𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩 • 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘴

superstar

in which nini achieves her dreams... but it's more sour than sweet

"nini? nini??"

the brunette widened her eyes in surprise - she had just zoned out and shamefully forgot that she was in the east high bomb shelter.

it was easy for her to forget though. she was sitting alone against a corner, adjacent to the fun being had. the feeling had become common.

despite that, she managed to put on a smile easily since faking one was common in her new life too. "ashlyn, hey!"

"it's kinda crazy," the red-haired fellow songwriter said casually, sitting down beside her.

"you mean big red being obsessed with playing olaf or ej playing kristoff and not hans?"

"both are surprising," ashlyn chuckles. the two of them watch gina, big red, and ej practice the 'in summer' song number. "but actually i was talking about you."

nini looked at her friend in surprise.

"honestly, i didn't think you'd still be here," ashlyn explains, lowering her voice. "you're a superstar, neens. didn't you literally attend the vmas last week and win—"

"i—"

"it must be tiring... having to go around the world and come back to salt lake city just to attend some classes? i just wonder—not that i want you to leave, i love that you're here—why aren't you in la, taking homeschool?"

nini's eyes darted around the room as her thoughts ran all over the place as well.

her situation was... unique.

she was supposed to move to la. she was supposed to become homeschooled. she was supposed to leave salt lake behind for the sake of her dreams.

but her plans changed.

after beauty and the beast, she worked with jamie all summer on music. she was very much inexperienced and didn't know what she was doing, but she had fun and learned a lot. she didn't expect jamie to actually propose releasing her music out into the world; but it happened. and she agreed.

that was when her life changed.

it only felt right for her to debut with "the rose song". it was what inspired her to pursue music in the first place, and it held a special place in her heart. from being a semi-viral smash in utah, it became a viral smash everywhere. it was unprecedented, and frankly unexplainable - she was absolutely speechless. in a good way.

until the rumours started.

nina salazar-roberts' smash hit shades her childhood-friend-turned-ex-boyfriend...

east high students confirm the high school romance and break-up that everyone is talking about...

richard bowen was a manipulator...

new sensation nina releases the best revenge on ex boyfriend...

the rose song was about the beast controlling the rose - richard 'ricky' bowen was the true beast...

the media attention spiraled into something she never would have expected.  the story would have never gotten out of hand if only the east high students who knew her kept their mouths shut on social media.

the label she signed onto told her to say nothing. "it isn't worth addressing, it's not a big deal, it'll blow over," they said. and she believed them. at first, she thought it wasn't that bad. because the song was about ricky. it wasn't like she could deny it.