Chapter Six: Ready for the World?

The following morning, Courtney woke up, surprised to find herself on the couch. Her head was still fuzzy from sleep, as she tried to replay the events from the previous night.

Eventually, the gears in her head began to work as she remembered what happened.

After dinner, she and Trent decided to binge-watch How to Get Away with Murder so Courtney could point out all of the show's issues. Since she was still on the couch, she must have fallen asleep at some point during an episode.

She checked her phone and saw multiple messages from Trent and Heather.

Trent: Hey, you fell asleep so I just let myself out. Thanks for tonight, I had fun. Can't wait to perform with you on Saturday!

Courtney bit her lower lip. She was starting to regret her decision to perform with Trent. She wasn't scared of performing, but she was afraid she might be putting herself back into the spotlight. But maybe this would be good attention for once. She could show the world she was more than some bossy, annoying girl.

But then she read Heather's texts and her fears of fame started to pop up again.

Heather: EXCUSE ME!

Heather: WHY AM I GETTING NEWS FROM MY REPORTERS THAT TRENT WAS PHOTOGRAPHED LEAVING YOUR HOME AT 3 AM?!

Heather: YOU BETTER CALL ME ASAP.

Courtney decided it was better to do what Heather wanted or else Heather was going to chew her out even longer.

"Courtney!" shouted Heather on the other end.

"Ow… You don't need to shout," Courtney said while wincing, her ears ringing from the loud voice. "What's up?"

"Don't. You have two minutes to explain everything that happened between you and Trent last night or else some paparazzi vulture is going to spin that story so wildly that you are going to be reading about your and Trent's secret baby in today's tabloids.

"What? Me and Trent? We're just friends. He just came over for dinner and Netflix," she explained simply.

"Darn, I was actually hoping that Trentney was finally happening."

"Heather!"

"What? He definitely is whipped for you and he is a rising pop star. You should go for it."

"Trent only sees me as a friend, maybe even a sister," Courtney argued with a sigh. This conversation was already draining her. Although Trent didn't get along with Heather, Heather liked the idea of Trent, especially when it came to the idea of him dating Courtney. She was always the one pestering Courtney about when they were finally going to start dating.

"Sure. Anyways, you guys being just friends who are hanging out aren't going to make for juicy news so the tabloids are definitely going to spin that story. Do you have any direction you want me to spin it toward so it doesn't look bad on you or Trent?" Heather was now working at a celebrity gossip agency and was a pro at twisting the media around her fingertips. She was actually a big help in keeping Courtney out of the headlines and even helped Trent with his new rise to fame as a music artist.

"Why were they even taking pictures outside of my house?" Courtney asked. No one knew where she lived, and no one had cared about Courtney for years.

"It's because of Trent's new album and tour. He's getting more famous by the second and everyone wants a piece of him. Luckily, I'm the only one who recognized your house because right now they're trying to create a story about him having a secret girlfriend or family."

This was giving Courtney an even bigger headache. Sometimes she forgot about how famous Trent got again because she was used to him just being her fellow washed-out reality TV star. If performing at Trent's show was a step toward good publicity, this was definitely ten steps backward.

"Just.. tell them that Trent and I are collaborating on music," Courtney sighed. It was the first thing she could come up with.

"You and Trent are doing a collab?!" Heather squealed.

"Well, I agreed to go on his show this Saturday," Courtney revealed slowly.

" Perfect, I'll let all the right people know. There might still be some trashy tabloid saying that you and Trent are secretly dating, but no one reads that garbage anyway. They know my reports are more legit."

Before Courtney could say anything else, Heather had already hung up. Hurricane Heather leaves just as quickly as she came.

Courtney decided to call Trent to let him know what was happening.

Being the good guy that he was, he was extremely apologetic for getting caught leaving her house at a strange time. He promised that he would be more careful next time so that he wouldn't inconvenience her anymore.

"But, I'm really glad that you are fully committing to my show. Do you want to swing by today and work on a set list?" he asked after they talked everything through.

Courtney didn't have any other plans for the day and if she was going to be on a show, regardless of how 'small' or 'casual' it was, she wanted it to go well. "Yeah, I'll go. Text me the address."

"Great, let me know when you're on the way."

Courtney found it easy to work with Trent. He listened to all of her ideas without judgment, and bounced some ideas back at her. Together and in no time at all, they were able to come up with a decent set list and a plan for how they were going to introduce her. She felt that all of the covers that they were doing complimented her voice well, and he agreed to sing her favorite song from his last album, "False Start". The lyrics were definitely inspired by a certain goth girl, but Courtney was respectful enough to not point it out. Plus, it also resonated with her from her experiences with a certain delinquent boy.

"Can I sing the second verse and bridge for False Start?" she had asked during their discussion. "It's my favorite part."

"Sure, Court. You're the guest of honor, whatever you want," Trent said with a smile. "And then we can sing the chorus together and also the final verse. Don't forget to really convey the pain at the end. Don't be afraid to cry."

Trent was only teasing at the end, but Courtney definitely cried when she heard the song for the first time, not that she would ever admit it.

After they figured out the set list, they began to rehearse some of the songs. Courtney had to admit that they did sound really good together. She always knew that Trent was talented, but she also wondered if he was doing anything to make her sound even better.

"Wanna record a quick video for the fans? Give them a little taste of what to expect this Saturday?" Trent asked, after they finished practicing their last song for the day.

"I don't know…" Courtney replied, not really sure if she was ready for the attention yet.

"Come on, it'll get them hyped up for this Saturday," urged Trent.

"Okay let's do it. But not any of the songs we're doing this Saturday. Something else," she said, after some thought. It couldn't hurt. This was just a small dip back into the world of fame.

They decided to sing a quick 30-second cover of Senorita, and Trent uploaded it onto his social media accounts before Courtney could change her mind.

"There it goes, off to the world," Trent said with a whistle. "Ready for the world, Courtney?"

No, but she was a former CIT-in-training. She could at least pretend that she was ready for anything.