9 Free Labor

The next day Ashton continued to attend school as usual but one thing that surprised him was how Drew kept on asking him more and more about the Burning Roses. It was only the previous day when Drew was saying how the Burning Roses could never compare to the group he always listened to but now here he was nagging him more and more only about the Burning Roses.

If it was anyone else they would have gotten annoyed by this point but Ashton was an avid believer that the Burning Roses would one day reach fame that he could only dream of and he made it his mission to increase their fame as much as he could in the meantime even if it meant answering his best friend for hours on end.

As much as he was asking about the Burning Roses Ashton noticed that he seemed to ask a lot of questions about Nanako in particular so he decided to ask, "You seem to want to know a lot about Nanako. Did she change your mind that much when you met her at the meet and greet?" Ashton asked laughing as he saw his friend's excited face instantly turn red from embarrassment.

"I-i don't know what you're talking about! I simply began to understand your appreciation for the group so I had to learn about every member." Drew said nervously but Ashton didn't believe a word out of his mouth due to the increased redness on his face.

It was kind of funny in a way to see someone so devoted to a big idol group suddenly so invested in the Burning Roses just because he introduced them to the group. It proved that the work that he was doing truly did have an effect.

"Well at the very least you're into them now so we can go to the concerts together." Ashton said with a smile making Drew confused.

"What do you mean? You have that pass that lets you all the way down to the stage but I have to pay for it and I'm broke!" Drew nearly shouted getting the teacher's attention and asking for them to quiet down and get back to work.

However, Ashton instead pulled out his pass sneakily showing Drew while pointing at the fine print of the card where it says, 'Includes a guest.' When Drew saw this he nearly jumped out of his chair in excitement as this was his chance to get closer to Nana- the entire Burning Roses group.

*****

In another part of town, deeper underground a group of girls were getting dressed and ready for an upcoming performance. One of these girls seemed to be on her phone looking at a certain blog that pertained to their group.

"Are you looking at that guy's blog about us again?" One of the other girls asked teasingly as they came over beside the girl to get a look at what the blog had to say about her.

The girl that was being teased was none other than Miko the head singer of Burning Roses. She was also looking at the blog post Ashton had made about the concert the night prior including the meet and greet. Her eyes were stuck on a particular picture from the blog that included her and Mai taking a picture with Ashton at the meet and greet.

Meanwhile, the girl glancing over her shoulder, Suko, immediately choked on her words as she glanced at some of the rotating pictures Ashton had taken at the concert, "Did we always look this good?" Suko questioned loudly for all the girls in the room to hear bringing their attention to the phone as well.

"No, we never have and never will. That's why it's so important that he is there." Nanako suddenly spoke up as she finished getting ready and walked out of the room with those words.

The other girls quietly thought about those words as they stared at the blog post for a few more minutes before finally also finishing getting ready and walking out.

*****

Burning Roses wasn't the only idol group that was looking at the blog post as another certain idol was getting ready for her show while looking at the post with a strange expression on her face. After a few seconds, she put the phone down and went out onto the stage where tens of thousands of fans were screaming her name.

*****

"So why have you never tried taking some more scandalous pictures of the idols while they're up there? I'm sure you have the ability." Drew asked in anger as they sat outside the school enjoying their lunch.

Ashton immediately smacked Drew in the head for this question, "You don't seem to understand that they are stars. They are stars that shine brighter than anything I've ever seen and by doing that we are taking away some of their light and using it for a wrong purpose." Ashton said while nodding his head like a sage.

"Dude, that was so dumb." Drew said with a cringe on his face before the two laughed and finished the rest of their school day. That night another concert was taking place and it was the last one for a week or two while the group got to take a break and also let some of the other smaller idol groups get the chance to get on the stage as well so it was a big deal.

Ashton had a big idea for this night and he wanted to make it so that after this concert happened venues all over the country would want to book Burning Roses and maybe they would even get picked up by a huge agency.

To make this a reality Ashton was going to make use of his extra guest that he was bringing along with him. He just may not know yet that as payment for his ticket to the concert he would be giving free labor, not that he needed to know in the first place.

"Why do you have a weird look in your eyes suddenly?" Drew asked nervously as they walked to Ashton's house.