Tori Vega stood staring at Andre whilst he played the guitar next to her. Noticing her worried glance, he gave her a small smile.
"I stare at my reflection in the mirror…" She sang, and Andre nodded, encouraging her. She glanced away, staring slightly at the microphone recording her. The crew were stood behind an inch of plastic/glass substance, monitoring the volume and so and so. She rolled her eyes, and noticed one particular man staring at her. She looked away after a second, tears gathering as the song she'd written to prove she didn't need to change- his words- was finally sung aloud.
"Why am I doing this to myself?"
Her mind flashed back to a month ago, when she was in England.
"How's the new album coming along?" He asked, and she shrugged. They were sat in front of a lake style thing, somewhere in Devon. She was visiting family, so she was exploring with him throughout Dartmoor.
"They all want me to do club sort dance music. Apparently it's what's popular at the moment." She was careful with her words, shrugging as she said them. She didn't want to worry him that she wasn't happy, especially after they'd been through all this together.
"You hate that music." He said, with no emotion in his voice. Tori looked around quickly. She could tell that he would get upset, and they'd argue. She was just glad there was no one around.
"I don't mind it." She told him absentmindedly.
"Tori, you can only stand that music when you're in a club. You prefer simple songs."
Tori sighed. "They pretty much want me to do what is popular, or they'll drop me from their label."
"Well let them drop you!" His voice had risen, and he was visibly upset. She looked down at her lap. He was big on being yourself. "You're perfect the way you are, and you don't need to change. Just be who you are, or you'll lose yourself in the industries' games."
He rose and turned to walk away. "Beck!" Tori called, and he turned, a sad expression on his face. She hated disappointing him. After five years together, she'd grown to need his approval, and vice versa. "I'll see what I can do." She said, watching him hold a hand out to her. She took it, thinking how she loved how he knew what she wanted.
"Loosing my mind on a tiny error, I nearly left the real me on the shelf."
"Don't lose who you are, in the blur of the stars, seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing, it's okay not to be okay."
She blushed as she sang the lines and noticed Beck starting to smile. He'd written the song with her and Andre, and they'd been hopeful that this song would mean a lot to people hearing it. They knew how bad bullying was.
Even Tori could remember the school before Hollywood Arts, when she was just about to turn fifteen, and they developed the name 'boy tits' because her breasts hadn't started to grow. Then they all got into the spirit of things and the boys would ask her if she was really a man, if she needed to come in their changing room. One day, the girls even took all her school clothes, and she ended up in her sweaty P.E kit all day.
"Sometimes it's hard, to follow your heart, tears don't mean you're losing, everybody's bruising, just be true to who you are."
A flash went off behind the screen, and looking up, Tori noticed her friend Robbie, who was doing the album pictures for her.
"Brushing my hair, do I look perfect?"
Almost on reflex, she brushed her hair back, out of her face. She'd had so many comments on her hairstyles that she didn't feel like bothering anymore. Looking over to the glass, she noticed Beck mouthing 'you're beautiful'.
"I forgot what to do to fit the mould."
"What if they decide to drop me?" Tori and Beck were sat in front of the TV, watching 'Friends', and discussing Tori's recently arranged meeting with her manager and record company.
"Tori, there's plenty of places willing to have you." Beck reassured her, and he smiled when her scared eyes looked to him. "If they decide to drop you from the label, that's their loss. You've sold however many albums doing things your way, and you'll sell plenty more doing it again."
"You promise you'll stay anyway?"
"Leave you? You're joking. I wouldn't leave you for the world, OR a million dollars." She smiled, and a cheeky grin appeared on his face. "Maybe for both."
"Hey!" She punched his arm, and he laughed, bringing her into the circle of his arms. "I'm not exactly normal pop star, am I?" She asked, staring down at her ripped and faded jeans. Beck reached towards her and pulled on the tshirt she was wearing.
"I distinctly remember this being mine…" He grinned, and she glanced down at the tshirt absentmindedly. It was black, with 'The Beatles' written across it. She had a leather jacket over it.
"Yeah, well I look better in it anyway." She grinned, and watched as his mouth dropped open.
"Take it back…" He warned, and she shook her head. Shrugging, he reached forwards and lifted her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift. After hearing her giggles and shrieks, he placed her down on the sofa and hovered above her. "You'll never fit the mould, my dear, but where's the fun in that?"
"The more I try the less it's working. 'Cause everything inside me, screams no, no, no, no, no, no, no."
Tori glanced over at the crew in the recording station and met Beck's eyes. He winked, and she grinned at the insanely proud look on his face. He held his hands up in a 'thumbs up' position, and she smiled as if she could go on for hours.
"Don't lose who you are, in the blur of the stars, seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing, it's okay not to be okay. Sometimes it's hard, to follow your heart. But tears don't mean you're losing, everybody's bruising, there's nothing wrong with who you are."
Tori watched the piano player prepare for the next bit, and smiled slightly, watching him close his eyes and feel the music.
"Yes, no's, ego's, fake show's like whoa, just go, and leave me alone. Real talk, real life, good love, good night. And with a smile, that's my heart."
"Well, Miss Vega, I hear you have a problem with your new album plan?" The leader of the record company asked, and she nodded, gulping. She thought about backing out, but Beck's voice entered her mind again.
"I don't want a 'popular' or 'current' sounding album." Tori shot out, and gathered herself for a moment. "The last album went down well, and it wasn't either of those styles. I just want to have the album sound like me." The head nodded, and Tori held her breath.
"That's doable." He told her. "Anything you write, as long as its not shockingly bad or inappropriate, is fine with us."
"Could I bring in Andre Harris?" Tori asked, wondering if she was pushing her luck.
"He's the 23 year old songwriter, isn't he?" The head asked, shocked, and Tori nodded.
"I went to the same school as him, and he's one of my closest friends, and I was wondering if he can be brought in? We've known each other for six years."
"Of course!" He exclaimed. "Tell him to come in an I'll give him some money for it. It's amazing publicity, and from what I hear, he's amazing."
"He is." Tori smiled, and rose up from her seat as the head did. He offered her and her manager a hand, and they shook it. "It was a pleasure talking to you."
"Don't lose who you are, in the blur of the stars, seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing, its okay not to be okay. Sometimes its hard, to follow your heart, but tears don't mean you're losing, everybody's bruising, there's nothing wrong with who you are."
She sang with her heart, and she held back tears. The instruments faded out, and she stayed silent until she was certain they'd stopped recording.
"Tor, that was amazing." A voice came from the intercom, and she glanced over to see Beck speaking into the microphone. "I told you that you could do it."