A/N: Welcome to Chapter 1! The title is based on lyrics from "Bright", a Julie & the Phantoms song. Thank you to everyone who has given this story so much love & support, it means a lot to me!💞🎶💞

This chapter is dedicated to one of my lovely best friends, @livetowrite_7! She is such a sweetheart, ridiculously underrated, and on top of that, has been a treasured friend, confidant, and story supporter of mine for a long time now. Thank you, Lee-Lee, I don't know where I would be without you.💜💖🩷💜💖

As always, feel free to comment your thoughts, theories, and questions, and vote on the chapter if you enjoy it! Now, without further ado, enjoy Chapter 1!💖💜💖

"Some legends are told. Some turn to dust or to gold. But, you will remember me. Remember me for centuries."~Fall Out Boy (from their song, "Centuries")

Alaina's POV

"Chocolate chips or butterscotch?" Mom asked, standing in front of the open baking cabinet.

"How about both?" I suggested with a grin, and turned back to my current task of mixing the sweet dough.

"Both, it is!" she chuckled, seeing my grin widen as she pulled down both bags and set them on the counter. She tucked everything else back into their respective spots, closed the cabinet, and stepped over to take over mixing the dough so I could pour the chips.

Soon enough, we had two full trays of cookies in the oven, the timer set, our aprons hanging on their hooks, and left each other to our own devices.

I grabbed a mostly intact tennis ball from the toy basket and went outside with Koa; he was Charlie's dog, but, we all considered him our family's pet. "You ready?" I smiled, winding up to throw it as Koa barked and jumped around in response. "Alright, here we go. One...two...three!"

I tossed the ball and watched it fly toward the far side of the yard, landing near the fence where Koa took it and came prancing back toward me, tail wagging up a storm.

Once I got the ball back, I ran around the yard, dodging and weaving around the garden and the sweet little puppy, laughing as the sounds of Koa's barking and excited footfalls followed me.

~ ~ ~

I had just thrown the ball for Koa to chase again when my phone rang, the piano theme from Up filling the air as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and smiled at the caller ID; "Kenny🪄".

"Hey, Kenny," I greeted, watching Koa roll around in the grass, happily chewing on the tennis ball.

"Lainie! How are you doing?" he replied, his smile shining through his words.

"I'm doing pretty good, thank you! How have you been?" I asked.

"Of course, I'm glad to hear it! Things are going well here too; I'm actually starting a new production, a Netflix show. I was wondering, would you and Charlie be interested in auditioning?"

"Yeah, I would love to, and I'm pretty sure Charlie would too! I'll check with him when he gets home," I smiled. Getting to work with Kenny again would be amazing. Getting to work with him and Charlie would be incredible.

"Wonderful, I'll email you the details later tonight!"

"Sweet, thank you so much, Kenny!" I beamed.

"Of course, anytime, Alaina. Take care, and I'll be in touch later."

"Bye, Kenny, have a good night," I smiled, putting my phone back in my pocket and going inside with Koa on my heels. While he padded over to his water bowl, I walked into the living room, where Mom was sitting on the couch reading while the radio played.

Glancing up at me, she bookmarked the page, set it aside, and turned the radio down as I made myself comfortable next to her. "Penny for your thoughts, Stells?" she smiled, tilting her head to the side.

"Kenny called, he's working on a new series, and he invited me and Char to audition for it," I explained, still trying to process it.

"That's amazing! Does Charlie know yet?" she asked.

"No, I don't think so. He most likely would've blown up my messages already if Kenny told him," I chuckled. "And then the others would've followed suit like a row of dominos," I added, shaking my head at my brothers' antics.

Right on cue, we heard doors closing, bits of talking, and the rustling of bags as footsteps approached the front door. Seconds later, four of my favorite goofballs came inside, and we stood to help put the groceries away. "Speak of the goofballs and they shall appear," I snickered as I took one bag from each of my brothers and brought them to the kitchen island.

"Awe, were you talking about your favorite brother again?" Michael jested.

"Oh, of course, Mikey!" I smiled back, turning to Ryan and holding my arms out, "C'mere, Ry!"

Beaming, he lifted me up and settled me on his shoulders, "That's what I'm talking about!" he cheered.

Michael's jaw dropped in mock offense while Charlie and Patrick were laughing their heads off. "You walked right into that one, dude!" Charlie chuckled, patting him on the shoulder.

"Betrayal, Lainie. Betrayal of the highest order," he shook his head, mock disappointment fading into a smile when I pulled him into a hug after Ryan gently set me back on the floor.

Once the groceries were put away, I clapped my hands together, getting everyone's attention, "I have some exciting news. I got a call from Kenny earlier and he let me know he's working on a new show. He invited Charlie and I to audition for it."

The kitchen erupted into sweet chaos; Ry and Mikey noogied Charlie mercilessly, grinning with pride, while Mom put on one of her Beatles CDs, turned up the volume, and sang along to it as Patrick spun me around the kitchen.

~ ~ ~

About half an hour later, give or take, we had settled down in the living room to relax; Mom was in the recliner with her book, Mikey and Patrick were playing a few rounds of Super Smash Bros., and the rest of us were on the sofa.

Char and Ry were busy braiding my hair and I was scrolling through Instagram, curious to see if anyone in Kenny's film crew or any of our other friends were posting anything about the new show, but so far, I wasn't having much luck.

"Did you check Paul's page yet?" Charlie asked, glancing over after he tied off the end of the braid on his side.

"No, I'll check now," I nodded, pulling it up. Paul Becker, one of the best choreographers I'd gotten to work with; he was a close friend of Kenny's, and over the course of making the Descendants movies, he became a good friend to me and everyone else in the cast too.

Sure enough, there was a teaser post pinned at the top of his page:

paul_becker

"You only live once. But, you can rock forever."

New project on the horizon; I can't wait to share more with you!🎸🌟🎸

2.1K❤️ 858💬

Stells_Laine- Way to leave us hanging, Pauly!💖🌟🦋

4Auradon- Awesome, I'm sure it'll be amazing!💜

ElsieG- Agreed!💖🦋

Eve17- Most exciting cliffhanger ever!!!🌟🌟🌟

4Auradon- Right?!😁

Ally!- Bet it's another production with Kenny!👏👏👏

ElsieG- No doubt!💜❤️💜

ElsieG- Ooh, the Orpheum! I hope it's a musical!🤞🎶🤞

*See More*

"Check this out," I smiled, letting Charlie and Ryan see it before turning my phone to show the others.

"Yeah, I'm with you there. He really knows how to leave us on a cliffhanger," Patrick chuckled, seeing my comment.

"Yep, it's one of his specialties," I agreed, bolting upright a second later when my screen lit up with an email notif.

Michael and Patrick dropped their controllers, the game forgotten as they came over to sit with us on the couch, and Mom put her book down. "What does it say, Stells?" Patrick piped up.

"'In three weeks, auditions will be held in Los Angeles for a new Netflix original series by Kenny Ortega called, Julie and the Phantoms...'"

~ ~ ~

A/N: And that was Chapter 1! I had a lot of fun writing it, and I already have a really good feeling about this series!💜💖💜

Questions of the Day-

~What do you think of the Gillespie family dynamic so far?

~Do you have a favorite character and/or character dynamic so far, and if so, who is it & why?

~Do you have any predictions for characters that might be introduced in Chapter 2?

Thank you so much for reading my stories and giving them & me your love and support; it means a lot that my stories and other works are being enjoyed! You make these adventures so much more exciting, and I can't wait to continue them with you!💞🦋

~Love, Sunset