It's Not Over Yet (the seventh book in the glee series)

Chapter 43: Ha Ha Ha

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"I realized what's wrong with my songs," Julie said as she walked into Sebastian's apartment on Monday morning, refreshed from a weekend of working hard on her album and upcoming performance.

"Julie, wow," Sebastian said from the couch, pushing the man who was sitting on him away and wiping his mouth. He waved the man away and the guy retreated into the bedroom.

"I take it that's not your son," she said, laughing as the stranger shut the bedroom door. "Hooker?"

"A friend, actually," said Sebastian. "Just someone I've been sorta seeing. And my son is at daycare. But that doesn't matter. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I had to see you," said Julie.

"In Lima," said Sebastian. "You have several interviews and appearances in Los Angeles this week."

"Oh I know, and I'll make it to most of them," said Julie, making him scowl. "But I had to talk to you and I didn't wanna do it over the phone. I've been listening to all the unfinished songs and doing my best to give them what I thought they needed but as much as I've changed and tried to make them better, I realized that the problem wasn't with the vocals or the lyrics... It's the production."

"The production?" he said.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I worked with so many different people on these twelve songs and it just all sounds wrong. I need a producer to work with me on all the tracks I've gotten so far and we need to re-record everything and give it a fresh sound. I need someone who gets me, ok? Who gets what I'm trying to do here and who can give the album that final thing it needs to be truly special before I send it in."  

"We have a list of approved producers waiting to hear from you," Sebastian reminded her. "You just have to choose one."

Julie shook her head, "You're gonna think this is a crazy choice but... I have just the person for the job. How do you feel about me recording this entire album and working on some new songs with... John Brown."

"John Brown?" Sebastian laughed in Julie's face.

"Yes, John Brown," Julie said, rolling her eyes.

"I thought you didn't speak much to the guy anymore," said Sebastian.

"We've been busy," Julie shrugged. "But I hang out with him every now and then. Well, I did before he checked into rehab. Sebastian, he'd be amazing for this album."

"He's not a producer," said Sebastian. "At best, we can get him a feature on there or get you featured on one of his releases... If he doesn't retire."

"No," Julie shook her head. "John produces a lot of his work. His EP was incredible. And he's done songs for Travis Hilton and for other artists. He's great."

"And caused you a lot of messy headlines," said Sebastian. "And after the rumors you started with that stunt on stage with the fake Crystal Army members at the VMAs, he's gonna cause you more messy headlines. Imagine what the press and the fans will say if you're off making an album with the same guy your ex has spent the last year fighting with. And the same guy you made everyone think is the reason why you're divorced."

Julie took a deep breath, frustrated.

"Oh is that what this is about?" Sebastian laughed. "You saw those pictures of Alex with his ex last week and this is your response."

"No!" Julie exclaimed defensively. "Sebastian, this isn't about that. I need him for the album."

"Well," he added, "what makes you think John wants to hear from you? He just got out of rehab like two months ago, Julie. He won't want to hang out with... a temptation such as you. You're too much of a mess for someone trying to clean up."

"Sebastian, I want this album to be my best work yet," said Julie. "And I've always been messy. This is an artistic mess, ok? He knows pop. He knows rock. And he knows R&B. I'm trying to blend the three together into something nobody expects from me. What could help me do that better than working with him? I heard he's in the area and if anyone can get me where I need to be right now, it's him."

Sebastian groaned and rolled his eyes. "Then give him a call," he sighed.

"Well, that's the thing," said Julie. "He's kind of been hard to reach the last couple of months. I tried reaching out when he checked into rehab and again when I heard he was out but... No word back."

"Maybe he just doesn't wanna see you," Sebastian suggested.

She frowned and said, "He will when he knows what I want him for. I went by his house before coming here and there's no sign of him being there at all in the last few weeks. We almost ran into each other in London the other week when we were doing that Capital FM stuff and that's as close as I've been able to get to him since, like, early May right before he went away to get sober. So please use your evil Sebastian Smythe powers to track him down for me. Just get me a meeting. Or not even. A phone number. Whatever you can. Find John Brown for me. I need him. More than ever. So get him for me."

She gave him a stern look and headed for the door. As she opened it, however, Sebastian stopped her from completely walking out by saying, "Congratulations on the number one, by the way."

Julie poked her head back in and said, "I told you I'd get it," smiling as she left on her journey to get even more number one singles with the help of a long lost friend.

***

"Mother!" exclaimed Kitty when she opened the door to find Patricia there, walking in like nothing was wrong. "I've spent four days trying to reach you. Where have you been?"

"I had a spa weekend," said Patricia nonchalantly.

"What?!" Kitty exclaimed. "After what just happened. After what you did to Leo?"

"Leo?" asked Patricia, scoffing. "When did you start shortening his name. Kitty, I told you a million times when you called that I had nothing to do with him."

"And I told you a million and ten times that I didn't believe you," Kitty shook her head. "I know you were involved. Somehow. You kept talking about getting him out of the race and I told you to get dirt on him and you said it was taken care of."

"Yes," said Patricia, reaching into her oversized purse for a document. "As in, I paid my PI to dig up something. Unfortunately, he came to me this morning with nothing. Sadly, Leonel Sisneros seems to really be squeaky clean. You know, once they got rid of all the blood he probably had when he was mugged."

Kitty glared at her mother, who handed her the document.

"Honestly, Kitty, you think me capable of something so serious?" asked Patricia. "So sinister?"

"Honestly, mother, yes," said Kitty, rolling her eyes. "If you didn't do it, who did?"

"I'm sure there are plenty of terrible people in this city who could've done it," said Patricia. "Maybe it was random. Maybe it wasn't even politically motivated at all. Regardless, it does not concern us. He probably won't return to work anytime soon, so it's time to make use of his absence and focus on your main opponent. Forget about Leonel Sisneros. He's out of our way."

Kitty listened to that last sentence, the way her mother had said it, so pleased about what had happened to Leonel. She found it hard to believe that Patricia had nothing to do with it.

***

"I can't believe you're making me do this," said Santana, holding her phone to her ear. "I am so annoyed with you right now."

"Trust me," Quinn said from the other side of the line. "This will be great for the label. Carly Dom is huge right now. She's blowing up on social media and streaming. Radio is starting to embrace her. And most importantly, she's unsigned. We get her on board and we'll have a great roster for the next quarter. Trust me."

"But do we have to go court someone so..." Santana complained, walking into a cafe with a scowl on her face. "How do I put this... Um... Annoying?"

"She's not that bad," said Quinn.

"Q, I saw her videos and I've read her tweets," said Santana. "She is that bad. Besides, I doubt she'll wanna come in on a Lima label."

"Why not?" said Quinn. "We can sell her on the city, Santana. Just trust me on this. We need Carly. And she needs us. You can do this. I believe in you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," said Santana. "You owe me. I think I see her. I'll talk to you later."

"Good luck," said Quinn as Santana ended the call. She spotted the rising star sitting at a table with a woman who she assumed was her publicist and took a deep breath.

"Here goes nothing," she told herself, heading for the star. As she approached, she put on a fake grin and said, "Carly! Hi!"

"Hey," responded Carly, smiling. "Santana Lopez, oh my god. I'm such a fan. It's so nice to actually get to sit and talk to you."

Her speaking voice was a lot deeper in person, surprising Santana. Maybe the higher pitched voice she had on during interviews and her social media videos was just part of her charade.

"When my publicist told me that you wanted to sit and talk with me," Carly continued, "I almost flipped. Like, almost flipped a table. I was so shocked. I thought she was messing with me."

"Well," said Santana, trying her hardest to maintain her smile. "I wasn't going to let an opportunity like this pass up. You're really talented, Carly." She swallowed hard, unable to get the sentence out without having a bad taste in her mout for it. So instead she said, "You're so popular and people seem to love you. And I know there must be dozens of offers already on the table from different labels. So I wanted to, in person, grant you an offer from mine. Come be an artist at JV Records."

"JV Records?" said Carly, turning to the woman beside her, who Santana was now realizing wasn't a publicist but rather just a friend, probably a best friend that went around everywhere with Carly acting more as an assistant.

"Yes," Santana nodded. "I think that you'll find the artists signed to our label have had immense success. We propelled Lyric Heron into a top 40 artist, Sarah Linley has become one of the biggest country stars under our label... Dean Monroe had an incredible rock debut. All three of them got nominated for Grammys and some of them even won those awards. We have the prestige and the talent it takes to launch an artist into superstardom."

Carly stared at her and said, "Tell me about Juliet Vasquez."

Santana forced a smile. "I mean... What can I say that you don't already know? She's by far our greatest artist. Got five number one singles off her last album. That's the type of work we do. And our label gives artists the freedom, artistic and otherwise, to create whatever type of work is in your vision. You won't have to deal with pressure from us on what to release, no 360 deals, nothing."

"No 360 deal, wow," said Carly, looking over at her friend again. "That's usually industry standard."

"Not with us," Santana shook her head. "We're not going to take too much from your earnings. We believe firmly that 360 deals are a reason new artists don't make much from their music, and that ends up hurting your fans because it rises the cost of your concerts and your merch and... Well, our label is owned by three achieved women, myself included. We don't need to take from those areas. We know all passionate artists want their fans to get the best deals possible. So we give the artists our best deals possible."

"Right," Carly nodded, slowly smiling. "That's pretty cool."

"Yes," Santana said, placing a folder in front of her. "It's a bit early for contracts. But here's some more information on our label and what we want to offer. Let us know what you think and what you want from us and I'm sure we can have our lawyers draft up a great contract that works for both sides. Soon as possible. It was great meeting with you, thank you for coming."

She got up and Carly still seemed to have more she wanted to talk about. Santana knew Quinn's voice was somewhere in her head telling her to stay and make sure Carly was sold on the idea of joining JV Records, but she couldn't stay there any longer pretending to want an artist she herself wasn't a fan of. She was out of there in record time.

***

"Bad news," said Sebastian the next morning, calling Julie on the phone. "Couldn't reach John for you."

Julie rolled over on her bed. She had been back in her house for less than a day and already she wanted to leave, bored and hopeless now that she didn't have John in reach.

"Apparently, he's just recently gone through another number change," he continued. "But I do have good news. I talked to Mandy and she confirmed that he's in town right now. So you can go see him yourself."

"Mandy..." Julie said, sitting up and gasping. "Oh, of course! I'm such an idiot! Thank you, Sebastian. You get to keep your job another day."

"Oh joy," he sighed. "See ya."

He hung up on her and she threw her phone down, overjoyed but also anxious as hell. She hadn't seen John in months. And since then he'd stopped drinking and started fighting intensely with Alex. Was he going to be upset about seeing her?

***

"Well, I hope you're happy," said Santana, entering Sam and Quinn's home as soon as she'd returned to Lima. She didn't even stop by her own house and see her family because all that was on her mind was how low she'd gone to please Quinn.

"I take it your talk with Carly Dom went well," said Quinn, who was holding a baby in her arms. It took seconds for Santana to figure out it was Seth, just by studying the face for a moment.

"Where's Lyn-Lyn?" asked Santana, smiling at the infant as they sat down together on the couch.

"Sam's been trying to put her down for a nap upstairs," sighed Quinn. "I'm trying with Seth down here. We figured it was going to be easier separately and since the other kids are all at school right now... This is our moment."

"I see," said Santana. "That's some great teamwork." She cleared her throat and added, "I think I'm gonna need a need a long spa week courtesy of JV Records because having to kiss Carly Dom's ass yesterday was excruciating."

"So it seems," Quinn nodded. "But I haven't heard from her people at all yet. Did you seal the deal?"

"Not exactly," said Santana, taking a deep breath. "But I thought of something when I was flying back into town. Carly seemed pretty excited about the idea of Julie and the other stars she'd get to be with here. She's still dealing with her fame. I could tell. She was starstruck when she saw me and then she asked me about Julie... We need to show her that Lima is the perfect place for a rising star. Enough privacy to keep enjoying a normal life but... With all the fame and partying that this city can offer these days."

"What did you have in mind?" asked Quinn.

"We fly her out here tomorrow," said Santana. "Take her to Adonis. It's Wednesday so you know it's gonna be packed. They just got a new DJ and he's actually pretty great. A breath of fresh air. She's going to love it. She's going to fall in love with Lima. That's a sentence I never thought I'd say but if any two people can make it happen, it's you and me. So what do you say?"

Quinn thought about it for a second and her mouth turned into a smile. "Ok," she nodded. "You need to make the invitation personally. It's not courtesy of the label. You really thought she was cool in person and you wanna hang out. Do it as soon as possible."

Santana smiled back and rose to her feet. "It was a pleasure seeing you and Seth," she said. "Say hey to the rest of your family farm for me. I'm gonna get this girl for you. I promise."

"I know you are," said Quinn, watching Santana leave with her clear mission.

***

Almost simultaneously, Alex was awakened by the sounds of knocking and Rosie crying. He wasn't sure which came first but it was evident that neither would stop until he got up.

So he went to Rosie's nursery across the hall, picked her up from her crib and rocked her on the way to the door. 

When he opened up, however, and saw that it was Sebastian waiting on his porch, he had every desire to slam the door in his face. In fact, he almost did, but Sebastian gently stopped it and said, "We need to talk."

***

Julie didn't bother driving by John's house again. If she'd missed him before it was because he wasn't staying there, so there was really only one other place to look. And she was right.

When she arrived at Wasted Zombies Studio, his white mustang was parked out on the side of the road, around the corner, barely out of sight but still visible to anyone searching for it. At the sight of the vehicle, Julie's heart seemed to beat faster, and she felt her stomach in flutters. He was really there.

She hurried inside the building where a receptionist immediately recognized her and began to pick up her phone, but Julie waved a hand at her not to bother and walked into the first floor's open studio to get down to business.

"I should've known you'd be holed up in here," she said as she walked into Studio A and found him there, moving equipment around. He froze at the sound of her voice so she said, "Wasted Zombies is basically your home in Lima these days, huh?"

"I'm not in Lima much these days," he responded, continuing to shuffle things around, not turning in her direction. "But yeah, I dropped by like three days ago to work on something and well... I haven't left."

He spun around, finally, and faced her. Julie let out a deep breath. She hadn't seen his face in so long, it felt strange to look at it now. He looked so... healthy.

"If you're looking for studio time, though," he said when she didn't respond, returning his attention back to the equipment, "I've booked the place straight for the next two weeks."

"I'm here because I need you, John," she said, making him look up again. "I want to work with you. I'm looking for someone with the right vision to produce my new album. And you know me better than anyone else. It's you. You need to produce this album."

John stared at her silently for a moment and then said, "No."

Taken by surprise, Julie repeated, "No?" She walked closer towards him. "Why not? You wanted to write with me."

He let out a soft laugh. "Yeah, two years ago," he said. "Maybe even a year ago. But not anymore. I've got my own album to work on. It's coming along pretty well so I can't start focusing on other stuff right now. Things have changed, Julie... You'll see."

"John, please," she said, disregarding his words. "I need you." She dug through her purse and pulled out a USB drive. "These are my demos. Super unfinished but they'll give you an idea of what I'm going for with this album."

"Yeah, I heard your single," he said. "The whole world heard it."

"That's just one small portion of it all," she shook her head, insisting that he take the drive. "Please listen to them and I assure you that you'll want to work on this project with me. Just think of all the things we could do together."

He looked down at the USB, then briefly up at her before turning his attention back to her hand. Hesitantly, he reached for it and held it in his hand.

"Thank you," she said. "Just listen to everything and try to imagine what the songs could become with your touch. You're the man for the job. I just know it."

She turned on her heels and quickly began to leave, but turned back around before reaching the door. 

"Oh," she said, "and I almost forgot... It's really great to see you, John."

He didn't have time to respond with even a nod or a quick remark because she spun around again and left. Staring at the USB in his fingers, John sighed and headed up to his office.

***

"So you're telling me that Julie's back in town," said Alex, taking a deep breath as he sat outside his house with Sebastian. 

He'd fed Rosie and set her down in a floor seat beside them, keeping an eye on her until Bonnie or Tabitha could get there. He'd texted both of them asking them to please drop by because Sebastian surely brought bad news, but there was no way he was letting him into the house.

Now that he knew those news involved Julie, he was more inclined to get rid of him. "Why should I care?" asked Alex.

"Because," said Sebastian, "I think she wants to come see you, deep down. Come see your daughter, mostly. I'm... concerned."

"Concerned?" Alex laughed. "Please. You don't care about her well-being. You've never cared about her or any of us."

"I care about the best interests of my client," Sebastian corrected him. "I need her at her best. And lately, she hasn't been. She misses her family."

"If she missed the girls, she would've come see them a long time ago," said Alex.

Sebastian sighed, "It's hard for her to reach out, ok? But I'm sure that she will. And when she does, you can't push her away. You can't reject her or stop her from seeing that little girl."

He looked down at Rosie and Alex scowled. "Is that all?" he said.

"I guess it is," Sebastian said, getting up. "Just think about what I've said, ok?"

He gave a little wave to Rosie, smiling when she waved up at him in response, and then left. Alex looked down at his daughter, at how much she needed her mother to be around more, even if it hurt him. Sebastian was right. He couldn't possibly keep them away from each other.

***

Wednesday came quickly and Kitty was up very early trying to find out what her mother had done. She read up on reports of what happened to Leo but they were all similar and yet different. A small detail varied in every local story, but those small details made each story hard to believe at all.

She knew there was only one person who could tell her what really happened that day.

So she swallowed her pride and went to visit him at his home, parking right where she imagined the mugging happened and then walking to his door with her head held high.

She knocked with decent force three times and waited for him to come to the door. It was another man who answered the door, a worried look on his face that grew when he saw who the visitor was.

"Kitty Wilde?" he said. "This week's just full of surprises."

He shook his head and turned, letting Leo come up behind him to answer himself. Kitty tried not to wince when she saw his face. Several stitches on his left cheek, a bruise on his right, a nasty cut on his bottom lip and a swollen eye. And that was after almost a week of recovery.

"How can I help you?" he said as politely as he could.

Kitty took a deep breath and said, "I just came to see how you were doing. I debated whether or not to come down here given how our last conversation went but... I had to make sure you were alright."

She looked away from him and saw out of the corner of her eye the other man standing, arms crossed and watching her with disgust. Was she already a suspect?

"Well, I suppose I should thank you for that," said Leo.

"You don't have to do that," said Kitty.

"I know," he responded. "I said I should. Not that I was going to. Not after the way you treated me last week. I'm surprised you cared enough to come in person."

"I just didn't know what the truth was," Kitty admitted. "I read different reports on what happened to you and... I just had this horrible feeling about it in my stomach. Like, why would anyone do this to you? And... I like to know the truth."

"Well, it seems like it was random," Leo shrugged. "So if you're worried that a political opponent did it and will come after you next... The police already cleared that from being a possibility. They booked the attacker this morning and he acted alone, for reasons unrelated to what I do for a living."

"Really?" said Kitty, immediately regretting reacting so obviously relieved.

Leo watched her suspiciously and nodded. "Thank you for dropping by, Ms. Wilde," he told her, holding the door and closing it a little on her. "I'll see you at the first debate next month."

Kitty opened her mouth to speak but he continued closing the door and the last thing she saw was the other man waving goodbye to her, letting her know she wasn't welcome.

***

Pacing her empty house all morning, Julie got tired of waiting on John to reach out to her. He had the demos for an entire day now and that was more than enough time for him to listen to it. Impatiently, she grabbed her things and headed back to the studio for answers.

When John opened up the front door to her knocks, she felt a little embarrassed. "Sorry," she said. "The door was locked and I saw your car outside..."

"Yeah, our receptionist isn't here yet," he said. "It's pretty early."

"I know," Julie looked down at the floor apologetically. "I just... I had to know. Did you listen to anything yet? Did you like it?"

"I didn't," he shook his head. "Listen to it, that is. And I'm not going to."

"What?" she said, feeling her heart sink to her stomach.

"I told you yesterday," he explained. "I already heard So What a few weeks ago on the radio. And I heard the new one a few days ago. What was it? Sexy Dirty Love."

"And?" Julie asked.

"They're both fine," he shrugged. "I liked So What a lot and Sexy Dirty Love is... a nice filler."

Julie sighed. That was a great insult.

"I mean it in a good way," he said, sensing her disappointment. "Trust me. But you can't afford to put out an album full of nice or any filler songs for that matter. Which I have a feeling..." He reached into his pocket, where he had the USB drive she'd given him. "...is what this is."

He handed it to her and she stared at it, confused. "So you really didn't listen to it..." she said.

"Nope," he said. "It's a good thing."

"Can I come in?" she asked. "Talk about it more? Have a drink?"

"Julie and drinking," he laughed, shaking his head. "A dangerous combo for me. No thanks."

"I'm such an idiot," she said, shaking her head. "I forgot completely... You're sober."

He smiled and said, "Come in. We have water and coffee and maybe some sugar-free juice."

"Coffee for sure," she said, taking a deep breath and following him inside.

***

"I guess I owe you an apology," said Kitty as her mother walked into her study. "They found Leo's mugger. It was a random attack."

Patricia raised her eyebrows but she didn't seem surprised. "Then I guess that settles it," she said. "You can drop your accusations and leave behind your suspicions because the race is still going. And you need me to win."

Kitty stared at her mother, still not sure she trusted her entirely.

"Right," she said. "But so you're aware, I'm calling all candidates to city hall tomorrow. We're going to sign a clean campaing pledge. I want everyone to know that we're winning the way we're meant to win. No dirty business."

Patricia seemed displeased by the idea but she gave a simple nod and said, "It's your campaign. Whatever you say."

***

Julie sat in John's office, in front of his desk, and looked around. The coffee hadn't done much for her, but she drank it out of politeness as she took in what had changed since she'd last been in there. For one, the room now overlooked Studio C. John must've turned that one into his personal, private studio.

"This is my third day in town," she was saying. "And I still haven't gone to see them yet. Any of them."

"Where are they right now?" John asked, sitting in front of her tapping a pen on the desk.

"I don't even know," she shrugged. "The twins are probably with Sam. And Rosie... She'd be with their father or an aunt or a nanny or... I don't know. Someone who isn't me. And they probably don't care that I'm not there at this point. The twins are old enough to notice, right? And I mean, they spend so much time with Sam and Alex, they probably do hate me, just like them."

John didn't say anything, just kept tapping the pen and listening.

"I guess I'm afraid to go see them," Julie admitted. "I feel like they'll just... reject me."

He sighed and set the pen down. "The longer you wait, the more you risk that actually happening."

"I know," she said. "But still... Anyway, enough about that. It's fine. How are you? How's sobriety going?"

John picked up the pen again and rapidly tapped it. "It's fine," he said, staring down at the desk. "Obviously not amazing but... It's been thirteen weeks since my last drink. So... I guess I'm doing alright so far."

"So far," she repeated softly. "Yeah, it's a long process, isn't it?" She stirred her cup but didn't drink anymore coffee, instead tapping her fingers at the edge of the desk and looking around anxiously, her leg shaking like she had to go to the bathroom.

He watched her and raised an eyebrow. "So, uh," he cleared his throat. "I saw your VMA performance. Well, I was forced to watch it by my team. Given the subliminal mentions I got throughout the night."

"Oh," she said, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, sorry about that, John. I wasn't really thinking."

"Oh I didn't mind it at all," he shrugged. "It benefits me in the end. Trust me. But, uh... I guess what really had my attention was that you were clearly on something. And I think you've been off it a few days so you're a little spazzy."

He indicated to her fingers and leg so she self-consciously stopped moving. 

"It's the coke again, isn't it?" he asked. "You weren't able to stop?"

Julie cleared her throat and said, "I'm not on it. I do it every now and then, sure, but it's not... habitual. I'm really not addicted, John. I'm fine. I go without it for a really long time and... I can't even remember the last time I had any."

He didn't seem to buy it but didn't push the subject, though it was in fact a lie. She'd taken it just before her performance at the VMAs, and maybe he'd been able to tell after watching her, but he wasn't going to say it. After all, he was the last person to judge her for it after his involvement in her developing the vice.

"Ok," he said, getting off his chair. "I'm going to get you that drink."

"What?" she said, looking up shocked. "But you're sober."

"Doesn't mean you have to be," he shrugged, grabbing a key from his drawer and turning around to unlock a cabinet. When he opened it, he revealed a stash of alcohol, unopened previously and for her taking. "Help yourself," he told her. "You clearly need to relax."

Julie stared at the drinks and saw how cool and calm John was around it. It was incredible. Maybe he'd never needed the rehab in the first place, in which case he'd done it only due to the pressures from his family to drink less. It was... inspirational. Maybe she could clean up a little too, just enough to be able to face her family and see her daughters again.

***

"So this is the famous Lima Adonis," said Carly as she walked into the club with Santana beside her, as well as the same friend from the cafe. "Wow. I mean, I've been to the new one in New York but this is the famous one. The one that helped create so many big artists. The one Juliet Vasquez always hypes up."

Santana tried not to roll her eyes, leading Carly to a table where Shana and some of their other friends were already waiting. 

She saw Carly's face light up as she said, "Carly, I want you to meet some of my friends. This is Kayli Markis and Zoe Rivers, I'm sure you recognize them from being in Rhythmix, and these are two of my dancers and also my choreographers, Mike Chang and Brittany Pierce, this is Mercedes Jones, this is my favorite designer Kurt Hummel, this is Cleo White of the Victoria's Secret Angels... and last but not least my beautiful and talented wife, Shana Davis."

"Also of Rhythmix," said Carly, going in for what at first seemed like a handshake but then became a hug. She also hugged Mercedes and Kayli, so it became pretty clear who she was fangirling over the most. 

"Everyone," said Santana, watching her with annoyance, "this is the incredible Carly Dom. But she doesn't need an introduction. She's one of the hottest rappers right now. Her song has been in the top 10 of iTunes for months and climbed it's way up the Hot 100."

"It was number eleven for two weeks," Carly bragged, despite every artist around her having achieved at least that multiple times.

"So," Santana cleared her throat. "Carly's gonna be hanging out with us tonight. She's never been to Lima before but I have a feeling she'll love it here so... Let's show her a good time."

She smiled at her and waved a bartender over for shots. Everyone watched, knowing enough from Santana to be aware that this was actually business. But the perfect Carly entourage Santana had put together was just the beginning of her plan to reel her in for good.

***

At almost ten at night, Sam wasn't expecting to receive any visitors, but as he was cleaning up the kitchen and dining room, he saw Alex walking up the steps through the window and hurried to greet him.

"Hey man," said Sam, opening the door and letting him in. "I didn't expect you to come by. Did something happen?"

"Uh, sorta," said Alex, walking with him to the living room. As they sat down, he said, "So, um, Sebastian Smythe came to see me."

"Did he?" asked Sam, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup," Alex nodded. "Yesterday. He came by the house. And he said that Julie's in town and is probably going to reach out to us about seeing the girls soon."

"Oh," said Sam, seeming a little impressed. "Wow."

"Yeah," said Alex. "And... He also said to me that... He's worried about her. About Julie."

"Sebastian did?" Sam scowled. "Really?"

"He says she really needs us," said Alex. "And that we can't reject or push her away and... I just don't know if I buy it, Sam. I mean... After everything Julie's put us through and the amount of times she's walked out on us... It's only been a year since the divorce and already she's gone MIA when she was supposed to be here more times than I can count. I'm not sure if... If she's really ready or even willing to change."

"Well, we'll have to wait and see," said Sam, shrugging. "It's not the first time she shows up and we expect her to drop by but she never does. Although the visit from Sebastian is a new one."

"Yeah," Alex scoffed. "Definitely new... So what do you think?"

"I think that..." Sam took a deep breath. "Oh this pains me... We need to listen to Sebastian. If Julie reaches out, we need to give her the chance. For the girls. Izzy and Gaby... They miss her. And Rosie's hardly had her in her life."

"I know," Alex looked down at the ground. "But she's so unreliable. It's hard to put my trust in her."

"We owe it to the girls to try," said Sam. "I'm gonna talk to Quinn and make sure she's ready for it too. So... Put your feelings aside and let her come to us. Maybe this time she actually will go through with it."

***

"Ok, so this is actually a really new DJ," said Shana as she stood with Kayli and Carly on the dance floor. "There's always a house DJ. And Wednesday nights are open mic so anyone can go up there and sing. Of course us being us, they'll pretty much let us go up whenever."

Santana had taken a break from Carly and gone off with Mercedes, Kurt and Brittany, while Cleo was at the bar with Mike and Zoe, so it was up to Shana and Kayli to schmooze for now.

"You can perform tonight if you'd like," Kayli suggested. "You just have to go up to him and let him know." She listened for a moment and said, "I think this is his own mix. It's good, isn't it?"

"He's like a no-name basically," Shana explained. "But I think that's what makes him special. You know? Like, he's still trying to keep things original."

"Definitely," said Kayli. "And he's cute. Lima is so full of cute guys. You're into guys... right?"

"Right," Carly said with a laugh. "Actually, I got out of a relationship pretty recently so... Not exactly sure if I'm ready to be looking."

"Oh really?" asked Kayli. "What happened?" Shana nudged her so she said, "If you don't mind sharing. You don't have to at all."

"He cheated on me," Carly shrugged. "Actually, it's a pretty juicy story. I was out of town for a while and I came back and I caught him with some girls in his house when I dropped by to visit. All sittin' in the hot tub out back like nothin'. Apparently I was just one of many. But is cool. 'Cause I got my revenge. I made a hit out of his ain't shit-ness and I'm making more headlines than him these days."

"Wait, you wrote the song about another artist?" asked Shana, shocked. "A famous one? That is juicy."

"Uh huh," said Carly, nodding and smiling. "Our relationship was lowkey but I'm waiting for the day I get to tell everyone it was about him. Just didn't wanna give him that kind of promo before. Can't give men like that the power of attention."

Kayli clapped her hands in the air above her head. "Wow," she said. "You are officially my hero."

"That sure is something," said Shana, as Santana rejoined them along with Mercedes. 

"So, how are things going?" asked Santana, leading Carly away from the other women. "How are you liking the OG Adonis so far?"

"You know what?" said Carly, looking around. "It's pretty chill here. There's still a cool scene. Like New York without being so extra all the time."

"We do sleep here," said Santana with a soft laugh. "Well, you know, I did have one other person I wanted you to meet. I just found out he was getting into town today so I thought I'd invite him to drop by and hang out."

"Oh yeah?" asked Carly, getting excited. "Who is it? Travis Hilton? Ooh, maybe a former boy band member."

"Word of advice," said Santana, stopping a few feet from the bar. "Don't call them a boy band. They go nuts over that." She smiled and Carly laughed, nodding. "And it's not any of them... Look, here he is."

She waved in her direction and through the locals clubbing emerged Damian Banks, turning Carly's smile into a scowl. Santana watched her expression carefully, smiling. 

"Damian!" she greeted him. "So good to see you." 

She leaned in to kiss him when he arrived in front of them and he just stood there, shocked to find Carly with Santana.

"What's going on here?" he asked. Santana opened her mouth but then she realized the question was directed at Carly, not her. "Why are you here?"

"I should've known I'd run into you," Carly said, shaking her head. "But me being me, I thought of all nights for you to be here, it couldn't possibly end up being the one I decided to come by. I guess I thought wrong."

"I'm sorry," said Santana, looking from one to the other. "Am I missing something here? You two know each other?"

"Oh, we know each other, alright," said Carly, shaking her head at him. 

Damian stared at her as Santana studied their faces. "About what happened..." he began.

But Carly said, "Unbelievable. You're not gonna talk to me about this here. Or anywhere else for that matter. You lost your chance to explain yourself a while ago."

"Carlotta," said Damian, watching Carly storm away and into the dance floor again.

He sighed, exasperated, and Santana said, "Carlotta? That's her real name."

"Carlotta Dominguez," said Damian, trying to track her down in the crowd again. "She and I... We had a thing. Earlier this year."

Santana gasped. "Oh my god. I had no idea. I mean, I figured you ran in similar circles, being at the top of the rap game. That's the only reason I wanted to bring you together tonight. If I had known..."

"Whatever, it's fine," Damian rolled his eyes. "Let's just find her before she does anything. She can get a little... crazy."

"I see..." said Santana, looking around. "Oh look. She's right over there with my wife."

"Great," said Damian.

But as they walked towards them, Carly was saying, "You know what? I think I will go up and perform. I finally have an opportunity to do my song in front of the man it's about and see his face get all weird." She looked at Mercedes and said, "You wanna help?"

"Wait, what?" said Shana, raising her brow. "He's here?"

"This keeps getting juicier," said Kayli, looking around and trying to figure it out. "Leila is gonna really regret not coming out with us tonight."

Shana nodded and when she turned back to Carly, she was gone. "Wait, where..."

She spotted her next getting on the stage with Mercedes, just as Damian was reaching them. "Oh god," he said. "What is she doing?"

Kayli gasped and Shana said, "You're her 'ain't shit' ex?"

Damian appeared annoyed but ignored them, while Santana said, "This is a disaster. It isn't how I planned tonight to go at all."

She crossed her arms and looked up at the stage as Carly finished talking to the DJ and then took a microphone front and center. 

The music faded and Carly said, "Heeeeeeeeeey everyone!"

She smiled wide, putting an arm in the air to wave as the clubbers glanced up at her. A good chunk of them recognized her and cheered. Others cheered just because they were cheering.

"This is my first day ever coming to Lima," she said, "and I was told this was the place to get the best welcome and really announce my visit. So... I thought I'd do one that I think most of you have heard. I wrote this song about a man who wasn't worth much. And I hope every time he hears it, it makes him as sick as how he made me feel. Hit it, DJ."

The new, young DJ hesitated for a second before starting the song. He hadn't been around long but had already been warned something like this would happen, just didn't expect it to be so soon.

["Be Careful" by Carly Dom. Original artist: Cardi B.]

Mercedes: Care for me, care for me... Always said that you'd be there for me, there for me. Boy you better treat me carefully, carefully. Oh, oh, oh, ohh! Oh... Oh...

After Mercedes was done flexing vocally, Kayli looked from Carly to Damian, waiting for something intense to happen. She wasn't too familiar with Carly but the song had played on the radio nonstop over the summer. 

Carly: I wanna get married, like the Currys, Steph and Ayesha. But we more like Belly, Tommy and Keisha. Gave you TLC, you wanna creep. Poured out my whole heart to a piece of...

And now that she had a face to put to the subject, it made it even better. She turned to look at him after almost every line, every zinger.

Carly: Man, I thought you would've learned your lesson. 'Bout liking pictures, not returnin' texts. I guess it's fine, man, I get the message. You still stutter after certain questions. You keep in contact with certain exes.

Santana was just watching, eyebrows up, looking as taken aback by the revelation as she had just minutes ago when she first saw them address each other. She stood between Shana and Damian, not intervening or acting in any way.

Carly: Do you, though. Trust me, man, it's cool, though. Said that you was workin', but you're out here chasin' who knows. Putas, chillin' poolside, livin' two lives. I could've did what you did to me to you a few times.

Damian watched Carly perform and shook his head, not sure why he was even standing there and listening. Santana wondered, too, figuring he would've walked out by now, but he was toughing out the whole thing.

Carly: But if I did decide to slide, find a man. Touch him, let 'im hit it, you would've been pissed. But that's not my M.O., I'm not that type of chick. And karma for you is gon' be who you end up with.

"Don't make me sick," said Carly before letting Mercedes launch into the chorus.

Mercedes stood a few steps behind Carly, letting her have her moment. She knew the song well but never had expected to be a part of it.

Carly and Mercedes: The only man, baby, I adore. I gave you everything, what's mine is yours. I want you to live your life of course. But I hope you get what you dyin' for. Be careful with me... Do you know what you doin'? Whose feelings that you're hurtin' and bruisin'? You gon' gain the whole world. But is it worth the girl that you're losin'? Be careful with me. 

Santana watched Carly carefully, then glanced away and saw Brittany was recording the whole thing from a great position. Perfect.

Carly: Yeah, it's not a threat, it's a warnin'. Be careful with me. Yeah, my heart is like a package with a fragile label on it. Be careful with me.

Carly looked down at Damian for just a moment and Mercedes knew enough about the situation to let her have those lines.

Carly: Care for me, care for me. Always said that you'd be there for me, there for me. Boy, you better treat me carefully, carefully, look.

When Carly continued with her rap, she started taking a few steps forward and Shana feared that she was going to fall onto the stage.

Carly: I was here before all of this. Guess you actin' out now, you got an audience. Tell me where your mind is, drop a pin, what's the coordinates? You might have a fortune, but you lose me, you still gon' be misfortunate, man. 

But the more she went on, the angrier she looked. And the more times she dared look down at Damian, look him straight in the eye.

Carly: Listen, does lust got you this messed up in the head? You want some random bitch up in your bed? She don't even know your middle name. Watch her, 'cause she might steal your chain. 

Shana hadn't ever been cheated on before, but watching Carly perform so passionately it almost felt like she had.

Carly: You don't want someone who loves you instead? I guess not though. It's blatant disrespect, you nothin' like the man that I met. Talk to me crazy and you quick to forget.

She felt for her, felt angry at Damian, at every man who'd ever hurt a woman like that. She shared in the woman's pain. And suddenly, her appeal started to make sense. She empathized with every word that came out of her mouth.

Carly: You even got me trippin', you got me lookin' in the mirror different. Thinkin' I'm flawed because you inconsistent. 

Santana still wasn't seeing that so-called appeal, but she knew what Carly's power was now and what she could do for the label. She understood why Quinn wanted her to fight so hard for her.

Carly: Between a rock and a hard place, the mud and the dirt. It's gon' hurt me to hate you, but lovin' you's worse. It all stops so abrupt, you started switchin' it up. Teach me to be like you so I can not give a... Free to mess with someone else, I wish these feelings could melt. 'Cause you don't care about a thing except your motha...

Carly shook her head on stage and said, "You make me sick." Then Mercedes went ahead and sang.

Mercedes: The only man, baby, I adore. I gave you everything, what's mine is yours. I want you to live your life of course. But I hope you get what you dyin' for. 

As they sang together, Mercedes looked down at Santana and noticed the little sparkle in her eye, a look she was used to seeing only when Santana was up to something, something devious.

Carly with Mercedes: Be careful with me. Do you know what you doin'? Whose feelings that you're hurtin' and bruisin'? You gon' gain the whole world. But is it worth the girl that you're losin'? Be careful with me.

She looked at Carly, at how pained she was to even have to do this or be in that position, and then shook her head at Santana, who didn't even notice her disapproval.

Carly (with Mercedes): Yeah, it's not a threat, it's a warnin'. (Be careful with me.) Yeah, my heart is like a package with a fragile label on it. 

"Be careful with me," Carly said again, before handing her microphone to Mercedes and taking off. The audience clapped while she left, including Santana, who was now showing that she was in fact very pleased with the way things had turned out.

***

"So how'd it go last night?" asked Quinn over the phone.

Santana was sitting on her couch, watching Val eat her breakfast on the floor in front of the television while Shana served herself and Kayli coffee in the kitchen.

"Oh, it went pretty well," said Santana. "You would've loved it, Quinn."

"Really?" said Quinn. "Because from what I heard and already saw online, Carly was pretty pissed. She performed her song and then stormed out."

"Oh, so the videos already hit the internet," said Santana. "Not at all shocking."

"Why'd she look so unhappy as she left, Santana?" asked Quinn. "The whole point of yesterday was for you to make her feel at home, make her overjoyed to be in this city."

"Yeah, I know," said Santana defensively. "And I really tried. But Damian showed up."

"Damian?" asked Quinn over her. "What does Damian have to do with anything."

"Apparently they used to date," said Santana. "And it looks like he cheated on her or something and the song was about him but I talked to him after she left and he said they hardly dated and she was just... obsessed. They weren't even a thing. She's lowkey kind of not alright in the head."

"Look, I don't care what Damian says or what your opinions are on her character," said Quinn. "She has to accept the label's offer, Santana. Did you do this so she wouldn't?"

"What?" said Santana. "No! Of course not! I told you I'd get her to cave."

"Then you better fix this," said Quinn. "Now."

"Q, don't worry," said Santana. "I have it all under control. She's still in town. I'll go talk to her today and seal the deal. Don't worry."

"Speaking of people in town," said Quinn, calming herself down. "Um... Sam says that Julie's here."

"Shit, really?" said Santana. "How come we haven't heard anything from her yet?"

"I'm sure we will in no time," said Quinn. "Just a heads up."

"So it's not just one crazy bitch I have to handle," sighed Santana. "It's two."

"Just play nice," said Quinn, sounding frustrated. "We have to keep our artists happy. Not only that but... Despite everything, Julie's still family."

"Got it," said Santana. "I'll be waiting for her to get in touch. See ya soon, Quinn."

***

When Julie woke up, she was lying on the couch in her house with a blanket covering her. There were three bottles on the ground beside her and a couple of empty glasses on the coffee table.

She wiped her face and black makeup smeared her arm, making her groan in disgust. She hated sleeping with makeup on.

How had she gotten so drunk that she couldn't remember much about the previous night?

"Hey sleepy head," said John, emerging from the kitchen like nothing.

She sat up quickly, feeling her head pound on one side of her head.

"Easy," he said, presenting her with a mug. "Drink up."

"What happened last night?" she asked, embarrassed. "And how hideous do I look?"

He wiped mascara from the corner of her eyes and said, "There. You look great. As for last night... It was pretty great, too."

He sat down beside her and winked, making her get goosebumps. "What..."

"You were amazing," he said, reaching under the couch for an iPad. "But then you passed out after so I had to bring you home. And it was pretty late so... I just stayed here. Hope you don't mind."

Confused, she stared at him until he decided to stop torturing her. Chuckling, he hit a few buttons on the tablet and then placed it on her lap.

"Here," he said as she took hold of it. "Watch this."

He hit play on a video and she watched the camera shakily pick up and focus on her as she stood in Studio C.

"Ok, go again," John was saying. "Just the main-"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," she mumbled from the other side of the glass, clearly already hammered. Julie held her breath, watching herself likely about to make a fool of herself on camera.

["Solo" by Juliet Vasquez (2027), for her upcoming fourth album. Original artist: Clean Bandit feat. Demi Lovato.]

Julie: It's solo, solo everybody. It's solo, e-e-e-everybody. It's solo, solo, everybody. Woop, woop, woop, woop, woop, woop, woop.

Julie looked up at John, who just smiled and nodded at the tablet, signaling for her to turn her attention back to it.

Julie: I never meant to leave you hurtin'. I never meant to do the worst thing. Not to you (this solo, solo everybody). 'Cause every time I read your message. I wish I wasn't one of your exes. Now I'm the fool (this solo, solo everybody).

As she watched herself sing and heard the track playing from the sound booth, Julie began to remember a few things from last night. She had lyrics and started singing them, a little tipsy.

Julie: I wanna f-woop, woop woop, but I'm broken hearted. Cr-cr-cry but I like to party (oh). T-t-touch, but I got nobody. Here on my own. I wanna f-woop, woop woop, but I'm broken hearted (oh). Cr-cr-cry since the day we parted (oh). T-t-touch, but I got nobody. So I do it solo.

Then she'd forced her way into the studio with the files from her flash drive. This was one of the songs on there but it was so different now.

Julie: Since you've been gone. Been dancing on my own. There's boys up in my zone. But they can't turn me on. 'Cause baby you're. The only one I'm coming for. I can't take no more. No more, no more!

She looked up at John again and saw him watching the screen, so she looked back down at it again.

Julie: It's solo, solo everybody. It's solo, e-e-e-everybody. It's solo, solo everybody. (I do it solo). It's solo, solo everybody. It's solo, e-e-e-everybody. It's solo, solo everybody. (I do it solo).

The song was definitely different from her last two releases but that's what made it so great. It was definitely going to make the album now.

Julie: Every single night I lose it. I can't even hear the music. Without you. (This solo, solo everybody). Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Try to stop myself from calling. But I really wanna know if you're with. Someone new. (This solo, solo, everybody)

She couldn't imagine that she'd do such a great job on the production on her own, in her drunk stage, which could only mean one thing.

Julie: Since you've been gone. Been dancing on my own. There's boys up in my zone. But they can't turn me on. (Can't turn me on) 'Cause baby you're. The only one I'm coming for. I can't take no more. No more, no more!

She felt John's eyes on her and presed pause, turning to him. "You mixed my song," she said.

"I may have added a few touches to it," he said.

"A few touches?" she said. "John, this is amazing. It could be a hit. At the very least a fan favorite. Thank you."

"I wanna do it, Julie," he told her. She stared blankly so he said, "I wanna make this album with you."

Julie's face lit up and she set the tablet aside, reaching over to hug him. "Thank you so much," she said, pressing herself tightly to him. "You won't regret this." She let go and pulled away to say, "We can work out a schedule so that you can keep working on your album."

"No," he said. "Schedules don't really work forme. We're gonna have to go on the road together."

Julie's smile faded slowly, replaced with confusion ."Wait, what?"

"You'll keep doing your promo," he said. "I'll keep doing mine. In the same cities, the same couple of days. And on our time off, we'll right. That's the only way I'll do this."

"Really?" she said. "You think it'll work?"

"It has to," he said. He reached over her for the tablet and said, "We did this in a few hours with a really incomplete song. Just think of what we could do with the stronger material. And what we could create together, from scratch."

He hit play again and Julie listened.

Julie: I wanna f-woop, woop woop, but I'm broken hearted. Cr-cr-cry but I like to party (oh). T-t-touch, but I got nobody. Here on my own. I wanna f-woop, woop woop, but I'm broken hearted (oh). Cr-cr-cry since the day we parted (oh). T-t-touch, but I got nobody. So I do it solo.

Smiling, she bobbed her head to the new beat he'd produced for her and listened, loving the song and the sound he was bringing to her. This was just one of many she was willing to experiment with him on for this album. They were going to be the talk of the world, together.

***

Julie: It's solo, solo everybody. It's solo, e-e-e-everybody. It's solo, solo everybody. (I do it solo). It's solo, solo everybody. It's solo, e-e-e-everybody. It's solo, solo everybody. (I do it solo).

As the song played in Quinn's office, Santana stood next to the desk, listening, and Quinn sat behind it staring at Julie's phone. By the look on Santana's face, it was clear that she hadn't forgotten their conversation backstage at the VMAs. But Julie wasn't so focused on that. Instead, she kept her attention on Julie.

Julie pressed pause and locked her phone's screen, taking a deep breath. "So?" she said. "What do you think?"

"Let me get this straight," said Quinn, leaning forward and placing her crossed hands on the desk. "I left my newborn babies at home today... Just to come hear a song?"

"It's too new to risk sending it electronically," Julie said. "My security is great but that doesn't stop hackers from constantly trying to steal my work. But I had to show you the new material."

"Well, at least she's finally coming to us for approval on things," said Santana, turning to Quinn. "That's progress."

Julie ignored her and said, "I just recorded this yesterday night. In a matter of hours. It was like... explosions in my mind. It just felt so natural and right."

Santana and Quinn exchanged looks. Seeing Julie so fired up was often the start of something neither of them wanted to see.

But Julie continued, "I wanna scrap half of my album and start adding in these new and improved tracks."

"What?" said Santana, caught of guard. "We wanted this album out within a month. Maybe two."

"You still will," Julie assured them. "Mid November at the latest. I can rework the entire thing in time to do a digital release and then package it and send out physical copies. You have to admit this song is at a different level than a lot of the other stuff I've shown you. This is a hit. A hit produced within hours. Imagine what we could do if we really took our time and had a team behind us to help."

"We?" Santana repeated. "Who produced this?"

Julie took a deep breath. "I'd partially written the first verse and the hook. But, uh, John co-wrote and produced."

Immediately, both Santana and Quinn protested. "Estas loca?" asked Santana as Quinn said, "No freaking way."

"Why not?" Julie asked them. "He's talented. He's such a big name. Thousands of people would listen just for him, on top of the millions who would already be buying the album. Besides, he and I work really well together."

"Are you sleeping with him again?" asked Santana bluntly.

Julie gasped and turned to Quinn, who said, "What? I didn't tell her."

"Oh, come on," said Santana. "We all know. We just don't talk about it."

"Well, no," said Julie, crossing her arms defensively. "I'm not sleeping with him. But he's so good at this. Didn't you listen to the song? It could be a global hit. Or just a promotional single. Hell, it could be a deep cut on the album only the superfans ever here, but regardless, it belongs on my album. It'll be part of shaping it, of defining it. And everything else on the album should be at the level of this record. At minimum. I need this to be the standard. It only gets better from here."

Once again, Quinn and Santana exchanged glances. They were considering it.

"If you approve him to produce the album," said Julie, "we'll keep So What and Sexy Dirty Love. Two songs that are already selling well. But let me change everything else."

"Ten brand new tracks," said Quinn, sighing heavily.

"More like thirteen," said Julie, grinning.

"Jeez," Santana scoffed. "You just love making our lives harder, don't you?"

"I'm not doing this to rebel or oppose you," Julie defended herself. "It's the right choice. Artistically and financially. He won't be expensive, but he'll make us a lot of money. I'll pay for the studio time myself, so it won't have to come from the label's budget anywhere. And the best part is producing isn't a part of his contract with Blackbird and publishing credits are loose. Unless he's featured on a track as a performer... You don't have to give Blackbird anything."

That part was a lot more appealing to Quinn and Santana, who had found their rivalry with the only other label had intensified a lot during the last few years. They turned to each other, making eyes and communicating nonverbally, then turned back to Julie, who took a deep breath in anticipation.

"Fine," said Quinn. "John Brown it is. But we have two conditions."

"Seriously?" Julie said.

"Just listen," said Quinn. "The first is fairly simple... You ever heard of the rapper Carly Dom?"

"Of course I have," said Julie. "Everyone has."

"Well, she's apparently a big fan of yours," said Santana, not at all hiding her resentment. "I'm going by to see her later today and I want you to come with me and meet her."

Julie was confused at first but then she put it all together. "Oh, ok, I get it," she said. "You want her for the label. I did hear that she was in town but I didn't care enough to find out any details."

"She's already leaning towards accepting an offer from us," Quinn nodded.

"And I'm what?" asked Julie. "Your cherry on top?"

"Something like that," Quinn shrugged. "We already did most of the heavy lifting and I need you to close. She has to accept our record deal."

"Fine, whatever," said Julie. "As long as I get to have John for this album, I'll play ball with your little recruitment mission. What's the second thing?"

"If you're going to work with John," said Quinn, taking a big pause, "then you have to be the one to tell Alex." Julie began to protest but Quinn said, "He has to know you're working with him, Julie. And he'll find out eventually but it's better if he hears it from you. You can tell him Friday night when you come to my birthday dinner."

Julie took another deep breath. "Fine," she said. "That's fair... But also, screw both of you and see you again soon. Text me about your rapper and about your party." She smiled and walked away from them. Quinn laughed in disbelief while Santana shook her head, and together they watched her leave.

***

As promised, Julie tagged along with Santana for her visit to Carly's hotel. They walked into the bar downstairs and found her already there, waiting at a table and drinking wine.

"Hi," Santana said brightly. Carly looked up, speechless when she saw Julie. "Juliet Vasquez, Carly Dom. Carly Dom, Juliet Vasquez. You two know about each other so I figured it was time that you actually meet each other."

"Big fan," said Julie, reaching a hand out to shake Carly's.

"My gosh!" Carly squealed, so much that it made Julie laugh, wide eyed, and Santana cringe with embarassment. "My life is made! I can't believe you just said that. I can't believe I'm actually meeting you."

"That's really sweet," said Julie as they sat down. "When Santana told me you were in town, I had to fly in to be here with you. Lima's really special to us and I wanted to be a part of your first time experiencing this city's magic."

Santana smiled. Julie might be a loose cannon, but when she hit the mark she hit it right on target.

"Wow," said Carly, nodding and seeming to eat up every word. "That's so cool of you. I always got the sense you were one of the realest bitches in the industry."

"I'm..." said Julie, forcing a smile. "So flattered... So you're still considering the offer from the label?"

Carly sighed and leaned back in her seat. She picked up the menu and started to pretend to read it and look for an item as she said, "Look, I like it here. But I also got a past. And that past been creeping all over this area. I just don't know how I'm supposed to come here and be here all the time like that, know what I'm sayin'?"

Julie turned to Santana, confused. She hadn't been filled in on everything before heading over.

But Santana just smiled and said, "Carly... I know last night wasn't what you expected. I was just as surprised when I found out the truth about you and Damian. And honestly... I am disgusted by what he did to you." Julie listened silently, putting the pieces together. "As a woman... I just can't stand when men think they can walk all over us. I may be married to another woman but that doesn't mean I haven't had to deal with my fair share of shitty men."

"Hmm," said Carly, nodding slowly.

"And the one thing I really can't tolerate," Santana continued, "is when they get away with it." Carly looked down at the floor. "Yes, you got to sing the song to his face and make him feel like scum for... what, three minutes? Four or five, maybe? But after you left, he had a few drinks, partied with some girls, and went home, where I presume he slept like a baby."

Carly balled up her fist above the menu and Julie watched, seeing the way Santana was working her, wrapping her around her finger.

"He can't just go on like he didn't treat you like garbage, Carly," said Santana. "It's just not right. I mean, think about all the girls he might do the same thing to. All the hurt that could keep happening, the cycle that will continue if we don't intervene. You can't just leave this like this. You can't leave Lima because of him."

Carly looked up at Santana, eyes watery, and then turned to Julie. "What do you think?" she asked.

Julie wasn't sure what to say. On the one hand, she knew Santana was manipulating this scorned woman and ready to put her through more hurt to get her to sign to the label. On the other... She'd made a deal with Quinn.

"I think," she began, clearing her throat, "that Santana's right. I know that it may seem like an impossible thing to have to run into your ex all the time but... Trust me, this town is full of my exes. They're everywhere. And I have to see them all the time."

Santana scoffed. Julie ignored her.

"It's not always fun," Julie continued. "But overtime your heart heals. And you start to feel empowered every time you're able to see them and... feel nothing. So... Stay. Sign with my label and I promise you, you'll come out on top."

***

After her lunch with Santana and Carly, rather than go back home Julie took some of the energy she had left to finally go see her family. All that talk about being brave enough to face your exes had encouraged her to actually walk the walk.

From her parking spot outside JV Records, she texted Alex. She hadn't done so in months. Wasn't even sure she still had the right number. But she gave it a shot:

In Lima. Have to head out soon. Would like to see Rosie before then.

She stared at her text, wondering if it was good enough. It seemed fine until she hit send. Maybe she sounded too desperate. Or too distant. Or it wasn't enough and he was going to tell her she wasn't allowed to see her daughter.

She didn't wanna worry about it too much, though, so she focused on driving instead. Since she didn't have a response from Alex, she headed for her old house, now the Evans-Fabrevans home. Surely, if Sam was there, he'd let her see the twins.

When she arrived, however, she was too scared to get out of the car. She just sat in there, parked by the curve with her phone in hand, wondering if she should text or call before walking up to the door. 

As she decided whether or not to go into the house, she received a text response from Alex:

Ok.

"Ok?" she repeated, talking to herself. "Ok, he acknowledges that I want to see Rosie, or ok he wants me to see her, or ok he'll let me see her but would rather I didn't...? Why just ok?"

She was letting her mind spin out of control when the front door to the house opened. Through the gate and the hedges around the perimeter she couldn't see much, but she did see Sam walking out carrying a garbage bag. He was home.

She quickly got out of her car and hurried towards the driveway, meeting him just as he was walking out of the gate. He stopped when he saw her.

"Oh my god," he said. "You're here. In Lima."

"Yes I am," she said, letting out the breath she was holding in. "I'm home."

"I'd hug you but I..." he said, looking down at the bag he was carrying. He set it down, however, and walked towards her, feeling the way she stiffened up when he put his arms around her. "It's so good to see you. To see you here. As opposed to a red carpet or backstage at some event."

"Yeah..." she said, pulling away. "Sorry I've been so busy and distant. I got so caught up in work things that I neglected home and by the time I wanted to and had the time I just... I didn't know how to anymore."

"I understand," he nodded. "Let me throw this out and you can come on in and see the girls. They'll be so thrilled to see you. Seth and Lyn are down for a nap but you can come in and see them too, if you'd like."

"Yeah, sure," said Julie. She waited for Sam to throw the trash away and then jog his way back to her, hurrying into the house and urging her to come along with. She followed but stopped at the front door. She lived there for most of her life but it all looked so different. It wasn't her home anymore.

"Come on in," he said. "Don't be shy. They're in the kitchen doing their homework."

"They have homework?" asked Julie, feeling her heart get heavier. 

"Yeah," Sam smiled. "Just handwriting practice today. Nate's over at a playdate with Ben. Marley picked all of them off but the girls wanted to come home so she dropped them off like an hour ago. We usually do snacks, then any schoolwork, and then playtime, but since Ben could only do a certain period we let Nate go. Anyway, the girls are in here. Come on."

He walked in, turning right towards the kitchen. Julie held her breath.

"Hey girls," she heard him saying. "I've got a little surprise for you. Look who's here."

He poked his head out and signaled for her to walk in, so she released the air and forced herself to walk forward. As she walked by and Sam moved aside, she saw her daughters' faces light up, their little hands drop their pencils and rush off the chairs to come greet her.

"Mommy!" Gaby exclaimed, throwing her arms around her as Julie bent down to receive both of them.

"Hey..." Julie murmured, pressing the girls' heads against herself. She looked up at Sam, who seemed touched by the moment, pressing his lips together. 

When the girls pulled away, Izzy asked, "Why are you sad, mommy?" She reached over and wiped a tear from Julie's face.

Julie hadn't even realized she had teared up, and quickly wiped the rest away. "No, baby, I'm not sad. These are happy tears. I'm so happy to see you both. You're getting so big and grown up."

"Look, mommy," said Gaby, tapping her arm and then smiling, revealing her teeth and then wiggling the lower center tooth. "I'm gonna be rich!"

Julie laughed and looked up at Sam, who also chuckled. "You're losing a tooth," she said in amazement. "Wow!"

"I already lost one, mommy," said Izzy, opening her mouth wide to show one a top center tooth missing.

"Oh my gosh," Julie told her. She looked up at Sam while saying, "Sorry I missed it."

Sam gave her a subtle, reassuring shrug. Then he said, "Alright, girls. Why don't we go show mommy your room, huh? I bet she'll love it."

"Yes, definitely," Julie told them, getting back up on her feet. "Let's go see it."

***

"Wow," said Julie, standing in the nursery that used to belong to her daughters, which had now been completely redone for Sam's new pair of twins. "They're so small."

"Yup," said Sam, watching her stand over the cribs, looking from Seth to Lyndis and back. "Incredible, aren't they?"

"Yeah," she agreed. "They're almost as tiny as Rosie was when she was born..."

"Have you gone to see her yet?" asked Sam. "I hear Alex has been here since the weekend."

"Um, I haven't yet," she sighed, turning to him. "But I will. I actually sent him a text letting him know I was here and... He said ok."

"Ok?" asked Sam.

"Ok," she repeated, nodding. Sam nodded in response and there was a long silence. 

"Well," he cleared his throat. "Thank you. For coming by. Honestly, I'd started worrying that you wouldn't and when I saw you here I just... I wasn't sure if... Well. Are you back for good, Julie? Back in their lives? Or is this just, like, a one time thing before you take off for another six months."

"Sam, I'm really sorry," she sighed. "I'm so, so sorry. I want to be with them. I just... Sometimes, I don't know how. But... I promise I'll do better... I'll try and do better. I have to go."

She walked out the room and Sam stood in there, confused. He made sure the babies were still asleep and then went after her. 

"Julie, wait," he followed down the stairs. "Why are you leaving? The girls are so excited that you're here."

She looked up the staircase from the bottom and heard the girls up in their room, giggling.

"I know, I know," she said. "That's why I wanna go and not say bye. I don't think I can... handle it... I'll see them again soon though. Maybe, um. Maybe tomorrow. Quinn mentioned her birthday dinner."

"Oh, yeah," said Sam. "But you know, on Saturday we're having like a big family game night. For Alex's birthday."

"His birthday is Sunday," she said.

"He has to head out on Sunday," shrugged Sam. "So we're doing it Saturday. So, uh... Maybe you can stick around until then. Go to both of these things and spend time with the family. The whole family."

Julie tried not to freak out but the idea of being with everyone was terrifying. She knew there'd be dirty looks, there'd be judgement, there'd be rejection. Coming to Sam was the easy part. Everyone else was less patient. Less accepting.

"Ok," she told him before heading out. "I'll be there."

***

When Julie returned home, she felt both physically and emotionally drained. It was already way past ten. It had been one of the most eventful days of the past few months, despite her busy schedule.

Perhaps the fact that she'd done it all sober was part of the reason she felt so done.

She drove through the gates and down the path to her house and spotted some people out on the yard. Strangers.

"What the hell..." she murmured, lowering her radio music and hearing that there was loud music coming from inside the house.

She reached for the phone to call the cops until she noticed the only other car parked in view, directly in front of the path to the door where she could never miss it.

Julie hurried out of her car and when people saw her, they either tried talking to her or just watched like she was in some sort of display at the zoo, angrily storming through the front door to figure out what this was.

"Julie!" John exclaimed as she walked into the living room. 

He was sitting on the couch nonchalantly, with his arms around the two women sitting on either side of him. He shooed them away and patted the spot next to him. 

"Join me," he told her. "It wasn't a true party without you."

"What the hell, John," she said, walking up to him. "What are you doing here? Why? Who are all these people?"

"Just some cool people who I know for a fact love to party," he said. "We were all waiting for you. What took you so long? Caught up with family stuff?"

He smiled at her and she felt uneasy, her gaze landing on the drink in his hand, his arm resting on the back of the couch. She walked closer and took it away from him. He didn't even fight her.

Taking a quick sniff of it she said, "John... This is... Alcohol...? I thought you were sober."

"I'm totally sober," said John, rising to his feet. "I mean, I did go through a highly publicized stint in rehab. How could I not be?"

He took the drink from her and said, "I'm just holding it for a friend." He then proceeded to gulp what was left of the drink and toss the solo cup on her floor.

She watched it all happen in total shock, unsure what to think. "You weren't ever sober, were you?"

"Not exactly," he finally admitted, seeming pretty pleased. "But I did a pretty convincing job making you think I was, didn't I? And to think you're the actress."

"Why?" asked Julie. "That's... despicable. Why'd you lie to the world?"

"A lot of reasons," John admitted. "But come on. Walk with me to the backyard. That's where the real party is and you look like you could use a drink."

***

John kicked a few people off the lounge chairs by the pool and offered Julie a seat, sitting down on the chair beside hers as he handed her a drink and held onto his new one. 

"This is nice..." he said. "I'd really forgotten how great this house is. I would've taken everyone to mine but... It's so new and so... empty. Yours is much nicer."

"I just don't get it..." Julie shook her head, her mind still reeling. "Why'd you lie to me? You let me drink in front of you and you didn't take a single drop. At least not that I could tell."

"That's cause I'm not an addict," said John. "But you..." 

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a tiny bag of white powdery substance, watching the way Julie's eyes lit up when she saw it. She looked away, but it was too late. He'd seen what he wanted.

"I knew it," he told her. "You're so hooked on it, Julie. It's unbelievable. You know what gave it away?"

"You saw me perform on it?" asked Julie, shrugging and looking at the people in her pool, the complete strangers John had let in without her permission.

"No," he said. "I saw that."

He pointed to the necklace around her neck. She instinctively reached for it and pulled it out from under her shirt. On the chain was hanging a small, silver vial-shaped charm.

"I know a coke necklace when I see one," he said, laughing in amusement. "And when we were together, it came out from under your shirt for a few seconds, long enough for me to notice what it was."

Julie glared at him and pulled the vial open, dumping its contents on the ground. "I'm not an addict," she told him once again. "See? That's been in there for who knows how long and not once was I tempted to take it. I just kept forgetting to empty it out."

"You can go out and refill it any day, Julie," he rolled his eyes. "I don't know why you're getting so defensive. I'm not judging you." He lifted up his glass and said, "I'm celebrating you. This party's for you. I sealed a great deal today."

"What?" asked Julie.

"Oh yeah," he nodded. "Quinn called me today and we worked out a few details. Then I signed a contract. I couldn't believe you'd gone to her so quickly but I guess you were just as eager to work with me as I was to work with you."

"That's why you waited until now to tell me the truth?" asked Julie. "You didn't want me to back out?"

"I didn't want you to slip up with your label and have them back out," said John. "I know indulgence isn't a dealbreaker for you. That's part of the reason we make such a great team."

Julie shook her head at him but couldn't help seeing the point he was making. After all, she'd gotten drunk after just one afternoon spent together, recorded an incredible song, and then blacked out. The art always came out best amid her self-destruction.

"Come on," he said, drinking the rest of his cup again and tossing it aside as he stood up. "I want you to meet some people. They'll get you anything you want."

She knew exactly what that meant and she couldn't believe someone who'd just come out of rehab telling everyone he'd changed was just blatantly showing he hadn't. 

But she wanted to figure out what John was really up to, knowing it couldn't have all been leading up to working with her again. There was something else, something that was more important to him happening, and she needed to know what that was.

So she chugged down the drink he'd gotten her and followed.

***

Meanwhile, Alex had just put Rosie down for the night when he received another unexpected visitor. This time, it was Santana.

"Hey," he told her, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Came down to check in and talk," she said. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah..." he said, stepping aside and then shutting the door once she was well on her way into his living room. "What's up?" he asked, taking a seat in the couch across from her.

She made herself comfortable and said, "I wanted to have this talk in person. I just spoke to Quinn an hour ago and she told me that Julie went to see Sam and their daughters."

Alex nodded, slowly. "Yeah, Sam let me know when she was there," he said.

"Then you're all caught up," she said, forcing herself not to mention the details about John. "Great. She's coming to Quinn's thing tomorrow and... Frankly, I told Sam and Quinn that I didn't trust her being here but they didn't do much listening. They think I'm being too harsh. But I learned from past mistakes and I know that woman doesn't care about anyone other than herself. I know she's far gone. I was with her and I could tell she was still cold. And... Not really here still."

Alex nodded again. "I figured that'd be the case," he said.

"So?" said Santana. "What are you gonna do? I mean, you have to do something, right? You need to protect your daughter. And protect yourself."

"I can't do much, Santana," Alex shrugged. "Sam thinks we need to let her try to be there for the girls and... He's right. We can't keep them from each other just because it makes us uncomfortable."

"What?" said Santana. "That's plenty reason not to let her back in. She's just going to walk out on them like she always does. You know the type of psychological damage that's going to cause? The only thing worse than an absent parent is an unreliable one, Alex. And given your history with giving her more chances when she didn't deserve them..."

He sighed. It was clear that Santana was referring to him forgiving her for sleeping with John.

"I just don't think it's worth the risk," said Santana. "And I know I'm not technically part of the family but I care about you. I care about your girls. And I don't want to see her hurt any of you again. I've seen it happen too many times."

"Thanks for looking out, Santana," he said. "Honestly. It means a lot. But I can take care of myself. I can handle it. What I can't do is let my daughter miss out on a chance at having her mom be a part of her life just because I'm scared of getting hurt. It's not fair to her. So I'm going to keep a safe distance and let Julie just... have her time with Rosie. And that'll be that."

"Ok," said Santana. "Fair enough. But before you do that, there's just one thing I think you should know."

***

"Alright, it's way after eleven thirty," said John, stopping by the bar with Julie. "You said you'd do a bump at eleven thirty and I want you to feel good tonight so... Go ahead."

He reached into his pocket for the coke bag again and handed it to her. She took it slowly but shook her head, doing her best to resist. "No," she said. "I don't need it. Just... Tell me what's really going on, John. I've spent the last hour here trying to figure out and I can't but... I know there's something you're not telling me."

John smiled and said, "I've never been able to keep anything from you, have I? We know each other too well." He signaled someone across the pool and said, "I'm about to drop a new song. The first one for my first official album. It's gonna be a big deal. I've got it all planned out."

"Wow," said Julie. "That's... confusing. I knew you were going to release something soon but... Why does it matter if you're sober or not? Were you trying to clean up your image for the public or..?"

"Clean up?" John laughed, while Julie watched some guys lead out a giant projection screen. Everyone was staring as it was set up by the pool, but John kept talking, "It's really quite the opposite. You can't get dirty if you're already a mess. You know what I mean? So I guess I did have to do some cleaning up... But just so the mess would be more noticeable when it happened."

"Huh?" said Julie, more confused than she'd started out.

"Just have a look," he said, staring at his watch. "It's starting in six... five... four... three... two..."

He looked up at the screen, then at her, and then at the screen again. Julie was about to ask what she was supposed to be waiting for but then the screen faded into an image of him walking into a mansion as music played.

It was a closeup on his chest, with a necklace hanging there, shaped like a cross. Julie scoffed. After all the grief he'd given Alex for the religious imagery in Say Amen, where Alex fought to defend a 'devil's key' in the music video... Now he was wearing a cross charm.

"How very ironic," she said.

But John responded, "Shh... Just watch." The music kept going and it became very clear what this was. His music video.

["Starboy" by John Brown, the lead single for his upcoming debut solo album. Original artist: The Weeknd.]

His face finally showed in a medium shot, where the necklace was still in view. Julie stared at it two more seconds and realized it was exactly what John had been talking about earlier. A coke necklace.

John: I'm tryna put you in the worst mood, ah. P1 cleaner than your church shoes, ah. 

John walked through the house in what seemed like an endless hallway. Julie watched the screen and started actually paying attention to the lyrics. It was a brag.

John: Milli point two just to hurt you, ah. All red lamb just to tease you, ah.

No. She kept listening. It was a diss. And she was afraid to figure out who it was aimed at.

John: None of these toys on lease too, ah. Made your whole year in a week too, yeah. 

But then as John made it to the end of the hallway, the angle changed to a side shot and he walked right by a painting hanging on the wall. John sat on a throne, as a king. On his side, a beautiful, blue-eyed woman held his hand. A step behind his chair, another woman, who eerily ressembled Julie, had a hand placed on his shoulder. It was her and Marley.

John: Main chick out of your league too, ah. Side chick out of your league too, ah.

The detail was small but wouldn't go unnoticed once people started to rewatch and pay attention. She was now on alert for more subliminal messages as John walked into the grand foyer, passing by a table at the center, which held nothing but a used ash tray.

John: House so empty, need a centerpiece. Twenty racks, a table cut from ebony. 

He knocked it over as he passed by it and the camera followed it, showing cocaine spilling out of it onto the floor. John continued his walk into the next hallway, where he grabbed a leather jacket from a hanger on the wall and put it on.

John: Cut that ivory into skinny pieces, then she clean it with her face. Man, I love my baby.

He pulled a cigarette and lighter from its front pocket and began to light it up as he passed by plaques decorating the wall. Sales certification achievements, but none of them were from the band. Just platinum plaques for his solo projects. Dark Times with Travis. Pray For Me with Damian. Prisoner with Julie. He was showing it all off as he smoked his way around the hallway.

John: You talking money, need a hearing aid. You talking 'bout me, I don't see the shade. Switch up my style, I take any lane. 

At the end of that hallway, however, was a giant neon cross, waiting for him. It took his attention, and John dropped the cigarette on the floor.

John: I switch up my cup, I kill any pain.

As she watched John walk towards the cross on screen, Julie looked over at him, wondering what game he was playing. This was clearly an attack on Alex, but why? And at what expense? For what end?

John: Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. 

In the next shot, John had already gotten the cross, but he was walking with it, dragging it upside down through the next hallway. There were audible reactions from all his guests watching. People were shocked. The smile on John's face indicated that was the proper reaction but Julie felt a bit disgusted.

John: Look what you've done! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. 

John from the video walked back through his achievements hallway and the shot opened up into what seemed to be a trophy room. On a stand in the middle sat his Grammy awards. Six of them. The six he'd won as part of the band.

He took the giant upside down cross and started smashing them down with it, destroying the glass stand all while dancing about on top of the broken glass like nothing major was happening.

John: I'm a motherfuckin' Starboy. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Look what you've done! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. I'm a motherfuckin' Starboy.

The next shot was of John sitting down in a bedroom, on the bed. He sang directly to the camera as he removed the jacket and tossed it aside.

John: Every day a brother try to test me, ah. Every day a brother try to end me, ah.

The shot switched around with footage of him looking over the dresser and through his closet, both stocked with expensive items.

John: Pull off in that roadster SV, ah. Pockets overweight, getting hefty, ah. 

Then back to the more footage of him smashing his plaques, destroying all of his valuables like it didn't pain him because he could replace anything there, no matter how expensive or hard to achieve it all was.

John: Coming for the king, that's a far cry, ah. I come alive in the fall time, I. 

That, Julie realized, was the main point of it all. To remind the world that he was on top of the world, without Crystal Army. Without Alex. And that as much as the guys had been attacking each other over the last few months, he intended to stay on top and keep his throne.

John: No competition, I don't really listen. I'm in the blue Mulsanne bumping New Edition.

She watched John's face, so proud of the end result of this video, then turned back in time to watch John walking through the empty house again, carrying the big, upside down neon cross around still, and dancing. It was kind of goofy, but also sexy and endearing all at once. Despite the boldness he displayed, he still remained likable.

John: House so empty, need a centerpiece. Twenty racks, a table cut from ebony. 

Then it was back to John's close up on the bed, where he sat relaxed and sang to the camera again, smiling. He turned to Julie and his smile widened when she glanced up at him. She was sure now that line was about her, perhaps teasing Alex about their history.

John: Cut that ivory into skinny pieces. Then she clean it with her face, man, I love my baby.

Now he was walking through a previously unseen den, approaching a bar where he quickly poured himself a glass. And that was the part everyone was going to be talking about.

John: You talking money, need a hearing aid. You talking 'bout me, I don't see the shade. Switch up my style, I take any lane. 

He nonchalantly grabbed himself a drink and stared at it for a second.

John: I switch up my cup, I kill any pain.

Then he chugged it down and, getting drunk throughout the rest of the next chorus, continued to smash his pricey belongings. Indulgence, indeed.

John: Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Look what you've done! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. I'm a motherfuckin' Starboy. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Look what you've done! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. I'm a motherfuckin' Starboy.

The rest of the video was more or less the same, packed with subliminal messages that for the most part threw shade in Alex's direction. After all, the song was a diss track and any good diss track had to come with very heavy shots. When it ended, everyone shouted for him to show it again, so John did. And then a third time.

It was a work of art and Julie appreciated it for that, for how much had gone into creating symbolism and making every second on the screen matter. She noticed new things every time she watched it. However, once the viewing was over, she turned to John and said, "You can't ever release that. You know that, right?"

John shrugged, not really agreeing.

"John, I'm serious," she said. "That was too much. The song was too much but passable. But that along with the video is just... You can't put that out for the world to have. It's too much. Don't release it."

"Well, Julie," he said, looking at the time on his watch. "It is twelve o'six. So as of six minutes.. It's already been out to the world."

Julie turned to him, eyes widening, and all she could say was just, "What?!"