Chapter Six

Istare at Alison, who's clearly in shock. Apparently, no one goes against her like that. Good. It's about time. I start to smile, but then my stomach drops.

What if I just screwed myself over? What if my plan to just take down the video and move on isn't an option anymore because of my snide comment? What if she does decide to sue me? My palms start to get clammy. I run them over my arms trying to calm myself down.

"I . . . I . . ." Alison struggles to find the words.

I look over at Stephen who has a smirk on his face. That gives me a little bit of relief. If I just ruined everything for myself, I don't think Stephen would be smiling about it.

"I'm sorry," I start, as I reach my arm out towards her, but then let it drop to my side. "I shouldn't have said that. That's not true. Your songs are amazing. I'm honestly jealous of your talent. I wish I could maneuver my way through words like you can."

I watch Alison's face, trying to read what she's feeling. It remains cold. Everything I said was the truth though. She does have amazing talent.

The only reason I started writing songs in response to hers was because of Juliet. I started jokingly changing the lyrics to one of Alison's songs as I was playing with Juliet and the idea kind of stuck. Of course now I change the tune and the lyrics, but I got a boost of inspiration from doing that, and I hadn't had inspiration for a very long time.

Not since my mom died actually. I didn't want it to go away, so I just rolled with it. I should just tell her that and make this whole situation better, but it's something I don't think I'm ready to share yet. Especially with her.

"Anyway, back to the reason we invited you here," Stephen interrupts the awkward silence that has now taken over the room. "As I'm assuming you know, Alison is in the middle of touring her new album."

"Yes, I know, I'm sorry. I can take the song down. Seriously, no problem at all. I didn't mean to step on any toes," I start rambling.

"No, no, that's not what we want. The exact opposite actually. We wanted to know if you would be willing to tour with Alison. Be her opening act. Maybe play a few songs with her. I think both of your fans would love that. It could be a real boost for both of you."

I stare at Stephen. He really needs to stop dropping these bombs on me.

"Um, I mean that sounds great. I'd have to figure out the logistics with my family." I pause for a second. How could I do this with my family? Dad really needs me around to watch Juliet so he can work. But this is an opportunity I'll probably never get again. They'll understand, right? Especially Juliet. I can literally hear her threatening me if I turn this down. "But yes, I'd love to . . ." I pause still not believing what's happening right now. ". . . tour with Alison Quick."

"Great!" Stephen looks down at the tablet in his hand. "We need to get some things worked out of course. Schedule. Set list. But we'd like you to join her as soon as possible."

I nod my head. "Absolutely. Like I said, just give me a chance to speak with my family first, and then I'll be ready to dive right in."

"This is why we can't have nice things," Alison mumbles.

"What was that, Ali?" Stephen asks.

Alison stands up and turns her entire body towards me. Her brow is drawn into a straight line and there are wrinkles all over her forehead really accentuating her frown. It's honestly kind of cute. I try my best not to smile because she's clearly pissed off.

"I said, this is why we can't have nice things." She turns her gaze towards Stephen. "The tour was going great. Fans were loving it. I was loving it. My shows have been close to flawless. Then you had to go and ruin it by inviting him to be part of it. I don't think my fans are going to enjoy it as much as you think they are." She crosses her arms over her chest and stares at us pointedly, clearly waiting for one of us to argue.

I try to think of something to say, but I'm tongue-tied. She has absolutely no desire for me to be apart of this.

Honestly, I don't necessarily want to spend all of my time with her if this is going to be her attitude about it. I know it's the opportunity of a lifetime, but it sounds like we would both be miserable.

Not to mention, she is right. This is her tour. Her shows. Her fans. It's not right of me to join if she doesn't want me there. I'm kind of shocked that her manager is honestly offering this if he knows she's that against it.

"What if we give it a trial run? See how it goes? Alison, you'd have absolute veto power if you feel it's not working. Can we try that?" Stephen asks, raising his eyebrows at her in question.

The whole interaction is kind of odd honestly. Alison isn't known for her dramatics. She's actually always labeled as one of the most down to earth and kind celebrities, so I'm kind of shocked that this is the kind of interaction I'm having with her.

I guess we all have our breaking points though. I'd feel the same if I thought someone was infringing on my career and creativity.

"Complete veto power?" she asks. "Like, I say the word and he's gone?"

"Yes. If you feel like it isn't working for you or your fans, you can make the call and we'll go back to how it was before."

She bites the bottom right corner of her lip as she watches Stephen for a few seconds. "Okay, I can work with that I guess. That means I'll only have to spend a couple of shows with him anyway. I have no doubt in my mind that this isn't going to work." She quickly snaps her eyes towards me. "Does that work for you, Archer?" Her eyes narrow in on me as if waiting for me to challenge her.

"That sounds good to me," I respond, smiling.

"Perfect. I'll get all of this set into motion then," Stephen says as he starts clicking away on his tablet. "I'll call you later this evening to give you all of the information."

"Thank you," I answer as I stand up and start walking towards the door.

I make a mental note to do everything in my power to keep Alison from kicking me off this tour. I can't let my family, or myself, down.