Chapter Twenty Nine

It's not even close to being an hour with Archer and Ava being my sole carers, and Ava looks like she's about to pass out from stress. Ava is tapping away on her phone and I'm trying to do my eye make-up. But all this stopping and starting is making it hard not to stab myself in the eyeball.

I know there's an expression that beauty is pain, but I didn't imagine this would fall under the criteria. I really want to look good for my first on camera interview, but I also fear if I keep this up, I'll be filming with suspicious red-looking eyes.

The idea of everyone looking at me while I'm trying to talk about myself is scary, I'm not much of a talker about myself. I'm scared of what will happen if I forget what to say, or chose on my words. I want to look confident. The good think about web interviews is that there's a quick escape route, and you can have cue cards on the side for help.

"Can you drive any faster, Archer?" requests Ava as she clutches onto her schedule diary.

I feel bad for causing the stress, but on the other hand, it was an accident I fell asleep and it's not like I planned it. I'm lucky it's just an interview I'm going to be late to, and not an arena of screaming fans that have been lining up for weeks. I don't want to see what Ava will do if that ever happens.

"But if we drove a little slower – my stinging eyes would appreciate it," I say.

Ava shoots me a mean glare, and I sink further back into my chair and continue to do my make-up in silence.

"We're already late for our first appointment for today." She moans. I'm the one who's going to be late for the interview, it's my reputation and name on the line if I show up late. But then again, my punctuality is a reflection of the persons trying to manage me.

It's only when the car parks in front of the studio that I can visibly see Ava beginning to relax. As soon as Archer cuts the engine, Ava springs out of the car and I quickly pack up my belongings and follow in pursuit.

I don't get the chance to say hello to the receptionist, so I quickly wave and enter the pending elevator Ava is already standing in. The mirrors in the elevator aren't the cleanest, or easiest place to apply my lipstick – but I get a rough guide. I apply a bright red colour and rub my lips together.

Just as I finish, the doors open and I get my first glimpse of the room set up. Despite rocking a ten minute late entrance, the camera crew are still setting up the scene – which makes me feel slightly better.

"Sorry I'm late," I apologise to everyone.

People stop what they are doing and look at me, so I shyly wave and smile at them. Some go back to work, while others stare and whisper among themselves. I make a clean dash to Alex's side which instantly makes me feel comfortable.

"What took you so long?" he asks, dropping his previous conversation.

"I had to sort a few things out." I look towards Archer and Ava.

"Glad you could finally join us. Read or not, we need to make a start," says a snide Alex.

The person coughs, bringing my attention back to her. She's a bit taller than me, but only because of her shoes. Her brown hair is cut perfectly to frame her face and fall around her shoulders – which leads the viewer's eyes to her soft, over the shoulder blue top that has glittery bits on it. It's tight fitting and shows of her tanned mid drift. She's also wearing a pair of blue jeans that accentuates her long legs and black pumps.

She's pretty, I'll give her credit, but I already don't like her.

"This is Melanie from Teen Music," introduces Alex.

"Hi." She smiles back, "it's nice to meet you."

"Call me Sienna." I smile.

She nods her head, and then turns her attention back to Alex, which already begins to annoy me.

"Are you ready to start the interview?" she asks him.

"We're ready," confirms Alex.

"Start rolling Harry," she shouts.

The man standing behind the camera jumps and quickly plugs in a cord and presses a few buttons in an attempt to make the camera ready.

"Let's sit, I doubt you'd want to spend the whole hour standing."

"Okay."

I'm the first person to take a seat on the chair, then followed by Alex who almost sits on my lap. He's so close to me that his knee brushes up against mine. Melanie roughly plonks down next to Alex and steals his attention again.

Melanie hands each of us a microphone and begins to primp herself up for the camera. That's when I know things are beginning to get serious and my arms start to shake.

"And we're rolling," yells the camera man.

The room falls silent and everyone turns their attention to Melanie and she takes her starting positing.

"... and three, two, one." She smiles, "hi, I'm Melanie and you're watching Teen Music Podcast, and today I'm joined by the lovely Alex Bray, lead singer of The Boy Band Project and the stunningly beautiful Sienna formally known as The Masked Singer," she introduces.

Alex and I both wave at the camera and look back at Melanie. I don't know where to look or how to place my body – so this experience is painfully nervous. I feel awkward, like I'm intruding on Alex's interview with the way Melanie is acting. She clearly has a thing for him.

"So we're going to start the interview with some fun, easy questions!" She giggles.

"Nice," agrees Alex and I nod my head.

"What is one tip you can tell our views when getting ready in a hurry." The question is a bit of a slap in the face, I wonder if she's referring to my late appearance.

Melanie looks at Alex fist, which I'm grateful for. Alex is a natural on camera, he stands up and produces a small comb from his front pocket and waves it in front and then talks into his microphone with ease.

"I always carry a comb in case of hair emergencies. It doesn't matter what clothing you're wearing, if you have amazing hair, everything feels better," he confesses.

"Sunglasses and dresses are the easiest thing to chuck on in a rush. And if you shake your hair around and fluff it up, it'll give you an edgy look," I say.

"My favourite question, what do you carry in your bags and/ or pockets?"

"I'm totally going first." Alex eyes off my large bag, "I obviously have my comb and my wallet – always need one of those." He pulls out a pack of gum and a few loose pieces of paper.

"So, I have a lot more things in my bag that usual," I whisper.

Passing my microphone to Alex, I grab my bag and put it on my lap before taking the microphone back.

"This morning, I just shoved a heap of stuff in my bag because I was a bit late and with the traffic in New York in the mornings, it's just hell." I chuckle.

Alex takes my microphone from my hand, when enables me to unzip it. Instead of passing the microphone back, he just holds it in front of my mouth like a stand.

"This morning I just left the hotel room without shoes and my hair done. I couldn't decide on what shoes to wear, so I grabbed a two pairs." I pull out flat sandals and dump them on the floor by my feet, "and then you can't leave the house without your make-up, jewellery, perfume. I even have a cardigan in here." As I pull out different things, Alex plays with the lids and sprays me with my perfume while Melanie reads out the products and their brands.

"We could give Alex a make-over at the end," says an excited Melanie.

"That would be a fun experience, if I was a girl." He pouts.

"Aw baby." I poke his side.

"How about you?" He starts tickling my sides.

"How about no!" I shout over my giggles.

Alex stops tickling me when I almost fall off the couch. He helps me up and wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me back to his side. I look at Melanie, and she's a bit annoyed, but doesn't lose her happy smile.

"Today we're currently sitting in the recording studio where they've been putting down the tracks to Sienna's new and upcoming album." The camera slowly pans over the opposite side of the room, showing off the clear window and the instruments on the other side.

"The one and only place," cheers Alex.

"How have you found writing, Sienna?" she asks.

"Uh, it's been interesting." I nod, "I haven't been writing song lyrics for a long time, so it's a bit to get my head around. But I want a majority of the songs on this album to be a collaboration of my ideas and thoughts. And having Alex and my producer on the team really help to connect the ideas with the paper and music is an amazing help."

"Can we expect to hear Alex on the tracks, or any guest vocalists?"

"There's been talks." I wink, "and there's a good chance. Alex and I sit in the studio singing lyrics to each other and sometimes I prefer the way he sings them."

"There's been some rumours of a tour. What's happening there?" I instantly turn my attention away from the camera and begin packing up my belongings.

"Yes, you've heard right! Next week we spend it in New York recording the songs and then on Friday, it's our first performance before the album comes out at midnight for everyone to buy and download on iTunes."

"And of course, the amazing Alex Bray and his band, The Boy Band Project will be opening for me on tour which will run through many states and cities," I add, "If you want details, just check your local ticketing place or my website which Melanie could probably link in the video?" I look at her.

"Sure can." She grins, "Now tell us about your new record."

I look at Alex and smile, "I don't think there's any words to describe it. It's a mash of feelings and ideas I'm going through," I say.

As the interview rounds up, Melanie decides to ask us one more question which completely throws me off.

"Over the last couple of days, there's been various articles about the paparazzi spotting the two of you together. And then last night an image of Alex climbing out of a bush hit the internet. What's happening?" she asks.

I'm afraid to say anything. She probably just wants to know to either stake claims on the biggest scoop on romance this week, or because she wants to make all these moves on Alex.

"That photo sounds way worse than it is!" states Alex.

"He can't jump over walls." I giggle, "It's only a bad photo because it doesn't capture the whole scene of him screaming like a little girl as he falls through the air."

"I could have died!" he defends.

"So we were at this party and we managed to get ourselves locked out, and then Alex had this bright idea. He thought that if we jumped over this brick wall, we could go through the front door and re-join the party."

Alex cuts me off, "and being the gentleman that I am, I helped Sienna over the fence and just fell myself, and she didn't even help me out of the bush, she just laughed at me." He does a cute pout.

Melanie and I laugh at his misfortune. At the end of the day, he got his revenge with making me sing that One Direction song – so I can laugh about this and not feel guilty.

"Unfortunately, that's all we have time for today. I'm Melanie-"

"I'm Alex."

"And I'm Sienna."

"And you're watching Teen Music podcast," we say together.

When the camera stops rolling, I get off the couch and stretch my legs out. My body feels stiff, and I'm glad it's a short interview. I feel like I want to go back to bed – the relaxed atmosphere is about to send me to sleep.

"You did great Sienna," Alex whispers into my ear.

"Thank you." I grin, "I just need to check something with Ava, and then we can start working on this new song I started."

"Sounds good." He nods his head.

I walk towards Ava with a nervous smile. She returns with a bright, happy smile which internally makes me feel better.

"How did I do?" I ask nervously.

"Very good for a first time." She nods her head proudly, "we have a lunch time appointment, so you better get to work quickly."

"Okay, I will." I look back at Alex and he's still sitting on the couch with Melanie. She's all over his body like a fly. You'd think she'd be swooning over me, I'm all new and unapproachable in the music industry. Only a few people have had the pleasure to be in my presence.

When I take a seat next to Alex, I plop down on the couch and purposely brush my leg against his in the process. This is enough to re-capture his attention which is something I like.

"We need to get into the studio, we're running out of time," I whisper into his ear but I keep my eyes trained on Melanie's face. I can see the look of disappointment flood into his eyes and I can't help but internally smirk.

"Let's go then, there's no time like the present," he whispers back.

"It was nice meeting you, Melanie." I smile.

"The pleasure was all mine," she responds. 

The three of us stand up from the couch and Melanie starts shuffling through her bag and then produces a small business card.

"Maybe if you're free for lunch, we could meet up?" she asks with a hopeful expression.

All I can think is, 'keep dreaming sister, it's not going to happen.' I cross my arms over my chest and stare at Alex, waiting for him to react to the situation.

"I'll keep that in mind," he says. Alex tucks the business card into his back pocket and then walks Melanie and her recording crew to the elevator door. The crew piles in, and before Melanie gets in completely, she lunches her body into Alex and gives him a tight hug.

Just seeing her all over him makes me mad, but I don't want to make any over reactions. I don't want another awkward publicity scandal over another girl hugging Alex Bray, which would be pathetic.

When the doors start to close, Melanie reluctantly let's go of Alex and a small sense of happiness swells up inside of me at the sight of her leaving – I'm such a horrible person.

"Writing time." He turns back to me, "I want to hear this new song of yours!" I smile and we walk towards the recording room. I feel at ease when I'm inside the room and around something familiar.