HELPING HAND,

[alex]

It was a big night, that was for sure. But, this was how things usually went before a show, sitting in the dressing room sorta just staring at nothing. Things had been going different for the past few days, from outings to rejections, this year was not kind of a certain superstar. She kept her appearances up, from award shows to touring days, to festivals like this. Normally, she had been pulling her dear friend Rae along, keeping her close and making sure that Alex kept up her mask. Rae was someone who had always been there, always looked out for her and such. Always the one to make sure her sanity was in check, so it was nice to have someone to count on, finally. Other than Honor, she wasn't sure who else there was to turn to, she was starting to lose it and hopefully this wouldn't be another Desiree situation. After all of that had happened, she never saw the blonde again, and she'd hate for that to happen now. But really, she wanted to put that all outside her mind right now and just get set for this festival, which was proving to be a lot of fun.

It turns out that they wanted Alex Brooks to close the whole event, which meant she'd have to step it up a bit. So, she was pulling out all the stops, at least with songs and showmanship. She wanted to give this crowd a different experience, instead of skimpy clothes and pretty smoke. She called Rae in because she needed her hair looking good, of course the girl was pretty much with her all the time anyway, so no doubt she'd stick around. Alex had seen some pretty amazing shows while she was here, including Nat's personal assistant, to Holly, she enjoyed watching pretty much everyone that was here. It was nice to see that she wasn't alone with the nerves either, this pretty much happened every time she got on stage. You'd think she would of gotten over this by now, but still every time she saw that large crowd, she thought about disappointing them, and hating herself if she did. She loved the rush, she loved the crowd and the way it made her feel, maybe that's why she went into this sort of field. Acting, obviously wasn't for her, if you couldn't tell from her flop of a movie.

Her heart raced again, and she looked up at the door being opened, having been sitting there staring in the mirror. What was she doing with herself? All these award shows coming up, plus her awesome show in New York, maybe she really was doing well for herself. But why couldn't she settle down with someone? Maybe because it was always the wrong someone, she found herself falling for people who she trusted and cared for, only to find a knife in her back. Better off as friends they would say, while Desiree had led her on from the beginning. It scared her to really see that she had no one left, to look around and just have adoring fans who really would drop her in a heartbeat if she put out a bad song. She had seen it happen before, her choices in life weren't always the best, and god she was the worst role model in her own eyes, but she still had her far share of followers. It made her smile, knowing that there still were a few people out there who really cared about her.

Standing up from her seat, she was greeted by her hairdresser and best friend, Rae. They go way back, Rae knew everything about her and could and would never keep a secret from the girl. She knew about the Aalina situation before anyone, and really she wished things would of been kept that way. Being outed like that, it hurt and it hurt even more when people sent her hate mail and letters for being who she is. Okay, her relationship with Jules had been different, they hadn't been right for each other and ever since then, her bad luck followed. She needed to stop worrying about who she had to cuddle at night, and focus more on who was there for her. "Are you going to make me all fancy today?" She smiled at the beauty before her, directing herself to the seat and sitting down again. Once more, staring in the mirror, fighting the tears from coming to her eyes. How did she get like this? So fragile, so... hated, so unloved, she probably would never even know.

tag; cookie as rae! <3

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[ISRAEL YADIRA MONROE]

[STYLE=background-color: 000000; width: 390px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 25px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; color: ffffff; position: absolute; margin-top: 250px;]i'll take it from here

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The Industry Music Festival had Israel in high demand. Many of her clients were either performing or doing press for it. She’d been hopping from venue to venue for the two days, dragging her trunk on wheels with her. That black leather trunk, bedazzled with crystals and adorned with leopard print lining on the inside, was her most valuable possession. It was weighed a ton, hence the wheels, and contained almost every tool and product she needed to do hair and makeup on the go. As Israel practically operated all of her business out of that trunk, it was nearly considered to be her livelihood. Because of the nature of the music festival, what with the venues spread out all over West Hollywood, Israel found that it was more of a pain in the ass to carry around than usual. She drove from venue to venue in her convertible, parking in the special parking they had reserved for people working, but it was having to lug the thing from the trunk and into the venue then back that was getting annoying. Today was a day that called for sneakers and she didn’t feel even the slightest bit guilty about it.

Israel started the day by doing makeup and hair across town for a quick photoshoot. Then she ran all the way back to West Hollywood to do styling for of the of the music festival interviewers. After that, she made her way to Avalon where she did Tavin’s hair. She stayed for his performance of course, not only to show her support, but because she also really enjoyed watching him perform. He was just as talented on stage as he was in front of the camera. It was no wonder that everyone wanted a piece of him. She probably stayed a bit too long chatting backstage with Tavin because she was now running late for her appointment with Alex. Though being late had become a pretty consistent habit, she still hated it. As she drove to The House of Blues, Beyoncé’s album blasted through her speakers and her windows were rolled down. She attempted to touch up her lipstick while keeping her eyes on the road and one hand on the wheel. Israel sang along loudly, dancing in the driver’s seat, not caring who was watching. In fact, if people started to stare, she put on an even bigger show.

The lipstick was capped and tossed into her purse. She pulled up to The House of Blues and made her way around the back where the parking was. After flashing her all-access pass to the security, she parked and rolled the windows up. When some of the crew saw her struggling to get the trunk out of the back seat with all that she’d already had in her hands, one of them jumped up to help her. Israel flirted shamelessly before thanking them and making her way inside. She barged through the door with Alex’s name on it, smiling brightly and eyes wide. “There she is!” Israel pulled the trunk up to the edge of the vanity and handed Alex some hot tea. She’d stopped at Starbucks to pick up a latte for herself and figured she’d grab something for her best friend as well. All dairy were no-nos before a performance and tea was good for the throat. “Of course, daaahhhling! That’s why you pay me the big bucks.” She planted a sloppy kiss on the singer’s cheek before wiping of the lipstick residue with her thumb. As she looked up into the mirror she noticed that there was sadness in Alex’s eyes. It was the same look she’d seen on her face for the past several days. Actually, come to think of it, Alex’s emotions were all over the place as of late, and though she knew everything that was going on in her life, it still hurt her to see her upset.

Alex had been through a lot over the last few months and Israel was by her side through all of it. Sometimes it seemed like they were about as close as two people could be without actually being in a relationship. Relationships, or lack thereof, were the root of a lot of Alex’s pain. Israel watched Alex practically crash and burn after the escalated situation with Desiree, but she vowed not to let anything like that happen again. “No tears, boo. We don’t want any of that tainting your pretty face.” The truth was, she just didn’t want to see Alex cry. Fuck the makeup. Israel moved to open her trunk. It stood vertically and the top of it opened out like a door. She took out curling irons, hairspray, and various other tools she needed to get Alex ready for her big performance. “What’s on your mind, baby girl? Talk to me.”

[STYLE= background-color: #000000; width:400px; font-family:Arial; font-size:9px; letter-spacing:4px; border-top: solid 20px #000000; border-bottom: solid 10px #000000; text-color:#424242; line-height:9px; color:#ffffff;]WORDS 808 TAGGED soma as alex OUTFIT lazy

NOTES idk if I gave you enough to work with[/style][STYLE= width:400px; font-family:Arial; font-size:7px; letter-spacing:3px; border-top: solid #000000 20px; border-bottom: solid #000000 20px; background-color:#000000; color:#ffffff;]TEMPLATE BY LISE FROM BACK TO NEVERLAND

MODIFIED BY COOKIE FROM THE INDUSTRY[/style]

[alex]

Things happened for a reason, that's a saying that Alex Brooks had really come to live by. There was a reason that most of her singles had been hitting number one lately, there was a good reason why she wasn't with Jules anymore and hell there was a reason that her and Desi didn't work out either. Now, she couldn't tell you any of those reasons, for she didn't even know herself. But, she was going to keep living by that for she knew that things would work out in the end. She wasn't going to focus so much on relationship, she needed to start spending more time with the people that really mattered. From Honor to Ava to Rae, she needed to pay mind to them all. Plus, everyone has always said that she was married to her work anyway, so why would anyone even bother trying to be with her? Okay, she took her job very seriously, but when you made as much money as her, you would too. Her actions were always under fire, some places she went with Rae, she always got the heat in the morning, saying they were secret lovers. She never denied the fact, it was fun to let the press wonder about her. The one thing she sure as hell loved about Rae the most was the fact that she didn't mind the spotlight, not at all. The girl seemed to love the attention, and Alex needed someone who enjoyed it just as much as she did herself.

Everything that had been happening, was scaring Alex and she just didn't want to be the girl to grow alone. Rae was always there to catch her though, always there to pick her back up after a fall. She trusted the girl with everything she is and was, and she knew that Rae would never betray her. Honestly, she never thought about anything more than best friends with her ever-changing haired beauty. They never really did shit like that with one another, even if Alex knew that the girl was bisexual. Of course they hooked up here and there, maybe even slept together a few times, but it was honestly to get out anger or emotions. They used each other, and Alex didn't really mind that, it didn't seem like Rae really did either. Now, after everything that had happened with Aalina, she was scared to ever have feelings for a friend again, so she did her best to not get too attached to people. She swore to herself, she'd fix it and she'd put back together the friendship she loved so much with the blonde. Was it possible? It might not even be so, but she was going to do her damn hardest.

Her eyes trailed upon the girl now standing near her, offering up a smile. "You're always so prepared, even when you're late." She smiled again, because it seemed that Rae just made that side of her come out. No matter how much Alex would try to hide it, her best friend always caught on to what was happening. It was like she could read her mind, most of the time it was just scary but in the end, she was thankful. She hated talking about what made her sad, Rae found out about the whole Desiree situation by guessing. "Nothing... just having a really bad day." She decided to lie, even though Rae would figure her out easy. She averted her eyes away, trying her best to hide the fact that she was lying even if she knew she was caught. "You know how I had a crush on Lina? She found out and now she hates me, rejected me, all that." She finally explained, still not looking at the girl. It was obvious that she was upset, and yet again she needed the lovely Rae to put her back together again. She owed her friend so much, all she could really do though was spoil her. She hoped that was at least worth something, she wanted the girl to be happy and not be burdened by all her bullshit.

[/blockquote]

[ISRAEL YADIRA MONROE]

[STYLE=background-color: 000000; width: 390px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 25px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; color: ffffff; position: absolute; margin-top: 250px;]i'll take it from here

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girl? Talk Relationships were never something that Israel put a lot of emphasis on. She didn’t really go looking for them but she didn’t reject them either. Though she’d garnered a reputation of being rather high maintenance, she was fairly laid back when it came to relationships. She was one who liked to let things happen organically and really enjoyed the dating process before putting a complicated label on anything. Israel wasn’t even opposed to dating more than one person at a time. More recently she’d been enjoying the single life. She’d gone on a few dates, none of which had turned into anything serious. Most notably, she’d gone out with Camden Carter, the director for the Justice League series, several times. They’d had an instant connection when they met and she loved spending time with him. Their friendship was really flourishing and she got good sex, too. It’d been too long. But even thought Israel was loving her time with Camden, she was sure things with him wouldn’t last. Things were great when she was with him; they always had a fantastic time. However, beyond the fun times, she wasn’t sure there was much else.

As Alex spoke, Israel continued to gather her supplies so she could get to work. Even though the two were friends, she still had a job to do. The curling irons and flat irons were plugged in and heating up. She grabbed a big paddle brush and began to go through her locks. Alex had been working some really edgy looks lately that were trendy yet funky and different. She had an edge but maintained her femininity. But Israel believed that Alex would look beautiful in anything. Alex was absolutely stunning and it was unfortunate that the beauty she resonated on the outside didn’t translate to happiness on the inside. “Rejection sucks, hon. But if someone doesn’t want you…well then screw them,” she said as she started parting Alex’s hair into sections. “I know Aalina loves you as a friend. There’s no way in hell that girl could hate you.” When the clips were in place she put a curling serum in the strands of one section to prepare it for heat. “Don’t beat yourself up about it, baby girl. I think the whole thing just took her off guard and she reacted by freaking out, especially all the media attention. But she cares about you.”

Israel took the large barrel curling iron to a piece of Alex’s hair. She didn’t intend for the hair to be curl necessarily. When she was done it would be wavy and look absolutely effortless. “You’re gorgeous, fun, talented, sweet caring…I don’t want to make your big head even bigger… but there are people out there who adore you. Don’t let one person bring you down.” Israel had always been fairly thick skinned. It took a lot to offend her. She had her parents to thank for that. They’d taught her to be forgiving, to see the good in people, and to let unimportant things just roll of her back. “Not that you need someone to be happy, but I know that there’s someone out there for you. So you’ve had a bit of bad luck, but you never know when the right chick is going to come along and just sweep you off your feet.” While Israel considered herself to be bisexual she’d mostly dated men and had never been in a serious relationship with a woman. Israel believed that love saw no gender and didn’t want to close herself off from the idea of being a loving relationship with a woman if it came down to it. She’d been best friends with Alex over the years and it never really crossed her mind to take things to the next level. However, as she sat here doing her hair, she wondered what it would be like and what was really stopping them from being together.

[STYLE= background-color: #000000; width:400px; font-family:Arial; font-size:9px; letter-spacing:4px; border-top: solid 20px #000000; border-bottom: solid 10px #000000; text-color:#424242; line-height:9px; color:#ffffff;]WORDS 656 TAGGED soma as alex OUTFIT lazy

NOTES --[/style][STYLE= width:400px; font-family:Arial; font-size:7px; letter-spacing:3px; border-top: solid #000000 20px; border-bottom: solid #000000 20px; background-color:#000000; color:#ffffff;]TEMPLATE BY LISE FROM BACK TO NEVERLAND

MODIFIED BY COOKIE FROM THE INDUSTRY[/style]