Disclaimer: This story is 100% fictional, all characters are fictional, including Bowie. Its just a bit of fun. My first ever fanficition, so please go easy on me. Apologies for spelling and gramma errors etc.
I have tried to keep the timelines in keeping with Mr Bowies career but it hasn't always worked like that, but have been changed to help with the flow of the story.
Nova was tired. Not just tired from working 24/7, but tired of the situation she was in. She had been writing music since she was 12, music was the most important thing in her life. She had taught herself to play the guitar with next to no help, but realised she needed guidance and training when it came to singing. Carrying a tune wasn't so much a problem, but Nova just needed "fine tuning", which she got, and had a wonderful tone to her voice, with very slight quirkiness that people seemed to enjoy. It made her distinguishable from other people.
She was a pretty girl with long dirty blonde hair. Delicate facial features with stunning blue eyes. People thought she wore coloured contact lenses, but they were naturally a piercing blue colour. She stood at about 5 foot 4, was slim and toned, she looked after her physique and worked out almost religiously, and had a slight hint of abs. She took pride in having the body she did. She was born in the mid 70's which annoyed her greatly. Nova liked weird and kookie music, she'd often thought she'd been born in the wrong decade and should have been a teenage hippy in the 60's and wanted to experience the 60's and 70's purely for the music that was about back then. She loved the Beatles because of how they experimented with music, the same with artists like Queen.
She got her first "big break" when she received a call one day from her old singing teacher, Paula, saying she had recommended Nova to a friend's daughter who was in an up and coming girl pop group locally called The Viva Divaz. One of the 5 piece had quit unexpectedly so they needed a replacement and fast. They had a gig in two days time, Nova was the very girl for the job, when she met the band and auditioned, they instantly liked her. Nova could learn songs very quickly too which was a plus. She was 18 at the time of joining the group with Megan, Bex, Laura and Emma. Nova was a complete tomboy, dressed in jeans and shirts all the time, was perfectly happy to get her hands dirty, which usually resulted in broken nails. She didn't care about those things, she cared about music.
However, management had soon made sure of making her more "girlie" so she appealed to young men and teenage boys, bleaching her hair, giving her false nails. She was instructed to never leave the house without makeup and when working had to wear clothes she never would have bought for herself. Much too girlie for her. The band took off pretty quickly, travelling everywhere, all over the world across Europe, Japan, Australia. They were an over night success pretty much with their second single off their debut album "Here We Come". She generally liked her other group members, with the acceptation of a few instances. They had become quite close as they got to know each other. Nova's passion was writing music, she was the only member that would see a song through from beginning to finish, even those which she hadn't any say in. She had an ear for music, adding ideas here and there, but never being able to fully express herself properly. She had learnt everything about the recording process, layering, mixing, you name it, she had sometimes been allowed to bring songs to the table, but they never ended up how she wanted them to sound.
Over the years she had grown incredibly frustrated at the process. All songs she wrote for the band ended up a shadow of its former self. She wanted to be making music like those she listened to. Songs that would be remembered long after she was gone. It wasn't just about making good music, it was about leaving a legacy. However, Nova was never able to fully express herself. She had settled for at least getting some of her stuff out there. Frustration wasn't quite the right word, excruciating would be more fitting.
A big change in Nova's opinions about being in the band came when recording the bands 4th album, by this time Nova was 22 years old and felt she was being treated unfairly, especially with all the work and effort she had put into the music over the years. She had tried to push to get an idea she had for a song she had written to sound different to what the band usually did, for a song called "How Much".The producer and Nova were arguing over changing the lyrics to make it more "pop" which Nova wasn't happy with. The girls were all in the studio this time as they all needed to lay vocals down. Nova was so angry she wanted the song pulled, but the producer refused as he thought it would be good for the album. Nova was in a rage "YOU CAN'T DO THAT! IT WON'T FIT WITH THE THEME OF THE SONG AND WILL MEAN CHANGING OTHER LYRICS AS WELL. ITS ABOUT MISSING A DEAD LOVED ONE NOT A FUCKING SONG ABOUT MISSING A BOYFRIEND", Megan tried to calm Nova down unsuccessfully "Nova, calm down hun, its not worth it", "NO Megan, this song is about my life. It's personal, it's deep. You go changing lines it won't fucking make sense, and people won't take it as seriously as what is intended. Its not about sex, its about family" Nova snapped back. Just then the girls manager, Jeff, walked into the mixing booth with his assistant, Elaine, following behind.
Jeff was a short podgy balding man. He was always looking at the girls legs and breasts which made them all uncomfortable at times. Though Nova and Jeff didn't get on because of Nova's rebellious nature. He saw her as hard work. "Whats the matter now Nova?" Jeff said rolling his eyes and laughing slightly. "Don't fucking laugh at me Jeff! You PROMISED me I could do a track the way I wanted to on this album and dip shit Damon clearly didn't get the memo" she barked at Jeff. Damon, the producer, didn't look at all happy by Nova's comment. "Nova look, if you do a song EXACTLY the way you want, it's not going to fit in with the rest of the album. Damon just wants to make sure everything fits nice and smoothly" Jeff tried to appease Nova with no success "Fuck you Jeff. You promised!" She snapped as they all watched her leave the studio. "I'll go talk to her" Megan said getting up off the sofa to follow Nova. "If you would be a dear" Jeff sarcastically stated.
Megan found Nova out the fire exit at the back of the studio smoking a cigarette, shaking slightly due to her frustration over the argument. "Calm down Nova" Megan urged, "Megan you don't get it. We could really be something special if we only fucking tried. Something to be remembered. But all Jeff cares about is money and pussy since we got big. I've had enough! I don't want this, I never wanted THIS" tears were welling up in Nova's eye. Megan put her hand on Nova's shoulder and squeezed a little to comfort her "Nova please, it's not all that bad, look at the places we've seen, the people we've met, the money we make. Not a lot of pop bands get paid as well as we have, and pretty much from day one", "It's not about all that for me though Meg. You know how much I care about what we put out there, and I know you like this music, but I've quickly grown to hate it. I can't do this anymore. I'm done." Nova took a long drag on what remained of her cigarette.
"You don't mean that, you always say that, but you never go. Because you love us, and we love you" Megan said referring to her and the other girls. "Come back inside and lets see if we can find some compromises so everybody's happy." She gently pleaded with Nova. Nova dropped her fag on the ground and twisted her foot on top of it, Meg pulled the door open and Bex almost bumped into them. Bex was a pretty blonde who the boys tended to like because she looked a bit like a Barbie doll. She was ditsy, but really sweet, "NOVA! Are you ok babes? Please don't let them get to you." Bex said hugging Nova, "Thanks Bex, Meg's calmed me down so we'll see if we can work this out". They made their way back into the studio.
Nova didn't win her argument, and the song didn't end up sounding how she wanted. It really was like a stab in the back, as well as a stab in the heart for her. Her song writing was an extension of her soul. She hated she didn't have more say on the thing she cared about the most. Her passion flowed through every artery, every vein in her body. While Nova had never turned to hard drugs, she vented her frustration through smoking bowls of weed, almost daily, and consuming large amounts of alcohol. Drinking and smoking would begin at around 1pm every day, but if she had to work in the studio or had an important interview or gig coming up she would try to keep herself as sober as possible, which didn't always work. The girls, and Jeff all knew about Nova's drink and drug issues, but the weed mellowed Nova's temper, generally, so they would keep quiet, even the girls.
Nova began to hate not just her life but herself also. She wasn't the person she always wanted to be. She wanted to help people. She wanted people to connect with her writing, find their own meanings to her words. Not only that but she didn't want her celebrity status to be known as a bleached blonde bimbo wearing ridiculously expensive flashy clothing. That wasn't her. She wanted to throw on a pair of jeans with some concert t-shirt and hoody, rock chick style jewellery, with a pair of converse trainers. That was who she was. Not mini skirts, loads of makeup with high heels. How could she help people being a false made up bimbo?
