One Man Band System

That night, before heading inside the RV to sleep, Eric lay back on his lawn chair and gazed up at the stars, which were scattered across the dark sky like a shimmering ocean of light, looking absolutely breathtaking. Eric glanced over to his side and saw Emma, Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura lined up right next to him in their own lawn chairs.

He could see their necklaces glittering in the dim light, and then he looked down at his own. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. Without wasting any time, he started humming under his breath and pulled out his smartphone to open his notes app. His fingers began tapping away, typing rapidly across the screen.

Naturally, the girls glanced over at Eric, but since they already knew what he was up to, they left him to it. They were completely confident that whatever Eric was writing would sound beautiful to their ears and that they would love singing it using their own talents.

"Hmm... hmmmm... hm,"

Eric started humming, and of course, the melody was impossible for the six girls to ignore. They instantly turned to look at Eric with excitement, setting their own smartphones to vibrate so they wouldn’t make a sound. Then, they quietly dragged their lawn chairs a bit closer together while giving Eric a little space.

"He’s writing another hit song, haha," Laura whispered.

"Yeah, definitely. The rhythm is catchy... I bet it’s going to be great when it’s done," Priya added.

"Shh... don’t bother him, let’s just wait," Chloe advised the others.

"Chloe’s right, let’s just enjoy the moment... man, this is making me feel things... ugh... I kind of want to just pounce on him," Heidi joked.

"Hey... hey... don’t go pouncing on him and throwing everything off, don’t behave like that," Monica chided.

"Yeah, exactly, don’t disturb him right now," Emma agreed.

But just a few seconds later, Eric suddenly went, "hmm... hm... hm... hmmmm," humming a fast-paced, tense melody. It felt a bit eerie, sounding like someone being pursued by something, even though it still flowed smoothly and caught everyone’s attention. The six girls were instantly stunned. Without even realizing it, they huddled closer together because they suddenly got goosebumps, even though the weather wasn’t that cold.

"Why did the sound suddenly turn into some intense battle music?" Emma asked.

"Right... it went from a romance flick to a straight-up action movie," Laura replied.

"But I actually like this part better than the first half, hehehe," Chloe chimed in.

"It’s suspenseful... but beautiful and flowing at the same time... I seriously have goosebumps," Heidi said.

"A song like this... the lyrics are probably going to be heavy, fast, and soft all at once. Two totally different vibes blended into one... cool... it gives me the chills but it’s so cool," Monica added, observing Eric closely.

Meanwhile, Priya just stood there dazed, not saying a single word. She kept quiet, staring at Eric without moving, completely tuning out her friends. Then, Eric stopped abruptly. The whole thing had only lasted about two minutes. He looked lost in thought as he stared at his phone screen.

"Hmm... bummer I didn’t bring my laptop... guess I’ll try playing it on the keyboard when we get back," Eric thought to himself.

Suddenly, Eric shut his eyes as bright headlights flashed directly into them. He wasn’t the only one; the six girls were also caught off guard by the blinding glare and shielded their eyes. When they opened them again, they saw a fleet rolling in: three large luxury RVs, two sports cars, three SUVs, and a flatbed truck loaded with equipment in the back.

Eric and the girls immediately stood up as the convoy pulled into the massive lot, hauling gear that was clearly meant for a film production. Eric, Emma, Monica, Priya, Heidi, Chloe, and Laura spotted the "Trinity Pictures" logo emblazoned on the side of the vans. They all exchanged bewildered glances.

"Are they going to shoot a movie?" Chloe asked.

"In the middle of the night like this?" Emma asked, totally confused.

"I doubt it. Just watch," Eric answered, nodding toward the convoy.

He was right. Several crew members hopped out of the truck to pitch tents, while the three massive RVs extended their awnings. It looked like they were arriving tonight just to set up for a shoot the following day. Then, a middle-aged man climbed down from one of the SUVs, spotted their group, and started walking over to them.

Right behind him, a incredibly handsome, muscular, and clean-cut guy stepped out of a brand-new Porsche sports car. The six girls gasped in instant recognition; the guy was undeniably famous.

"Wow... is that... Wesley Thorne? The actor who always plays superheroes," Chloe whispered.

"Yeah... wow... this is the first time I’ve ever seen a massive celebrity in person," Heidi added.

"Hey... wait... why are they even here?" Laura asked, starting to get a bit nervous.

"Look... that middle-aged man heading our way... that’s director Morgan Lee... wow... absolute legends are walking straight toward us," Priya said.

"Get ready... here they come," Monica whispered, bracing herself.

As the two icons stood side-by-side in front of them, Eric could read on their faces that they felt bad for crashing his and the girls’ mountain getaway. Eric’s hunch was proven right. After a quick scan of Eric’s massive RV and their attire, Morgan grasped the situation instantly before speaking up.

"Good evening. I’m incredibly sorry if our sudden arrival disrupted your night. We’re scheduled to shoot on this mountain tomorrow and plan to haul our equipment up to the peak. So, please accept our apologies for imposing on your vacation," Morgan said politely, offering a friendly smile as his eyes moved across Eric, Emma, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura.

"Don’t worry about it at all, sir. We’re sorry if we’re actually the ones in the way, since we had no idea about your shooting schedule," Eric said, extending his hand.

"No... you’re definitely not in the wrong here. But thank you for being so understanding," Morgan replied, shaking Eric’s hand.

Suddenly, Morgan’s expression shifted slightly despite his lingering smile, and the overall vibe around him changed completely. He scrutinized Eric’s face, then glanced over at Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura, before his gaze finally landed on Emma at the end of the line. It seemed like he recognized exactly who these young people were. But before he could even open his mouth, Wesley beat him to it.

"Wait... you guys are The Empress, and you’re Eric Reed... and you’re the daughter of actress Miranda Cruz, right?" Wesley asked, voicing everything running through Morgan’s mind while pointing at them one by one.

Hearing a world-famous actor, someone practically inseparable from his iconic superhero persona, actually recognize their band caused Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura to perk up instantly, their eyes lighting up. Meanwhile, Emma narrowed her eyes at Wesley, her face basically asking, "How does a young actor like him even know my mom and know me?" Without waiting for Morgan, Wesley stepped forward and immediately shook Eric’s hand, which Eric naturally returned.

Then, he went down the line, taking the hands of Emma, Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura, kissing the back of each like a fairytale prince. "Gasp," the girls’ hearts completely fluttered. It wasn’t every day a famous, legendary actor shook their hands, let alone kissed them, they hadn’t factored this into their wildest dreams.

Emma was the only exception, looking increasingly bewildered. Before anyone could react, including Eric, Wesley turned back to Morgan.

"Director, how about we invite them to come up with us tomorrow?" Wesley suggested.

"Hmm... I don’t see any issue with them watching the shoot, as long as they’re on board with it," Morgan replied, looking toward Eric and the girls.

"Of course you guys are on board, right?" Wesley pressed, subtly forcing the issue.

Noticing the strange look on Emma’s face, Eric took another look at Wesley. For some reason, his gut was telling him that something was off with this guy, despite how famous he was.

After that, Eric began watching the two of them very closely, studying the fine details of their faces. After a moment, a feeling washed over Eric that he had seen Wesley’s face somewhere before and not just because he was a famous actor. It felt deeply familiar.

To confirm his suspicions, he pulled out his smartphone and opened his gallery, scrolling back to the photos taken during the beach festival. He compared them to Wesley’s features and "gasp," he instantly froze in shock.

The reason was that Wesley’s face and build looked almost identical to Kevin’s, who was currently serving in the military, even if their hairstyles were completely different. Eric took another look at Emma, and there was no denying it: Emma was clearly looking at Kevin standing right in front of her, not Wesley the actor.

He could see an expression on her face that was hard to put into words, with a million questions written all over it. On top of that, looking at his age, it was highly likely that Wesley was the exact same age as Kevin.

"For real... if this is true... but there’s no way I’m wrong... otherwise, why would Emma react like that... but seriously, how is Emma only realizing this now... I mean, the guy stars in movies... oh... right... he wears heavy makeup in movies... but what about interviews... actors showing up together for press conferences... and all the other movie promos... how could Emma not notice all this time and only just now realize it... it’s bizarre... but I probably shouldn’t get involved," Eric said in his head, observing Wesley, who looked like Kevin’s twin or a much slicker version of Kevin.