holding on • jenzie

1 ⇝ no freaking way

» Success means doing things you don't want to do. «
~ Unknown

「 In which Mackenzie has to write a song about Johnny. 」

Dedicated to: lenzieisreal for assuring that people will actually read this lol x

A/N ~ For the point of this story, I'm pretending that Mackenzie wrote the song 'the heart wants what it wants.'

I will post again when this reaches 50 votes & 20 comments :)

POV: Mackenzie Ziegler
DATE: 1st February 2026

•••

"Mackenzie, for this song, we want to make you look vulnerable. We need to show them; your fans, in the greatest way possible that you are not a little girl anymore. To do that, we need to show that your heart has been broken." My manager, Tim, speaks boldly from across the table.

Meet Tim, my hardworking music manager who's constantly looking for more ways to stretch me. He has latin heritage, meaning his skin glows a deep brown, and has jet black hair to match. He's ripped, rich, and married; the diamond ring on his finger tells me so.

"Absolutely not." I immediately deadpan, looking wildly at all the people in the meeting. "That means that I have to write something about Johnny!"

Meet Johnny, my ex– someone I couldn't hate more if I tried. With chestnut brown hair, brilliant green eyes and a physique good enough to make anyones mouth water, he's nothing short of attractive. After dating on and off for years, we finally called it quits six years ago and I haven't spoken to him since; to say we ended badly would be a huge understatement. I hate him with a burning passion.

The people scattered around the round table avert their eyes away from my face, many of them distracted by the state of the art view over Los Angeles. None of them want to upset me; I could have them fired in seconds.

"Yeah..." Tim trails off, scratching his dark beard sheepishly. "That's kind of the point."

I sigh dramatically, knowing my team only want the best for me. "How is this going to help me? What's your plan?"

Tim now grins, sensing that I might just give in with a little persuasion. "Our plan is is for you to release a hard hitting song that has a hidden meaning about your heart being broken. This would attract older listeners if it was a ballad– definitely, and if you use your full range of vocals could be very emotional."

"Do I have a choice?" I ask amusedly, finally coming around after I hear they want me to write a ballad. I've never been allowed to release a ballad before– my image and music has been solely based around pop for years.

"Not really kiddo." Tim says, standing up out of his chair. "You need to show your fans that you're getting older and you aren't just that little girl from Dance Moms."

"Okay, okay." I smile wistfully, remembering that it has to be written about Johnny. "But does it have to be about you-know-who?"

Tim sends me a disparaging look from across the table and nods his head. "Oh yeah."

Before I can stop myself, I huff in annoyance. Tim chuckles, and a few other people begin to gather up their things– some even running out the door while talking rapidly on their cellphones.