1 I Love My Job

When it comes to life all humans start with a certain amount of paths. These paths can be different for each person depending on their family ties, financial situations, and a number of other things. When it comes to Ashton, he didn't really have a lot of trouble obstructing any of these paths.

He could have been a doctor, a lawyer, heck he could have even been a stripper if he chose to be. However, out of all the options in this world he chose to be a journalist.

Now, there are those who spend their lives journaling and detailing all sorts of adventures about exotic animals and new species of plants that they find out in the wild but for Ashton, it was something much simpler, Idols.

He had been a pretty lackluster person his entire life. It wasn't like he didn't have any friends or was particularly bad with his studies or sports. He was simply normal. 

This was of course not a bad thing by any means, it just meant that he was like the rest. That was how he became so enamored by idols. They were shining stars that attracted the eyes of those who saw them. They were the outliers of this world and Ashton felt like it was his duty and his purpose to further outline these stars to help them shine for even more to see. 

This was his way of being different, a way to maybe get a taste of that starlight that he enjoyed watching so much. He wasn't seeking to become one of the shining stars he journaled by any means, he just wanted to show others the magic of these blinding lights.

*****

"Ashton, are you really going to another one of their concerts?" Drew asked Ashton as they sat down at their desks getting ready for the school day.

"Of course I am, if I don't go then no one else is going to post information on the concert. People need to know what songs were played this week, which members did what this week, and photos of the entire experience. People need to see the experience to want to go to the experience." Ashton explained to Drew his long-time friend whom he had met in middle school.

"Jeez, you really make it seem like the end of the world. It's just some underground Idol group. You make it seem like they're performing all over the place but they only perform at that same venue every week with tons of other groups. I doubt they will ever end up going anywhere at this point, but a group that you can be paying attention to is something like Black Starlight!" Drew said with a smile as he pulled out his phone and showed the group Black Starlight that he had been listening to for the past few days.

They were a popular group that had recently jumped onto the idol scene from what Ashton understood. Their follower count on most of their social media had already jumped to well over a million followers making Ashton even less interested. With numbers like that, they surely had many people following their every move already and Ashton's whole purpose was to bring those that didn't have any eyes on them to the forefront so they could shine as brightly as they wanted to. For a group that already had the masses behind them, Ashton found no need to pay attention to them.

"I'll have to pass, I'm more than content with covering the idols at that venue, especially Burning Roses they deserve to have some recognition!" Ashton argued bringing up the name of the idol group they had been talking about the entire time.

Burning Roses was a newly formed idol group that had been active for the past 6 months and was the object of Ashton's time and energy. Ever since he saw their first performance at one of the underground venues Ashton had been hooked. The way that they shined on stage was something that Ashton didn't see even with the most popular idol groups he had watched online and in person. He knew that they were something special and made it his mission to show the world how amazing they could be.

"Sure, sure, whatever you say. Just make sure not to shake your camera so much this time it was almost unwatchable the last time you recorded their concert." Drew said laughing.

*****

*Ding Ding* *Ding Ding*

All throughout the school the bell rang as it signaled the end of the school day. Ashton was one of the first to get up alongside Drew who walked out with him as they made their way out of the building. Since it was a Friday both Ashton and Drew were in even higher spirits with the addition of the concert looming that evening.

"So after all of that trash talk, you're still going to go with me?" Ashton smirked as Drew suddenly decided to purchase a ticket for the venue that night as well.

"It's not for your stupid Burning Roses or whatever. I just wanted to check out some of the new people coming tonight. There's a chance there are some fun groups." Drew said looking away as he didn't want to admit he kind of wanted to see Burning Roses as well after Ashton talked about them all day.

"Yeah whatever, I'll meet you at the same spot as last time." Ashton chuckled before they both split off in different directions from the school as their houses were in different parts of the city.

When Ashton got home he quickly got ready as he put on some comfortable but fashionable enough clothes to not look strange. He also fixed his curly brown hair before grabbing his notepad and camera. Once he had all this he quickly left his home and headed toward the one venue in the city that was the house of all up and coming idols, the Star Lounge.