"I'm Kristin Veitch, and I'm here at the Hollywood premiere of McKenzie Brooks: This Is Me. As you can see, I am surrounded by hundreds - if not thousands - of fans as they wait for McKenzie to come out and perform before the red carpet begins. The hype surrounding this concert is tremendous. Just last night the pop superstar announced that she would be performing a few new songs as well as give the crowd a few more surprises. No one knows for sure what she means by that, but based on her past, McKenzie is set to deliver."
McKenzie sat in her trailer's chair while her stylist finished the last bits of hair curling. She had a straight face on. Not even the nearly one-year-old Gabby playing with her toys on the floor behind her could make her smile. Right now she just had too much on her mind. Her movie promotion tour among other things had prevented her from getting the amount of sleep she needed. She felt the need to hug her make up artist for the miracle she had worked on the bags under McKenzie's eyes. She had to leave on an actual tour to promote her record-breaking album almost immediately after and had been rehearsing for that almost non-stop. She and many others had been shocked that her voice was still in well enough condition to perform at the this premiere.
There was a soft knock on McKenzie's trailer door. Without letting her answer, Devon Hall popped his head in and smiled at his client. McKenzie curled her lips up for a second but then went back to looking at herself, blankly, in the mirror. She didn't even flinch when the curling iron got placed just a little too close to her scalp, surely leaving a burn there.
"You look beautiful already, hun," Devon complimented. "I can't even imagine you in costume."
"Thanks, Dev," McKenzie whispered.
"Is everything okay?"
McKenzie sighed. "Just tired. Stressed. The usual."
Devon smiled again and placed his hand on McKenzie shoulder. "You've worked hard this year. I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of you, what with everything that you have had to get through. You were my first client I picked up, you know that? Sometimes I miss the days when I only had to worry about you. But you've really proven that you can take care of yourself and make good decisions." McKenzie swallowed her guilt. "And I also really appreciate that you are respecting my wishes and the wishes of the rehab facility. But you've made it a year without him - Tom I mean - and it's only going to get easier from here."
McKenzie nodded slowly. She tried not to make eye contact with Devon and ignore the glances that the hair stylist kept giving her. When she felt her hair released from the grasp of the curling iron, she finally turned away from the mirror.
"I really appreciate that, Devon. But do you mind if I have a few moments to myself before the show?"
Devon smiled. "Of course, hun. Text me if you need anything."
"I will. Thank you."
Devon smiled at McKenzie one more time and then made eye contact with the hair dresser, motioning for her to follow him. Luckily, McKenzie's hair was finished enough to the point where she could finish it, something she had become accustomed to doing. She watched her manager and stylist walk out of the trailer. As soon as the door clicked shut, she hopped out of the chair and went over to one of the windows, making sure that Devon was a decent enough distance away before announcing, "We're good."
"Bloody hell," Tom complained walking out of the trailer bathroom where he had been cooped up the past hour. "How long does it take to curl your hair? Twitter is entertaining, but I can only refresh it so many times."
McKenzie laughed and walked over to the couch that Tom now occupied. He lay along the entirety of it, lifting his upper body so that McKenzie could sit on it as well. She began to play around with his hair upon doing so.
"Is Devon really that clueless? I remember him being smarter."
"Maybe we're just really convincing liars."
"We did have some practice with that even before we were dating." Tom chuckled at the memory of the beginning of him and McKenzie's relationship. "But really, did he actually think that you just wanted to take random solo trips to Serbia and South Africa?"
"They weren't random. I wanted to culture my daughter."
McKenzie began to laugh as she noticed Gabby crawling over to the couch as well. She hoisted herself up using an unsuspecting Tom's cheek as her hold. He made a surprised noise and then laughed, turning to pick up the little girl and place her so she sat on his stomach.
"Did your mum culture you enough? Because if not, there is a perfect opportunity to come to England coming up in the near future."
"We won't need anymore excuses after today."
Tom smiled as he played with Gabby. "You sure you're ready to break that amazing trust that you have built with Devon?"
"Just as much as I'm sure you want to stop hiding in bathrooms and closets every time we're together and he shows up."
"Touche."
"So, um, you're still good with the plan, right?"
"You call me onstage, freak everyone out, we sing a duet, and then we kiss? Yeah, sounds good to me."
"Just making sure."
"I'm really just excited to get a good look at Devon's face when he sees us together. A whole fuc - bloody year of dating." Tom laughed. Gabby reached for his face as if reprimanding him for his near slip up.
McKenzie smiled at her little world. Outside the walls of the trailer a way bigger world waited for her, a world where she was the star and millions of fans adored her. But after today, she may not have that world anymore. She had no idea how Devon would react to her long-time hidden relationship or if he would even continue to manage her when he found out. But the more she thought of that - giving up her dream - the more she felt okay with it. Seeing her daughter and boyfriend in front of her made her feel like the luckiest woman in the world. And she didn't need a legion of fans behind her to make her feel that way.
"I should get ready," she announced.
Tom lifted his upper body again to let her escape and change into her performance outfit. He wasn't even supposed to be there so he would just be in his everyday clothes when he went onstage. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Tom gave McKenzie Gabby back and then gave her a quick kiss, reassuring her that everything would be fine, even though she already knew that. He snuck out the back door while McKenzie went out the front one. The assistant took Gabby and let McKenzie put in her ear piece.
The stage was small, far smaller than anything else she was used to, with a staircase on the back for entrances and exits. Behind the backdrop, she could hear loads of people cheering and yelling in anticipation for the concert that was about to begin. It amazed McKenzie that even just five songs could get such a large outcome. But as soon as her music began to play, the cheering heightened even more and she rushed onstage, beginning to sing her opening song. It seemed like time rushed by as she sang her five songs, but then it was time to leave. The crowd accepted the fact that she had disappeared for a moment, but then began to chant encore, just like she had wanted. McKenzie smiled and ran to the sound board, beginning to plug in her phone.
"What do you think you're doing?" Devon asked. "We don't have an encore planned. You have to get ready for the premiere."
"Oh, don't worry. I have one planned."
McKenzie pressed play and locked her phone. Now that the music had started, Devon would be crazy to stop it with so many people in the audience. He stood, distraught over what to do when the last person he expected to show up took the extra mic from the sound board and began to walk up the stage steps.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Tom turned around to say, "It's a concert. I'm going to sing," before marching up the rest of the steps and out onto the stage. Devon stood frozen for some time before he realized what was going on. He rushed to the side of the stage where he could see the two standing very close to each other on the stage, holding hands, and singing a ballad that he had never heard before. That was not too bad, he thought. But then the song ended and Tom moved his hand to the small of McKenzie's back and pulled her in for a kiss. The crowd went crazy, their faces filled with absolutely joy at the sight of their idol finally together with Tom. Devon's face went red with anger.
"I'm never going to forgive her for this..." He muttered as she rushed back behind the stage.
