Jersey

seven

Grayson was now nearing his last show. This time around he'd be sad that it was going to end, but he couldn't be happier. He sat alone in the tour bus, snacking on chips as he watched tv. He hadn't talked to Ellie in a while. She'd been busy finishing up her book to have executives read soon. She was super stressed out, and struggled to find motivation to finish. Gabby knocked on the bus door and Grayson heavily sighed, "Come in."
She walked in, seeing what state he was in.
She groaned, taking away his chips, "This is your fifth bag of chips today. You're getting fat."
He snatched it back, not even looking up at her, "I don't care."
She sighed. Every word Grayson said to her sounded like pure hatred.
"You need to get ready for your interview." She instructed.
"Screw that interview." He said.
Gabby started to get annoyed, "Grayson."
"All their gonna ask about is Lily and Ellie. It's not like they give a crap about how I'm doing." He said, stuffing more chips into his mouth, "I'm not doing it."
"You saw what happened the last time you rebelled, you wanna do it again?" Gabby asked angrily, crossing her arms, "I get that you're pissed at me and everything that's happened, but it's been weeks. The tours almost over, you can go see Ellie again soon."
"Everything's not about Ellie." Grayson fought back, "It's about you, the management. This industry, my career, everything. It all sucks."
Gabby let out a sigh of disbelief, "After everything that's happened, you still don't understand that all of this is for you."
"Funny. Because all any of this has done, is screw me over."
"I'm not doing this with you again." Gabby snapped, "Get your head out of your ass and realize what you've got. This bratty attitude and childish behavior is completely unacceptable."
"You may control my career, but I'll be dammed if i let you control anything else." He snapped back.
Gabby just shook her head, "We're leaving for the interview in an hour. Be ready."
She left the bus, slamming the door behind her.
Grayson just rolled his eyes, chucking the remote across the room. He heavily sighed placing his head in his hands. This? Is not what he signed up for.

Gabby and Grayson drove to the interview in silence. Grayson didn't want to speak to Gabby, and Gabby didn't want to speak to him.
"All of your answers are pre written. Just read the backdrop." She said, ending the conversation there.
Grayson let out a small laugh of disgust. He can't even speak for himself? He should've known.
Entering the building, Grayson was greeted by the staff and interviewer. He didn't mean to come off as rude, but he didn't know how to fake his happiness.
This interview was the first he was doing since all that's happened. He knew lots of people would be watching, and that's what angered him. Lots of people will be watching him put on an act. All they wanna know is the dirt, no one could care less about how he's doing.
"Try not to be such a crab, okay?" Gabby said, urging him to set. He blatantly ignored.

Grayson sat in a chair across from the interviewer who introduced herself as Stacy. He merely smiled as the cameras began to roll.
Ellie was sat in front of her tv, watching the interview closely. Lily was in between dress rehearsals, watching too, intensively.
"Hello. Today I am here with famous singer, Grayson Dolan, who is currently on a world tour. As his last show in South Carolina approaches, we thought we'd sit him down and ask how he's doing. Grayson, what words would you use to describe this experience?"
He looked ahead and saw the words,
'Fun', 'Unforgettable', and 'Amazing'.
He then repeated.
Stacy smiled, "That's awesome. In the heist of it all, you managed to write and produce a new song, 'Jersey.'"
Grayson just nodded.
"You talked about a mystery girl, but never mentioned anything after that. We're all curious as to who that is. Clearly, someone from your home town?"
Looking ahead, he read, "Yeah. She was a really close friend of mine. I can see how the wrong message can be taken from that song. She was my best friend and she pushed me to follow my dreams. The song was something I wrote a while ago, way before I met Lily. I just feel like everything was blown out of proportion."
Ellie sat uneasily. She knew he was just reading off script, but she couldn't help but cringe.
"Thanks for clearing that up. We all assumed you'd found someone else, hence the breakup of you and Lily."
Grayson looked ahead slyly, starting to speak, "Lily and I's breakup had nothing to do with the song. Our paths were just taking us in different-"
He stopped himself, laughing a little.
Stacy awkwardly smiled, "You okay?"
"No. Are you guys fucking serious?" He blurt.
Ellie and Lily's eyes widened. Gabby stepped forward.
"I mean, who wrote this shit?" He asked, now standing up, "Our paths were just taking us in different paths? I will always love and care for her, but we have different aspirations that'll just hurt us in the end? I needed to loose her as girlfriend before I lost her as a friend?"
Gabby stared at him in anger.
Ellie was now on the edge of her seat, Lily was nervously biting her fingernails.
"How about we turn the camera off of me, and onto that ridiculous backdrop that's speaking for me? News flash, I have a mouth of my own. I can voice my own thoughts."
He let out a phst, "You people are unbelievable."
"Grayson." Gabby said through gritted teeth, "You wanna think about what you're doing right now?"
He just laughed again, "I already know what you all wanna know. Who's jersey girl about? Why did lily and i break up? You guys don't care how the tours going. God knows everyone's just gonna skip to the juicy parts when they see this online. So hey, ask me." He said, now turning to Stacy who was nervous, "Ask me what you all really wanna know."
She stayed silent.
Grayson shook his head in disbelief, "This industry is fucked up. It's controlling me and everything i do. Something I used to love to do now feels like a job I can't wait to get out of. You guys have ruined this for me."
Gabby turned away, ashamed, not even being able to watch anymore. Ellie and Lily were both in such awe.
"So you know what? I'm over it. The rules? Guidelines? Procedures?"
Ellie then whispered his name quietly as if he could somehow hear her.
Lily had never seen Grayson so upset. She had no idea what was going on and how he was feeling. She started to feel for him.
Catching everyone off guard, he spoke again.
"I quit."
Gabby's heart dropped, "Grayson."
Lily nearly fell off of her chair. Everyone had now gathered around the tv to watch. All of their jaws had dropped.
He just looked into the camera, shaking his head before walking off.
Ellie speedily picked up her phone starting to dial him.
He made his way to Gabby who had never been more enraged, "You've really done it now-"
"You're fired." He interrupted.
Gabby's throat then became dry, "What?"
"Congratulations. Now you can go manage someone who you can hold by a string, because I refuse to be you and this company's bitch anymore."
Gabby now had tears in her eyes as he tried to walk off, but she stopped her, "You're just gonna walk away? From everything we've built together?"
He huffed, "I'd rather start from scratch by myself, then keep adding onto a company that only sees me as a profit."
Gabby shook her head, "You're making the biggest mistake of your life."
"No. The biggest mistake of my life was trusting you. You never cared about me. You just wanted to make sure I didn't screw up so we could continue making money that benefits you. You're pathetic, Gabby."
Gabby was now silenced.
Grayson looked to her once more, "Good luck on whatever you do next. But I don't need you anymore."
He then walked off, leaving Gabby in tears.
He saw Ellie's caller ID on his phone, knowing she saw the interview.
"Ellie please." He said, not wanting a lecture.
"Grayson what did you just do." She exclaimed.
He just sighed, "I know I said I wouldn't stop, but I'm miserable here. What you said was right, i can't be the same Jersey boy if I'm not in Jersey."
"This? Is not what i meant."
He shrugged, "Well this is the way i interpreted it."
Ellie's eyes got glossy, "You can't throw everything away."
He heard the pain in her voice, and stopped walking, "Ellie. I can do this on my own."
Her sigh was heard through the phone.
"I'm gonna finish this last show with a bang, and then I'm coming home."

The last show was definitely the biggest. After what he said on the interview, no one wanted to miss seeing him live. Everyone was watching. It was live broadcasted and streamed on nearly every tv. Grayson was determined to make this one the best yet, especially since no one could tell him what to do. He took a deep breath, before running onto the stage, and giving it his all. That night, he performed every song he'd written management said he couldn't release because it would either give off a bad vibe, or simply wasn't good enough. The crowd loved it. He'd looked happier than he did in a long time. He just imagined he was in Ellie's house, bouncing around like he'd done a while ago. Gabby watched backstage with pure disappointment, it got to the point where she couldn't even watch anymore. She left mid concert- not saying a word to anyone. Ellie watched from her couch proudly. She knew this would be his last show for a while, and she wasn't sure if he could do this on his own, but as always she would support him. Seeing him on stage brought back memories of the two of them years ago. This moment, she saw more of Grayson than she'd seen in a long time. She smiled. That's definitely the guy she fell in love with.