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Eurovision 2023 ended several months ago and the Eurovision 2024 season was underway. Loreen became extremely successful after her historic 2nd victory, and this was proved once again after she released her newest single. She was topping the charts all over Europe and a few countries in Asia and South America. One of the countries that worshiped her the most was Austria, and she was more successful there than in her own country of Sweden. Every media outlet was talking about Loreen and every radio station was playing her music. Those who didn’t watch her win Eurovision for the second time surely knew who she was now.
Loreen had many interviews and live performances to do in Austria. Several Austrians who were Eurofans were extremely proud of her, but not as proud as Salena. Even though their schedules never allowed them to see each other, Salena supported Loreen as much as she possibly could. They talked over social media a lot and the two got closer.
Teya supported Loreen too, even though the country she now lived in didn’t worship Loreen as much. After Eurovision, Teya moved to Berlin while Salena stayed in Vienna. Germany didn’t love Loreen as much as Austria, but Teya did whatever she could and she too got closer to Loreen.
At the beginning of Loreen’s reign in Austria, Teya spent three weeks in Vienna to work alongside Salena. They were working on new music together, as well as solo music for both of them. They were allowed to post about being in the studio but their team was stricter than usual about what they could post. When working on their solo songs, they were put in different rooms in the same building that did not even remotely look like each other. They were told that when they post, they had to post at the same time, and the amount of pictures they could post was limited. They were also not allowed to post videos of them singing even if the sound was missing or a song unrelated to the recording session was playing over the clip. Later it was decided that they could not post about working on solo songs.
After the final recordings were finished and production progressed, it was decided that the song they would release as a duet was called “XOXO”. The finished product was something that Teya, Salena, and all of their team members enjoyed. They soon got to work on filming the music video. The song and the music video were very different from “Who the Hell Is Edgar?”, but they did a great job showcasing both voices and personalities. Teya, Salena, and every person responsible for the production of the music video were told to hint at it on their social media accounts.
Two days before Teya was scheduled to go back to Berlin, she and Salena were summoned to their manager's office. They were not told what they would be discussing that day. When they got there at the same time, they were faced with every member of their team. It wasn’t long before their newest team member Daniel started talking.
“As you both know, Eurovision is getting back on the minds of everyone living in Austria, all thanks to Loreen becoming as popular as she is now. I’m sure you both have noticed the slight but noticeable increase in streams for Who the Hell Is Edgar and the increase in social media followers on all platforms you have accounts on. Which is why we have been pushing to get XOXO done sooner than it would have if we were working on it at the speed we usually go at.”
Another person, Lukas, started talking. “Of course, we must take advantage of the increased interest in Eurovision. But we can’t rely on that alone. We need another reason why people should pay attention to you two. I’m sure you remember the attention and coverage TIX and Efendi got for their little romance during the Eurovision season. Kaarija and Bojan got much coverage as well, even though they never said they were dating. Kaarija and Joker Out got huge fan bases after the contest ended, and Kaarija being shipped with Bojan did have a part in their fan bases being connected.”
The last person to start talking was Austin, arguably the most important one on their team. “The point is, we need to have you two announce that you’re now a couple. We want to appeal to as many people as possible, and members of the LGBTQ+ community who aren’t fans of Eurovision will want to know who you are. Eurovision fans who may not have necessarily been fans of you two will now want to listen to your music once they find out that two Eurovision artists are now a couple. Confirming that you two are dating each other will stir up excitement for XOXO before anyone even knows what it sounds like”.
Silence filled the room as the team members stared at Teya and Salena, waiting for a response. Teya sat there frozen, not sure what she should say. They weren’t asking if they were okay with pretending to be a couple, they were simply informing them of what they would be expected to do. They only needed consent from both Teya and Salena to prevent potential issues down the line.
After a while, Salena broke the silence. “I, um, I have a boyfriend”.
“Not anymore, you don’t” replied Austin.
“W-what?”
“You heard me, he’s not your boyfriend anymore. We can’t have you be seen alone with a guy when the world is under the impression that Teya is your girlfriend. This boyfriend of yours, who we know is a regular person unknown to the public, isn’t going to help you in this situation unless you break up with him.”
Teya couldn’t tell what Salena was feeling as she was trying hard to keep herself together. Austin waited, making sure that Salena wouldn't interrupt him, and began talking again.
“Kaarija and Joker Out haven’t released any music together. Efendi and TIX haven’t released music together. And you two are about to release new music together that has nothing to do with Eurovision. People will like you even more when they find out you are dating. How else are we supposed to get people excited about something they hardly know anything about? If you two don’t go through with this, then XOXO will flop before it’s even released"
Teya and Salena knew without looking at each other that they were thinking the same thing. Austin was incredibly good at his job, and they haven’t heard anyone say anything about Austin not knowing what he was doing or doing something incorrectly. He always succeeded in the end and his opinions mattered the most. Not one employee in their record label is going to disagree with him. Up until now, Teya and Salena had no issues working with him. They were at the point in their careers where they were more successful than ever before. They were on the right track and they were moving fast. They couldn’t stop now. They needed to keep moving forward, and working with Austin was the only way they could.
After quickly glancing at each other, they agreed to their team’s demands. Austin and the others looked satisfied at their responses.

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The next day, Teya and Salena were taken to a quiet corner of Vienna for a couples' photoshoot. They would take PDA pics with different outfits and makeup for Teya and Salena to post on social media. The team couldn’t keep Teya in Vienna forever, and they needed plenty of pictures stored in their back pocket for future reference, as their team said.
The photoshoot made both of them uncomfortable, but Salena was in a more fragile state than Teya after breaking up with her boyfriend less than 12 hours ago. In the past breakups Salena has had, Teya comforted and supported her in all of them even though Teya did not understand what she was feeling, having never been in a relationship of her own. But now, Teya had no idea what to say to her. She also didn’t know how to tell Salena she was perfectly fine with pretending to be a couple.
Many of her fans probably wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Teya had feelings for Salena since before they competed at the Eurovision Grand Final. At the Eurovision songwriting camp in Czechia, Teya first started crushing on Salena, but repeatedly told herself that she didn’t feel that way. During the Eurovision season with the interviews and live performances, Teya couldn’t ignore how she felt. She wanted to tell Salena how she felt, but how would that work out in the end? They both knew that Teya was moving to Berlin after Eurovision, and Salena was dating someone at the time. They weren’t officially boyfriend and girlfriend yet, but their relationship was going smoothly and Salena was happy.
With all of this in consideration, Teya felt like she couldn’t do anything about their relationship apart from being a good friend. They were probably better off as friends anyway. This hardly comforted Teya. She felt she couldn’t do anything about her feelings, but she couldn’t deny having them. As a way to process her feelings, Teya wrote a few songs about it. Songwriting was her number one passion and a form of therapy. She probably wasn’t going to release any of them in the end, but she didn’t regret writing them.
Before long, Teya and Salena were ready for the photoshoot. Their first assignment was to have a picture taken of them kissing. Teya was excited but wished she could have kissed Salena in a different context.
They were facing each other, waiting for further instructions. Someone placed Teya’s hands on Salena’s hips and another person put Salena’s arms around Teya’s neck. They braced themselves and went in for the kiss when instructed.
“You’re too stiff. Look like you enjoy it”. They held each other tighter and kissed a little more passionately.
“Smile”. They felt each other smile and for a moment they didn’t feel so awkward.
“Perfect. Hold still”. For a few minutes, many pictures were taken of them kissing each other. They pulled away when told and powered through the rest of the photo shoot. Finally, they were done.
When Salena got back to her apartment, the sun was slowly making its way down. She cooked herself a small meal, cleaned up after herself, and cared for her plants while letting her mind wander.
She thought back to when she broke up with her boyfriend. She called him and explained the situation the best that she could. The phone call ended abruptly after an argument ensued, leaving Salena alone to cry herself to sleep.
When she finished caring for her plants, she looked outside and realized it was golden hour. Now she has another task that was given to her by Austin. He gave her a swimsuit and told her to wear it to the lake by her place and take “sexy pictures' and post them to her social media accounts. Producers, ex-boyfriends, friends, family members, and fans called her beautiful all the time. She no longer got made fun of for her body, and producers no longer told her she needed to lose weight, but some insecurities stayed at the back of her mind even when she was heading to the lake. When she got there three minutes later, she took some pictures and allowed herself to relax. Teya was the first to comment on the post, gushing over how gorgeous she was. The compliments flooded in shortly, but she did not believe them. When people posted about Salena's beauty, she still did not believe them. More often than not, Salena only felt beautiful when the person telling her all these things was Teya.

Meanwhile, Teya was spending her last night in Vienna with her family instead of in a hotel. Her extended family still living in Serbia was visiting Vienna for a week. She helped her family prepare her favorite Serbian dishes, but after a while, she stopped cooking and played games with her little brother and cousin.
When everyone was seated around the table laughing and eating dinner, Teya couldn’t help but think about how far she'd come. Her first gig had no audience. A few years later, she performed in front of over 11,000 people. She worked with so many people, good and bad. She’s had so many ups and downs but didn’t regret any of it. And now her crush is her fake girlfriend. Of all the unpredictability of becoming a musician, that was the most surprising thing.

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The day started like any other. It was Monday afternoon, and Salena recorded some covers and uploaded one of them to her TikTok. Teya made herself some lunch after unpacking. Salena was doing street music later that day while Teya had to leave for a songwriting session a few hours after she was done eating. Tomorrow was when everything would change. Tomorrow, they will make their fake relationship public. They will post pictures of them kissing each other on every social media account they own and post cute little videos they recorded before Teya left for Berlin. Their relationship would be a surprise to everyone, including their families.
During the one moment they were both free, they had to hop on to a Zoom call with their team. They were told what their schedules were for the next few weeks. On Wednesday, Salena would leave for Berlin and spend Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday doing studio sessions, gigs, and attending events with Teya. A few interviews were scheduled and Teya and Salena were told to act the same as they did in the Wiwibloggs Lush Lounge interview. They were even given a list of responses to potential questions and told to practice saying them in the mirror.
Teya and Salena had a full schedule for the next few days. Any amount of time in their schedule that seemed like a break wasn’t, it just meant that they had to spend more time together and act all lovey-dovey. To Salena, this allotted time was bittersweet. Teya was a wonderful friend and she loved spending time with her, but they weren’t allowed to just be friends hanging out together. Whenever walking somewhere together, they always had to be holding hands. They had to post pictures of each other on their Instagram stories and tag the other person. Once a picture was posted on one person’s story, then the other person had to repost it on their own story.
Teya and Salena were very close friends that got even closer during and after Eurovision. Now their relationship was complicated, to say the least. Salena reluctantly agreed to the fake relationship because she thought it was a necessary sacrifice for her career. She still hadn’t recovered from the sudden breakup with her boyfriend, but she was constantly at war with herself. She tried to make herself forget about it and repeatedly told herself that it was the right thing to do. The relationship was going well, and she was happy, but her career was more important than her love life. She wasn’t going to give up on her career, her dreams, or the thing she was most passionate about to be with some boy she’d known for less than a year. Of course, she didn’t know about Teya’s feelings. She just assumed that Teya also reluctantly agreed.
Salena was lying in bed, unable to fall asleep. Tomorrow morning was when her entire life would change. Salena wanted to do something to occupy her mind but was in no mood to get out of bed. She grabbed her phone and decided to make a short reappearance on Twitter. She didn’t know Teya was also awake and on Twitter, having replied to a tweet less than five minutes ago. Salena got more comfortable in bed and began to scroll through her tl.

Teya was undeniably a night owl. Most nights she stayed up late doing whatever random activities she felt like doing. Sometimes it was drawing, other times it was interacting with fans on Twitter. However, tonight she was staying up late because, like Salena, she was more restless than usual. It was the night before Teya and Salena would make their relationship public. Teya hoped that hopping on her favorite social media platform would calm her down, but it wasn’t. It only made her more anxious about the reveal and how fans were going to react to it. She concluded that her fans would probably rejoice over her relationship with Salena, but that only made her sad. Most of their fanbase was queer, but how would they react if they found out it was all fake? So many people already shipped them and the fan base would probably collapse if they broke up. Their fans and the press wouldn’t act like their relationship was no big deal. Once they got a taste of their relationship, everyone would crave more and more.
By some strange miracle, both managed to fall asleep and wake up at the same time they usually do. When awake, they were filled with more anxiety and dread than the night before. Their lives were going to permanently turn upside-down. Counting the minutes and controlling their breathing, Salena posted the picture of them kissing on Instagram. They posted the same picture and a few other PDA pics on other social media accounts. The action was so simple but they did it in a robotic, practiced, and well-thought-out way. Once she was done uploading the pictures to her social media, Teya went into a full-blown panic attack as her phone would not stop going off. The notifications were never-ending, threatening to suck Teya in like it was a rabbit hole and she was Alice. There was no way of going back. Teya couldn’t delete all the pictures and pretend nothing happened because so many people had already seen them and likely taken screenshots. It felt like her entire world was spinning. She couldn’t breathe and felt like she was going to throw up.
Teya shuffled over to the bathroom and spewed bile into the toilet, panting when it was over. She moved away from the toilet and leaned back on the wall feeling defeated. She didn’t want to look at herself in the mirror or her reflection in the shower glass. Teya wasn’t even wearing her glasses. She was sitting on her bathroom floor in her pajamas and feeling sorry for herself. She didn’t have the energy to get up or even crawl out of the bathroom. She hugged her knees, put her head down, and began to cry. She was stranded in the only place where she could do what she loved most.
Salena was paralyzed. She had an iron grip on her phone. She stared at the hundreds of notifications coming in. She could feel her life slipping out of her fingers.

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Ten minutes went by. Teya did not have the energy to get up and do anything that required any effort. She loved drinking tea but didn’t want to even look at teabags. Ten minutes felt like ten hours. Her phone was still buzzing with notifications. She was almost certain that Austrian media outlets and Eurovision news sites had already spread the word about her relationship with Salena. Soon enough, the notifications temporarily stopped and her phone started ringing. She crawled over to her bedside table where she left it and expected the call to be from a celebrity magazine or something, but the call was coming from her mother.
“Hey, mama. How’s it going?”. This was the first time in a few weeks that Teya could talk to someone else in her native Serbian.
“Hi, Teodora. I saw the pictures of you and Salena”. The world went in slow motion without leaving Teya any room to breathe. She sank against the side of her bed, terrified of at least six possible scenarios that could stem from where the conversation was going. Teya wasn’t trapped in her thoughts for long as her mother spoke up again.
“All of us saw them, and honestly, we weren't surprised. When watching the interviews you gave over the Eurovision season, it was kind of obvious that you were going to get together at some point. All of us are happy for you”.
The “all” that Teya’s mother mentioned meant that her mother, father, grandmother, and little brother saw the pictures. And none of them were upset or angry with her. In the past few years, Teya was well aware of the fact that she was a lesbian but was too scared to say anything. Hearing this, the emotions swirling around in Teya’s mind collided with each other and Teya burst into tears.
“Mama…I ... .this thing with Salena, it’s not real, none of it is…..but I do like girls. Oh my god, I’ve never said that out loud before. I’ve known that I liked girls since I was ten but I was too scared to say anything. This whole pretend relationship thing, it’s not pretending. Well, Salena might be pretending, as she’s probably not into me. If I were paying attention, which I’m not, I would find that she doesn’t think of me like that.” Teya abruptly finished talking when she realized she was ranting.
“Teodora, our feelings haven’t changed. We still love you and support you, even if your relationship with Salena isn’t what you want it to be. I am sorry that we made you feel unsafe and unaccepted.”
Teya and her mother talked on the phone for another hour. At first, they were comforting each other, but they began a casual conversation. It may not have been good for Teya in the future, but for now, everything was going to be okay.
Salena, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Several of her family members were texting her with various forms of acceptance, for lack of a better term. Some claimed they knew, some were surprised, and others were not so welcoming. Everyone reacted positively when told it was a PR stunt, except for Salena’s little sister. She seemed to be hiding her disappointment.
It was a rough start for Salena’s family, but her ex’s reaction was a different war altogether. He sent her dozens of hate messages in the first 10 minutes of the pictures being up. A few hours later, he came back with hate messages that came from a blog post about the relationship. When Salena was getting ready for bed, he mocked Eurovision websites for covering the relationship and insulted her in the process. She blocked his number and unfollowed him on every social media account he owned.
Late that night when Salena was asleep and Teya was wide awake, Austin messaged them both about the success of the PR stunt. Several media outlets in Austria covered their relationship and Eurovision news sites were doing the same. Many of their fellow Eurovision contestants congratulated the couple and the official Eurovision YouTube channel made a whole video about them. On top of that, their management team was contacted about interviews more than ever before.
The PR stunt was just as successful as anticipated. But this was only the beginning.

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No one ever said that going into the music industry would be easy.
Every detail of Salena’s life was carefully planned out in her team’s agenda. Salena had to change her makeup routine to include the smallest details; such as the amount of makeup she had to put on and how much she curled her lashes. She had to make her eyebrows a different shape and very rarely was she allowed to use different eyeshadow colors. A year and a half ago, Teya said that Salena’s lipstick looked good on her and she hasn’t used any other lipstick ever since. Her new beauty routine insisted that she wear something different.
The new beauty routine also meant that the way she did her hair was rigorous. She usually spent 15 minutes on her hair on a good day and 30 minutes if it was a bad day. Now, she spends at least an hour on her hair on a good day.
Salena also essentially got a new wardrobe. Austin and Lukas told her that she was the pretty one of the two and needed to look pretty and sexy at all times. Her shorts and skirts were shorter. Her shirts had more cleavage. Any skirts or dresses that were long had high slits. Everything was form-fitting.
Luckily, an upcoming solo single meant she had something to look forward to. The song was called Candlelight. Salena felt it was unfortunate that she was not part of the songwriting process, but it was a song she was happy to sing. It was scheduled to be released shortly before XOXO.
When Salena finished recording the vocals for Candlelight, Austin and Lukas talked to her privately. They were in Vienna for a few days to work with another artist under the same label and they stopped by the recording studio before heading back to Berlin.
Concerning her appearance, Salena had more things to worry about. Austin and Lukas were putting Salena on a diet and workout plan. Once again, they reminded her that she was prettier than Teya and that her job was to always look pretty. They were repeating themselves when they told her that, but they had more things to say.
Lukas began talking before Austin, which was always how things were. “With pop stars nowadays, the media tends to talk about what you wear and how your hair and makeup look before they talk about your music. People want their favorite stars to be talented and look like a million euros. When you see social media posts about you, what do they spend more time on, your voice or your appearance?”
Salena said nothing, which allowed Austin to add to the conversation. “People love hearing you sing. Especially Teya, we’ve noticed. But your fans are all over you. You are a very talented singer, Salena. But people who may have never heard of you will be much more likely to want to hear you sing when they see how beautiful you are. Sometimes raw talent isn’t enough. You need to look the part, too.”
Salena looked down at her lap and grabbed fistfuls of the fabric of her dress. She hated them for what they were making her do. She reluctantly agreed and refused to make eye contact with them, worried they might see the anger in her eyes. The dress she was currently wearing wasn’t something she was too fond of, but her team was adamant that she keep it. She didn’t want to risk them exploding at her for not doing what they told her to.
Salena was handed a bag full of meal kits and instructions she had to follow until her team was satisfied with her figure. She shook hands with Austin and Lukas and they led her to the door.
Salena hated the dress she was wearing. It was itchy and not exactly in a style she preferred. Her team insisted that she wear it often because it showed a lot of cleavage and it fell just above her knees. She began to hate it more when she noticed that Lukas was staring at the tops of her breasts. She’d never seen him do that before. It made her feel vulnerable and disgusting. When Austin opened the door for her and led her out of the room with Lukas in tow, his hand wandered down to her ass.
When Salena got back to her apartment and changed into her pajamas, she wanted nothing more than to throw the dress away.
She didn’t.
She knew that her team closely monitored what she wore and she didn’t want them to realize they hadn’t seen the dress in a while and ask questions.

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Teya has been writing songs since she was 17. Songwriting was her number one passion and always loved songs with good lyrics.
She loved working with established and up-and-coming songwriters as a means to improve her songwriting, meet new people, and help other people with their careers.
It took Eurovision, a few years of singing and playing musical instruments, and six years of songwriting to be able to make a decent living in the music industry. It was hard, but she didn’t regret any of it. Well, most of it.
Teya successfully represented Austria in Eurovision, but Eurofans may remember her from Beovizija 2020 under the name of Thea Devy.
The song she submitted was Sudnji Dan, which originally was one of the top 3 songs to represent Austria in 2020. When it wasn’t picked, the song was translated into Serbian and submitted to Beovizija, which made it to the final. Beovizija 2020, one music video, and the Thea Devy Spotify page with less than 100 monthly listeners were the only remnants of that era.
Teya started going by Teya instead of Thea Devy when she got a new team and was legally obligated to go by a different name. She also grew out of the name, and it’s also worth mentioning that her Thea Devy era was something she wanted to distance herself from.
Sudnji Dan will always hold a special place in her heart, but she wishes people would stop listening to all the other Thea Devy songs. She worked with some of the worst people, causing a decline in her mental health. Mentally and emotionally it was one of the worst periods of her life and she can’t help but associate her music from that time with it. Music wasn’t an escape. It was a prison.
Teya walked into the studio early in the morning. She didn’t have a car and typically left earlier than she needed to, which always resulted in Teya being the first one there. Today she was going to work with someone named Liam Clay. All she knew was that he is originally from Switzerland. Daniel would be the producer for that session.
About 45 minutes after the studio session was supposed to start, Daniel walked in chatting to a guy that Teya assumed to be Liam. They had matching coffee cups and were carrying trash that suggested they’d stopped at the nearby bakery too.
Once they stopped laughing at something Daniel had said, Daniel walked over to Teya as if there wasn’t a giant clock in full view telling him that he was late. She assumed that she was supposed to stand up and formally introduce herself.
“Teya, this is Liam. Liam, this is Teya. She’ll be the main songwriter for this session.”
Within the first 20 minutes of songwriting, Teya had no issues with working with Liam. She loved his singing voice and he was pretty nice. They didn’t have any disagreements and he was genuinely interested in her work. When it was time for a short break, Teya excused herself to go to the restroom.
Teya went back to the studio. Daniel had left for an important phone call with somebody and Liam was busy on his phone. Liam glanced up at her once or twice, but neither of them made any effort to make small talk. Daniel came back 10 minutes later.
“Good news, Liam. I got the song approved. While we have time today, let’s go ahead and start recording the vocals. Teya, when you were gone, Liam proposed a song he’d written. I heard it and I instantly connected to it. We’re going to focus our attention on that song, so you’re free to leave. If Liam wants to work with you again I’ll stay in touch.”
Teya was taken aback by this news. Of course, there was nothing wrong with prioritizing one song over another, but it came so unexpectedly. Teya felt like she had no choice but to pack up her things and get ready to leave. Except her notebook was noticeably in a different position than when she left it. Odd.
“Oh, Teya, before I forget,” Daniel interrupted Teya’s thoughts. “Salena is going over to your place tomorrow and you two are gonna write songs together. The day after, you’ll come into the studio in the morning and polish what you’ve written so far. We’re planning on the session taking up the entire day.”
Teya got to her apartment and started cleaning. At this point, she was used to her team making her do things with Salena on such short notice. She might as well start cleaning the place after getting off work much sooner than usual.
Later that day, Daniel sent her the demo that he and Liam were working on. The demo came with a paragraph gushing over how good the song was. Daniel never hyped up something this much.
Teya pressed play and immediately knew something was off. She was listening to Liam singing her lyrics. Lyrics that she’d written a few days ago in her notebook. Lyrics that were never mentioned to anyone and only accessible via opening her notebook and looking through the pages. That was why her notebook was in a different position than when she left it. That was why Liam and Daniel suddenly told her that she was no longer needed in the studio session.
When the demo was finished, Teya was seeing red. Every lyric in that song was hers. She never told Liam about those lyrics and never gave him permission to use them in that demo. Teya demanded an answer.

Daniel

Daniel, did Liam say who wrote the

lyrics?

Yes, he said that he wrote all of the lyrics

Those lyrics are mine. I wrote them in my
notebook and he wouldn’t have known
about them unless he opened it and went
through it
Here’s a pic of my lyrics for proof

     Teya hoped that the song would be scrapped once Daniel saw the little stunt that Liam pulled. Daniel texted back shortly after Teya sent the pic.

Daniel

You sure? He was very adamant that he wrote
everything by himself. Shortly after you left I had to answer a call from Lukas. We didn’t talk for long and when I went back into the studio Liam said that he had a song he wanted to work on. He read the lyrics off his phone. I think this is something you two need to sort out privately.

I’ll give you his number

   
      Teya couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was obvious that when Liam was alone in the studio, he looked through Teya’s notebook, found lyrics he liked, took a picture, and claimed that those lyrics were his when Daniel came back in. She needed to confront Liam as soon as possible.

Liam Clay

Liam, how long ago did you write those
lyrics in your demo?

Oh, I wrote those lyrics ages ago

We both know you’re lying. Those are
MY lyrics. You went through my
notebook and took pictures when you
were alone

Wdym? You don’t have any proof
Great minds think alike I guess

Is this picture of my notebook proof?

     
     Why was Liam doing this? Why did he have to take her lyrics instead of finishing the song they were working on?

Liam Clay

Where did you get that picture? I
have the original lyrics right here

     The picture Liam sent was a screenshot of his notes app. The note he made had today’s date at the top and was made less than 10 minutes ago. The lyrics in the note were the lyrics in the demo but with dozens of spelling errors.

Liam Clay

It says at the top that you wrote down
the lyrics less than 10 minutes ago

Why would you write lyrics for a demo
that was recorded hours ago

This is the revised version

Why does the revised version have so
many spelling mistakes

     Liam didn’t respond immediately. Half an hour later and there was still no response. Teya caught him in the act. She felt good about herself until someone from her label emailed her. The email was a telling-off from someone in her label for “inappropriate conduct” towards Liam Clay. The email also mentioned zero tolerance for “unprecedented accusations of plagiarism”, but Teya read through half of it before throwing her phone across the room.
     Liam didn’t respond to her text because he was busy telling some of the higher-ups that Teya was wrongly accusing him of plagiarism. She retrieved her phone and read the rest of the email suspecting that Daniel played a role in it, and sure enough she was right. Daniel believed Liam over her.

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Teya and Salena were sitting on the floor of Teya’s living room. They were both strumming their guitars and suggesting chords to add to their melody. Salena was writing down the chords they played and Teya was writing some lyrics. Soon Teya plunked notes on a keyboard while Salena added her lyrics. They went back and forth, bouncing ideas off each other and making a few changes to what they had done so far. The setting sun and the bustling streets were nothing more than a backdrop. Right now, they were the only two people in the world that mattered.
As Salena started singing the melody they wrote, Teya couldn’t take her eyes off her. Teya remembered the moment she fell in love with Salena like it was yesterday. It was when they were working together on a song for Salena. Teya sang with her a few times when writing the harmonies for the backing vocals. They had sung together many times before, but it was nothing compared to that moment. It was as if Salena sucked all the air out of that room. Teya loved hearing Salena sing, but she was entranced. Teya never saw someone so beautiful, so perfect, and so wonderful.
She always thought that Salena was the most beautiful when she was singing.
Once Teya was aware that she was staring, Teya cast her gaze on her guitar and notebook. A blush made its way to her cheeks.
When Teya went back to what she was doing, Salena couldn’t help but stare at Teya. She loved watching Teya write songs. Her mind was a whirlwind of creativity. Usually, the unknown made Salena nervous, but the unknown in Teya’s head was so captivating. She felt lucky that she got to see Teya’s songwriting firsthand.
As they plucked out notes and added new lyrics, Teya and Salena were subconsciously moving closer to each other. It was like there was some mysterious force that was pulling them together.
When the last chord was played and the last word was sung, their thighs touched ever so slightly. Teya felt fireworks going off in her body. Salena felt it too. So when their eyes met, they let that amazing feeling consume them and leaned in to kiss each other.
That moment is what Teya and Salena would consider to be their first kiss. The kiss wasn’t for anyone except them. It was full of genuine love and compassion. It was a true desire. Nobody was there with a camera and nobody would tell them to change what they were doing. They were the ones making the rules, and they decided that they would kiss each other passionately and hold each other tightly.
Neither of them said what they had kept hidden away for the past few months. They just mirrored what they felt in their kiss. Salena did feel the same way, and that’s all that mattered to Teya.
When it was time for them to sleep, Salena didn’t sleep in the guest room as usual. Instead, she climbed into bed with Teya and insisted on cuddling.
Throughout the night, Teya and Salena would kiss each other and whisper sweet nothings. Salena told Teya that she felt at home and was one of the kindest people she knew. Teya told Salena that she couldn’t get Salena out of her head and only felt true happiness when they were together.
They fell asleep in each other’s arms and Salena rested her head on Teya’s chest.
And of course, they ended Salena’s stay by becoming an official couple. A long-distance relationship would not be easy for them, but they couldn’t bury their feelings any longer. They needed each other no matter how far away they were.
They wanted nothing more than to live authentically in an industry that dressed them up as much as possible. Their relationship started as fake, only to become the most authentic thing about them

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Teya and Salena headed off to the studio hand in hand. The day before, they wrote four songs in total: Lily of the Valley, Famous, INK, and Constellations.
Who the Hell Is Edgar was written at a time when Teya and Salena were frustrated with their careers. It was hard for them to make ends meet because the label almost always took a huge cut of their earnings. Luckily, things were turning for the better.
They started recording vocals for Constellations and INK, which were the songs they intended to be released as a duo. Lily of the Valley would be Salena’s song and Famous would be Teya’s song. They were quite far into the recording session when Teya and Salena were pulled aside. They assumed it would have something to do with PR, but when they sat down in front of higher-ups from their label they realized that it would be much different than expected.
XOXO was going to be released in two weeks. Their excitement dwindled when they realized that they had two weeks to sign a contract. It was good to sign with record labels, but you always have to read the fine print. Record labels often exploit the musicians working under them.
Taylor Swift, TLC, Prince, The Chicks, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Kesha, and a long list of other big and small artists are and continue to be victims of the industry. Musicians are commonly forced into a never-ending cycle of having to produce more and more music. Big record labels sign up to thousands of artists and when one comes out on top, all those other artists are left in the dust. If there is any indication that an artist won’t be 100% successful, in many cases, the label drops them.
With all this in mind, Teya and Salena were carefully analyzing the new contract in front of them. It was almost identical to their previous contract, but there were a few notable differences. If XOXO doesn’t meet the desired number of streams and sales, Candlelight, Lily of the Valley, Famous, Constellations, and INK will be shelved. Those songs will never be produced and they cannot bring them to another label. Candlelight's release date was pushed back to sometime after XOXO would be released. Their previous contract clearly outlined how much the label earned and how much the musician(s) earned. With the new rules in the new contract, Teya and Salena would be earning less than before.
In the industry, the label can make deals and decisions with your music without your approval. They also have full control over distribution, marketing, artwork, messaging, and more. However, the control over your music and brand depends on the terms set in the contract. The new contract meant that their label now had full control over your music and brand. Teya saw this and timidly raised her hand. Salena was new to the songwriting process, but Teya wasn’t and contributed to the lyrics more often than Salena.
“So, with these new guidelines, will Salena and I still help write the lyrics?” Teya asked in a way that made everyone except Salena unaware of how nervous she was.
One of their team members spoke up. “That’s something we were planning on talking to you about. Teya, considering your work at songwriting camps, the incident with Liam Clay, and songs you wrote for other people having little success on Spotify and other streaming services, we’ve decided that you won’t be working as a songwriter anymore.”
Salena instinctively put a hand on Teya’s thigh. Teya was fighting back tears like her life depended on it.
Salena interjected. “I want Teya to write songs for me.” Teya put her hand on top of Salena’s.
Another one of their team members looked at Salena annoyedly. “Salena, if Teya is writing songs for you, then your career is over.”
Salena held Teya’s hand. Teya was unable to speak. Their team didn’t acknowledge their discomfort and continued the discussion.
“Salena, you’ll be starting a few nude photo shoots a week from today. We have the photographer and the location selected. Austin is sending you the address right now. Be there at 10 am sharp. We went ahead and canceled the songwriting camp you were invited to. We’ll be sure to put on a few studio sessions after you’re done to make up for it.”
“You have two weeks to sign this contract. We expect you to decide on the deadline.”
With that, Teya and Salena were released for the day. Teya immediately started crying when they left the room. Salena guided Teya out of the building while getting tissues out of her purse. Teya clung to Salena when they found a bench and sat down.
They didn’t talk for a long time. Teya just sat there crying in Salena’s arms while Salena cradled her and wiped her face with tissues. When Teya stopped crying, Salena gave her a bottle of water and took her home. They made some food and ate it in silence. It wasn’t long before Salena started crying too. They spent the rest of the day holding each other and wiping away tears.
They never said things would get better because they genuinely didn’t know if that would happen.
It seemed like the only options left were Salena getting a job at a hair salon and Teya finishing her degree to be an English teacher.

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Teya cried herself to sleep in Salena’s arms. The next day, Teya was dismissed from work that day while Salena would work a 13 hour shift. Salena reluctantly got ready, kissed Teya goodbye, and went off to work. 

    Teya stayed in bed for a few hours. She knew that she needed to start negotiating with the new contract, but she couldn’t force herself to do anything. They have a little less than two weeks until the XOXO release date, and they need to start the negotiation process as soon as possible.

     Eventually Teya got out of bed and spent her entire morning routine thinking about what she should do first. When she was done getting ready, she opened her laptop and began researching. Teya had a rough idea of what they could do and wrote down a list of things to tell Salena when she would call later.

     Teya was halfway through writing her list when a notification popped up on her computer. It was an email from the University of Vienna offering her a full-ride scholarship to finish her degree. Teya stared at the email and stopped writing her list.

     Meanwhile, Salena was working hard at the studio. She had to miss out on a highly-anticipated songwriting camp for nude photo shoots, and was told that she would be doing a lot of studio sessions before and after to compensate. It turns out that she wouldn’t be doing as many sessions as she was told. It wasn’t possible for her to back out of the shoot. And then it hit her.

     Teya closed her laptop and made herself a cup of tea. The offer from the University and the contract negotiation plan was giving her a headache. She was sitting in the living room and slowly nursing her tea when she got a call from Salena.

     “Teya, I just realized something that could be very useful to us.”

     “What is it?” Teya was a little surprised to hear this.

     “Our contract that we’ve been calling our old contract is still technically our current contract. The new one that was shown to us isn’t ours yet because we haven’t signed it and the due date of signing the contract is yet to happen. Remember the terms and conditions in the contract and the demands that were put on us before the new one was written? Our team is guilty of breaching a contract.”

     Salena was right. Their team had no right to take full control of their image. “Then why didn’t we bring up this argument sooner?” Teya wasn’t convinced that this was going to work.

     “Because they essentially forced us into complying. They made us feel guilty if we didn’t do what they said. Plus, I looked into their positions in our label. I couldn’t see the contracts they signed, but I looked at the contract someone else that has since left had signed. The writing in the contract was the same. I don’t have the time to get into the details now, but in short they’ve all been frequently violating their contracts.”

     Teya was once again doubtful of the situation. “Why have they been getting away with it after all this time?”

     Salena anticipated the question. “Just five minutes ago I overheard a conversation between Daniel and one of the higher-ups. Labels don’t normally work in the way ours does, but that's besides the point. They were talking about our recent successes and the higher-up was asking how Daniel and the others achieved it. This wasn’t a casual conversation, it was basically a formal check-in. Everything that Daniel said was a lie. He left out important details and made up some new information. None of what he and the others have been doing to us was said.”

     “The problem wasn’t solely because Daniel is a master manipulator. It’s mostly because of how the whole label is managed. We both know about the many issues our label has. If serious issues are able to be unaddressed, there’s got to be more to it than someone being good at lying.”

     Teya was feeling more optimistic. “But what about the conditions of the new contract that we plan on negotiating? I like what I’m hearing, but how is bringing all that up to the higher-ups going to change the conditions in a contract?”

     “It won’t. But it will make it easier to negotiate. I’m sure that if we request to renew our old contract instead of signing the new contract, things will work out in the way that we want. And there’s a way we can prove that not all of our team’s demands led to success. Mainly that time you talked to me about Liam Clay stealing your lyrics and the new wardrobe they’ve made me convert to.”

     “That brings me to another point. I was in a studio session with Liam. The producer, Erik, asked him to write more song lyrics because he loved the song Liam claimed to write. Liam wasn’t able to do it. Erik was willing to work with Liam’s needs but Liam was struggling. He got so stressed out and frustrated that he admitted to not writing those lyrics. He stormed out of the studio and he hasn’t been responding to anyone’s texts or calls. I told him everything that you told me and I gave him your contact info. He had to leave for another session after we were done, but expect him to reach out to you.”

     Teya smiled. “I love you so much right now.”

     “Teya, I didn’t do that much. He just recognized your talent.”

     “It’s not just that. All that you’ve done so far, you’re incredible. There is no way that I could’ve done this without you.”

     Teya could tell that Salena was acting sheepishly when she spoke again. “I love you more. While I’m still here I’m going to arrange a meeting with the higher-ups and I’ve written down the specific things we should say. I’ll update you when I get home. Now I’m going to hang up really soon because I have to get back to work, but I’m confident that this will work. Okay bye.” Salena hung up without waiting for Teya to say anything. This elicited another smile from Teya.

     A long time later, Salena arrived back at the apartment with dinner for both of them. Teya leaned in to kiss her but Salena was too excited. “I got us a meeting with the higher-ups this Wednesday at noon. Until then, we need to work on refining our case. This is going to work out in our favor. I promise.”

     Teya giggled. “Can I kiss you now?”

     Salena mirrored Teya’s giggle. “Of course.”

***

     Teya and Salena showed up to the meeting with a stack of papers. Teya gave Salena’s hand a reassuring squeeze before sitting down and politely greeting the other people. 

     No one in the room showed any emotion after greeting Teya and Salena. They were nervous but they stayed confident and presented all they had. They brought up their arguments, evidence to support their arguments, and the one demand they had. They both talked at different times and it took them about an hour until they were done. They didn’t care. It needed to be done and it needed to be done right. 

     After they were done talking, they were politely dismissed from the meeting. Teya and Salena saw them make a few phone calls when they were out of earshot. They did everything they could. Now they had to wait.

     Late that evening, they both received an email from their label. It was exactly what they wanted it to say.

     Everything would go back to the way it was before they agreed to the PR stunt. 

     Everything except their relationship. 

     They were never, in a million years, going to give each other up.

Chapter Text

Salena’s internal clock woke her up on a Monday morning as the sun beamed through the closed curtains. Salena would have gotten up to open them if her arms weren’t wrapped around her sleeping girlfriend laying on top of her. Oh well, she could do it later.
XOXO was having more success than Who the Hell Is Edgar as it was steadily making its way up the charts. Candlelight and Famous were delayed for obvious reasons, but they will get produced relatively soon. There would be more performances of XOXO and meetings with their new team members, but for now, Teya and Salena would be enjoying the day off.
Salena planted a kiss on Teya’s temple and started playing with her hair. Teya claimed that her unkempt hair made her look possessed whenever she first woke up. When staying in Liverpool Salena teased her for it, but now she realized that Teya’s hair wasn’t knotted and crazy-looking as usual.
The sun rose a little higher in the sky and Teya woke up, letting out a little grunt and stretching out her limbs. Her method of rebelling against having to wake up was burying her face in the crook of Salena’s neck.
“Good morning!” said Salena, giggling at Teya’s little act of defiance. She gave Teya a few more kisses and rubbed her upper back.
“Morning, Lena” Teya muttered with no intention of getting up anytime soon.
Teya and Salena liked to spend their days off differently. Teya had little interest in anything that didn’t involve sleeping, reading, or drawing. Salena did a modified routine that didn’t include anything she considered to work. Today, Salena planned on letting Teya sleep in and surprising her with her favorite breakfast. She immediately realized that the plan probably wasn’t going to work out unless they stopped cuddling, which is something Teya would never agree to.
Salena looked at the pile of stacked cardboard boxes in the corner of their bedroom. She moved in with Teya a week ago, and only yesterday were they able to get everything unpacked and situated. Of course, there was still a lot of work to be done, but they were eagerly waiting for their new life together.
“Teya, I have to get up now,” Teya whined a bit and snuggled up to Salena even more. Salena rolled her eyes and resumed playing with Teya’s hair.
Grumbling, Teya eventually got off of Salena and got comfortable on her side of the bed. Salena could see the red mark Teya got from sleeping on her. Noticing the red mark she had, Salena got out of bed and tucked Teya in before getting ready. She didn’t feel like doing her makeup and put on something comfy. She did her hair and left it down, adjusting her glasses a few times in the process
When Salena was done getting ready, she was pleasantly surprised to see Teya sitting in bed awake. She had her glasses on and was looking at her phone.
Salena sat next to Teya and put her arm around her shoulders. “So much for wanting to sleep in.”
Teya ignored Salena’s comment and kissed her on the forehead. “I was reading text messages from my family. Don’t worry, I’ll be asleep again soon.” There was a little smirk on her face.
Salena kissed Teya on the lips, took off her glasses, and tucked Teya in once again before setting Teya’s glasses on her nightstand.
Back in the kitchen, Salena spent a long time cooking breakfast and prepared a cup of peppermint tea with a little bit of honey for Teya. She prepared chamomile tea for herself and got out two plates. After putting food on both plates, she grabbed Teya’s tea and returned to the bedroom.
Not wanting to wake up Teya, Salena put the dishes on Teya’s nightstand and went back to the kitchen to get her own dishes. She put her dishes on her nightstand and decided it was best to wake up Teya after all.
Salena positioned herself on the bed to be the same height as Teya and played with her hair. She whispered in Teya’s ear and Teya woke up faster than normal. Salena laughed as Teya grabbed her and smothered her face in kisses.
Teya saw the breakfast on Salena’s nightstand and turned around to see the same thing on her own nightstand. “You spoil me.”
“That’s because you deserve to be spoiled.”
Teya and Salena spent the rest of the morning eating breakfast in bed, laughing and playfully teasing each other. The now-opened blinds let the sun cast a warm glow in the room.
The rest of the day went by in a blur. After eating breakfast, they ran some errands and did some chores together. The day was eventful and full of fun even though they pretty much did nothing together.
As they collapsed into bed that night with a week full of work ahead of them, this warm feeling of comfort fell over them.
Everything was perfect.