Melody 5 - Rising Stars

14 (iii) - Jadine

--- JADINE ---

"Well this is weird," said Lyric.

"How so?" said Jadine, nibbling on a dim sum.

"We're not in a recording studio. You're not haranguing me into doing something for the band. In fact you've barely mentioned them." Lyric smiled. "It's almost like we're on a proper date or something?"

Jadine gave a small smile. She'd been determined to prove to Lyric that she could go for at least an hour or two without mentioning the band. But of course, that's all she could think about - what was going to happen to them? What would Molly's decision be? Would they be able to manage without Lena? Why did Glenn have to foist Sherri Holt on them? And what about Sherri? Why the hell did she want to get involved with the band again? As far as Jadine was concerned, she was just desperate to fill the void of losing her baby.

In the meeting, she'd opened up to the girls and told them that having a miscarriage was one of the worst things that had ever happened to her, but it had made her realise that she had to fight for what she believed in. She didn't believe in James Holland anymore - so she'd thrown him out. However, she did still believe in the band and wanted to help them make it big.

She'd said that this time around, she'd be prepared to go with their ideas and acknowledged that things had moved on since she'd been a performer in the 90s. But what hadn't changed was her inside knowledge of the music business and her over-flowing contact book. Sherri said she'd get them the best sponsorship deals, tour dates, media slots - she even laid out a strategy that made the world domination by the Spice Girls seem like amateur hour. She assured the girls that musically and image-wise she wouldn't interfere. She'd learnt her lesson - she'd lost the girls once - she damn well wasn't going to do it again.

So maybe going with Sherri wouldn't be such a bad choice after all? But how could the band sing about supporting each other, if they booted out one of the few people who'd believed in them right at the very beginning?

And then there were the other girls? In particular, Rhian. Jadine dreaded to think what fresh controversy she might bring down on the band next. Admittedly the whole Psylence debacle, followed by the sexy pix scandal had brought them a ton of publicity - even wiping Amy's dalliance with Jake Miskew off the front pages. But as much as they'd tried to put a positive spin on it all, they'd still received a backlash - articles saying that Rhian had only herself to blame and vile tweets from trolls calling her and the band a catalogue of sexual obscenities. The girls tried to ignore them, but even so Jadine knew Rhian had been shaken up by them. In an interview they'd done yesterday, Jadine had used it all as a platform to highlight the double standards that girls faced - how many people were calling Kyle Jackson vile names for encouraging Rhian to take pictures of herself and then sharing them with the entire world? Not many.

Jadine was glad the band was part of these discussions, but ultimately she wanted the band to be recognised for their music, not the circus surrounding it. But was any girlband ever judged on their music alone? Or would it always come down to their hair, boyfriends and the colour of their underwear?

That's what Jadine had loved about Glenn Davies' pitch. Whilst the other record companies they'd seen had talked about marketing strategies and how great they'd look in hot-pants, Glenn had actually spoken about their music. He'd praised their unfolding musical prowess and even apologised for not appreciating their potential at the showcase. If only he wasn't effectively blackmailing them!

"Hello? Earth to Jay?" said Lyric.

"Huh?"

Lyric sighed. "You might not be talking about the band, but you're clearly thinking about it."

"Sorry," said Jadine. "It's been a long day."

"You can talk about it you know."

"But we're on a date," said Jadine, squirming as said muttered the word 'date'.

"Yeah, and what a great date it is, watching you stare into space or bury your face in a bowl of noodles." Lyric looked around for the waiter. "Can we have the bill please?"

Great, something else for Lyric to be annoyed at her about.

"But we haven't finished," she said.

Lyric wouldn't look at her as he hastily paid the bill and grabbed their coats.

"Come on Lyric, don't be like this," said Jadine, as Lyric bundled her out of the restaurant. "You know what I'm like."

"I do," said Lyric. "And that's why I'm doing this."

"We don't have to end the night like this," said Jadine, starting to lose her patience.

"We're not ending it," said Lyric. "We're going for a walk and you can tell me what's on your mind."

Was Lyric was real?

"You know it's going to be about the band, right?" said Jadine.

"Of course it is," smiled Lyric. "What else would it be about? But I don't mind Jay. I know it's important to you. And what's important to you is important to me."

Jadine smiled. Rhian was right. Lyric was cool. Even so she couldn't resist teasing him.

"Seen much of Arianne Blixx recently?"

Lyric rolled his eyes. "Nah, she's sniffing around Psylence again. Trying to get in as his next featured artist. Hoping some of the attention that came Rhian's way, will come to her."

"Always said she was an idiot!" chuckled Jadine.

"And, her vocals aren't a patch on yours," said Lyric, taking a step closer to Jadine and pulling her coat around her shoulders. The late October air was chilly, but with Lyric so close Jadine didn't feel the cold at all. In fact she felt positively glowing.

"So where shall we walk?" asked Jadine softly.

"I'll go anywhere you want," said Lyric, staring deep into her eyes.

Jadine raised an eyebrow. "Anywhere?"

"Yep," he muttered.

Jadine couldn't help herself.

"How about here?"

She leaned in close and gently kissed him.

Lyric pulled back ever so slightly before smiling and murmuring. "Oh, we can definitely go there."

Then he took her in his arms and kissed her back.

Jadine melted into his arms. Rhian had been right about something else too - Lyric was definitely soooo into her.

And despite all the craziness that was going on with the band, or maybe even because of it, Jadine was finally ready to accept that she was soooo into him too.