chapter4: nine together as one
november 21, 2008
It was a few hours later. The band members were about to meet at a Starbucks. Ryan and Greg were still on edge. Alec did his best to keep the two guys separate from each other. So he had them sit at different tables. He got Vaughn his own table. Ryan and Greg ended up fighting by texting each other.
At the same time, Hayley and Emily were carrying their shopping bags from several designer stores. They continued talking smack about Sarah, Rylie, and Maddie.
As the two girls were about to enter the Starbucks, Sarah, Rylie, and Maddie arrived. They all had styled hair, new clothes, new shoes, and more makeup.
When both groups met, Emily and Hayley were shocked. The three girls were very fashionable. Rylie actually looked like a celebrity, not a plain 13-year-old.
After exchanging glares, the girls entered the coffee-shop. They noticed the guys were sitting at their tables. They also saw Greg and Ryan furiously texting on their iPhones.
Sarah told Maddie and Rylie, “I’m going to sit with Greg. He looks like he needs to cool off.”
The two girls agreed. Then Maddie asked Rylie, “Where do you want to sit?”
Rylie looked around. She eyed Ryan. Rylie said, “I want to sit with Ryan.”
Maddie said, “I was just thinking of the same thing.”
Rylie smiled, and they both sat with Ryan. Hayley and Emily sat with Alec. Even the girls didn’t like Vaughn. He just rolled his eyes, and went back to his phone.
When Sarah sat down, Greg looked up. She noticed how angry he looked, so she asked, “Is everything alright, Greg?”
He replied, “Not really. Me and that blonde dumbass got into a fight. Since we can’t literally fight in the mall, we’re fighting by texting.”
Sarah gave a small laugh. Greg asked, “What’s so funny?”
She replied, “We barely know each other, and already you can’t get along with Ryan. Sure, he’s arrogant, but he’s not like Vaughn. Was it Vaughn that started the fight? He seems to hate Ryan.”
Greg said with a small laugh, “I guess that’s true. I don’t get why Vaughn is trying to fight Ryan. But still, all Ryan cares about is himself.”
“True, but he’s nice compared to Vaughn. Look, we’re all trying to get along. Hayley and Emily aren’t exactly the nicest girls in the band. They’re very stuck-up.”
“I’m sure we’ll all start getting along soon. We have to anyway.”
With that, Greg and Sarah shared a smile.
At the same time, Ryan looked up from his phone to see Rylie and Maddie sitting in front of him. He stopped texting, and gave a smug grin. He asked them, “So, what brings you by to my table?”
Rylie blushed a bit, while Maddie was obviously trying not to smile. Ryan noticed what Maddie was trying to do, so he asked, “Are you okay?”
She thought for a moment. Then she asked, “What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, why are you acting like you want something from us?”
Ryan was surprised by that question. He asked, “Why would you ask that question?”
Maddie explained, “Ryan, I can see right through you. You’re a player. You want to get into our pants.”
That made Ryan irritated. He told her, “Maddie, we barely know each other, and already you’re making assumptions about me. I can tell you for a fact that I’m not a player.”
Then Maddie started grilling him. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
“I’ve been single for a couple of months now.”
“Hmm, I wonder why that is.”
Ryan glared at Maddie, and he asked, “Okay, I think I get it. I’m not your type of guy. But you don’t have to judge me.”
With that, Maddie glared back at Ryan. He asked her, “So tell me, what is your type?”
She gave a short laugh as she replied, “Guys that have more substance. Guys that are involved in making the world a better place. Guys that care about people, not about themselves.”
“You mean an activist?”
“Exactly.”
Ryan scoffed, “Well, I’m not an activist. I’m all for a better world, but I’m not interested in saving the world. As long as I have good life, who am I to complain?”
Rylie was watching the two going at it with each other. She felt uncomfortable, so she said awkwardly, “Um, I’m going to go sit somewhere else.”
Maddie and Ryan ignored her as she got up from her seat. Instead, the two glared at each other. It was like this for almost a minute once Maddie said, “This is stupid.”
Ryan said, “It is stupid. I’m gonna go sit somewhere else.”
“No, I’ll go sit somewhere else.”
“Well, you’re going, then I’m staying here.”
“I’m staying here, too.”
Once again, Maddie and Ryan went back to glaring at each other.
As this was going on, Emily, Alec, and Hayley watched what was going on between Maddie and Ryan. Rylie sat with Sarah and Greg, who looked like they were getting along well. Alec asked, “What’s going with Maddie and Ryan?”
Emily replied sourly, “They got some sexual tension going on. But who cares about that slut Maddie? What’s going on with the guys? Other than Vaughn trying to pick a fight with Ryan?”
Alec replied, “Vaughn started another fight, but this time it was between Ryan and Greg. The two didn’t like each other anyway, but Vaughn just made it worse.”
Hayley said, “That guy needs a life. Why is he in the band anyway? He’s not much of a singer like you, Ryan, and Greg.”
At the same time, Vaughn was watching and hearing that was being said. When he heard Hayley make that comment, he stood up, and declared, “I’m the best singer y’all got in the band!”
Everyone heard that, including the 9. Hayley knew that Vaughn overheard her, so she asked, “You were eavesdropping on me?”
He said with an air of arrogance, “All I’m saying is that I’m better than any of you. That’s all.”
With that, Ryan got up from his chair, and said angrily, “Vaughn, I think I speak for all of us that we’re tired of your shit! All you ever do is try to start fights, and act like you’re so much better than everyone else in the band. We’ve all heard you sing, watched you dance, and saw you acting. You’re not that great, and I don’t understand why 7STARz picked you.”
Maddie chimed in, saying, “I hate to say this, but Ryan’s right. We’re done with your attitude. You’re not even serious about this band!”
Vaughn gave an arrogant laugh, and said, “Okay, fine. You want proof I can sing, and that I’m serious about this band? Then tomorrow we come back to this mall, and we perform that song we just recorded, Forever.”
That shocked the members. Sarah told him, “Vaughn, we just recorded that song! All we have is an instrumental demo! And besides, how are going to pull that off in this mall on such short notice?”
Vaughn shrugged his shoulders, and said, “I don’t know. Y’all come up with something.”
The members groaned. Ryan said, “Okay, we’ll talk to the mall manager, and schedule this performance. What do we have to lose?”
Vaughn gave a satisfied grin.
It’s the next day. The 9 arrived at the mall for their impromptu performance. They didn’t tell their manager about this show, as this was what Vaughn pushed them to do. Instead, they decided to be a nameless band.
As the 9 were getting to perform, they saw a crowd of people surrounding the stage. They all felt nervous, as this was the first time they ever performed in front of an audience. This was also the first time they sing together as a band. They’ve only learning on harmonizing, so they needed to be able to sound decent.
Once they got on stage, Sarah spoke to the crowd nervously, “Hi. We’re a new band. You’ll see us again very soon.”
Then their song began. First to sing was Emily. She was nervous, but she was able to sing. Then it was Greg. He got a few screams for him, which raised his confidence. Once the chorus came, everyone sang. They soon gained confidence as the crowd started cheering them on.
As the song was nearing the end, the 9 smiled as they took in cheer and the screams. After it was over, they thanked the crowd for watching them.
When they walked away from the stage, they all cheered. Then Sarah told the members, “We all did great!”
Ryan asked Vaughn, “So, do you still think you’re better than us? I think we’re all great singers.”
Vaughn sulked, and stormed off. As for the rest of the 9, they were proud of themselves. They were also excited about the future of 9STARz. The crowd like them. Their future is looking really good.
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IN THE VID IS 9STARz' SONG "FORVER" (LEADS: EMILY/GREG/MADDIE/RYAN/HAYLEY/ALEC/RYLIE (AD-LIB)/SARAH/VAUGHN)