Dos Veces

Not related to the prompt (sorry, again).

Inspiration: Levitating by Dua Lipa, Da Baby

Dos Veces by David Bisbal, Luis Fonsi

I Don't Care by Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber

Don’t forget to leave feedback on the story!!

***

“Kiara,”

“Mhmm,” I mumbled, not taking my gaze away from my guitar in my hands and the half-completed chord sheet on the table. On the chord sheet, there were pencil scribbles here and there, making it look a little messy.

I paused for a moment before placing my guitar on the stand. "Dos Veces" by David Bisbal and Luis Fonsi was playing in the background, and I was vibing to it. As I walked over to my Grand Piano, I hummed along to the song. I slid it open and ran my hand over the keys.

“Otra noche sin hablar

A mi me va a matar

Si no bailo contigo, yo prefiero no bailar

Otra noche sin saber

Cuando te vuelvo a ver

Si no bailo contigo yo me voy a enloquecer,” I hummed along.

“Do you have any idea how many times you've heard this song today, Kiara?” Chase, my manager, was clearly fed up with the song.

“Um, maybe 5? I didn't count,” I mumbled, taking a seat in front of the piano my dad had given me. It brings back memories of my family in Puerto Rico.

Oh, you're probably wondering who I am. Don't worry, I'll help you with that. My name is Kiara Diaz, and I am 22 years old. Ok, back on topic, I'm from Puerto Rico.

Sí, ¡soy boricua! Like Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi, Rauw Alejandro, Ozuna, and all the amazing Puerto Ricans, I'm also from this wonderful island with lots of cocoteros, increíble playas to see sunset and sunrise and even spend the entire day, finger licking good marisco y bebidas, cariñoso y amable boricuas, and places to hanguiar with your corillo. 

I'm also a singer, but not as well-known as Fonsi or Rauw. Nonetheless, I'm pretty glad because Spotify tagged me on Twitter and Instagram, and my most recent song, "Tus Acordes," was included in Billboard's Top 100 as well as Spotify's Top Hits USA and Canada Playlists. Some famous artists have followed me, liked my posts, and even DM'd me!

So, while I could say that I have a growing fanbase, it appears that the number of haters is growing by the day. And I try to ignore it all the time, but sometimes paparazzi and haters cross the line, and Chase is the one who calms me down. One day, a paparazzi photographer almost broke into my house and I was like, 'Ay bendito, I shouldn't have become a singer.'

“Really? Can't you listen to other music, kid? It's not like "Dos Veces" is the only song available on Spotify," He mumbled as the phone in his hands flashed, most likely capturing an embarrassing photo of mine to post on Instagram with the caption: 

𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝙺𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝙱𝚋𝚢 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔. @𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚣.𝚔𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙽𝚞𝚎𝚟𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚒ó𝚗: 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟷 𝙱𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜. 𝙺𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝚟𝚒𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 “𝙳𝚘𝚜 𝚅𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚜” 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢. 

@𝚕𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚏𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚒 

@𝚍𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚜𝚋𝚊𝚕

𝙱𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚊 @𝚒𝚊𝚖𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚋𝚛𝚝

“How could you not love David Bisbal and Fonsi? Chasey, they and the Chainsmokers are the best!” 

“No and yes. They and the Chainsmokers are good, but not the best. East or west, Charlie Puth is the best,” Chase explained, the fanboy side of his taking over him.

“Um, there's a typo in the proverb. It's East or West, home is the best. As in home, it’s Puerto Rico for me and France for you,” I corrected him, smirking a bit. 

“All right, fine,” Just like I thought, my reply rendered him speechless.

I believe Spotify favored my manager because the next song Spotify played was not from my playlist. It played "We Don't Talk Anymore"

“See, even Spotify agrees with me,” The expression on his face that had been speechless had been replaced by a slight smirk.

I stuck my tongue out, and Chase chuckled as he saw me, a 22-year-old acting like a foolish, immature child. On the phone, he continued to check social media profiles.

I ran my fingers over the keys to get a sense of the rhythm. Something struck me in the head, an idea for my new song sparked. I grabbed the piano sheets as quickly as I could because the last time an idea came to me while I was taking a power nap and I was too lazy to wake up and write it down, I forgot about it!

When he saw me scamper and hurry as if a fire had broken out, he asked, "What? Did the idea spark again?”

I nodded and began to write down the notes on the piano sheet as well as the first line that came to mind on paper:

I believed last night was the last time I saw you.

I was stuck with that line after that; nothing else came to mind. My mind was completely blank. I guess the spark escaped outta my mind.

“I believed last night was the last time I saw you,”

I said the lyrics out loud, hoping the spark would return.

“Your face in my album beside my empty bed.”

I turned to look at Chase. Chase was the one who said the lyric, “Woah, didn’t see that coming.”

“Sorry, it's so cheesy, right?”

“No, it’s purrfect! I loved it! Mucha gracias, Chase,” I purred excitedly and extended my hands to him, asking him to hug me.

He took my arms and gave me a bear hug. He mumbled, in between the warm embrace, “No probs, kid!”

“What would I do without you?” I pulled away and sat down to jot down the lyrics he had just said. Ideas began to flow easily from my mind.

The only sounds in the background were the rapid movement of my pencil on the paper and the song "I Don't Care" by Ed Sheeran with Justin Bieber. I just couldn't stop myself from dancing like crazy, ignoring Chase. I imagined myself dancing with another person.

“Chase, I need your help once more. “I'm stuck again,” I said, making a perfect puppy face at him.

“I'll help you, but you must give me half credit,”

“Hey, you don't get any credit!” I whined.

“Just kidding, don't you know how much I appreciate you? Of course, I'll give you full credit as a songwriter,”

Chase smiled lightly and motioned for the lyrics, saying, "Lyrics, please!"

I handed him the lyrics, and he skimmed through them. I could see his expression shift from excited to eager, then to pleased.

“This is sooo good. If you go like this, you’ll get a Grammy in no time,” He said, praising me.

“Oh, come one, Chase. I’m like miles and miles away from that!” I confessed, certain about what I said.

“You know what, no one is willing to walk that far. Even well-known artists. You don't have to, after all. Try hailing a cab or, better yet, a Ferrari. It may appear to be long-distance from here, but the distance is actually quite short, kid. You'll get there soon,” He said this while straightening up in his chair and checking his emails.

“Ooh, where did you learn to speak like this, you know, philosophies?” I told him, pretty impressed by him.

“I suppose I inherited it. When I was younger, my dad used to tell me a lot of philosophies,” He set his phone down on the table and relaxed on his chair.

“The reason you're not getting any ideas is that to be honest, you're really stressed out,” he tried to persuade me. " You are in university and you're a singer-songwriter at the same time. You need to take a break sometimes, Kia,”

“I guess so,” I confessed.

“You have what it takes to be a singer, kiddo. That is your destiny. Despite the fact that you did not sign with a record label, your songs were on the top of the charts. People love you and your songs,”

I sheepishly smiled. I felt like I was floating in the air, getting praised all the time. I hope I don't act selfishly.

“Wait, I thought you had plans for today. Aren’t you leavin’?” Chase asked.

“Yeah, I have. Wait, what’s time?” I asked.

He said, checking the time on his smart-watch, “It’s about uh..- 6:30-”

“Oh no, no, no, I’m gonna be late!” I panicked.

“Woah, Woah, chill. Stop freaking out,” My panic was making him panic out as well.

“I’m gonna be late!”

I combed my raven black wavy hair, attempting to make it less unkempt. However, it appears that the more I combed, the messier it became. I changed my costume and put on a hoodie.

“You said you had plans. But you didn't tell me where this party is, did you?” Chase was curious.

“How do you know it's a party? It's not a party, it's more like a-” I mumbled as I grabbed everything I needed.

“Party?” Chase inquired.

I gave him a weird look as I tried to recall the word. No, I don't have dementia or anything like that. I'm just careless at times.

“Yes, I got it. It's homecoming at my alma mater, Oceanside High,” I finally remembered the word.

“Did they invite you?”

“Yeah, I received an invitation by email. That was read aloud to me by you. Remember?” Chase should probably spend less time with me. He's also becoming forgetful and careless.

“Of course I do,”

"Are you coming with me?"

“I'd love to, but I have to get home. My girlfriend is already upset with me since I don't spend enough time with her. So I have to make up for it by surprising her with the unexpected visit,” he says as he texts Sarah Hoffman, his girlfriend and a dear friend of mine.

“It's fine, Chase. I'm sorry you don't have time to spend with your loved ones because of me,” I was being completely honest here.

He gave me a look that said, "I don't mind it, Kia."

“Be careful. Have a good time,”

“Thanks! By the way, tell Sarah that I like her costume designs,” I said as I walked out the door.

“Will do,” I heard him say. 

I dashed out of the studio, just in time to hide behind my hoodie jacket. You know, being in the spotlight can be overwhelming at times, and right now, the last thing I want to be in is the spotlight, and the last people I want to see are some paparazzi photographers.

“All right, here we go!” With a long sigh, I said to myself. The streetlights were already illuminating the path as it was getting dark. I paused for a bit before beginning to walk across the lonely streets of New Orleans.

***

Spanish words used in the story

Cocoteros - Coconuts

Boricua - Puerto rican

Playa - Beach

Bebidas - Alcohol

Hanguiar - Hang out

Corillo - Friends

Carinoso - Loving

Amable - Friendly

For the ones who wanted to check out the lyrics of the song Kiara writes in the story, please check the comment section. 

Source: https://www.lyrics.com/song-lyrics-generator/pop