Chapter 62: Projected Peak

The only promotion Niall had done for [Hello, Goodbye], asides renewing his CoreTunes Breakout Artist plan, was making short videos of it on his social media platforms with the tags; #Nostalgia #Travel Music #Late Night Drive.

That really had been all.

Yet, given how [Polaroid] had amassed over three-hundred and fifty million streams in the past year, it was only natural that a fair number of his budding fans been looking forward to his next song.

It then made perfect sense that the moment his posts went up, a good chunk of them flooded over to GrooveBox to have a listen.

Imagine their surprise though, when instead of the heartfelt vocals from his previous song, they got something more relaxed, reflective and overall... really comforting in a way that was quite hard to put down in words.

More than that, it was a surprising genre shift, with a tune most of them had never quite heard before.

It was definitely the kind of song commercial radio stations would play for the night owl populace.

Yet, despite all that, it did nothing to detract from the evocative feel they’d hoped to get from his song.

Which was why, it hadn’t even taken a day before people gradually started making edits using the song.

Travel montages. Life changing jobs. Childhood events. Movie edits. All of it... all the nostalgia-coded themes...

Slowly, it began flooding the most popular social media platforms. TicToc, especially.

Which was why, a song that had debuted at a relatively low number ninety-seven on the Buzzing 100 charts, slowly began climbing its way up, dethroning song after song.

Truly, [Hello, Goodbye] was yet again gearing up to be yet another banger from Niall Parker.

And by the time the second week of its release rolled around, it had taken the charts by storm, shaking it at its very foundations as it kept gunning for the top.

*

For the clique of girls--at least two of them--whom had cancelled on their boyfriends to go see Tyler Kingstone perform live, they couldn’t have been more pissed.

Afterall, by the time they’d managed to secure their tickets from a scalper and arrived at the venue, the show had been almost over.

Instead, all they’d gotten was an overcrowded hall of screaming banshees, sweaty bodies mushing together and an overall rowdiness that made the last bit they’d even met, unpleasant.

Safe to say, they had thoroughly wasted their money for a fleeting experience that wasn’t even all that memorable.

Which was why, when they’d eventually gotten back to their dorms that very day, they became even more pissed when they tried contacting their boyfriends to tell them about the experience... all to no avail.

Currently in their dorm room a week after that event, they were still bitterly complaining about the experience whilst equally bitching about their boyfriends ’ditching’ them.

"How could he just break up with me over text?! We didn’t even get to enjoy the concert anyway!" Veronica huffed, her frustration building up as Jayce kept ignoring her calls.

"It’s not as if we couldn’t have rescheduled the entire trip! What the hell’s wrong with them?!" Sharon furiously typed, Kendall’s single response to all her rants--a ’peace’ emoji reflecting in her irises.

"Could you babes cool it down?" Bella, their last roommate whom was currently re-reading [The Token of Fate], demanded, a long-suffering, resigned sigh escaping her lips as she added bluntly;

"Besides, if you gals really wanted to attend the camping trip with them, you probably shouldn’t have ditched them at the last minute to go see some jerk who probably doesn’t even know you exist."

"Honestly, ladies. Hold yourself accountable for your actions. Hold yourself to an even higher standard, please." she unapologetically said, her eyes rolling in exasperation.

To that, a reflective silence descended in the room... both ladies looking to each other and then to the lady whom was studying by the corner.

Originally, Sharon and Veronica had hated Bella’s guts when they’d first being paired with her as a dormmate in their first year of college.

She was unfiltered, dorky, too ’uptight’ and was extremely blunt.

However, after getting to know her over the course of the past one year, they’d come to realize that she was truly a girl’s, girl.

Not the weaponized, unconditional version a lot of females misused it for, but the fundamental core of what it meant to be loyal, supportive and kind towards other women.

As a result, for most who never knew her, Bella’s words often came off as ’harsh’, when in fact, she was just showing some tough love.

Whether the recipients managed to grasp that or not, though... well, she believed it was their problem to deal with.

Thankfully, her dormmates--for as questionable as their dating life and sense of entitlements could be--were one of the few who, surprisingly, came to terms with her personality.

Not that it stopped Veronica from muttering a few minutes after;

"Tyler’s not a jerk..."

"Yes. Yes, he is." Bella rose up from the bed, placing her book face down as she began listing off one quality after the other using her fingers;

"He’s a jerk, he’s an asshole, he sucks ass, and I’m tired of people pretending he isn’t, just ’cause he’s drop-dead handsome and a talented singer."

"So, you do admit he’s handsome and talented?" Sharon’s lips quirked, a smug smile touching her lips.

"I never argued he wasn’t. I just don’t get why Hollywood would allow someone so shallow be so successful!" Bella went into full rant-mode, her roommates letting out a knowing sigh as they watched her pop off.

"Honestly, why’d people like him get to be successful, yet people like Barry Keegan--may his beautiful soul rest in peace, Midnight Avenue and Niall Parker have to get the short end of the stick?!" she exasperatedly added.

"Bella. Your biases are rearing their heads again." Veronica remarked amusedly to which the lady proudly owned up;

"So? I’m speaking the truth!"

No sooner had she said that though, two pretty ladies burst into the room, fury and frustration etched onto their features;

"They just uploaded a travel montage of their camping trip!" Jennifer announced, her expression pissed.

"Without us! We all agreed to do that together!" the other lady, Katy shoved her phone forward and into Veronica’s and Sharon’s faces.

"Oh my God..." Bella audibly sighed, slumping backwards and onto her bed as she grabbed her pillow to muffle an exasperated groan.

As both ladies turned their heads to her with a sharp look, her actual dormmates sheepishly smiled.

Despite the fact that they got along with Bella, their friends never quite did... even after they’d told them so many times that they only needed to get to know her a bit more.

Yet, as the interaction played out, the dorm room quieting down as they seemingly waited for the lady to say something else, she slowly removed the pillow from her face as she muttered audibly;

"That voice..."

No sooner had she said that, she immediately moved over to check the video in question, much to the confusion of everyone else in the room.

Yet, her eyes were searching for something else as she apologized while clicking on the video’s details to check something... an action that only fueled the quartet’s confusion.

Upon seeing the name of the song they’d used in the TicToc clip, Bella’s eyes shone in curiosity!

Then she immediately grabbed her phone, opened GrooveBox and navigated over to Niall Parker’s account.

Upon seeing the new song there, her eyes couldn’t help but widen even further when she saw the featuring artists!

Instantly, a squeal of excitement followed;

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Then she shoved her phone forward, an ever-growing confusion on her dormmates and the other ladies features as she declared;

"Two of my favorite musicians just made a song together!!"

Then she let out another girlish squeal, her eyes reflecting a genuine, unbridled joy!

To that, Jennifer and Katy looked to Veronica and Sharon in genuine surprise, seemingly as if to ask;

That’s the same Bella, right?!

Yet, amidst her excitement, Bella had mistakenly tapped at her screen, prompting the app’s interface to phase over to the metrics of the song.

-

[Hello, Goodbye].

Release Date

└ 1st of March, 2017.

Chart

└ Buzzing 100.

Buzz Score

└ 99.8

Debut Rank

└ No. 97.

Current Rank

└ No. 15.

24-Hour Gain

└ ▲ 28 Places.

Projected Peak

└ Pending...

-

As she turned the phone to herself once more, the exhilaration on her features clear and crystal, her eyes couldn’t help but widen again.

This time, in utter shock.

’The hell do you mean ’pending’?! This song is bound to take the number one spot!’ she inwardly exclaimed when she was the overwhelmingly high buzz score and 24-hour gain.

Then, as if realizing something, she pulled up the Buzzing 100 chart again.

No sooner had her gaze landed on the top song... she cackled like an evil witch!

"Suck it, Tyler, and say your prayers! Your old band’s coming for ya!" she suddenly let out, her laughter only serving to add another layer to an already crazy display.

Once again, Jennifer and Katy looked to their friends and asked without speaking through their gazes;

Seriously, is that the same Bella?!

"Yep," Sharon simply said with a resigned sigh, her head shaking in amusement.

"Told ya she’s an absolutely lovable dork once you’ve gotten to know her." Veronica chipped in, a faint chuckle escaping her lips.

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/Caer07