Like Catching Lightning

Chapter 1

*Flash back: seven years ago*

"miss jenn?" i tugged lightly on the long jacket of the lady standing in front of me. 

she looked down towards me intently, kneeling so she could reach my level. "honey," she spoke softly. "how many times have i told you just to call me jenn. i want you to have not only a professional manager, but one you can see as a friend too." 

i nodded, gulping lightly before trying again. "jenn?"

"yes dear?" she chuckled.

"why do i have to dye my hair blonde? i like it brown." i admitted, clinging onto one of my long locks. 

"well," she hesitated before continuing. "you want to be a real pop star right?" i nodded. "well, then you have to play the part! starting with changing the way you look. you'll be just like hannah montana!" 

i thought about it for a second. being like hannah montana sounded pretty awesome, but she wore a wig. and she got the best of both worlds. it seemed like i was only getting the best of one. 

"but what if my friends back home to recognize me?" i asked in a small voice, already knowing what she was going to say.

"nina,"  jenn said sternly. "what did i say to tell yourself whenever you think of your friends back home?"

i sighed. "what friends?" i mumbled sadly, my eyes dropping to the floor. 

jenn lifted my head up to look into her eyes. "exactly, hon. just think 'what friends?' and you'll be good to go. dear, you need to forget salt lake in general. you have nothing holding you back now, nina. it's time to achieve your dreams!"

i nodded solemnly, placing my head under the sink as my hair dresser began to apply the dye. i shivered at the feeling, not because i was cold but because truly, i was scared. 

i had a strange feeling that my hair color wasn't the only thing that was going to be drastically changing. 

*flash back over*

"unbelievable." i murmured under my breath. 

"i know right! why on earth would she mix purple and orange in a make up look? it's a disgrace!"

i laughed. "no, kourt, i was talking about the headline on the news."

kourtney looked up from her phone to read the what was on the tv. 'BREAKING NEWS: famous artist, nina salazar-roberts, believes australia is a myth! is she accurate? here is our research.'

"i'll tell you what's unbelievable hon." she pointed a long acrylic nailed finger at my face. "you believing australia is a myth. what on earth goes through that head of yours?" 

"hey, i have my reasons and i go by them!" i remark coldly, laying down on the salon chair as kourtney began to wash my hair. 

hi, my name is nina. nina salazar roberts to be exact. odds are you have heard of me and you like me, or you have heard of me and you hate me. it's always one or the other; not really much of a gray when it comes to the topic of myself. it's kind of weird to think millions of people around the world that have their own opinions and conspiracies about me. i bet people with normal lives don't have that. i sure wish i didn't.

don't get me wrong, i'm really grateful for this entire thing. i love being able to do something i'm passionate about and share it with the whole world for them to love too. but nine year old me didn't think about the crazy paparazzi's; the obsessive fans; the painful hate comments; the nonstop interviews; people knowing every single aspect and secret of your life before you even get the chance to breath. it's draining, and truthfully, not healthy. 

"are you sure you want to do this, nina?" kourtney asked warily as she hovered the brown hair dye over my head. 

"i'm sure." i said softly, but i don't think i was fully sure. 

when i was nine, my manager made me dye my hair blonde for my image. when i started doing concerts when i was around twelve, she put me in sparkly, over the top outfits and put so much make up on me, i was barely recognizable to the people that actually knew me. she made me go on stage and say the words, 'nini? oh please, i'm nina." after i finished my first song, which by the way was much too upbeat and glittery for my liking. i preferred the soft acoustic songs; haven't had one of those in a while.  

ever since then, my image has kind of remained the same: nina, the classic blondie, always perfect, covered in make up, pop music and dancing all at the same time. i wanted to sing when i was younger but never like this. 

i shivered as i felt kourt rub the dye into my scalp. it wasn't the scared type of shiver, or the the cold type, but the excited type. kourtney was my make up artist. she is the closet thing i've ever had to a friend since....... them. it's sad, i don't even remember all their names. kourt got into the business of make up when her instagram post went viral around the same age my video did. we kind of have grown up together. i'm grateful for that at least. 

life as being famous hasn't been going amazingly lately.... it's kind of hard to keep my cool when everyone just wants to get in my business. i've gotten in fights during meetings (just arguments, nothing physical), i accidentally flicked off a paparazzi one time, that got me in trouble. i stormed out of an interview when they said i should date another celebrity, yeah, things haven't really been pretty recently. i feel like shane gray and i don't like it. 

that's why jenn is shipping me back to salt lake for a couple months, and honestly, i'm not complaining. even though i was forced to forget a lot, i miss that place. i miss my old friends, my neighbors, especially my moms. gosh i haven't seen my moms in a while. they used to come back and forth to la a lot, but mama d's job as a nurse needed her in the hospital, and mama c was scared of making the journey alone, so i found myself deserted in a big city of people.

i'm pretty excited to head home, but what if my old friends don't want me around? what if he doesn't want me around. what if he doesn't even remember me?

"you are thinking about 'him', aren't you?" kourtney questioned, knocking out of my thoughts.

i nodded curtly. "is it weird i still think about 'him' a lot?" i signed a contract with jenn that i wasn't allowed to say his name while working. i guess it was some tactic to forget 'him', but i simply just couldn't. he always finds his ways into my thoughts. 

kourt shrugged. "i don't think so," she ran her hand through my hair. "but do you think he will remember you?"

"i hope so." i admitted with a small sigh. "i don't know what i'd do if he didn't remember me." 

as she turned off the water and began blow drying my hair, i zoned out once more. ricky bowen, the boy who owned my first kiss. i could never forget his smile, his eyes, even his funny little stuttered over his a's. i don't even know what he looks like now, or if he is still in salt lake. i haven't had the guts to check his instagram profile, but that doesn't stop me from checking every now and then if he follows me yet. he hasn't. i checked this morning. i know for sure that he has heard my music. i'm big in salt lake, kind of like a pride and joy kind of thing. i don't really know, but i preferred to just be known as the little girl who once lived there. i know i'll never get that life back though.

"okay..." kourt squealed excitedly. "you're all done!" she turned me towards the mirror, and my eyes widened at my reflection. my hair was back to it's original brown color, slightly wavy just as it used to be before jenn made me straighten it everyday. my light make up was so much different then i had to put on everyday, showing my natural face structure with only a little concealer, mascara, lip gloss and highlight. "how do you feel?" she asked.

"i-" i gawked at the person in front of me, pointing a shaky finger at it. "it's nini."

wow.... nini. now that's a name i hadn't heard in a long time. i hadn't seen her in years either. but she was back.

and it felt good. 

Author's Note:

first chapter! what do you guys think so far? i have a lot of ideas for this story, so i'm really excited!