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HAVE YOU EVER had the gut feeling that something terrible was going to happen?
The feeling emerged in her stomach like little stabbing butterflies when she woke up. It felt like something sinked inside of her, but she couldn't figure out why.
But there was no reason for her to think that there was anything wrong with today.
This was because Ella Reed had finally finished the songs for her second album.
She had been stalling to complete it because she wanted to wait until she was finished writing one more song.
After the recording session, it would be transferred to the hard drive. Then the CDs would come in, and before she knew it, it would be on shelves all over the world.
This was a huge milestone: her second album.
She hoped On Purpose would be a success and that the fans would like it. The tracklist only consisted of 8 songs, including the one she was about to record today, but she had a plan to write more bonus tracks for a deluxe edition.
She was just waiting for inspiration to hit.
Because she shared a producer with the boys, their schedules were usually split and Ella drew the short straw and had to go in early to record.
That's how she found herself walking into Rocque Records at 8:30 in the morning, downing a cup of coffee.
Some part of her found mornings peaceful. She loved her boys, but she could admit that they were distracting sometimes. From their elaborate schemes to their stupid arguments to their short attention spans, it was amazing how they even got work done.
Ella actually found it best to go in the studio before anyone was there besides Gustavo and Kelly.
Due to an issue involving Carlos' helmet, Kendall's pink smoothie, the control panel, and a very angry producer, some of Ella's recordings were destroyed, causing her to have to re-record them today. Along with those ones, Ella had her last song too.
Run and Hide was a hard song to write. It actually took the longest time out of any song she's ever written.
"Okay, Reed. I know it's early, but let's see if we can do this all in one take." Gustavo grumbled. One thing that Ella learned was that her producer was not a morning person.
The girl held a thumbs up as the track echoed in the room. She leaned into her mic.
"I don't want to buy what they're selling these days, saying feeling and falling is all a mistake, no, no. And why does everybody look at young hearts feeling love like it's just a matter of time before they break, no, no..."
Ella had a feeling that she wrote these lyrics for herself. She kept herself guarded for years after her parents started to neglect her. She really only let the boys in, but still kept boundaries in case they would up and leave her too. It wasn't until she was a little older when she realized how silly it was because they truly cared about her.
"They started saying when you can't hide, run, when you can't run, hide. Started thinking love's a loaded gun, nobody wants to fight..."
"And when did we all stop thinking that the world stops spinning in a kiss goodnight? And when did our heartbeat beating too fast stop meaning it was worth the while?"
If she were to choose between fight or flight, it would be flight, no question. Although she portrayed herself to be someone that would confront someone and fight when needed, if it came down to emotions and feelings, she would trap them in a bubble. It's what she did when her parents left her for weeks on end.
"I wanna, I wanna be loved. I wanna, I wanna be loved. I wanna, I wanna be loved. And I don't wanna run, I don't wanna hide..."
Her best friends made sure she felt needed. Kendall made sure she felt wanted. She didn't want to be a flight risk anymore. She wanted to stay and receive the love she deserved.
She wrote this song a while ago and it was weird singing it because the emotions she had before getting closure from her parents were so different from how she felt now. She would always have an emotional connection to this song. That's why it was the perfect last track.
"They started saying when you can't hide, run. When you can't run, hide, but love don't gotta be a loaded gun or a losing fight..."
"And when did we all stop thinking that the world stops spinning in a kiss goodnight? And when did our heartbeat beating too fast stop meaning it was worth the while? But I wanna, I wanna be loved, I wanna, I wanna be loved and I don't wanna run, I don't wanna hide..."
Ella stared down at the floor until the song finished. Hearing silence, she looked up and took off her headphones.
She saw Kelly suppress a smile and Gustavo look like he was contemplating something.
Then he spoke the words that made Ella want to scream in relief.
"Done and printed!"
Ella broke out into a huge grin as the two of them applauded her.
"Your second album is officially a-finished!"
"Thank, god." Ella laughed, walking out of the booth.
She wished the boys were here, but she knew they would celebrate when they came for rehearsal later.
"Nice work, Ella." Kelly smiled, giving the girl a high-five.
They walked out of the recording studio and down the hall into one of the rehearsal rooms.
Gustavo spoke up, "Yep, all we need to do now is drag the files over to the hard drive and-"
"Surprise!"
Ella screamed, holding a hand to her heart, as Griffin popped up behind a piano, startling the three of them.
"Griffin, I know why you're here." Gustavo sighed. "You want a hit. But let me tell you that we just finished Reed's second album. As for the band, I'm working on it."
"Close." Griffin corrected. "I want you to kidnap me."
Ella furrowed her brows. "Excuse me?"
"Being an incredibly wealthy CEO of the fifth largest company in the world also makes me a target for hoodlums wanting cash, corporate secrets, and my panda collection. And I need to be prepared," he explained. Ella shook her head, still confused by his wishes.
"Griffin, we don't have time to-" Kelly stated.
"Make time," the CEO interrupted. "Hire whoever you want. Do whatever you have to. So..." Ella gaped as the man sprinted off, running next to the control panel. "Come and get me!" He exclaimed in a childish way, dashing out of the room.
"Isn't he a grown man?" Ella deadpanned.
Gustavo turned to face her and Kelly. "I am not chasing Griffin around. Besides he will kill me."
"Well, who else is gonna do it?" Kelly exclaimed.
Ella rolled her eyes, feeling the two adults turn to her.
"No way," she said, facing them.
"Oh, come on Ella! Please." Kelly pleaded.
"Yeah, who else is going to turn your music into an album?" Gustavo retorted.
Ella huffed, seeing a point to Gustavo's words. She crossed her arms. "Fine." She interrupted their cheering, "But, how am I supposed to kidnap Griffin all by myself?"
Gustavo and Kelly turned to each other, not having an answer for the girl.
All of a sudden, Logan and Carlos slid in front of the door, crossing their arms. "Hello," they sang out.
Ella raised her eyebrows at the coincidence, while the two employers gave her a knowing smile.
After a couple seconds of silence, Carlos piped up, "What's going on?"
Ella threw her arms in the air in relief. "Well, I just finished recording my second album." She said, walking over to them.
"Hey, congrats!" Logan cheered as she wrapped her arms around the two boys in a hug.
"It's going to be awesome. I already know it!" Carlos exclaimed.
"Thanks." Ella looked around the room. "Wait, where are the rest of the guys?'
"Back at the Palm Woods. Something about Lucy's ex-boyfriend." Logan responded, distracted, his attention over to Gustavo and Kelly still staring and smiling at them. "Now, why are they looking at us like that?"
Before the thought that Kendall and James were dealing with Lucy's ex-boyfriend could fully comprehend in her mind, she remembered Griffin's strange desire and sighed.
"They want us to kidnap Griffin," she exasperated.
The two boys looked confused, so Gustavo and Kelly dragged the teens over to the lobby of the studio and re-explained everything Griffin wanted.
"So Griffin wants to be kidnapped to prepare for his worst CEO scenario?" Logan questioned.
"He said I could hire anyone, and I immediately thought of you three." Gustavo told them.
Ella rolled her eyes, knowing there was absolutely no truth to his words. Honestly, there wasn't really a need for her to be there, but someone had to watch over the guys in case they did something stupid, which was inevitable.
"Okay, but what's in it for us?" Logan asked.
"What do you want?"
While Ella brightened up, thinking about what she could ask for, Logan and Carlos tilted their heads, exclaiming, "Solo records."
"What?" He asked incredulously.
Carlos whipped out a picture of his own album art. It was a black and white close up picture of his face with his helmet on. "Carlos Alone," he dramatically said, reading off the title of his album.
"Logalicious!" Logan cried out, pulling out his own solo album art. It had a purple background and Logan was mid-dance move next to a stereo, with stylish clothes and a fedora on.
Ella took out a Palm Woods residence contract, dropping it in the hands of the confused producer. "I want my own place! Preferably next to the guys," she pointed out. Hearing gasps, she saw Carlos and Logan with their mouths hanging open in offense. "What? It's crowded," she shrugged.
"Reed, you'll get your second album, how's that?" Gustavo remarked, throwing the stack of paper into the trashcan besides him.
Ella held her hands up in defense. "That works too."
With that, the two boys excitedly passed their solo records at Gustavo, while Ella shook her head amusedly, not even surprised at how excessive they could be.
"Move out!" They cried, slamming themselves against the hallway walls, tip-toeing and clumsily doing flips. Ella sighed upon watching them as she normally walked behind them.
They continued their stealth moves outside of the building. Ella held out her hands in front of them to stop it. "Okay, how the hell are we going to kidnap Griffin?"
"Ella, please." Logan scoffed.
"Let us handle it." Carlos added as they looked up in thought.
Ella rolled her eyes, before seeing Griffin walk out the back entrance of Rocque Records.
"Why don't you idiots just kidnap him now?" She retorted, gesturing over to the CEO who was recycling a plastic bottle into the large gray bin.
As he lifted the lid, Logan and Carlos sprinted towards him.
"Go! Go! Go!" They chanted as they picked the man up, throwing him into the recycling bin and locking it.
Ella ran over to them in shock, not believing they would actually do it. Griffin was banging against the top of the bin, yelling for help.
The girl turned away from the recycling bin as Logan and Carlos broke out into a song and dance.
"Solo record dance! Solo record dance in my solo record pants!"
Ella sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in concern. All of a sudden, the sound of low beeps and quick driving made her turn around. She widened her eyes, seeing the recycling bin get dragged away by a pickup truck.
"Oh, my god!" She cried out, making the two boys stop dancing. They all stared at the bin being taken away, before they broke out into a panic and started chasing after the truck down the street.
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Realistically, they could not chase after a truck, so when they stopped running to catch their breath, Ella did the next best thing.
She called a cab.
Within 15 minutes, the three teens were at the City Recycling Center.
The two boys rushed out of the car, while Ella paid the driver. She caught up with them as they ran over to one of the workers.
"Hey, I'm sorry to bother you guys, but something very important got recycled at our office by mistake." Logan explained.
"Yes, and we would really like to get it back, please." Ella said with a polite smile, hoping there wasn't any panic in her tone.
"What was it?" The man asked.
"A man." Carlos blurted out.
Seeing the worker look back at the teens, Ella's eyes widened. "...uscript! A manuscript," she corrected, trying to cover up for Carlos' mistake.
"Yeah." Logan agreed. "Because we're writers, and—Hello. You know, no book if you can't find the manuscripts," he nervously rambled.
The man looked at them with uncertainty, but nonetheless, gestured for the group to follow him.
As they walked, he asked, "Where did you recycle your manuscript?"
The three teens shared a nervous look, before Ella answered, "Um, outside Rocque Records."
He led them over to one of the sections surrounded by a gate, labeled 'District Seven Recyclables'. "You're from district seven, so dumpsters from your zone awaiting recycling would be here."
Ella felt better about the whole situation. Yes, they may have kidnapped Griffin and caused him to be taken away to a recycling center, but at least they could find him here.
The worker pushed open the gate, and Ella's smile dropped.
There were, at most, 50 recycling bins that they would have to go through and they were all stacked next to each other in a tight space.
"Unbelievable," she muttered.
"Start searching!" Carlos cried out as they ran over to the first bin, unlatching and throwing open the lid, rummaging through bubble wrap and installation tubes.
They yelled out for Griffin as they made their way through the rows of recycling bins.
After a while, they collectively decided that it would be much faster if they were to separate.
Grimacing in disgust, Ella reached her arms into the bin, searching for any remnants of a person.
She looked over to Logan who was ransacking the basket next to her.
"Hey, Logan?"
The boy looked up, stress written all over his face. "Yeah?"
"What did you mean when you said the rest of the guys couldn't come to rehearsal because of Lucy's ex-boyfriend?"
The thought was pushed to the back of her mind, being distracted by all of Griffin's nonsense, but now that she had time to think, she wanted a better explanation. Something didn't sit right with her.
Logan's gaze softened. "When we waited for the elevators, we ran into Lucy and her ex-boyfriend Beau."
When Ella helped the girl properly move in to her apartment, they started talking and Lucy mentioned stuff about her life back home.
"The one who cheated on her?"
He nodded. "Yeah, Beau told us that he drove all the way from Georgia to win her back, but before we left for rehearsal, we saw him in the elevator kissing another girl."
Ella winced. Her friend didn't deserve that. "Oh, no."
"Then James got all upset because he wasn't the hottest guy in the Palm Woods anymore and you know Kendall, wanting to play hero all the time, so he and James stayed behind to expose Beau as a cheater."
"That's sweet of them," she hummed. She felt a little better. If she were back at the Palm Woods, she would've done the exact same thing.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Carlos shouting, "Guys! I think I found him!"
Ella and Logan ran over to the boy immediately. She gasped, seeing part of a shoulder pop out from underneath bubble wrap and cardboard. Carlos shoved it away, revealing an arm that was covered by the same sleeve of the navy suit Griffin was wearing earlier today.
"Griffin!" Logan and Carlos yelled in relief as they tugged on it.
Ella let out a yelp in surprise when they pulled the entire arm off of the "body." Realizing what it was, her heart rate went back to normal as she dropped her head in defeat. She was relieved the boys didn't actually pull a real arm out, but upset that Carlos got her hopes up that it was the missing CEO.
All of a sudden, Carlos screamed in horror, "No! Griffin!" He clutched the suit-covered arm. "We tore his arm off when we pushed him in the bin!"
Ella shared a look of disbelief with Logan as he pried the plastic arm away from Carlos.
"It's a mannequin, genius!" He snapped.
Ella reached in, pulling out the rest of the plastic body to show Carlos. Coincidentally, it wore the exact same suit as Griffin.
"Oh," the boy said in realization.
Ella kicked the bin in frustration. "It must've been outside a department store or something. It's not Griffin."
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After that terrifying experience, the three of them continued on going through the rest of the bins.
Ella sorted through tons of bubble wrap, more shredded cardboard boxes, and a never-ending scroll of paper. But, of course, Griffin wasn't there.
Now, Ella felt stupid. It wasn't possible for him to be in a recycling bin for so long without anybody finding him.
"Okay, this is the last dumpster." Logan exclaimed as he and Ella lifted up the lid.
She raised her brows as Carlos dove into it, rummaging through all the bubble wrap.
"No Griffin," he gasped.
"Well, if he's not here, then where is he?" Logan questioned.
"Has it ever occurred to you morons that someone may have saved him before we got here?" Ella remarked, feeling frustrated she had to dig through recycling bins all day. Her hands were grimy and she had dirt stained all over her clothes.
"Or he was taken away before we got here," Carlos cried.
"Oh, excuse me, sir?" Logan called out to another worker who passed by them. "What happens to all the recyclables once they leave this waiting area?"
"First we dump the dumpsters into our giant shredder," he told them, gesturing over to a massive white structure. The boys shrieked in fear, while Ella's mouth fell open. If someone didn't save Griffin, then really the only explanation was that a worker was distracted and didn't notice a whole person getting shredded. "Then it all goes through a melting process..." Ella closed her eyes as the boys yelled again. "Where we turn everything into clean reusable bottles."
A forklift, holding many crates of plastic bottles, slowly drove by the group, as the worker turned around, taking one out.
"This one's probably made from these dumpsters right here," he said, handing the bottle to Ella who stared down at it in complete horror, at a loss for words.
"We recycled Griffin." Logan and Carlos whimpered as they looked at the bottle in their friend's hands.
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The walk back to Rocque Records was full of panic from the teens.
How were they supposed to tell Gustavo and Kelly and the entire world that they kidnapped Arthur Griffin, lost him, then killed him in a tragic recycling accident?
They trudged through the hallways of the studio solemnly, holding the plastic bottle.
In respect to their CEO, Carlos thought it would be nice to stop by a toy store and purchase a miniature suit for the bottle to wear. It made it all that sadder when the navy suit and red tie was the same as Griffin's.
Kelly and Gustavo, who was waving a CD, approached them. "Okay, Reed, as promised, your second album is right here and—What did you do?" Gustavo cried out, seeing the forlorn expressions on the teens' faces and the suit-wearing bottle in their hands.
Fighting back tears, Logan and Carlos explained the entire story to Kelly and Gustavo. By the time they were finished, the entire group was distraught, sitting on the lobby couch and staring at the bottle that was placed in the middle of the coffee table. Ella sat next to Logan with her face buried in her hands.
"I can't believe you recycled Griffin." Gustavo said in between gasps.
"The white cap is the same color of his hair." Kelly pointed out, in tears.
"Okay, he was kind of crazy." Carlos sniffled. "But that's what he liked about him."
"I knew we shouldn't have willingly kidnapped him," Ella groaned, lifting her face out of her hands.
"No, he ordered us to kidnap him." Logan huffed. "It will hold up in the court of law!"
"You had to toss him in a dumpster." Gustavo sobbed.
"Don't worry. I'm in a better place now."
Ella jumped, hearing Griffin's voice coming out of the plastic bottle.
"Oh, we know, Griffin. We know." Carlos croaked out.
"Wait." Ella snapped in realization. "Recycled bottles don't talk."
The group quickly turned their heads, seeing Abdul and Griffin, who was very much alive, stand in front of them.
"Griffin?" They shouted, standing up in disbelief.
"Thanks for throwing me in that dumpster, fellas. Now I know my CEO-Finding In-Head Microchip works perfectly." Griffin told them, pointing to where the chip was in his head.
"You have a microchip in your head?" Kelly asked incredulously.
"My head beeped, and Abdul was able to track and find me," he explained as his assistant held up a tablet that showed Griffin's location on the screen. "And, well, I like your kind of crazy too."
Ella shook her head, not believing she let the boys' insane thoughts take up her own common sense.
"Okay, well, we kidnapped you. And you're alive." Logan said.
"So I guess we know what that means..." Carlos exclaimed.
The two boys turned to each other. "Solo record dance!"
Ella watched in amusement as they broke out into their song and dance again.
"Solo record dance in my solo record pants-"
"Stop!" Gustavo bellowed, shutting them down immediately. "Because that is not happening." He scoffed, "Solo Records."
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"Help! Let me out! Let me out!"
Ella laughed with the boys, watching Gustavo bang on the recycling bin from the inside as punishment for refusing the solo records.
"I wouldn't leave him in there for more than two hours." Griffin told them. "It starts to get hot."
"We'll think about it," the three teens shrugged.
Kelly sighed, going forward to let Gustavo out, before Logan put an arm in front of her, stopping her. "Nope."
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In the span of 6 hours, Ella managed to finish her second album, kidnap Griffin, go on a wild goose chase to look for him, think the CEO was dead, then realize he wasn't, and finally, go out for ice cream with Logan and Carlos in celebration that they didn't have to go to jail for recycling somebody.
Despite her heart rate rising a million times today, it was still a good day. Ella almost forgot about the strange gut feeling she got this morning.
Walking into the lobby of the Palm Woods, Ella felt the back pocket of her denim shorts start to vibrate. She pulled out her phone, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion at the caller ID.
"Jo?" Ella questioned.
They haven't spoken in a couple months due to the time zones and their hectic schedules. She missed her best friend so much, but was surprised she was calling her.
"Hey, Ella."
The girl could hear her friend's grin over the phone, but wasn't sure what happened.
"What's up, is everything okay?"
Jo laughed. "What would you do if I said that I wasn't in New Zealand anymore?"
Ella's eyes widened, but kept her tone cautious. "You're not funny, and I'm going to scream if it's true."
"Turn around."
Hesitantly, Ella did so and her hand shot over her mouth in complete and utter shock. Jo was standing in the doorway of the Palm Woods, luggage in hand.
Well, Ella did scream.
And then after, she yelled, "Jo!" as she ran up to her friend and tackled her in a bone-crushing hug. "What are you doing here?" She exclaimed, not sure if Jo being back in L.A. was real or not.
Being face to face with her friend again, she realized how long it's been since she's seen her. And it hasn't even been three years.
Jo sighed, "Long story short, we did a test run of the movie and the audience hated it so much that they burned down the theater. Then they cancelled the other two movies."
"God, I'm so sorry." Ella winced, hugging the girl again.
"It's alright. Maybe it was a sign that I needed to come back here," Jo said over Ella's shoulder.
"I missed you a lot, Jo." Ella said, comfortingly. "It wasn't the same with you gone." She let out a smile. "There is so much you need to catch up on."
Jo chuckled, "I'm looking forward to it."
With that, Ella walked with Jo over to the front desk so she could get keys to a new apartment. It felt like it was just yesterday Ella was doing the same thing with Jo when she first moved in.
After a half-hearted welcome back from Bitters, Jo took her keys and Ella grabbed her hand and the two rushed over to the elevator area.
"We are celebrating your comeback." Ella stated. She used one hand to push the elevator button and the other to text Camille about Jo's sudden arrival. "You, me, and Camille are going out tonight and doing something special."
Jo let out a sigh of content. "That sounds amazing, actually."
The elevator doors started to open, the two girls turning towards it.
"Yeah, it really-"
There it was.
That gut feeling she had proved to be right.
Something terrible happened.
If Ella could compare this experience, it would be to a ticking time bomb. Everything was going well. She was laughing and smiling. Her best friend was back.
Nothing would ever prepare her for what was behind those elevator doors. It felt like slow motion as they opened, revealing the betrayal inside.
Why the hell was Kendall Knight kissing Lucy Stone inside an elevator?
"Kendall?"
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❝author's note❞
IM SORRY I HAD TO
okay not really but i've kind of been foreshadowing this since the end of s2 and i just wanted to experiment with different plots
so yeah kendall's going to fuck up a little this season
despite this, i hope you guys enjoyed and are looking forward to the drama that will most likely ensue from this :)
be sure to vote and comment!
have a great day everyone!!