Five Lead (Period) (A 5pb. story)
Somewhere in Leanbox, a man wakes up. Not any ordinary man though, this is the one and only Producer for the legendary, chart-topping, record setting 5pb, a graceful girl with unmatchable vocal power. He normally would be cramming his top idol's schedule with venues and appearances, making sure her music sounded just right when she recorded- he did everything but write and play the songs. As a duo, they were unmatched in the music industry.
Here though, he wasn't so high and mighty.
He had taken three months of vacation after a particularly brutal tour and was now supposed to be into his first week back. The Producer rolls over, searching for his phone in the darkened bedroom. His reaching hand knocks over a nearly empty bottle of sleeping pills.
He had never anticipated the stress of a life in the spotlight, sleep never came easily and when it did, it was erratic and inconsistent. Since his vacation, he had fallen into a cycle of sleeping until they wore off and then using a few more. A deep weariness pervaded his body and spirit.
He thought back to the old days, when him and 5pb would play for a crowd of enraptured passer-bys watching two children turn a cheap keyboard and microphone into what felt like a concert hall. To see 5pb smile was worth more than their jar full of tips… he loved her. She did too. He would never forget their first kiss, their steamy sessions in between performances or during a movie- 5pb in love was entirely different than the fragile girl that was seemingly always frightened or skittish for some reason or the superstar idol 5pb on stage.
He knew those days were gone. There wasn't a life without cameras upon cameras, every waking moment tortured by the demons everyone else calls "paparazzi" or reporters.
The doorbell rings, he rolls over.
As the foggy haze of sleep begins to take over again, the doorbells rings three times in a burst. He wanders down the stairs, unshaven and groggy. He opens the door to 5pb who has donned a wool winter coat, black tights with nearly knee high buckled boots and a royal purple plaid scarf. Her expression hurts him more than anything else has.
She can't speak initially, like she hadn't thought up a plan for finding her Producer alive. She breaks down, sobbing, trapping the man in a hug.
"I need you!" She screams, falling to her knees.
She sweeps away tears, punching a wall weakly.
"I need you." She says stiffly, clearing her nose.
"You-"
"No! No! No excuses! I'm not enough to do this all by myself!"
The angered idol snatches him by the dirty shirt's neck, eyes ablaze.
"When you promised that we would do this together, I THOUGHT we meant it!"
She wipes away streaming tears, letting go and turning away. She takes a menacing step back towards the producer who has no excuses in an instant.
"You DIDN'T need ME. YOU are THE BEST at what you do. WHO ELSE would've taken a risk on some stupid girl like ME? Some girl crying because she's in the studio for the first time? TELL THE TRUTH, you risked EVERYTHING you had setup, you DIDN'T have to do any of this!."
5pb can't hold the tide of tears back any longer and her face drops, each solitary drop hits the floor quietly in the dead of winter.
"You gave me everything, love and a chance. I could never repay you, it's not possible!"
She strikes out with an arm in the air which soon sweeps towards the ground, resting away from her side, posing as if for a stage show.
"I'M NOT GIVING UP ON YOU. GET UP! I NEED YOU FOR ALL THE GODDESSES' SAKE!"
The Producer can't justify what he's done. He finds himself crying without making a peep or slight sniffle. 5pb pulls him into a tight hug in her wool coat and closes the door of his house behind her.
"I love you… don't die on me." She whispers, voice breaking.
"It feels like a lifetime since we were kids."
"We aren't kids anymore." 5pb says with a pleading tone. The girl lets her embrace slack.
"What if all this time was for nothing and you just gave up now!? I can't let that happen, I love you too much to walk away!" 5pb continues to plead with vigor.
"It'll hurt. But I'm here for you." She rolls one of her coat buttons with a hand idly.
"We'll make it. Just believe in me." She finishes with determination.