Songwriter

Chapter Eight

Destiny's POV

I stood quietly outside the door of the conference room, listening to three people yelling at each other. I had thought I was early, maybe I was late. I recognized two out of three voices, one was Shawn and the other was Andrew. I couldn't recognize the third voice, I just knew it was a girl. I shakily twist the door knob, opening the door. The yelling immediately stops, and they all look at me. The girl's voice I had heard was someone my age. She was my height with brown hair and green eyes. Wait, blue? No, grey? Were they changing colors right in front of me? "Oh, Destiny, you're early." Andrew comments, and I gingerly nod. "D-Do I need t-to come b-back?" I ask, and they shake their heads. I saw Shawn whispering back and forth with that girl, and she kept glancing at me, so I hid my hearing aides with my hair. I walk in, shutting the door behind me. "Sh-Shawn, the t-twins are doing g-great. Th-Their their nurse said that th-they could be w-well enough to be r-re-released by the end of th-the week." I tell him, embarrassed by my stutter. "That's great!" Shawn says cheerfully, although it seems strained. "Twins?" The mystery girl whispers, her eyes now a shade of green that seems to be mixed grey. Almost like an olive tree green, but with a shine to it. "We have a lot to talk about when we get home." The girl states, grabbing a black leather backpack purse thing. Shawn grabs the strap, and a look of panic crosses her face. She turns back, relaxing when she sees that it's just Shawn. "You know not to do that." She tells him, snatching the bag from him before opening the door and taking a few steps out. I just stood there in confusion. "We need to talk, Tia, this meeting isn't over." Andrew says, and she stomps back in. "Now, everyone, please take a seat." Andrew finished, and I sat to Andrew's right, and Shawn's left. Tia sat directly across from me, her anger brewing mildly. "Alright, we need to discuss a few things. For starters, we need to introduce Tia to Destiny. In the spotlight, Tia is Shawn's nanny, but behind the scenes, Tia is Shawn's girlfriend, against my better judgement." Andrew introduces, and I knew: my competition. I have Tia a weak smile, trying to be nice. After all, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Her eyes were still the same color, but the shine was gone. Her face wasn't wet, but it looked like her tears had retreated from her eyes. "Next, we need to discuss the twins." Andrew says, and I could see Tia wince. "What are their names?" Tia asks, and Andrew and I looked at her in surprise. "I know, bad girlfriend, don't know her boyfriend's kids' names. It's just... this is the first time I'm hearing of them." Tia says, giving Shawn a death glare at the end. "Kai Canta Mendes and Melody Faith Mendes." Shawn tells her in a strained voice, but I whisper their names as though I had said it before, and it hurt to know that nobody could see the love I had for them. Did this girl even like kids? "Melody Faith and Kai Canta..." she whispered with a nod. "Beautiful names." She finishes, and then Andrew shifts. "Are we going to mention..." Andrew starts, but he pauses for a moment. "Are we going to mention Angel?" He asks, and Tia looks confused again. "I don't want her to be forgotten." Shawn states, his face turning red. "Shawn, are you r-ready for that?" I ask, my stutter at a minimum. "Angel Grace Mendes will not be forgotten." Shawn states again, but you could tell that, despite the power behind the statement, he was struggling not to cry. I put a hand on his back, rubbing up and down as I gulped back a sob. Tia looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't know what to say. I just mouthed at her the word later. She shut her mouth and nodded. We both hugged Shawn, and he pushed us both away. I sat down, staring at my fingers as I twiddled them in my lap. Once Shawn calmed down Andrew hesitated for a second. "Before you say anything, I think we should tell everyone that the mother is dead, but we shouldn't release her name yet. I'm not... I'm not ready for that." Shawn tells Andrew, and he nods. "Next order of business, how are you going to introduce them? There's the typical social media announcement, everyone loves when you work with James Corden, everyone loves Ellen, as well." Andrew mentions, and Tia pipes up. "Why not all three?" We all look at her like she has three heads. "No, seriously. Shawn does a segment with James Corden, and it's all about how a lot of the Mendes Army calls him..." she pauses, obviously uncomfortable with the next word, and gulps. "Daddy... they basically make fun of it. Do a bunch of kid related games, sing kids songs, get little kids involved to show how great he is with kids." She starts, and then shifts in her chair. "Actually, scratch the daddy kink idea. Have it about getting the younger fans more involved. That way it can't bite him in the butt." Tia nods, almost like she was thinking out loud. I saw Andrew writing things down, nodding. This girl was smart. "With Ellen, have her talk to Shawn about James Corden and the show they did together. Maybe surprise a fan, have her talk about how much she loves Shawn, and ask her if she wants to meet the Mendes family. Then have Shawn come out with a double stroller. Don't let the world get a good look at their faces. Save that for social media. Have him mention any details he wants to release that day. A few days after the episode airs post a picture of Shawn and the twins. Share any details left out in the show that you're okay with sharing. In a separate post I would mention Angel and whoever their mother is, give whatever details you're okay with." Tia finishes, and Andrew stops jogging down notes. "That sounds like a solid plan." Andrew comments, and Tia smiles shyly. "Have you ever considered working at a record label? As a publicity manager?" Andrew asks curiously, and Tia shakes her head no. "I think I'll stick to babysitting and writing. I prefer tiny humans and fictional characters over real people." She chuckles, then turns red as the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic theme song starts playing. She turns her phone off, and the music stops. The lyrics left off at the end of Twilight's first part, so I picked up. "Big adventure, tons of fun, a beautiful heart, faithful and strong, sharing kindness..." Tia smiles, joining in with my singing, "It's an easy feat, and magic makes it all complete! Yeah, my little pony, don't you know you're all my very best friends?" We finish together, and then notice Shawn and Andrew staring at us in confusion. "Gotta stay up to date with cartoons if you're gonna be a good babysitter." Tia states, crossing her arms. We give each other a look, and we both know we're pegasisters. "Anyways... Shawn, do you agree with Tia's plan?" Andrew asks, and Shawn nods. "Okay... Now, Destiny, it's come time to release the album in two weeks. You sang Camila's part when the song went live. Do you want to be on Shawn's album? Because Camila can't sing her part on tour, and Shawn is insisting that you take over her part." Andrew explains everything, and I sit there for a few seconds. "A-Are you sure? I-I mean... I-I'm not the best s-singer..." I ask, panicking. "I'm sure." Shawn insists gently, and I nod. "O-Okay..." I sigh shakily, trembling lightly. Shawn cheered, jumping up to hug me. I hugged back, nervously glancing at Tia. She smiled at me, as if happy for me. Man, she makes it really hard to hate her. I think to myself, smiling back at her. I look over at Andrew. He's digging through a stack of papers, and he appears to find what he's looking for. He hands me a single sheet, and he explains everything on it as I read it. The gist of it? They basically are saying that Shawn and I own the song, this is my part, I get 45% of the earnings off of it, and they only can control what I do if it deals with the song until it is released of the album. I sign it, date it, and slide it back over to Andrew. "Welcome to the music industry, Destiny." Andrew tells me, and I smile. "Thank you."