I was currently on tour. I was working on my album. I sat in my hotel trying to write some songs. James and I had broken up a few weeks ago and I was pretty sure that I was starting to get over him. The thing that I really wasn't getting over was Max. I still couldn't believe that she had just left even though that was months ago. I turned on the radio and I couldn't help but hear "Maps" was playing. They asked me to write an alternate version to be about a relationship because that would be more marketable. I would try to get the original version as a bonus track at least.
"And that was everyone's favorite new artist Zoey Martin with her hit single 'Maps.'." JoJo on the radio declared. "In fact, just this week she officially has a top ten song."
I wanted to be proud of my success, but I was a little upset that I didn't have anyone to share it with. I didn't have my best friend or my boyfriend, so things couldn't help but feel a little bit empty. All of a sudden, I was broken out of my thoughts by the phone ringing. It was the label.
"Hello Zoey." The voice declared. It was Arthur Griffin, the president of the label. I was probably one of the only artists that he spoke to directly.
"Hi Arthur…" I answered a little bit uneasily. I had a feeling that he wanted something from me or he wouldn't have called me. "What can I do for you?"
"It's almost done." I explained.
"Well I'm going to need a favor from you. I want you to do a duet with a male singer." He explained. "Right now you're the girl next door that everyone loves and I really like that appeal for you, but we need to appeal to your romantic side."
"I don't really know anyone that I want to sing with." I admitted. I hadn't met a lot of other singers and I assumed that they wanted me to sing with someone close to my age. I could sing with Miley's boyfriend, but I was pretty sure that they wanted me to have a bigger name than him.
"Well fortunately for you, I happen to have a new group that I think you could sound great with." He explained. "Have you ever heard of Big Time Rush?"
"Vaguely." I answered. I had seen them on the charts a few times, but I didn't really know them. I knew that they were a boy band even know that I thought that those were over. "Do you want me to sing with all four of them?"
"No I just want you to sing with one of them, but we'll need to figure out which one you have the most chemistry with." He explained. I supposed that I could do, even though there wasn't really a guarantee that I would sound good with any of them.
"I guess I can do that." I agreed. You really couldn't say no when the record company wanted you to do something early in your career. It probably would be a good idea for me to step outside of my comfort zone because I hadn't ever done a duet with anyone. I also was pretty sure that because I was doing a duet with another artist that it was pretty much guaranteed to be released as a single.
So during a week where I didn't have any shows, I was flown to Los Angeles where I was supposed to meet the band. I would be staying in this apartment complex that they lived in called The Palm Woods. As soon as I got there, I was hounded by screaming fans.
"Everyone get away from her." My bodyguard declared. "If anyone decides to treat her differently than they would any other guest, there will be consequences. She is here to talk to Big Time Rush and their associates and only them. Everyone else needs to leave her alone."
I didn't know who Big Time Rush's associates were. I couldn't help but wonder if this was really the best way to get to know them. It probably would have been a better idea to let us go into a room somewhere.
"Hello, Zoey." The tall one with brown hair greeted me. "My name is James Diamond, but I'm sure that you already knew that I think that I would be a great boyfriend for you."
I supposed that I shouldn't have been surprised that they were flirting with me. James actually reminded me a lot of how I used to be. I wondered if he would end up pissing off a witch and get turned into a girl as well.
"Um thanks, but I'm here because I need a duet partner, not a boyfriend." I declared. "I think I'm going to go to my room."
"Let me take you there." This shorter Hispanic guy told me. He was only a few inches taller than I was. "I'm Carlos Garcia and I would be a great duet partner/boyfriend."
I couldn't help but sigh. I never knew how annoying that was. I was always pretty sure that these guys wanted to get into my pants.
"Look guys, I just got out of a relationship a few weeks ago and I'm not really looking for anything right now. The song is a breakup song anyway." I explained. I then walked off to my room. So far, this really wasn't going that well.
So far this idea seemed like a disaster. I at least had the song finished. I would have to figure which parts each of us would be singing, but I would probably have to figure out who I was singing with first.
After a little while, I decided to go down to the pool. It seemed like the residents understood that they weren't supposed to talk to me because they looked away or ran away when I walked by. It did mean that I got the pool basically all to myself. I jumped in and began to swim. I then got out so I could try to work on my tan a little, even though I didn't know I was even capable of doing so considering how pale I was. I then noticed that I wasn't alone. One of the guys was there. It was the blonde one. I decided to approach him even though I wasn't sure if it was the best idea. I took a seat next to him.
"Hey." I greeted him.
"Hi." He retorted.
"I'm Zoey." I introduced.
"I'm Kendall." He responded before he looked back at his book.
"So I'm surprised that you're not flirting with me like your friends were." I commented. I then realized something about boybands and whispered. "You're not gay, are you?"
"No I'm not. I actually just got out of a relationship myself not that long ago and I can respect that you want some space." He remarked.
"What happened? If you don't mind me asking." I questioned. I realized that he could tell me that it was none of my business and he would be right about it.
"Well neither of us really did anything. She's an actress and she had to leave for a movie that was shooting in New Zealand." He explained.
"That sucks. What's her name?" I asked. I couldn't help but wonder if she was in anything that I had seen.
"Her name is Jo Taylor." He declared. "I miss her a lot. So do you want to talk about what happened with your boyfriend?"
"Neither of us did anything bad either. I had just started touring while he was going to college. We really couldn't handle the distance anymore." I told him. "I guess it's not much different than your situation except for the fact that he wasn't famous. You know it's been really good talking to you."
"You too. I've never really been able to talk to someone who was going through the same things that I was." He replied. "So you look really pretty."
"You know I could go get dressed and we could go up to my room." I remarked before I noticed that he was blushing and then I realized what they sounded like and blushed as well. "I mean to talk about the song. I think that maybe we could record it together since we both know what it's like to break up with someone based on distance."
"I guess I can do that." He agreed. "What room are you in?"
I gave him my room number so no one else could hear it. I didn't know if they would try to come but they might. Later, I was dressed in some casual clothes when he knocked on the door.
"Hey." I greeted him. "I hope it's not too weird that we're doing this. I didn't even really want to do this duet. The label basically wants me to do this. I guess something like this could be good for both of our fanbases."
"I just hope the guys aren't going to get jealous about this." He commented. "I don't want anyone to think that I'm going to go on a career of my own. They're my best friends, I would never do that."
"I'm sorry but I have a hard time believing in friends not doing stuff because my best friend did something that I never thought that she would do." I explained. He looked at me. "No it wasn't anything bad. Well she kind of just left. That was why I wanted to do this tour because I was hoping that she would come to one of my shows."
"I'm sorry that happened, but I don't quite get the logic of that." He admitted. "
Why would she decide to come to one of your shows without telling you?"
"I don't know." I answered. "Anyway, the song is called 'Can't Be There to Kiss You'. Here are the lyrics. I don't know what parts you want to sing. I guess I can sing it to you first so you can get the melody."
The time away is tearing us apart
I just want to be wherever you are
As I look at you we both to start cry
I'm sorry I can't be there to kiss you goodbye
"Wow". He commented. "I can't believe that you wrote that yourself. How old are you by the way?"
"I'm 18." I answered.
"Well I can really feel what you were saying there and I even though I was there to kiss Jo goodbye, it made me wish that I could do it again." He told me. "So I have a confession. I checked out your YouTube channel after Griffin told me that you were going to be singing with us. I can see why you're the most subscribed music channel."
"Well I think the fact that my uncle is the lead singer of Coldplay had something to do with that." I pointed out.
"Just being related to someone really can't compare to raw talent." He declared. "Not to mention, I didn't even know who your dad was."
"Maybe we should start to practice and we can figure out which of us should sing what parts." I suggested. I was a little uncomfortable when people gushed about how talented I was.
So we started to sing together and go through some harmonies. I was pretty sure that we were working on the song for hours. I never how much fun it could be to work on music with someone because I had mostly done it by myself. When I finally looked at the clock, I noticed that it was after 10:00.
"Oh wow, I lost track of time." I declared. "Maybe I should walk you back to your room."
"I don't think that's really how it works." He pointed out. I blushed because there were still a few masculine parts of me left.
"What? I can't help a new friend back to his room?" I teased.
"I suppose you can." He replied. "Okay, let's go."
We started to walk back to his room and when we finally got to his room.
"Thank you. I thought that this was going to suck. I can't wait to record with you." I told him.
"I think that we might have a hit on our hands." He agreed. At that point, something expected happened. We both leaned and then we kissed each other. I pulled apart in shock.
"What just happened?" I asked.
"I don't know." He admitted.
"Kendall, I really think that we shouldn't do this. We're both on the rebound and it would be a terrible idea for us to date." I explained.
"Okay. I'm sorry." He agreed. "Maybe it would be best to record in separate rooms. I mean the point of the song is that we're not together, so it would make sense for us to not to be in the same room."
"That's a good idea." I concurred.
I told Arthur that we were ready to record before I hurried back to my own room. I couldn't believe that I had kissed him and the worst part was that I didn't have anyone that I could tell about it. Actually, I supposed that I did. I called her, hoping that she was still up.
"Hello?" She answered.
"Hey Miley, I'm sorry for calling you so late, but you're pretty much the only person that I can call that's still up." I babbled. "I needed to talk to someone."
"Okay. I'm listening. Talk to me." She instructed. "What's up?"
"So my label wanted me to have a duet for my album. Has that every happened to you before?" I questioned.
"I mean yeah my label wanted me to record a song with David Archuleta. I nearly missed prom because of it." She explained. "Anyway, who do they want you to record with?"
"Big Time Rush, well one of the members of the Big Time Rush." I told her. "So I'm here in Los Angeles in this apartment complex where they live."
"Wait, you're in Los Angeles? We need to hang out together." She interrupted.
"I don't know if I'll be able to do that. I might not have the time." I declared. "Anyway as soon as I met them, two of them started to flirt with me but I told them that I was not looking for a relationship. Later, I went to the pool and I met Kendall. We started to talk about our past breakups and I realized that he would be great for the duet because he had been through a lot of the same stuff that I had. So we started working on the song and after a while, I realized it was getting late, so I decided that I should walk him back to his room.."
"As interesting as this is, I can't help but wonder why you felt the need to call me." She commented.
"As soon as we got back to his room, he kissed." I stated.
"Oh. Did you like it?" She asked.
"It doesn't matter if I liked it. I can't start dating someone and it's probably not a good idea for him to do it either." I replied.
"Well if you want my advice…" She started.
"I don't really want your advice. I'm sorry but I just needed to tell someone." I responded. "I'm sorry. Can you please not tell anyone about this? I should get to bed."
I really didn't sleep that well because I was thinking about the kiss. I knew that there was no way that I could date Kendall. I finally did get to sleep around midnight, which really wasn't that helpful considering that I needed to be at the studio at 8:00 AM.
So I was sleepy when I got to the studio. I quickly found out that I did not like LA traffic. We were recording at this studio that was owned by the head of the label Big Time Rush was on: Rocque Records.
"So Zoey and I thought that it would be best if we record in different rooms since the point of the song is that we're not together." Kendall declared.
"Yeah, it adds to the realism." I added.
"Okay, whatever works." Arthur declared. "Oh by the way, Zoey, Big Time Rush will be shooting a video this week and I think that you should play the love interest in it."
"But that song is about Jo." Kendall pointed out.
"And I obviously can't get her to appear in it so we might as well kill two birds with one stone." Arthur explained. It was true that he probably wouldn't be able to get Jo. He might have just been too lazy to cast someone else. Or maybe he wanted to do a sort of double cross-promotion deal. It would only be the second music video that I had ever been in. I also had a feeling this would be a lot less fun because "Maps" had a pirate theme. On top of that, it meant that I would have to spend more time with Kendall.
So we managed to at least record the song without doing it together. We did at least have to listen to the takes together, but we could do that on our headphones. I had to admit that our voices really sounded good together. The other thing on my mind was what James would think when he heard this song. I supposed that I didn't owe him anything, and it wasn't like I was saying anything bad about him.
As it turned out, we would also be filming at the airport that night. I didn't know why they couldn't just use a fake airport, but we were going to a real airport after hours because that particular airport was not open for 24 hours.
The song was called "Worldwide". It was basically going to have me walking through the airport while the guys sang. Interestingly, despite being the one who wrote the song, Kendall had the fewest amount of singing parts.
However, that was only part one of the video. We then went to an old abandoned park because they wanted me and Kendall to film some scenes there from when we were happy as a couple.
"This is going to be weird." I remarked.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think that he would do this." Kendall told me.
"So I don't know when our song is going to be released as a single, but we'll probably have to do a video for that too." I stated. Of course, we might not need to be together for that.
"I guess we can deal with that when we deal with it." He remarked. "Let's just get this over with."
Fortunately, we didn't have to kiss during the filming. I didn't know what I would do about that. I wondered if I would be able to leave early since we had gotten everything done. There was no reason for me to stay the rest of the week, even though the room was rented out.
That morning, I was preparing to go when I saw a girl stop me.
"Um hi." I greeted her. "Who are you?"
"I'm Katie, Kendall's sister." She told me.
"Okay, what do you want?" I asked.
"Well the first thing that I want is your autograph." She declared as she handed me a piece of paper and I signed it for her. It was not the first autograph that I had signed. "And the second thing that I want is for you to give my brother a chance."
"He told you." I replied. I supposed that I shouldn't have been surprised that he would tell his sister about it. "We're all wrong for each other. We both got out of relationships."
"Just because both of you were let down by love doesn't mean that you should let something pass you by." She proposed.
"Did he ask you to talk to me about this?" I questioned.
"Oh no he's too afraid to do this himself." She remarked.
"That's not entirely true." Kendall interrupted. I looked to see him wearing some pajamas. "So it looks like you're leaving."
"Kendall, even if I wanted to be together, I'm still on tour." I pointed out. "I have twenty more shows that I need to perform."
"Zoey I've been thinking and while I don't like how soon it is, I felt a spark when I was with you. I felt the same around Jo. Even though it seems like it would be a bad idea to pursue this. It's probably a worse idea not to." He remarked. "I can try to come to some of your shows. I think we need to give this a chance to see if it goes anywhere."
"I don't know." I admitted as I bit my lip.
"Well how about you kiss me again?" He suggested. "If you don't want to do after that, I'll leave you alone until we have to shoot the video together."
I hesitated, but I went over to kiss him. I then heard clapping. At first I thought it was just Katie, but it was also the guy at the front desk and the janitor. I didn't think that people would care that much, but I supposed that people really seemed to like teenage love…even though we were just experiencing infatuation.
Sure enough, Kendall came to my show in Philadelphia. I had an idea, but I would have to run it by him first.
"So do you want to debut the song tonight?" I asked him after kissing him.
"Are you sure that's okay?" He asked.
"I mean they said that I can sing some songs from the album." I declared. "If you don't want to, we don't have to."
"Okay I guess we can do it." He agreed.
So after the set list was over, I went out for my encore. Max still hadn't come because the tickets I left for her were still there. I was starting to think that I shouldn't expect her anymore. I sighed before I went back onstage.
"Hey, Philadelphia, how are we feeling?" I asked as the crowd screamed. "So I have a special treat for you. I'm going to do a song from the new album, but I'm going to need some help to do this. Please welcome, Kendall Knight from Big Time Rush!"
Kendall walked onto the stage, I didn't think that we should go public as a couple yet.
"This song is called 'Can't Be There to Kiss You.'" I explained before the music started to play and we started to sing.
A few weeks later, I was at my release party for my album Girl in the Mirror. It was really important to me and I had everyone from the label as well as my family there, which included Cody and Bailey. I had Kendall and all of Big Time Rush there as well. The first thing that I did was give Bailey a hug.
"I guess it's easier to hug you like this." I joked. "So how are you feeling? This isn't too hard on your body, isn't it?"
"Well it kind of sucks, but that's what pregnancy is about." She explained. "So I have something that I need to talk to you about. There's this rumor that and Kendall are more than just duet partners."
"Where did you hear that?" I asked. I mean I had heard the rumors but we hadn't done anything to confirm them. We had been very coy with our dates, not going anywhere with people that could tell.
"I mean a lot of places are talking about it. What I want to know is it true?" She asked. I supposed that since Max was gone, she was my best friend now.
"Yes, it's true but don't tell anyone about it. We're not ready to go public with it yet." I told her.
I then went over to Kendall who was all-dressed in his winter gear.
"You're not afraid of the cold, are you Cali Boy?" I teased him.
"No, I'm from Minnesota. I grew up with this kind of weather." He responded. I didn't know that. "So is this where you grew up?"
"Yeah, in this hotel actually." I remarked. "Well minus the year that I was on the S.S. Tipton. I guess I'm ready for a world tour whenever that comes up."
"I haven't done that yet. I'm pretty sure James and Carlos still have to get their passports." He remarked.
"So do you have any concerts coming up? Maybe I could come to one of your shows." I suggested. At that point, both of our phones went off at once and we both looked at it. I had been nominated for some awards. "What was yours about?"
"I just found out that we've been nominated been nominated for Best New Artist at the American Music Awards." He answered. Well that was a bit of a problem.
"Oh…me too." I said awkwardly.
"Congratulations." He told me.
"I just wish that we didn't have to compete against each other." I admitted.
"Look, I'm not going to be upset if you win this." He explained. "To be honest though, I'm not sure either of us can beat Justin Bieber."
I smiled and laughed at that.
"I'm kind of scared what's going to happen when we go public." I declared. "I'm still kind of new to this whole celebrity lifestyle."
"So do you still miss James?" He asked. That wasn't the main reason I was nervous.
"Yeah, but I'm mostly over him. Do you still miss Jo?" I asked.
"I think so, but I'm still getting over and I really do like that I have a new girlfriend, even if I can't see you all the time." He stated.
"Do you think that this is going to be too hard for us. I don't know if I'll be ready to move to California when I'm done with my tour." I admitted as I held my head down.
"We can figure that out if we're still together by then." He promised. It was possible that this could just be a fling. It was still the second-longest relationship that I had ever been in.
"Can I ask you something a little bit weird?" I requested.
"What is it?" He responded.
"Would you mind being in a YouTube video with me?" I requested. "It's kind of this thing that I do. I was a YouTuber before I was an artist."
"What did you want to do?" He asked.
"Maybe we could just sing the song together." I suggested with a blush. "We wouldn't have to kiss or anything. How would feel if I ask my fans to vote for me?"
"I don't think I should be in a video like that." He admitted. "I personally don't care about winning, but it doesn't exactly send the best message."
"You're right." I agreed. "So we can just sing it together."
We went to the media room to shoot the video together.
"Hey, Z-Squad. I have a special guest with me tonight. Please welcome Kendall Knight." I introduced.
"Hi." He said as he waved.
"If you bought my album today or if you went to my Philly show, you would know that Kendal and I have a song together and we're here to sing that for you." I explained.
We sang the song before I put the camera back on me.
"And in case you didn't know, my album Girl in the Mirror is out now." I remarked before I stopped recording.
The next few weeks, I didn't really get to see him that much. Of course, I knew that would change at the award show. I actually had something planned as long as he was okay with it. I was met with as an E! News reporter.
"I'm with America's newest sweetheart Zoey Martin." The reporter declared. "Now tell me Zoey how does it feel to have the number one album in the world right now as well as the top song?"
"I mean it's all just so surreal. I'm just a girl from Boston who knew the right people." I explained.
"So what do you say about the rumor that you Kendall are more than friends?" She asked.
"That's news to me." I joked. "I mean people will believe what they want to."
That night, I was upstage singing my song "Wish You Were Here" because we had planned it as the second single for a while. During the instrument, I went into the crowd and pulled Kendall onto the stage. I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time so I pulled him into a kiss.
Just as Kendall predicted, we both ended up losing the Best New Artist to Justin Bieber. However, I managed to get a surprise at the end of the night. Well it was the second award before the end. I somehow ended up winning the award for Favorite Female Pop/Rock Artist.
"Thank you, I would like to all of my fans and my family and my boyfriend Kendall." I remarked as the crowd cheered at the last part.
Now everyone knew that Kendall was my boyfriend. I couldn't believe that I had found a new love when I wasn't looking for it. This celebrity life was definitely an interesting one. I really liked it and I kind of couldn't wait to see what life would bring for the two of us.
So I know it's like me to write stories like this, especially since I don't really write one-shots anymore. I was just thinking about Zoey and Kendall lately and thought that they would be a nice couple. I do have a plan to resolve the issue with Max in adaptation of Big Time Movie if anyone is interested. All that chorus is completely original as well. Anyway, please don't forget to review.