Chapter 1: Prologue

Tokio Hotel, a mega-hit band from Germany, has run out on a limb with their popularity, and front-man, Bill Kaulitz, worst fear is slowly becoming realized: his dream is falling apart. In a desperate attempt to save his band and replenish his fame, Bill seeks help from a renegade young starlet who is a genius, but has a difficult past that is quickly catching up to her. Bill tries to stay focused on his career, but can't help getting sidetracked in her life and wanting to save her from herself.

"That's it. We are finished!"

"No, no, Bill. Don't be so dramatic, you are misconstruing what I am telling you. All you guys need is a little comeback. You could do another fashion show or maybe a line of cologne-''

"NO, Jost, Those are HOBBIES! Things you do on the SIDE-''

"Like girls!" Tom quipped in.

"SHUT UP!" Bill raised his hand, "There is no other career option that will replace music. Tokio Hotel is either about music, or it is dead!"

David Jost sat back in his chair and surveyed the scene. Bill Kaulitz was the only one in the room who was standing. Tom Kaulitz, identical twin of Bill, sat casually on the edge of the couch in his office, not as braised by the conversation on the outside, but was probably just as troubled as his animated twin. The only other person in the room was Georg Listing, who remained in the room only because he was so distracted by the conversation he was having with his girlfriend to realize his other friend had fled the room. That friend was Gustav Schafer, and if he were smart, he would be on his way out of the country with the way this conversation was going. The four aforementioned men made up a musical quartet known popularly throughout Germany and most of the entire world as Tokio Hotel. At this rate, Jost thought to himself painfully, they would be known as has-beens, and Bill, the devoted front man, was taking it about the same way Jost had figured. Not well at all.

David Jost had managed for the band for eight years, and everyone only called him by his last name. That's usually how it went in the music industry when you had been there a while. Jost took it as a sign of respect, even though he thought of the boys as part of his family.

"Bill, please let me finish." Jost pleaded with the distraught star. "Record sales are at an all time low, and we have missed three production deadlines. We have no solid material for a new album, no matter how many press releases we give saying that we are working on it. The company has been talking about new contract arrangements, unless!" He emphasized the last word as Bill took in a huge breath, "Unless we get you guys some help. I'm not saying we have to sell out, but we can bring someone in who has some fresh new ideas and we can make something out of it." He knitted his fingers together, awaiting a response.

"You want us to collaborate with someone to get our name back out there? What's next, you want us to cover music? Should we be a cover band?" Bill asked incredulously.

"Bill, again with the misconstruing… do you need your medicine? Just some music work with another upcoming star will help you guys get your record sales back up. Madonna did it all the time."

"We are not like Madonna. But I will give it a try if it is okay with Tom." Bill turned his head to his twin who looked at him, and then Bill turned back around and sat down in his chair. "Who did you have in mind?" He asked, calmer than Jost had seen him all day.

"Well, no one at the moment. I was thinking we could look together. Preferably someone who is relatively new who has a good production team." He pulled up Google and started searching.

...

After a few hours, and no luck, the Kaulitz twins and Georg left Jost's office as empty handed as they had walked in. Tom and Bill got into their car to drive home and Bill moped in the passenger seat, slowly accepting the fate that his world was coming to. His band that he had kept intact for ten years was falling apart. His band members were steadily growing apart from him, especially so when Bill and his brother decided to move to L.A. in hopes of replenishing their career, but everything became all about hot parties and shopping having fun and being caught up in fake shiest. They all wouldn't talk everyday and there was no constant exchange of ideas and motivation. It looked like the band was a childish thing that they were all growing out of.

Bill and his brother were in Loitsche for the weekend visiting their mother, stepfather, and best friend. Gustav promised to meet the boys back at their home, but Bill wasn't holding his breath for it. He definitely counted out Georg since every breathing second of his time in Germany was devoted to his girlfriend. Bill texted his best friend Andreas to make sure he would still be there. After today, Bill needed as many friendly faces as possible. When Bill received the reply, they were pulling up to the house where his parents lived. The twins got out of the car and walked into the house without knocking while Bill typed another reply.

"Always on that cell phone…" Bill heard his mother say. He looked up and smiled, happy to be home.

"Heyo, anyone home?" Andreas called, poking his head through the front door. Bill was happy to see him as he walked up. "What do you have?" Bill asked, poking a finger at the box in his hand.

"Not yours!" He said, yanking it away and turned to the twins' mother. "Hi, Mrs. T. You look great as usual.

"Thank you dear. The food is in the kitchen. You boys know where everything is."

Andreas led the line into the kitchen as all three of them began to pile their plates up. "Say," He started, "you guys have been awful quiet, something wrong?"

"We aren't making music like we used to, and the company is talking about dropping our contract unless we do something to get our record sales back up." Tom explained briefly before Bill could go off again.

Andreas whistled, "Man, I was not expecting that. Just last week we were all talking about how great it was going for you guys. I guess that's how fame works. It lifts you high as a kite one second, and then drops you flat on your face the next."

"This kind of talk isn't helping." Tom motioned towards a very zombie-like Bill.

Bill looked up, "All is not lost, we just have to find someone cool and new, make a song or two, and that should get everything back to normal." For a little while. Bill thought the last bit to himself and Andreas clapped his hands.

"If that is the case, then I have something to show you!" He showed the box he had been holding. Bill and Tom looked at the case and saw that it was a band DVD of a band they had never heard of. Benni Lava. "I know you have never heard of this band, but wait till you watch this video, they are really cool. They have actually been around for about six years, but just this year finally managed to get one of their albums off the ground. They just completed a tour in Japan and that's where they record. It's funny because they write songs in fluent Japanese, but they are all from Texas, in America. Isn't that funny?" Andreas excitedly talked about this band as if they were his own. They couldn't be that great, thought Bill. There has to be a reason he likes them so much.

It wasn't ten seconds into the DVD that both Bill and Tom saw why Andreas was so excited about this band. It was a five piece group and the leader was a very hot girl. Bill wasn't sure what was more interesting to watch, the video, or Andreas slobber all over himself. After the flashy opening credits and the boring intro of the tech crew, Bill actually paid attention as the girl sat down and he watched her be interviewed.

"My name is Noel Oden, I am twenty years old. I sing, rap, I play guitar, piano, bass, drums, and a few traditional Celtic instruments. I get around, ha! I don't know, when I started this band, it was just so my friends and I could all do something fun together, then it all kind of blew up on its own. Yeah, I came up with the name 'Benni Lava', it doesn't mean anything, it was just the first idiot thing that flew out of my mouth when we were asked what our name was. Yeah, our name sucks, and it's my fault." She laughed with the interviewer as she gave the back history of her band, and Bill couldn't help but notice how perfectly her shiny red curls bounced against her shoulders when she laughed…

Two music videos played, and Bill really liked them both. They definitely had a different sound, but he could really tell that the girl had talent. She could play the guitar and sing at the same time as well as she could do both things by themselves. Ideas began to form in Bills mind as the music played. Even though the lyrics were in Japanese, he could feel what she was saying. After the video, Bill asked Andreas to download some of their songs onto his android. That night, for the first time, he actually helped his mother with the dishes while he hummed to Benni Lava.