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JAXON HAD BEEN DREADING this moment all morning. sitting in the corner of the band's favorite rehearsal space, he watched as ross casually strummed a guitar riff, jack messed around with some synth settings, and dylan scrolled through his phone. they had no idea what was about to hit them.
he hadn't even wanted to tell them in person. it would've been easier to let their manager handle it or drop the news in a group chat, but this was too big to ignore. not only was the collab with sabrina official, but it was about to get public real fast. and if he didn't tell them, the news would hit social media, and then he'd never hear the end of it.
"hey," jaxon said, standing up and clearing his throat. "we need to talk."
"oh god," ross groaned, already sensing the seriousness in jaxon's tone. he leaned the guitar against the wall, crossing his arms. "what now? are we getting dragged into more rumors?"
jaxon rubbed the back of his neck. "kinda. but, uh, this time... it's real."
the band stopped what they were doing, all eyes on jaxon. dylan raised an eyebrow. "what do you mean 'real'?"
jaxon exhaled, knowing there was no easy way to say this. "we're doing a collab."
ross looked unimpressed. "okay, and?"
"with sabrina carpenter."
for a second, no one said anything. the room went dead silent, and then, predictably, all hell broke loose.
"you're kidding, right?" jack said, his voice rising as he broke into a wide grin. "you're collabing with the girl the internet thinks you're dating?"
"oh, this is too good," dominic added, laughing as he leaned back in his chair. "our frontman is about to do a duet with his 'girlfriend.' love it."
"first of all, she's not my girlfriend," jaxon snapped, his frustration flaring up. "and second, this wasn't my idea. our management is pushing it because of the rumors."
ross snorted. "bro, you might as well lean into it. jabrina is real, and now you're literally doing a track together. if the internet was shipping it before, they're gonna lose their minds now."
"yeah, I saw that fan edit," jack said, still grinning. "dude, you're all over social media."
jaxon groaned, pacing the room. "you think I don't know that? this whole thing is a nightmare. I just want to get through the collab without everyone thinking we're in some fairytale romance."
ross, always the instigator, leaned forward, a mischievous glint in his eye. "so, what's the plan? romantic ballad? or are we going full Fleetwood Mac vibes?"
"shut up," jaxon muttered, though he couldn't help the small smile tugging at his lips. his bandmates were relentless, but at least they weren't making this worse than it already was. "we're supposed to meet in the studio today. so, yeah... brace yourselves."
