”Okay,” Rory muttered to himself as he gave a little wave to his cousin, who had so graciously volunteered to play cameraman. “Let’s ******** go.”

It felt so damn weird to have someone following him around, filming everything he did, but he knew that the final product would be so worth it. And as he went through his usual workout routines and dance practices, hell, he even had his cousin film him opening and distributing one of his mother’s care packages. He wanted simple, everyday things for this project. Ms Voronin wanted these vignettes to show who each of the members of Star Eclipse was. Well, he was going to show exactly who he was.

Within reason. He didn’t think that the fans needed to know that he snored when allergy season hit.

But playfully bench pressing Vasha? No problem! Trying to princess carry Malcolm? Let’s do the thing! He wasn’t the glittering star like Vasha was or the stern intellectual like Alyosha. He was the baby. The jock. The goofball with a heart of gold. He was, to put it bluntly, the Himbo. And while he whole-heartedly embraced that, he still wanted to show that he was more than a brainless meathead. Hence, the silliness and footage of him in the practice room, alone, working out choreo or doing vocal scales. He even tossed in a few outfit changes and shirtless shots.

After all, he knew their audience.

By the time late afternoon rolled around, he was shrugging into his favorite tight pants and mesh crop top combo and doing some very careful makeup around the eyes. This part was going to be far more structured and he was determined to perform flawlessly. A glance in the mirror showed him that he looked like a perfect idol. Good. It was time to show people what he was capable of.

He’d commandeered the practice room for the day and very carefully set up some lighting that would make it look like he was dancing in a room full of soft blue-ish white starlight. He’d even rented a goddamned fog machine for this! Catching a water bottle tossed by his cousin, Rory took a sip and grinned before tossing it back.

“We ready,” he asked, nodding to let his helpers know to get the lights and fog machine going. Stepping into a soft halo of light, he bowed his head for a moment, mentally preparing. A minute nod got the music he’d chosen playing and he allowed himself a small, tight grin. After all, who would ever expect the himbo to turn a song from Kingdom Hearts 3 into a performance piece. Much less one that punched the melody up a bit to give it a more metal-slash-punk vibe?

Another nod got the camera up and ready and Rory exploded into movement. He didn’t dance like rent was due tomorrow, but he danced with intensity, each move crisp and purposeful. And as he danced, he felt himself relax and give himself over to the music, letting his voice rasp and growl slightly as he sang.

”Lose, soon have nothing to
Space, this is what I choose”

This was what he’d chosen and maybe the song was appropriate given what a risk trying to start a boy band was. But it was one he’d happily embraced.

”A mile, could you walk in my shoes
All your, all your life
Let me face, let me face, let me face my fears“

And he was sure as hell facing his fears. He’d decided when he’d first been tapped for this that he was going to go for it and live with no regrets. And how could he regret this? He had friends and colleagues. A life he could only have imagined as a child. Star Eclipse was the best thing that had happened to him. And as he sang and danced his way through the song, he held on tight to that feeling of contentment. Why, he’d even thought of a perfect way to edit the video together!

By the time he’d concluded the song, Rory was panting softly, chugging down the bottle of water placed near his hand.

“That was brilliant!” he enthused. “Listen, I just need to borrow you for maybe another hour tomorrow, that okay?”

Grinning as he received assent, Rory sent his cousin home for the night. He’d get the rest of the footage he needed tomorrow and then he’d get it edited together. And it was going to be so good.

—---------------

Yawning slightly and covering his eyes against the early morning sun, Rory considered their backyard and nodded. He’d dressed more casually today. Blacks jeans and a simple cropped t-shirt with the sleeves artfully torn away. He’d already found the perfect spot for what was needed and he headed for the single tree in the yard. Sitting down with his back to the trunk, he artfully arranged himself to look polished, yet impulsive. The sun beams cutting through the branches and leaves and dappling him would likely make an impressionist filmmaker weep for joy.

It was perfect.

Adopting an easy, confiding smile, Rory decided to speak from the heart as if he was talking one on one with a fan. And the words flowed so easily. Finally, he blew a kiss towards the camera and made ‘heart hands’.

“I can’t wait for you to meet all of us, Destiny City. And I can’t wait to perform for you. It’s going to be magical!”

One last grin and his cousin signaled that filming had stopped. Grabbing the camera, Rory hurried into the house, making a beeline for the super nice computer that they’d gotten to help with editing the more casual videos for their YouTube channel. Plugging the camera in, Rory gnawed on his lower lip as he took footage and audio and twisted them into something he could be proud of.

By the time his cousin had gone home, Rory was sitting and watched the final cut of his video. It came in under ten minutes and was, as far as he was concerned, a goddamned work of art.

A soft, barely audible refrain of “Let me face, let me face, let me face my fears. Oh, let me face, let me face, let me face my fears” played in the background as Rory sat under a tree, bathed in warm sunlight.

“For me, Star Eclipse was never about becoming Rich and Famous. It was always about giving my best to my bandmates…”

The image of Rory’s face faded into footage of him interacting with the rest of the band, every moment looking sincere and easy as if this really was just a group of friends who’d decided to give show business a whirl. That footage faded into a montage of Rory practicing his dancing and singing.

“... and to our fans. I want to show you all just what we can do and how far we can go together! We’re not just a band. We’re friends. We’re family. And we have so much to show you all…”

Now, the video faded into Rory’s carefully staged and choreographed routine. He really did look like he was dancing amongst the stars and his vocals purred and growled in an oddly intimate way, “Won't be long, won't be long, I'm almost here”.

Then, dark blended into light and he was back under the tree, grinning. He head tipped back for a moment, eyes closing as if in thought. Then, they snapped open and he winked at his audience.

“You’ll join me, us, on this journey, right? It won’t be the same without you…”

Rory’s grin broadened as he blew a kiss and brought his hands up to make a heart shape.

“I can’t wait for you to meet all of us, Destiny City. And I can’t wait to perform for you. It’s going to be magical!”

The frame held for a moment, then went to black, Rory’s heart hands turning into a stylized drawing of a heart with his signature in electric blue superimposed over.
Leaning away from the computer, Rory laughed gleefully, saving his work. He’d have to run it by the guys and Ms Voronin before he could upload, but he didn’t think they’d have any objections to his artistic vision.

“Oh, this is good s**t,” he chortled, shipping the video file off where it needed to go.

Cover Inspo

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