We decided to check out Gold Star the next night. It looked a lot more classier than Ms. Kelli's, but still had a country vibe. The customer's here dressed a little nicer as well, which made me glad I decided to wear jeans instead of sweats and a graphic tee instead of a tank. Zero couldn't say the same as he walked in looking like a little thug. There was a small fee to pay to get in, making us a little annoyed, even if it was only five dollars (that was alcohol money!). When we got in, the others found a table while I went to the bar.

"Is Harlan Jones here?" I asked the bartender. He nodded to a table to my right and I spotted Harlan sitting there with two other men. I headed over and smiled.

"I was hoping I would see you!" Harlan exclaimed when he noticed me. He stood up and put his arm around my shoulders. "Gentlemen, this is Melina Thomas, who has a voice of gold. Perfect for Gold Star! Melina, these two men also work in the music industry. Their company is on its way to the top."

The skinny, balding man with glasses introduced himself as Kenny Trent and the other man with long hair in a ponytail introduced himself as Eric Wrenton. They both seemed pretty chill but they had an air of power about them.

"Nice to meet you," I said and gave my most charming smile.

Harlan sat back down. "You're going to show off your talent tonight, right?"

"Yeah, definitely," I confirmed. Why wouldn't I in front of these two big shots? I could get a freakin' record deal!

"That's what I'm talking about!" Harlan exclaimed slapping his fist on the table. "We'll look forward to seeing you up there."

I took that as my cue to leave and went to go find the table the others were at. They all gave me weird looks, more than likely because the grin on my face. "Some guys who own a recording studio are here and going to listen to me sing," I explained.

"Right on, chica," Magnet said.

"Are you sure they're legit?" Stanley asked, glancing over at the older men.

Zigzag agreed. "They look kind of shady."

I sat down, rolling my eyes. "Everyone looks shady to you. I mean, I didn't do a background check. His business card was legit." Fancy-looking business cards were always a positive sign, right?

"That doesn't mean anything."

"Okay, Stanley," I said in annoyance, "if you want to Google him, be my guest. I, in the meantime, will be recording my own album." I took a sip of water with confidence. 'My own album?' That sounded amazing in my head.

"You said it," Squid said with a grin. I wasn't sure if he said it just to be on my good side or if he really did believe in me. Maybe a bit of both.

"All I'm doing is looking out for you," Stanley mumbled in defense.

Jane laughed next to him and pinched his cheek. "Aww! Sweet, little Stanley!" He swatted her hand and scooted his chair a little farther away.

We ordered some food like the night before and chowed down. I was the only one who didn't get an alcoholic beverage. It appealed to me, but I didn't want Harlan or the others thinking I was an alcoholic.

I headed for the booth next to the stage. A woman who looked a little bit older than me raised an eyebrow. "You wanna sing?" The way she said it clearly told me she didn't think I could.

I crossed my arms. "Yeah," I replied, raising my eyebrow right back.

"Twenty bucks." She held out her hand.

I was confused. "Twenty bucks?"

"Did I stutter?"

Uncrossing my arms, I stuck a hand in my back pocket, not even sure if I had a twenty on me. "I never had to pay to sing karaoke before."

She pursed her lips for a moment. "This ain't some mangy bar, honey. This is upscale, something you're not used to obviously. If you don't like it, go somewhere down the street."

I glared at her and all but threw the money at her. That was all the money I had, the rest back at the hotel in my bag. She gave me a book of songs to look through. I figured they would be more modern folks so I decided to go with something new and on the top charts. After I chose my song, it wasn't a long wait until I was told it was my turn.

Up on stage was a different feel then at the other bar. Here, I felt like I was being judged whereas the other place most of the people were just having fun. I glanced a few times over in Harlan's direction. Most of those times I saw them talking to each other instead of watching me. Perhaps they were discussing my singing? I guess I would find out once I was finished. I was paying too much attention to their reactions that I vaguely recalled my friends cheering me on. When my eyes fell on them, I couldn't help but grin, all of them being goofballs and getting dirty looks from nearby customers for their shouting and whistling.

There was an applause once the song was over but nobody went as crazy as they did at Ms. Kelli's. Obviously 'cause it's upscale, something I'm not used to. I mentally rolled my eyes as I remembered the woman's words. When I passed her to return to my friends, I shot her a smirk. She turned her nose up and focused back on the papers in front of her.

My group boosted my ego as they told me what a good job I was doing. Looking over to where Harlan sat, I saw the trio talking amongst themselves. Should I go over there? Or are they simply not interested?

Jane's voice brought me out of my thoughts. "Come on, let's order some real drinks," she said with a glint in her eye. She waved down a waitress and ordered herself a Bahama Mama. The waitress then went around the table and took down the boys' poison. When she got to me I just waved her on.

"How come you're not getting anything?" Magnet asked as she left.

I shrugged. "I had to pay to sing. The rest of my money is back at the room."

"You had to pay?" Stanley asked, looking incredulous. I understood why.

"Yep," I replied, nodding my head.

"That's crap," Magnet said. It kind of was. Hopefully it was worth it though.

The waitress came back with their drinks and handed them out, but as she turned to leave Squid stopped her. He gestured to me. "She wants to order something."

I gave him a look. "No, I don't."

"I'll pay."

I figured as much, dipshit. "I'm fine, really," I told the waitress.

Squid smirked. "I'll order something for you then."

I opened my mouth to argue, but then shut it and smirked myself. "Okay, let's see how well you know me." I rested my chin in my hand. I didn't think he was paying attention to what I ordered the previous nights, so it would be interesting to see what he thinks I like.

He seemed to think for a couple seconds. "She'll have a Blue Hawaiian."

The waitress looked at me for confirmation and I nodded. Kudos to him. It wouldn't have been my top choice, but it was one of my favorites. I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit as Squid sat there with a satisfied look on his face. A hand on my shoulder made me jump.

"Excellent singing!" Harlan grinned down at me. "They're going to discuss things tonight and if you could swing by tomorrow, we'll have a little chat. Great things are going to be happening in your future, I can see it already."

I smiled back, ecstatic. "Thank you! I'm, uh… That's awesome! I…" I tried to think of something to say, but my brain didn't seem to be working as I took the information in.

He laughed and patted my back. "We'll see you tomorrow then." He gave a brief nod to my friends before walking off.

"Bye," I said lamely. I sat there, grinning like crazy. The waitress sat my drink in front of me and I took a long sip. It took me a moment to realize that the others were exchanging glances. "What?" I asked.

No one said anything and I started to get irritated. Squid finally spoke up. "I don't know. He seems kind of… shady."

This again? Really? And I thought Squid was on my side! "I can't believe you guys. You don't even know him."

"Neither do you," I heard Zero mumble. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Look, like Caveman said, we're just trying to look out for you."

I didn't even look at Squid when I replied. "Thanks, but I've looked after myself these past few years while you were away. No need to try and start now." Total bitch thing to say, yeah, but couldn't they all just be okay with this? If I sensed something bad was going to happen I would just walk away.

Nobody said anything else after that and I sighed. "I'll be careful. Can we just have a good night now?"

"Who wants to try and drink me under the table?" Jane laughed and then started to down her drink.

The rest of us joined in laughing and bickered about who was going to be the one to carry her back to the hotel. I was focused on the then and now, but I couldn't help my mind when it wandered every once in awhile to the possibility of the next day.

A/N: Guys, I'm not gonna lie. It's been really hard getting these chapters written. I think it's mostly because I spent the last couple years on Holes fanfics and I'm ready to move onward. I have quite a few Hobbit fics planned out and I so really badly want to start writing those, but I refuse to until these are finished. Which they will be. One of my New Year's Resolutions was to finish this one and my Barbie Girl one, so it's gonna get done even though the struggle has been truly real lately.

Remember to R&R! Let me know what you think about Harlan and the whole 'record deal' thing going on. Do you think it's legit or do you think Fuse is getting herself into something bad? : )