1. Chapter One

Jared

Cold air washed over me as I stepped into my small apartment, out of the brutal summer heat. Gratitude that I had a good air conditioning unit spread through me as my body readjusted to a normal temperature. It was a summer that I had frequently described as "hotter than actual Hell" and I couldn't imagine living somewhere without AC.

An alarm chirped on my phone and I sighed. "Okay, okay, I'm hurrying," I muttered to nobody in particular as I rushed to the dining table that doubled as a workspace. I threw open my laptop, knowing I couldn't be late for my meeting, and pulled up the video conferencing program and clicked into the meeting. A moment later, my agent's name appeared on the screen as he dialed in and turned on his camera.

"Hi, Jared," Paul said, a genuine smile on his face.

"Hey, Paul. How's everything? How are the kids?"

"Everything's good, thanks for asking. Samuel just finished up middle school, and Allie is headed into sixth grade, believe it or not."

I nodded, grinning back. "They're growing up so fast."

"That they are." He looked down at what I'd learned long ago was a steno pad, like the ones he kept handy for all his conversations. "Now, how are the shows going?"

I scrubbed a hand over my face. "Not bad. We had a few hundred ticket sales at the last one, and a pretty good merch turnout on top of it."

"Good, good." He jotted down some notes before looking up at me. His lips were pressed together in a thin line and his eyes were tight. "Listen, Jared–"

"Paul, if you're going to drop me–"

He held up a hand to cut me off. "That's not what I was going to say."

"I can do better," I insisted. "I can. I can draw bigger audiences. I know I can. I just need time. Some good publicity. It'll happen. I know it will."

Paul closed his eyes briefly. "I know you can, too, kid. That's not the problem."

"Then what is it?"

He hesitated a moment before speaking. "You're not getting any younger, you know that, right?"

"I'm not even thirty!"

"The labels are signing them younger and younger these days. You know I just secured a three-record deal for a sixteen-year-old?"

I scowled. "This sounds like a problem with the way you're pitching me, not a problem with my talent."

He shrugged. "It's just the way things are. I've pitched your sound. They like you. That's not the issue. The issue is you don't have enough of a fan base. They have years to craft the teenager into an image the fans will like. With you, they know they have to take you as you are, and building a rabid fan base off of a thirty-year-old–"

"Twenty-nine."

He cleared his throat. "Twenty-nine-year-old pop punk act is a lot harder."

I grunted, not sure of what to say.

"Look, I'm not dropping you as a client. I'm just saying, if you want to make a real go at this career, you're going to have to find a way to build a fan base. A big one, and soon."

"What am I supposed to do then? How exactly am I supposed to become a breakout star overnight?"

Paul scratched at his stubble and thought for a moment. "You need a story. Something to draw people in. Give them a reason to care. That teenager, she lost everything in an apartment fire. You know where we found her? Busking on a street corner, trying to raise money to replace her school supplies and wardrobe."

I frowned. "You want me to burn my house down?" I asked, tone deadpan. "It's a rental."

He rolled his eyes. "Look, kid, everyone loves a story. Why should they give a shit about you? Like I said, give them a reason to care. I can handle the rest."

I nodded slowly. "Thanks, Paul. Anything else?"

He shook his head, frowning. "That's all I have to say today. I'll talk to you again next month. Let me know if you need anything in the meantime."

"Sure thing. Thanks." I exited the meeting as quickly as possible without risking looking unprofessional and closed my laptop. As soon as I was sure he was gone, I let out a long breath, tears prickling my eyes.

I had only started to actively pursue a music career in the past few years, and I'd been damn lucky to land an agent when my career was basically in its infancy. I'd been with Paul's agency since the previous winter, but he hadn't been able to secure me a deal with any of the labels. I knew I needed to be patient, but I was getting frustrated and I was tempted to quit. Give up before failure caught up to me, that was my typical M.O.

I let out another sigh and shook my shoulders out, trying to shake off the negativity and encroaching despair. My phone buzzed, so I closed my laptop and took a peek. I grinned when I saw the messages from my friends start to roll in.

Cam: Jared, how did the meeting go?

Parker: What meeting? Did I miss something important?

Theo: God, Park. Do you ever think about anything besides yourself?

Parker: Yeah, my husband's dick.

This message was accompanied by an eggplant emoji, a water droplet emoji, and a winking emoji.

Bennett: Gross.

Parker's only response was an eye roll emoji.

Levi: Jared had a meeting with his agent today, right?

Smiling fondly, I shook my head and tapped out a quick response.

Jared: Yeah, I just got off the call. It was… not great. I need to find a way to build a fan base, and fast, or else.

Bennett: What does ‘or else' mean?

Jared: He'll probably drop me from his client list.

Cam: He said that? Dick.

Theo: Well, we're your fans. Don't we count for something?

Jared: Can we multiply you guys by thousands? Isn't that something Dex's company can do, Bennett? Clone people?

Bennett: Hardly. But maybe he can help us advertise the next show.

I appreciated the effort, but I wasn't sure it was going to pay off.

Jared: If there is a next show, you mean.

Cam: Don't you dare do that.

Jared: What?

But I knew what he meant, and I braced myself for his light scolding.

Cam: You know what? You always give up if you're not an expert at something right away. If you think there's even the slightest hint of a possibility that you're not going to be wildly successful, you run. Don't do that. You're talented. Give it time.

I sighed deeply. Cam was right.

Jared: Fine. Have it your way.

Cam responded with a crying laughing emoji and an eye roll emoji.

Cam: Totally. Thanks for doing this for me.

Jared: Actually, there is something you guys can do. Anyone have any ideas for attention-getters? He wants me to create a story around myself. Something that will make people care about me.

Theo: Like what?

Jared: His last client lost everything in a fire apparently.

Bennett: So, burn your house down?

Levi: I don't think that's the point, bro. What if you featured the kickball thing? Isn't there a tournament in California every year? Let's go kick ass at that.

Jared: Not a bad idea, but what I really need is something that ties back to my music.

Parker: Ooh, go skydiving and play your guitar at the same time. That would be different!

Theo: How about a music marathon? We do a dance marathon at school for a fundraiser, you could play music for 24 hours.

Cam: Or do a flash mob proposal. You could totally pull that off.

Jared: I'm as single as it gets, man.

Bennett: How about a VR event? We can hook you up with some VR tech and you can throw a massive in-game concert.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead. This conversation wasn't going anywhere, and the ideas were either unhelpful or downright ridiculous. Marathons and proposals and skydiving. Not going to happen. Before I could text the guys a polite dismissal and duck out of the conversation altogether, my phone chirped again. When I glanced at it, though, it wasn't the team.

Matty: Are we still on for tonight?

I couldn't stop the smile that spread over my face as I checked the time. I hadn't realized it was almost four in the afternoon, which meant it was nearly ten p.m. in Oslo.

Jared: Be right there.

Matty's company would be a welcome distraction from the pressures of my music career. He was the one thing I'd always been able to count on. Since I was a teen, Matty had been there for me in one way or another, providing stability, consistency, and unconditional friendship. I couldn't believe I'd almost forgotten the weekly call that had been a staple in my life since high school. I set my phone aside and logged on to the second video call of the day—though the one with Matt was undeniably much more interesting.