Chapter Text
"Hm, hm..." I peacefully hum along to the song blasting in my headphones; It's Bebe's new single, and it came out yesterday.
My name is Marjorine, but my close friends call me Marj. There isn't really anything special about me, but my best friend Bebe, however, is an upcoming pop star. Just at seventeen, she's a rising star! –You may know her from the songs Hit me baby one more time, and Toxic. I'm super happy for her, and I support her by listening to a different song of hers each day at school. Not only is her music good, it's energetic, so it keeps my mood up. She was the first to befriend me when I had moved here from a town over in 4th grade, and we've been inseparable since! It's been seven years, and I've watched her taste for music grow.
"La la, hmm..." I slightly bopped my head side to side while listening to the catchy beat.
"Hey, Marj! A new song today?" Kenny waved, and I took an earbud out.
"Yup!" I replied in my usual happy cheerful mood. "Today I'm listening to Radar! It just came out last night."
"Must sound good for you to praise it like that," Kenny assumed.
I held my earbud up for him to take. "Want a listen?" I asked. He nodded while taking the earbud and sitting down directly next to me.
"I always forget her name...Who is this again?" he playfully asked.
"Come on, it's Bebe! She goes here!" I elbowed him in the side, "I listen to her everyday." I pouted, and he chuckled.
"You never fail to make me laugh, you know that, Marj?" Kenny's soothing voice circled around me, giving my heart a tight squeeze.
Kenny is my crush. It's just the way he looks at me with his magnetizing blue eyes, along with his blooming smile, I can't help but swoon for him. It's not just his looks, he has a good personality, he likes to volunteer in his free time; though, I haven't asked what kind of help he does. I'm not the only one that likes him probably since he's pretty popular.
"Marj!" Someone called out, I turned my head and it was Bebe approaching us.
"Hey!" I replied merrily. From the corner of my eye, I saw Kenny annoyingly glaring at her.
"Move it, Blondie." Bebe walked around me, and shoved Kenny to the side.
"Bebe..." I sighed,
"Boys can wait," she stated. "Wanna come over tonight and listen to my new single together?" Bebe excitedly asked. I took my phone out of my pocket and pointed to Radar—her new single—popped up on my lock screen while clicking my tongue with a smirk. She looked unphased. "Beat me to it again, huh?"
"Actually, me and Kenny were listening to it," I corrected her, and she turned her head to look at Kenny, who was sitting there awkwardly. She blinked, and turned back to me.
"Right."
"Dude, dude!" Stan rushed over to us while yelling loudly. "Pip just got it with another ball!" he exclaimed.
"Seriously? That has to be five times in the past two days!" Kenny got up immediately, running up to Stan which was impatiently waiting, then running with him outside.
"Wait! My earbud..." I reached my hand out to him, but he was already out of the cafeteria by the time I called out to him.
"He so just stole your earbud!" Bebe accused him, and I shook my head.
"No! No..." I quickly replied. "He probably just forgot it was in," I suggested. "Although, the song is still playing," I held my phone up, "Must mean he likes your song!"
"We're getting your fucking earbud back." Bebe grabbed my wrist and dragged me alongside her as we walked out of the cafeteria.
All the kids were watching Pip get hit over and over again by different balls. No one really does anything to stop it though since he's from England. Kenny was closer to the front of the crowd, and I pushed past people to reach him.
"Girl! Watch out!" Someone yelled,
"Sucks to be them," I scoffed, but when I looked up, there was a soccer ball aimed directly at my face. It landed smack dab on my forehead, and fell motionlessly into my hands. Everyone went silent, turning to look at the girl who was stupid enough to get hit by a soccer ball. Kenny included.
"Marj! Holy shit! Are you alright?" A single painful tear formed and rolled down my cheek. I turned to face Bebe, and my forehead was bright red like I got a sunburn.
"I'm fine!" My voice croaked. I was not fine, but I smiled anyway.
"Your nose is bleeding! We gotta take you to the nurses office right now!" she cried, and grabbed my wrist again.
"Wait, I'm fine!" I repeated, "And I still need to get my earbud from Kenny..."
"Marj!" I turned my head, and Kenny was walking towards me. "You alright?" he asked, and I nodded blissfully. My nose bleed got worse.
"I came out here to get my earbud from you, but I guess nature had other plans." I chuckled. His eyes widened like he had sudden empathy.
"Oh, that's where the annoying high pitched voice was coming from," he took the earbud out of his ear and handed it to me. Bebe rolled her eyes at the comment. "Take care! Especially with that nose bleed." Kenny smiled his illuminating smile, and took the soccer ball out of my hands.
"You too!" I smiled, and Bebe yanked my arm, dragging me to the nurses office.
Ding dong! I rang the doorbell to Bebe's home, and when the door opened, it was Bebe.
"Marj! Come on in!" she motioned her hand, and I stepped inside. I'm over so often that her parents didn't bat an eye. "Come up to my room! I got the absolute perfect nail polish color at the mall yesterday that you need to try!" she rambled while walking up the stairs. When we reached her room, blankets and pillows were thrown on the floor. "It's this cute purple. I'm gonna wear it at my next concert." her eyes had stars, and she sat down atop of the many blankets and pillows.
"Radar sounds so good! The way the beat is electric, along with your voice." I praised her while putting the song on repeat.
"Aww, you're flattering me!" Bebe giggled.
"But it's true! Besides, I'm not the only one that thinks this. The song is taking the internet by storm." I said gleefully.
"And it's all thanks to you, hyping me up like this," she sighed and grabbed my wiggly hand. "Stay still or I'll mess up!" Bebe ordered with a roar. She does not play when it comes to painting nails. That's why she's so good at it.
"Right, sorry!" I responded. Bebe started applying coats of purple onto my fingernails, with each coat darkening as it dried.
Ring...Ring...Ring...Bebe's phone rang, stopping the music.
"Hold on, I'm getting a call," We both looked down at the phone, reading the contact name. Bebe groaned immediately while picking up the phone.
"Fuckass blonde?" I questioned. She froze, and then looked down at the phone in her hand as the call got missed.
"Clyde wasn't at school today, but he bleached his hair over the weekend. It looks really ugly." she rolled her eyes.
"It can't be that bad." I say hopefully, but visualizing the image, It would look that bad. Like how I have a crush on Kenny, Bebe has a crush on Clyde, but is too nervous to talk to him. I don't get how she could be nervous when she's doing all these shows in front of thousands of people every month, but I guess everyone has their lines that they don't pass. I still try to get her to have some conversations with him since I'm absolutely certain he likes her back! I mean, who wouldn't?
"No. I told him how bad he'd look if he bleached his hair blonde." Attitude appeared on Bebe's face. "I hate blondes." she stopped for a moment, looking me in the eyes. "Unless it's you. You're so cute that I could just eat you up!" she squealed, "I'll be right back to finish your nails, 'kay?" Bebe pressed a button on the phone, and held it up to her ear. "Oh my God, what do you need?!" she exclaimed while walking to her bedroom door, and shutting it behind her.
"She must be really mad at Clyde for that hair change..." I muttered, and took my phone out to play Radar. I hummed along to the song once again, starting to paint my nails in Bebe's new deep purple nail polish.
"No seriously. What the fuck do you want?! I'm in the middle of a girls night." Bebe questioned rudely, leaning her back on the outside of her bedroom door.
"Being as prissy as ever, hm?" The voice on the other end of the line commented.
"I don't have time for your shenanigans, Kenny." Bebe groaned.
"Listen, I don't want to call you either, but you clearly forgot what tonight is."
"There's nothing scheduled tonight, what the hell are you talking about?" Bebe wedged her phone between her shoulder and cheek while crossing her arms.
"What about the interview?" Kenny questioned, "I'm on this one too,"
"Holy shit, the interview! I completely forgot!" Bebe yelled, looking around frantically as she thought of what to do. "I hate to ask this, but can you drive me to this one too?" she stood up straight and planned a last minute outfit in her head.
"I'm gonna have to since I'm your boyfriend." Kenny responded.
"Fake or not, eww! Don't say that." she snapped. "I'm putting you on hold." Bebe turned around and yanked her bedroom door open with her phone still wedged in between her shoulder and ear.
"Marj!" Bebe screamed at me, and I looked up at her.
"What's up?" I asked, placing the purple nail polish wand back in the bottle.
"Pink or white?" she hastily shot the question at me. Bebe constantly asks me questions like this due to quick schedule changes, so I've grown accustomed to quick thinking.
"Pink! So it matches your nails." I answered. "Going somewhere?" Bebe stressfully rushed to her walk-in closet, yanking that door open too, and pulling out premade outfits. She held two pink outfits up for me to choose—Bebe has at least two pre-made outfits of every color of the rainbow, even brown—"That one," I pointed to the one on the right.
"Perfect! It matches my new rhinestone purse!" she talked to herself while beginning to change. She looked uncomfortable having her phone wedged in her neck.
"Bebe, if your phone is an inconvenience, I can hold it for you while you change," I kindly told her, she frantically shook her head.
"No, that's fine." she replied, then looked focused while listening to the phone. "Can-it, lover boy." Bebe sternly said, which made me laugh. I'm glad that she and Clyde are getting along again. "Marj, I have to go out for a couple hours. You can stay here until I get back," she grabbed her bright shiny pink rhinestone purse, it looked absolutely stunning.
"Is it with your singing career?" I asked, and Bebe thought for a moment.
"Yeah, a late recording session. I completely forgot it was today, so Clyde's driving me." she replied.
"That's sweet of him!" I smiled ear to ear, happy for her.
"Heh, sure..." her smile wasn't as bright as mine.
"Have fun! See you when you get back!" I waved as she left the room. Bebe looked more annoyed than happy, like she was putting up a front for me. I guess they aren't getting along due to Clyde's sudden hair change.
I walked over to her bedroom window, trying to get one last glance at her before she leaves. A minute later a black car rolled up in front of the house. The car looked expensive. Bebe's shiny bright outfit made her stand out as she walked over to the car and got in. The next second the car drove away.
"What am I gonna do now?" I questioned while looking around her room. When my eyes landed on her desk, I noticed it was covered in scattered papers. It was so scattered that you couldn't see the base of the desk. I got a closer look and noticed it was all sheet music. "She must be busy with her new EP coming out soon. I'll clean it up for her." I started to grab papers and stack them, "Must be nice writing all the time. Getting your thoughts and feelings out..." I spoke to myself, and the last music sheet I picked up stood out the most against the others. It wasn't in her hand writing either so it couldn't have been her song, maybe she's doing a cover? I wondered, but it wasn't signed. "Drop dead beautiful? I don't recognize this one," I read some of the lyrics, "Clyde doesn't have blue eyes." I questioned even more, but continued to read along with the lyrics. The words had me mesmerized. "Reading it feels like it's specifically written for me." I was amazed, and held it close to my chest. I never knew music could have me feel this way. "I wish I could write something as empowering as this...Wait, I can!" I smiled, coming up with an idea. I excitedly placed the paper on top of all the others and grabbed a blank paper in its place, along with a pencil. "Bebe usually thinks about something or someone when writing, right?" I looked around, trying to conjure up an idea. "Clyde treats Bebe so well, I wish Kenny liked me like that...Kenny." I blinked slowly, thinking about his sweet attributes, his kind personality, his cute appearance... "Hah, who am I kidding? He won't ever like me like that." I chuckled, "Although, I might as well get these feelings out in some form." I shrugged, starting to write what I felt down on the paper.
"How come you forget all the important interviews that you plan?" Kenny gripped the steering wheel, looking at me from the corner of his eye.
"It was a girls night, what can I say?" I reached down into my purse, taking out a lip gloss tube.
"You're lucky it's not far." he sighed, rolling his head back and focusing on the road.
"You look snazzy in that suit," I remarked, "You should save it for Marj." Kenny smirked, thinking about Marjorine. "Speaking of her, I fixed up your song about her."
"You actually hid it from her this time, right?" Kenny questioned, and I popped my lips while thinking.
"I'm pretty sure I hid...at least one of the versions!" I awkwardly laughed.
"...Whatever, thanks." Kenny replied. "Did you happen to name it? I couldn't think of anything." he glanced towards me, and I changed to applying Mascara.
"Naming songs is easy, you just gotta pull out the most commonly said lyric in the song. You're just ass at naming songs!" I cackled and placed my mascara bottle down. Kenny rolled his eyes. "I did name it though, Drop dead Beautiful. Like it?" I smiled at him and crossed my legs on top of each other.
"Yeah, It actually suits her- I mean, the song!" Kenny coughed over his mistakenly said words.
"Cool, I'll put it in my upcoming EP. I just need a couple more songs." I told him. Kenny made a wide turn, and entered an empty parking lot behind a huge commercial building with many windows.
"We're here. Don't forget that we're a couple in the media's eyes, we have to act like it." Kenny sternly reminded me, and I just groaned.
"Right..." I went to grab the passenger side door, and Kenny placed his hand on my shoulder, stopping me.
"Don't try to piss me off. The routine is that I get the door for you, help you out of the car, and hold your hand and bag while walking. Got that?"
I uneasily crossed my arms. "Some stereotype breaking here, it seems!" I sarcastically replied, but Kenny ignored me while opening the drivers side door, and getting out of the car. "Dumbass forgot to turn the car off, I paid a big buck for this model!" I leaned across the car and pressed a button, automatically turning off the ignition.
"Say something?" Kenny asked, opening the passenger side door.
"Nah!" I snorted, and Kenny held out a hand for me to take. I reluctantly gripped his hand and stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind me. Now that the two of us were out in the open, both of our fake personas displayed. We acted like a real couple. Kenny charmingly held my rhinestone bag, and my hand. I had a prissy smile walking beside Kenny with fake bliss displayed.
It soon turned nightfall, and Kenny drove me home after the tiring interview.
"All those questions are cheap!" I complained while bending down to take my heels off. "An actual girls night would've been so much better, like I had originally planned." I whined, partially from my feet aching. Kenny sighed while listening.
"Can you shut up? Your whining is making my ears ring." Kenny raised his voice, "I do agree though." I crossed my arms while looking out the passenger side window, heels clutched in my hands. The more we drove, the closer we got to my neighbourhood. But I couldn't sway something from my mind. Tomorrow after one last filming session, a fateful music video will be released, and Marjorine will find out about everything.
"Hey, what are we gonna do if Marj finds out about...us?" I anxiously turned my head towards Kenny.
"Don't say it like that. There was never an 'us'" he snarkily corrected me, and tiredly leaned his elbow on the driver's door. "If she does find out before we tell her, we'll both explain the whole situation and apologize. There isn't more we can do. But of course, like our contact states, we'll break it off." he calmly explained. Kenny is surprisingly good in situations like this.
"Don't say it like there was ever an us." I Mocked, and Kenny grumbled under his breath, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Soon we approached my home, and I got out without saying a word.
"Wait, before you go." Kenny called out to me, making me stop in my tracks. I turned to face him, and impatiently waited for him to say something. "Don't wait too long to release your EP..." he shyly spoke, not looking me in the eyes; though I knew why.
"Don't worry Loverboy, it won't take too long." I expressed the prissy smile I always do, and watched Kenny roll away.
When I walked into my house, I saw my parents asleep on the couch. The tv played some Swedish movie, so I quietly went over and turned it off, and after that, I left to go to her room. I headed for the stairs, trying to quietly step up each step. I'm now clutching my shiny rhinestone purse along with my heels.
It's dead silent when I reach my room, and even more silent when the door opens.
"Marj, you won't believe how exaggeratingly long that took!-" I stopped talking when I realized Marjorine had fallen asleep on the floor, "Aww, poor Marj." I took my phone out, and snapped a quick photo of her. I giggled while looking at it and heading to my closet. I put away my heels, my rhinestone purse, and changed into the pajamas I was wearing before having to urgently leave. I walked over to Marjorine, and plopped down on a pillow beside her. "Heh, I bet that love sick boy will enjoy this." I pulled up Kenny's contact and sent the photo of Marjorine sleeping to him. "A gift for not complaining as much around me." I sent, and a minute later Kenny liked the photo.
It wasn't bright in my room, the only light that was on was the desk lamp that Marjorine must've turned on before passing out onto my comfy blankets. I glanced down at her and noticed a paper tucked under her hand, along with a pencil. I gently moved her hand and picked up the paper, beginning to read it.
"Did she...write a song?" I looked back down at Marjorine in awe. "Why are both of them absolute lyrical geniuses?!" I quietly exclaimed. "You know what? I don't need any other songs on my new EP...I'll have to ask Marj about it in the morning." I continuously smiled, reading my song lyrics over and over again. "Trip to your heart...Clever song name. She's definitely better than that fuckass blonde Kenny. But, I already knew that." I stopped crouching beside Marjorine's sleeping body and walked over to my desk and noticed that every paper was stacked in a pile. On top of the pile was Drop dead Beautiful, the original version. "Shit, did she read it?" I looked back at Marjorine in panic, thinking. "Nah, she wouldn't think it's about her..." I nervously chuckled and opened my desk drawer, getting out the fixed up version of Drop dead beautiful, and placing the original version hidden away in my desk "I won't tell Kenny about this or he'll pop a fuse..." I told myself with a groan and a nod. I placed the fixed up version of Drop dead beautiful and Marjorine's song beside each other on the desk. Lastly, I turned my desk lamp off, and collapsed beside Marjorine into a deep slumber after my long day.