Producer's Note: Hello to all of my loyal and faithful viewers and reviewers! I hope you are all enjoying this series so far! I forgot to mention in the last chapter that the song used was called Later Never Comes, written by the American Mom studios of California! We're a little disappointed by the lack of response for this last episode but we're hoping it will pick back up now that episodes should be a weekly event. To the three who did leave feedback it is greatly appreciated! Now, onto the show!
World Instant Star: The New Generation
Episode 103
Opening Credits… Jude Harrison.. Tom Quincy.. Kwest.. Sadie Harrison.. Vincent Speiderman.. Karma Speiderman.. Wally Robbins.. Kyle Bateman.. Jamie Andrews.. Zeppelin.. Mason Fox..
The lobby of NBR is suddenly buzzing with activity at half past one in the afternoon while Case, Kris, and Butterfly are locked away in Studio A. They are so involved in her newest song they don't realize anything is going on until someone walks in the studio and a familiar voice breaks into their concentration, "It's like watching them all over again. I see why she won."
Kris and Casey both turn around to face him instantly. Casey is the first on his feet hugging their guest while Kris pushes a button telling Butterfly to take a break and join them before even he joins the hugging. "What are you doing here Mase? I thought you guys weren't coming out until next month, for the party?" Kris questions, sounding younger than his twenty odd years.
"Did Michael and Molly come too?" Casey chimes in just as Butterfly walks into the room.
"They're in the lobby Casey." Mason shakes his head as Casey and Kris both take off, forgetting to make proper introductions. He starts to say something when she interrupts him.
She extends her hand to him as her voice becomes totally void of emotion, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Fox."
He looks at her curiously before taking her hand and pulling her to him, enveloping her in a hug. "Please, call me Mason. We're all family here. I may not be around all of the time but we're still family. I'm kind of the uncle that comes to visit and spoil the kids." As he lets her go he offers her a warm shy smile before motioning to the lobby. "Want to meet Molly and Michael? Molly is dying to meet you."
"Meet me? Why?" She peers out of the window at the profile of a little girl about ten years old with shoulder length jet black hair and petite features.
"She saw you in the finale this year where you won of course! Actually she's been watching you and rooting for you to win all season. Come on." He takes her hand without warning and leads her out into the lobby to Molly and a tall attractive older man with sandy blond curls. "Molly, Michael, this is Butterfly. Butterfly, this is my partner Michael and our daughter Molly."
"Butterfly! Oh wow! You're even prettier in person! You really remind me of all the videos of Aunt Jude when she first won the original Instant Star." Molly almost seems to bounce with excitement as she talks a mile a minute.
"Well I'm glad to have you for a fan, though you are my first." The new rising star almost looks petrified talking to Molly. It doesn't help when she hears the girl's next excited list of questions.
"Want to be friends? Oh! You have to come meet Melody! You'll love her! She's a fan of yours too!"
Once again her hand is grabbed and she is drug off in another direction by someone she's just met.
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Now back to our show!
Outside in front of NBR Butterfly stands nervously beside Molly amongst a group of teens all in a wide range of ages. She has learned that the fiery red-head to the left of Molly is Jude and Tommy's daughter Melody, beside her is a girl with short chin length blond hair by the name of Cindy, Wall Robbins' daughter. Next to her is a boy named Marcus with reddish brown shaggy hair, son of Kyle Bateman, also the only boy of the group. Finally closest to her right is Cassandra with shoulder length black curls, the daughter of Karma and Speiderman.
She's startled out of her thoughts when Melody asks; "Do you like the new producer?"
"He's talented but stubborn and sometimes um, obnoxious." Butterfly shrugs, glancing around carefully.
"I hope you don't think this rude, but I was wondering… Did you paint that butterfly on?" She motions to the beautiful butterfly on Butterfly's cheek.
"No. I got it tattooed about a year ago."
"Why?"
"Just part of who I am."
"I hate to interrupt the teenie bopper convention, but I need my stubborn little artist back in the studio." Kris states sweetly as he gently places a hand on Butterfly's shoulder. In truth he's merely rescuing her from am overwhelmingly uncomfortable social situation.
It's not until they are safely in the studio, alone, that she speaks. "Thanks for rescuing me. They're sweet kids and they mean well… But I'm not good at the whole friends thing and have no need of it."
"Butterfly, everyone needs friends. Let me tell you, those kids out there are some of the truest friends you could ask for. You can learn how to have friends and be one if you want to. I'd even be happy to teach you. Who knows, maybe we'd end up friends in the process." His smile is genuine as he watches for her reaction to his offer.
"How would I even have time for friends? I', in the studio all day five days a week and any free time I have I spend studying."
"Working something out would be easy, plus all of us are in the studio all day too. You're making excuses."
"No I'm not…" She looks down at her shoes sheepishly.
He looks at her pointedly as he crosses his arms over his chest. "You're afraid aren't you?" He watches her silently shake her head before asking, "Why? What's there to be afraid of?"
She shuffles her feet as she lowers her voice to answer him, "Rejection. Failure."
He shakes his head as he sits down and takes her hands. He pulls her to him as he looks up at her, his expression is gently. "Why would anyone reject you? You're a sweet, though quiet, girl. Why are you afraid of failing?"
"I'm not like those girls out there. How do you be friends with people when there's a world of differences between you?"
"Simple; you try. Why do you think you're so different?"
"I know I am. There's a lot you don't know about me, that no one knows, and I'm not ready for anyone else to know yet."
"Then I won't pry. Just know that when or if you want to talk about it or anything else I'll be here. We can be friends Butterfly and work together."
"But we always fight?"
"No, we argue, there's a difference. Try trusting me? I promise I won't let you down and I can help you ease into being friends with the others, if you want."
"Okay." She glances at the clock to her right and frowns as it's nearly five. "I have to go Kris, same time as usual in the morning?"
"Yeah," He sighs and watches her walk towards the door before he stands and lightly grabs her wrist. "How do you get to and from the studio?"
She looks at him curiously before answering him, "Combination of the bus and my bike, why?"
He shakes his head as he releases her wrist. "That's dangerous, especially at night like this with everyone else in the city getting off work. Plus it gets dark earlier now. Would you please all me to drive you home?"
"I don't know…" She glances around nervously. "I don't know if I'm ready for anyone to see…"
"I won't get out of the keep except to get your bike out, I promise. Please?"
"I guess… Promise you won't hold where I live against me?"
He nods without giving it a second thought as he grabs his stuff and hers before he leads her to the jeep, loading the bike with ease.
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Now back to our show!
Darkness surrounds them a week later on a Sunday night as Kris and Casey sit on the balcony of his penthouse apartment. Casey suddenly changes topics on Kris asking, "What's with you and Butterfly? You two are almost always together all week long, then she vanishes when the weekend hits. What's the deal?"
Kris shrugs in an attempt to remain indifferent as he responds. "We're friends, her and I, but she's odd. She has a secret; I just haven't got her to tell me what it is yet. But whatever it is keeps her busy constantly outside the studio. I've been trying to get her to open up to me about it but so far she is fearfully tightlipped."
Casey cocks his head to the side watching Kris as he talks about the girl and can't help smirking a little. "You like her."
"Of course I do man, she's my friend and she's sweet."
"No I mean you're at risks of falling for her, hard."
"You're crazy Case. I don't have any time or interest in things like dating."
"Oh I know, your last girlfriend was junior year. Well girlfriend is a generous term for the only girl you've taken out more than three times."
"I can't help being selective."
"Picky is more like it."
"I'm just waiting for the right girl. I want things like a first kiss to mean something."
"Well I think you're getting a little old to succeed in finding a girl our age who hasn't been kissed and then some Kris."
"I'm not ready to give up hope."
Fade out, change scenes…
Despite it being a Monday the staff of BNBR are full of energy as they all know it's just weeks until Butterfly's first major concert, bigger than her first show at the Vinyl Palace. Kris and Butterfly are just walking back in from their usual lunch in the café just down the street when Kris notices a dark skinned teenage boy talking to Melody. He stiffens slightly clearing his throat as they reach the pair. "Shouldn't you two be in school right now?"
Melody shifts to face Kris and rolls her crystal blue eyes slowly. "It was a half day Kris, Teacher's conference or something."
The young man with skin that reminds Butterfly of milk chocolate turns his dark eyes on her, "So you are the infamous Butterfly. You are even prettier in person." He takes her hand and kisses it trying to be as smooth and charming as possible.
"Who are you exactly?" She pulls her hand back watching him cautiously.
"This is Raymond or Ray-Ray. He's the only child of Shay." Melody says, her infatuation seeping into her words.
"You mean the Shay who sang with Jude on her first album?"
"That's my dad. Jude sure put him in his place back in the day." Ray chuckles slightly nodding to an older man in the distance to get his attention.
"Back in the day? Jude can still put your dad in check." Kris adds just as Shay joins the group that is slowly forming.
"Hey dad, this is Butterfly. Butterfly, this is my dad Shay Mills." Ray's voice is thick with pride as he makes the introductions.
She removes his sunglasses, folding them in his hands as he looks her over slowly in amazement. "You really are like looking at Jude all over again. I've heard your single and it's amazing!"
"Thank you Mr. Mills." She responds softly as her cheeks turn a faded shade of crimson.
"Call me Shay. We're all family around here." He reaches out and pats her head lightly, looking back towards Tommy and Jude standing in front of Tommy's office. He looks at Jude and calls out, "She's a dead ringer for you at fifteen Shorty!"
"And Ray-Ray is a dead ringer for you at that age Shay-Shay." Tommy chimes in chuckling.
"Yes but he's my son Tommy Q, she bears the resemblance in looks and attitude when she's biologically a stranger."
"Touché."
"You're forming an idea Shay, what is it?" Jude folds her arms across her chest, arching a brow as she waits for him to answer.
"Whoa, put the claws away Shorty and relax. I was just thinking since she is viewed as the first one to be you of the next generation, what if Butterfly and Ray re-made our duet? Only they would do the extended original version. If it's well received and you decide to have them make a video we could use the original concept Georgia had for ours. What do you think?" He watches Jude but especially Tommy while he awaits an answer. Out of the corner of his eye he watches Butterfly storm off away from Ray into studio C, just like Jude has done to him and Tommy both in her younger days.
Tommy is the first to answer him, arching a brow as Kris follows his artist, "It could work and it would be amazing PR for both of them. They have the same amount of fire you two had when you wrote it. So if she doesn't kill him or date him it will be fantastic."
"Oh I don't think we have to worry about him trying to date Butterfly." Shay can't help chuckling slightly.
Tommy looks between his wife and Shay, lost in the look they share as he asks, "Why not?"
"Little Ray-Ray is infatuated with our Mel." Jude pats Tommy's arm gently before adding, "You have nothing to fret over Quincy. She has the rest of the kids looking out for her. Besides, he's taken a path opposite of Shay's behavior at that age. He acts tough for the public but he's still the same sweet kid we've watched grow up."
He grumbles quietly before sighing, "I guess you're right Girl. So who's going to break the news to Butterfly? So far she finds Ray absolutely annoying."
"Why don't we have Kris tell her? She's actually warmed up to him even though she's still undecided about the others." Jude suggests as Kris walks out of Studio C heading for hospitality.
"Perfect," Tommy waves a hand in Kris' direction calling, "Kris! Come here for a minute please."
Kris glances to each of the elders in front of him before asking, "Everything all right?"
"We have one cover we would like your artist to record. We would her to record the never released extended version of 'Waste My Time' with Ray. We also would like you to talk to her about it. You're the only person she seems to connect with aside from Sadie." Tommy states the proposition gently.
"I think it's a fantastic idea so long as Ray doesn't invoke her temper too much." He looks from Tommy to Jude and back again before gaining an almost sympathetic tone. "She's working on talking to the others closer to her age. It's just very new to her, then her rising fame on top of it. I mean she might an adult in the eyes of the law and her rights, but she's still just a fifteen year old girl who for whatever reason only has herself."
Jude nods as Tommy indicates a desire to speak to Kris alone. He waits until she drags Shay off to find the kids before leading Kris into his office, shutting the door and sitting on the edge of his desk while Kris sits on the small sofa. "You care about her, not just as your artist."
Kris looks down causing his dark hair to fall forward as he shrugs. Metaphorically he crosses his fingers hoping he's not about to be fired as her producer or told he has to keep it strictly professional.
"I'm not firing you from her album or anything. I would be a total hypocrite if I told you to keep it professional. I am however warning you to be careful. You aren't like most men your age, you've kept you and your image clean and I admire that, you know it. We all do. That's why I know with her you need to be careful. She's a sweet girl but in the time I have spent watching her I see some of myself in her."
His curiosity causes him to look up at Tom as he asks, "How's that?"
"I had the same walls up at her age. I kept them up until I met Jude, she's the one who cared enough and was stubborn enough to tear mine down. But then I fell for her before that and I trusted her so I wanted her to, though I wouldn't admit it to myself or anyone else at the time."
"Saying she'll never let me in?"
"Not at all, but what I am advising you is to be careful of your heart as well as hers. As hard as you work to get closer to her, even as her friend, the harder she will try to keep you out. There's no way to know how long it will last."
"But you're okay with me treating her as more than an artist, with me trying to be her friend?" He looks at Tom with a skeptical expression.
"Before Jude and I were romantically together she was and is to this day my best friend. I know she'll agree with me on this. Just keep in mind what I told you and expect a hell of a ride emotionally." He looks down at his watch, "Why don't you two call it a day for today? You don't really have time to record and tell her about the duet."
"Right, this'll be fun…" He rolls his eyes not looking forward to her fiery temper even if it was kind of cute.
Today's episode was brought to you by American Mom studios of California. In association with Space Monkey productions and sponsored by Space Monkey Inc.
On the next episode World Instant Star: The New Generation
"She is quite a puzzle man."
"Do you think you're ready for an outsider to know?"
"Why is the time so important?"
"She is never late, yet it's 10am and nothing!"
"What are you still doing here Kris?"
