Flora couldn't sleep at all that night. She kept tossing and turning in her sleep. Had she just lost Helia for good? That thought had been in her head all evening and she couldn't get rid of it. She turned to her side viewing the clock. It read 3am. Flora had been trying to go to sleep for almost 5 hours now. She knew that there would be no use to end her mind's wonderment. Flora sighed and decided to get up. She got out of her bed, put on a dressing gown, took her phone from the bedside table and walked out onto her bedroom's balcony. Flora lent over the railing admiring the beautiful view of Magix. The twinkling lights of the building combined with the complete silence of the city brought her calm.
Flora looked at her phone and scrolled down her contacts until she came across Helia's number. She stared at it thinking whether she should call him. It was really late at night, and he surely wouldn't appreciate being woken up by the girl who had yelled at him hours before. Her finger hovered over the call button, and without thinking, she dialled it.
Helia was fast asleep in his bed. The fight he had with Flora made him tired and he couldn't bring himself to let himself stress over it. He laid there peacefully under the sound of something vibrating caused him to stir. Helia groaned as he reached for his phone on the bed side table and answered it.
"Hello?" He greeted, his voice sounding tired.
There was no response from the other end of the phone. Flora held the phone to her ear but couldn't speak. Something within her stopped her from talking to Helia.
"Hello who is this?" Helia asked.
There was still silence from the other end. Helia's eyes slowly widened when he still heard no response. Helia had a suspicion on who the caller was. Flora couldn't bare it anymore, so she ended her agony and hung up the phone leaving Helia to lie awake in his bed for the rest of the night.
Flora's call to Helia still didn't make her feel any better. She walked back inside her bedroom, closing the doors behind her and decided write on a note pad. She didn't know what she was doing it, but there was something inside her that wanted to be written, and she still had hours to kill before the other girls would wake up. Flora wrote down anything and everything that was in her head. It wasn't long until Flora noticed the sun rise later that morning. She had been writing for so long that she didn't notice that it was now 5am.
Flora smiled at her work and it actually made her feel a little better. She put the note pad and pencil away and thought that it would be nice if she went into the kitchen to get breakfast started for the girls. She knew that they would be awaking up at 6am for their first recording at 8am this morning, and she wanted to make their lives a little easier if she made breakfast. She walked down the stairs, turning on the lights as she did and walking as quietly as a mouse and entered the kitchen.
It was now 6am that morning and Musa, Tecna, and Bloom had woken up to get ready for the day. The three of them walked out of their rooms and immediately smelt bacon. Bloom walked down the stairs quickly and found Flora holding a frying pan and serving bacon onto plates.
"Good morning Bloom" Flora greeted as she served her friends.
"Morning Flora. You didn't have to do all of this" Bloom said as Musa and Tecna walked in.
"I couldn't sleep last night, I have been up since 3am so I thought it would be nice to make breakfast for you girls" Flora responded putting the fry pan away.
"Thanks Flora" Tecna said with a smile. "I'll go wake up Stella and Layla then."
"No bother" a voice from the stairs. "Have no fear, Stella is here" Stella greeted everyone.
"You're up early" Bloom said with a laugh as she sat down.
"I smelt bacon" Stella said sitting next to Bloom and ate a slice of bacon.
The girls laughed at Stella and they sat down at the table too.
"Thanks for doing this Flora" Layla said pouring everyone a glass of orange juice.
"It was my pleasure. I also did this because of my behaviour last night. I didn't mean for it to become uncomfortable for you and Stella" Flora said to Layla and Stella.
Bloom and Tecna looked at Flora confused.
"Don't worry about it, Flora" Stella said. "We've all had fights."
"What happened last night?" Bloom asked confused.
"Well….Helia and I sort of had a fight last night" Flora answered eating her breakfast.
"A fight, please, it was an all-out war" Stella added.
"Stella" Musa warned.
"Really? Are you okay, Flora?" Tecna asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, it just had me awake all night. I couldn't stop thinking about it" Flora replied.
"How did it end?" Bloom asked.
"Well, I accused Helia of getting in the way of my wanting to be happy being famous, and he stormed out of the apartment" Flora informed.
"I'm sorry, Flora" Bloom said sadly.
"Are you two breaking up?" Layla asked.
"To be honest, I don't know" Flora answered. "But, doesn't matter. Let's just focus on our album recording today" she added with a smile.
"I agree" Musa said. "And last night, I wrote a new song. And I think the album should be called Bad Boy because of this new song."
"Alright…" Layla said awkward. "What is it about?"
"You will find out later" Musa said sneakily. "Oh and also, I have invited the boys to come along too."
The girls all groaned at Musa's response. Flora wanted to scream in frustration, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She would just have to grin and bear it.
9am soon arrived and the girls met the guys at Sony Magix Music to record their very first album. Musa and Ellie led the group through the building and up to the middle floor where all the artists recording their albums. The winx looked around the area astonished by all of the high-tech equipment that surrounded them. Hundreds of instruments were laid out across the halls between booths. Staff members accompanied by singers strolled through the hallways.
Down at the very end of the hallway was a special booth that had a gold star on the front door and the words 'The Winx' in large letters. Musa opened the door and inside were guitars, drums, and different instruments around the room. There was a couch in the corner and on the left there was the great recording booth just waiting for the girls to enter.
"This is just for us?" Stella gasped looking around.
Brandon laughed at his girlfriend's hyperactive nature. The guys were all excited to here in the recording studio, all except one. The black haired specialist stood in the corner as Ellie instructed the girls on how Tony wants the recording to go down. He watched the girls pick up their instruments and sheet music. The guys sat on the couch as Helia just stood in the corner. After his argument with Flora the night before, he didn't want to be in the same room as her for a while; there was too much tension between.
"Okay girls, now Tony has explained to me that Musa has written a song especially for this album so let's start with this one" Ellie instructed. "When you girls are ready, begin playing."
The girls stood in the recording booth with their instruments ready as Musa handed out the sheet music. The girls looked at the sheet music and were a bit surprised that it was techno. Flora read the lyrics and something about them made her suspicious.
"Musa, how did you come up with these lyrics?" Flora asked.
Musa turned to face her and smiled.
"I just let the music flow" Musa replied as she placed head phones on her head.
Musa nodded to the girls and Layla began tapping the drumsticks together.
"Bad Boy" By Cascada
Musa: Remember the feelings, remember the day
My stone heart was breaking
My love ran away
This moment I knew I would be someone else
My love turned around and I fell
(Chorus)
Everyone: Be my bad boy, be my man
Be my week-end lover
But don't be my friend
You can be my bad boy
But understand
That I don't need you in my life again
Won't you be my bad boy, be my man
Be my week-end lover
But don't be my friend
You can be my bad boy
But understand
Musa: That I don't need you again
No I don't need you again
Tecna plays the techno section with her keyboard along with computer effects.
Musa: Bad Boy
Techno section continues.
Musa: You once made this promise
To stay by my side
But after some time you just pushed me aside
Musa and Bloom: You never thought that a girl could be strong
Musa: Now I'll show you how to go on
(Chorus)
Everyone: Be my bad boy, be my man
Be my week-end lover
But don't be my friend
You can be my bad boy
But understand
That I don't need you in my life again
Won't you be my bad boy, be my man
Be my week-end lover
But don't be my friend
You can be my bad boy
But understand
That I don't need you again
No I don't need you again
Techno section until the end of the song.
Ellie and some of the guys were clapping once the song was finished.
"That was great, Musa" Ellie said with a smile.
The winx girls were a bit stunned with the song that Musa had written. What ever happened to the soft and fun melodies that they used to write, not these crude techno ones. Flora looked at Musa suspiciously. Some of the things that Musa had written sounded so familiar to her, especially the words 'You never thought that a girl could be strong.'
"Wasn't that something that Helia was getting at during our fight last night" Flora thought to herself.
Flora was replaying back her argument with Helia over and over again in her head. Musa was smiling bigger than all the other girls.
"Oh, thanks Ellie" Musa replied. "They just came to me last night."
That comment sent a brain spark to Flora's brain. Musa was ears dropping on her argument with Helia and she used it to write her song. Flora was so angry at this point. Her blood was boiling and she couldn't believe that one of her best friends would do that to her.
"Okay girls, just give me 5 minutes to turn off the techno music controls and we will be ready to sing 'Story of Us' and 'Free Fallin'" Ellie said fiddling with the controls.
Flora calmly placed her guitar down and walked over to Musa. Unaware to all the girls in the booth, the sound proofing was turned off, so Ellie and the guys could hear every word that they are saying.
"Musa" Flora said calmly.
"Yes?" Musa answered turning to face Flora.
"Where did you get the inspiration to write this song?" Flora asked.
"Oh, well, you know me. I was just sitting in the recording studio last night and I had a brain spark" Musa replied.
Stella and Layla looked at Musa and Flora suspiciously. They both thought that the song lyrics sounded familiar to them as well.
"Oh really" Flora said. "But you said yourself that you don't get inspiration unless you have real life experiences"
"Yes, I did say that" Musa replied. "But, I was just so calm last night that my brain clicked in."
"That's a lie, Musa" Flora said calmly.
"What?" Musa said confused.
Ellie and the guys heard the conversation that the girls were having and looked at the girls, who were still in the booth.
"You ears dropped on Helia and I's conversation last night, and then you used that to your advantage and wrote a song about it" Flora said angrily.
The girls gawked at Flora's accusation. Stella and Layla looked angry. They had a suspicion that Musa could hear the argument last night.
"I did not" Musa defended.
"Oh really? Then how did you write the words 'You never thought that a girl could be strong?'" Flora questioned. "Because that sounds a lot like the stuff that Helia was saying last night."
The guys looked at Helia who was still standing in the corner.
"You what?" Brandon asked stunned.
"Dude, even I think that was a bad mistake" Riven said.
"Hey, you weren't there. She's taking it a little out of context" Helia defended.
"Alright, fine. I used your argument to help me write a song, okay?" Musa admitted.
Everyone in the entire room stared at Musa. Who was this person in front of them? Musa would never lie or deceit her friends.
"How could you?" Flora asked hurt. "That was a private conversation between Helia and I and you used it for your own personal gain."
"Oh please, that wasn't a private conversation. I mean, Stella and Layla were sitting on the couch, and I can tell you right now that I bet the neighbours next door heard it. I could hear your conversation clearly from upstairs. It wasn't like a chose to ears drop. Your conversation was anything but private, Flora" Musa said.
"But why would you do it? I am your friend. Why would you write about it in a song?"
"It's not like anyone is going to notice, Flora. Come on. If you want to be famous, then sacrifices must be made. It's not like I am going to tell the public that this was all about your argument with Helia that led him to storm out of the apartment, or you drive him out of it."
"How can you say that? I did not drive him out of the apartment" Flora yelled.
Ellie and the guys sat watching the scene unfold in front of them. Should they leave? Should they stay in case a fight breaks out? Helia was listening to every word Flora and Musa said. Some parts were true, such as their argument not being quiet or private, but the stuff regarding him being driven to storm out the door was incorrect. He stormed out so that they both could breathe and get some space.
"Of course you did. Everyone here knows it, Flora. You yelled at him to get out, then you accused him of getting in the way of your chance at stardom and he stormed out. How can you look back on that fight and not think, 'Gee, did I drive him away? Did I drive him out of my life?'"
"Musa!" Layla yelled angrily.
"That was low" Bloom added.
"You're supposed to be her friend" Tecna said.
"I am being her friend. I am telling her that what she did last night could have sent Helia running. I mean, Flora, why would he stay when you are screaming at him?"
"He was trying to control my life, Musa" Flora defended with tears threatening to fall.
"At least he wants to be a part of it. Why are you yelling at him for that?" Musa asked.
"You do not know the whole story" Flora said.
"I heard the whole story. The guys heard the whole story. Stella and Layla saw the whole story. Flora, the whole hotel probably heard the whole story. Neither of you were quiet. And I might add, this conversation isn't quiet either. The sound proofing has been turned off!" Musa yelled.
Flora stopped dead cold. She turned to look out of the glass seeing Ellie and the guys outside looking down at the ground really uncomfortable by the whole situation. She looked at everyone's faces carefully and could see that they had heard everything. She looked into a corner of the room and saw Helia standing there refusing to meet her gaze. He had his arms crossed and he lent up against the wall staring at the ground. She could tell that he was the most uncomfortable one in the room. That broke Flora's spirits then and there. Flora couldn't take it anymore. She threw open the recording booth door, threw open the main door and ran down the hallway with tears streaming down her face.
The two rooms were dead silent. All that sounded was the swinging of the main door.
"Why don't we take a break" Ellie said breaking the silence and left to run after Flora.
Musa stood there thinking about what had just happened. She didn't regret what she had said, but she did feel bad that the boys had heard it. She probably should have mentioned the sound proofing thing a little bit earlier.
"What the hell was that, Musa?" Stella yelled.
"Yeah, seriously. That was horrible. You are supposed to be her friend" Bloom agreed.
"First you use their argument to write a song, and now you are yelling at her and telling her what she's done wrong?" Layla added.
"I can't believe that you did that" Tecna said in disbelief.
"Okay, maybe I should have told her about the sound proofing a little bit earlier" Musa agreed.
"This is not about us hearing, Musa" Riven said looking at his girlfriend completely disgusted. "This is about you hurting Flora's feelings. You had no right and had no business telling her what she did wrong last night. It was between Flora and Helia and you have no right using it to write a song."
"Oh, come on. No one is going to notice" Musa said.
"Not the public, but we will" Helia said finally looking at Musa.
Musa looked up and faced Helia's gaze. She completely forgot that Helia was even in the room.
"Every time we hear that song, it would bring up bad memories. It would bring up the fact that you violated Flora's trust, and also by the way, betrayed our trust and confidence so that you could get ahead in stardom. You sold her out. You sold me out. And worse of all, you sold yourself out" Helia added and he stormed out of the room.
"Who are you?" Riven asked like he never knew her. "Where is the sweet, passionate, music loving fairy that we love?"
That was all that needed to be said before everyone stormed out of the room to find Flora. Musa stood in the room completely alone, and that was when it had hit her. Helia's words, and Riven's words hit a nerve within Musa. Who was she? She was supposed to be supportive of her friends, and lying and cheating. She really did sell herself out for fame and glory. Now only time will tell if it was all worth it.
Flora ran out of the building with tears over flowing her eyes. She couldn't stand being anywhere near her friends, her work, or Musa. She was completely humiliated, angry, and hurt. Musa was supposed to be her friend, and she had just walked all over Flora. Flora wanted to get away, she knew that her friends will be coming after her, but she didn't know where to turn. Did she have another friend to turn to? She did, but it would be a long shot.
Flora took out her cell phone and dialled a number. She held the phone to her ear and waited for someone to pick up. After a couple of rings, a male voice answered.
"Eric speaking" the voice greeted.
"Hey, Eric" Flora said whipping away some of her tears.
"Flora" Eric said intrigued. "What an unexpected pleasure."
"I'm sorry to just call you randomly like this" Flora said and she sniffed.
"Are you crying?" Eric asked.
"…I just need someone to talk to. Can we meet?"
"Yeah, sure"
"Are you sure that your girlfriend, Emma wouldn't mind?" Flora asked.
"Who? Oh….right, nah she will be fine" Eric replied. "Why don't we meet at my hotel? The Le Sommeil Hotel. Suit number 24"
"I'll be right there. Thanks Eric" Flora replied.
Flora hung up the phone and turned around to see Ellie running towards her.
"Flora, are you okay?" Ellie asked concerned.
"I can't go back in there" Flora said.
"Yes you can. Pick yourself up and show them that you are strong" Ellie tried to cheer her up.
"No Ellie, I am not going in there. I'm going" Flora said and she walked down the opposite street head towards Eric's hotel.
Eric hung up his phone and grinned.
"Everything is falling into place" Eric grinned looking at his mirror fixing his hair. "By driving a wedge between her and Helia, I've left her vulnerable and ready for the taking. No one can ever take what's mine." He looked at a photo of Flora from her magazine shoot on the mirror and smirked. "Pretty soon, dear Flora, you will be mine, and nobody will stand in my way."
Eric picked up a dart from a table on his right, immediately spun around and threw the dart on a dart board that was hanging on the wall behind him. There was a cut out couple photo of Flora and Helia on the dart board, and the dart made a bullseye directly on Helia's head.