One Man Band System

After heading upstairs, "sigh," Eric, Chloe, and Laura all let out a heavy breath as they collapsed onto the sofa. They sat there in stunned silence. Eric glanced at Chloe on his right and Laura on his left; both of them were still gripping his hands tightly, their fingers trembling and cold to the touch.

"Are you guys alright?" Eric asked, looking back and forth between them.

"I honestly thought I was going to get deported back to my hometown," Laura said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"And I’m just glad the lecture is over... even though I technically didn’t have anything to do with it," Chloe added, equally relieved.

"Well, just let it go. It’s their own fault... I told them before we even left that they needed to head-up their parents first," Eric said.

"Yeah... I know, sorry. I forgot to tell my uncle," Laura said, looking down.

"I told someone... I told Bryan, at least, haha," Chloe chimed in.

"Forget it, no use talking about it now. You’ll see them at school tomorrow anyway," Eric replied.

Suddenly, "ding," a notification popped up on Eric’s smartphone, immediately followed by alerts on Chloe’s and Laura’s phones. They opened them together and saw that Emma, Priya, Monica, and Heidi had messaged Chloe and Laura. They were begging them to bring their school uniforms to class tomorrow morning because they were currently "grounded" at their respective homes tonight to endure non-stop lectures from their parents.

"Sigh," Chloe and Laura groaned simultaneously. Then they leaned over to look at Eric’s screen as he finished typing a reply. Once the message sent, they caught a glimpse of his chat history and gasped when they realized Eric had just messaged Anthony.

"Huh... you’re meeting up with that guy again?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah... what for?" Laura chimed in.

"Oh... tomorrow I’m heading over to Trinity Pictures to sign the contract we went over in the RV with Mr. Morgan and Alan. So, I figured I’d ask Anthony to meet up since I’ll be in the area. I shot him a text while I was driving earlier," Eric explained.

"Right... but why? Are we planning to sign with the Trinity Records label?" Chloe asked.

"Do the other girls know about this?" Laura asked.

"Hmm? No, I don’t intend to join Trinity Records or use their label at all," Eric clarified.

"Then what is it?" Chloe and Laura demanded at the exact same time, completely consumed by curiosity.

"Well... just to have a chat. Is that not allowed?" Eric asked, totally bewildered.

Chloe and Laura locked their eyes onto Eric’s face, leaning in so close that Eric had to instinctively recoil, backing up until he was pressed flat against the frame of the sofa.

"Hmm... you’re hiding something, aren’t you?" Chloe asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Yeah... spill it," Laura added, her curiosity so intense that her eyes were fully visible, no longer hidden behind her bangs.

"I just want to learn the ins and outs of the industry. You guys know I want to launch my own label and revive my grandfather’s production house," Eric said.

"Is that so? Does he even know anything about the business side of the industry? He’s just a manager, isn’t he?" Chloe questioned.

"True, but he can get my foot in the door and introduce me to the people who can actually break everything down for me," Eric replied.

"Ugh... how is that possible? There’s no way a guy like him has access to anyone that high up," Chloe pressed.

"I know, I just need an entry point, seriously," Eric countered.

"Hmm," Chloe murmured, still studying Eric from inches away, closer even than Laura was on his other side.

"Sigh," Eric breathed out a heavy sigh, knowing it wasn’t going to be easy to shut down Chloe since she actually understood business. Finally, he pulled out his smartphone and opened up his gallery. Once he found what he was looking for, he thrust the screen directly in front of Chloe’s face, letting her read what was on it.

Chloe scanned the text for a second, and her expression completely changed. She snatched the smartphone right out of Eric’s hand to read the whole thing. A curious Laura scrambled around behind Chloe to read along over her shoulder. Naturally, both of their expressions shifted dramatically as they turned their gazes back to Eric.

"Wait... you... you own a 5% stake in Trinity Entertainment?" Chloe asked, staring at Eric in disbelief.

"Is this... for real?" Laura asked, staring at him just as wide-eyed.

"Yeah... that’s why I want him to set up a meeting with his boss. Get it? I want to get a feel for things and learn how the industry works from the inside out, because I’m serious about bringing my granddad’s production house back to life. That’s why a simple introduction from him is all it takes for me to establish a real presence there. Make sense?" Eric said casually.

Chloe and Laura kept staring at Eric as if they were looking at a complete stranger, suddenly realizing they barely knew the man sitting next to them. Yet, a deep sense of admiration and newfound respect clearly flashed in both of their eyes. Naturally, seeing them frozen in silence, Eric reached over to snatch his smartphone back from Chloe’s hand.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Eric asked.

"Who the hell are you, seriously?" Chloe asked, sliding over closer and locking her arms around Eric’s.

"Yeah... you really have a habit of constantly catching me off guard," Laura added, shifting over to sit right next to Eric and wrapping her arms around his other side.

"He... hey, you guys are a little too close here. How about we order some food right now... hahaha," Eric said nervously, completely thrown off because he could vividly feel the soft warmth of the two girls pressing up against him.

"Oh, that’s true. We haven’t even had dinner yet," Chloe said.

"Yeah... let’s eat. Do you guys want to just head out?" Laura asked.

"Hmm... sounds good to me, let’s go grab something," Eric suggested, gently untangling himself from the two girls’ grip.

They immediately headed over toward the elevator. Eric grabbed his car keys off the kitchen counter and stood waiting by the doors. Moments later, they took the elevator straight down to the basement parking lot and headed out to find some food, eventually moving on to a bar that Laura recommended.

***

The next morning, "ugh," Eric woke up. Slowly blinking his eyes open, he stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom. He lay there for a moment, waiting for his brain to fully reboot, when a sudden, pounding headache hit him like someone was beating a drum inside his skull. He lifted a hand to press against his forehead.

"Uh... right. I was drinking with Chloe and Laura last night... even though they technically aren’t supposed to be drinking yet... but whatever... what’s done is done," Eric muttered to himself.

With his head throbbing painfully, he started to sit up in bed, keeping one hand clamped over his forehead. That was when he noticed the sheets felt a little damp. He peeled back the comforter and his eyes nearly popped out of his head, he wasn’t wearing any pants. In fact, he didn’t have a single stitch of clothing on.

"Huh," his mind raced back to the night before. He remembered being slightly buzzed while the two girls were completely wasted, and how he had struggled to get them both into the car to drive them back home. But after that point, his memory went totally blank.

"Uh," Eric heard a faint groan to his right. He turned his head slowly, and his heart nearly leaped out of his chest and ran away. He saw Chloe sleeping right next to him, completely naked. Before he could even process the absolute shock of it, he felt something brush against his back.

He slowly turned over to the other side of the bed. This time, his brain completely froze and suffered a forced shutdown. He saw Laura sleeping flat on her back on the other side, and naturally, she didn’t have any clothes on either.

Suddenly, the memories of the night came rushing back. He remembered everything that happened after they returned to the bedroom. Yeah, it was true, he had crossed the line with both of the girls currently sharing his bed. The color instantly drained from his face.

As he looked over at Laura, who was sleeping peacefully like nothing was wrong, Joe’s face flashed vividly in his mind. He immediately pictured the video Joe had shown him, with Jason looking absolutely pulverized in that hospital bed.

To make matters worse, Katie’s voice started echoing in his ears. He brought both hands up to his head, pulling his face down in sheer panic.

"Okay... I am dead... I am absolutely a dead man... I completely crossed the line this time... aaaah... why did I do this... how am I supposed to take responsibility for them now?" Eric thought to himself, clutching his hair tightly with both hands.