HELLO AGAIN! I know I've been MIA (especially with The Bachelor, but I will finish it. I swear on all the chocolate in existence). SO HERE'S THE NEW CHAPTER! I know this moves just a little fast, but I just have to get to the last part. I mean, I've been dying to write the last line (because I kind of love it). OKAY! I'll shut up now! READ ON!
PS I just found this little line thing and I like it!
PPS- The stupid Doc is deleting my italics and bolds, so bear with me.
Sixty days. Sixty freaking days since I'd submitted my recording. Sixty days, and I'd heard absolutely nothing. There was no rejection, no acceptance. Absolutely nothing. Needless to say, I was dying inside, very slowly, might I add. Currently, I was sitting on my bed with a notebook in front of me, trying to lose myself in writing. Creating songs was my escape, a way to express any emotion that I wanted, a way that made everything okay in the world, a way that I could make something magnificent.
"Ugh." I groaned, throwing my pencil at a wall and burying my face in my pillow. It just wasn't working. For some reason, I couldn't get the damn contest out of my head at the moment. It was almost like the universe was telling me that I failed, "Why, Clarissa?" I hissed to no one, "Why do you have to freaking torture yourself." The room simply stayed silent. That is until a frantic Isabelle Lightwood burst through the door.
"Get dressed. Look nice. Now." She commanded, and I sat up again to toss her a glare. Had it not been for the crazed look in her eyes, I would've told her to leave me alone to let me suffer in peace. I could tell something was going on though, something big, "Clary!" She growled, and her voice told me there was no getting around it. I huffed out a sigh, getting up and roaming into the bathroom without a word. I didn't know why, but I had the instinct to actually make an effort. Maybe it was the way Izzy was acting, maybe it was a gut feeling, but I didn't care. All I wanted was to look good.
One glance at Iz told me that I needed to hurry, so I did. I styled my hair into an intricate up-do that wouldn't take too long, then put a minimal amount of makeup on, trying to keep my face looking natural. When I turned around, she was gone, and I rolled my eyes, rushing back to my bedroom. There was an outfit already laid out for me, and I have to admit that it was very… fashionable, obviously picked out by my best friend. I threw it on, checking in the mirror to make sure I didn't have anything on my face. That was when I noticed that my top was backward, so, with an annoyed string of profanities, I flipped it, which took me more time than it should have.
"…yourselves comfortable." I caught the tail end of what Iz was saying as I began to walk down the hall, "She might take a little bit." I snorted at her words, wondering how the girl who spent hours in front of a mirror could say that about me. Nevertheless, I rounded the corner. What I saw made me stop dead.
"Holy shit." Was the last thing I whispered before the world went black.
"Clary… Clary… Clary." I faintly heard someone calling my name, feeling something lightly tapping my cheek.
"Here, let me try." A different voice spoke, and shortly after, someone's hand cracked across my face. I sat straight up, suddenly wide awake, then turned to glare at the culprit. My brother sat next to me, a shit-eating grin on his face and no remorse in his eyes.
"Jonathan Christopher Fray!" I was about to start screaming at him when I halted. How, when, and why the hell was he here? For a moment, I couldn't remember anything, then, all of it hit me like a freight train. I gasped, shooting to my feet, my eyes flicking all around me. There were cameras everywhere, and I started feeling lightheaded again. Sensing this, my brother got up, then shook me by the shoulders, "What…" I finally gained my bearings, the world coming into focus, "What's going on?" Suddenly, Ryan Seacrest was in front of me. Ryan freaking Seacrest was in front of me.
"Hello Clary." He greeted with a smile on his face, acting like the whole fainting fiasco hadn't happened.
"H-Hey." I stuttered. I had no idea what was going on, absolutely none. You're dreaming. My mind rationalized, You're just dreaming. I knew that wasn't true though, because everything felt so real. Just to make sure, I pinched my arm hard, then winced at the pain, "I… just… what?" I finally got out the stumbled words, completely humiliating myself. I couldn't be blamed though, because it wasn't an everyday thing for Ryan freaking Seacrest to show up in my apartment.
"I'm guessing you want to know why, exactly, we're here." He offered, and I nodded numbly, not able to stay still. I had to clasp my hands together to stop them from shaking as Ryan paused for suspense, "You, my friend, are going to be a star." My eyes slowly widened at the statement, and I couldn't believe it. No, this wasn't happening, not to me. It wasn't possible, "Specifically of the show Treble Hearts." He finished, and a slew of unintelligible words escaped my mouth. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. I didn't register anything else until Ryan's chuckle sounded out in the silent room.
"Did this really just happen?" I whispered, "Have I actually understood?" I blushed a little at the automatic Wicked reference, but that thought was quickly pushed to the back of my mind, "I… Um…" I had no idea what to say, but Ryan was patient as I tried to control my total freak-out, "Wow." I finally collected myself, "Thank you." A giddy smile began to make my cheeks ache, "This is such an honor."
"You just have to do one thing for us." Ryan said before he turned to the sound guy, who gave him a quick thumbs up, "Sing for us. We just have to make sure you sound as good as you did on the recording. Any song you want." I gulped, pressure beginning to build up in my chest. I wasn't good when I was put on the spot, but I had to power through it. At first, when I opened my mouth, no sound came out. The cameras around were so… intimidating, and imagining everyone naked was just flat out weird, so I closed my eyes.
"Sun in the sky." The tune escaped my mouth of its own accord, so I closed my eyes, just letting everything go, "You know how I feel…" I continued on with the song, and I let the music flow through my body. It took over my mind, my heart, my soul. I didn't realize how good I had done until I hit the last note and opened my eyes to see everyone staring at me with either open mouths or wide smiles. My breaths were labored as I took everything in, relishing in the moment, my moment.
"Wow." Ryan was the first to speak, "That was amazing. You are definitely the girl from the tape." Heat rose to my cheeks as I looked down at my shuffling feet.
"So…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say or do. Finally, I found my words, "What's next?" Yes, those were the only words I found. To be honest, I wasn't looking that hard.
"Well Clary…" A devious smirk spread across Ryan freaking Seacrest's lips, "You've got a one way ticket to Los Angeles." The breath literally flew out of my lungs. If anything, I thought they would choose a star in New York, but I guess they had no problem paying for one little ticket. I mean, it was ABC for crying out loud. They probably could've bought me a house to go with it, "You'll be staying with your mentor." I almost choked on my spit. Not only would I be working with a world famous musician, but I would be staying with them in their house.
"Who's my mentor?" I finally squeaked, the shock slowly giving way to excitement.
"That is to be announced." Ryan winked at me, then fell silent.
"And… Cut!" A cameraman shouted, then all of the equipment was out of the apartment before I could say Holy crap. Ryan stayed behind after everyone else left, but it was all so sudden. One second, they were there, telling me I was going to be the star of a reality show, the next second, they were up and out. I was stunned to say the least, and it only seemed like the blink of an eye until it was just the five of us (Me, Simon, Isabelle, Ryan freaking Seacrest, and Jonathan).
"So…" I finally collected myself for the umpteenth today, "Um, would you like anything to drink? I'm sorry, we don't have a wide variety. I mean, I wasn't exactly expecting this, and…" The Stop talking look my friends and brother were shooting me made me shut up, and I offered Ryan a sheepish smile.
"I'm alright." He patted the place on the couch next to him, "Just sit down. I want to get to know you."
"Y-You" I gestured to him, "want to get to know m-me?" I gestured to myself, just to make sure, and he laughed.
"We're gonna be spending a lot of time together." He pointed out, "So why not?" I nodded, quickly warming up to the hollywood star. I sat down, and the rest of my group followed my lead, plopping down in various places in the living room, "What's your story?" Was the first question he asked, "How did you get into music?" I bit my lip, seriously contemplating the question. I couldn't tell him the full reason I'd started singing, but I could give him some of it.
"As long as I can remember, I've loved music." My entire demeanor loosened up as I started to talk, "It's something that's gotten me through a lot in life, and… well, one day, I couldn't find a song that I liked on the radio. It just popped in my head that maybe I could learn to play it.
"I begged my parents to let me have piano lessons when I was seven, and my mom finally convinced my dad that it would be good for me. She's always believed that creativity is good for the soul. That's how I started playing. It at first it was piano, then I moved on to guitar. One day, I just started humming while I was playing, and I thought it sounded pretty good, so I sang the words. From that day on, I would sing with my music, but it would just be to myself. At least it was until my mom heard me. It wasn't something I ever thought about pursuing until college, but I know the music industry is a hard one, so I never really did much about it. When this competition came up, I just thought "What the hell?" and did it." I shrugged, "That's my life story."
"Why Defying Gravity?" Ryan smiled, "I mean, that's an amazing song, and it perfect suits your voice, but why that song?"
"Exactly what you said." I could feel the sparkle in my eyes that came along with talking about music, "It's not something that everyone would choose. It's not some pop song that's always on the radio. It's not something so… expected." He hummed in agreement, nodding his head, then rose to his feet, clapping his hands.
"I'm sorry this visit was so quick, but I have to go." He told me, and I got up to say goodbye. I offered my hand to shake, but instead of returning the gesture, he pulled me into a hug, "Here." When he pulled back, he took something from his pocket, placing it in my hand, "Bye, Clary! I'll see you soon." He winked, then he was out the door. I stared after him for what had to be a couple minutes, then finally looked down at what he gave me.
"Holy crap." I whispered, then my voice turned into a yell, "Holy motherfreaking crap!" That was when I screamed at the very top of my lungs, and everyone else laughed, hugging me one by one.
"I'm so proud of you, Little Sis." Jonny was the last person to get to me, squeezing me the tightest of all.
"Can't… breathe." I choked out, and he released me with a chuckle. The maniacal smile never left my face, even as I gasped dramatically for breath, "Thanks, Big Bro." I finally got the words out, then threw myself at him yet again. He spun me around like he always had when we were little, and that's exactly how I felt. Like a little kid. No cares, no regrets, just happiness, "I'm going to LA baby!" I yelled at the top of my lungs after I stepped back from Johnny, and everything was amazing.
Everything was absolutely amazing.
"Clary." A soft voice roused me from my sleep, and I opened my eyes to be met with the sight of the inside of a private jet. For a second, I was confused, but everything quickly came back to me when Ryan freaking Seacrest's face came into view, "We're here." He smiled, and I beamed at him, resisting the urge to squeal like a tween at a Justin Bieber concert. I almost forgot to unbuckle my seatbelt before shooting to my feet and bounding out of the plane, "Calm down." Ryan laughed, setting a hand on my shoulder as I bounced up and down.
"Oh my gosh." I whispered as a sleek black limo rolled up, followed by a van. I watched in shock as a camera crew exited the van, coming toward us. Ryan led me over to them, and everyone began to get situated while I waited for someone to tell me what, exactly, was going on. Then, people started positioning me and getting me ready to speak. It was all a blur of excitement until they were finally ready.
"Okay, Clary." Ryan started, "I'm going to ask you questions, but my voice will be taken out, so I need you to sort of repeat them for me. Would you mind doing that?" I took a deep breath, shaking my head. After a quick second, the man holding the microphone signaled for us to go, "So, what are you feeling right now?" Ryan questioned, and I froze for a minute.
"Well." I collected myself, "I don't know how to describe how I feel." I bit my lip in thought, racking my brain for the right words, "I mean, there's nothing that's happened to me quite like this. It's my dream to be a singer, and I never thought I'd get this golden opportunity. I feel like Charlie when he got the golden ticket for the Chocolate Factory. It's just this mix of amazement and a dream come true. That's all I can say, because the rest of it is more than words, more than anything I could ever imagine.
"Perfect." Ryan shot me a thumbs-up, "Now, are you excited to meet your artist?"
"Oh my gosh I can't wait to see who my artist is." I didn't even have to think about this reply, "I just hope it's someone I love. I'm inspired by so many that I think it would be hard for me to get a bad one. Actually, I don't think there are any bad ones." Except Jace Herondale, but I'm not saying that out loud, "I can't wait, because the suspense is killing me."
"Good job, Clary." Ryan complimented, and I blushed slightly, "That was amazing." Then, the cameras went down, and he was back at my side. He slung an arm across my shoulders, leading me over to the limo, and a chauffeur came around to open the door. I ducked inside, sitting down as excitement bubbled up in me. I couldn't help but smile like a maniac while we drove off. The trip was mostly silent, because if I opened my mouth, I was sure a string of screams would come out.
After what seemed like an eternity, we reached our destination, and the driver once again opened the door to let me out. I faced an unfamiliar mansion. For a second, there was no one out there, but the gates quickly opened to reveal my one and only mentor.
"Holy frickin crap." Was the only thing I could whisper, because, of all the stars I could've gotten, the man standing in front of me was none other than Jace motherfreaking Herondale.
Kill. Me. Now.
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'VE GOTTEN JACE BACK IN! DO YOU GUYS LIKE THE LAST LINE? BECAUSE I DO! Okay, so, leave your answers to the next questions in the reviews:
1. What are the best TV shows on Netflix?
2. How do you think Jace will react?
PS Using the line thingy again!
-Shadowhunter5801