- Are You True?
Ellie was stood by the sidelines in the school gym between Brooke and Peyton as it was game night as the ravens were playing against another team but what was different was that Lucas decided not to quit and let Nathan get to him as he was doing this to prove he is good enough and also because of his mom causing a small smile to appear on her lips, " Let's go, let's go, ravens, let's go" the cheerleaders cheered from the side of the court.
Whitey had called a timeout to have a prep talk with his team, while the cheerleaders were doing some routine Ellie and Brooke had made up causing the crowd the cheer loudly only moving back to the side line once the boys broke their huddle causing Ellie to smile as she grabbed Lucas arm squeezing it in reassurance and told him, " don't worry so much about it. You're doing great"
"So a quick timeout and the ravens take to the court, their undefeated record at stake. 18 seconds on the clock. They need a basket to tie or a 3-pointer for the win. Jagielski to inbound, finds Tim Smith out top. We're under 10 seconds now. They dump it down to Nathan Scott and he's double teamed... forces up a 7 footer. It kicks off the heel of the rim. Jake Jagielski with the rebound, 5 seconds on the clock. Jagielski licks it out to Lucas Scott behind the 3-point line. The ravens are going to win or loose right here"
Lucas jumped in the air throwing the ball, a quiet silence was heard as everyone watched the ball as it entered the basket just as the buzzer went off causing everyone to scream and cheer in victory as Ellie smacked her Pom-poms together happily with a bright smile on her lips," unbelievable! Lucas Scott with the 3-pointer at the buzzer and the One Tree Hill Ravens are still undefeated! And I tell you, what, if you're going to play the Ravens this season, you better take notes. There's a new Scott in town."
Ellie and Brooke shared a look with large smiles on their faces as the blonde saw the impressed look on her friends face. It didn't take long until she got changed in the changing rooms before she slung her duffle bag on her shoulder walking out of the changing room bumping into Peyton, " Hey, what do you say we go out for some Chinese food?" Ellie questioned as the two blondes began to make their way towards Peyton's car.
"Yeah, I'm starving. We can go mine after and have a movie marathon" peyton suggested causing a smile to appear on Ellie face as she linked arms with the curly blonde only for her eyes to widened in shock as she pulled Peyton to a stop who frowned in confusion, " what is it?" Ellie pointed her finger towards Lucas who was sat in the car with Brooke in the backseat wearing her leopard print bra, " Oh, my god. She didn't. I'm so gonna kill her"
Peyton smiled with an amused look on her face as she wrapped her arm around Ellie, " Okay, you are not gonna kill our best friend. You know how protective she is over you and probably just wants to know if he's good for you especially after what happened with the last guy you was with" Ellie shook her head only to gasp in shock placing her hand over her mouth sharing a look with Peyton before the two of them burst into laughter at the sight of Coach Durham knocking on Lucas car window causing Brooke to hide in the backseat making both Ellie and Peyton laugh as they walked over to Peyton's knowing that Brooke would probably tell them everything tomorrow.
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After the game at the school gym, Peyton and Ellie was laid across the curly blonde bed eating Chinese and watching re-runs of friend when Ellie phone went off only for her to ignore it when she noticed whoever it was had left her a voicemail causing her to share a look with Peyton before she played it on speaker, " Hello, this message is for Elizabeth. This is Hannah Hall, I work for Gold Tone Studio. You're friend dropped off some of you're work at one of our studios and one of executive producers went through some of you're songs and there amazing. Adam could see potential in you, and is offering you a record deal. If you can give us a call if you have a chance we would love to discuss this further with you"
Ellie eyes widened in shock as she looked down at her phone before turning her head to look at Peyton, " am I hearing this correctly but did I just get offered a record deal?" Peyton couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face as she wrapped an arm around her shoulder, " Oh, my god. I'm so happy for you. You know what this means right? This is the start of something amazing. You've always wanted to make music and if the Adam Dessner wants to work with you , you have to go ahead with this contract"
"But what if I'm not good enough?" Ellie questioned with a deep frown on her face on the urge of panicking, " what if this is some kind of joke and they don't like my songs. I mean, I'm still in high school.. how could this record deal even work especially since Gold Tone Studio is so far away it's in Brighton." Peyton grabbed Ellie hands on her own squeezing it in reassurance and told her, " Ellie you are the most talented and amazing person I know. You heard what Hannah said, Adam thinks you have potential and he wants to work with you. They'll be flexibility to work around this. It's a one in lifetime opportunity you have to say yes"
Ellie bit her lip as she looked down at her phone before looking at Peyton who nodded her head in excitement happy for her friend as she knew this is something she's always wanted to do since they were children and once the blonde beauty sets her mind of something she pushes herself to get what she wants and when she makes music it's the one thing that makes her happy and just knew this is what she wants to do with the rest of her life and she's going to succeed as her music leaves a mark on people who easily connects to her songs.
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Ellie had a determined expression on her face as she walked down the hall of Tree Hill High School. The blonde held her books in one hand as she held Peyton's hand in the other, oblivious to the attention she was receiving brushing past her classmates when she caught sight of Lucas further down the corridor standing by his locker.
"Who do you think you are?" Ellie slammed Lucas locker shut with a look of annoyance and irritation on her face sending a harsh glare to the blonde boy who's eyes widened slightly startled by her appearance, " someone you're pissed at" Lucas muttered as he glanced over Ellie shoulder at Peyton who raised her brows with an amused look on her face.
Ellie hummed folding her arms across her chest nodding her head slightly, " Wow, was I that obvious?" She sarcastically questioned narrowing her eyes at him in disbelief, " you submitted my songs to downtown music studio!" Lucas furrowed his brows as he stared down at Ellie with a curious expression on his face and stated, "And they liked them didn't they?"
"If I wanted you're help I would ask for it" Ellie glared over at Lucas as she didn't expect to get a call from someone called Hannah Hall who worked with one of the producers Adam Dessner who wanted to meet with Ellie as he wanted to signed her on his label as he had listen to some of her songs she had recorded from the USB he was sent from downtown music studio.
Brooke who walked over towards the three of them glanced between Ellie and Lucas before focusing her attention on her best friends, " Hey, girl" the dark haired girl smiled stopping beside Ellie as she then turned to look at Lucas, "Hey, you didn't happen to find my..." she trailed off as Lucas opened his locker pulling out Brooke's leopard print bra with an amused look on his face, "Thank you gorgeous" Brooke smirked before walking away from the three of them.
Lucas awkwardly looked back towards Ellie who rolled her eyes before grabbing ahold of Peyton hand and dragging her with her as they followed after Brooke, " You're welcome!" Lucas called out after Ellie who ignored him as she rushed after Brooke when the two blonde girls appeared on either side of her, " what you got there?" Brooke smirked trying to act innocent like she had no idea what Ellie was talking about as she shrugged her shoulders and asked, " what?"
"Oh you know what" Peyton laughed sharing a look with Ellie as the two of them both shot Brooke a knowing look, "The Brooke Davis leopard bra, dude that things like a welcome mat. Anyway, I heard you were naked in his car" Peyton stated as she and Ellie had both seen brooke half naked in Lucas car on Friday night. "No, I was partially naked. At one point I had mittens on cause it was cold. Oh, did you see my ..." Brooke trailed off reaching into her bag onto for Ellie to stop her as she wrapped her arm around her shoulder, " Okay, focus. You're a slut in mittens, you're in the car. Then what happens?"
"Well, then nothing" Brooke informed with a shake of her head as Ellie scoffed in disbelief raising her brows at her best friend, "He was really sweet, he drove me home said 'good night' waited until I got inside" Peyton eyes widened in surprise as she looked between the two girls and suggested, " maybe he's gay" Brooke shook her head in response, " No, No, i think he's just really nice. Anyway, it's clear he has a think for you... my beautiful best friend" Ellie groaned rolling her eyes once again as she looked between her friends who laughed in amusement, " why does everyone keep saying that?"
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A couple of days later, Ellie entered down town music studio as she let out a nervous breathe as this is the first time she will be meeting Adam Dessner and still couldn't believe that this was actually happening as he wanted to offer her a record contract with republic records. The blonde placed a smile on her face as she made her way towards the receptionists behind the desk, " Hi, I'm Elizabeth Jones. I have a meeting with Adam Dessner"
The women behind the desk began tapping her fingers on the keyboard looking at the computer screen, " hmm- mmm, yes, Elizabeth Jones. Take the elevator to the third floor. He's assistant is waiting for you she'll take you to see Mr Dessner" Ellie nodded her head in acknowledgment sending the women a small smile as she thanked the girl before she took the elevator to the third floor.
It took a couple of minutes until she arrived on the third floor as she looked around for Hannah only to see a brunette women walking towards the blonde teen with a warm smile, " Elizabeth, welcome to downtown studio" Ellie shook the brunette hand with a smile of her own, " Hi, you're Hannah right." Hannah nodded her head in confirmation, " excellent memory. I'm impressed. Are you excited to get started?" She questioned causing Ellie to smile with a nod of her head, " come on, let's get you introduced to Adam"
Ellie let out a small smile as she followed after the women towards one of the rooms at the end of the corridor where Adam was, " Elizabeth, it's so good to finally meet you. I've heard good things from Hannah. I've listened to some of your songs and let me tell you, you're going to be a star I can see it" the blonde couldn't help but chuckle softly as she shook her head not believing a word he was saying, " thank you, Adam, but I don't think that..."
" I know what I'm taking about and you have an amazing gift which is rare in this industry and I can't wait to start working with you" Adam interrupted the blonde as he had heard her voice and it was beautiful and just knew she was going to make a mark on the world and was happy he was going to apart of it, " Let's get down to business. So the first thing we need to discuss is your album concept? What do you have in mind?"
Ellie frowned as she looked between Adam and Hannah, " To be honest I didn't think that something like this can happen to someone like me. I mean, the songs that I write are personal that it's just for me to hear. There's so much more than writing songs than just what you're feeling in your singular storyline. It comes with an vulnerability when you open up to someone especially when it comes to something you've created as they might not like it or relate to it"
"Your songs have a way to relate to people, music is so powerful it's something that everyone can share. Music is meant to heal us, to bring us together to make people happy" Adam smiled at Elizabeth as she reminded him a little of hisself when he first started as a songwriter, " come on, let's see what you're made off Elizabeth Jones" the blonde looked between Hannah and Adam nervously before she made her way over towards the piano placing her bag down as she took out her book scanning through the pages.
"I'm been working on this song but it's not finished yet..." Ellie began to say only to be interrupted by Adam who sat next to the blonde on the piano stool, " I'd love to hear it" the blonde took a deep breathe before she began playing the piano, " I think I've seen this film before, And I didn't like the ending. I'm not your problem anymore. So who am I offending now? You were my crown and now I'm in exile, seein' you out and I think that I've seen this film before. So I'm leaving out the side door"
Adam nodded his head with an impressed look on his face as he looked down at the notebook noticing that is as far as she started the song as he began playing the melody of the song once again, " So step right out, There is no amount of crying. I can do for you." Ellie nodded her head to the music writing it down in her notebook, " All this time. We always walked a very thin line" Adam and Ellie faced one another as they began to sing together as Hannah smiled watching the two of them make a song to the melody that the blonde had created, " you didn't even hear me out, you never gave a warning sign. All this time"
" I never learned to read your mind" Adam continued with a grin as Elizabeth was so talented he didn't understand why she was so nervous in making music for the world to hear. " never learned to read your mind" Ellie repeated as she continued writing down the lyrics in her notebook. " I couldn't turn things around. ( you never turn things around) cause you never gave a warning sign ( I gave so many signs) so many signs. So many sighs."
" you didn't even see the signs" Ellie finished singing once Adam stopped playing the piano causing a wide grin to appear on his face, " that was really cool" Ellie frowned as she stared at him, " you really like it?" She questioned causing him to nod his head in confirmation, " Oh, my god. We just did this whole verse and chorus" Adam couldn't help but laugh at her reaction, " everything up to that point is good. I think that this would be a great duet song and Justin vernon would love this"
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"You'll never guess what just happened" Ellie called out as she walked into the room where Brooke was currently getting a wax as both Peyton and Brooke shared a look before turning back to the blonde, " what's wrong? Did something happen?" Peyton questioned with furrowed brows. Ellie sighed as she took a seat next to the curly blonde placing her bag on the floor, " so I had just met with Adam Dessner at downtown studio we spent the last couple of hours writing a song. He knows Justin vernon and wants him to be apart of the song"
"Wait, as in Bon Iver?" Peyton eyes widened as she looked up at Ellie in shock who nodded her head in confirmation, " Oh, my god. I'm so happy for you" bringing the blonde into a tight hug looking over at Brooke from over her shoulder knowing that Ellie was a nervous wreck before she went to meet with Adam and ended up creating a song in like 3 hours. " when are we going to hear it?" Brooke curiously questioned.
"Soon. Adam sent the song over to Justin so we're just waiting for his response before we start recording it" Ellie beamed as she smiled in excitement only for both Brooke and Peyton to laugh at their best friend antics before the curly blonde decided to change the subject, " so how's your Lucas quest going?" Brooke smirked as she glanced over at the two girls, " Fine. Ow! Hand" holding out her hand as she took Ellie's holding it tightly as the women rips of the wax strips from her legs.
"So let me ask you something, why are you being so persistent with this one?" Ellie questioned with an confused look on her face as Brooke had told her she wasn't interest in Lucas but spent the day trying to figure him out, " I mean, normally you would have moved on by now" Brooke smirked in amusement glancing over at Ellie, " why? Are you jealous?" Ellie scoffed in disbelief shaking her head, " No, there's nothing to be jealous from"
"Do you like him?" Peyton questioned with a smirk as she knew that Ellie liked Lucas but just afraid to let him after everything that she had been through with Liam and was scared to let someone in if there was going to just hurt her. Brooke and Peyton both sent her a look not believing a word she was saying causing Ellie to sigh heavily as she glanced between the two girls, "Nooo, I don't even have time with Ma.. I mean with school and now this record label"
Ellie cursed herself at her slip up as she hasn't told Peyton about her daughter as she just hasn't found the right time to tell her as she knew once everyone found it she would be judged for being a teenage mother while still in school even if she had John and Karen to help her out when she needed them to, "Well.. maybe I want a boyfriend. Someone reliable for once, steady.... Without all the drama, anger, and pettiness you and Nathan have" Peyton raised her brows at Brooke with a smirk as she shared a look with Ellie before leaning over and ripping off the wax strip, " Ow!"
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Ellie pulled up outside of river court, letting out a sigh at the sight of Lucas standing on the ladder scrubbing the graffiti off the backboard before she stepped out of the car walking closer to Lucas, " Hey, I heard about this. I Hoped it wasn't true" Lucas had a frustrated look on his face as he continued scrubbing, " what do you want Elizabeth?"
"I wanted to thank you. If I wasn't for you I probably wouldn't of been signed with Republic Records" Elizabeth smiled crossing her arms over her chest as Lucas turned to look at her with a frown and asked, " I thought you was mad at me because I handed in your stuff at downtown studio?" Ellie stayed silent for a couple of moments before she spoke up, " I was at first as I wasn't ready to expose myself to the world like you and your basketball"
Lucas stared at Ellie with a smile as he happy for her that she was sighed with a record label and finally doing something she loves to do, " maybe you are ready, but you're just scared" Lucas climbed down the ladder walking closer to Ellie, " Well, did you at least meet with them?" She nodded her head in confirmation, " Yeah, yeah, I wasn't going to at first but Peyton and Brooke somehow persuaded me to do it. I think I was so afraid of what people will think or if they would like my music but when I met with my music producer all those worries just kind of disappeared."
"I mean I spent most of the afternoon with him and we ended up writing a song together so I guess I just wanted to thank you because if it wasn't for you I don't think I would of been where I am now" Ellie explained with a small smile causing Lucas to chuckle as his eyes widened in surprise, " Wow, did Elizabeth Jones just say thank you" Ellie giggled shoving him lightly with a shake of her head, " shut up. I'm sorry if Nathan did this, Do you want any help?" Lucas smiled as he handed her a sponge for her to help him clean up the river court that Nathan and his friends had trashed.