masters of the scene
I know itâs been like, a century, but better late than never amirite? Happy birthday to this fic and thank you to everyone whoâs still reading it. I love you all.Â
I re-read it twice but honestly this probs has as many mistakes as if I hadnât lmao. In case you donât remember / have missed a part:Â 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 + 6.5 | 7Â | 8Â | (this one will be considered 9.3 since thereâs two more parts to be posted)
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AU: Matteo Balsano is a famous singer who has been crushing on this one girl he saw every day behind a window many years ago, back when he first started recording his debut album and inspired his first big hit, Princesa. Luna Valente, professional Olympic skater turned actress is at a local (and very popular) talk show to promote her breakout movie. This is where it all starts.
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When someone mentioned the words bachelorette party, Luna pictured women enjoying themselves, lots of bottles of alcohol, games that are fun after five drinks, and maybe a stripper or two. She, definitely, didnât imagine herself in a corner, scared of facing the brideâs tantrum. No joke here, sheâd seen Yamâs cousin crossing herself before she informed her theyâd gotten the tablecloths theyâd ordered for the wedding, a silent prayer to keep the already stressed bride calm. But, of course, the universe hated them and decided whoever oversaw the cloths, to pick the âwrongâ shade of red.
âI specifically asked for cadmium red, not this cheap ass lipstick red! Are you so fucking blind you canât distinguish from two different colors? How can you be this incompetent?â She saw most of the people flinch at Yamâs tone; Luna felt for them, she too wanted to be anywhere else. âThey are different colors! If you canât tell one from the other why would you even offer them in your catalogue?!â As Yam continued to yell, Luna saw her friendâs mom apologizing for her daughterâs outburst, offering everyone another round of drinks, before dragging the blonde to another room to continue her call. Â Jim sighed tiredly â poor girl had had to endure her best friendâs moods far longer than anyone in the room- slipping her margarita to Ninaâs hand â not before emptying it all in a gulp-, as she hurriedly left to follow the screams.
âIf I ever become this level of bridezilla, please slap my face with the tablecloth.â Luna told Nina, sipping on her mojito, silently laughing when they heard Yam cursing someone once more.
âOnly if you return the favor.â Her best friend proposed, offering her glass of water to her, her duty as DD kept her alcohol free for the evening.
She happily clicked her glass with hers, sealing the deal. After both had sipped on them, Luna spoke again, âtime really flew by. I still remember the day Yam came to lunch waving her hand on our faces because Ramiro had proposed, and nowâŠâ she sighed.
âSheâs only days away from spending the rest of her life with the guy she loves...â
Luna snorted. âOr having a heart attack because another insignificant detail got messed up, whichever happens first.â Nina laughs with her for a moment, sipping the last of her drink before changing the subject.
âHowâs the roller coming along?â her friend asks, as if she hadnât spent most of the last three months inside the building with her. Â
âSlow. Tiring. Hopefully great, though.â
âStill going over paperwork?â
She sighed, âyeah. Who knew buying a building and reconstructing it to open a skating rink was so laborious?â
Nina offered her a reassuring smile, extending her hand to squeeze hers in support. âYouâre doing more than great, L. Soon your dreams will be a reality and all this work will be worth it.â
âI know, I know. Doesnât mean it doesnât suck, though.â Her best friend laughed.
âDonât pretend youâre not the one who insisted on reviewing everything and every little step, Luna. You could have easily left it to your trusty lawyer and architect, but you didnât and here you are now.â
Luna huffed out, âexcuse me for wanting to make sure everything is perfect.â She knew Nina was only kidding, so she tried to make it sound like a joke; even if she only half-meant it. You couldnât half-ass a business, you just couldnât; not unless your goal with it was to end up broke and deep in debt.
âAnd it will be. It might take time, but it will.â Nina said reassuringly, not an ounce of hesitance in her voice.
âThank you, N.â She sipped her mojito once more, ânow, will you tell me whatâs bothering you? Youâve been playing with your necklace since we got here, and I doubt itâs because of Yam getting on your nerves.â Then again, Luna at least had alcohol to sooth the yelling and bear the ridiculous games, Ninaâs soberness surely was playing against her.
âIâve got something to tell you and Iâm not sure how youâre going to react, and  I donât want you to get mad at me, soâŠâ
âSo youâre choosing not to tell me?â she frowned. She hated when people did that; after all, if they gave her a head up beforehand, sheâd save herself the unpleasures of being surprised.
âNo, no. I just- well I just wasnât sure how to tell you. Itâs kinda⊠itâs to do with a certain someone.â  Oh.
Oh.
While Luna didnât choose to avoid having Matteo as a topic of conversation, she purposefully didnât bring him up, so, neither did Nina. Until now, apparently.
The fiasco at his apartment had been left unspoken after her plans with the Roller started to pan out. Partly because she didnât have enough free time to do dwell on it, and partly because she still cringed whenever she reminded herself of what had happened with him. Sheâd still kept up with him through Delfiâs offhanded comments on their âlessonsâ, and â embarrassingly enough- through a couple magazines there and there. Not that she believed anything theyâd written about him; she highly doubted heâd brought three lions to exhibit at a party in his apartment.
Point was, even if she didnât particularly have the lady balls to talk to him again and call a truce, she still cared enough to make sure he was somewhat okay.
âMatteo isnât Voldemort, Nina, you can say his name out loud and nothing will happen.â Nina gave her a sheepish smile.
âI know, but since we havenât talked about him in a while I wanted to make sure it wasnât a problem.â
âWell, it isnât, so you can say whatever you have to.â Luna urged her, sipping her drink once more, her curiosity getting the best of her.
âSo, you know how I said Iâd asked Eric to be my date for the wedding?â
âYeah, but then you said his grandma broke her hip, or something, and he cancelled on you.â She frowned, âdid you ask Matteo to be your date?â Luna didnât try to hide her surprise. Had her best friend reached out to him? Became close friends and didnât tell her?
âNo! No, no, no! I would never do that to you! I asked GastĂłn. You know, his best friend? Weâve talked from time to time and since I didnât want to stay glued to Yamâs cousin more than necessary, I asked him if he could come. He said yes.â
Now she was confused. âOkay⊠is Matteo coming? Or why were you worried Iâd react badly?â
âYouâre not mad?â Nina asked timidly, as if sheâd explode on her for this.
âNo! Why would I? Matteo and Iâs disaster is that â ours-, you can be friends with his best friend and invite him wherever, N. To get mad at you for having friends would be ridiculous; just like you thinking Iâd get mad at you for this.â Â
âBetter safe than sorry, no?â Luna shook her head, letting out a small chuckle. Nina spoke again, âand the answer is no.â At her confused expression, she clarified, âheâs not coming. At least, I donât think he is, neither Yam or Ramiro are in his circle, and you know Yam would tell you if she had invited him.â
âYeah. I guess so.â Their conversation was cut as Yam, her mom, and Jim entered the room once again. The bride significantly happier, and her companions a lot more relieved.
The moment Yamâs words left her lips, she was glad she was on her third mojito.
âWhoâs up for a round of âPin The Macho on the Manâ?!â
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        Welcome to a whole new JaJazmin! Iâm your host, the beautiful, incredible, gorgeous, amazing⊠JazmĂn Carbajal-Gorjesi! Thank you, yes, thanks, I know all of you love me but letâs save some love for our guest tonight, alright?  Sheâs beauty, sheâs grace, she could break your face in roller skating! Please welcome Olympic Medalist, and the star of your favorite sports movie, SHATTERED WINGS, the one, the only, the best of the bestest: SOL BENSON!- Â
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Thank you! What a lovely welcome, JazmĂn, thank you for having me again.
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Youâre very wel-⊠I mean, itâs an honor to have you back. But tell me, please, howâs retired life treating you?
                Itâs been pretty calm, really, which I think is what retirement is all about (*chuckles*), and like Iâve said, I never meant to leave the skating rink permanently, Iâm just not competing anymore. Iâve achieved everything Iâve ever wanted, and Iâm happy with how everything ended.
         The days following your statement must have been crazy, werenât they?
Yeah, a little. I never talked about my plans, or early retirement, so itâs partly my fault for dropping this on my fans so suddenly, whom I apologize to for hurting them with the news. Theyâve been there for me in every step of the way, and I hope they continue with me for whatâs to come.
        Weâll talk about that in a minute, but I have to ask - and I hope you donât mind-, your name wasnât the only one that resounded when the news hit.
Mmhmm.
        Correct me if Iâm wrong but many people⊠concluded your decision wasnât at all about you reaching your dreams and being done with competing. They assumed your rumored boyfriend â Matteo Balsano, for those who donât know-, had asked you to quit for one reason or another.
Crazy, isnât it? I worked, sweated and bled on my dreams for over a decade⊠youâd think that hard work would get more recognition without a rumored fling butting in.
        Iâm sorry.
Donât be. I want to make it clear though, that Matteo and I were never anything but friends. Heâs a great guy, one of the best Iâve ever met, but we were nothing except platonic.
        There you have it folks: Soltteo were a no. What a shame for every of us who were rooting for you twoâŠ
(*chuckles*) Sorry to disappoint. But hey, at least a lucky girl can still get his heart.
        Think you can hook them up with him?
UhâŠ
(*laughs*) Iâm kidding, Iâm kidding! Moving on, though, whatâs next for Sol Benson? Got any plans yet?
Well-
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âWhat are you watching?â His best friend flopped down on the bed next to him, grimacing as soon as he saw what was on the screen of his TV. âAgain? This is what, the millionth time?â
âThe re-run was on.â Matteo shrugged it off, dismissing its importance. Â
âAnd you decided to watch it just because? You gotta stop this masochism, dude. Itâs been three months, if you miss her so much-â
âItâs not like that, and you know it.â He didnât miss her exactly.  After all, he didnât have the chance to get to know her enough to do so. It was more of him occasionally wishing he had the guts to pick up his phone and apologize again until things werenât⊠weird between them. Luna running away from him had left him with a permanent needle pinching his heart, and he was sure it wouldnât leave until they resolved their⊠issue.
âDo you know that, though? âCause honestly, I wouldnât be surprised if you had her words memorized by now.â Matteo turned the TV off, just as Luna initiated a round of quick questions with JazmĂn, shaking his head at his best friend, whom had taken the liberty to spread out on his bed.
âSorry to disappoint.â He huffed.
GastĂłn let out a sigh, as if he was tired of his denial. Which, in all fairness, so was he. âAre you in one of your weird moods? These short answers are kind of annoying, I want to talk to my best friend and feel like heâs actually here.â
âIâm sorry, my mind is just all over the place.â He offered him a smile, hoping GastĂłn could hear the sincerity in his voice. Matteo wasnât giving him an attitude on purpose, he knew he was worried about him. Â âAnd before you even ask, no, this isnât about Luna. Delfi called me; my label wants to hear the songs I have so far. I guess Iâm just nervous.â
âWhy? Iâve heard some of them there and there, itâs sounding great, dude. I would even dare to say itâs your best so far. If anything, they should be nervous, they wonât know what hit them.â Â
âThanks, bro. But you know itâs different this time. A lot more⊠personal.â Out of all his albums, this one had to be the rawest. He wasnât holding anything out this time, he wasnât telling half-truths or hypothetic scenarios; whatever he was feeling, he wrote. He poured every single emotion into them. And it left him exposed, his heart naked to anyone who were listening.
He wasnât playing it safe, dismissing the formula that had gave him a name in the industry. Now, his true self was on the spotlight, and heâd be lying if he didnât admit it scared him.
âIâm telling you, theyâd be crazy to reject them. Iâll pay for them to get checked by a doctor if they as little as insinuate itâs not the best thing theyâve heard in all their careers.â He had to laugh at this.
âNow I know itâs your bias talking.â
âHey, I might be your best friend, but Iâm not deaf, and I happen to have an excellent ear and taste for music.â
âSays the ABBA fan.â
GastĂłn gasped dramatically, sitting up quickly as he took his right hand to his heart. âHow dare you! Theyâre amazing, and happen to have great, iconic songs! Here I am, bolstering you, like the great friend I am, and you dare to insult me and the greatest Swedish band of all time. Shame. On. You.â
Matteo threw him an amused look in return. âWell, consider me thankful. Anyways, did you want to tell me something?â
âWhat do you mean?â
Matteo arched his brows, as if it werenât obvious. âYou mean to tell me you just came into my room to ask me what I was watching on TV?â
âUh, yeah?â When he gave him an âI donât believe you for a secondâ look, GastĂłn shrugged sheepishly. âOkay so I might have some news.â Matteo motioned for him to continue, âyou know Ramiro Ponce and Yam SĂĄnchez, right?â
âYes.â
âWell theyâre getting married this weekend, and Nina invited me as her plus one. Her supposed date cancelled on her and since the groomsman thatâs supposed to walk the isle with her freaks her out, she asked me to cover for him, so he doesnât attach to her after the ceremony.â
âDating her now, are you?â He couldnât help but to tease him, even if he knew they were merely platonic. âSo, youâre going out this weekend, cool. I can manage to be alone one evening, you know.â Â
âItâs not like that and you know it.â GastĂłn threw his words back at him. âIâm telling you this in case you want me to rely a message on a certain someone, or something.â
Why was he friends with him again? âSure. Can you tell the happy couple I say, âcongratulations on getting contractually bound to each otherâ for me?â
GastĂłn looked surprised at first, but as soon as he finished hearing his answer, he put on a blank face. âSure. Well, if you want me to rely anything else to anyone else, you know where to find me.â
âMhmm.â After that, GastĂłn left his room, huffing what sounded like âstubborn idiotâ, which he was sure were his words.
Mindlessly, Matteo turned his TV on again, switching from cable to scroll on Netflix as soon as he noticed JaJazmĂn had ended. He was about to put play on a random movie when his phone rang. The name displayed on the screen took him off guard.
âHello?â
âWhat do you think of being my date to a wedding this Saturday?â











