A/N - Hey! So I'm pretty new on here. I posted one short story so far called Confessions of the Night (Please go check that out :-)). Anyway, the reviews I got for that story so far were extremely nice so I just wanted to say thank you to KieraAntigone, ticia-rockinmysoxoff, and jadedxL0VE. You guys might get your wish, for I am contemplating continuing on that story. For now though, I began to write this one which will be much longer. I'm not sure if it is as well written, or if people will respond to the pairings as well, but hopefully you guys enjoy!

P.S. - I own no one except for Isabella, Madison, and Staci. In addition do own the lyrics used in this chapter. They are an excerpt from a song I have written. Now that the legal mumbo jumbo is out of the way, I'll just say, I love reviews :-D.

Her heels made a sickening slurping noise as they traveled over the grimy floor of the dark room. Billows upon billows of smoke made their way through the compact bar. She held her breath for a moment in order to suppress the cough that was currently lodged in the back of her throat. Making her way towards the exit she subconsciously wrapped her arms around herself, pulling her sweater tighter, and therefore concealing herself from the dirty glances of the bar's patrons. Finally, after what seemed like hours of squeezing between sweaty bodies, she emerged from the dingy joint, breathing a sigh of relief and taking in the crisp night air.

She quickly retrieved her phone from her purse, dialing her home number. One ring. Two rings. C'mon pick up. Just as she was about to hang up and redial, a familiar voice answered.

"Hello?" the teenage voice came from the other end.

"Staci, what took you so long?" Barely pausing to give the girl a chance to answer, she jumped to her next question. "How's Madison?"

"She's fine Isabella" came the reply, an over emphasis on the word fine. "Worried much?"

Isabella frowned at the bothered tone that came from her younger sister. "Must you always be so snippy?" she questioned.

"Must you always call 300 times in one night whenever I babysit your daughter?"

Isabella flipped her long black hair over her shoulder. "I guess I turned out more like Mom than either of us would have ever imagined."

This statement quieted Staci. "Well, she's fine. We played, we colored, and now she's all snuggled in bed, sound asleep. Satisfied?"

Isabella hesitated. "You know," she paused thinking of what to say to show her gratitude, "I really appreciate you helping me out with her. I know you handle a lot of responsibility for a nineteen year old girl."

Staci scoffed. "Please, you're one to talk about responsibility."

Isabella smiled slightly. "Yea well, I brought it on myself. You-"

Staci interjected before she could go any further. "I'm happy to help. I lean on you, you lean on me. It's how we cope."

Isabella's smiled widened. She glanced at her watch. Ten to nine. "I go on in about 10 minutes. Wish me luck?"

"Break a leg."

"See you around twelve?"

"Better be around twelve. I have a seven-thirty class in the morning!"

Isabella laughed. "Later kiddo."

"Bye."

Isabella clasped her phone shut, throwing it back into the depths of her purse. As she turned around to enter the bar, she collided with another body. Stepping back she apologized and went to continue her entry.

"Wait a second," came the male voice. Isabella turned her emerald green eyes towards it's owner, ready to tell off whomever it was that she was convinced was about to hit on her. She was slightly taken aback when she was met with the image of a thin bodied teenager. With his scrawny figure and baby face, she couldn't help but imagine what a misfit he must have seemed like once inside those doors.

His voice squeaked snapping her out of her daze. He cleared his throat as he continued. "Are you Isabella Rosenelli?" he questioned.

Isabella silently wondered how this kid knew her name. Instead of verbalizing this inquiry she instead responded with "If I am?"

The kid smiled meekly, obviously scanning through his brain for the right words. "Jaime Andrews" He introduced himself, extending his hand towards her.

Isabella looked at it impatiently, than back at the bar. "As nice as this is kid, is there a purpose to all of this?" She paused quickly before adding "How did you even get inside this place? You're certainly no older than sixteen or seventeen."

Once again, he smiled sheepishly. "Well," he paused. "I'm part of the A & R department at G-Major records. I kind of obtained a fake I.D. for occasions such as this."

"You? You are in A & R? You mean to tell me that this 'record label' has no more experienced alternatives, so they send out a seventeen year old kid to some of the dirtiest bars in the area? Nice try." With that Isabella's hand flew to grab the handle to the bar's entrance. She was once again stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"No wait. Seriously." The kid fumbled around in his pocket for something. When it finally emerged, he handed her a business card.

Isabella looked down at the card then back at the boy in front of her. "I gotta tell you if this is some sort of prank, you really pull out all the stops."

"No prank. I scout out talent around the area. I've seen you a couple of times, at some other bars you've played. I saw you last week at the Dizzy Rooster. You're really talented. I was wondering if you might come by the studio and meet with the vice presidents. I've been talking you up for weeks now."

Isabella's brow furrowed as she bit her lip. Something about this situation didn't seem quite right to her. "I don't know. What if I said I'm content to be singing in bars?"

"Then I'd say that's quite an injustice to your talent. You have this whole aura around you. You have raw emotion and passion. That's a rare trait nowadays. I really think that, with the right management and conditioning, you'd have a promising future in the music industry."

Music industry? This was something that Isabella had astonishingly gave very little thought to. She fell back on the whole singing gig as a way to support Madison, Staci and herself after she was laid of from her steady job at the bank. For some reason, she had faced a great amount of difficulty finding a job after that, and she needed a quick fix to her money problems. She all but begged a friend of hers to let her sing Friday nights at the pub he owned. He finally relented, knowing that she was in dire need of the cash. From there, she slowly began to build up a repertoire of local clubs and bars that she frequently played.

However, it was needless to say that, with a job like hers, money was still tight. If this Jaime kid is right, just imagine the type of lifestyle that you could give Madison and Staci. Staci wouldn't have to take out any more loans for college. You could buy a house, build an apartment in the basement so that Staci wouldn't have to shell out her own hard earned cash to live in that tiny shoe box she calls an apartment. You could put Madison in private school. Imagine the possibilities Isabella.

She shook her head clear of these thoughts. Be realistic. What are the chances that this thing will actually work out? You heard the kid, you still have to meet with vice presidents and corporate suits. I'm sure that they'll be much harder to impress than some seventeen year old kid. But then again, can I really just let this opportunity pass without even giving it the smallest chance?

Isabella looked up at the boy again. "Okay. I guess one meeting wouldn't hurt. You

know, just to see where this all could lead."

Jaime's face lit up. "Great! Wow, um, okay so-"

Isabella had to laugh. This kid's excitement was just too much for her to handle. "I'm guessing that you don't get too many response like mine, huh?"

The boy smiled, slightly more at ease now that the hardest part of his job was done. "I'm new at this."

Isabella smiled. "I could tell."

Jaime let go of a low laugh as he gave her a few names and numbers. He arranged a date for her to meet with the vice presidents. "Don't worry their pussycats. Well, okay maybe not Liam. And Tommy can be fickle when he wants to. Okay so maybe their not pussycats but-"

Isabella laughed once again. "Kid, remind me not to come to you for a pep talk."

Jamie smiled awkwardly. "You'll be fine I'm sure."

Isabella nodded. She checked her watch. "Oh shit! Um, nice meeting you Jaime! Thanks!" she exclaimed as she hastily made her way back inside the club. After once again making her way through the dense assortment of bodies, she continued to hop up on the stage, ignoring the displeased look on the face of the bar's owner.

She grabbed her acoustic guitar off of its stand and she sat down on the stool placed behind the microphone. Adjusting the stand to her liking she offered a quick apology for being five minutes late. Once finished with the technicalities of introducing herself and her song, she grasped the pick between her thumb and her forefinger and began to lightly strum the opening chords to her creation, becoming fully immersed in her craft instantaneously.

"I'm standing here, on the edge of time
Alone again with these thoughts of mine
No one to turn to, but that's how it's always been
Living life on the edge of sin..."