“Billboard, Number One!”: music industry, adorable couple, last day!!// StayHomeWriMo Day 30

Hey y’all!

Wow, I can’t believe today’s the LAST DAY of this challenge! This is absolutely crazy! I had a ton of fun writing (almost) every day and publishing it here and I hope I didn’t annoy you all with all of the posts XD.

On the other hand, I’m kind of grateful that this is over because it was a little stressful (though also extremely satisfying and very fun!) to post every day and write something not just new but decent haha.

Thank you to everyone who commented this month! Your comments really mean so much to me and they boosted my ego x10000 😉

“Oh my god,” Azia whispers.

She grips her phone with her hands, staring at the screen, wide-eyed.

”One Two Three, Smile’ is Number One on the Billboard charts today!‘” she reads out.

“Oh my god!” Azia shrieks, jumping up and down. “I- I can’t believe it!”

Her hair is flopping into her face but she doesn’t notice because she turns to me, ecstatic and pacing through the living room.

“Jes! My song is number one on the Billboard!” Azia throws her arms around me, squeezing hard.

I laugh and hug her back, and Azia buries her face in my jacket.

“I’m proud of you Az, this is amazing! I can’t believe how far you’ve come!”

Azia plops down next to me on the couch, snuggling against my jacket. “It’s so soft…” she murmurs teasingly in reference to the sherpa coat I’m always wearing that she gifted me for my birthday last year.

Actually, though, I’m so proud of Azia. She’s always had a voice of gold but her first song was recorded two years ago- at the beginning of our sophomore year of high school. She published it under the name of AAveyard- her initials, but the name Aveyard came from one of the characters in a story we had written in middle school. From there, her music career just completely blew up and ‘One Two Three, Smile’, her fifth song, was probably my favorite.

She smiled up at me brightly, her skin the color of toasted hazelnuts, and her dark hair is messy and adorable.

God, she’s amazing.

“So what do you think, Jes?” Azia asks me. “Do you think I should do a face reveal?”

I pause to think about it. On one hand, an identity reveal would release so much stress on Azia and everyone who knows about her being AAveyard and it’d be super exciting. But, on the other hand, the paparazzi could get overwhelming. And we were just seniors in high school, anyways.

Plus, it meant that Azia’s life would become very public. And I didn’t know how I felt about having the whole of AAveyard’s fanbase- like, millions of people– knowing who I was because we were in a relationship.

“Well,” I choose my words carefully, “I honestly think it’s up to you, Azia.”

Azia makes a face. “I was really hoping you’d give an actual answer, Jes.” Then her face lights up. “Oh! Let’s make a pro-and-con chart! I know how much you love those,” she jokes, and she’s absolutely right.

I’m a complete sucker for any type of list- Venn diagrams, pros vs. cons, even a simple to-do list. I’m also total trash for any type of tech.

Azia makes music and I make codes. That’s just the way we’ve always been.

So I grab a sharpie and pad of paper from the coffee table in the living room that we’re sitting in, reluctant to leave the couch, and, well, Azia.

“So… pros of doing an identity reveal,” I start, quickly scribbling a chart.

“I’ll be so relieved,” Azia offers. “Like, I won’t have to worry about keeping it a secret all the time, not participating in talent shows, and not singing in front of others.”

I nod and write that down.

Relief, don’t have to hide identity.

“But,” I put in, “It also means that your entire life will be under scrutiny, you know. The paparazzi is gonna be obsessed with you for a while and your whole fanbase is going to erupt.”

Azia sighs and puts her head in her hands. “Yeah, I know. But they’re gonna find out anyway, you know? Like, I can’t keep hiding from them. Eventually, someone’s going to figure it out.”

“But,” I add, and realize that I’m literally the voice of pessimism here, “At least you could wait until high school is over, right?”

Azia grins at me, poking my nose. “You really don’t want me to do an identity reveal, do you? You know you don’t have to be revealed too, right?”

I sigh and run a hand through my short hair. “I mean, sure, I guess. I just- I just don’t want to lose you.”

Azia’s gaze softens and she snuggles up against me, tucking her head into my chin.

“If the paparazzi and fans take up so much of your time, what’s going to happen to us? What about our friends? And school and going to the mall and hanging out in general? Everything’s gonna change, Az. I just don’t want it to change.”

Azia’s quiet for a minute. “Jes, I know it’s gonna be hard. For me and my family and friends and for you, too. But this is something I’ve dreamt of for two years, now, and this is literally the perfect opportunity for me to reveal my identity. Part of me thinks that the fanbase is gonna give up on me if I don’t reveal anything about myself soon. I agree with you that it’s gonna be hard to do pretty much anything in public and we’ll- I’ll- probably have no privacy, like, at all. It’s hard to explain but this music career could make my entire life different if I get into it now and I just- I just really want to do this, you know?”

I give her a side-hug. “Az, you know I’ll support your decision no matter what. And, yeah, there’s a lot of benefits to an identity reveal, too. Your career could be solidified now and I know you’ve been struggling to find career options outside of music.”

I suddenly laugh. “The more I talk about it, the more your side’s making sense.”

Azia smirks and pushes her forehead against mine. “I’m the voice of reason, Jes. You should know that by now.”

We both know she’s joking- I’m the pragmatic guy, she’s the get-out-there-and-change-the-world type of girl, and we’re perfect for each other.

“Okay,” I say, taking a deep breath in. “I have an idea of how you can do the reveal.”

Azia’s eyes twinkle and she leans in. “Oh, really? Spill!”

I explain to her my idea and delight in watching her face light up as I speak.

“Okay,” Azia says slowly. “So I’m going to record a video and send it explaining who I am and the general thank you stuff. Right now. And you’re going to be in it too?”

I nod anxiously, “Is that alright?”

Azia’s face breaks out into a smile. “Yeah, of course! I was actually hoping that you’d be fine in going live with our relationship and all.”

I nod to her, and I mean it, but I’m secretly scared.

I pull my phone out of my jeans pocket and flip the camera so it’s facing me and Azia when we scoot next to each other on the couch.

“Ready?” I ask, gulping.

“Yeah!” Azia says, grabbing my left hand and squeezing it.

“Okay,” I say, and my finger hovers above the button.

“Go!”

I hope you enjoyed today’s story! This is like the second story I wrote with an actual straight couple XD and one of the only ones out of like four this month with male protagonists! I def have a problem where I only write girls haha.

I think I might take a break from blogging for the next week-ish because I need the break lol and I’ve been up til 11 every day writing these posts but I’ll be back before you know it! (also sorry for letting my comments build up over the past few days)

Did you enjoy today’s post? Opinion on paparazzi and famous people? How did you like my April challenge? How was your April?