"There's one small problem," I was saying, the day before we were supposed to perform at Paris Hilton's New Year's Eve party.

"Oh, no. What is it?" Ian asked. I glanced at Mae, who had decided to watch band practice today. After exchanging a glance, Mae nodded, understanding.

"She can't perform on stage," she said.

"What?" Camron asked. Caleb held his head in his hands, remembering what I had told him a while ago when we first met.

"Stage fright," I mumbled in response, my face pale. Ian let out a stream of curse words and walked out of the studio.

"You're telling us this now?!" Liam exclaimed.

"I'm sorry! I had completely forgotten about it! We've always practiced down here in the studio," I said.

"We're screwed!" Ian yelled from outside. I looked to Caleb for help.

"All right. Let's calm down. I think we should go to a busy club tonight, have you perform, test out how you do with alcohol in you, and not worry," Caleb suggested.

"Alcohol? That's your brilliant solution?" Camron asked.

"We haven't got a choice at this point. God, it was stupid doing such a big party as our first ever gig. I completely forgot about your stage fright," Caleb said.

"Why didn't you tell us before?!" Ian asked, frustrated and angry, as he walked back in.

"Don't yell at her!" Mae defended. Ian glared at her.

"I told Caleb," I said in a quiet voice. Ian's face turned slightly red in anger. A picture of steam coming out of his ears and nose flashed through my mind and I fought the inappropriate urge to laugh.

"So, what? We're going to wait until tonight to figure this out?" Liam asked. Ian was on his phone.

"No, come on," he said, getting up. We all stood and followed him. "Follow me in my car. Vanessa, you're coming with me," he demanded. I chose not to argue because he was already in a bad mood, although I would have liked to go in Caleb's car because I knew that Ian was about to lecture me. Surprisingly, he was silent, which was slightly more worse than him yelling at me.

"You're mad at me," I pointed out after 10 minutes of silence. He glanced in the rearview mirror to check if the others were still following, his eyes narrowed.

"Well, good to know you're not stupid," he snapped.

"Wow, I really didn't expect you, my boyfriend, of all people, to get this mad at me," I said, slumping in my seat.

"Vanessa!" he cried in an aggravated voice. Hearing him say my full name made me flinch. It meant he was really angry with me. "You know how much this band means to me! And you're about to screw up what could be our biggest performance to kick off our career. You're so careless," he lectured. I frowned, feeling his words stab me.

"I'm sorry!" I said.

"Sorry's not going to cut it," he said pointedly.

"Where are we going?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"A friend of mine works at the mall. We've played there a couple times just for fun. I texted him and asked if we could perform a quick show. They always have some sort of thing going on. He cleared it with his boss and he said yes. So that's where we're going. You're going to practice singing in front of a crowd of mall shoppers," Ian told me.

"I-I-But that's-that's a lot of people," I stammered.

"That's the point. We can't wait until tonight for you to practice performing in a cafe full of people. Besides, the mall will have loads more people in it. Way better practice," he said. He turned into the parking lot of the mall. We both got out as Caleb and Camron parked their cars.

"What are we doing at the mall?" Mae asked, walking up to us. Ian began making his way to the entrance.

"She's going to perform on the stage in the middle of the mall. We can't wait until nighttime to figure this problem out," Ian replied. I gave Mae a shaky look.

"It'll be ok," she soothed. "It's better if you perform in a mall rather than at a high-class celebrity party," she told me.

"Mae's right. And besides, at the mall, people are busy shopping. Most people will be distracted. It's easier to pretend that they're not even listening," Liam comforted me. I gave him a weak smile. I gulped when we stepped inside the mall. It was busy. I mean, of course it would be busy. Tomorrow was New Year's. Everyone had the day off. It was too cold to go to the beach. What else was there to do besides going to the mall?

I could feel my stomach dropping and my hands getting clammy. I felt dizzy all of a sudden. I couldn't do this. No way would I be able to do this. It wasn't happening. I felt like throwing up.

"Ness? Are you ok?" Camron asked, furrowing his brow.

"Get her some water. She's really pale," Caleb said, concern in his voice. I saw Ian standing impatiently up ahead and a sudden anger roared inside of me. What the hell was his problem? It wasn't my fault I had a phobia of performing in front of people. I couldn't help it. Why was he acting like this? Why wasn't he the one telling me everything would be all right?

I took a sip of water and marched onto the stage, glaring in Ian's direction.

"What are we playing first?" I asked in a strong voice. The others looked at me, confused as to where this confidence came from.

"The new one. 'Unforgettable'," Caleb said, jumping onto the stage and grabbing the rhythm guitar that was already set up. I moved the mic stand back a little so it was even with Caleb's mic. Liam sat himself down at the drums and picking up his guitar. Ian, with a pissed off look on his face, took up bass guitar. Liam counted us off.

"2, 3, 4," he said. He began the beginning drum beat.

"Fell in love but not again, make sure we are never friends. I should have just pushed you away. Tried my best to crush your heart, say good-bye or fall apart. But some things are so unforgiveable," Caleb began.

"So now I'm breakin' out. I'm throwing it all away," I sang. "I never should have given you up. Now I think I've got to make a move. I never should have given you away. Now it's too complicated. Woaaah oh. Woaah oh. I'll be so unforgettable. Woaah oh. Woaah oh. Make sure I'm unforgettable," I sang, moving closer to Caleb.

A small crowd had formed, mostly of teenage girls and their mothers. I saw a group of college guys walk up to the group. One of those boys wolf-whistled and I smirked as I sang. Mae gave me an encouraging thumbs up.

"You called it off. You made it stop; told me I wasn't good enough. A sudden chance to feel these feelings of being over you ohh," I sang. I was at the edge of the stage, playing the crowd, which didn't seem so daunting in my anger towards Ian. I moved back to where Caleb was standing as the crowd clapped along to the beat of the drums.

"I never should have given you up. Now I think I've got to make a move. I never should have given you away," Caleb and I sang together, in the same mic. I snatched my mic away from him, going back to the crowd, which was now cheering for us.

"I never should have given you up. Now I think I've got to make a move. I never should have given you away. Now it's too complicated. Wooah oh. Wooah oh. I'll be so unforgettable. Wooah oh. Wooah. Make sure I'm unforgettable. Ohh ohh. I'll be so unforgettable!" I sang, finishing the song. The crowd erupted in applause and cheer.

"Do another one!" someone shouted.

"You're hot!" someone else yelled. I felt myself blushing and took in the adrenaline that was pulsing through my veins. I glanced at Ian. Well, I showed that bitch what's up. Caleb and Camron came up to me, both giving me side hugs.

"Where did that come from?" Caleb whispered.

"That was awesome! They loved it!" Camron said excitedly in my ear. I smirked.

"Let's go again," I said. And so we performed all of the songs that we had written so far, as well as some requests from the audience.

                                                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~

"Stage fright over with?" Caleb asked once we got home. I shook my head.

"I don't think so," I said. "I can't get rid of it that quickly," I added.

"Then what was that?" Ian asked.

"That," I paused, glaring at him, "was me being extremely pissed off at you for being such a jerk to me," I finished. Ian narrowed his eyes at me.

"Well, that's just perfect. Say something to piss her off before the show and we're good to go," Liam joked.

"So basically, you need some sort of motivator or adrenaline rush to perform," Camron said.

"So, what? Are we going to take her sky-diving before the show tomorrow?" Ian snapped.

"Keep up your attitude and there won't be any need," I hissed at him, glaring in his direction.

"Stop fighting, guys," Caleb said, coming between us. "When you auditioned for this band, you told me you were trying to get Mae to stop being mad at you," Caleb said.

"Which worked," Mae added.

"And this time, Ian made you angry and you wanted to show him up," Caleb continued, ignoring Mae's interruption. "I think Camron's right. You need a reason to perform," he concluded.

"Why can't you freaking make that reason that you WANT TO BE FAMOUS?" Ian suggested in a loud, annoyed voice.

"Because fame isn't that important to me, you self-centered, son of a-" I yelled back. Caleb stopped me. Camron and Liam let out frustrated sighs.

"So we're still back at square one. We haven't figured anything out," Camron said, rubbing his eyes.

"We're still having her perform at TFP tonight," Caleb said.

"Are we trying the alcohol thing?" Liam asked. Caleb shrugged and everyone looked at me.

"What'll it take for you to perform tomorrow like you did just now?" Mae asked me in a soft voice.

"I've got it!" Ian exclaimed suddenly. We all looked at him. "I'll be right back," he said, getting up and leaving the room, tapping away at his iPhone as he walked.

"That was weird," Mae said. He came back after a few moments and sat down, looking accomplished.

"Well?" Liam asked when he didn't say anything.

"Well what?" Ian questioned.

"Are you going to tell us your brilliant plan?" Caleb asked, annoyed.

"What are you talking about?" Ian asked, putting on a confused face.

"What did you just walk outside for?!" Camron asked, throwing his hands up. Ian raised his eyebrows.

"I had to make a phone call..." he replied.

"So you have no plan?" Mae asked.

"I thought you guys were making the plan? All I do is piss off the delicate little lead singer," Ian said, glaring in my direction. I narrowed my eyes at him, wanting nothing more than to punch him in the face at that moment.

"Ugh. Let's try the alcohol. Hopefully that'll diffuse your fear," Caleb said, turning me away from Ian and sending a glare at him.

                                                                        ~~~~~~~~~

"OMG! Did you see that? Did you just see Justin Timberlake walk in? I have to get a picture with him..." Mae exclaimed. I pinched her and she yelped.

"Calm down. We're not here to act like crazed fans," I said. She looked at me with sparkling blue eyes.

"I can't believe we're actually at Paris Hilton's party!" she squeaked. I shook my head at her.

"Here, drink this," Caleb said, bringing me a small shot glass full of clear liquid. "It should do the trick," he added. I took it and drowned in one gulp. The liquid was freezing as it went down my throat. I still felt a little nauseous, even after drinking the liquor. Maybe it had a delayed effect. I looked around. There were so many people here. My eyes widened as Leonardo di Caprio walked by me, a glass of wine in his hand. I felt for Mae's arm, who was also looking for mine. We took each other's hands and squealed quietly. 

"We should go back stage," I suggested once we lost Leo in the crowd. Mae nodded. We headed towards the large, black draped stage against the wall and went behind the curtains. We went into the dressing room where the boys were tuning their guitars and getting fitted for their ear pieces.

"All right, kiddos. Let's get this show on the road!" Paul said, walking in. I jumped, nearly peeing my pants, at his suddent entrance.

"P-Paul? W-what are you doing here?" I stammered. Oh no. If I wasn't nervous before, I definitely was now. If I messed up, he would be there to see it. And then we definitely weren't going to get famous.

"Surprise, surprise. I thought I'd stop by and check out how you guys do, seeing as this is your first performance," Paul said. He and Ian exchanged a quick glance that went unnoticed by everyone except me. He turned and frowned at me, scratching the little scruff he had going on on his chin.

"Hmmm. Maybe you were right. The long hair did look better on you," he commented, squinting his blue eyes at my hair. I flared my nostrils.

"What did you just say?" I said in a dangerous whisper. Caleb widened his eyes.

"Uhh...Ness. Calm down," Caleb said, grabbing my arms. It was a good thing Caleb restrained me. I was about to pounce on him.

"You do realize that I cut my hair because you told me to," I said in an accusing voice.

"Yes, I realize that. But you may want to go an get fitted for a nice wig. The long hair suited you more," Paul said, not looking the least bit phased by my rising anger. I jumped towards him, but Caleb and Camron held me back.

"Uhh...we'll take her outside now," Camron said hurriedly. He and Camron pushed me outside.

"Let. Me. GO!" I yelled.

"Will you shut up?!" Camron hissed.

"People will hear you!" Caleb added. I pulled away from their gripped and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Stupid Paul. Thinks he's the boss of everyone," I muttered to myself.

"He is," Camron said.

"Yeah, so watch what you say," Caleb warned. I huffed and we went back inside.

"We're on in 5 minutes," Liam said.

"Remember, I'll be watching from the crowd," Paul said, pointing at his eyes and then at us. I held my foot out as he walked by and he stumbled a little.

"Oh gosh! I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed mockingly. Paul sneered.

"No worries," he said, walking outside.

"That was brilliant!" Mae laughed. I smirked. The rest of them gave me looks.

"You see, this is why she's my best friend. You guys are so up-tight," I said.

"2 minutes!" the stage director said. We nodded.

"Ok! Good luck! I'll be cheering for you!!!" Mae said, giving me a hug. I gave her a half smile. We stepped onto the stage, all set-up and in our places. We stood behind the black draped curtains.

"And now, some live entertainment from a new group called, The Velocity!" the director shouted. We heard muffled applause as the curtains opened up for us. I spotted Paul right away, grinning cockily at us. I felt a sudden burst of anger again, thinking of his earlier comment. After the anger subsided, I felt adrenaline pump through my body. It was time to do this.

"Happy New Year's Eve, everyone!!" I exclaimed, holding the mic and putting one of my arms up. Several people cheered. I looked over the crowd and could recognize more than half of them as big-time celebrities. I took a deep breath. "We're The Velocity...and this is According to You..." I said, placing the mic in its stand.

"According to you, I'm stupid I'm useless, I can't do anything right..." I began singing. Once we finished with the first, we got a round of applause that was unexpected. This pumped us up. We sang 'Unforgettable' next, with even more enthusiasm and then 'I'm Not One for Complaining, but...'. After that, we did a cover of Rihanna's 'Rude Boy' and then another cover of Jay Sean's 'Down'. After that, we got off stage to a nice applause. We backstage back to the dressing room. Mae met us in there.

"Oh. My. God! You guys were amazing! Everyone loved you!" Mae exclaimed, hugging me.

"I guess the alcohol worked. I wasn't scared at all," I said. The other boys exchanged glances. "What?" I asked. Mae giggled.

"They didn't give you alcohol," she said. I furrowed my brows.

"What do you mean? Caleb gave me-" I began.

"Flavored water," Caleb finished. My jaw dropped.

"Then how-?" I started, looking around at all of them.

"Well, Paul pissing you off by saying that he didn't like your hair helped a bit. The rest of it was all you. We tricked you into thinking you drank alcohol," Ian explained. Camron and Liam smirked at me.

"You guys were in on this, too?" I asked. They nodded.

"Hmph," I pouted. Mae hit my chin playfully with her hand.

"Cheer up, baby girl. You did it! You performed in front of a big, live audience!" Mae said. I blinked as I realized this.

"It's all in your head," Liam said.

"No more being scared," Camron added. I smiled and hugged each of them in turn. I skipped over Ian, though.

"What about me?" he asked.

"You're still not forgiven for being such a jackass to me yesterday," I said. Before he could say anything, Paul walked, Paris Hilton walking behind him in sparkly black dress, her little puppy in her arms.

"Excellently done, guys. You made me proud," Paul said, giving us a big smile. We were all standing very still, staring at Paris Hilton. She gave us her signature smile.

"You guys were hot," she said in her slow, ditsy voice. "Now come out and enjoy the party!" she exclaimed, turning around and walking out of the dressing. We all silently jumped in the air and cheered.

"You heard her! Let's paaaaaaaaartay!" Mae exclaimed, rushing towards the exit. We all followed her. Paul stopped me before I walked out.

"I actually do like your hair cut. I had to lie to get you angry so you would be able to perform. We're going to have to work on your little issue, though," he said. I nodded and he smiled. "All right. Enjoy the rest of your night. And remember, mingle!" he said. I smiled back at him and then bounced back outside. The DJ started playing some club music and people were dancing. I met up with the rest of the crew and we all danced together. Random celebrities came up to us and told us they thought we were great and to keep up the good work. It felt so great to be recognized by real, successful celebrities. This band thing was finally working out for us.

The rest of the night was amazing. I met dozens of celebrities, talked up some of them, and even danced with some. We all gathered around together as the countdown to the new year began.

"10...9...8...7...6...5..." everyone chanted. I felt someone pull me away from the crowd. I turned to face Ian.

"I'm not about to start off the new year fighting with my girlfriend," he said quickly. I blinked.

"...3...2...1..." everyone said, getting increasingly louder with each second.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!" everyone shouted. All around couples began kissing. Others were hugging, or chugging down alcohol, or cheering loudly. Ian pulled me close suddenly, his lips connecting with mine. Suddenly, all of my anger towards him vanished and I kissed him back with as much passion as he was kissing me. We broke away only when the others came up to us and began cooing.

"Happy New Year to the happy couple!!!!" Mae cried, a little tipsy. Her lipstick was a little smeared and I saw traces of it glittering at the corners of Caleb's mouth. I tucked the image in the back of mind, making a mental note to confront Mae about it the next chance I got.

"Happy New Year!" I exclaimed, hugging all of them. I beamed. It was so perfect. Our performance was a success and now I was entering the New Year surrounded by the people I cared about most and the celebrities I would be around for the rest of my career.

It really was a happy new year.

_______________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Hey guys! It's another long part! I really liked this part. It had a little bit of everything in it. Let me know how you guys felt about it!

Songs Used:

'I'm Not One for Complaining, but' and 'Unforgettable' by The Best Week Ever

'According to You' by Orianthi

Comment and vote, please! Thanks for reading!

XOXO