𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆 , 𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘴

chapter one | fantastic first impression

            IT WAS AN ordinary day in the studio. Y/n has been writing music with her team, trying to get everything ready to start recording her new album. The numbers on her last album were kind of low, so she immediately started working on an even better one. She made sure to put her heart and soul into it.

Just to make this writing session better, her best friend, Abby Anderson, was in the room. She was always with Y/n. They were inseparable. They would tell each other everything; they trusted each other.

"Alright everyone, let's call it a day and come back tomorrow." Y/n spoke up as she stood up from her spot. She smiled at everyone as they walked out, soon leaving her and Abby alone.

Once the door shut, she let out a sigh and began packing her things. "That's amazing so far; what song was that again?" Abby asked curiously, a smile plastered on her face. "More importantly, is it about me?"

This is what their dynamic was like. They would jokingly flirt with each other all the time. They never knew when that started.

"Of course it is." She joked, soon returning the smile. "To answer your other question, it's called From The Start."

Once she saw an accepting nod from Abby, she let out a laugh before making their way toward the door. Before she could put her hand on the doorknob, the door swung open to reveal her manager, Scarlett. She didn't have a meeting planned for today. Why is she here?"

"I'm so glad I caught you in time," Scarlett said with a tone of relief, soon noticing the other person in the room. "Always a pleasure to see you, Abby." She then turned back to her client. "We have to go to my office; there's business to discuss."

Without asking any questions, the two friends followed behind her. They looked at each other with curious yet concerned expressions on their faces. Neither of them knew what this was about. However, it's safe to assume it had something to do with the decline in streams and record sales.

For all they knew, her marketing team and Scarlett could have talk show interviews lined up for her, or maybe she would be performing somewhere. There's nothing to worry about; that's what she hoped for anyway.

She had to be careful, though. She didn't want to jinx anything.

While Y/n was writing music, Ellie was on the basketball court, practicing for her next game. She needed as much practice as she could get. For the past couple of games, she hasn't done very well, and people are starting to notice. She's been reading all the posts and articles about herself; that's the worst decision she's ever made.

To make it even worse, her manager and coach have been reading them too. So has her father, Joel Miller. She pretty much thought everyone was disappointed in her. She knew her coach was disappointed.

After one last attempt at a three-point shot, she quit for the day and walked off the court. She was out of breath, and sweat dripped down her body. She'd been practicing for hours. She was ready to pass out and go to sleep. At that moment, her coach walked in. It took her too long to notice her manager behind him.

Once she noticed her manager, she knew nothing good could come from this. Her basketball career could be over before she can fix it. "Just finish working on those three-pointers, Williams?" Her coach was questioned as he approached his former star player.

"Yes, coach." She replied as she wiped the sweat off her face with her towel. "Can I ask what this is about?" She asked, referring to her manager being there.

"We have a meeting to attend." Her manager stated it with a serious tone. She meant business; there was no room for jokes with her. Ellie was convinced that she didn't know what fun was. "Hopefully, this will help people forget all the things being said about you. Now, come on, we have to go."

"Can I at least shower first?"

"No time, let's go." She demanded it and walked off. She let out a sigh before following her manager to the car.

She would be lying if she said she wasn't concerned about all of the secrets. All she wished for was that she didn't have to do anything stupid. The last thing she wanted to do was look stupid.

That wouldn't help her case at all.

She had enough people criticizing her every move; she didn't need people added to the list. Although she had no idea what was going on, she knew she had to be more trusting of people. Realistically, she had to trust her manager more.

This probably won't be as bad as she thought it would be.

It's been an hour, and Y/n is still waiting in her manager's office. She tried asking to figure out what this was about, but she ended up asking so much that her manager ended up waiting outside. Y/n realized she probably would have done the same thing.

None of her questions are being answered, which just forces her to believe that she is being fired. She couldn't imagine how she'd feel if she was fired before she could fix her problem.

She'd probably feel like a failure.

"I don't think you're being fired or whatever," Abby admitted, soon earning a look from her friend. She always knew when Y/n would overthink something like this; it happens a lot. "This could just be one of those progress report-type meetings. They weren't so bad in school; I'm sure it's fine now." She reassured.

"That's the thing; we're not in school anymore." She spoke with some type of attitude. Honestly, she wasn't sure what she was feeling; it was a combination of things. "I just want to know who the hell we're waiting on."

As if on cue, her manager walked back in with two people she'd never met before. One was dressed almost exactly like Scarlett, so it was safe to assume that they were someone's manager. The other looked to be a little shorter than Y/n, she was wearing a basketball jersey and shorts, and she had Auburn hair and green eyes. It also appears that she has a tattoo of a moth with a fern.

If she was being honest, it was a cool tattoo. More importantly, what's an athlete doing in a music manager's office?

"Now, your questions can be answered," Scarlett said before sitting on her chair. She motioned for the visitors to sit before continuing. "I know you two have a lot of questions, and we're going to answer them all right now." She then earned a nod from who Y/n thought was the athlete's manager. "Both of your careers are falling apart right now. Y/n, your streams and record sales are at a new low for you. Ellie, you're not doing so well on the court, and people are noticing. So, we've got together and come to a solution to get your popularity back to where it's supposed to be."

Now the athlete has a name, Ellie. It's a pretty name.

"You two will be fake dating for a while, just until music is released and points can be scored on the court." Ellie's manager finally spoke up, causing them to look at their managers with looks that showed they thought that this was a joke. "This seems silly, but it's effective for what we're trying to achieve. We need you two back in the spotlight, and for the right reasons."

"Hell no." Ellie was the first to speak between the two. That caught Y/n off guard. She's never gotten a reaction like that before. "I'm putting in the practice, and that should be enough. This whole plan is fucking stupid; I'm not doing it."

"You don't get a choice in this. The goal is to make it seem like you've been together for a while, so you two better get to know each other because it's happening."

Y/n watched as Ellie stood up and left the room, slamming the door behind her. What's her problem?

"Excuse her, she's going through some stuff. We'll keep in touch." Ellie's manager said before shaking her hand and leaving.

She's only been around her for five minutes, and she already doesn't like her. This is going to be a long couple of months.

————————
brooke speaks!

i wrote this in like
two days, i'm so
proud of it. i'm
sorry to cat for
making her wait
in a fortnite lobby
while i type this up.
anyway, hope there's
no mistakes!