Chapter 1:
-Miley-
Pregnancy. Creating a new form of life. The next generation. A baby. So small and fragile. Easy to break. Easy to scar. To me, a baby is the greatest gift a girl could have. Their own baby. After 9 months of creating and carrying it, you finally get to see its first breath. And as their little eyes open and lock with yours, the world seems perfect. Tranquil. Peaceful. A dream. Touching their little fingers as they smile, lighting up their face. There's something so powerful between a mother and her child. Something I would die for. Love. So for me, a baby is a miracle. A gift straight from the heavens. Perfection. So, if a new baby was introduced into my life, I would be overjoyed. So happy. With one exception...
I threw down the letter on the table and sipped my hot chocolate. Here I was, Rose Café, sipping my hot chocolate with ten mini marshmallows and whipped cream, reading. As per usual. As I do every single day. Yet, the item I was reading was not a classic, like normal. Not non-fiction, like I would read so often in my schooling days. No, I was reading a letter written so beautifully, it was calligraphy. Artwork. Written in fine black ink and decorated with little flowers. Real flower petals. It was a letter from the last person I would ever expect. A person, buried so deep in the back of my mind, I had to focus hard to understand who's face it was behind their name. Then it hit me. I gasped inwardly, as the tears filled my eyes. No. It couldn't be her. If she cared, she wouldn't have done what she did. I closed my eyes, taking in a shaky breath. As I exhaled, my eyes fluttered open to see what I expected. A full café, filled with different people. Young teenagers struggling to do their homework. Little kids with half of their chocolate cake's on their faces. Stressed parents attempting to quiet their children. My eyes focused onto a couple. They were kissing. As they pulled apart, I saw them clearly. The girl had long black hair and chocolate brown eyes. She looked around 17. She was slim and wore a simple red tank top with short, denim trousers. My eyes turned to the man. I was a bit shocked. He had dark brown hair with bangs slightly in his eyes, which were blue. But that wasn't the bit that shocked me. He had big muscles, I'm talking bulging from underneath his white T-shirt. He wore pretty tight grey jeans, (which clearly showed his hard... well.. you know). Anyway, his face looked, I'd say, 26. I looked away as they started kissing again. Miley, this is the 21st century, plenty of 26 year olds are with 17 years olds. I mean... it's not that weird...
The soft piano music suddenly stopped. I groaned in annoyance and turned to the counter where the owner, Jack, was smirking. He nodded his head towards the big TV screen hanging on the wall. A moment later, it flickered to life. I saw a man appear onto the screen. He had dark black hair and bright green eyes. He looked about 30 years old and wore jeans, a white T-shirt and a leather jacket. His face looked so excited like... a little kid that they just found out they got a puppy for Christmas and want to tell all of their friends.
"Breaking news! This is the biggest thing to happen this year! Listen up everyone!" I saw everyone turned to the TV screen, either curious or confused. The man's eyes seemed to light up, like he knew everyone was listening now.
"We find out the biggest secret ever about rock god, mega superstar, platinum artist, Joe Gray." I saw some of the girls stare more eagerly at the screen, probably dying to hear what happened to their favourite songwriter/singer/actor/dancer/... well, superstar.I saw some of the boys in the room follow my lead by rolling their eyes. I debated for a second if I should even waste my time watching. In the end, I concluded that there would be no harm in it.
"Are you ready for it? We all know Joe Gray as, well, one of the biggest stars out there. He's the complete package- Talented and a heartthrob for girls all around the globe. Yet, how would you feel if I told you that he isn't all he says he is? The boy who wowed the world with an incredible voice at only age 12, well, it wasn't necessarily his voice. No, we found out that Joe has been miming all these years while behind the curtain his younger, adopted brother, Nick, was actually singing! It's true! Yesterday at his concert, two girls had backstage passes. They went backstage while Joe was performing and saw Nick singing into a microphone. They assumed he was singing along, yet, when one accidently bumped into him and fell to the floor, he quickly stated, and I quote.
"Oh my god! I am so sorry! Are you ok? Here, let me help you up." And, onstage, while Joe's lips were still moving to the lyrics of the song, it seemed like he said that exact same phrase. The girls became suspicious and secretly unplugged Nick's microphone while passing. After that, the singing stopped. Yet, Joe's microphone was working perfectly. Later, when we asked him about if he had been miming all these years, he actually said.
"Look, it's hard to get to the top. You need the full package. Talent, you can buy that but natural hotness? No. So, yeah, whatever. I have been miming. But let's face it, it's all about the looks. I'm actually doing that naive bug a favour. He hasn't got the right look. The world would chew him up and spit him out within a second. Fame... wouldn't suit him." We even got to catch Nick briefly and we asked if he would be a new solo artist star now, when he replied.
"I'm sorry, no. Never. He destroyed all my heartfelt songs, so what would I sing? Anyway, I'm not turning into the bastard my brother is." Oh zam. He just went there. He called Joe a bastard! And, HIS heartfelt songs. Looks like Nick is also the songwriter too! And, did you notice, he called Joe his brother? Hmm, interesting. So, are we gonna keep things the way they are with Joe miming and Nick singing? Or are we gonna kick Joe to the curb and convince Nick to be lured in by fame? Or is this too much drama, and we should just give em both the boot? It's all up to you fans. That's all for today, I'm Michael Toms and this has been breaking news with Sing Galore. Have a nice day!"
The TV turned off and the café burst into whispers. I even found myself taken aback. Wow... didn't expect that. The soft music started playing again and I was snapped out of my brief moment of shock. I took another sip of my hot chocolate, swallowing a semi-melted marshmallow in the process.
"At least his songs get heard and loved by millions of fans. He's pretty lucky, he never had to suffer the price of fame. He got to keep his privacy. Live... a double life, practically." I muttered to myself.
"Yet, now the truth is out, that's all lost. And his past is catching up with him. It may be all too much to handle..." I heard someone whisper behind me. I turned around to see no one there. I looked around the room to see someone that might have said it. No one even noticed me, all too lost in their own discussions. My eyes spotted something on the floor, near my chair. I picked it up. A note. I opened it and read the clear, large print.
Help me!
