The One: Strained Ties (The One Series-Book7) (ORIGINAL DRAFT)

Chapter6: Challenged For The First Time

Chapter6-Challenged For The First Time

May 24, 2010

 It's now May. By now, 7th Anthem were nearing the end of filming season 2 of The Delinquents. They've released their new hit single, Take Me In. They've also begun recording their second 7A album. They wrote and co-wrote some songs. It was planned that they start returning to their dance-pop sound from the UTurn years. This was due to their enormously successful comeback.

 7A were at a meeting with Paul to discuss plans for opening acts for their up-coming tour, High Voltage Tour. He told them, "The tickets for you tour are selling out across the UK and most of Europe. And because of your rising success in Australia and parts of Latin America, there are new tour dates added. Now, as for your opening acts, for your British Isles leg of your tour, Riley Brown and Stacie Morales will be opening for you."

 By now, both Riley and Stacie have been busy with recording their debut albums. 7A supported them by recording a few songs with them. Riley and Stacie even recorded a duet together. The two girls are doing dance-pop, and are about to release their singles.

 Paul continued, "Just recently, I got news that there will be a third act to open you. It's The OutLaws. Have you heard of them? They're this new band."

 The 7A members were stunned by news. Alyson replied, "Yes, we know who they are. Ethan was the one who formed the group."

 Then there was an awkward silence, but Paul broke it by saying, "Anyway, they'll be opening with Riley and Stacie for you only in the British Isles. I'm working things out for the rest of Europe."

 Soon, the meeting was over. 7A went to a coffee-shop near their condo. Trevor asked, "Do you think Ethan was the one who got his band the gig to open for us?"

 Andrew said bitterly, "It's got his fingerprints over it."

 Amanda said, "I'm not comfortable with him living in the same hotel as we're in. Andrew, are you sure we can't issue a restraining order on him?"

 Andrew replied, "I wish we could, but unless he drops out of The Delinquents, we have work with him. The only thing we can do is force him and his band to live in another hotel."

 Alyson added, "I think we should do that. This is our tour, not Ethan's. We should have say into this situation."

 It's a few days later, and 7A are beginning tech rehearsals for their tour. They were to start within a week. Their first stop was London at the O2 Arena.

 They sat in some seats to watch the opening acts, The OutLaws, Riley, and Stacie perform. The OutLaws performed first. They performed three songs; the last one was titled, In The Dark, and it was the band's debut single.

 Ever since The OutLaws got signed, their new label and their management scrambled to get the band's music out as soon as possible. Their sound was urban-dance-pop, and their look was chav-pop. In effect, they were built as an alternative to 7A's power-pop-rock-dance look and sound.

 As soon as 7A got the news that The OutLaws were opening for them, 7A ordered their management to put their rival band in another hotel. Their management agreed. That made The OutLaws determined to challenge 7A.

 When they gave their performances for tech rehearsals, 7A, Riley, and Stacie were surprised to see and hear how good The OutLaws were. After it was over, they stood there, speechless.

 Then Brandon, who was going with 7A to oversee their choreography, broke the silence, "They're good!"

 With that, Alyson and Andrew exchanged looks. Before they knew it, the couple, along with the rest of 7A, were in their dressing room. They were visibly nervous by their rival's great performance.

 Then Amanda asked Andrew, "Are you we can't sue them?"

 Andrew, feeling irritable, replied, "How we can sue them? It's unreasonable! Well, okay, you can, but still."

 Soon, Amanda and Andrew argued. Justin told them, "Will you two shut the f*ck up?! Ethan might be overhearing us!"

 Then Andrew said, "Shit, you're right. We can't let Ethan know we're bothered by this."

 Alyson said, "Exactly. Besides, we've been in the industry for about 7 years. We have to act calm, and be cool with this band. This is exactly the reaction Ethan wants from us. We can't let him win. We fought too long and hard to let him get into our skin."

 Then Trevor asked, "Weren't there a few UTurn-like bands that came out after us?"

 Alyson replied, "Yeah, there were, on both New England's Teen Superstar and New England's Pop Superstar. These bands were formed on the show. Only one of them actually took off, but that was because they became a 6-piece. They're only popular in Canada and France."

 Andrew added, "I remember them. They were known as 'Extra.' I think they were on NEPS, and they're around our ages. But they're not really a threat to us."

 Then Amanda changed the subject by asking, "Should we tell Brandon the truth about Ethan? He practically complimented Ethan's band."

 Bailey said, "I agree. He needs to be on our side."

 By chance, Brandon entered the dressing room. He said to 7A, "Damn, The OutLaws are great!"

 Then he noticed their serious faces, so he asked, "Is everything okay? You lot look serious."

 Alyson said, "We have to tell you the truth about Ethan Jackson. You might want to sit down."

 Brandon sat down as 7A told him everything what Ethan did to them; but left out the parts where Ethan tried to expose Andrew's bullying past, and Libby's promiscuous history. After it was over, Brandon was stunned. Then he asked, "Why would you allow him to be in the band?"

 Alyson replied, "At the time, Riley just joined the band. She didn't go to the same school as we did. We didn't want her to get suspicious, so we had to add him."

 Andrew added, "Eventually, we told Riley the truth, but we never kicked him out until we had to. He was popular enough to keep him in. But one good thing that came out of this was Amanda. She became one of the most popular and important members of group."

 Brandon said, "Okay, but still. You lot knew how troubled Ethan was."

 Alyson said, "It was a mistake that we're now living with."

  At the same time, Ethan overheard 7A telling Brandon his past. With that, he walked into a bathroom, and took out his iPhone. He evilly grinned as he made his phone call. 

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IN THE VID IS THE OUTLAWS DEBUT SINGLE, 'IN THE DARK.' THE LEADS ARE ALICE, PAUL/LILLY, KENDALL, ETHAN. MARISSA, AND TRISHA>>>