Nine years ago, Leafy Verte was given an opportunity that changed her life forever.
The day had started out normally, it was a cool Saturday morning in early spring and she was going to hang out with her friends.
Her mother had gone out drinking the night before, she came home late and blacked out, she was in her bed in a snoring heap and still in her clothes she had worn out.
She wouldn't be awake for another few hours and Leafy was well aware of this.
She knew how pathetic this woman was, having recently given up on being her daughter and actually trying to have a relationship, she felt no remorse at all when she went into her room, took her purse and pulled out twenty dollars.
She wouldn't care, her mother never noticed anything she did, good or bad.
After getting dressed and making sure she looked cool, Leafy left the house, without a word to the woman who was supposed to look after her.
She never had a curfew, she could just come and go as she pleased since there was high chance her mom would be gone by the time she came home, off somewhere drinking and flirting with strange men she didn't know.
It was a shame really, her mother was very pretty with gorgeous dark green hair, enchanting eyes and on the surface a very pleasant demeanor.
In another life, maybe they could have been the ideal mother and daughter that Leafy wished they were.
She looked so similar to her mother, at least that's what she was told.
Leafy couldn't help but feel envy when she saw real moms with their daughters, being kind and loving, doing what a mother is supposed to do.
That's what she wanted, but she never got what she wanted, it just wasn't fair.
The moms she saw on TV and when she went out were nothing like her own one.
Sometimes she felt like she didn't even have a mother.
...
Leafy trudged down the street, her hands in her pockets as she kicked a can, annoying the people around her.
She was not a well mannered child, pushing in front of people, shoving past them, tripping them up, spitting near where they walked and deliberately getting in their way.
At just eleven years old, Leafy was well on her way to becoming a delinquent, she hung out with sketchy people and was very easily manipulated.
She wanted to fit in with her "friends" she would do anything.
It really was unfair, the people she hung out with were mostly fourteen and knew that she would do whatever they asked if they told her they would like her more.
She had been coerced into shoplifting, drinking and more.
But it helped her feel like she fit it, like a comfortable lie.
When she reached the group of people whom she called her friends, she was greeted with high-fives, fist-bumps and "bro hugs", a bro hug was where both parties pulled eachother in and gave a pat on the back.
They were a new occurrence but Leafy went with it, she had always liked hugs of any kind.
Leafy was the only girl in the group and while most of the boys had girlfriends, it didn't stop the things people said.
She was called a bitch, a whore and so many other things and she was just eleven years old, she had no idea why she was even called them in the first place.
A lot of girls didn't like her because they assumed the worst, when she met the girlfriend of one of the guys, she made her dislike for Leafy very clear.
She tried not to let the words get to her, she knew it wasn't true and she took some comfort in that and no one else seemed to think it was a big deal so why should she?
The group walked around the city, in search of a place to spend their time, talking and yelling at obnoxious volumes, kicking over trash cans and just being overall little shits.
They stopped at a convenience store and walked around it like a pack of rabid animals, the poor store owner had no idea how to deal with them, being a fairly old man, he didn't really stand much chance.
Leafy watched as the boys shoved items into their pockets and quickly got out of the store, laughing their heads off as they ran down the street.
Leafy was the last to leave, with two boys who had stayed behind yelling for her to follow them.
But before she did, she ran back into the store, went up to the man behind the counter, dropped the twenty into the tip jar and got out of there as fast as she could.
After some heavy sprinting, Leafy managed to catch up to the boys who were headed to an arcade on the pedestrian high-street.
While they played video games and drank their stolen energy drinks, Leafy sat on an electric box just outside the enterence, looking up at the sky and getting lost in her thoughts.
One boy asked her if she wanted to play a dancing game with him, she agreed since she had nothing else to do but something stopped her.
She heard someone trying to get her attention, she turned around to see a man dressed in a suit, with an ID card pinned to his jacket and sheets of paper in his hands.
"I'm very sorry young lady but may I speak with you for a moment?" the stranger asked.
Leafy nodded, slightly shy and very nervous.
The man asked her many questions, how old she was, if her parents were nearby, if she was from the area, etc.
She answered all of them and the man seemed satisfied, just when she thought she was in the clear, his final question stunned her.
"Would you be interested in joining our company and training as an Idol?"
Right away, she knew what her answer would be.
And so, after taking some forms from the man and being told where to meet in a week's time, she ran almost all the way home, excitement fueling each step.
When she showed her mom the forms, she simply gave a shallow laugh, wondering who on earth would ever want her daughter for everything but still, she signed it.
She had assumed it was a scam, she made Leafy agree to pay for her train ticket to get to the place so when it turned out to all be fake, it could teach her a lesson that good things don't happen to people like them.
...
Exactly a week later, Leafy stepped off the train on the other side of the city.
It was grey and rainy and she had no idea where she was, she felt very nervous and conscious about who was around her.
It was a bit of a trashy area and Leafy was growing increasingly worried and flustered with the directions she had been given, she definitely didn't have the courage to ask anyone around for help.
But at long last, she found the place, a decent sized building that looked very similar to an office.
She walked in and once she hyped herself up, she spoke to the man working at the front desk, who told her to go in the elevator to the fourth floor.
As the elevator ascended, she felt her heart beating very quickly, she had no idea what she would find when she got out, but she needed to stay as calm as she could.
She was greeted by a woman with a clipboard, who quickly dragged her where about five other girls were standing.
A man handed her a frilly top and skirt with cute shoes, she was instructed to go change into them and then they would start.
As Leafy stood side by side with these girls she didn't know, she felt uncomfortable and embarrassed, she wanted to go home, she wanted to hide in her bed and forget Idols existed at all.
The directors told them that they assumed the girls had some knowledge of Idols and what they did and in order to show what they could do, they were informed they would follow a quick dance routine followed by a few camera tests.
When told what routine they would be doing, Leafy felt a bit of the weight fall off her shoulders.
She knew the song and the routine by heart already.
Something that hardly anyone knew about her, something that she would never say out loud for fear of being embarrassed.
She was a die hard Idol fangirl.
Her absolute favorite Idol of all time was definitely Ruby Diamant.
Each girl took a turn doing the short routine, Leafy was the last one to attempt it.
As the music started on her turn, she pretended she was just in her room, doing the dance with the music playing from her second-hand iPod.
When she finished the routine, there were murmurs from the various staff and managers and Leafy felt her stomach drop in fear.
Until one of the directors with blue hair and sunglasses gave her applause.
A few more people joined in and Leafy exhaled shakily as she gave a bow to them.
The camera tests were just as nerve wracking but Leafy wasn't about to give up just yet.
She hadn't totally embarrassed herself she could still do this.
After spending hours online and watching clips of her favorite Idols, Leafy had an understanding of what Idols were supposed to do when they were on camera.
She thought of Ruby, who possibly could have been in her exact situation and tried to embody the energy and charm that she would have had throughout.
Giving her best smiles and poses, Leafy played to the camera, giving everyone exactly what they wanted.
That would be something that would stick with her for the rest of her career.
She could see satisfied smiles on people's faces, she saw the nods of approval and assumed she was doing something right.
Just keep up the energy, that's all she could do.
...
During a water break, she was called over to two of the directors, one of them was the blue haired one who clapped for her.
Up close, he seemed kind of scary, his arms were folded and they always seemed unimpressed.
Who would have guess that face would be the one she would trust most?
The blue haired person crouched to her level, since they were rather tall and asked her a question.
"Would it be alright if I managed your career, you'd be in a different group from these girls but I think you can handle it, but it's up to you,"
She had no reason to stay with the others, she didn't know them, she had no connections to them at all.
So she agreed.
"Congratulations kid, you're an Idol," the blue haired person said but there was a hint of...regret in their voice.
The person introduced themself, their name was Four and they promised Leafy that while they would try to help her reach her full potential as an Idol, they would also do their best to keep her safe in the industry.
Some more paperwork needed to be signed, much to her mother's surprise since she had called bullshit on the whole thing but she saw the opportunity in it once she realised what could happen.
She signed the forms, hoping that this little stunt of Leafy's would bring in some money for her.
Leafy trained every single day, the routines weren't too complicated since she was a member of a fairly underground group but she was proving to he a valuable asset regardless.
Finally, after months of hardwork, Leafy Verte debuted as an Idol.
Since then, her career has had countless ups and downs, but right now, things were looking better than ever for her.
Especially when her phone rings and she gets a call from the cutest guy ever.
"Hey Firey, what's up?" She greeted happily.
"Nothing much Leafs, just a question for you," he replied.
"Go ahead,"
"When did you managed to put this photo in my bag?"
Leafy laughed sweetly as she realised what Firey was talking about.
"Remember when I leaned against you when we left the building? I was able to put in there when I knew your attention was on me," she giggled.
"You amaze me sometimes," Firey joked.
"I'm just wonderful, aren't I? Anyways, I hope you like the picture, it's the best one in my opinion," she teased.
"Yeah yeah, whatever," Firey said half heartedly.
"But...you do like it,don't you? I'm sorry I thought it would be funny," Leafy apologize worriedly.
"No, I do like it, don't worry, I mean, like, you do look really good in it and stuff...," Firey trailed off before he dug himself into a pit of shame.
"So, you do like it?" Leafy asked just for reassurance.
"I gotta say, it's definitely the best one I've seen of you, then again I haven't actually seen that many photos of you," Firey said nonchalantly.
"Well then, I'll have to fix that won't I? Bye bye Firey, love ya!" She babbled before hanging up, leaving Firey fairly surprised on the other end.
"Bye, Leafs,"
...
Firey put his phone down and turned to Butter who was sitting nearby, not really caring about anything around him.
"Did you hear that, Butter?"
He got a small exhale in response.
A stupid smile was on Firey's face as Leafy's words replayed in his mind and he did a silly air punch as he felt he cheeks warm.
The impact that words can have on people is one of the most interesting things.
How a simple scentence can have a normally composed guy acting like a kid with their first crush.
How silly.
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We are STAR☆T☆RAIN!
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Come on, Come on!
We are STAR☆T☆RAIN!
Hope you enjoyed that chapter!
XOXO
LeafCake