finishing his rehearsal and how awesome it was. Before he knew it, it was Jimmy’s turn. Corey put away his phone and sat there in the dark, watching.

  When Jimmy stepped out on the stage, Corey caught his breath. The young man looked spectacular. He was wearing a western shirt and form-fitting jeans, and, of course, a cowboy hat. The way he walked across the stage so confidently, with that Southern swagger, was a thrilling sight. Jimmy was so
damned sexy. Corey could just about lose control simply by looking at him.

  It was the voice that really did it, though. Jimmy’s baritone nearly sent Corey over the edge. Needless to say, his performance was flawless, and when he completed his song, Corey stood and applauded. Jimmy squinted, trying to see who was in the audience clapping.

  Just then, Corey heard another pair of hands clapping behind him. He turned and saw that they belonged to none other than Krystal, one of the official judges. “Wow, isn’t he amazing?”

  Corey turned all the way around and smiled at her. “Yes. He’s fantastic.”

  “He’s sure to make it through,” she said.

  “Really?” Corey said. “How can you be so certain?”

  “Well, assuming he performs like that tomorrow. You too, young man… Corey, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Thank you. Did you also see my rehearsal?”

  “I did, and I’m very impressed.”

  “Krystal?” Corey said, hesitating.

  “What is it, sweetie?”

  “Can I ask you something?” He wasn’t sure how exactly to ask her what he needed to know.

  “Anything,” she said, still smiling.

  “If there is one judge who wants to get rid of a contestant, how much sway does he have over the other judges?”

  She laughed and reached out to place her hand on Corey’s shoulder. “Which judge is it that you’re worried about, baby? Reuben?”

  Slowly Corey nodded.

  “Don’t you worry about Reuben. His bark is worse than his bite, and to be honest, he really likes you. He likes both of you.” She pointed to the stage at Jimmy.

  “I’m not so sure. Not anymore, I mean.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  Corey reached in the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a folded note. “Last night when I got back to my room, I found this note.” He handed it to Krystal. “I was afraid to go by myself, so I took my roommate with me—Jimmy. Well, Reuben wasn’t too happy….”

  Krystal read the note with a puzzled look on her face. “I don’t get it. Why would Reuben….” Her voice trailed off.