Rhythm and Ray: A DJ’s Journey

[Chapter 55: The Old A8]

"What do you want me to stay for?" Taylor glanced at Ryan from a distance, feigning confusion as a sense of guilt crept in.

"I thought you might want to stay and share a few more drinks with me," Abigail smiled.

"Ugh, you're so annoying. I've got to get up early tomorrow to get ready for that interview," Taylor hesitated, but her anxiety eased a bit.

Abigail then stepped over to Ryan and said something similar to him. In the end, she sent everyone else home.

The rented venue only had three people left. Ryan sensed something was off and quickly signaled to Taylor, but she didn't pick up on it.

Abigail casually picked up a half-empty bottle of red wine from the table and poured it into a wine glass, handing it to Taylor.

Taylor reached for it but ended up getting splashed in the face. Before she could react, Abigail tackled her, pulling her hair with one hand while tearing at her clothes with the other, raining down blows on Taylor.

Luckily, Ryan was strong enough to hold the two of them back; otherwise, Taylor would have been in real trouble.

Abigail, still fuming, unleashed a barrage of insults, and Taylor fired back just as fiercely.

They exchanged heated words for a few minutes. However, neither of them was very good at trash-talking, and it gradually escalated into a full-blown argument.

Then, they dug up old grievances. Taylor accused Abigail of having once flirted with an upperclassman Taylor had been getting close to, while Abigail retorted that Taylor had stolen her spotlight at a school event. They were almost about to bring up when they first met when Ryan finally broke in.

"Alright, you two are even now. Let the past go."

"Put me down! You jerk, Ryan! You knew it was my birthday today, and you still went to do that with Taylor!" Abigail cried, her voice tinged with tears.

Today?

"I've been in the recording studio all day!" Taylor protested, sounding genuinely innocent.

Abigail glanced at Ryan and then at Taylor, her hair and clothes in disarray, a fleeting moment of confusion crossed her face.

"I knew you weren't that kind of person. I overreacted earlier," Abigail chuckled sheepishly, starting to wipe the red wine off Taylor's clothes.

"I admit I might have had a little crush on Ryan... but you're still my best friend," Taylor said, smiling awkwardly.

Ryan was totally caught off guard; he felt like he was standing at the edge of a cliff, only to be blown back.

Abigail and Taylor hugged.

"It was all a misunderstanding," Taylor patted Abigail's back and gave Ryan an "ok" sign.

Then Abigail turned to Ryan, immediately nestling into his embrace.

"I was just being paranoid. I always felt something was off between you two. Can you forgive me, darling?" Abigail snuggled against Ryan.

"Um, cough." Taylor looked at the ground, trying to hide her discomfort.

The three of them left together. This time, Abigail suggested that Ryan take Taylor home while she drove back alone, clearly feeling more comfortable with him.

Not only had they kept it under wraps, but it actually felt safer?

...

"How could she think you were with me today..." Taylor suddenly realized the key issue.

Ryan attributed it to a strange intuition. The real reason was that a female model had been in the bathroom before they left, and Ryan hadn't been able to wait. He probably carried her scent, which Abigail had caught onto while cutting the cake.

"She has decided to go to the University of Kansas. There is a high probability that she will be separated from you this summer. After all this drama today... why didn't I clarify things with her earlier?" Taylor grimaced, now realizing she had missed a golden opportunity.

Now she was stuck being this shadow girlfriend, whether she wanted to or not.

"Right now, you should really think about how to explain your wardrobe issues to your parents," Ryan reminded her.

"I'll just say you were too rough," Taylor pouted.

"I'm not taking the blame for that."

...

Scooter generously approved the budget for the Tremor MV. With his interests tied to Ryan's success, he wasn't one to be stingy, and the budget was even higher than Ryan anticipated.

The shooting plans went into action quickly. The production company working with Trey had a professional team, and Ryan contributed the script, which left Trey pleasantly surprised -- she hadn't expected him to not only make music but also figure out how to shoot a music video.

"You've grown up," Trey said, raising her hand to pat Ryan's cheek. Ryan grabbed her hand with his backhand and touched it twice, "It's well maintained."

That was the defining feature of the old A8 -- shining headlights and a steady chassis, with only the drawback being its poor gas mileage.

Trey pulled her hand away, giving Ryan a mock glare, and then she tossed him a small notebook.

"What's this for?"

"Storyboarding."

Ryan wasn't particularly skilled at this, so he had to describe the scenes while Trey translated his words into rough sketches.

...

"Start with a macro lens, get close up on her features. The lighting's too bright, though; tell Ted to tone it down a bit."

"The full-body shots need to come from below and have some rotation. Start at the heels, work up to the thighs, then the rear -- yes, just like that."

"I want to test the props once they're powered; Frances, flip the switch."

"Okay. The effect looks good. Is our leading lady ready?" Trey asked through her walkie-talkie.

The production team was in a warehouse on the outskirts of Nashville, the same venue where Taylor Swift had filmed her single, Picture To Burn, just months prior. Now it had been transformed to Ryan's specifications, with many vintage, large-screen CRT TVs set up.

...

"Hey, don't film me; go take shots of someone else." Ryan stood in the crowd, feeling a bit out of place, but then noticed a punk-styled photographer was pointing a camera at him, so he instinctively tried to cover the lens.

"Ryan, wait! I work for the record company. This is part of the behind-the-scenes footage. It's your song. You're the star!" the photographer quickly explained, chewing gum as he did so.

Ryan recalled the phone conversation he had with Scooter where similar things had come up. Behind-the-scenes footage was essential promotional material that would accompany special editions of albums.

"You can call me Jack; I'm your personal photographer and part of your team," he introduced himself enthusiastically.

"Team member?"

"Exactly. Scooter has started recruiting, including various positions."

It all sounded normal; as Ryan rose to fame, he needed a whole team to assist him.

But the authority to hire these people lay solely with Scooter. In other words, they were all Scooter's people, their salaries directly deducted from revenue and Ryan, ultimately, was the one footing most of the bill.

Using his money to employ a bunch of lackeys to keep tabs on him didn't sit well with Ryan.

At that moment, a tall figure approached from a distance, supported by a makeup artist...

*****

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