The Comeback (A Finn Wildfire One-Shot)
Disclaimer: Based upon characters in Choices - Red Carpet Diaries series. All characters presented are the property of Pixelberry Studios. I claim no ownership. This story is purely the work of the poster as fanfiction.
Primary Character: Finn Wildfire
Summary: After his epic public break-up with Cyndii Poppers and subsequent backlash, Finn Wildfire begins his reinvention by appearing on Leland St. James’ morning show.
Warnings: Adult Situations - Innuendo
Author’s Note: This one-shot is for Choices Creates 67: Unsung Heroes (Minor Characters) hosted by @clonedhayden
The crowd of Good Morning Hollywood erupted into applause as Leland St. James leapt to his feet to greet his final guest of the morning. “Ladies and gentleman, the fantastic Finn Wildfire! Let’s give him another round of applause!” Cheers and clapping broke out once again as Finn made his way towards the interview stage where Leland’s other guests were sitting on the couch.
“Chris Winters, it’s a pleasure,” Finn said introducing himself. “I love all your Captain USA movies.”
“Thank you,” Chris said smiling. “You were fantastic out there.”
Finn smiled broadly. He couldn’t believe a legend like Chris Winters loved his new music. He shook hands with the next guest as the crowd applause was still going. “Finn Wildfire. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“No, I’m Chadley Fortnum. You’re Finn.”
Finn just smiled at Chadley’s confusion.
Leland motioned for Finn to take the seat closest to his desk as the crowd noise finally died down. “That was a fantastic song. And the audience loved it. I must say, it’s a side of Finn Wildfire that we’ve never seen.”
“Thanks Leland. I’m really proud to showcase my new sound. I’ve grown up a lot these last few months,” Finn replied. “It’s amazing what kind of insight you get when you turn 21.”
Leland chuckled at the thought of Finn’s youthful insight. “Oh Finn, wait until you hit 30!” The studio audience erupted in a wave of laughter. Finn just smiled although he was hoping people would see that he was trying to be seen as an artist and not just the bad boy of pop trying to capitalize on the current love stricken male trend in music.
“Oh I’m sure you’re right Leland, but this past year I’ve grown a lot, as both an artist and a man,” Finn replied. “I know many people see me as the reckless guy I’ve been because I let my personal life get in the way of my career, but this new music is my chance to show the world who I really am.”
“Well judging by the audience’s reception to your performance today, I’d say that they love this new Finn.” Leland began another round of applause. “Ladies and gentlemen, that’s all the time we have. Let’s hear it for all my guests today. The fantastic Chris Winters, the incredibly sexy Chadley Fortnum, and the amazingly talented Finn Wildfire!”
The studio audience made their way out of the sound stage, while Finn and the other guests were surrounded by production assistants scurrying to remove mics and batteries from each of them and Leland. Chris Winter’s publicist led him to the private A-Lister’s dressing room, while Chadley began to make his way back to the shared dressing room reserved for other celebrities. Finn was about to head back with Chadley, but Leland stopped him before he could.
“Hey, I just wanted to say that I think you taking control of your sound and image is a fantastic thing Finn,” Leland began. “The new sound is amazing and anything my team or I can do to help promote you just let me know.”
Finn smiled, “Thank you Leland. I’ll definitely take you up on that.”
Leland shook Finn’s hand before heading off to his office. He turned back a few feet later, “And thank god you’re not with Cyndii Poppers anymore. You can do so much better than a Pictagram star.”
Finn chuckled before making his way back to the dressing room. As much drama as he and Cyndii had during their time together, her outburst after their relationship ended was the wake up call that he needed. Finn couldn’t even remember the girl’s name that he had cheated on Cyndii with, but he certainly felt the shame and public backlash when video of Cyndii dumping a drink on that girl’s head got out. Cyndii was bold, the girl was in tears, and Finn was the jerk that hurt them both. Most of his fans grew tired of his bad boy persona after that incident and voiced their displeasure all over his Pictagram and Chirper accounts. His management team and record label dropped him, sensing that even they couldn’t salvage his reputation. What’s funny is, they were the ones to craft the bad boy image for Finn in the first place. Finn had never experienced that kind of vitriol before and the subsequent firing from his label caused him to fall into depression.
Finn couldn’t tell you how long it took him to get out of his funk, but when he did, inspiration hit him big time. He wrote his own songs for the first time since he was sixteen, back when he was discovered on VidTube. Finn poured his heart and soul into these new songs, feeling free from the big music machine. And after today’s performance, Finn finally felt a sense of pride in himself. He was ready to take his career in this new direction - the right direction.
“Thank you Cyndii,” Finn said aloud as he entered the dressing room.
“No, I’m Chadley,” a voice from the floor responded.
Finn looked down to see a shirtless Chadley Fortnum doing cross leg crunches. “I’m sorry Chadley. I didn’t see you there. I thought you’d be gone already. I was talking to myself.”
“Oh my brain voice speaks out loud all the time,” Chadley replied jumping up from the ground. He moved towards his gym bag on the couch and grabbed a portable pull up bar, mounting it to the dressing room’s bathroom door and launching into a full workout set.
“Do you bring gym equipment with you everywhere?” Finn asked.
“Yeah,” Chadley answered breathlessly. “Gotta stay in shape for this new movie I’m in.” Chadley dropped down from the pull up bar, “This co-star of mine, Applebottom something, called me ‘Charley Four Pack!’”
“I am!” Chadley responded enthusiastically. “And I have a six pack!”
“Yes, you do,” Finn replied admiringly. “Don’t let this Pictagram girl get to you though. Trust me, there will only be drama. Just be who you are and do you.”
“Oh I do that every morning when I wake up,” Chadley stated proudly.
Finn just stood silent, not sure exactly how to respond to what Chadley had just said, although it was an interesting tidbit. Finn was quite surprised that Chadley would have daily self gratification sessions instead of waking up with a different girl every morning. Finn admired the hard work Chadley put into his physique, but he always figured guys that looked like Chadley would run through women. Finn was content and proud of his own fit body, but Chadley’s was on a whole other level.
Chadley took notice of Finn checking him out. It wasn’t the first time another guy had admired his body. Chadley was quite accustomed to being gazed at by most people and it made him happy. The admiring looks gave him reassurance that his workouts were paying off. Chadley dropped to the floor and started cranking out push ups to continue his routine. “We should work out together sometime bro. It’d be fun to have a workout partner again,” Chadley said during his latest exercise.
“Yeah man, that sounds great,” Finn replied. “I’ve been wanting to get back into the gym.” He grabbed a piece of paper off the desk in the dressing room and scribbled down his number for Chadley. “Shoot me a text anytime and we’ll set it up.”
Chadley stood up from the floor, sweat glistening his perfect body. “I was thinking a different kind of work out,” he winked.
Finn once again stood silent. He heard the words Chadley said, but Finn was very much surprised to hear him say them. In the brief few hours that Finn had known Chadley, the muscular actor never struck him as having a way with words, yet here he was actually using a euphemism on Finn. The thought of being with another guy intrigued Finn and the fact that a guy as attractive as Chadley Fortnum was making a pass at him was quite flattering. Leland’s words from just a little earlier came rushing back to Finn’s mind. You can do so much better than a Pictagram star. Finn thought on that for a brief moment, before adding his own thought. Yes. I can. And a hot television star rising to the co-starring role in a movie is definitely a big step up.
“What did you have in mind?” Finn asked excitedly as he locked the dressing room door.
A broad smile crossed Chadley’s face upon hearing Finn’s response. “I can’t tell you how happy this makes me,” Chadley said very upbeat. He turned back to his bag and pulled out a portable gym to strap over the bathroom door. “I’ve been dying to try out this new resistance gym for traveling and have always wanted to workout with a friend!”
