Catch a Rising Star

A/N: Yeah, I know that this was much shorter than the previous chapter, but it's like I keep saying. There's only so much to write about a few short scenes without indulging it too much that makes it sound redundant.

Plus, I'm almost done with my college finals, and I wanted to get this chapter out before I make the final push through the last couple of days before I'm finally free for the holidays, and I wouldn't be fretting about college too much until spring. That would be like a Christmas miracle to me.

Anyway, let's just get on with Chapter 16. And roll it!

Chapter 16

Seizing Her Freedom

The next day, Poppy was back over at the studio, pacing back and forth in the meeting room, waiting for Chef to come inside. She had decided that she needed to confront her face to face when she made the call to talk to her, just so that she could make her choice quite clear to her. No more being pushed around, no more demands.

Finally, Chef came into the room, and Poppy turned around to face her, silently taking a deep breath. This is it. No turning back.

"I got your message about you wanting to meet with me, Miss Summers." Chef said. "I trust you've finally come to your senses?"

"Yes, I have." Poppy said, and she resisted the urge to shiver that the subtle smirk on her manager's face. "I've decided that I'm not doing the movie."

"What?!" Chef shrieked, losing her collected composure. "But, but, you can't do that!"

"I already did." Poppy said firmly, crossing her arms across her chest. "I called Aspen Heitz a few minutes ago. I told him thanks for the offer, but I just want to focus on music for now."

"That's not your decision to make!" Chef shouted.

"I think it is!" Poppy retorted back, natural pink eyes turning up into flames as she glared up at her manager. "I'm twenty-one years old, not some ditzy teenager anymore. I can make my own decisions, without or without your consent."

"You're seriously going to throw away your entire career just for that.... that nobody?" The tall woman demanded, almost spitting out the last two words with disdain.

The pink-haired woman clenched her fists tightly at how her manager was calling Branch. "Listen! That so-called 'nobody' helped me remember why I became a singer in the first place!" She shouted at her, taking a step forward and taking the taller woman aback.

"It wasn't because of the money, or of the opportunities, or even for the perks! It was because I loved it, and that I wanted to share it with the rest of the world!"

She then narrowed her eyes fiercely up at Chef. "It's about time that I finally took my life back into my own control." She said. "Now that I've already dealt with Mr. Heitz, it's onto the second part of getting my life back."

Poppy took a step back, her eyes still narrowed. "Miss Chef, you're fired."

The woman had her jaw dropped in shock. "What?!" She shrieked.

"I want you out of here and out of my life from now on." Poppy answered, and then pointed over towards the door. "Now, I would ask you kindly to leave the building before I call security. And wouldn't that be quite the scoop for the tabloids? Poppy Summers fires her manager, and then gets her thrown out and into the dumpsters."

Chef was almost turning purple with rage, while the pink-haired singer just smirked victoriously. Finally, with a low growl, the taller woman spun on her heel and headed over to the door, wanting to maintain whatever dignity she had left. But before she left, she turned her head over to glare hatefully at the superstar.

"You'll regret this, Poppy Summers." She snarled.

Poppy just folded her arms against her chest, the smirk not leaving her face. "Oh, I don't think so." She answered. "At least from now on, I make my own decisions."

Chef just narrowed her eyes further at her and then left the room. Poppy felt her smirk turn into a more relieved smile and then dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone. When she had hit the speed-dial, the person on the other end immediately answered.

"So did you do it?" Bridget asked her. "You actually fired her?"

"Yep." Poppy answered. "And that felt so good, you have no idea. Plus, it was something that I should've done a long time ago."

"I could've told you that." Bridget said teasingly. "So, what's next?" She asked.

"I'm gonna have to call Sheila for a little favor." Poppy replied. "I'm gonna ask her to put the private plane on standby as soon as possible."

"You're seriously going to fly over to Kansas just to see him again and apologize?" Bridget asked, sounding quite impressed. "That's actually the most romantic thing you've ever done. You haven't done anything like that for anyone before; not even with that cheating, ambitious little creep that you thankfully broke up with earlier this week."

Poppy just chuckled. "Well, Branch is different." She said. "He's.... special."

"Yeah, I can tell." Bridget replied, and the pink-haired superstar could tell that she was smirking on the other end of the line.

"I just hope that he will listen." Poppy came back in. "He has to. Even if he doesn't want to be more than friends, I hope that he will at least forgive me."

"He might be a bit stubborn, but I can tell that he has a good heart." Bridget assured her. "He'll listen to you. Which reminds me. Have you thought of how to find him once you're in Wichita, or what you'll say to him?"

Poppy was silent for a few seconds. "...Haven't thought out that part yet." She answered, sounding a little sheepish. "But what can I say to him that will make him listen?"

Bridget just sighed. "Well, only you can come up with that, Poppy." She replied. "But I would say this; do it in a way that will make him listen. What speaks out more to him than just words?"

Poppy was once again silent for a few seconds as she thought about it. What spoke louder than words to Branch? Just then, she remembered the little moments that they shared during their times together. When he was quietly watching her perform from his spot on the balcony during her dad's house party; her secretly watching and listening to him play along with the recording of his deceased father, him singing at the coffee shop, and them singing together while out on the road.

Music. That's it!

"I think I have an idea." The pink-haired superstar finally said. "I just hope it will work. But I would need to know where he will be."

"Leave that to me." Bridget assured her. "You just take care of what you need, and then get ready to head over to Kansas. When you land, I'll have the info you need about his whereabouts."

"You're the best, Bridget." Poppy said gratefully to her before she hung up.

Then, she left the meeting room and entered the recording room, where her guitar was. She picked it up and began strumming a little tune. She wanted this to really speak from her heart, so that Branch could tell that it was genuine.

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

Over at the other end of the line, Bridget was quickly looking through her contacts. She then found the one she was looking for, and then began texting a message.

Bridget: Harper, where are you going to be tonight?

After she sent the message, seconds later, she got a reply back from Branch's sister.

Harper: At my school dance. She had said. Why?

Bridget: Poppy is going to come over to Kansas to try and make up with your brother.

Harper: 😮 Poppy Summers is coming here?! To Wichita?!

Bridget: Don't tell anyone about this, okay? No one else knows about this.

Harper: OK, I won't say a word. But what does this have to do with my brother?

Bridget: Do you think you can get him to join you at your school?

Harper: Well, I can see if he would like to be a chaperone. Plus, I don't have a date, so maybe that could be more motivation for him.

Bridget: Perfect. One more thing. What high school do you go to?

Harper: Northwest High. I'll text you the address later.

Bridget: Okay. But get it to me ASAP.

Harper: No prob! Besides, I might have a bigger problem on my hands right now.

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

Over in Wichita, Harper had turned off her phone after sending her last message to Bridget. She did have a bit of a slightly bigger problem at the moment. She really hoped that she could convince Branch to come with her to the dance. If Poppy was coming all the way from Los Angeles just to apologize to him, then she must really care about him. And it seemed that her brother felt the way, if his heartbreaking song from the day before was any indication.

She remembered the gossip that she had heard all throughout the school day earlier, and everyone was talking about how weird Branch had looked on live TV. There were even some that thought that he made it all up; that he was just faking. Their words made Harper's heart hurt, and the desire to punch them or squirt paint in their hair was very tempting.

She left her room, which had her dress for the dance placed on the bed, and then headed over to Branch's. He was sitting on his bed, writing something in a notebook. She lightly knocked on the open door, and her brother looked over in her direction. He quickly put away the notebook, placed it on his desk and then looked away from her.

"What do you want?" He asked.

Harper slightly flinched. She must've caught him at a bad time. "You okay, Branch?"

The black-haired young man just scoffed. "No." He answered. "Apparently, according to the furniture store, which the paparazzi had been pestering for the past hour, I was bringing them some bad publicity because of my so-called 'stunt'. So they fired me."

The teenage girl winced. "Sorry, Branch." She said, taking a step forward and sitting next to him on his bed. "But just know that Grandma and I don't think you're lying."

"What about your friends?" Branch asked her, his brow slightly quirked upward in suspicion.

Harper just rolled her eyes. "You know that Mandy would never think badly of you, because she is my best friend, and you're my brother." She said to him. "But I have heard some other kids at school saying that you were just doing it for attention, or that you were lying."

Branch rolled his own eyes in retaliation. "Great." He muttered sarcastically. "More craziness in my life than I know how to deal with. And I thought dealing with what happened to Mom and Dad was bad enough."

Harper was silent for a couple of seconds, her mind having some brief flashes of wonderful memories of her and Branch's parents until their deaths, before she began to work out her part of the plan.

"Hey." She said, getting her brother's attention again. "If it's not too much to ask, do you think you can come with me to the dance tonight? As a chaperone?"

Branch raised a brow. "Why?" He asked suspiciously.

"Well, I just thought that it would be nice if you got out of the house and have a little fun." Harper explained. "To get your mind off of.... everything that's been going on since we got back."

Her brother just blinked at her. "You would really do that for me?" He asked.

Harper nodded. "Yeah." She answered. "Plus, with you there, you can make sure that no boys try to sweet talk me, since I don't have a date."

"Well, if they do try anything, then they're certainly gonna get what-for." Branch replied, punching an open palm with his fist.

Harper giggled as she wrapped her arms around his back and gave him a warm and loving hug, Branch returning it tenderly, feeling a little bit better at his sister's attempt to try and cheer him up. For once, Harper didn't mind that her brother was trying to act a little overprotective about her hanging out with a few boys.

Plus, she didn't feel like going out with a date, knowing that Branch was kind of dealing with some angst at the moment. Hopefully, this plan of Poppy's works. Even if they don't profess their undying love for each other right there, at least Branch can hear from Poppy herself about her apology, and then accept it and forgive her.

"Just don't actually try to punch or clobber anyone." She said.

"I make no promises." He answered, making his sister laugh again.

A/N: I think there's only two more chapters left! Two more chapters of this story! I can't believe it! However, I do have a major question for you guys concerning something about this story. But, I won't say anything about it until the next chapter. It might keep you guys in a sense of suspense.

Well, that's all for this time, y'all! I'll see you in the next chapter, where the apology finally comes into play. Please leave a comment about what you think. And remember to stay healthy!

Got to fly! ;)