Accidents Happen

Chapter 7

(Skylar's P.O.V)
Once I'm finally released from set, Lisa drives me home and I walk up to the front door, using my key and letting myself in. I trudge into the kitchen, trying to find something for a snack but nothing seems appealing. I sigh and go upstairs, changing my clothes, cleaning off my makeup and pulling my hair into a messy bun. I look at the time and internally groan. It was already 4:00a.m. and Lisa would be here at 9:30 for yet another meeting. I walk to bed and slip under my covers, turning the lamp off and plugging in my phone, seeing a text from Ricky.
'I'm not mad at you. I promise. I know how tough this business is. I'll see you soon?' I smile and start texting back.
'Good, I was worried you would be. That'd be fun! Goodnight.' I lock my phone and lay it on my bedside table, rolling over and closing my eyes, glad the day was finally over.

(Ricky's P.O.V)
'Good, I was worried you would be. That'd be fun! Goodnight.' I read the text and respond with a simple 'goodnight.' Joby had told us earlier that we have a meeting tomorrow. Not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous. Okay, a lot nervous. I have no idea what it could possibly be about, but I had a funny feeling about it that made my stomach hurt. I lay on my back and stare at the ceiling for what feels like hours, and it quite possibly could've been. I eventually get tired enough and I close my eyes, slowly drifting into a deep sleep.

(Skylar's P.O.V)
The sound of my alarm brings me from my slumber and I open my eyes, looking at the time. I sigh and sit up, turning the alarm off and rubbing my eyes. I get up and go into the bathroom, taking a shower and changing into my outfit for the day. I decided to wear jeans and a concert shirt with Converse. Simple, but still chic enough for a meeting. I do my makeup and curl my hair, grabbing my sunglasses from the sink and putting them on my head and grabbing my phone, going downstairs and into the kitchen.
"There's our star!" My dad says proudly.
"Huh?" I ask looking at him like he has three heads.
"You're a star now! You were all over the news after last nights set shoot." My mom says to me.
"Oh. I am?" I ask, barely believing them.
"Check your twitter." My mom says and I take my phone out, opening twitter and going to my page.
"I jumped to 1 million. In one night?!" I say in disbelief.
"Told you." My dad smiles at me. I half laugh and sit at the table, trying to comprehend this.
"Eat some breakfast. Lisa will be here in 15 minutes." My mom says to me, putting a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me. I put my phone down and start eating.
"How was set last night?" My dad asks me curiously.
"It was good. We got the first scene in one take." I say happily, making him smile.
"I always knew you could do it." He says proudly.
"You did?" I ask him, not meaning to have said it out loud.
"I know. I haven't shown it." He admits, sighing and looking at me. I hear a horn honk and I get up, putting my plate in the sink. Just in time.
"Bye!" I yell to my parents, rushing out the door and down the sidewalk to Lisa's car. I get in and out my seat belt on.
"Good morning, Ms. Hollywood." She smiles at me.
"Good morning." I smile as she starts the drive into the city. I look out my window and see the same building we went to last night and I start to get a weird feeling about this. I wait until Lisa parks the car and I get out, following her inside. I start to get extremely nervous and I look around us, everything normal, just like it was last night. Lisa opens the door to the same office and the talking inside stops as I come in, stopping dead in my tracks. Oh no. What's this about?
"Skylar!" Ricky says happily, looking at me.
"Um, hi." I say, looking at Emery and Liam.
"Don't worry. This will all be cleared up shortly." Simon says to us. I sit in the free chair beside Emery and I look at him. He shrugs and looks back at Simon.
"So, Skylar? Last night you went to set and things really took off for you. You now have over a million followers on all platforms, and quite impressively have had the biggest jump of the year." Simon begins, reading over a paper on his desk.
"How should I put this, boys? You only have one single. And it remained at the top for one week only. The thing is, if you want to continue with this label, your sales have to go through the roof. Now, is where you both come in." Simon says and I take a deep breath.
"Skylar, you're going to have to fake a relationship with Emery." Simon says looking at me.
"What?!" All of us say at the same time, looking at each other.
"You and Emery must fake a relationship in order for them to remained signed." Simon explains to us.
"You've gotta be kidding me." Liam says to him, making him shake his head.
"No. This is 100% real and only you will be able to pull it off." Simon says, sitting back in his chair. I look at the floor and collect my thoughts, still feeling like the air had been sucked right out of the room.
"We barely know each other. How are we gonna pull this off?" Emery asks looking at Simon.
"You will learn everything about each other and hang out every day for a month. Get rumors spinning around. Then, in a month, you'll announce it. And if you don't, you'll be dropped and you'll lose your movie." Simon says, pointing to each of us.
"Um, is there anything else we could do? Maybe advertising?" Ricky asks, his voice sounding strained.
"See, Ricky. You guys don't have a budget. So it's either this or nothing happens. You guys choose." Simon says, making them sigh.
"I'm sorry, Skylar." Emery says to me.
"It's not your fault. What do we have to sign?" I ask looking at Simon. He smiles and slides a contract to me.
"You two can go." He says to Ricky and Liam. Liam gets up and walks to the door, Ricky stays in his seat, acting as if he's hypnotized. Emery and I sign the contract and I look at Ricky, motioning for him to follow me. He gets up and slowly walks behind me.
"I can't believe that just happened." I say, looking at the carpet as we walk.
"Tell me about it. Are we really that bad?" Emery asks, all the boys looking at me.
"No! I've seen videos from last night and you guys killed it! What he doesn't understand is this crap takes time." I say, feeling angry and over emotional.
"I guess we have to leave you two alone now." Liam says, stopping in the lobby.
"Have fun." Ricky smiles at me.
"Totally. Because faking things is fun." I sigh, looking at him.
"You'll be okay. You got this." He smiles, punching my arm lightly. I smile and punch him back, his smile growing.
"See you later." He says, turning and walking away with Liam. Well, this sucks.

(Ricky's P.O.V)
'Fake a relationship with Emery.' Those words keep replaying my head like some kind of never ending, stupid song. The more time I spend thinking about it, the less excited I feel, I start to feel mad, confused and mainly hurt. Not because of the dating thing, but because Simon doesn't have faith in us. He made that pretty obvious when he was talking about our "budget".
"Are you hungry, Ricky?" Liam asks me curiously.
"No. I'm okay." I say, leaning my head against the back seat. He nods and orders food, giving me plenty of time to space out. Eventually my emotions get the better of me and I'm forced to fall asleep, the words Simon said still a constant reminder that I'm nowhere near making it.