Chapter 36: Debut

By the time Niall had rounded up the meeting with Michael, his thoughts had shifted towards how he could circumvent the drought in roles the hit piece on his head would come with it.

Hollywood as he knew them, were probably already taking notes, especially since the piece came from a well-known publication.

Most directors and producers also had a tendency to blacklist actors whom they felt they couldn’t keep on a leash, more so when it was an actor without any star power like himself.

Thankfully, he had a script of his own to work with. And though he’d originally planned to have it produced later, that was a decision he’d come to in hopes that he could raise his star power and secure more funding on his own first.

Now though, there was no point in holding back.

Which was why he picked up his phone and called his agent.

A couple seconds later, the call went through;

"Hey, Victor. I presume you’ve seen the tabloids by now?"

"Yeah. I was just about to call you regarding it. Things aren’t looking too good on this front,"

"I’ve been getting calls to have all the scripts I got for you revoked," he added, his tone hinting at a genuine layer of subdued anger.

"Figured as much," Niall casually replied and then said;

"That asides, I have a question,"

"Be my guest," Victor reciprocated.

"Do you have connections with any independent producers in Hollywood?" Niall inquired.

Curiously, the agent replied;

"Yeah. I do. Why do you ask?"

"I have a script I’m working on, but it’s still a work in progress, all things considered. Might need a week and a couple days to round it up." he casually stated to which Victor replied, his tone curious but equally surprised.

Still, he responded calmly, glad that his talent was handling the situation far better than he’d expected and was equally working on a solution of his own;

"Not a problem. I’ll contact a couple producers ahead from my end and keep you informed on any updates I come across."

*

A week and a half had passed since Niall had contacted his agent.

Within that time frame, he had extensively dedicated his time to composing all the tunes for the songs to be used in [Silver Comets].

The result of that dedication was his music note icon progressing from a striking silver, to a gleaming half-silver, half-gold.

Equally, his guitar icon had assumed the same progression, while his musical keyboard had evolved to a half-silver, half bronze.

And so, upon meeting with his agent today, he placed the script squarely in the middle of the man’s desk.

"It’s a musical comedy-drama." Niall simply explained, taking his sit from across the agent, a familiar confidence resting on his features.

Staring at it, Victor’s features, on the other hand, assumed an honest curiosity and equally a hint of skepticism.

Though he was well aware that Niall was an author, there was no guarantee that his skills could translate well into writing a movie script.

Yet, that took second place to the prime concern he had;

’Musical? Not original songs then, I presume?’

Still, he picked it up, opening up its first page to peruse through it.

However, Victor hadn’t read past the first sentence when Niall’s phone, buzzed with an e-mail notification.

Given where he was at, Niall had planned to ignore the message.

However, catching whom it was from through a glimpse, he couldn’t help but apologize whilst picking it up to read;

"My apologies. It’s quite important."

"Sure." Victor simply reclined into his chair, not the least bit bothered by it as he continued reading the script.

However, as the agent glanced over a few seconds later, concerned by the increasingly astonished expression on Niall’s features, he couldn’t help but ask;

"Is everything okay?"

Equal parts dazed and astounded, even despite knowing it was his labor finally bearing fruit, the young artist absentmindedly responded;

"Yeah, yeah... everything’s fine,"

"Just,"

"My song debuted number ten on the New & Hot 100 list," Niall explained, the awe never leaving his features.

To that, Victor simply nodded, not really giving it much thought.

And then it him.

"What did you just say?!" his eyes widened, his astonishment on full display!

The chart tiers in GrooveBox, the most popular streaming platform in the world, ranged from the lowest New & Hot 100, to the highest All-time 100.

In between were the Indie Sensations, Buzzing 100 and GrooveList Top 100 charts.

Naturally, it wasn’t easy to land onto any one of these charts, even if the musician had their song pitched by the music distributor to the streaming platform.

For mainstream artists and on the rare occasion--independent artists whom had gained a massive following, they typically weren’t worried.

Afterall, their fans were bound to flock to their new music, hence granting them a baseline metric of success even if the quality was subpar.

But for the aspiring musicians and indie artists who hoped to one day become famous, or wealthy, the anxiety and agita that came with dropping a new song was always a thing.

Considering they had to rely majorly on the quality of their songs with hopes that it would reach the not just reach the right audience, but also impress their core fans--if they had any--it only made perfect sense.

This was further exacerbated by the fact that people typically had a tendency to flock towards the higher charts, hence making the lower charts somewhat of an afterthought.

Occasionally though, a new song usually came along to upend that system, either by luck, or by the sheer quality it reflected.

And typically, its instigation into the spotlight could be as simple as a couple short-form videos that was made with the song and posted onto a peculiar social media platform...

...a tactic from the future Niall had realized many indie musicians and aspiring artists had employed in spades to get to where they’d wanted... one that he himself had also employed.

But Victor wasn’t aware of that last tidbit.

To him, it was already maddening enough that Niall wasn’t only a good actor, but also an author who found good success with his very first published book.

Hearing that he was also a musician to boot, one whose song debuted quite high on a chart meant for established indie musicians was another ball game of insanity... in all the best ways!

*

(Two days later...)

Cameron was quite the extrovert, to say the least.

Even amidst other queen bees and divas whom were known for their rambunctiousness by most in their high school, she was an exceptional case.

She was also a natural, hot blonde to boot.

Due to those certain qualities of hers, one might assume she was the typical mean girl.

Yet, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

"There’s three parties this week. Cheerleading practice for the game next week. And a volunteer event for the Save the Trees Foundation,"

"I, ladies and ladies, will be attending all of em’." she wiggled her head in excitement as several eyes naturally shifted towards her in the crowded cafeteria.

"Do you ever get tired of being, you know, perfect?" one of her friends, the introverted Enid, amidst the group of three asked, a tinge of curious amusement in her tone.

"No. No, I don’t." she beamed at the lady and then cuffed her hands around the last friend’s shoulders, her tone inviting and hopeful;

"So, Maya? Wanna be my plus two for the volunteer service? Enid’s already agreed to come."

"Yeah, yeah. Now be a dear and let me read in peace," Maya waved her off, her nose buried in her signed copy of [The Token of Fate] as she took another bite out of her sandwich.

"Oh," Cameron let out in surprise.

"Well, that was easy." her expression brightened and Enid audibly muttered whilst jotting in her journal.

"Note to self. Maya always says yes when she’s reading [The Token of Fate]. Exploit it extensively."

"I will knock you, babe." the lady retorted through a full mouth without tearing her gaze from the book, a reaction her friends couldn’t help but audibly chuckle at.

Maya hadn’t been much of a reader before. That was until she’d stumbled upon Niall Parker at the supermarket, her now favorite actor et author.

Now, she was reading the book for the umpteenth time, almost as if it would bring her closer to him in some way shape or form. A truly parasocial relationship to say the least.

And though Cameron wasn’t buying into her friend’s enthused admiration for the artist... especially since she was more into musicians, she simply let out an amused sigh as she retrieved her phone from her bag.

Casually, she navigated over to her TicToc channel, one that was doing pretty well, all things considered.

Practically in the know about all that was in vogue on the platform, and considering how quickly trends changed, Cameron was always on the hunt for the next fad.

Afterall, as someone who hoped to grow her channel even more, she knew better than to be ignorant of even the slightest things that had the potential to burst into the limelight.

One of such things she had been tracking from a week ago, was a couple videos from a new account that uploaded snippets of their song whilst using an edit of their family photos.

Though each video had gained a couple thousand views and over 500+ likes, it remained mostly buried under the algorithm.

Despite searching GrooveBox for said song though, even going as far as typing the lyrics on Eagle, Cameron had no luck finding it.

Still, every so often over the course of the past week, she’d search for it again, wondering if the song had been uploaded or if she just wasn’t searching well enough.

Considering she really liked the tune of the song, and even the snippets of lyrics she had heard, she so badly wanted to use it in a video montage of her, Maya and Enid.

Today was no different as she navigated over to the channel in hopes of checking for new content and hopefully, if the link to the song had been attached to video.

No sooner had she located it, her pupils gradually dilated in astonishment.

Not only was the link to the song now attached to the video, but the channel name, which previously went by ’User 6701’, had been renamed to ’Niall Parker’.

Didn’t that also mean the pictures he had been using in the videos were his? Or more specifically of his and his parents?!

But more than that, what were the odds that the very same artist her friend was actively gushing about whenever she got the chance was equally the very same artist that wrote the earworm that had refused to let her go these past couple days.

Glancing over to Maya’s copy of [The Token of Fate], right where his name was written, Cameron looked back to her phone’s screen, the awe frozen on her features.

Gingerly clicking on the link, one that was evidently marked by an excitement she hadn’t realized had been ramping up with each realization that dawned on her, she soon laid eyes on the name of the song.

’[Polaroid],’ the words echoed within the confines of her mind.

Yet again, another realization stunned her!

’How is it already number five on the New & Hot 100 chart?!’

’That must mean...’

Reaching into her bag and retrieving her ear pods with immediate alacrity, she eagerly clicked on it, ready to listen to the whole thing.

And then, when the familiar tune of fragility mixed with an undeniable sense of comfort played, along with Niall’s soft and intimate vocals, Cameron felt goosebumps breakout over her skin.

Soon enough, she was done listening to the song. Then she played it again. And again. And again.

Before she’d known it, she’d spent half of her lunch break listening to it.

This caught the attention of her friends who noticed she hadn’t touched her food, something they attributed as a cause for concern since Cameron had as much of a voracious appetite as her boundless energy.

Scooting closer to check what had her so engrossed on her phone’s screen, Maya’s eyes went wide with disbelief!

And then she quickly whipped out her own phone and navigated over to GrooveBox.

Checking the artist detail and confirming that it was indeed her favorite artist, she let out an exuberant squeal that had the entire cafeteria turning in her direction!

Considering Niall had been the subject of interest on a lot of social media platforms for the past week due to the hit piece that was made on him, a piece the general public could care less about, but Hollywood most certainly wouldn’t, she had been quite worried about his acting career.

And though him having a hit song didn’t mean it would suddenly bolster his acting career, it at least painted the image that he wasn’t going to be going into obscurity anytime soon.

Afterall, if he could remain famous despite his acting career taking a hit, as long as he could keep hanging around in the spotlight, it was only a matter of time before he would be chanced to revive it.

Advance Chapters are available on Patreon!

/Caer07