Fireworks 1 and 2

Chapter Fifty-Seven

    Attending the VMAs meant a lot of things. It meant that travel plans would need to be made. The event was being held in Inglewood, California, not that far of a distance, but when traveling with a crew of more than twenty people, traveling down the street could become a hassle. It meant that wardrobe and set approvals would need to be made. It meant seeing familiar faces, faces that he was happy to see and otherwise. Most importantly, this time around, it meant that he would be announcing to the world that he was in a relationship.

    He'd made the snap decision to have Mia on his arm for several reasons - the first being that he was in a relationship. While by now it was no secret to the public that entertainers often pretended to be single when they weren't for marketability purposes, he preferred to live honestly. That mantra didn't end at the lyrics he wrote; it also applied to how he lived his life. He still preferred to keep details of his love life private, but he didn't feel the need to hide his relationships.

    The second reason was a lot more strategic. He knew that if he had Mia on his arm, that news would help to overshadow both stories - the Trevor story and the Vanessa story that online gossip sites were continuing to run. Because the public would be more interested in knowing who Mia was, and why she, out of all of the girls in the world, had been the one to capture his heart.

    He had his team notify MTV that he would attend and perform. He spoke to his crew to determine which of them would go with him, and which would stay so preparations could be made. Because the event was being held rather locally - about 45 minutes away - hotels weren't a necessity. Rather than book rooms, they usually held after parties at his house.

    The next few days were full of planning. Which song he wanted to perform. versus which song MTV wanted him to perform. What he wanted to wear to the event versus what he wanted to wear on stage. Mia needed an ensemble to wear for the event, one that complemented what he would wear to the event.

     He became a juggler of sorts, because he didn't want to neglect the album was working on. He had solid ideas for lyrics, and if he distanced himself too much from the writing to focus on planning for the award show, some of the magic that was beginning to form would be lost. So he sectioned off his days. During the day, he planned and scheduled. Heavily. He worked with his team to get plans solidified and to get those plans communicated to MTV and Viacom. He signed contracts and had to make sure those contracts were delivered to MTV and Viacom. Awards proceedings often looked like nothing but fun and games, when in actuality a great amount of work went into putting them on - on the part of the network televising the event and the artists who participated.

    While his days went to working out the details of his attendance and performance for the VMAs, his nights were spent writing. He would work with Mia until she was too tired to work anymore. When she fell asleep, he continued writing. He refused to fall behind. He believed in Mia's talent. He wanted his album to be infused with her words to help put her on, but he in no way needed her in order to write his music. He didn't need anyone for that. When she was too tired to keep her eyes open, he wrote on his own. He stayed up until crazy hours, while most of the country was still sleeping and right before many started to wake for the start of their day.

    His boys continued to party and live it up. Once in awhile, he'd make his rounds at those parties. Show his face. Rub elbows. Then he secluded himself in the studio, or his bedroom, or whatever space he could find that was quiet, and worked on his music. Noah was as dedicated as he was. Noah would show his face at a party. He might even hang around for a bit, if he needed to blow off some steam or relax. But the studio was a second home to him. Creating magic in the form of beats, and solving musical riddles were how he got his rocks off. The joy he felt when he solved one of those riddles... those moments were a part of what Drake found truly endearing about his dear friend.