Shattered

Chapter 1:

7 months earlier....

"You're insane."

"You're actually fucking insane."

The group stared blankly at the pair, shocked by the recent news that was broken to them. Griffin felt himself tense up under their glares. He knew the idea sounded stupid, and he wasn't exactly sure how his friends would react, but he didn't think that their stares alone would make him reconsider his decision. He looked over at his coworker, wondering if she knew what to say to make them sound at least somewhat reasonable.

Arilyn sighed, and then looked at the table around her, each of them with different facial expressions. Joshua seemed to be on the verge of laughter, Damien silently stared at them, and Faith seemed severely confused. While Danielle seemed to remain neutral, Iris' eyes were filled with disagreement. She always thought she knew what was best for the artists. Apparently, this wasn't it.

"We know it sounds really dumb, but think about it," Arilyn started.

"What is there to think about?" Iris interrupted. She then sighed before she continued: "I just...I can't even tell if you're being serious right now or-"

"We're being dead serious." Griffin stated, looking his childhood friend directly in the eye. Iris seemed to stiffen in her chair.

"Well then I don't know what got into your heads to make you think that a reality show is a good idea. You two are top charting music artists, two time Grammy winners, people all over the planet know your names. Reality TV is just a bunch of talentless dorks who are desperate to be famous, and you guys are better than that. You're already so far out in the world and-"

"Can you let us explain for a minute?" Arilyn blurted out, catching the attention of the others. She took a deep breath to gather her patience. As much as the vocalist loved Iris, there were times where her so-called reasonings would get in the way of the explanation. It always seemed like she had something more to say to make the brunette feel stupid. "There's a reason we want to do this, and it isn't to destroy our reputation. In all honesty, I've wanted to do something different like this for years now. Griffin and I have talked about the idea before, but there was always this voice in my head telling me that nothing would be wise to pursue-"

"You weren't wrong to think that," Iris interrupted.

Arilyn rolled her eyes. "When I saw a reality show for singers advertised in the paper, I thought that maybe it'd be worth a shot. We're both aware that it'll definitely be risky, but maybe that's a good thing."

"We've been releasing albums for years now, and no matter what we do, the press and our fanbase always want more from us." Griffin continued. "It's tiring, and we want a break from it." Griffin sighed as he saw no change in the group's facial expressions. "Look at it like this: ever since we released Sabotage, the media hasn't gotten off of our butts."

"I mean, does the media ever get off your butts?" Danielle asked as she dug through her bag, searching through her belongings to find her vape. She was about to inhale, before she was interrupted by Iris's dead cold glare.

"What?" She asked.

"Can you not right now? It isn't the time for that."

"And why does that matter to you?"

Iris rolled her eyes as Danielle inhaled the substance and looked over at the singers across from her. "Seriously, the press has been a part of your lives since you were teens. Look at you right now, you can't even sit outside a damn coffee shop without having to cover up." Arilyn started to wring out her hands, which looked significantly shaded with the sunglasses she always wore when out in public. "Why is it a problem now?"