chapter12: one step closer to the charts
may 14, 2009

 It’s a few days later. 8STARz were at the set of their music video of their single, Explode. As they wrapped up a scene, they got a call from Seth for a Skype meeting. They went on a laptop used by the director. They logged onto Skype.

 He told them, “8STARz, I’m sorry, but I have to cancel your gig on TRL.”

 That angered the 8. Greg asked, “I don’t get it. Why are you canceling this gig?”

 As soon as Greg asked that question, Seth logged off. That aggravated the members. Maddie asked, “Why would Seth cancel this gig? I thought we were doing good.”

 Sarah said, “We are. But I don’t think he did this on his own.”

 Ryan asked, “So, he had help? Was it 7STARS?”

 Greg scoffed, “Who else would it be?”

 Sarah said, “I think we should demand the truth from Seth. He shouldn’t cancel this gig on us without a legitimate reason.”

 They members agreed to this.

 It’s the next day, and all the filming was over. That gave the 8 the time they needed to confront Seth. They barged into his office, where he was making a phone call. He was startled by them marching in like that. So he asked, “What are you doing here?”

 Greg demanded as Seth hung up, “We want to know why you canceled that TRL gig on us. Did you give it to 7STARz?”

 Seth gave a heavy sigh. Greg saw this, so he asked, “So you did give it to 7STARz?”

 He explained, “7STARz are about to release their new single under a new record label. A lot is riding on them since they’re not working for the Disney Channel anymore. Yet, they are one of the biggest pop acts to come out of Disney since Miley Cyrus. I feel like they deserve this performance. Granted, they are a fixture on TMZ, but they really need this performance.”

 Sarah asked, “But what about us? We got famous much quicker than 7STARz.”

 Seth said, “I know, but here’s the thing. You’re a group of high school teenagers who are just starting out. You got your start on YouTube, and then on MySpace. Now you’re climbing on the charts. But you’re just teenagers. At your age, you should be in high school.”

 Sarah asked flatly, “So you’re saying we’re too young to be on TRL and go further with our career?”

 “Well…”

 Greg said angrily, “That’s exactly what you’re saying! We deserve this gig more than 7STARz! We should be seen as a legitimate pop band, not some spin-off of 7STARz!”

 Seth said, “Greg Chavez…”

 “No! We’ll reach international status! We will get there, no matter how hard it is, or how long it’ll take!”

 With that, the 8 stormed out of the office. Seth sat there, frustrated.

 It’s about an hour later, and the 8 arrived in their new house. They moved in soon after the tour was over. Once they got in, Sarah said angrily, “I can’t believe that bastard! How can he say we’re too young to be an international sensation?”

 Maddie said, “We’re practically an international sensation. We’re gaining fans worldwide. And this performance would elevate us even higher.”

 Ryan said, “So 7STARz stole our gig. Why don’t we play their game.”

 Greg asked in a snarky tone, “And what game is that?”

 “We steal the gig from them.”

 Maddie smirked, and said, “Not bad, but if we’re going to hijack this gig, we need to make a grand performance. Something like Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert would do.”

 The members agreed. 

 It’s a few weeks later, and it was the day of the TRL gig. 7STARz had been rehearsing like crazy to this gig. Now one could be more satisfied than Breanna. 

 But it was very early morning at the studios where the performance was to take place. 8STARz woke up (or stayed awake) very early. They arrived at the studios, holding their raunchy school uniforms. They followed a producer. He saw them, so he asked, “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t performing.”

 Sarah said, “Well, there has been a change of plans. 7STARz got caught up in numerous appointments. So we were asked to perform in their place. And since we’re doing this, we want this performance to be grand, like Lady Gaga grand.”

 Greg added, “It’s to get more people talking about us. Once they see this performance on both TV and YouTube, we’ll make Twitter crash.”

 The producer gave a big grin. He liked what he heard. So he led the 8 into the studio.

 It’s a few hours later, and 7STARz arrived to the studios. But once they arrived, they couldn’t get in. Breanna knocked on the door hard. It was soon opened. A producer was shocked to see them, so she asked, “What are you doing here?”

 Breanna was just as surprised, so she asked, “What do you mean? We have a gig on TRL today. What’s going on?”

 “Really? We were told you had to cancel it last minute, so 8STARz are performing instead.”

 Breanna stood there, silently fuming. Stacey told the producer, “Okay, I don’t know what kind of fucking game those twerps are playing, but we have a performance. Today. Here. Not 8STARz. Now, let us in!”

 The producer shook her head, and closed the door on the 7. Breanna was still standing there, then she said, “We need to crash that show.”

 Molly said, “Bree, give it up. Let 8STARz have their gig. It was theirs to begin with.”

 “No! They cannot perform! They don’t need to any bigger!”

 With that, Breanna took out her phone, and started texting. Matt asked, “Who are you texting?”

 She replied, “Vaughn. He’s gonna help us crash this so-called ‘gig’.”

 After about an hour, the 7 met up with Vaughn, who was in line to get into the studios for the show. Breanna ran up to him, and asked, “Did you get us tickets?”

 He replied, “Yeah, I had to get them from a scalper. Here are your seven tickets. And how the hell did 8STARz steal your gig?”

 “Your guess is as good as mine. Now we have to watch the show like a bunch of regular people.”

 With that, she was given some glares from those in line. Soon, everyone was let in. Vaughn asked, “So, how are you going to ruin their performance?”

 “First,” she said, “I need to see what they’ll be doing. Then I’ll figure out my next move.”

 After about 30 minutes, the show started filming. The host announced there will be a special surprise performance. He left the stage, and it went dark. A song started playing, and in the spotlight was Emily. The audience screamed when they heard the song was Explode. Then the lights went up, and confetti and glitter burst out as Sarah entered the stage with Maddie, Hayley, and Rylie. After she sang her part, Greg came out with Ryan and Alec. Then the chorus came on, and more confetti exploded. The audience screamed and cheered for the 8.

 During the performance, both the 7 and Vaughn were shocked and impressed by the 8. The audience was loving 8STARz’ surprising performance. It was electrifying and energetic. It showed how much 8STARz wanted this gig.

 As for Breanna, she was fuming. She knew that this performance would be the most talked about on social media. It’ll get the most hits on YouTube. So out of anger, she left the audience. She went straight into the backstage. She found a dressing room that had a sign that said “8STARz.” The “7” was turned into an “8.”

 She barged in. She stood there, breathing heavily. Then she started trashing the place, and screaming! Suddenly, a couple of security guards came in, and carried her out of the dressing room. Then they threw her out in the back. She tried to go back in, but she was locked out.

 After the performance, and an impromptu interview, 8STARz went backstage. They were still pumped by their performance. When they entered their dressing room, they saw it was trashed. They couldn’t believe what had happened.

 Rylie asked, “Who would do this?”

 Just as Sarah was about to answer, the 8 heard their phones buzz. They dug through the mess, and phone their phones. They all received an anonymous text. 

 This is what it said: “8STARz, enjoy your new, steamrolling success. But watch out! Before you know it, you’ll burn out as quickly as rose to the sky.”

 The members looked around, and at each other. Rylie asked, “Who sent this text?”

 The 8 looked at Greg and Sarah. The couple looked at each other, and then their bandmates. They both replied, “7STARz.”

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THAT'S IT FOR BOOK1 OF "THE HEADLINES SERIES." COMING IN TWO WEEKS: BOOK2:Breaking The Rules.