ATTENTION.

Dani’s eyebrows furrowed at his suggestion, curiosity at it’s peak. “Well, don’t we-” She pondered on the thought for a few moments before nodding her head. “Oh God, yes. A day off sounds amazing.”

“I’ll find anything to drink to if we are being honest.” she let a small laugh out before tossing back the rest of the liquid before waving her glass for another round. “I like to think i got my dads alcoholic rockstar ways.”

   ❝ or you can just have your manager ask me to produce one of yours, ❞ he points out. simon can’t hide how his lips twitch in amusement at arie’s drunken antics.

❛ did you know you actually have a secret love child with your hair stylist ? ❜ scotty queried with simulated surprise, wearily flicking through the glossy pages of the magazine before tossing it to one side. ❛ you think you know a person. ❜

She twirled the glass around her fingers “there’s nothing like a glass of bourbon to bring out the lyrics.” she glanced up a bright smile on her lips “writers block hit hard today.” 

“Yeah! I didn’t write or talk to like anyone for the past week. Just trying to get myself into a more… stable mental state.” Dani said, laughing. Eve had come over on one of those nights and they watched a musical, but they didn’t discuss Cherry Soda at all that night. “We have people who hated the single and people who loved the single to please. It’s rough.” She said with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Now, where are these lyrics you wrote?”

“I’ve just been pressed so hard to get out some songs and it’s… stressing me out,” She said shaking her head. “We could do an actual duet,” Dani nodded a hand running through her hair. “I was in choir from fifth grade til I graduated… so I’d say I have to be somewhat comfortable singing.” She joked, a smile on her face.

               arie nodded knowingly, but he hated that either of them actually had to know of the stresses of being worked to hard. “ have you had any time to yourself recently ?? i wouldn’t wanna burn you out or anything. ” he knew cherry soda had one good hit and were in the process of writing their first full length album, which was a pressure arie knew too well. he ignored her other statement entirely for the time being. this was more important. “ i know how stressful it can be. trying to please everyone and live up to expectations. ”

Dani set her case down one one of the chairs. Unzipping it, she pulled it out and patted her pocket’s to make sure she had a pick. Fishing it out of one of her back pockets, she put’s it in her mouth, holding it between her teeth as she sat next to Arie. Strumming lightly as he spoke, she made sure her guitar was in tune before nodding, “Yeah, that’s probably a smart idea. I’m literally stumped from all the writing I’ve been doing for Cherry Soda…” She laughed, shaking her head.

               “ i feel ya, on that one. ” arie grinned at her. he always tried to write through his off days, but he just seemed to have better ideas when he was under a time constraint. now that his album was out, arie didn’t know what to do with himself. “ so i was thinking maybe we could do an actual duet. i don’t know how comfortable you are singing on your own... ” he lets the sentence hang there for a moment, flipping through the pages of one of his composition books trying to find something they could work with.

Walking into the studio building, Dani was silently praying that the receptionist knew where Arie was, knowing that she had been directed to the wrong studio numerous times. Getting the studio number, she knocked on the door and fiddled with the strap of her guitar case. As the door opened, she smiled lightly before laughing, “Here’s to hoping my guitar doesn’t decide to be possessed today.” Dani joked, stepping into the room.

ARIE CASTILLO DROPS “THE WAY I AM” MUSIC VIDEO.

               two weeks ago, arie didn’t know what he was going to be getting himself into when he signed onto the collaboration project. but now, he found himself believing the was some celestial being watching over him, pairing him for a collaboration with one of the most attractive girls in hollywood. he had scheduled some recording time at his favorite studio, note pads filled with what was one scrapped song lyrics and a water bottle filled with vodka in tow. he waited for the brunette patiently, his demeanor changing instantly when he heard a wrap at the door. he threw it open with a grin, being met face to face with dani. “ we’ve got to stop meeting like this. ” he chuckles to himself, knowing the last time they saw each other they were at the exact studio.

        it was just so hard to wrap her head around it. arie was a lot of things, but introspective wasn’t something she’d expected. she’d started to think he was more interested in hooking up with whichever blonde he could convince than anything else ; georgia had forgotten that she’d ever seen any more to him than that. she was a bit glad he’d changed the subject. ‘ sure, ‘ she replied, shrugging. she’d been happy about it at the time, but it was fleeting. all it meant was a whole lot of people had bought her album, that all the PR nonsense her label made her do worked. half of them probably didn’t even care what the music meant. ‘ i’d throw a party, but who’s got the time for that? ‘

   upon arriving at the club, simon checks his front and back pockets — and realizes that he had forgotten to bring his vip key. ❝ hey — ❞ he says, meeting their eyes with an apologetic gaze. ❝ i might have left my key at home. would you mind vouching for me as a plus one ? ❞ he asks.

                 she couldn’t help it ; georgia stared at him for a moment when he said the word therapy in disbelief. was he serious? because that was…well, it sounded kind of like he was SERIOUS. she wasn’t sure even arie would lie about something like that. ‘ oh, ‘ she finally said, stunned into silence. she almost felt bad for mocking him so much. maybe she’d been wrong, maybe she’d pushed too far. or maybe he was just using this to try and get her to forgive him for all the ways he’d hurt her. ‘ that’s great, arie, ‘ she said, painting on a fake smile. she wasn’t sure what else she could even say.

    his eyes flutter shut at the soft touch to his hair and he tips his chin to smudge a smiling kiss against the column of arie’s neck. “ your best is certainly good enough for me, ” he murmured into arie’s collarbone along with a thoughtful hum at the adjusted age spectrum. “ y’know, sometimes i forget you’re an actual baby, ” jett grins wryly, moving his hand to arie’s side to give it a tight squeeze. “ a promotion? how kind and generous of you. what should be my new title? my new position? ”  everything coming from jett’s lips is increasingly suggestive; he blames their physical closeness when, really, that’s just the way jett functions.

he chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. this was his favorite part of all of this after the music, being treated like royalty and having things bought for him, although he’d never admit it. he laughed, grinning, “to dedicated fans,” he said, raising his glass.

               after their glasses clinked, arie chugged down half of the first drink in his hand, knowing he’d have to keep up with the steady flow of alcohol that was currently being bought for them. “ ya know, ” arie began setting down his glass and waving at a group of girls that was trying to get their attention. as soon as arie acknowledged them the went into a fit of giggles and squeals, a reaction arie was still trying to get used to. “ a lot of people ay fame -- god, i hate that word -- isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. ” he swirled the contents left in his glass around it’s brim before finishing it off. “ maybe i’m just optimistic, or maybe i haven’t been here long enough, but i can’t seem to find THAT many cons that people would say they outweigh the pros. what d’ya think ?? ”