Idolised Lies

Chapter 23: Desperation

There had always been something special about Ruby Diamant, the top idol of her generation, a rare shining light.

But Pencil Sharpe was definitely a close second.

She was a natural leader and whole Ruby was the center of the group, Pencil was the one who kept Free Heart going.

Always bugging the managers about shows and events and the group's image, Pencil knew how the media worked better than anyone and she did everything she could to boost the group's popularity.

That's why she agreed to bring Leafy in after Ruby...

A fresh face was usually good news, someone to interest the fans and bring some younger ones in too.

As much as Pencil thought Leafy was an annoying, ignorant child, she definitely had talent and something about her that was one of a kind.

In many ways, Leafy rivalled Ruby for the sparkle, from the way she danced, the way she played the cameras and the way she smiled, she had something.

That's why she agreed to allowing Leafy to debut.

...

It all had started smoothly, Pencil was able to tolerate Leafy and on camera, they seemed perfectly compatible.

But when Leafy started being giving the center position and her fan numbers were rising, Pencil sensed a threat.

She cared about her group but Leafy's popularity was growing and overshadowing the whole group.

Of course, Pencil felt remorse for the thoughts she had about Leafy and the plan she had set up but something needed to be done in order to protect the status of the group.

Match Streicher was the only person Pencil had told about her plan and being the more humble of the two, Match had tried to convince Pencil to tone down the plan.

But once Pencil had made up her mind there was no changing it, simply forcing Leafy out of the group wasn't enough, that would make them look like the bad guys.

Pencil needed to make sure Leafy was disgraced, that she wouldn't regain her popularity without some kind of miracle.

Of course, she was well aware she wouldn't be able to do it with just Match, she needed someone who wasn't in their circle, someone who everyone would believe...

Pencil saddened as she remembered the heartbroken face of the boy she saw at Ruby's funeral.

Her cousin, Ruby had always spoken so fondly of him and it was obvious she held him in high regard.

Pencil spoke to the boy a few times after the funeral, to see if he was alright because that's what Ruby had asked her to do a few days before all the horrible news started getting out.

It was normally Pencil who would send a quick message and in response she would get a very short text that would usually just say that he was doing alright or whatever.

For the first time, Pencil wasn't the one to send a text, she was rather surprised when she saw the notification but it didn't bother her much.

It was the day Leafy had debuted for Free Heart and even just from reading the text, Pencil could tell this guy was not happy.

When Leafy first joined Free Heart, Pencil hadn't even imagined what kind of popularity Leafy would have so she hadn't viewed her as a threat until about six months later.

It all started after an interview where the host revealed the girls "stats" from an online poll and Leafy was number one.

Throughout that interview, Leafy got the most attention from the host and the audience cheered the loudest for her.