Rise To Stardom - Chapter 171

Chapter 171: Promise
| You have acted before everyone and impressed them! |

| You have obtained a huge amount of exp. points! |

| 5000 exp. points have been awarded! |

| Total exp. points available (20,095) |

| Acting has advanced from level 13 to level 14! |

| Advancement in acting will become even harder from here on out! |

| Keep acting to improve your skills! |

“Curious…” Kyle quietly muttered, his gaze trained on the amount of exp. points he had been awarded.

Actually, Kyle had noticed for the longest time now, that as he improved his stats all-round, the exp. points he also got, were more or less increasing in scale…

Recently, though, it had been noticeably pronounced, a situation that had Kyle thinking;

‘It’s almost as if the system’s trying to adapt in sync with my increased growth… curious…’

Kyle pondered deeply for a few minutes, wondering if there was a reason for this uniformed scaling.

However, having come to the conclusion that there was probably so much to the system that he’d probably never understand, he let his thoughts on the subject matter go, a small, accepting sigh escaping his lips.

Gazing at his notifications with a contented smile though, Kyle then pulled up his status panel, studying it for a few seconds.

___________________________

{Kyle Kestis} – Exp. Points (20,095)

⸶Skills⸷

| [Soulful Vocals (P)], [Growth Spurt (P)], [Appraisal(A)], [Resonance (P)] – {A}], [Charisma (P)], [Polyglot (P)], [Deep Dive (A) – {A}], [Recollection (P)], [Scene Stealer (A)], [Action & Stunt Mastery (P)], [Bleeding Effect (P)], [Detoxification (A)], [Peak Human Conditioning (P)], [Flow (P)]…

* Exp. Points can be used to create skills.

⸶Levels⸷

| Singing › Level 14

| Acting › Level 14

| Composing › Level 14

| Dancing › Level 11

| Instrument Mastery (Piano/Guitar) › Level 10/10

* Levels will increase in accordance to your growth.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––

‘Hmmm… that said, should I do it?’ he inwardly questioned, a thoughtful expression on his features.

Considering almost all his other stats were pretty much at a level where he was contented with them, Kyle gave himself a brief nod of approval and then, used [Editor’s Touch];

___________________________

Dancing › Level 11

Upgrade to Level 12 with 20,000 exp. points?

Exp. Points Available – (20,095)

Exp. Points Consumed – (20,000)

Exp. Points Left – (95)

___________________________

-Ding!

| Dancing has advanced from level 11 to level 12! |

| Keep dancing to improve your skills! |

Having felt that he had properly bridged the gap between he, the main cast and the dance crew, and was also, more or less on the same level as Tyler, Kyle closed off the panel and stared at the starry night’s sky.

In fact, considering Kyle was going to be using [Deep Dive] and [Scene Stealer] in the last dance scene, it was safe to say that he would in fact, be the best dancer in that moment.

Not thinking along those lines though, Kyle simply allowed the breeze of the cold night’s air which was facilitated by the swaying palm trees to wash over him.

Enjoying the somewhat peaceful ambience, save for the constant honks of vehicles in the distance, Kyle exhaled peacefully…

Only for his serene ambience to be disrupted by Sharon whom had finally arrived;

“Are you perhaps, thinking about me?”

“Fat chance Sharon.” Kyle got off the bench while stating casually as he stared at the lady whom had just come down from her hotel.

She was dressed in a pink hoody, pink crocs and white sweatpants, her hands in the hoodie’s pockets as she pouted sullenly in reply;

“Not even a little bit.”

“I’m not the type to lead a lady on so no.” Kyle politely stated with a smile and then asked, a hint of concern on his features;

“So, about the message…”

In response to his words, Kyle watched as Sharon’s expression changed from jovial to slightly uncomfortable, after which she then sighed in resignation and stated;

“I think we should head somewhere more secluded. The hotel has a VIP dining lounge so that’d be ideal.”

…

…

…

Having listened to a voice recording of the exchange between her and her agent, Kyle leaned back into his chair, his expression calm.

Staring at him from the other end of the table, Sharon spoke;

“You see the thing is, even when I try not to get myself involved, they always find a way to do so. It’s always been like that for as long as I can remember.”

“And well, since I was forced to sign a pretty predatory contract when I was quite young and stupid, I have to follow their terms.” the lady explained even further.

As Kyle listened, he picked up on the ‘I was forced’ part especially, one that made him realize that Sharon was purposely leaving out many details for reasons only known to her.

‘Deeply personal stuff I’m sure…’ he reasoned to himself.

“Summary of it all, if I were to break off my contract, decide that I was done with them, everything I have, everything I own, it’d completely belong to them.” Sharon slightly rubbed one of her arms with a slightly sad smile.

“But this…” she pointed with her other hand at her phone.

“That’s my limit…”

“I can’t do that. I won’t do it.” she concluded, staring at Kyle who simply listened with a composed gaze.

Introspecting on her words, on the situation she was in, Kyle realized once again that he had been one of the lucky few.

One of the very lucky few whom wasn’t held back or chained down by anyone in the deep, dirty waters of the fake, insidious glitz and glam of the industry called Hollywood.

So many times, he’d heard from Oliver about crazy predatory and overall sinister practices in Hollywood but this… this was the first time he was witnessing one of such cases.

But, even more than that, the fact that Sharon was informing him of something she could’ve decided to keep to herself, was in and of itself, him being lucky.

And it was why, the young star couldn’t help but ask…

“Why me? Why tell me, all these?” Kyle asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Because I’m in love with you?” Sharon tried to lighten the mood with a seductive smile, to which Kyle frowned, an eyebrow arched up;

“Fine…” she let out another sigh, her somberness returning.

“Because, you never seemed to care about the rumors surrounding me, Kyle.” Sharon truthfully said, after which she then added;

“And because, I don’t want you to end up having your career tainted by someone like me, or my agency.” the lady concluded, her smile honest.

“But what about you? Surely, your agency wouldn’t be alright with you, simply discarding their orders, right?” Kyle asked, his tone serious, one to which Sharon responded, hands placed on her cheek with a dazzling smile;

“I knew it! You do care about me!”

“Sharon.” the young man chided her.

“Oh what’s the worst that could happen that hasn’t already?” Sharon had an accepting smile on her features, her hands, tucked back into her hoodie.

“Just ensure to keep away from me for the next few months.” she winked at him with a thin smile.

To that, a small silence descended between both individuals, Sharon feeling her chest getting lighter by the second.

Sure enough she was just acting tough but, for the first time in forever, she also, felt so, so relieved.

Thinking to himself for a few seconds though, Kyle then slightly leaned forward on the table and calmly spoke;

“I apologize for being incapable of helping you now, Sharon…”

“As much as I may seem popular, the extent of my connections and reach, aren’t anything impressive, unfortunately.” Kyle stated, a noticeable hint of regret in his tone.

“Not to the extent that I can go against an entire agency, on my own…”

“But, I will make it up to you in the future.”

“Step, by step.” he added, his words genuine.

“That, I promise.” Kyle declared, a fierce glint of determination in his sapphire irises.

Staring at him, seeing just how genuine he was being with her, Sharon couldn’t help but stare at her pocketed hands, nervously fiddling with them as tears began to brim on her eyelids.

“Thank you…” the lady quietly said in gratitude after a few seconds, her shaky voice whispery as her field of vision, slowly blurred with tears streaming down her beautiful face.

In response, Kyle offered his handkerchief, one that Sharon, was grateful for as she wiped her tears with it.

Making promises was something Kyle, rarely ever did.

However, when he did end up making them, he would hold himself to it, till he fulfilled it.

And in Sharon’s case, he already had a sort of methodical plan on how he would gradually pull her out of her agency’s vile clutches.

However, considering said plan, had to do with a conceived idea of his only he and Oliver had ever discussed a few times here and there, Sharon would need to wait much longer.

That said, unknown to both Kyle, Oliver and the lady herself, this idea of his, was one that was going to cement both his and the lady’s career in Hollywood as one of the biggest A-listers of their time.

But that…

That was a story for another time.

* * *

(Three days later…)

Finally, the last dance scenes for Level Up 2 were about to be filmed.

Leading up to those days, both the main cast and the dance crew had put in their all into perfecting their dance routines, especially because a bunch of external factors were to be used in those scenes.

From dust, to trampolines, to devil sticks, to water, and even the lighting equipment, everything was going to be incorporated into their dance routines.

In fact, the actual auditorium (a small gladiatorial-like one with evenly spaced columns and boxes), where the final dance itself was going to take place, was one they had used to practice a day before due to all these external factors.

As for all the preparations that went into pepping all these external factors, accolades had to be given to the movie’s prop crew, set designers and cinematographers.

It was something they had been working on for many months after all, all to bring Danny’s vision to life.

And now, having already filmed The Deviant’s final dance practice montage and the scene where Lance eventually joins them, the main cast was in the auditorium, ready to film their last dance scene too.

Clad in matching black, long-sleeved shirts, slim-fitted black jeans and mini-skirts with work-out shorts underneath for the ladies, sleek sneakers and black leather jackets for the guys, all seven alongside the rest of the people on set, watched as Tyler and his dance crew owned the stage with perfection.

Using the dust-exuding trampoline like it wasn’t even a big deal, they sometimes even performed some dance moves in the air that mirrored their teammates dancing on the stage with eerie precision.

“That’s insane…” Maya couldn’t help but mutter out loud when she saw just how crazy some of the moves were, one to which Reggie, Josh, Melissa and Spencer nodded in agreement to.

Tyler especially, stood out, his moves being the heart of the entire choreography as he employed a double back flip and went straight into the next dance choreography mid-performance.

It was the final stretch of their dance routine as the live audience in the auditorium cheered them on in amazement!

“Honestly, if we hadn’t practiced our butts off, I’d have been so intimidated.” Sharon, back to her typical self, said to Kyle who nodded in approval, a relaxed expression on his features.

And so, watching The Syndicates finally finish up their choreography with excited screams from the audience, The Deviants were called up a few minutes later, just as Danny, moved to take his seat on the Director’s chair.