Well, hello there. Thanks for clicking onto this story. Now, for some pre-story explanations: Emily, Hanna, and Aria are in a girl group 'cleverly' called Pretty Little Liars, and they're slowly (but surely) stealing the crown of being the greatest girl group in the World away from Bittersweet Destiny (a group which Alison and Spencer are in). This story is obviously an alternate universe so their ages are a little different. Hanna recently turned 18, Emily will be 18 soon, and Aria is 17. Now for the members of Bittersweet Destiny; they're all 21, except for Spencer who's 20 (but will be 21 in a few months). Ezra Fitz (a former teen pop sensation who's been fighting with his label for years to be able to record the music he'd like, he's also a talented songwriter) is 21 as well, and so is Caleb Rivers (who's a very popular actor who is the male lead in a huge movie trilogy). Toby Cavanaugh (a successful music producer who enjoys working with Pretty Little Liars, but refuses to work with Bittersweet Destiny because of a certain Alison DiLaurentis) is 23 years old. Of course, since this is as mentioned in an alternate universe, personalities may have been tweaked.
Disclaimer; I don't own Pretty Little Liars. I don't own Call The Shots, that belongs to Girls Aloud. I don't own Taller either, simply because the song doesn't exist, and it's just a random title I made up. I own Last Goodbye that was featured a little in this chapter. I also own the mentioned songs; Almost Over, Green, Before P.M., and Afraid. I think that covers everything. Oh, and Apocalypse, that's mine too.
Shooting Stars
Chapter 1: In Some Cultures They Say Hello.
Some would say that Emily Fields, Hanna Marin, and Aria Montgomery were three of the luckiest people in the world, being able to live their dream of being professional singers. They became a part of the successful girl group Pretty Little Liars when they were quite young. Some would argue that 17-18 was still young, and they would be right, but the youngest member, Aria, had only been 15 when they signed their record deal with Paragon Records.
They had been doing it for nearly two years, and they had enjoyed a lot of success. They'd had their fair shares of number 1's, but despite that they remained humble. However, they still seemed to rub some of their colleagues the wrong way.
The colleagues in question were the members of another girl group by the name of Bittersweet Destiny. Ironically, Pretty Little Liars and Bittersweet Destiny were signed to the same label, and while Pretty Little Liars felt that there was more than enough room for both of them in the industry, the leader of Bittersweet Destiny, Alison DiLaurentis, accused them of trying to steal her spotlight.
Emily, Hanna, and Aria preferred to let their music do the talking, but over the past two years they had experienced that Alison would often resort to different measures. They had also experienced that not every member of Bittersweet Destiny condoned her behavior, more specifically Spencer Hastings. Spencer would often tell Alison to knock it off, but Alison was too wrapped up in her one-sided feud.
The girls of Pretty Little Liars had made a deal a long time ago; they'd always strive their best to release at least four singles and one album a year, not just to please their fans, but also to not give the public the chance to forget about them. Their 8th single was being released in a few months, titled Afraid, and followed by their 2nd album a week from that.
They liked to portray a united front, and gave the impression that they supported each other, and that they were great friends. The first year of being in the band, and knowing each other, that had also been the case, but this year something had changed, and all wasn't what it seemed with them, not that their fans had the faintest idea as they still kept up appearances.
What no one knew, not even their beloved manager, was that they planned to go their seperate ways at the end of the year, after their next single and album had been released. They wouldn't be announcing it beforehand as they didn't want their sales affected by it – they owed that to the label.
The reason, you may ask? Emily was the only one with the over all picture; Hanna and Aria simply weren't gettting along, although the blonde had no idea why. Aria had been happy, and spunky that first year, even endearingly nutty, but then something changed, and she put this giant wall up around her. The only person who knew what was going on behind the wall was Emily, and she had vowed not to tell. Instead she had to watch three dreams fall apart by an expiration date, all because Hanna was fed up by being on the other side, and Aria shot her down every time she attempted to climb over the wall.
Emily was tempted to only give her half, and prolong the recording process as they were putting finishing touches on their final album, but being the best vocalist in the band that simply wasn't in her nature. So she sang her heart out for the chorus of Last Goodbye, the song that they were currently in the studio recording.
"I hate to say it, but I still cry
When I think about our last goodbye."
She sang the last to lines of the chorus, and their producer, Toby Cavanaugh, gave her a thumb up, and she stepped out of the recording booth, and joined the team on the other side. Hanna was lying on the couch that stood behind Toby's stool, and his large board of magical buttons that only he knew what were for. Beside him sat Aria who always seemed a little more engaged in their recording sessions as she wrote most of their songs.
Aria had been in the booth first, recording her vocals for the chorus, and afterwards Hanna had been in there. The whole process took a while, longer than with most producers since Toby didn't want to put anything out there if he didn't feel that the girls had given themselves a hundred percent.
"Great job, Em." Toby acknowledged as Emily sat down on the sofa next to Hanna, after the blonde had moved her legs slightly to allow room. "Next up will be the verses and the bridge. Who wants to be first up?"
"That might as well be me." Hanna said, and lazily stood up from the couch. "Might as well get up now before I get too comfortable, otherwise I never will."
Toby smiled appreciatively at her for volunteering. "Good, so we're starting with the bridge. Just step into the booth, and do your thing like you always do."
Aria pushed out her chair, and got up on her feet. "Well, since Hanna is first up, I'm just gonna go get something to drink before it's my turn." She excused herself, and walked towards the door to leave.
"Would it really be that horrible to stay, and listen to me sing my part, and for once just show me the support you always show Emily?" Hanna questioned, carefully disguising hurt with frustration.
Aria's expressive eyes pierced with anger, exactly like Hanna knew they would. "I'm thirsty, Hanna. It has nothing to do with your singing!" The youngest member argued while reaching for the doorknob, and before exiting the room she added; "Please don't flatter yourself."
"Aria..." Emily, always the mediator, called out after her right before the door slammed shut, but Aria kept on walking, choosing to ignore Emily's words.
She travelled down the halls of the studios that were on the third floor in building of their record label, all the way to the end where she knew the water bottle dispenser would be. She grabbed a plastic cup, and filled it with water, drinking it eagerly. She refilled the cup, and drank the contents again.
She hadn't been upset when she'd decided to walk out of the studio, but she was upset now. She didn't understand why Hanna had to keep pushing it, but she understood that the blonde blamed her for Pretty Little Liars' impending doom. Aria knew that she was to blame for a lot of it, but so was Hanna. She didn't understand why the oldest member couldn't just accept that there were some things that Aria didn't want to share, some things that had to be kept a secret for the sake of their future. But no, Hanna kept pushing and prying, and now they were ending.
If Emily had gone with her, the middle girl would have argued that she had trust issues. Maybe that was the case, but that still had to be respected somehow. She knew that she was also to blame for the fact that Emily and Hanna couldn't keep going if Aria chose to leave the band, it was her fault that they couldn't simply replace her with another member, but back then it had seemed like the perfect deal to make. Back when everything had seemed so rosy, and they had thought they were going to be best friends.
Even if they hadn't made certain promises in the beginning, Pretty Little Liars would probably still have ended if Aria decided to leave. She was their songwriter after all, and a skilled one at that. That was one of the areas where Aria believed her own self-worth, and that she actually had the talent.
Of course, being in a girl group she had to be able to sing and dance, but she fell in the middle in both areas within the band. She was an amazing vocalist, but Emily's vocals were so insane that they would make even the likes of Beyonce and Christina Aguilera sit down and take notes. Hanna was a great singer as well, but was slightly weaker in that field compared to her bandmates, but within the group she happened to be the best dancer. Aria was a decent dancer, and when it came to dance Emily was the weakest in the band, but with vocals like that... Who even cared? So when it came to songwriting, Aria was the one who excelled.
Emily and Hanna had both tried to write a song, just one. It had been in the beginning when everything had been great. However, I Wear Three Inches or I Wear Nothing would probably never be a chart success, and they had crumbled the paper together, and thrown it in the trash. Emily's attempt had been rhymeless, it hadn't even contained any almost rhymes, and they had agreed that Aria should be the only one in the band to write songs.
With a sigh, Aria decided that it would be best to walk back to the studio so she'd be ready when it was her time to go into the booth, but she didn't get far, stopping in her tracks when she heard a wonderful voice singing some beautiful lyrics.
"Out of the fire that burns inside me
A phoenix is rising
If you don't feel that you can love me
I won't shoot you down."
It came from one of the studios nearby. The voice belonged to a male, likely someone signed to the label as well, but other than the group she was in and Bittersweet Destiny, she didn't know who else was so she had no idea who the guy could be.
She searched for the studio it came from, stopping two doors down. She could clearly hear that the voice was coming from the studio behind that door, and the sound was mesmerizing. On the door was the number 3, and on the walls plaques from various artists who had recorded at Paragon Studios hung on the wall, on either side of the hall and all the way down.
"Just 'cause you're raising the bet, and call the shots now on me
It really doesn't faze me how..."
The voice was interrupted when she knocked on the door, and peeked inside the studio. In the middle of the room with an acoustic guitar in his hand sat Ezra Fitz, a sensational musician, and former teen pop icon. She had no idea that they shared the same label.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your beautiful song. I just wanted to..." She lost her train of thought when he kept looking at her with his gorgeous blue eyes. They were so soulful and intense, and she didn't believe that anyone had ever stared at her like that. She extended her hand for him to shake, introducing herself. "I'm Aria Montgomery."
"I know who you are." He simply said, using one of his legs to push a chair over to Aria, offering her a seat. "I'd be stupid not to, wouldn't I? Seven consecutive number 1 singles, a number 1 debut album, and a countless number of awards. I haven't been living under a rock for the past two years."
She blushed slightly at the recognition, but smiled nevertheless. "What about you, Ezra Fitz? It's You had all teenage girls swooning over you." She sat down on the chair that had been offered, still keeping her smile. "Platinum albums left and right, you were huge. I must admit that even I couldn't resist the charm of It's You."
"That was a long time ago, all I do now is write." He said, suppressing a sigh of discontent with the talk of his current situation, but he couldn't hold it against Aria to be curious. "I haven't released anything in three years."
"Why not?" She pried, deciding to test her luck.
"I know I was successful, and I appreciated what I had, but there comes a time when you have to grow up." He explained, and set his guitar aside when he got the feeling that she wouldn't be leaving any time soon. "I wanted to progress, I wanted to mature my sound, and I told the label that."
"Did they not agree?" She asked, but it sounded ridiculous in her own opinion. The experiences she'd had with the label would not coexist with what she was implying.
He could hear the disbelief in her voice, and chuckled softly at how blue she was. "Not at first, but eventually they warmed up to the idea, and asked me what I had in mind." He paused for a minute, letting out a deep sigh. "I told them I wasn't sure, and they gave me time to figure it out. Since then I've been busy in these studios, writing songs and trying to figure out what I want my sound to be now."
"If it's any consolation," Aria said, deciding to break the awkward silence in the room that had followed Ezra's revelation. "I think you're a very talented songwriter. The song I heard you singing before was beautiful, the lyrics as well as the melody. What gave you the inspiration to write it?"
He smiled knowingly, and answered her question; "If I'm being completely honest, it's more of a response to a song. I heard this song on the radio by a group you may know. I think the song was called Almost Over, and the lyrics spoke to me, and inspired me to write Call The Shots."
Aria bit her lower lip, and tried to keep her face neutral to disguise the fact that she was fangirling all over the place inside her head. She had inspired Ezra Fitz, the It's You guy himself, to write a song. It was mindblowing that her lyrics could have that effect on a guy like him.
He had listened to their music. He wrote a song because of their song. Almost Over had been Pretty Little Liars' fifth single, and the lead single off of their upcoming sophomore album. It was unbelievable.
"You felt inspired by Almost Over?" She asked, still having trouble grasping the concept. Ezra merely smiled as a reply. "I wrote Almost Over. I write most of our songs, actually."
"Really?" He seemed surprised, and she shot him an offended look. "I'm sorry that I seem so surprised, it's just that girl groups and boy bands rarely write their own songs. It amazes me that you do, and it must be incredible to have them be so successful."
"Try terrifying." She chuckled nervously, and he stared at her with confusion. "I know that Emily, Hanna, and I have been extremely fortunate with our carreers, and it's an amazing feeling that we've had a string of number 1's, but it also puts a lot of pressure on us. The minute we have single or an album that doesn't chart at that position, people will argue that we're flopping." She sighed, hoping she wasn't giving off the 'poor me, I'm a star' vibe. "I shouldn't be complaining, especially not to you, because it's wonderful and everything, but I just..." Another sigh. "... I don't know."
He offered her another smile. "Don't worry, I know what you mean. I've been there, remember?"
"Yeah." She returned the smile, fidgetting slightly in her seat. These were the types of conversations that she was uncomfortable with, especially on her own.
"You seem nervous." Ezra acknowledged, but that made her more uncomfortable. She wasn't used to people reading her that well, and it weirded her out a little. "We're just talking, and I haven't bitten anyone since I was 6."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" She asked, and got a shrug in return. It did make her feel better, joking lifted some of the seriousness. "But I should probably get going, and leave you to your music."
She stood up, getting ready to leave. Ezra couldn't explain it, but for some reason he didn't want her to. "Wait! Do you want to record Call The Shots?" He questioned to get her to stay.
Aria was caught off guard, and it showed. "What?"
"I wrote the song with you in mind, and I've already recorded the instrumental." He explained, and motioned towards the recording booth. "You could go into the booth right now, and we could put your vocals on the track."
"I don't know the lyrics." She excused herself. She felt uneasy at the thought of singing by herself, but at the same time she was flattered.
He jumped up from the chair, and searched the room for the sheet he'd written the lyrics on. The studio was mess, it usually was when he was in there. Sheets of paper with scribbles on were lying all over the floor, and Aria managed to suppress a giggle at the sight of seeing him searching so frantically for the piece of paper that had the song written on it.
At last he found it. "I knew it was around here somewhere!" He exclaimed triumphantly as he held the paper sheet up into the air. He looked at Aria with pleading eyes. "Will you do it?"
When he looked at her with that adorable glint in his eyes, she couldn't say no. "Fine."
She grabbed the lyrics from his hand, and stepped the familiar way into the studio. She was still terrified to be doing it on her own, but something about him made her feel safe. She grabbed the headphones that hung on the notestand, and put them up to her one ear, and placed the lyrics on the stand.
She sighed, mentally preparing herself. She found that singing her heart out in front of people was as personal as it got. She stepped up to the microphone, and signalled to Ezra that she was ready to begin. Shortly after she heard the music playing in the headphones. She let the intro play out, and then she began singing.
"Static tone on the phone, are we breaking again?
There must be something better, babe
All the names that you called out in bed seem to fade
To some time never, but
I won't cry for all the hunger in my heart
No, I won't cry because I made it through this far."
A deep breath, and then she dove into the chorus:
"Just 'cause you're raising the bet, and call the shots now-ow on me, ooh
It really doesn't faze me how you spend your time, ooh
Just 'cause you're raising the bet, and call the shots now-ow on me, ooh
It really doesn't faze me how you spend your time, ooh."
She smiled at Ezra through the glass window, seperating the booth from the room he was in, and started singing the verse that had made her walk into this particular studio in the first place.
"Out of the fire that burns inside me
A phoenix is rising
If you don't feel that you can love me
I won't shoot you down
And I won't cry for all the hunger in my heart
No, I won't cry because I stumbled through this far."
She sang the chorus again, and then she heard music slow down, and it became more melodic. It almost sounded magical. She had no idea how Ezra had intended the bridge to sound, but she sang it the way she believed it would.
"I've seen life burn bright, seen it shimmer
Then fade like starlight to a glimmer, oh oh
I've seen life flow by, like a river
So full of twilight, dreams that glitter."
She sang the chorus one last time, and the music faded into silence. Ezra gave her the familiar thumb up that she was used to receiving from Toby, and she took that as her cue to put the headphones down, grab the lyrics, and step out of the recording booth.
Ezra had already put the disc in a case when she re-entered the room. He tried handing the disc to her, but she hesitated. The song was his. Even though her vocals were now on the track, the song was still his!
"I want you to have it." He insisted, sensing her hesitance. He had that pleading look in his eyes again that she had a difficult time resisting. "The song is yours."
"No!" She shook her head, refusing to accept the song. "You wrote the song, I can't just take it from you."
"It's not taking when I'm giving it to you." Ezra said stubbornly, but Aria shook her head again, being just as stubborn.
"No! Okay? If the song was intended for us then let us buy it from you. It's still your song." She argued, and this time he shook his head.
"It was never my song. It was always meant to be yours." He argued back, trying once again to hand her the disc.
She let out a frustrated sigh, uncomfortable with the situation. "I can't just take the song and not pay. That wouldn't be right."
A silence filled the room, and they stared at each other while Ezra tried to think of a compromise. "How about this? You take the song, and in return you write a song with me some other time?" He proposed, and Aria shot him a skeptical look.
"Why would you wanna write a song with me?"
"Because you're talented. Now take the disc." He said, and persistantly tried to hand her the disc again.
Aria accepted his request, and finally took the disc from his hand. "Okay, we'll write a song together." She sighed, knowing she had to be back at her own studio soon. She'd enjoyed talking with him. "Well, I better get back. I have an album to finish."
She left the studio, and felt weird for some reason. She couldn't pinpoint exactly why, but she wished that she was still in that recording studio with Ezra. She had the strongest urge to turn around, and go back in there, but she had obligations that needed to be finished.
She clutched the disc Ezra had given her tightly in her hands as she made her way back to Pretty Little Liars' studio, or at least the studio they usually recorded in. She didn't want to share the song with them, and she couldn't explain why either.
It just felt personal in a way. Besides, Pretty Little Liars were splitting up very soon, and they only had one single and album left to be released, and few songs left to be recorded for that album. No, she needn't share it with the girls. They wouldn't have the time to record it with their impending expiration date.
Even if things were different with the girls, she wasn't sure she'd have shared it with them. For now, Call The Shots was just for her. She could listen to it from time to time, and reminisce about that day, but it would be her secret.
After she'd made that decision, she wanted to hide the disc so she wouldn't be asked questions. Thankfully, the skirt she was wearing that day had pockets. They were quite small, and Aria had no idea how she succeeded, but she managed to stuff the disc into one of the pockets. It bulged out, but hopefully neither of the girls would comment on it.
She reached their studio, and pulled down the knob, stepping into the room as Hanna and Emily had just switched places. Hanna had finished putting her vocals down, and had exited the booth, and Emily walked in and took her place, ready to record. She put on the headphones, and awaited Toby's cue.
"That took a while." Toby acknowledged when he noticed that Aria had entered the room again.
Aria shrugged. "Yeah. Well, one cup led to another. Hydration, you know how it is."
"Since you weren't here, Emily will record her verse before you." Toby informed her, and Aria smiled to show her acceptance in the matter.
"So you've finised your part of the song?" Aria asked Hanna, who'd already reclaimed her old spot on the couch.
"No, that's me in the recording booth right now with a fake tan and a wig." Hanna responded sarcastically, and she couldn't have sounded more unimpressed with Aria if she tried.
For a minute the youngest member stood there silently, and Hanna smiled victoriously, thinking that she'd gotten better of Aria, but the smile was returned mockingly.
"I think I just reimagined the game Whac-A-Mole with Hanna heads instead." Aria said dryly, and then she took her old seat next to Toby.
Hanna jumped to her feet, and had seemingly gotten really annoyed. "You know what, Aria? You can just..."
"Girls!" Toby exclaimed over their bickering, trying them to refocus on the session. "Please be professional. Emily is in the booth right now, waiting to record the second verse of Last Goodbye."
"Sorry." They both mumbled. Aria turned her back towards Hanna, and the blonde laid back down on the sofa.
Toby gave Emily the usual signal, and the music started playing through the headphones, and she began singing.
"Running away, trying to escape
But what's the point anyway?
No chance of romance
I'm alone if I wanna dance
Was I wrong, was I right?
I can't win this fight."
Toby stopped the music, and pushed a button so Emily would be able to hear him speaking inside the booth. "Great job, Emily." He said cheerfully, but no matter how satisfied he seemed with a performance, it was always followed by this; "Why don't we try it one more time, and see if we can make it even better?"
Emily nodded, and the music flowed through the speakers again.
When they'd finished recording their songs for the day, they made their way up to the top floor of the building, where the label's offices were. Their manager, Grant Melbourne, were waiting for them in the conference room.
They saw him waving at them when they reached the floor. The conference room was fairly central, and was surrounded by glass walls. On the large table in the middle of the room laid three dresses in red and black fabrics which was a surrealism in itself.
The conference room was usually secured for meetings regarding anything music related; which songs they were recording, which of their songs were going to be singles, how many songs that were going to be on their album, etc. They often discussed public appearances of different kinds in there as well, and that's what they thought was going to happen that day.
They walked into the room, each girl giving their manager a hug before they sat down at the conference table. When the girls had settled down, Grant seated himself as well, getting ready for today's discussion.
"As you know, girls, the NMA's are tonight, and a designer has sent you these dresses to wear." Grant explained, referring to the dresses on the table. "She's paying you to wear them on the carpet because that would be great publicity for her clothing line."
The girls nodded, listening intently as he spoke. They had a lot of respect for the manager. He was like a lovable uncle to them, and the reason they had ever gotten as far, really. He clearly knew what he was doing, and they weren't about to start objecting now.
"And what will we say about the dresses when asked?" Emily questioned, being the most articulate in regards of interviews, and therefore answered most of the questiones when they were walking red carpets.
"The designer's name is Karmilla Maples." Grant replied, and then addressed all of them again. "Now, I trust the three of you to reach an agreement on your own between these dresses."
"I think Emily should choose first." Aria interjected, wanting Emily to put herself first for once instead of simply taking what was left for her.
Emily shook her head nervously. "No, I'll just let you and Hanna pick first, and I'll be fine with whichever dress is left."
"For once I agree with Aria. You should pick first." Hanna said enthusiastically, hoping that it would encourage Emily to actually do it.
"No, I don't want to pick a dress in case it's the one either of you wanted." Emily objected quietly, and the other two knew that no matter how much they tried, they couldn't get Emily to make the first pick.
"Heads or tails to see who goes first?" Grant proposed to settle any argument that could break out, and the girls quickly agreed. He took out a coin, and threw it in the air. "Call it."
"Heads!" Hanna exclaimed, and Emily guessed the opposite; "Tails!"
"Drop!"
Grant looked quizzically at Aria when she shouted this, and the coin fell onto the floor when he forgot to catch it. "What?"
Aria giggled lightly as she explained; "Well, heads and tails were both taken so I guessed that you'd drop the coin, and since you didn't catch it, I suppose I won."
"I suppose you did, yes." Grant said with a chuckle, and Aria grabbed the dress in the middle, and then Grant looked to Emily and Hanna. "Who's next?"
"That's probably me since we can't get Emily to pick before me." Hanna said, and picked the dress on the left, and then Emily took the remaining one. "So is that it?"
Grant shook his head. "No, I didn't call you in here merely for fashion purposes." He informed them, and carried on with actual reason they were there. "Now, let's brief what's going to happen tonight. When you walk the carpet, there's obviously going to be reporters there, asking you questions. One of the question is going to be about fashion, but we've already covered that. Next they will want to talk about your current single, Taller, and after that they will move on to any upcoming releases, and it's important to throw Afraid into the conversation as much as possible, as well as the singles release date. Also mention the album's release date, and that you're picking a name for it as we speak."
"Last Goodbye, the album's title is Last Goodbye." The girls spoke in unison which had been a rare occurence this past year, but there was a fierce determination behind their words, and that baffled Grant since he was unaware that they'd decided to split by the end of the year.
"Are you sure?" He asked them with a hint of concern as he didn't want there to be any regret. "You haven't recorded all of the songs yet."
"It's Last Goodbye." They maintained stubbornly, and their manager let out a deep sigh, marking the end of that particular discussion.
"Okay. Now, at the award show, you're up for four NMA's." He informed them, and they nodded as they were completely aware of their nominations. "You're up for Best Pop Song for Before P.M. You're up for Best Pop Video for Green. Best Pop Album for Green. Most importantly, you're nominated in the Best Group category, and you're up against Bittersweet Destiny in that category. I can't stress enough how important winning Best Group is because, between the four of us, I'd hate seeing Alison DiLaurentis' smug face in the halls if they beat us."
Hanna chuckled at that statement, mainly because she had the same exact thought that morning. "Don't worry, Grant. You won't be seeing any smugness, and you can save your hate for something else."
Grant smiled appreciatively at the blonde, and then focused on all of them again. "Are there any questions about tonight? I know you've done it all before, but don't be shy."
"Will we be performing tonight?" Aria asked, raising a hand as though she was in class. Normally that was a thing they were supposed to know, but Aria had always been the most forgetful member of Pretty Little Liars, and Grant often found himself having to remind her of things more than the others.
"Initially the executives of Nova contacted us, eagerly wanting you for the show," Grant explained. "But Raymond decided that since Bittersweet Destiny's sales have dropped a bit while you've been on the scene, they could really use the publicity. So tonight you'll just be enjoying the show, and accept awards if you win."
Aria raised her hand again. "If we beat Bittersweet Destiny, may we gloat?"
"With hand gestures?" Hanna added, looking a little too hopeful in Grant's opinion.
He chuckled, which happened often around them as they said some creative things sometimes, and then he tried to sound serious. "At the risk of suggestive hand gestures, I have to forbid any form of gloating."
"Buzzkill!" Hanna mumbled under her breath, and that was task she'd never been able to complete with bravour so Grant heard her.
"My middle name, I believe." He winked, and Hanna seemed surprised that he'd heard her. Back to being serious, he added; "You'll change here at the label, of course not in this less than private room, and afterwards a car will be waiting for you outside to take you to the show. You have half an hour."
With that being said, he left the conference room. The girls each followed suit, and went in different directions to find somewhere decent to change. They met up outside the conference room afterwards so they could leave together.
Hanna was, surprisingly, the first one back. She wore a short and strapless black dress. The bodice were filled with red and white sequins, and the mini skirt were flowy and see-through, with a tighter one underneath to prevent people from getting a full show.
Minutes later, she was joined by Aria, whose dress was also strapless and short. It was red underneath, and was covered by black see-through tulle. Bodice was covered in black sequins, and at the left side of the waist the was a red flower with white sequins sown onto the dress, and multiple flowers covered parts of the bodice, and ended at either side of her boobs. Both the outer and inner skirt were flowy.
Emily was the last to join them, and she looked stunning. She wore a short, red dress with one strap, and was the only one of the girls not to wear a strapless dress. The waist was covered with black and white sequins, and the skirt, along with the one underneath, was flowy. Aria and Hanna both gaped at her. They knew red was a great color on Emily, and that it made her skin tone pop, but damn!
Each girl, of course, wore matching shoes, but not too matching. Hanna was the most interested in fashion, and she always said that it had to match without matching, which meant that it couldn't be too much of the great.
Silently, they decided to leave the label, and get to the car they knew was waiting for them to drive them to the NMA's, or Nova Music Awards as they were really called. Nova was both a radio station, and tv channel that always showed music, and did chart countdowns, and so on. The NMA's were quite popular.
When they exited Paragon Records, they immediately spotted the car as the driver stood at the side of it, waiting for them arrive. They walked over to the car, and the driver opened the door to the backseat, and Hanna was the first to get in, closely followed by Emily. Aria was about to get into the car as well when someone called out for her.
"Hey, Red Dress, looking good." She spun around to find the source of the voice, and saw that Ezra Fitz was exiting Paragon at the same time as them.
She blushed slightly, hoping he was far enough away that he wouldn't notice. "Thanks. We're going to the NMA's."
"Have fun. Don't forget your promise." He winked, and then crossed to the other side of the street where he got into a car, and drove off.
"You know Ezra Fitz?" Hanna questioned as Aria got into the car. The petite girl merely smiled, and said nothing to confirm the acquaintance.
The driver closed the door behind them, and drove them off to the NMA's.
They'd arrived at the NMA's, and walked the carpet where there had been snapped an extensive amount of pictures of them, and they had been interviewed by several reporters, hitting the notes that Grant had wanted them to. They told them about what they were wearing, they discussed their current single, Taller. They also confirmed the release of their 8th single, Afraid on November 10th, as well as their sophomore album, Last Goodbye, the week after that. There were a few more questions than what they'd discussed with Grant, but they answered them graciously, with Emily doing most of the talking.
They were now inside the venue, and it was slowly getting packed. The show would be starting soon, and they were standing there in awe of the celebrities. They knew they were considered among them, but it hadn't sunk in yet. It was still very surreal when they got recognised, especially by other celebrities (Ezra, anyone?).
Suddenly Hanna started squealing, and was making a huge fuss. "Oh, my God! That's Caleb Rivers. It's Caleb Rivers, the Caleb Rivers." Emily and Aria followed Hanna's gaze until their eyes landed on the person who was cause of her freakout. Caleb Rivers, famous actor who was starring in the Apocalypse trilogy with the second installment, The Power of Two, premiering soon. "What's he doing here?"
"I think," Aria spoke, making no attempt to disguise the sarcasm in her voice. "And this is the slightest of possibilites, I'm totally going out on a limb, that he might be here to, I don't know, watch the award show."
Hanna folded her arms over her chest, and looked less than impressed with her younger bandmate. "You know, sarcasm doesn't suit you."
"Girls, we're supposed to be a united front." Emily interrupted before an argument broke out between them, and Aria merely shrugged as if she couldn't be bothered with the situation.
Hanna quickly forgot about the incident, and continued gushing over Caleb Rivers. "I just love him so much. He's so talented, and handsome, and great."
"Then go talk to him!" Emily encouraged, trying to give Hanna a light shove in the right direction, but the blonde was nailed to the floor.
She shot Emily a skeptical look, clearly feeling inferior in comparison to the famous actor. "Yeah, right. What would I say to Caleb Rivers?"
"This might sound completely crazy," Aria chipped in, the despised sarcarsm thick in her voice. "But in some cultures they say hello."
"Do I need to say united front again?" Emily looked at them challengingly. "Our fans buy in to our friendship, and the fact that we support each other. For one night, can't we just please let it not be lie?"
"You want support?" Aria questioned, but didn't stick around for an answer. She pushed her way through the crowd, determinedly making her way over to where she knew Caleb Rivers was. She stopped right in front of him, and he offered her a smile. Great start. "Hey, I'm Aria Montgomery. Before you go all 'why is the commoner speaking to me' on me, just hear me out."
Caleb chuckled, seemingly not offended by her rambling session. "I'm not really much of a diva, and you're definitely not commoner, Aria Montgomery. If anyone asks, I'll deny it, but I may have bought your album."
Aria gaped at him for a moment, and then regained her composure. "That never stops being weird." She paused, and snuck a quick glance back at her bandmates, and saw that Hanna was staring at them intensely. She focused her attention back on Caleb. "Uh, my reason for coming over here is that my bandmate, Hanna, she's the blonde one, she really admires your work, and she would like to speak with you, but she's too shy to come over here. She just doesn't wanna impose, I guess."
"I see you don't mind doing that." Caleb acknowledged, smirking slightly in playful way.
Aria chuckled, hoping that Hanna wasn't interpreting that as flirting because it so wasn't. "Yeah, well... Someone's gotta do it, otherwise nothing's gonna happen." Another glance at Hanna, and then back to Caleb. "So will you meet her? It will make her so happy."
Caleb smiled. "Sure." He wasn't about to object to that, especially since he'd always thought that the blonde member of Pretty Little Liars was very cute. He liked that she stood out from the other members who were both brunettes.
Aria signalled for him to come with her, and he followed closely behind as they walked back to the other members of Pretty Little Liars. Aria gave him a light push so he stood right in front of Hanna.
"Hanna, meet Caleb Rivers. Caleb, Hanna Marin." Aria introduced them to each other, and then she linked her arm with Emily's. "We'll go find our seats. Hanna, we expect you to be back by curfew. Caleb, no funny business because I know where you live."
"No, you don't." Emily whispered as they were walking away, and they were well out of earshot so there wasn't any reason to be whispering. They quickly found their seats, and despite the flood of people in venue, it had turned out to be quite easy. They sat down, and Emily decided to use their alone time to be serious. "Are you gonna be okay tonight if we win? If you can't get on stage, it's gonna be okay."
Aria smiled weakly, showing Emily the vulnerability she refused to show Hanna. "I'll be fine. Just don't let go of me, and don't push me in the foreground, and make me speak if anything seems off, okay?"
"When are you gonna tell Hanna about your..." Emily began with the intention of it to be this appealing speech, but whenever she attempted that particular task, it usually ended the same way.
"Never." Aria interrupted, maintaining the stubbornness she'd kept for nearly a year. "It will be over soon, and she doesn't need to know, and I'm starting to think that you shouldn't have either."
"Aria, you don't mean that." Emily's eyes glistened with tears as Aria's hurtful comment hit her hard, but there were just some things that the smaller girl found difficult to talk about.
"Maybe not, but you know what pressure does to me." Aria said, shooting Emily a saying look that the protective girl knew exactly what meant as she and Aria had been extremely close from the very beginning.
Emily sighed. "Let's changed the subject." She said, and Aria quickly agreed, and with that the tension left them. "Now, have we prepared our reactions for tonight?" Aria giggled at the memory of their conversation in the car. "The accepting 'we didn't win' headnod," They mimicked the nod. "Followed by the 'I'm sad we didn't win, but you so deserve it' handclap," They rehearsed the handclap. "The 'you're so the right winner, you're awesome' woo as they're walking onto stage to receive their award." They wooed quietly so they wouldn't draw attention to themselves.
"The shocked 'did they just call our names' gasp," Aria continued, and they both gasped. "The tentative 'we can't believe we just won in a category with such amazing people' rise to our feet," They stood up slowly, and immediately sat back down. "The disbelieving 'what's going on, we expected someone else to win' glance around," They mimicked the glance around. "The confused 'is this really happening, did we just win against these people' twirl around as we get on stage to accept the award," They twirled, and sat back down again. "The 'this is so surreal, but so incredible' hand against forehead, and lastly the accepting 'we're are so blessed to have won, but you were all so phenomenal that it was what we least expected' smile to the crowd as we step up to the microphone to do our acceptance speech." They rehearsed the last two scenarios.
"Don't forget the 'in your stupid faces, Bittersweet Destiny' smirk the next time we meet them in the halls at Paragon." Hanna chipped in as she joined them at their table, and sat down next to Emily. "What did I miss?"
"Nothing." Aria simply said. She wasn't about to tell Hanna about the conversation she'd had with Emily earlier. "How did it go with the Caleb Rivers?"
Hanna smiled dreamily. "Fine."
The award ceremony began, and every attendant took their seat. It was a long night, and giving out every award took hours. The girls won in their song category, as well as their album category, but lost out to a Country artist in the video category. The group category was coming up, and Lark Ronfeldt stood on stage, announcing the nominees.
Lark Ronfeldt, you ask? She was a popular actress, perhaps more popular than Caleb Rivers. She played the lead, Danielle, in the Apocalypse trilogy, an unexpected girl who found out she was a witch on her 18th birthday, and received her powers on that day, and was given the task of defeating an army of demons before they created Apocalypse. Caleb's character, Jack, and Danielle seemingly both died at the end of the first installment, The Chosen One, but the circumstances weren't as black and white as they appeared. Hanna knew this, she'd read the book.
If they won against Bittersweet Destiny in the category, being handed their award by Lark was huge. Hanna hoped she wouldn't become too starstruck if they won. The moment was there when they heard Lark say the famous words;
"And the winner is... Sorry, are..." Lark opened the envelope in her hand, cheering out the winner's name. "... Pretty Little Liars!"
They did their entire planned routine to perfection on their way up to the stage to receive their award. When they finally got up there, they each received a hug from Lark, and was handed their award. Lark stepped into the background as Emily walked up the microphone with the award in her hands.
"Thank you so, so much for this award. It's unbelievable in a way as we never expected this to happen. This is our dream, obviously, and we're fortunate to be living it out, but we never imagined to be nominated in this category against such incredible artists, and actually winning." Emily began their acceptance speech, having been elected as the speaker in case of wins. "First of, we would like to thank our manager, Grant, who was supposed to be with us tonight, but he's a family man first, and a manager second, and because of that we couldn't respect him more. It's because of his guidance and competence that we're even here in the first place. We would also like to thank everybody at Paragon Records, and everone else who have helped us get to where we are today, especially our producer, Toby Cavanaugh, who's amazing at helping us with making our music sound it exactly like we want it to. We also wanna thank every single artist in this room for being so amazing at what they do, and for making us aspire to try harder each and every day to achieve our dreams, and simply for acknowledging us as equals. Lastly, but most importantly, we wanna thank our fans. Where would we even be without you? We're living our dream, and it's because of you."
Hanna stepped up to the microphone as well, dragging Aria with her. "Thank you all so much." She looked to Aria, urging her to say something as well, and it was a palefaced Aria that shook her head. She wouldn't have been able to get anything out even if she tried.
They walked off the stage with the award from their last category of the night. The NMA's ended shortly afterwards, and they sauntered outside to wait for their car to come pick them up. They were in a complete daze of happiness from winning three awards that night.
The happiness was shortlived when Alison DiLaurentis, Spencer Hastings, Desirée Lair, Tascha Coleman, and Blair Overstreet (all better known as Bittersweet Destiny) walked up to them, and Alison, their self-proclaimed leader, appeared to be in a nasty mood. What else was new?
"You did not deserve that award. We're better than you, and you know it!" She informed them with such hostility that they'd never experienced from anyone before. What arrogance!
"Really? Then why did we win?" Hanna challenged, but that only seemed to piss Alison off further.
"I'd be very careful if I were you. It's a long way to fall from top, and I'll be there waiting when it happens." Alison threatened, and Spencer grabbed her arm in an attempt to pull her back, and stop her from causing a scene.
Aria suppressed a mocking laughter. "So what you're saying is that you're at the bottom, and you have no intention of trying to get back up?"
"Seriously, Alison? Hasn't this been done enough?" Emily asked, the constant mediator, and apparently not just between Hanna and Aria. "You have tried to bring us down so many times, and the constant threats are getting tiring. We're not interested in your feud, and badmouthing other people in the press is clearly your thing. We don't do that. We speak through our music, that's why we won. We suggest you do the same from now on."
The car pulled up to the sidewalk, and they got into the backseat before either member of Bittersweet Destiny had the chance to respond. The driver drove them home in silence. They were tired, and the encounter with their rival band had been unnecessary, especially after such a great day.
It was past midnight when they finally arrived back at their apartment, and they securely locked the door behind them. The silence and darkness in their place added to their tiredness. Emily, who was clutching their awards in her arms, placed them all on their kitchen counter.
She turned around to face Hanna and Aria, a hopeful smile gracing her features. "That was quite a day, huh? What do you say we stay up for a little bit and just hang?"
She got no response. Hanna went left, and Aria went right, both going into their own bedrooms respectively. The slams of their doors were almost completely synchronized. Emily sighed after another foolish attempt to reconsile two people who used to be rather close.
"Okay, we'll try the group hug thing later!"
So that was the end of chapter 1. A few interesting facts; Apocalypse is actually a book trilogy that I'm working on, that I randomly decided to mention in this fic because Caleb was in one, and I struggled to make up a name, and Danielle and Jack are obviously two very important characters. Also, my middle name translates to Lark in English, and Ronfeldt was my grandfather's last name. Another interesting fact, and probably the most relevant; each chapter will be named after a quote in the chapter, and this chapter's quote was obviously by Aria. I thought it would be a fun little game if I after each chapter reveal what the next chapter will be called, and then you try to guess who the quote will be by? If you are interested, the next chapter will be called 'A Tropical Resort With a Great View'. Who will say it?
What did you guys think of the first chapter of Shooting Stars? Is it something that you're interested in reading? In any case I will continue it, but my focus is sort of split. I'm working on a couple of other fics as well, and I will work on this as much as possible, and update it as frequently as I can. Thank you so much for reading, I would appreciate your feedback. It can be anything; what you guys thought of the chapter, what you think is the cause of Hanna and Aria's feud, what Aria is hiding (because she is hiding something), what you think will happen to their band, and with their rivalry with Bittersweet Destiny. It doesn't even have to be related to the story, it would so be karma if your review doesn't. I once rambled a lot about Cheerios in a review, and now I'm apparently rambling again. Bad, Nathalie, bad! Again, thanks for reading, please review.
Laters,
AK-tutti :)