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Road Signs and Rock Songs	By : classic06 Category: Singers/Bands/Musicians > Kelly Clarkson Views: 9486 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is purely a work of fiction. I do not know Kelly Clarkson,and I am not profiting from this story.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
+++++++++++
"So, we haven't had a chance to talk yet," Ashley noted as she applied Kelly's eyeliner as they got ready for a long day of promo starting with the Today Show. "How'd the double date go the other day?"
Kelly laughed, "The lunch went great."
"Yea? What about the outfit I picked out?"
Kelly pretended like she didn't hear her.
"She totally complimented you on it, didn't she?"
"Maybe a little," she rolled her eyes.
"It's ok, you don't have to admit it, I know you'd be screwed without me. Or better yet...you so wouldn't be screwed without me," Ashley smirked.
"Ash!" Kelly fussed, hitting her arm.
"Hey, no hitting unless you want your makeup to look like a clown's."
"No clowns," she replied quickly.
"That's what I thought," Ashley chuckled, looking up as the dressing room door opened. "Ah, speaking of..."
"Hey Kate," Kelly smiled.
"Hey you guys," Kate pulled another chair closer to them. "How's it going?"
"We were just talking about y'alls little lunch. I hear it went well?"
"Yea, we're pretty certain Meghan likes Jill too," she nodded with a smile.
"Ah...young love..."
"Ash, be serious for two seconds," Kelly giggled.
"What? Y'all amuse me. I can't help that."
Kelly shook her head.
"No moving."
She crossed her arms.
"That's mature, Kelly, real mature."
Kate giggled as she watched the pair of them.
"So what's the next step in this plan of y'alls?"
"I don't know," Kelly replied. "That's why we have you."
"Ok, um, did Meghan comment on the lunch? Like did she have fun? Would she want to do it again?"
"Um, well, she did comment on the lunch to Jill..." Kate admitted.
"What did she say?"
"That Kelly and I make a cute couple?"
Ashley laughed.
"What?" Kelly choked. "She's your friend. Doesn't she know you're straight? Doesn't she think I'm straight?"
"Oh hunny," Ashley patted her hand gently. "Nobody thinks you're straight."
Kelly's jaw dropped, causing the other two girls to laugh. "They do too."
"If they do, they're just in denial about it," she shook her head.
"You guys suck."
"Yes...yes, we do. You on the other hand...well, I guess there are things you can suck too."
"Ash!"
"Ok, sorry, sorry," she put her hands up in surrender. "I'm done my teasing for the day. Serious time. Let's go."
Kelly nodded.
"Ok, so she thinks y'all are a couple?" Ashley turned to Kate. "Did Jill correct her?"
"Yea, but she said Meghan didn't seem to believe her too much."
"Perfect."
"Perfect?" Kelly raised an eyebrow.
"Yea, that's your 'in' right there. Y'all go out for dinner...the four of y'all."
"We just did that."
"No, y'all went out to lunch. That's completely different than dinner, especially since y'all are going to go to a fancy restaurant and act like this actually is a double date and that you two are a couple."
Both girls' eyes grew wide.
"Y'all need to get Jill to treat this as a double date as well. Does she know y'all are trying to hook them up?"
Kelly turned to Kate who nodded.
"Yea, she figured it out at the lunch," she replied.
"Ok, good. Then this is perfect."
"If she already knows the plan, why not just have her have dinner with Meghan by themselves?"
"It'll be way too awkward," Ashley explained. "They've both proven that they're comfortable around the two of you. So, y'all should just ease them into this."
Kelly nodded, "Sounds good to me."
"Of course it does," she grinned.
Kelly narrowed her eyes.
"What? I thought we were done serious time?"
Kelly couldn't help but laugh softly.
"It does sound good," Kate agreed.
"You're ok with it?" Kelly asked.
"Yea, it should be fun."
Kelly smiled.
Ashley raised an eyebrow.
+++++++++++
Kate looked down worriedly, watching Kelly who was stretched across the backseat of the vehicle, her head in her lap as she slept soundlessly. "Is she ok?"
"Did you hear her?" Ashley raised an eyebrow, looking at them through the rearview mirror. "By the time the Today show was done and she started doing that thing for VH1 her voice was gone."
"She seemed fine this morning," Kate frowned.
"She was shot up with caffeine this morning," Ashley laughed softly. "But between the time you saw her and when the Today show started she did about eight radio interviews over the phone, and Lord knows she doesn't understand the concept of resting her voice."
"Is she gonna be ok?" Kate studied the sleeping girl carefully. She raised a cautious hand, running it soothingly through the Texan's hair.
"She'll be fine," Ashley assured. "Trust me, you'll get used to her just passing out whenever she gets a chance, even if it's only for five minutes. But don't worry, she's good. Fuse is next, and that's just an interview, so she'll be fine for the Letterman performance tonight."
Kate nodded.
"How about you? How are you holding up on your first big press day?"
"I'm good," she replied.
"Where's Jill?"
"She got into the wrong vehicle," Kate giggled. "She texted me a few minutes ago."
"Who's she's with?"
"Kelly's management."
"Ew."
"Definitely," she agreed. "Do y'all always do this?"
"Do what?"
"Ride separately?"
"Um, depending where we are, sometimes we'll get a charter bus or something. It's kinda hard to find a place to park that in New York, though," she laughed. "But when we do vehicles, especially on a busy day like today, we like to keep her by herself, yea."
"To let her rest?"
"Yea, if she rode with the rest of the band, you know she would just ramble away the entire ride."
Kate nodded, smiling softly as Kelly curled up into a ball, her head still resting in her lap. "She looks like a little kid when she sleeps. She's so peaceful."
"Don't tell her that."
"Why not?"
"She hates the whole 'cute' and 'girl-next-door' thing."
"She gets that a lot, huh?"
"All the time."
"Yea, I can see how that can be frustrating. She could totally break that mode, though if she tried. I mean, there are so many other sides to her."
Ashley shrugged, "She tends to keep those just for those close to her."
"Why?"
"I don't know. She doesn't want the world to have all of her, I guess? You know, like she has to have something for herself?"
"That makes sense," Kate nodded.
"She's the one you should be asking, though," Ashley noted. "It's damn near impossible to figure out what's going on in that head of hers. Plus, if it's advice about the industry you're looking for, she's the best one to go to. It's been like what? Five years? And she's already seen every side of it imaginable."
"Doesn't she ever get frustrated?"
"Of course. But her way of dealing with frustration like that is to just try harder. They tell her she can't do something, and she'll do everything in her power to prove them wrong."
"Kinda like this album?"
"They think she can't write," Ashley laughed softly.
"Or maybe they know she can, and that scares them."
"True."
Kate frowned slightly as she looked down at the girl in her lap.
"She'll be fine," Ashley assured again.
+++++++++
Kate sat reading a magazine on the couch in the dressing room as Kelly lay curled up, resting her head on her lap as she slept. Jill yawned as she spun around in the makeup chair.
Ashley laughed as she walked into the room, "Told you, you'd get used to it."
"Huh?" Kate looked up from the magazine then back down at the sleeping Texan with a smile. "Yea, she passed out about ten minutes ago."
"Well, time to get her up. I've got to get started."
"But she just fell asleep," Kate pointed out.
Ashley smiled, "I know, but she has a job to do, and that job keeps us all paid and happy, so it's time to get her up."
Kate frowned slightly, but nodded.
Ashley knelt down in front of her, "Come on kiddo, time to get up."
Kelly fussed, turning over on Kate's lap.
Kate sat perfectly still.
"Don't make me tickle you."
"Bitch," Kelly grumbled.
"Come on," Ashley laughed, as Kelly turned back over to face her. She reached out, lifting up her sunglasses. She made a face at the dark circles under her eyes. "Maybe we should keep these on."
"Wouldn't that be rude?"
"It's Ellen, and it's outside," she replied. "It's perfectly legal. But knowing you, you'll be fiddling with them the entire time, so I'll have to do your eyes anyway....why must you be so difficult?" she teased.
"Because you love me," Kelly smiled tiredly, starting to lay back down.
"Unh-uh. Nope," Ashley shook her head, pulling her up to her feet. "Come on. Time to wake up."
"I hate you."
"I know," Ashley guided her to the chair Jill had stood up from.
The door opened, and every one but Kelly--who was starting to nod off in the chair--looked up to see who it was.
Ashley frowned, "You know, this is a girl's dressing room. You really need to learn how to knock before you enter."
"Sorry," Jeff shrugged her off. "Do you girls mind giving me and KC, here, a minute to talk?"
"Sorry, but I have to get started on her makeup; we're already running late."
Jeff turned to Kate.
"Sorry, I have to help Ashley."
"You do makeup too?"
"No," she shook her head.
He raised a confused eyebrow before turning to Jill.
Jill pointed to Kate, "Where she goes, I go."
"You can talk to me in front of them," Kelly yawned.
"So," he hopped onto the counter in front of her.
Ashley narrowed her eyes.
"I was thinking about the tour. How about a full on backing band?"
"I already have a band," Kelly reminded.
"I know, but I was thinking like a band, band."
"Like an orchestra?"
"Something like that, yea."
"But we already added strings and horns, why do we need more people?"
"Because this is going to be huge," he grinned. "Think epic."
"I don't want epic," she shook her head. "This album isn't made for epic. It's raw and simple."
"And I was thinking three cat walks," Jeff motioned with his hands.
"Three?"
"One in the middle and one on each side."
"Why don't you just put an indoor track in the stadium and have her do laps around that?" Ashley mumbled.
Jeff rolled his eyes, "You wouldn't understand. You never do."
Ashley froze in the middle of doing Kelly's lip liner. She stood up slowly.
"And maybe an onstage DJ..."
"No," Kelly sighed.
"No?" Jeff raised an eyebrow.
"No to the full band. No to the catwalks. Hell no to the DJ. Just no."
"But Kelly, think about it."
"I did think about it, Jeff, but did you?"
"Of course I did," he sat up straight. "And I talked to the sponsors--they love the idea."
Kelly shook her head.
"Kelly?" he looked at her nervously.
"Haven't we discussed that you should not be meeting with my sponsors without me? And that you should not be agreeing to things without my consent?"
"You're really busy," he pointed out.
"You thought about it, right?"
"Yes," he nodded quickly.
"And did the thought that that set up sounds absolutely nothing like something I would want for this record, ever once cross your mind?"
"But I already talked to the--"
"Well untalk to them," she snapped.
His eyes widened.
"Take whatever you told them back."
"That's not exactly possible."
"Make it possible," she replied, her voice low.
Jeff nodded, sliding off the counter, "You got it, kiddo. Whatever you want."
Ashley, Kate, and Jill all let out a nervous breath as they watched Kelly carefully after the manager had walked out of the dressing room.
"I hate when he calls me kiddo," Kelly commented through clenched teeth.
"But you let Ashley call you kiddo," Kate pointed out, immediately regretting it. She figured that was definitely one of those questions she should've saved for later.
Kelly shook her head, relaxing. She turned to Kate with a small smile, "I hate it when he says it, because it's so patronizing coming from him. Ashley's just using it as a nickname. Plus, she's younger than me, so it's not like she's looking down at me or anything."
Kate nodded.
Kelly's smile grew, "Why don't you read me something from that magazine you have? It's a tabloid, right those are always good for laughs, and there's a definite funk in this room that we need to get rid of, pronto."
"Alright," Kate laughed softly, flipping to the front of the magazine as Ashley started back up on Kelly's makeup.
+++++++++
"Tired?" Kate asked as she walked into Kelly's dressing room to find her laying out on the sofa. She walked over, picking up the Texan's feet so she could sit, placing them back down on her lap.
"Nah, I went back to bed after all those morning show interviews this morning," she replied, examining the plastic package in her hand with an odd look on her face.
"So, are you ready for Kimmel?
"Yea, his interviews are always fun," Kelly nodded. "I'm excited."
"I can tell," Kate raised an eyebrow, studying her face carefully. A mixture of anger and defeat caused a stark contrast in her eyes which was resulting in the hurt look on her face. "So, what you got there, girlie?"
"A toothbrush."
"A toothbrush?"
"Yea. With me on it."
"The toothbrush has your face on it?"
"No, the toothbrush plays my voice singing my song."
"Well, it would be odd if it played your voice singing someone else's song."
She handed her the package.
"Hm...toothtunes," Kate nodded, looking it over.
"Yea, it like plays the song when the kid's pressing down hard enough, and plays it for a certain amount of time or something, to make sure they're brushing properly."
"Cute."
"Yea."
"So what's wrong?"
Kelly shook her head, her voice weak, "It's my face, and my voice."
"Ok?"
"I found out about it in a radio interview last week I did over the phone," she explained. "I thought they were joking at first, even after they had me look it up online, I just...I have this problem where I always think the best of people even if they've already screwed me over."
"You didn't know," Kate's jaw dropped slightly, in realization.
"I talked to Jason about it. He didn't know either. He found this at the store today. I guess it wasn't a joke after all," her eyebrows furrowed as she swallowed hard. "It's my voice, and it's my song that I wrote on...how could I not know?"
"Are you making money off of it?"
"Me? No...I can guess someone that is, though. But, I mean, it's not even about that, you know? It's the simple fact, that I never even heard about it, let alone signed off on it."
"I'm sorry," Kate placed her hand on the shorter girl's knee.
"It's not your fault," she replied, brushing a stray tear away.
"Are you ok?"
"Betrayal is definitely not the most fun feeling in the world, but if anything, I think I'm more upset with myself for even being surprised."
"What are you gonna do?"
"I have no clue. My first instinct is to call up Jeff and fire his ass right now."
"Why don't you?"
"He just called...right before Jason brought me that. The release date for the album is pushed up a month."
"Really?"
"Yea, so now it's coming out before the tour at least. I don't know how he did it, though...I was too afraid to ask."
"Shouldn't that be a major sign that something just isn't right with this whole situation? Not to mention, you should totally be getting to celebrate right now, not having to worry about how to deal with his latest screw up."
"I know. I guess there's already so much controversy surrounding this album," she rubbed her forehead tiredly. "It'll just be one more thing the media picks up on and twists into some scandal, making me out to be a diva. Plus, I'm right in the middle of all this promo that Jeff set up...I don't want to screw that up."
Kate nodded, looking down at the package in her hands.
"Whoever thought something as silly as a toothbrush could cause so much drama?" Kelly forced a laugh.
"You need to fire him as soon as the album comes out," Kate shook her head.
"I know," she frowned. "It just sucks. He's been with me through a lot."
"From what I've heard and seen, he's put you through a lot."
"Yea," she sighed. "I still think all he's ever wanted was for me to be successful as possible, though."
"A manager is supposed to want what's best for you."
"Isn't being number one what's best for me?"
Kate could hear the slight hint of sarcasm in her voice, "Not when it leads to you to being sick, or worn down, or like this, no."
"All I want is to make music...good music," Kelly noted. "I don't get why so many people don't understand that."
Kate nodded, both of them looking up as someone walked in.
Jason offered a smile, "Hey. Are you feeling ok?"
"Yea, I'm good," Kelly replied. "What you got?"
"I talked to the lawyers. They're working on it right now."
"Thanks, Jason," she smiled softly.
"Of course. You want me to get Ashley in here so you can finish getting ready?"
"Yea, definitely," she nodded, watching as he walked back out.
"You have them working on the toothbrush thing?"
"Yea. I don't want to make a big deal out of it or anything...I just want what's fair for everybody that was involved with that song."
"That makes sense," Kate agreed.
"I also have them working on my contract with Jeff."
Kate turned to her.
"I know sometimes Ashley thinks I'm too softhearted for this industry...you probably think that too--"
"I don't," she quickly replied.
Kelly smiled, "I'm not dumb, either, you know? I know that having Jeff around is hurting me more than it's helping me. I know that I can't work with him any more, and I know that I can't have him in charge of my career anymore. As soon as the album's out, I am firing him--I'm not just saying that to pacify everyone. I just really want what's best for this album, and I want it to have a fighting chance, and for that to happen on this particular album, I need to have Jeff around right now. So, the lawyers are working on everything to make sure that as soon as the album's released, I can get out of our contract as smoothly and as quickly as possible."
"Good," Kate nodded, patting her leg. "And for the record, I know you're not dumb. I think you're really smart, actually. I think the Texas twang just kinda throws everybody off."
Kelly laughed softly, "Thanks."
- 14
- 15
- 16
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Road Signs and Rock Songs