Chapter 5: Haley gets scouted
A/N: Okay so I may have copy and pasted the chapter for chapter 3 to chapter 4, I should have double checked when comments talked about missing something. Sorry guys for the mix up! I write the chapters in a writing software so there was some confusion with the transfer... anyway, to make up to the readers here's a bonus chapter for your guys!
After he did his morning work out, Tony took a cold shower before eating his breakfast meal prep. He had been living here for the past two weeks and when he opened the fridge he found it near empty.
"I guess I need to shop later… should I ask Phil or should I use my bike for the first time? A bike can't really bring any groceries but it's not like I have a car… I guess that's another reason to visit Haley on the list"
Tony absent mindedly thought as he used his laptop to go over the current trends in the market. He looked for information about his investments and those he's been eyeing and found that his current portfolio was the most optimal.
It took him a good 30 minutes to check the market and finish his breakfast. After which he looked at the clock and found that the time was now 7:42 am.
Tony cleaned up and headed to his room to change, he looked over all his clothes and found that the only clothes he could wear were the ones he had brought back from Hollywood Arts.
"Well I did plan on telling them about the show so being in character could maybe make them, especially Haley accept the show…"
With such thoughts Tony wore a pair of dark blue jeans, with a chain on the side. His top consisted of a tight fitting gray shirt under a plaid long sleeve shirt worn like a jacket. He put on a chain necklace that showed the classical look of Tony in the show.
"Now… I guess it's time to face the consequences of my actions"
With a determined look in his eyes, Tony walked towards the Dunphy residence not realizing that some people were already sneaking looks through their windows. Especially when he left the house looking like Tony from the show.
In one of the houses, a young teen stared wide eyes at Tony as she called out to her mother-
"MOM! Tony he- he wore the- ahhh!"
Screaming at the brunette, Nicole Ellis screamed like a little girl, an action that her parents didn't see her do for a long time.
Not knowing that his choice was affecting a few families already, Tony walked towards the Dunphy residence ignorant of what was to come. But he did notice something-
"Cam's and Jay's cars are still in the driveway… did they not go home last night?"
Tony whispered seeing the two cars parked in the driveway, although it was rare, the family did have overnight parties and sleepovers before so he ignored this as he rang the doorbell.
Tony waited for a few seconds and no response was heard, he waited for a bit more before ringing the doorbell again. This time the door was opened but it was not Claire or Phil who opened the door but instead it was Alex who opened the door.
When she opened the door a look of surprise was cast over her face before calming down as she said-
"Oh, Tony, good morning, what does stardom feel like?"
Her question made Tony pause and look at her with a confused expression. Seeing this, Alex, with her years of knowing Tony could already picture the reason why he had such an expression on his face.
'Yeah, he was always like this, like the time he didn't know that he was the valedictorian of his class since he didn't really care about the rankings. He only learned about it during their graduation which only shocked him as everyone else already knew about it… this should be like that'
Alex thought in her mind as she silently pointed towards the living room, Tony walked towards the living room and when he did he saw a scene that made him stop as he did not know what to make of it-
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! GO TONY! GOOOOO!!!!"
Cam was screaming at the top of his lungs while Haley focused on the TV her eyes had a mesmerized look in their eyes.
Phil was also screaming, "It's COMIIINNGGGG!!!!"
Their reactions were varied but Tony could only stare at all this blankly as the tv showed the scene of him standing in a small stage at Hollywood Arts. He gazed at the crowd, Tori was among them and the camerawork made it look like he gave her a good stare and a wink as he was playing the guitar, after the instrumental intro he suddenly grabbed the mic as he sang-
[We the Kings - Check Yes, Juliet]
🎶Check yes Juliet🎶
🎶Are you with me?🎶
When the song started to play, the show was making good work with the cinematography making the song look like it was written for Tori.
Tori also started to dance when the chorus came and Tony was taking over the stage as he sang.
"THERE IT ISS!!!"
Cam screamed with excitement while Phil jumped up as he exclaimed-
"TONYYY! THAT'S MY MAN!!!"
Tony ignored the two adults acting like teens as he focused on Haley who had a dreamy look on her face. Though he did notice that in the scenes where Tori appeared she would have this weird look that was her current dreamy expression tinged with a bit of annoyance.
Claire was also surprisingly bobbing her head to the song as she focused on the show.
Alex stood beside Tony as she shook her head when Tony turned his attention towards her.
Luke was also watching the show, he was copying Tony playing the guitar running around.
Gloria was beside Claire and the two were focused on the show, Manny was playing with Luke and Jay was the first one to notice him as he turned to the side and saw Tony standing there.
"Tony!"
His words made everyone look towards him as they never expected Jay to speak as he didn't seem to find the show entertaining. But he stayed to watch along as it was kind of a family endeavor at this point.
When everyone looked curiously towards Jay, they finally noticed Tony was there standing by the living room's entrance. Though, the first one to react was Cam-
"AHhh! It's the clothes he wore when he risked detention with Tori after Jade faked her injury in stage class!"
Hearing his words Tony could not help but retort-
"How do you remember something that should have happened 6 episodes ago?!"
After the shocking morning, Tony sat in the kitchen facing Alex, as she was the only one who didn't seem to be interested in the show, well almost not interested…
"You showed that you were smart, why did the show focus on you acting and singing?"
Those were the first words she spoke, a question about the portrayal of his character in the show Starstruck.
"Well, it just doesn't get as much views as the teenage drama does"
His words made Alex nod in understanding but then she replied-
"Though there is a part of the fanbase that likes you acting smart. Robbie is the smart yet weird tech kid, but you were the cool genius. Some people liked the episode where you made a Rube Golberg chain reaction machine to make your presentation with Tori workout when all the people responsible for the lights and effects called in sick…"
Hearing Alex talk about an episode of the reality tv show made Tony have a weird feeling as he stared at her. He had been with the Dunphy's for quite some time and he pretty much knew about each member of the family.
He had watched all their antics and their playful banter, their interactions and their changes over the years.
Alex was not the type to like watching reality TV shows, especially one that catered for teens as she would usually see it as being too childish. But then, seeing her talking about it made Tony realize that even Alex had that side to her.
This realization made Alex let out a small chuckle that did not go unnoticed as Alex was quick to stop and look at him with a questioning look as she demanded
"What?"
"Nothing, I just thought, "So Alex also has this side to her~"- yo, don't throw stuff at me, you'll break something!"
Alex started to lash out in embarrassment as Tony laughed dodging and catching the small things that Alex was tossing to him.
As the two were goofing around like this Claire suddenly went into the kitchen holding her phone.
"Oh, is that so? Well let me get Haley, I'll call you back"
Hearing her words Tony gave Claire a curious expression as he asked.
"What's this about Haley?"
Claire turned to Tony as she sighed before explaining.
"The producers of the show starstruck made a deal with the Principal of Palisades, the principal went around calling about the plans of the film crew and all the parents consented to having their children be part of the reality tv show"
Hearing her explanation, Tony did not let up his expression as he followed up asking,
"And Haley?"
Letting out another sigh, Claire sat on the kitchen table as she answered.
"They want Haley to play an important part in the show, they were asking me if I would allow it but-"
Claire paused to which Tony added-
"You want to reject the offer but you know Haley would accept."
The expression on Claire's face turned to a look of resignation as she replied.
"You were always the sharp kid"
"You know, Haley is quite talented, she shows talent in acting, singing… I mean, we took lessons together and she did excel in the arts"
Tony recalled his childhood where he was homeschooled by tutors in singing and acting. Haley would come over to play and they ended up taking the lessons together.
Of course Claire saw this and she also saw her daughters enthusiasm, she supported her endeavors but this stopped some time during middle school-
"Haley and I… we're basically the same, she did not get my talents, BUT, she did get a LOT of my personality… add that with her talents in performing arts and we're seeing a star being pulled into the worst Hollywood could offer"
With Claire's explanation, Tony got a good understanding of what she was worried about. He knew about some of Haley's problems but-
"I don't think she will end up THAT bad, and if she ever does, I promise to be there for her-"
As he was talking his words were suddenly cut by Claire who said-
"Like you promised Tori?"
"..."
Tony was left speechless, Claire had a smirk on her face seeing Tony's reaction but this silence was broken when Haley walked into the kitchen asking.
"I heard my name a few times, what's this all about?"
She asked, to which Claire quickly answered.
"Well, the principal called and-"
Interrupting Claire, Haley asked-
"Oh my god, is it about Wednesday?"
But Claire simply shook her head as she replied-
"No- "
But then she realized something as she gave Haley a confused look as she asked-
"Wednesday?"
To which Haley turned her head saying-
"Nothing"
Silence followed but was quickly broken by Tony who was quick to talk as he explained.
"The principal was approached by the producers of Starstruck and they want you to take an important role."
His words seem to bring the mother and daughter pair back to the main problem but Claire gave Haley a, "This is not over" look before turning to Tony as she asked.
"Tony what do you think this role is going to be?"
Having the conversation directed towards him, Tony thought for a moment before taking out his phone and scrolling through the emails and messages.
"Well, I'm not really sure, I have some thoughts and ideas about what they are planning, I did work with them for some time and know how they do things. I also made some moves so they can't do just whatever they wanted- though, their choice for the last episode did surprise me so… let's see here- there!"
After scrolling for some time, Tony finally found the email that he ignored for about a week and a half and when he read it he realized that he really did mess up pretty bad-
"Based on their email that I ignored for a week, they want to cast Haley as, "Tony's childhood sweetheart who stayed with him when he was mourning his parents death"... wait they found out about my parents death? No… well, ah… the service mom and dad took was a high class one that published obituaries in the local newspaper- ok so my life is completely public now…"
Tony read through the email, explaining the role the crew wanted Haley to take and he also added some comments about how the production team learned of his troubles.
The email had more responses that detailed a whole two weeks of the crew sending him emails informing him of the plans, their actions and all the things that led to the fiasco this morning.
With a sigh, Tony directed his gaze towards the mother and daughter pair who were both silently staring at him with a curious look to which he explained.
"Okay, the production team secretly made it look like Tori and I were going out, I snapped at them, they ignored me and so I… well I bought 50% of the production company handling the show… which just now increased to 70%, now I'm a major stakeholder of their company and they can't do anything when I have complaints. But… well for the past two weeks, I've been MIA, so they proceeded with their plans…"
Tony then began to explain his findings, about how the studio made deals and used crowdfunding to make the final episode air in multiple national TV stations.
Then they made a deal with the company to allow their subsidiary TV station where the show was initially showing, to start a marathon that would premier the whole season over the span of 24 hours.
"They even added some "special" behind the scenes episodes in between to further extend the show-"
"Yeah, it was fun to watch you mess around but annoying when they focused on you flirting with Tori"
Haley commented towards Tony's explanation which the young man could only reply with a wry smile as he explained.
"No- well, those were all framing and they did that without my knowledge. This 24 hour marathon was their idea which they plotted while I was dealing with my inheritance and finances…"
Although he explained himself, Haley still turned her head annoyed as she asked.
"So what is this childhood sweetheart supposed to do?"
To her question Tony could only sigh in defeat as he answered.
"Well, the childhood sweetheart will be the main character for the first few episodes alongside Tony, the story will revolve around Tony getting over his depression with the help of his childhood sweetheart. Then with all his problems piling up, Tony decides to follow through with his plans on starting his own record label, transferring to his sweethearts high school since he could breeze by with ease while working on his record label"
Hearing his explanation Haley thought for a moment before asking.
"How about Tori? His friends at Hollywood arts?"
"They'll learn about his parents death, try to find him and when they do- I guess the story will be a drama centered around the love triangle between Tony-Tori and the childhood sweetheart"
When Haley heard the explanation she nodded her head as she said.
"Fine, I'll take the role"
But her words were interrupted by Claire who asked.
"Wait right there, I wanna know how they thought of casting Haley as the childhood sweetheart?"
Without any hesitation, Tony answered saying-
"Well Haley was posting all about it and we are friends on Facebook and if I'm not mistaken she also posted about her life in twitter, so they probably found out about it there"
When he talked about the two social media platforms, Tony turned towards Haley as he added.
"Well, now that you are agreeing to it, be prepared, you'd probably get a ton of followers and an even larger group of haters"
As he spoke, Tony showed Haley his current followers on twitter causing Haley to stare dumbley at the number-
"2 million… you have more followers than Oprah!"
"What can I say, most users are teens and that's our target demographic"
His words made Haley pause as she began to do some mental computations, as crazy as it seems, Haley was quite smart. Especially when she has to think about something that is important to her.
"You mean I'll get famous?"
Haley's response was quick and Tony's answer came just as quickly as he answered-
"As the enemy of most fans"
But despite his negative answer, Haley shut him up with 1 finger as she answered.
"Bad publicity is still publicity, plus, would anyone really get mad at this face?"
As she spoke Haley posed showing off her charms which made Tony sigh as he replied.
"Well, that's your choice, but if you do get in trouble don't hesitate to call"
After that Tony and Haley looked at Claire who wanted to say something but seeing the expression on both Haley and Tony she relented as she dialed the principal number.
"Hello Mrs. Dunphy?"
"Yes, I Haley is willing to accept the role, but-"
Claire quickly jumped to the main point, ignoring pleasantries but as she did her words were cut off by an excited voice. The phone was set on speaker as both Haley and Tony were listening in.
"Mrs. Dunphy! We are glad to hear that! If it's not all that troublesome, would you be willing to have a meeting to discuss the matter? Hopefully, ready to sign contracts-"
The voice was familiar, Tony knew the owner of the voice, it was the same voice that he had countless discussions and debates with.
Hearing the voice after two weeks and recalling the last episode fiasco, Tony was unable to control himself as he grabbed the phone and answered.
"Sounds like you're thinking of doing things behind my back- again"
When Tony answered, the sound from the phone went silent before a different voice answered.
"Yo! Tony! How have you been? There's a LOT we have to catch up on, I know, but-"
Hearing the voice Tony smiled as he retorted-
"Dale, we're all busy people, so how about we meet at Cattleman's?" - Tony
"The cowboy themed steakhouse?" - Dale
"Yeah, I'll get us a reservation for the afternoon service." - Tony
"I'd expect nothing less from our major stakeholder!" - Dale
"Oh shut it, I'll go over the contracts, if you placed any traps…" - Tony
"Don't worry! We assure you, the contracts and plans were made with your and your little lovers best interest" - Dale
"Good" - Tony
After their conversation Tony ended the call and gave the mother and daughter pair a smile as he said.
"Now then, I guess it's time we prepare for the meeting"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone