| CHAPTER SEVEN
| marionette
ᴏᴀᴋʟᴇʏ ᴄᴀʀʀɪʟʟᴏ
"There you are," Gen said. "I was getting worried." Her eyes fell on the cupcake with the little birthday candle in it, and they widened.
Nolan handed me the lighter and I lit it.
"Make a wish," I said.
"Oh my god, you had me worrying while you were just looking for a stupid candle?" she asked.
"You have a minute!" I told her. "Make a wish and blow out the 'stupid' candle," ordered, almost pressing the cupcake in her face.
"That's not how to talk to a lady, Oakley," Danny said, putting an arm over her shoulder which she removed dramatically, almost knocking over the cupcake.
"Danny, not cool," I said. He threw his hands up in surrender, and Gen closed her eyes with her hands clasped together before quickly blowing the candle out.
"Done! We only have like a few—"
She was interrupted by one of the dancers staring counting down from ten. Two seconds were wasted on utter confusion, but we all started counting down from the seven second mark.
We waited, looking at the screen as it was still counting down. A simple black text on a white background.
And then the video started.
And it was weird. I didn't expect much else from Gen, but this was probably the weirdest thing I'd heard and seen.
The video mostly consisted of Nolan in a white room with white clothes, performing basic tasks, and failing. Lacking emotions. In fact, he kinda looked like a robot the entire time.
Then there was the occasional scene where there was some robotic dance Gen performed with her dancers. It almost felt like these people weren't people, and instead were avatars being controlled by someone on the outside.
The music itself started out too fabricated. It was boring and repetitive and... honestly, it kinda sounded like my music, which was quite telling.
I frowned as I tried listening to the lyrics.
Gotta be picture-perfect, no opinion of my own
I'm exactly what you want, aren't I?
I'm exactly what you need, aren't I?
And then the actual chorus kicked in, and the dancers were smashing everything around Nolan up, and he sat there doing nothing. The music had taken a turn, now actually sounding reminiscent of Gen's signature style.
I'm more than just your puppet,
Your doll to throw around
You're just a puppeteer,
The closer the camera got to Nolan's face, the more you could see him fighting back the tears. Almost like seeing straight through him while he was putting up a facade.
...making profit from my sound
I wish that I could tell them,
How I'm moved by the strings
But they don't care because they like what they see
The video eventually ended with Nolan screaming at a wall.
The room erupted in a loud applause. It took me a little longer to really let everything I just saw settle in.
I pulled Gen by her arm, and her smile faded away into a small frown.
"Was it good?" she asked.
"It was good, but I'm confused."
"It's about people like you," she clarified. "When people take advantage of you."
"And?"
"And about how eventually, you'll snap."
"So what was this? Why are you using my life as your source of inspiration without even talking to me about it?"
"Are you mad at me?" she asked me. She looked almost offended, with her eyebrows tied in an impossible knot.
I didn't know how to feel about it. It was like my mind just shut off, having no opinion of my own at all. I wasn't mad, though. At least, I didn't think I was.
"I— no, I guess. I'm just confused. Why didn't you just talk to me?"
"I wanted to talk to you, but your management wouldn't let me. I needed another way to reach you while you were halfway across the world. Everything was planned for much earlier, but I thought this was the best way to reach you."
"You couldn't at least tell me about this?" Surely she could've talked to me when I came back. "I just don't understand."
"You're right. I should've told you once you came back. But if you're being honest, do you think you would've listened to me?"
"Of course I would've," I said, narrowing my eyes at the question. She was like my mentor. She'd always been my biggest inspiration, so I would never go against her advice.
"You didn't see a therapist when I told you to, nor did you talk to your parents about what happened."
I rolled my eyes, I thought we were over this.
"Not just that," she said, "but you also signed that last contract when I told you not to. I also told you not to tour. I advised you to only sign with Stellar once, and to not take their managers. You only listen when it's about the music, or about the fans. You never listen when it's about your well-being."
"I know they're taking advantage of me," I told her. "I'm not sixteen anymore."
"I know," she said, looking down at her shoes. "I just wanted to show you what would happen in a language you'd understand. And I want to warn others too, but maybe I went about it the wrong way. I'm sorry."
I hugged her, because I knew that was what she needed right now. I kind of needed a hug too.
"You're like my big sister. Just know that every single piece of advice you've ever given me, has been thought through, alright?"
"I know," she said. "I just want you to be safe."
"The song is good though," I told her. She laughed, pulling away from my hug.
"I know," she said. Her eyes fell on the table, where the cupcake was still sitting. "Take care, alright?" She grabbed the cupcake off the table and took a bite. "These really are amazing," she said.
"Right?" I agreed. I looked around me, and Nolan seemed to be caught up in a conversation with some of the dancers, while Danny was munching on yet another cupcake. The last one left, from what I could tell.
"I think I should go home in a bit," I told Gen. I still had a shit ton of writing to do, and I was exhausted from doing so today already. "Will you be okay?"
"Yeah, you should probably get some rest," she told me. "I'll probably see you some other day."
"I'm not leaving now," I told her, rolling my eyes yet still smiling. It was almost like she wanted me gone.
"You look like you want to," she said defensively, holding her hand up next to her head with her palms exposed.
"Well, I don't. Not necessarily."
"But you also don't feel like staying here," she guessed. She wasn't wrong. I didn't necessarily want to leave, but I wasn't opposed to it either.
"Do you still want me here?" I asked her.
"You can go. Really. I just needed your reaction to the video," she told me. I nodded.
"Okay then. I'm going home." I hugged her one more time, and she almost squeezed the air right out of my lungs.
"Text me, alright?"
"I'm an adult man, Genevieve. I'll get home safely."
"Right," she huffed, letting me go. "When are you leaving for your tour?"
"Sometime next month," I told her. Time was passing by so quickly and I felt like I had so little time. "I'm never letting this happen again."
"I'll believe it once I see it," she said. "If you need help with your music, just ask."
They didn't ever want me to collaborate with her, even if it was just with lyrics. In fact, they didn't want her name to be associated with mine at all. But I didn't want to ruin her mood.
"I think I'll be fine," I said. "Thank you."