Instant Star Chapter 1: Instant Star, a hunger games fanfic

Instant Star

This is an idea that has been in my mind since 2015 and I finally wrote it.

This story is inspired by Instant Star, one of my favorite shows as an adolescent. The music from the show is pretty amazing, in my opinion. The show itself is cringe but it holds a piece of my heart nonetheless.

The song used in this chapter is "Wolves" by Selena Gomez and Marshmello.

Feedback will be greatly appreciated seeing as this is my first attempt at writing.

Katniss Everdeen swore she hated singing competitions and what they stood for. Mediocre talent was fine as long as the person was attractive. Corny stories about the person's life before their audition would begin.

"I've wanted to be a singer since I was a—"

"—little girl." Katniss finished as she stuffed more popcorn into her mouth.

All a person has to do is show up at an audition, go through a couple of weeks of learning songs they never heard before (and lying to the camera about them being childhood favorites), perform with a bunch of strangers, and win a record deal. Most viewers only cared about the famous judge's banter more than the performances anyway.

And the contestants would exaggerate notes and stomp around as they made fists in the air and bring them in towards their body.

"Why do they keep doing the fist-and-pull thing?" Katniss asked. Gale shrugged.

Then the judges would praise the contestants even though the performance was subpar.

"That rendition of Celine Dion was A-MA-ZING! Celine must be shaking in her heels after that performance!"

"Did they watch the same performance we just watched?" Katniss asked Gale in disbelief.

Singing completions are so predictable and lame.

Yet, every week she'd watch.

She would roll her eyes at the overly enthusiastic crowd as they cheered on complete strangers as they sang mediocre covers of classic rock songs.

She would suffer through Country Music Night with the help of the loud crunching of her chips and the promise of watching her favorite contestants make it to the next round.

She'd call in her vote every week. She would never admit to Gale that she had a few of the songs downloaded onto her iPod.

She'd be grumpy for a month if one of her favorites was eliminated. Even after elimination, she'd follow their careers because she was loyal like that. She got pretty good at predicting what week her favorite contestants would get eliminated (the episode where they're featured the most on air) and who would eventually win (the one with the most MySpace friends).

Katniss' love for music was something her father had instilled into her as a child. He was a huge music nerd. His albums were color coordinated and alphabetized in a manner only he and Katniss understood. He'd play "Twist and Shout" by the Beatles every Sunday morning. It use to make her mother dance and laugh. That particular album hasn't been touched since he passed.

Katniss and Prim would dance and sing along to her father's guitar while her mother would smile and clap along on lazy afternoons. The Everdeen home was always full of music when he was around. When he died the place felt cold and silent.

After his death, she kept music close to her heart. She went through his records and listened to every one of them in hopes that she could keep a piece of his soul with her forever.

She eventually began playing her father's guitar. She would play covers of her favorite songs before she began writing her own music.

Katniss made music for her MySpace page whenever she was not at school. Her covers gained her a decent MySpace following and that eventually inspired her to venture out into releasing her originals.

Katniss realized she had been keeping subconscious tabs on the audition announcements for a long time. Every year Philadelphia is a popular location for her favorite singing competition, Instant Star. Every June, Philadelphia would be covered in Instant Star billboards. Countless Instant Star commercials on television and radio would play for months in advance.

She wasn't used to singing in front of crowds. Her nerves kept her away from the auditions for years.

Her best friend Gale Hawthorne was the one who signed her up.

"Tough shit, Everdeen."

"Gale! I didn't ask you to do this!" the angry tears streamed from her eyes as her best friend braced himself for her wrath.

"I told you that if you didn't apply to school for the fall, I would sign you up. You need a plan and this could help get you exposure!"

"This is not the type of exposure that I wanted! I wanted to try this the right way."

"The right way?! What's the 'right way' for you? Moving to LA and going broke?"

Katniss' face fell as she looked at Gale. The truth is that she did want to travel in hopes that she would be discovered somehow. She wanted to at least try to do it on her own. Maybe even go to music school if she wasn't signed within two years to make her mom happy and find some career that incorporated music, even if she didn't get to sing for a living.

It was easy for him to make plans for the future. He wanted to go to college and he had always wanted a sensible career. Katniss, the daughter of famous dermatologist Abigail Everdeen and sister to valedictorian Primrose Everdeen, hadn't bothered to sign up for college. Not this year. Not until she tried to find her destiny on her own.

They stared at one another. Neither one of them was willing to surrender. Finally Gale surrendered but not without letting out another deep sigh.

"You've been using the 2004 Instant Star flyer as a bookmark for years. You have no excuse to stay home this year. I know you've thought about it. You have more talent than all those other contestants put together."

More heavy tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. This was too vulnerable.

Gale pulled Katniss in for a hug as she reluctantly hugged him back. She was still pissed but maybe he was right. She had nothing to lose now.

"Come on. Let's pick a song for your try out. Unless you already have a song picked out?"

Katniss chuckled as he wiped away her tears.

Of course she had her song picked out.

The audition was terrifying. She had never sung in front of people that weren't her friends or family. She repeated her father's favorite mantra in her mind to get her through it. It wasn't the most conventional advice but it always calmed her.

It'll be alright. You can get used to anything except being hungry.

He was right, what did she have to lose?

Three yes votes. She didn't run out of the audition room screaming. She just held her ticket up to Gale and they silently walked out of the crowded venue with knowing grins on their faces.

Today was the Instant Star finale. Katniss was up against a country singer named Samantha Glenn. Samantha Glenn did a cover of a Miranda Lambert song that had the audience in tears. She was definitely not competition to be taken lightly.

Katniss' heart thumped in her chest as Prim finished straightening her hair. Prim had also done her make-up in a subtle bronze eye to go with the tight dress and jean jacket she was wearing. She told Katniss that she didn't want her embarrassing the family on national television with her braid and chapstick "look".

"You look hot. Maybe we are related after all."

Katniss rolled her eyes and decided to take the backhanded compliment.

"Katniss Everdeen?" asked a guy with an earpiece and a clipboard. Katniss nodded.

"Come on. We have to get you to the stage in 5 minutes." Katniss got up from her chair as Prim finished perfecting her sister's lipstick.

"Kick ass, okay?" Prim whispered.

"Okay." Katniss whispered back.

Gale, who had been on the dressing room couch with Delly and Abigail, patted Katniss' shoulder. He knew better than talking to her when she was nervous.

They all shared one last smile as Katniss stepped out of the greenroom.

Caesar Flickerman introduced her in his exaggerated manner as she waited backstage. She'd be using her father's guitar tonight. Even if she didn't win she wanted him to be on stage with her. She hadn't registered that Caesar had stopped talking until a woman with a headpiece gently grabbed Katniss' shoulder.

Katniss took a deep breath before taking a step onto the bright stage. She made her way onto the microphone as the crowd began to cheer her name. She mentally reminded herself to take another deep breath to control her nerves.

She strummed her guitar and began to sing.

"In your eyes, there's a heavy blue
One to love and one to lose
Sweet divide, a heavy truth
Water or wine, don't make me choose"

The orchestra joined her guitar as she continued to sing. Her voice carried through the crowd in an even, smooth serenade.

"I wanna feel the way that we did that summer night,
Drunk on a feeling, alone with the stars in the sky"

She smiled as she began the next part.

"I've been running through the jungle
I've been running with the wolves
To get to you, to get to you
I've been down the darkest alleys
Saw the dark side of the moon
To get to you, to get to you
I've looked for love in every stranger
Took too much to ease the anger
All for you, yeah, all for you
I've been running through the jungle
I've been crying with the wolves
To get to you, to get to you"

She closed her eyes.

"Oh, to get to you"

She opened her eyes and looked onto the crowd as she continued onto the second verse.

"Your fingertips trace my skin
To places I have never been
Blindly I am following
Break down these walls and come on in

I wanna feel the way that we did that summer night
Drunk on a feeling, alone with the stars in the sky

I've been running through the jungle
I've been running with the wolves
To get to you, to get to you
I've been down the darkest alleys
Saw the dark side of the moon
To get to you, to get to you
I've looked for love in every stranger
Took too much to ease the anger
All for you, yeah, all for you
I've been running through the jungle
I've been crying with the wolves
To get to you, to get to you"

"Oh, to get to you"

She finished the note as she took in a second to take in what may be her last moments on stage.

She absorbed the applause from the audience. The proud looks on Prim, Abigail, and Gale's faces as she finished her song. She looks at the delight in the judge's faces.

She made it a point to not check how many followers Samantha Glenn had on MySpace. She wanted to see if she could win the competition without getting into her own head. From the signs of the crowd, it looked as though Samantha and Katniss were even on fans.

The judges didn't give a verdict on her performance today since it was the finale. She was both thankful and worried about that. It was up to the viewers now.

"Phenomenal, Katniss!" Caesar praised as she made her way to him. "Katniss Everdeen, how do you feel after that A-MA-ZING performance?"

Katniss bit her bottom lip slightly before releasing it. "It felt great. I wrote that song years ago. I'm happy that I got to share it with the world."

Samantha Glenn came out to join the host and Katniss after a short commercial break.

Caesar began to give the audience logistics on the voting process of Instant Star now that both Katniss and Samantha performed.

The winner gets a three year contract with District Records and a spread in Rolling Stone magazine once their debut album is finished.

Votes were calculated based on phone calls and the amount of downloads the contestants got throughout the last week on iTunes.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for…" Caesar announces. He paused for dramatic effect. "… Your new Instant Star winner IS…"

Katniss and Samantha gave one another a small smile. Katniss felt her heart pounding.

She reminded herself of how when she watched the show at home, Caesar always took exactly 23 seconds before announcing the winner.

18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

"…KATNISS EVERDEEN!"

Katniss felt the tears before she could stop them. All the times she chastised and made fun of the winners when she watched at home for being dramatic were forgotten. She didn't know what to do with herself so she decided to hug her guitar. Her friends and family ran to her and she clung to them for dear life. Gale lifted her off the ground and that caused her to give a full belly laugh.

She couldn't remember when she had been this genuinely happy.

They too were crying happy tears for her. Even Prim.

She clung to them as she felt the joy radiating through her.

Everything after that was a blur.