SuperStar!

"What?!" came the shocked screams of Ethan and Taylor Swift. Just as they were about to speak more, a sharp voice cut through the air.

"Really? They are? How did the news break out? What are they saying?" fired Rebecca, who had been seated all along.

Tree glanced at her, noticing for the first time the bandage wrapped around her head. Seeing it, a thought immediately crossed her mind—"Oh, Taylor, what have you done?"

In her mind, Taylor was already guilty. She didn't even give her the benefit of the doubt. But knowing as much as she did about her client being behind the wheel, there was no room for doubt—Taylor was at fault.

Tree's mind was already working out a way to handle the situation. Truthfully, Taylor had reached a level where a scandal like this shouldn't be career-threatening at most she should post an apology and that's all, even if she was responsible for the accident. But what unsettled Tree the most was the young man standing nearby, staring at her with shock and disbelief in his piercing blue eyes.

Ethan Jones.

He was the major reason she had a problem with this—the man whose rise had been nothing short of meteoric. In just a single year, he had reached heights she had never witnessed before. His breakthrough in the industry was already being compared to legendary moments in music history.

Some likened his rise to that of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, in 1956, when his self-titled debut album became the first rock and roll record to top the charts, holding the No. 1 spot for ten straight weeks and launching him into superstardom.

Others compared him to Adele—not the Adele of 19, though that album had earned her widespread acclaim. No, this was 21—the album that marked her true arrival, the one that took the world by storm after she settled in the U.S. It dominated the Billboard charts for 24 weeks and earned her six Grammys in a single night, cementing her status as a global icon.

And now, Ethan Jones was being mentioned in the same breath as these legends. 

What was truly scary was that he was outdoing them both.

Maybe it was because of the internet—an era where everything was just a click away. Sure, Adele had benefited from the digital age, but not like this. Or maybe it was the lockdown, with people stuck at home, glued to their screens, consuming more content than ever.

Whatever the reason, one thing was certain—Ethan Jones was here, and he wasn't playing.

Clashing with him wasn't just unwise—it was downright reckless. And that wasn't even considering the fact that their fan bases were deeply intertwined. Most of Taylor's listeners were also Ethan's fans, and, in fact, many of Ethan's most hardcore supporters had originally come from Taylor's and Justin Bieber camp.

ensing the people in the room were waiting for her to continue, Tree spoke up.

"Yes, Taylor and Ethan's fans are clashing heavily online. As for the news, it's probably coming from the people who recognized them entering. And speaking of which, we need to start leaving. We can't afford to wait around for a mob of fans and reporters to corner us here."

She turned toward Taylor. "Are you okay?" she finally asked, a question she had been meaning to ask since she stepped into the room.

While Tree fussed over her client, the situation with Ethan was quite the opposite. He was the one trying to calm down his publicist.

"Rebecca, just calm down. I'm sure everything will be okay," he said, speaking to a frantic Rebecca who had been forced to sit down but was still desperately pressing Sarah's phone that she'd grabbed.

"Yeah, Rebecca, just chill. Everything's fine. Ethan just needs to go online and clarify everything," Max added, trying to calm her down as well.

Rebecca, still furiously tapping on the phone, replied, "Yeah, that would work if we were talking to reasonable people, but we're dealing with her fans." She pointed at Taylor Swift, who glanced at her, hurt by the statement.

"Ayy," Taylor said quietly, stung by the remark.

"Sorry, no offense," Rebecca quickly added. "It's just, we all know your fans can be a little too extreme."

Before Taylor could respond in defense of her fans, Tree, standing beside her, spoke up.

"Honestly, Taylor, maybe because you're not a publicist, but yeah, the Swifties can be a bit hardcore," Tree said, embarrassed by her own words.

Rebecca's phone buzzed, and she looked at it excitedly. "Oh good, it's number one trending online," she said, showing Ethan the screen.

Ethan glanced at the phone, and sure enough, the news about his tour bus crash was the number one trending topic. His first reaction was a mix of panic and worry.

"Shit, my parents," he muttered, imagining how nervous they must be. And he was right. His own phone, which had been on the tour bus and was now brought to him by Leo, showed 38 missed calls—most from his mom, some from his dad, a few from his sister, and even one from his agent, Bill. There was also a missed call from the producer of his album, One of a Kind, Max Martin.

He sighed heavily, scrolling through the calls before dialing his mom's number. He waited as it rang, tension building in his chest.

Finally, she picked up.

"Yes, mom, I'm fine, yes, okay, then bye, yes, I love you too," Ethan said quickly, relieved but exhausted, before hanging up the call.

After the call, Ethan quickly sent a message to Bill, his sister, and Max, reassuring them that he was fine. As he finished, Rebecca hung up from her own call, which had also been brought to her.

"Yes, okay then, we'll do that," she said, looking at her phone.

Ethan glanced at her, eyebrows raised. "What happened?"

Rebecca sighed, explaining, "That was Jessica. She's already on her way here. She thinks we should follow Taylor if they're leaving, so we can sort everything out. We just need to send her the address."

"Even Jessica is coming?" Ethan muttered, surprised.

Before Rebecca could respond, a voice suddenly cut through the room.

It was Sarah, who had stepped out to grab some water. She walked in, looking more serious than usual.

"Ehm, guys, I think we might have a problem," Sarah said, immediately grabbing the attention of everyone in the room—including Taylor and Tree, who had been deep in conversation.

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