Instant Star 1. Chapter 1

Taptaptaptaptaptap.

The sound my fingers made on the wooden bar top as I tapped them anxiously. I sat with one elbow resting on the bar, my cheek smashed up against my hand, supporting my head. I watched them and felt frustration rush through me. One word. One girl. One source of my hatred. Karma. Whoever said 'karma's a bitch' was no comedian.

I rolled my eyes as I watched. Tommy stood, leaning against one of the many decorative pillars in the club. Karma stood in front of him, batting her over-done false lashes at him, smiling. I saw her glance over at me and wink in my direction. I wanted to kill her. She knew exactly what she was doing: making me jealous and driving me crazy. I was forced to be civil with her, unfortunately. We shared a record label, and a producer: Tommy. She just loved to stir things up, didn't she?

I was done. I'd talked to enough record big-wigs to please the boss, Darius, and I was ready to split. I whipped out my phone and hit 2 on speed dial. Troy: best friend, lifeline, lived across the hall in my apartment building…and he mayyyy also be my leverage to make Tommy slightly jealous/make it less obvious I was pining for Mr. Quincy when necessary. Troy was gay, but Tommy didn't have to know that…right?

My phone call had been made and my ride was on the way so I grabbed my purse and headed for the door. The moment I stepped outside I heard a familiar voice from behind me.

"Em! Hey, leaving already?"

I turned around to see none other than Tom Quincy staring back at me. I sighed before responding. "I've networked enough…I'm tired. I'm going home."

"Well hey, I'll take you home if you want." He offered.

"Troy's on his way, thanks…take Karma home instead" The last part of my sentence was mumbled, although I'd half hoped he caught it.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing." I replied sharply.

"Are you okay?"

"Just fine." I said, turning away from him and glancing down the street, waiting to see a silver chevy cobalt pulling up at any second.

He stepped in front of me, causing us to once again stand face to face. "Hmmm I think I know you too well to believe that…"

"I'm fine! I'm tired. I wanna go home. Just drop it."

"Emily…"

"Tommy!" I said cutting him off. "Just go back inside, okay?….Karma's waiting." Again, the second half of my sentence was spoken in a low mumble.

"Wait…Karma?"…guess he caught it that time. "Is that was this is about?"

"No! just forget it." I told him, letting out a sigh of relief as I saw Troy's car pull up to the curb.

"Em, come on…"

"Bye!" was the only response I gave him as I slid into the passengers seat of Troy's car, swiftly closing the door behind me. I let out a huge breath as we pulled away from the curb.

"Bad night?" Troy asked me.

"….Yeah."


	2. Chapter 2

"Aw I'm sorry sweetie, what happened?" Troy asked me as we continued the approximately three minute drive back to our apartment building.

I simply replied with a sigh.

"Don't wanna talk about it?" He asked.

I shook my head.

The rest of the car ride was silent for the most part. Neither of us spoke much until we got to our floor. "Sooo….I've got ice cream" Troy stated as we both reached our doors.

I gave him a small smile.

"What kind?" I asked.

"Chocolate chip cookie dough" He smirked. My favorite.

"Mmm…okay. Bring it over to my place in five?"

He nodded and smiled before we both disappeared into our apartments. I slid off my heels by the door and headed to my bedroom to change. By the time I'd managed to put on sweats, throw my hair up, and slide into my cozy fuzzy slippers, Troy was already in my kitchen with a gallon of ice cream.

"Hey cutie." He greeted me, along with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Go and sit, I'll bring you some."

I gave him a smile. "Thanks." I told him before heading into the living room. I plopped down on my super comfy sofa and grabbed a blanket. Troy came in, carrying two bowls of ice cream. He sat down next to me, grabbing some of my blanket for himself. I rested my head on his shoulder and happily dug into my ice cream.

"So what's the drama tonight?" He asked.

"Ugh…"

"Trouble in Tommyville?"

"….I guess. More like Karma trouble."

"Uh oh. Karma strikes again?"

"Yup."

"So what exactly is her beef with you again?"

"Condensed version? She a bitch."

"Ha, yeah, I made that conclusion. Is there a reason for her bitchyness or is she just pure evil?" He asked.

"I'm thinking she's Satan…." I nodded. We both chuckled a bit. "She has to have the spotlight , all of it, or she can't deal….and we have to share Tommy. She thinks I'm into him…so her goal is to make me jealous as hell and watch me squirm."

"But…you are into him."

I shot him a 'duh' kind of a look.

"Don't let her get to you hun, it's exactly what she wants." he told me.

"How can she NOT get to me. She's all over him constantly, and he doesn't seem to mind." I said smugly, throwing in an eye roll for good measure.

"So make a move, babe. Claim your territory."

I sighed. "not an option."

"And why the hell not?"

"…We've had this discussion before."

"I know. And you still make no sense, woman!"

"We work together…complicating things is the last thing I want."

"Okay, Yes you work together, but it's not like you have some office job. You're a musician, he's your producer. It's a closer relationship… and I personally think it would be no biggie if you two hooked up."

"My point? If things don't work out, we still have to see each other every day."

"ACK! Always with the negative side of things. Come on Em." He set his now empty ice cream bowl on the table and sat up a bit so he faced me. "You can't just assume it won't work out. He cares about you that's obvious. He's worth the risk, right?"

"He's a heartbreaker, Troy. He's notorious for it."

"So let's say he breaks your heart. Hello? Inspiration!?"

I sighed. I knew he was right…mostly. No way in hell I would admit it to him, but he had a point.

"Ugh. Can we just forget this for now? If he wants more between us, he'll do something about it. Why is it up to me?"

"It's just as much up to you as it is to him. Hell, he could be saying the same thing you are 'oooh I'll just wait for HER to make a move;"

"No. no moves no nothing. Tommy and I have a perfectly fine friendship-ish… thing, going. We'll just….see where things go. No moves, no planning moves. No."

"Suit yourself, chica." He said, grabbing his bowl and heading out to the kitchen. I rolled my eyes and followed him, both of us sticking our dishes in the sink.

"Oh hey." Troy started. "You're missing an earring."

I reached up and felt both my earlobes. Sure enough, one earring was missing. "Damn it. I probably lost it at the party."

"Ooh. It's probably long gone."

"Probably." Just lovely.

"Oh well…so what now? Wanna watch a movie or something?

"Mmm I dunno, I'm kinda tired."

"Alright, I'll let you get to sleep" He eyed me and made a pouty face. "I'm sorry your night sucked sweetie." He said, wrapping me in a hug.

"Oh well…life goes on, right?"

"Yes it does." he said, kissing my cheek. Just before he let go of me I heard a knock at the door. I raised an eyebrow at Troy in a 'who the hell is that' kind of fashion. He shrugged. I headed towards the door, Troy stayed near the kitchen, peeking his head around the corner in curiosity. I opened the door to find none other than Tommy standing there.

"Hey." Was all I said to him.

"Hey." he replied. "Oh, uh, you dropped this." he said, handing me my missing earring.

"Oh! Thanks, I just noticed it was gone actually…thought it was lost forever."

Awkward much? Hadn't exactly left him on a positive note earlier.

We both stood quietly for a moment, interrupted only by Troy. "Hey I'm gonna split." he told me before giving me another kiss on the cheek an a quick hug. "Sleep tight babe." He said before giving Tommy a nod and making his exit.

"So um…do you…wanna come in for a sec?" I asked him.

"Um…sure."

The mood was somber as I led him into the kitchen. Too much silence. "Want something to drink?" I offered as I pulled a diet pepsi out of the fridge for myself.

"Um, just a water's fine."

I nodded and snagged a bottle of water from the fridge for him.

"Thanks."

I leaned on the counter and popped open my soda, Tommy sat on a stool to my left.

"So um…I'm sorry…about earlier." I told him. "I guess I was kind of…not so polite."

He sighed. "It's not really a problem, I was kind of prying a little."

"You didn't pry. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"Don't worry about it, okay? It's no big deal." He told me, his voice soft and low.

I nodded, studying the marbled pattern of the counter top.

"…You and I. We're okay right? I mean…you've seemed a little off lately…or something."

"No, no. We're fine." I assured him. "Just…since Karma showed up…"

"Ah, back to Karma"

"She likes to stir things up, and it stresses me out."

"How do you mean?" He asked.

I looked up at him. "…I'm just not used to sharing you I guess." I told him. "Especially not with her…and I don't think she likes the idea of sharing you either."

"Hmm" was his only response.

"She wants you all to herself. She's trying her hardest to make me squirm…and it's kind of working."

Tommy said nothing. I sighed and looked back down at the counter top.

"It's just becoming this…fight for your attention. Which is silly, I know…but it drives me crazy."

"Well I guess that explains her constant hanging all over me…"

I rolled my eyes. "yeah." I said sharply.

He smirked. "Ooh do I smell a bit of jealousy?"

I smirked back. "No I just…don't want her to steal you from me." I smiled, playing into his accusation.

"Sounds like jealousy to meeee." He said in mocking, sing-song kind of voice.

I smiled and playfully smacked him. "Whatever you have to tell yourself to keep that ego of yours afloat, Quincy."

"Hey now, getting nasty are we?" He smiled and hopped down from his stool.

"You started it." I smirked, poking him in the chest.

"Whatever you say Scott, whatever you say."

"So that means I win?"

"Whoa whoa, let's not get ahead of ourselves."

I giggled.

He smiled down at me. "I should get going."

Aww.

Disappointment.

"Okay…"

"I'll see you tomorrow. Ten sharp." He said, walking towards the door.

I nodded.

He opened his arms, offering me a hug. I graciously accepted and wrapped my arms around his middle. He gave me a light squeeze and kissed the top of my head before letting go of me. "Bye" he said sweetly before stepping out the door, which I then closed behind him. I let out a small sigh. What an evening.


	3. Chapter 3

"Mornin'!" An all too chipper Tommy greeted me. It was just before 10 a.m. I sat sluggishly on the sofa in the lobby of G Major Records and shot him a sleepy glare.

"Come on Scott, look alive." He grinned.

"Well I would…but I got a 7:30 wake up call this morning." I said bitterly.

He grinned devilishly at his work. "Well couldn't have you being late last time, now could we?" He said with a wink, handing me a styrofoam cup, fully equipped with a handy cardboard sleeve. "Mocha latte." He informed me. Yum. I muttered a 'thanks' and followed him as he headed into the studio.

Within an hour we'd managed to be super productive, nearly finishing a full demo song. I sat on a stool in front of the mic in the booth, listening to what we'd just recorded through my headphones, while Tommy bopped along from his seat at the sound board.

"Alright Em, not bad but you're a little pitchy in the last verse. I know it's just a demo and it's not super important, but you can do way better. How 'bout you take five and we'll run through it again?"

I nodded. "Okay, sounds good." I took off my headphones and headed out of the booth, plopping myself down on the huge plush leather chair in the studio. Just as I did so, guesss who waltzed into the studio. The one and only Karma, of course.

"Hey you guys!" She said with a phony smile. Why the hell was she here? "Sorry if I'm interrupting, but Tommy…I was looking over these lyrics" she said, glancing at a paper she held in her hands. "..and I'm just not so sure about some of them, think you could take a look with me?" She said 'sweetly'.

Gag me please.

"Uhh sure I guess. Have a seat." He told her.

"Actually…I would prefer um…that chair there." She said, pointing to my comfortable seat.

"Fine." I said. "Guess I'll be going then."

I calmly got up and walked out of the studio, heading out passed the lobby to the kitchen/break area. With a huff, I grabbed a soda, popping it open as I leaned against the counter, eyeing Tommy and Karma through the clear glass walls of the studio. She sat at the edge of the chair, pointing at words on the page, causing Tommy sit on the arm rest of her seat to gain a better view. There was random speaking and nodding, Karma occasionally putting a hand on Tommy's knee. I mentally grumbled. She was giggling. A minute or so later she stood up, hopefully signaling they were finished. After she hugged Tommy, complete with a kiss on his cheek, she continued to stand there and talk, occasionally flirtatiously touching his shoulder. I glared and rolled my eyes at her antics. Time to move. I stuffed my soda back in the fridge and headed back over to the studio.

"Ready to run through those vocals again Tommy?" I asked as I walked in. I glanced at Karma who shot me a nasty look in return.

"Uhh yeah sure whenever you're ready." He told me.

"I'm ready now." I informed him.

He nodded and turned to Karma. "Hopefully those changes should make a difference. We'll try them out tomorrow."

She smiled at him. "Thanks so much, you're such a sweetie."

Simply sickening.

She shot me one last look and one more smile at Tommy before she left the studio, closing the door behind her. I rolled my eyes and stepped into the booth, securing my headphones comfortably over my ears. Tommy took his seat behind the sound board once again.

"Take it from the chorus, alright?"

I nodded and the music started.

_I don't know where the next road goes but I feel the wheels rolling down below me  
__Take my sweet timegetting it back again_

Ouch. My voice noticeably cracked. I stopped and sighed.

"It's fine. Try it again." I heard Tommy tell me through my headphones before starting the music again.

_I don't know where the next road goes but I feel the wheels rolling down below me  
Take my sweet timegetting it back again  
What matters most will carry me  
Through the night to where I wanna be baby_…

I was noticably off.

Tommy stopped the music. "What's up? You had this before."

"Sorry." I told him.

"You're tense, you can hear it."

Well gee I just had an encounter with the devil herself, chyeah, I was tense.

"Come on out." He told me.

With a sigh I took of my headphones, came out of the booth, and stood in front of Tommy. "What?"

"What's up?" He asked me flat out.

I shrugged and shook my head.

He gave me a look as if making a realization as to what the source of my frustration was. "Is it seriously that easy for her to get to you?" He asked me, as if I were nuts for letting her stress me out.

"Why is she even here?? She has no studio time scheduled today. There's no reason. It's just part of her stupid sick game!"

"You can't let her get to you!"

"She frustrates me! I can't help it."

"Just try focus on your vocals, alright?"

"Tommy! Seriously?"

He said nothing.

"Look at her!" I said, pointing over to where she was standing. The same place I had been standing earlier watching the two of them. She eyed us with a sly grin on her face. "She's just standing there watching, eating this up."

"So don't give her that satisfaction! Ignore her."

"Yeah, see…that sounds easy…but it's really really not." I told him.

"Listen, Em! She shouldn't be your concern right now. You're here to record. Just relax and focus."

"Yeah well, ya know, making me feel like an idiot for being pissed at her isn't exactly helping." I said flatly.

He let out a sigh and took a step closer to me.

"You're not an idiot." He said calmly. "Just… you're reacting exactly how she wants you to. Don't make yourself the victim."

I sighed. "So what am I supposed to do?"

He shrugged. "What do you wanna do?"

"…Scream."

He scoffed, then smiled. "Eh…well the booth isss sound proof."

I grinned devilishly. Grabbing Tommy by the arm, I led him into the booth with me.

"Hey, why torture me?"

"You look like you could use a good scream too. Come on!"

He shook his head with a slight smile on his face and closed the door of the booth.

I smiled. "That's that's the spirit."

I cleared my throat and shook my arms like spaghetti to prepare myself. "Okay, ready? On three."

He nodded.

"1...2...3.…"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"

"Come on Quincy that all you got??" I yelled at him.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" We both screamed at the top of our lungs, ending in a fit of laughter.

"Okay, now if that didn't kill your vocal chords…we'll do one more run through then call it a day alright?" Tommy said as he regained his composure.

I nodded at him, still giggling. He smiled and shook his head as he walked out of the booth and took a seat behind the sound board. I went over and sat on my stool, sliding on my headphones.

"Ready?" He asked me.

"Yup." I replied before hearing the music come through my headphones.

_I don't know where the next road goes but I feel the wheels rolling down below me  
Take my sweet timeI'm getting it back again  
What matters most will carry meThrough the night to where I wanna be baby  
Take my sweet timeI'll be home again  
In my own sweet Time yeah yeah..In my own sweet time yeah yeah  
In my own sweet time yeah_

"Good!" He told me as I finished. "Ten times better."

"Wow. Screaming is really cathartic." I smiled.

He chuckled. "Now, how about we grab some lunch?" he asked me with a slight smirk.

"Sounds good." I told him before sliding off my headphones and coming out of the booth.

"So what are you hungry for?" He asked me.

"Hmmm……Chinese?"

He nodded. "Good choice. Ready to roll?"

"Yup." I said, moving behind him and jumping up on his back. "Let's go."

"You're a piece of work, Scott." He told me before carrying me piggy-back style out of the studio.

I made sure to glance over at Karma before she was out of sight-range. She was glaring, stirring a cup of coffee. I gave her a smile and a wave, causing her to roll her eyes.

I smiled with satisfaction.

author's note: Reviews would be super super appreciated!! This is my first fanfic and I have no idea how it's turning out. Opinions/suggestions would be awesome!! Thanks for reading!


End file.

Instant Star, Drama, Romance