From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel

"I'm going to be in so much trouble." As Ari sat down in the waiting area contemplating his impulsive action, he felt multiple gazes staring at him.

Even his teammates were giving him a wide berth, which was to be expected considering his verse had changed from what was practiced, and Levi had entirely gone off script.

He would have to apologize later.

[Regret your actions?]

"Regretting it?"

As if he had read his mind, Levi echoed NOVA's questions, and Ari let out a small chuckle.

Rather than regret, he felt quite refreshed.

He wasn't someone who liked holding things in when he was upset, and it felt like ever since he had gotten on the show, he had a constant stream of bad luck, had been wronged by many people, and was still expected to be happy, friendly, and grateful to a production team.

Given the way things unfolded, he was pleased to be able to clear the air at least once, and in this setting, even if the PDs edited and manipulated the recording as they saw fit, someone was bound to have the full version.

"Regret? Nah. I rarely regret things, and there was a lot that I wanted to get off my chest that I might not get a chance to do later. Plus, it might sound cocky, and I don't want to jinx it, but even when my rank falls, I don't think it will fall to the point where I'll be eliminated. Hopefully. And when it does, I'll just have to figure out a way to climb up again. Are you regretting it? You went extra hardcore at the end." Ari gave Levi a curious glance, and the former blonde shrugged.

"Hell no."

"Then it's worth it. Glad you enjoyed your last performance. And thanks for cooperating. It was fun. Oh, the stylist said I should tell you that if you use HeadShoulders shampoo, the blue should come out in a couple of washes."

Cracking his neck to relieve the tension, Ari stood up and began to head to the performance area.

"Where are you going?"

"To watch Jamie perform. If I miss it, he'll sulk. He's already mad that I took you out to eat without him. I still need him to give me a ride back."

Ari had had to sit through repeated nagging and complaints while comforting Jamie, assuring him that his position as Ari's best blonde friend (he had no idea when that competition had started) was safe and sound.

But although he was grumbling about it, Ari actually didn't mind, especially since Jamie had been bragging about his performance while Carlos secretly agreed.

"He does realize that I was forced to go?"

"Potato potahto or as Jamie said, horse donkey? I don't get it." As Ari was about to leave, he realized that it would be awkward to just abandon Levi here, especially when he wasn't close to anybody else, and even more especially after their shenanigans.

"…do you want to come with me? To watch the performances. It's too late for Bens, but there are others."

"Pass. Don't want your friend getting jealous."

"Okay. See you later. Or maybe not."

Waving goodbye, Ari quickly ran off to catch Jamie's performance, and Levi's expression regained its usual sharpness as he glanced around until he found a familiar face.

It was one of the boys who shared a room with him and William.

"Oi."

"Hic."

The boy immediately sat up straight as his face got pale.

"Where's Will?"

"Hic what?"

"Where's Will?" Levi glanced at the boy, trying to remember his name.

Romeo?

Leo?

Matteo?

He knew it was something Italian.

"Uhhhm, I'm not sure. He went that way." With a shaky finger, Tony, the poor forgotten member, pointed one way.

"Hmmm. Thanks."

"Gasp. He said 'thank you'?"

"Maybe he's in a good mood after cursing the judge out?"

Ignoring the chattered whispers behind him, Levi strolled along the busy back area in the direction pointed out by his roommate until he saw William getting off the phone and speed walking toward him.

Levi quickly intercepted

"Will."

"What?"

"Let's talk." Levi nodded toward a trailer off to the side.

"Can this wait? I have to go prepare for my performance. My team is up soon."

"You coming or am I dragging you?"

At the blatant threat, William rolled his eyes but still followed along.

"Fine, make it quick."

"Why are you messing around?"

Levi kept his words simple since they both knew what the other was talking about, and naturally, William skirted around the issue, not willing to incriminate himself in a public space.

"It was a joke. If I had known that you were going to blow up like that anyway, I wouldn't have done anything. And if you had left like you were supposed to, it wouldn't have affected you anyway, your mom said you were leaving. Don't tell me you changed your mind."

"Hmmm."

Hearing the noncommittal response, Williams' face turned red from anger.

"Leave. Aren't you supposed to be preparing for some Broadway nonsense? Go be an actor or film director or whatever. Your job as my placeholder is done, and you don't even want to be here, so leave. Once you're gone, I'll get right back into the debut ranks."

"Will."

"What?"

"I think I'll stick around for a little bit longer. I enjoyed myself quite a bit this time."

"Hah! After that mess, you think they'll let you stay? You cursed out a producer in front of thousands of people. They're going to kick you out."

"Doubt it. You should be worried about yourself instead."

"And what is that supposed to mean? Are you threatening me? Over something you don't even care about? It's not like it affected you anyway!"

"It means that you're not as slick as you think you are. I think your uncle will be quite pissed."

"And why is that? Planning on snitching on me."

"Nah."

Leaving behind cryptic words to a confused William, Levi headed back to take a nap until the remaining performances.

He hadn't lied to William.

This performance had been quite fun, and even if he didn't care for the team members, it was quite tolerable with someone who wasn't scared, being the middleman.

"Now the question is, do I cancel my summer classes and the auditions to go to Korea??"

Well, that could be decided later.

After being tortured for a week in the name of practice, it was finally time to sleep.

*****************

"And what do the two of you have to say for yourselves?"

Both Ari and Levi stared at the yelling assistant PD, with varying levels of interest.

Ari was curious about how the man sustained such a high decibel level for 30 minutes straight without hurting his throat or losing his voice, while Levi was on the verge of leaving since this was a colossal waste of time.

As for the contents of the assistant PD's message, both boys let it fly into one ear and out the other.

"Are you listening to me? You insulted a respected guest, you insulted the integrity of the production staff, ignored our orders, shamed th-"

"This is taking longer than I thought. Do you have a point to all of this?" Levi cut in with a yawn.

His eyes were tinged red due to repeatedly shampooing his hair to get the blue color out, making him look angrier than usual.

"What do you mean? I'm a figure of authority, letting you know that-"

"Stop right there. I'm wondering why you think you can yell at me? Are you crazy?"

"Huh?" As the assistant PD stared at him incredulously, not believing what he was hearing, Levi began counting off on his fingers with a bored expression.

"As our team went out, the stage light fell, injuring the MC. Then the MC fell into a hole that was hidden on the stage, broke his leg, and had to be rushed to the hospital. Fur hat here was first, and I was second. Both of us could have been injured, especially because nobody checked to make sure it was safe. Your sound engineers are incompetent because someone repeatedly messed with our track, and I had to go back and fix it twice, all within the first 10 minutes. And in case you forgot, it was you speaking in our in-ears and telling us to just perform even though you knew it was the wrong song. So far, we have negligence, coercion, and carelessness for the lives you should be caring for, and now I'm being held hostage against my will in this room. Should I go into further detail?"

"Y-you're not being held hostage! I'm just trying to make it clear t-"

"That what? Rather than raising your voice at me, shouldn't you be begging me not to sue this show into bankruptcy? Or has my temper been so good that you think I won't?"

As if remembering Levi's last name and the video of him ripping a door of its hinges, the assistant PD looked away in embarrassment and a bit of fear.

After being sidelined to menial jobs by PD Emily, it was finally time for him to shine, and especially get back at Ari, who had not only upset the PD but also upset several production staff members, Producer Benny, and many others.

They had asked him to put some fear into these two boys, and he was just trying to comply and gain some brownie points since his relationship and usefulness to William had soured.

But now, being threatened with a lawsuit…

That was too much!

"I thought you were quitting. None of this concerns you, so you're free to leave. He has to stay, though." The assistant PD pointed at Ari, who snapped out of his mini daze and yawned loudly.

"I'm still weighing my options and don't plan on leaving yet, so I recommend you change your attitude. You know I have a bad temper. Now, why am I here?"

The assistant PD looked at Levi's cold eyes and gulped before whispering.

"…I don't think I'm qualified to have this conversation with you."

"It's good that you know that. Where's the PD?"

"She's busy."

"Her orders?"

"She just said that I should make sure you both don't leave the premises.

"Okay. Phone?"

"Wha-what?"

"Your phone. Give it. Unlocked."

With shaking hands, the assistant PD handed the phone over, and Levi quickly dialed a number that was answered on the first ring.

"Yo, Dad. Remember that show I was on. FYI, I almost died, and now the staff is yelling at me, deflecting responsibility, and holding me hostage."

Without waiting for a response, Levi hung up and tossed the phone back to the assistant PD, whose face was paler than chalk.

Vrrrrrr

Vrrrrrrrr

Vrrrrrrr

Vrrr vrrrr vrrrr

The phone began to vibrate immediately, and with each shake, the assistant PD's body trembled with fear.

"My people are calling your people. Send someone to come get me if the PD needs me or him. You-" Levi turned to Ari with an awkward look, before coughing and looking away.

"This is payback for the food. Let's go."

Ari looked Levi up and down before giving him two thumbs up.

"Very cool."

"Shut up."

Laughing to himself, Ari pretended that he didn't see the red tips of Levi's ears.

***************

While the assistant PD was shaking with heart palpitations, PD Emily whistled cheerfully as she waited outside Wilfred Forbes' office, holding a thick binder in her hands.

"Mr. Forbes will see you now."

An attractive blonde woman dressed in a form-fitting skirt suit held the door open for PD Emily as she confidently strode in through the door.

"What? This better be important."

Seeing that he couldn't even respect her enough to look up at her when she walked in, PD Emily decided not to be polite.

"Get your grubby paws out of my show and increase my hiring budget so I can get new staff."

"Ugh. Typical woman. We've already talked about this before and come to an agreement. What more do you want?"

"I WANT you to get your dirty, disgusting paws away from my show."

"Or what?"

SLAM!

Dropping the color-coded binder onto the expensive wooden desk, PD Emily sat down comfortably as she began flipping through and conversationally explained everything.

"Tell your nephew to cover his tracks better. These are his private calls. These are his attempts to blackmail other contestants. These are his blackmailing staff members. Threats. Physical violence, etc. Not to talk about that drunk producer you sent my way. I have almost a terabyte of the stupid things he's said, and he's only been around for 2 weeks. Get him out and get your nephew off my show."

"Hearsay, rumors, and that's just people running a smear campaign against him. Nothing will hold up, and I'll kill it before it even makes the news, just like how I killed that little artist's attempt to leak a stupid file. She's lucky she's independent; otherwise, I would have had her blacklisted. Anything else?"

Wilfred didn't even bother to look up at PD Emily; he just continued tapping away at his computer.

This much wasn't enough to phase him.

His family had political connections, and they had covered up worse crimes than these childlike offenses.

All he had to do was pay people off, threaten those who needed to be threatened, and disappear those who could be eliminated.

After that, he would just scold his nephew and tell him to be more careful.

However, PD Emily was determined to be heard today, as she continued flipping through the binder.

"Is that right? Maybe you haven't heard about his latest act of stupidity, your sweet nephew got an MC heavily injured and almost killed Levi Temple."

At the last name Temple, Wilfred Forbes finally glanced up to see PD Emily's wide smile.

"…he did what?"

"Oh? You didn't know? His father stormed into my office, telling me he wants to sue us for everything we have because of his poor son. The video of the incident is going viral, and the public is crying for an investigation. My only crime is trying to make an entertaining show, so I'm planning on handing every shred of evidence over to their lawyers and letting them go crazy. I believe both the Forbes and the Temple family use the same law firm? It should be fun. And since you're not interested in what I have to say. I'll take my leave."

Of course, the production team was receiving lashings of online criticism as well, but PD Emily planned to use this chaotic time to get the Forbes family's hands out of her show.

Absent-mindedly, she made a note to reach out to that one account that always seemed to be the driving force behind criticism of the show.

By the writing samples she had seen, she could tell that the person had a flair and talent for good TV.

Her need to recruit that person grew day by day, but before she could pursue that thought, a cold voice with a thick Boston accent interrupted her thoughts.

"Sit down, woman."

"Have a good day, Mr. Forbes. I don't talk to people who can't respect me enough to learn my name and look me in the eye."

"I said sit down, Miss. Emily Raleigh. Let's make a deal."