chapter one | big break

THE STRINGS OF Mila's guitar hummed in the quiet between the verses, but the room didn't. A couple clinked their glasses in the corner, drowning out the last note of her song.

Growing up, Mila has always had a love for music. When she wasn't listening to it, she was writing music. She had dreamed of being the next big artist. She knew it wouldn't happen instantly, so she picked up a job to help with the expenses. When she wasn't working at the local record store, she was performing at bars and any other venue she could get booked at.

She's had many inspirations throughout her career, a few being Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Gracie Abrams. Since the age of sixteen, she's been working toward her dream of singing on the biggest stages. She was a local star, now, she had to expand and make a name for herself.

The crowd cheered as she set down her guitar and stepped off the stage.

She made her way toward the bar, sitting down in front of her drink and taking a sip. "Hang out a little bit after closing and I'll pay you for playing tonight." The bartender told her, wiping a glass clean and walking toward the other side to help a customer.

Mila stared at the wall, occasionally taking sips of her drink. After a few moments of peace, the chair next to her had been pulled out and then someone sat down.

"Did you write those songs yourself?" The stranger questioned before ordering her drink. At first, Mila couldn't understand the words over the loud music playing through the speakers. "They were amazing, you should start branching out. You would succeed." She added, now catching her attention.

Mila glanced over to see the stranger, almost immediately noticing the brown eyes and brown hair once she lowered the hood from the jacket she was wearing. She had to keep her cool, that was possible. "Yeah...uh, I wrote everything you heard tonight." She spoke, her tone showing how nervous she truly was. This was one of her inspirations, the person who guided her toward the career she wanted so badly.

"I'm Gracie, by the way."

"Camila—but my friends and family call me Mila."

"That's a pretty name." Gracie grinned, taking a sip of her drink. Mila felt her cheeks heating up from the compliment. While she was happy for the moment, she couldn't help but wonder what Gracie Abrams was talking to her. "I've seen some of your stuff on Instagram, and I came here with an offer. I know this is such short notice, but I'm going on tour in a few weeks and I need an opening act, I want it to be you." The minute Mila heard those words, she didn't believe it.

It seemed too good to be true. It felt like a prank.

Mila nodded with a grin, visibly excited for this possible experience. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her, this could never happen again. "You're serious? You want me to be the opening act for your concert?" She excitedly questioned, making sure she wasn't dreaming this. This was a dream she'd had on many nights.

"Great, I'll have my manager reach out to you soon to get some contact information and we'll be in touch."

Gracie flashes her a grin, now standing up and making her way toward the exit.

Mila couldn't believe this was happening. She had to talk to someone about it. She knew just the person to talk to.

The warm sun hit her skin as she waited outside her best friend and manager's house the next day. The moments of yesterday's events replayed in her head. She still couldn't believe that even happened, let alone the fact that Gracie sat that close to her and communicated with her.

After a few moments, the door swung open to reveal her best friend, Adam Santiago.

The big smile on her face was a sign that he needed to know something had happened. It was always a sign of something, she couldn't hide things very well.

She never was good at it. You could read her like an open book.

"So, I met someone at my gig yesterday." She excitedly spoke, walking past him and entering the house. The look on his face told you that he wasn't sure how she meant that, that could be taken in many ways.

"In what way do you mean that?"

"For starters, I'm still not ready to date. Second of all, I mean I got the offer of a lifetime!" She spoke happily, taking a seat on the expensive-looking couch. "So, I finished my set, and as I was sitting at the bar with my drink this woman approached me, it was Gracie Abrams!" She smiled as she mentioned who had approached her, soon seeing Adam's mood completely change. "She asked me to go on tour with her in a few weeks! Her manager is supposed to be reaching out soon with more details."

"Wow, soon enough you won't need me to book anything for you anymore, you're already doing it alone." He pointed out, pretending to wipe away a tear. "Soon enough, you won't need me anymore."

"I'm always going to need you, you dumbass."

The two exchanged smiles before Adam asked her about the show and tried getting more information on the Gracie meeting. Mila smiled at the thought and then told her friend the whole story from the beginning.

For the past few weeks, Mila has continued to work at the record store and perform at bars across Los Angeles. Her social media presence has gone up a bunch too.

While she was preparing for the tour, she had been talking with Gracie a little bit here and there to get as much helpful information as she could. She still wasn't sure how she was going to do this. She's never done this before.

"Are you ready to go?" Mila's younger sister, Lila, asked from the back seat.

Honestly, she was very nervous. This was the next big artist that she was working with, a superstar in the making. She was already selling out bigger venues, Mila couldn't even sell out a bar and she was touring with Gracie Abrams? That type of thing only happens in the stories.

This was so unreal.

"I think so," Mila replied, her tone coming out skeptical of the whole situation. Lila leaned forward a bit and grabbed her sister's hand in a comforting manner. "It just doesn't feel real." She further explained, letting out a sigh.

"We know, but you'll be amazing, honey." Her mother spoke with a smile.

"Exactly. Plus, we don't have to deal with your dumbass for a while." Her brother, Mateo spoke with a cheeky grin. He quickly earned glares from the women in the car. "I just said what we were all thinking."

"I love you too, I guess," Mila replied and rolled her eyes.

"Go have fun, and keep us updated," Lila instructed before her sister got out of the car. "Realistically, I want all the stories of Gracie and pictures." She clarified.

Mila let out a chuckle and went to get her bags from the trunk of the car.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE!

AHHH CHAPTER ONE

IS FINISHED!!! i know

it's not much right now,

but chapter two is in the

works also and hopefully

that will be a little more

entertaining to read! i

hope there's no mistakes

and i hope you guys like

it!