Mindblown

Chapter Twelve

A/N: Here you go, I know I left you guys hanging last week, even though they did technically already kiss... anyways, here's the aftermath...

Chapter 12

Avi sneaks in through the door to his apartment. Esther is always asleep by 10:30, it is just past 11. He stays as quiet as he can until he hears a door slam open.
     "Oh no," he mutters. He comes face to face with a glaring Esther.
     "Where have you been?"
     "Why do you need to know?"
     "Because I've been worried, were you at Kirstie's still? You better not have been."
     Avi's eyes narrow, "What's so bad about being at Kirstie's?"
     "She isn't good for you, that girl has so much bad publicity it's a nightmare. You do not need that, you shouldn't be involved with that."
     "Then I guess it sucks for you to know that I am involved with that, with her. I like Kirstie, I like her a lot and there's nothing you can do about it."
     Esther shakes her head, "You can't be serious."
     "Serious enough to sleep with her."
     Her eyes widen, "No."
     "Yep, why would I lie to you Es. Now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go to bed since I'm incredibly worn out from this afternoon." He pushes past her.
     "Why are you being such a smart-ass," she spins around.
     "Because you're being a pain in my ass," he replies, walking into his room and slamming the door behind him.

###

Kevin walks into the orange room and has to do a double take. He looks over at Avi and Kirstie, she was almost sitting on him. Her arm is draped over his shoulders, playing with the curls of his hair that was out beneath a backwards snapback. Her other hand rests on his leg as they lean over the laptop in front of them. He can't quite see Avi's arm, but can only assume it's around Kirstie.
     He turns to Esther, "When did that happen?" He whispers.
     "A couple of days ago, I'm surprised he hasn't told you. He practically screamed it in my face."
     Kevin frowns, Avi usually tells him everything. "This is why he said yes to singing the song with her isn't it?"
     "The very reason," she nods.
     "Well we'll have a hit, but I'm still surprised, Kirstie is the last girl I ever thought I'd see him with."
     "Tell me about it," Esther mutters. "And since when does he wear his hair out, it's been two days and look what she's done to him," she gestures over at her brother.
     "It's not so bad, I wear snapbacks, what are you trying to say Esther?" Kevin raises an eyebrow.
     "Yeah but you look better in them than he does, what he really needs is a haircut. I'm gonna have to book that," Esther pulls out her phone. "Avi when are you free for a haircut?"
     Avi replies without looking up, "Whenever."
     "No, don't cut your hair," Kirstie pouts.
     "Yeah don't cut my hair," he briefly looks up at Esther who slams her phone down and spins in her chair no longer wanting to look at anyone.
     "Esther you can't be like this every time he dates someone," Kevin lowers his voice again.
     "I'm not doing anything."
     "Yes you are, you pretend to hate them so they break up with him then he comes to you all upset and you get to look after him. You doing that is why everyone thinks Avi is this super lonely sad-sack that doesn't date. He dates but no one knows because it doesn't last longer than a month," he hisses, "So stop it."
     She turns to him with her arms folded, "There's only been three."
    "Yeah and you did that to all of them, which I couldn't believe at the time since Kate was your best friend. Then you hurt Aleen and Nicole in your power-trip and now I'm gonna make sure you don't do the same to Kirstie."
     "Power-trip, please," Esther scoffs.
     Kevin gets louder as he gets angrier, "I'm serious Esther, try and be nice for once in your life!"
     Esther reels back, unable to respond.
     "Hey!" Avi stands up, "Don't you talk to my sister like that."
     Kirstie's publicist and manager Candice walks through the door, oblivious to the tension and stops anything else from being said.
     "Sorry I'm late, but let's get this thing sorted," she finally looks up from her phone. "Did I miss something?"
     "Is your hair green?" Avi asks with wide eyes.
     "Yes, can you not see that?" Candice looks around the room at the others, confused by Avi.
     "Sit down," Kirstie pulls him back down beside her.
     "They're just going to record the song Candice, there's not much to sort out," Kevin tells her as he switches over to business mode. "The song is for Kirstie's album, and she will not lose any of her profit, Avi's per cent is coming from the company's since we asked him to write with her."
       "She gets her full forty?" Candice confirms.
      Kevin nods.
      "Forty what?" Avi asks.
      "Per cent," Kirstie turns to him with a smile.
      "You only get forty per cent of your album profits?" he asks in disbelief. "I get seventy of mine."
      "What!" Kirstie yells. "How is- Wh- Candice!"
      "How the hell did you get seventy?" Candice pushes past Kevin to get to Esther.
      "I am clearly a much better negotiator," she half laughs.
      "It's not funny Esther," Avi tells her.
      Kirstie walks over to her record producer, "Kevin I got over my last bitch fit about my contract, but this one has to be changed right now or I am definitely not singing another word for you ever again."
     "You do know that I don't make the final decision right? And this doesn't solve anything I know, but Kirstie you still make more money than Avi does. Your album outsells ten to his one, you fill arenas, he plays theatres," Kevin reasons.
      "Is my percentage smaller because I'm a woman?"
      Kevin speaks quickly, "No, absolutely not. Your percentage is smaller because the label does more for you than we do for Avi. Pop sells, what he's doing doesn't, at least not in comparison. Kirstie do you understand what I'm saying."
     "That I'm to useless and stupid to be worth the percentage he is," she storms out of the room.
Kevin runs his hand down his face with a sigh. "This is where her boyfriend goes and sees if she's alright."
      Avi nods slowly before he clicks, "Oh, me," he runs from the room.
     "There you go Esther, he literally just confirmed it," Kevin says.
     "Shit," she drops back into her seat with her head in her hands.
     "Kirstie hasn't tweeted it, can't be true," Candice speaks with a shrug, buried in her phone again.
     "If Kirstie has any respect for Avi then she won't tweet it all Candice," Kevin tells her.
     "Yeah right, I'd take a bet on that one," she laughs.

Avi slides down the wall to sit next to Kirstie in her spot just down the hall.
     "You're not useless, or stupid."
     "I obviously am, I hired a manager who couldn't even get me fifty per cent Avi," she rests her chin on her knees.
     Sliding closer to her, he wraps an arm around her shoulders, "So you're telling me, you're only in this for the money, that you're not making music to make others smile? I've always thought that music is about bringing light to others; getting paid to do that is just a bonus."
     "How do you even know what light you're bringing them? You don't talk to them."
     "If they come to my shows they do, I talk to the ones who wait out by the backdoor because they're ones who my music has touched the most. I don't even have to do much talking, they're happy to do it all, they tell me how much a song meant to them or how it helped them get through something, that is what it's about for me."
     "See, I am stupid, I didn't even think about all that. Not that my fans say that kind of stuff to me, they just want pictures or to know where I bought my shoes. My lyrics aren't mine."
     "Then I'll help you make your own lyrics."
     "But they still won't be mine if you help me."
     "No Kirst, I'm not gonna write them with you, you're gonna write them and then you'll show them to me. I'll critique and give pointers but they'll be your words."
     "But I suck at it."
     "Well you gotta practice, I wrote some shit songs before I got to my good ones. And even now I still do, why do you think it took me three years to get my album out?" he chuckles.
     "So you're saying that you have more songs than just what's on your album?"
     "So many more," he nods. "I could put out three albums tomorrow if I wanted to, but I don't. And that's because those songs don't mean anything to me. How can I think they'll mean something to somebody else if I don't put as much effort into them and don't care about them as much as I do my other songs, right?"
      "Well none of my music means anything, so I don't relate to that Avi."
      "But you will, you'll start writing and you'll end up with a portfolio of songs you can pick and choose from in no time," he smiles at her.
     Kirstie nods along, even if she still doesn't believe herself.
     "There we go," he presses a kiss to her cheek and pulls her to her feet. "You wanna get back to the others?"
      She shakes her head, "I'd rather go home. I'll see you later yeah?"
     "Of course," he replies. "Bye."
     Kirstie walks off down the hall. She passes the recording studio on her way out and has to stop. Her and Avi will be in here tomorrow, late tomorrow after they'd finish sorting the melody for their lyrics, she figures it will take at least that long with Avi.
     But that's not why she stops; she swears it's her ex-songwriter May-Luna Evans in there. But not just in the room, she's always in the room with her lyrics, but in the booth and behind the microphone.
      May doesn't sing though does she?

A/N: Do you all remember May?? Also yay for Kavi, and sorry Esther's so mean but sometimes it has to be done :P

Hope you enjoyed,

Hannah :)