(no subject)
Title: Dim Camera Lights
Characters: KittyMarie, Taylor Swift, J-Dub, Jen
Pairings: KittyMarie + J-Dub (Friendship), J-Dub/Jen (pretty obvious)
Rating: PG
Summary: When she wrote Online Star, she never imagined she'd catch the attention of the original artist...
Notes: Real-person fic. Also, I know his wife really doesn't show up in stories often, but I felt like putting her in to kind of balance things out. Also, he needed someone to go to the concert with...
The tall girl with the blonde curly hair thumbed through the fan's notebook, a look of shock and awe plastered onto her face. "How many of these are parodies of my songs?" she asked.
"A lot," Katie answered with a smirk. "I've parodied quite a few of your songs, but this is probably the one I'm proudest of." She leaned over Taylor's shoulder and flipped a few pages before stopping at her pride and joy - Online Star. "I wrote this for my idol," she explained. "He's a Japanese culture enthusiast who has a web show where he reviews Japanese video games that never came out here. Also, he dresses up as David Bowie's character from Labyrinth and likes catgirls."
Taylor giggled and looked down at the handwritten lyrics. "Katie, this is so cute!" she said. "It really captures how much you adore him. I wish I could do something with this."
"Well, I kind of had an idea," Katie admitted shyly.
Taylor looked intrigued. "What is it?"
Katie turned slightly pink. "When are you playing in Denver?"
******
"Hey, hon, were you expecting anything from Nashville?" Jen yelled to Justin.
"Nashville?" The gamer looked bewildered. "No, why?"
Jen handed her husband a padded envelope. "The FedEx guy just dropped this off. And our address is handwritten, so I don't think it's a sales pitch or anything like that."
Justin tore open the package and removed a fat white envelope and a folded piece of notebook paper, which he instantly unfolded. It was a letter, written in pink pen, with cat faces randomly doodled in the margins. Jen listened as Justin read.
"'Dear Justin and Jen:
I know this may seem really, really random, but rest assured there is a reason for this. My name is Taylor Swift, and --'"
Jen's mouth fell open. "WHAT?!?"
"Believe me, I'm asking myself the very same thing," Justin told his wife. He went on: "'-- and I was told to contact you by a very special fan. When I was in Connecticut last week, I met a girl who had written a parody of my song Superstar.'" Justin paused. "Oh my God."
"What?" Jen asked.
"It's...it's Katie. If this is legit, she's talking about Katie."
Jen's expression changed from confused to shocked. "Coffee milk and maple candy. That Katie, right?"
Justin nodded and turned back to the letter. "'Enclosed you will find two tickets to my Denver show, where Katie' - see, I told you it was Katie - 'has agreed to perform both as an opening act and a duet with me on Online Star. Also enclosed are two wristbands allowing you access to the T-Party, an exclusive post-concert event held at every show where fans can meet and talk one-on-one with myself, my band, and the opening acts. Of course, for your show, this will include Katie.
Katie and I will be "enchanted" to see you.
With much love, Taylor and Katie.'"
Jen snatched up the fat white envelope and peered inside. Sure enough, two VIP tickets to Taylor Swift's Denver concert lay in the envelope, along with two white rubber bracelets inscribed "Taylor Swift T-Party". She picked one up and twirled it around her finger. "I guess we're going to see Taylor Swift," she said to her husband.
Justin smirked. "This'll be interesting."
******
"Katie, you're on in five!" Scott Swift, Taylor's dad, called. "Hurry up!"
Katie gave Taylor a hug. "I always thought my first performance would be somewhere in New England," she giggled. "Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, that kinda place. I never expected Colorado."
Taylor grinned. "You'll do great, Katie. My only advice is, if you get nervous, try and find Justin in the crowd, and sing directly to him as if there's nobody else there." She patted Katie on the shoulder. "He's in the front row. Right behind the pit."
"Thanks, Taylor."
"Now go out there and be awesome!"
******
"Hello there, Colorado!" Katie giggled into the mike. "I know you guys really wanna see Taylor, but I'm gonna do some covers for you in the meantime. Ya cool with that?"
The crowd cheered.
Katie picked up a guitar. "This first song is one I KNOW you all know. It's pretty much required by law for you to know if you live in Colorado. It's more than a few years old, but I love it, and I know you do too, so I wanna hear all of you singing along, okay?"
"OH! I know what she's gonna sing!" Justin whispered to Jen.
"What? By the sounds of it, it's gotta be John Denver."
Justin nodded. "Rocky Mountain High, to be exact," the gamer replied. "She's been crazy about this song ever since I tweeted it to her a few months back."
Katie exhaled and began to strum and sing. "He was born in the summer of his twenty-seventh year....comin' home to a place he'd never been before..."
******
"....Falling, falling, falling in love, as the world falls down."
Katie smiled as she let the chords to her beloved David Bowie song die away, listening to the screams of the crowd. "Thank you, Colorado!" she finally said. "Stay amazing, I'll see you later!"
"She totally did that Labyrinth song on purpose," Jen laughed.
"Gee, you think?!" joked Justin.
Katie raced backstage and almost knocked over Amos Heller, Taylor's bass player. "Sorry, Amos!"
"Oh, that's okay, Kate," Amos chuckled. "You sounded awesome!"
"Thanks!" Katie grinned and glanced at the posted set list. Online Star was seventh, followed by Enchanted, which Taylor had said she may want to keep Katie onstage for. There was just enough time to grab something to eat. "Hey, Austin!" she called to Taylor's brother. "There's ramen noodles in the T-Party room, right?"
"There sure are," came Austin's voice. "Have as much as you want, too, we have enough ramen here to feed a small army."
******
"This next song is a very special one," Katie heard Taylor tell the crowd from her spot under the stage. "How many of you have heard my song Superstar?"
The crowd went crazy. Jen smiled over at her husband. "This is it..."
"Well, when I was in Connecticut, I met a new friend," Taylor continued. "And this friend has a superstar she loves, and he lives in Colorado. But he's not a superstar in movies or music. This superstar has his own web show. So technically, Katie's superstar is...an online star."
On cue, Katie rose out of the stage to the opening notes of Superstar. "This is for the import gamer from Colorado Springs," she said gently. "I'll...I'll always be your silly little fangirl." She took a deep breath and scanned the crowd until her eyes fell on the face she wanted so badly to see.
This is wrong but I can't help but feel like
You remind me of the babe.
Friday morning comes again and I'm so
Excited to see your face.
And I knew from the first port you played,
I'd be breaking all my rules to see you.
When you wear your Jareth costume,
All the girls on TGWTG scream your name.
So dim camera lights, and tell me things like
"You'll always be my KittyMarie."
I'm no one special, just another kitty girl,
Who wants to be just like you.
Give me a Famicom to plug in my wall,
Online star.
Morning loneliness comes around
When I'm not watching "Suburban Knights".
When my world wakes up today,
You'll be playing your DS.
And I knew on my birthday,
I'd be counting down the ways to see you.
When you wear your Jareth costume,
All the girls on TGWTG scream your name.
So dim camera lights, and tell me things like
"You'll always be my KittyMarie."
I'm no one special, just another kitty girl,
Who wants to be just like you.
Give me a Famicom to plug in my wall,
Online star.
You've served in bars, a Hero at Guitar.
I'm invisible, the Internet knows who you are.
And you'll never see, you sing me to sleep,
From Lindsay's Les Mis video...
So dim camera lights, and tell me things like
"You'll always be my KittyMarie."
I'm no one special, just another kitty girl,
Who wants to be just like you.
Give me a Famicom to plug in my wall,
Online star.
Sweet, sweet, online star,
Online star.
If Justin had been flattered and touched when Katie had sung Online Star for him on her stream from her bedroom that September night, it was nothing compared to what he felt now. Here, in front of thousands of people, there was a fan - a member of his Catgirl Army - that was singing her heart out, about him. Jen looked over and discovered that her husband was trying desperately not to break down. But when Katie finished singing and the crowd began to scream, he couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into joyful tears.
Instantly noticing that her idol was crying, Katie thrust her microphone into the hands of a beaming Taylor and dashed down the steps of the stage toward Justin and Jen, her spotlight following her all the way. "Justin!" she cried. "J-Dub!"
Justin laughed through his tears and raced toward his fangirl. "Come here, you," he whispered, letting Katie, who was now also crying, leap into his arms. Thousands of flashbulbs and video cameras lit up the arena around them. "Thank you, Kitten," Justin said softly. "Just...thank you. I will never, ever, ever forget this moment."
"You don't h-h-have to," sniffled Katie, managing a shy smile. "See all those cameras? I guarantee you that two hours after this show ends, about five people will have put this on YouTube already. Including your wife." She gestured behind Justin's back, where sure enough, jen was holding a camera.
"Well, that'll make sure I'll never forget it," Justin joked, giving Katie another bear hug before putting her down. "You better get back to the stage, Kitten. I'll see you at the T-Party later, okay?"
Katie lit up even more. "You'll be at the T-Party?!?"
Justin grinned and held up his arm, where his white T-Party bracelet sat. "You bet."
*****
Katie did end up staying onstage for Enchanted, and Taylor dedicated that night's performance of the song to her. But now the show was over, and there was only one thing left: the T-Party.
The chosen fans streamed into the T-Party room, all eager as could be to meet Taylor, but to one couple, meeting Taylor wasn't as important as seeing her teenage opening act.
"How did you stay calm?" Jen asked Katie. "I'd never be able to do that in front of thousands of people, seriously."
Katie blushed. "I just pretended I was back in my room, singing to my friends on livestream. I never get nervous on livestream, so I thought, why should I get nervous here?"
"Well, you can breathe now," Justin said, handing cookies to both his wife and his fangirl. "By the way, who made these cookies? They're phenomenal!"
"Taylor and I did!" Katie replied proudly. "I think they turned out pretty well, I mean, Taylor's obsessed with baking, so almost everything here was made by her, with a little help from me. I did more eating chocolate than actually helping, though. I'm a chocoholic, sue me..."
Justin and Jen burst out laughing. Taylor grinned and walked over. "Enjoying yourselves?" she asked.
"Taylor, thank you so much," Justin chuckled. "I never would have expected I'd be at a Taylor Swift concert....but with Kitten as the opening act, I can't say no."
Taylor's eyes lit up when she heard Katie's nickname. "Kitten?" she giggled to Katie. "He calls you Kitten?"
Katie's face turned pinker. "I told you he's a Japanese culture enthusiast. That includes catgirls. He LOVES catgirls. And he gave me the nickname KittyMarie when I was teasing him about it once. That ended up being shortened to Kitten."
"That's so cute!" Taylor laughed. "Is it okay if I call you that? I just love it so much!"
"Nya!" Katie cooed approvingly.
"KITTY!!!!!!" squealed Justin. Katie giggled madly and gave him a hug. "You're such a goof," she teased.
"I agree with that," Jen added.
Justin beamed and gave Katie a poke. "I may be a goof, but I'm your online star," he replied. "You said so tonight. In front of 20,000 people."
"Give me a Famicom to plug in my wall, online star," Katie sang.
Characters: KittyMarie, Taylor Swift, J-Dub, Jen
Pairings: KittyMarie + J-Dub (Friendship), J-Dub/Jen (pretty obvious)
Rating: PG
Summary: When she wrote Online Star, she never imagined she'd catch the attention of the original artist...
Notes: Real-person fic. Also, I know his wife really doesn't show up in stories often, but I felt like putting her in to kind of balance things out. Also, he needed someone to go to the concert with...
The tall girl with the blonde curly hair thumbed through the fan's notebook, a look of shock and awe plastered onto her face. "How many of these are parodies of my songs?" she asked.
"A lot," Katie answered with a smirk. "I've parodied quite a few of your songs, but this is probably the one I'm proudest of." She leaned over Taylor's shoulder and flipped a few pages before stopping at her pride and joy - Online Star. "I wrote this for my idol," she explained. "He's a Japanese culture enthusiast who has a web show where he reviews Japanese video games that never came out here. Also, he dresses up as David Bowie's character from Labyrinth and likes catgirls."
Taylor giggled and looked down at the handwritten lyrics. "Katie, this is so cute!" she said. "It really captures how much you adore him. I wish I could do something with this."
"Well, I kind of had an idea," Katie admitted shyly.
Taylor looked intrigued. "What is it?"
Katie turned slightly pink. "When are you playing in Denver?"
******
"Hey, hon, were you expecting anything from Nashville?" Jen yelled to Justin.
"Nashville?" The gamer looked bewildered. "No, why?"
Jen handed her husband a padded envelope. "The FedEx guy just dropped this off. And our address is handwritten, so I don't think it's a sales pitch or anything like that."
Justin tore open the package and removed a fat white envelope and a folded piece of notebook paper, which he instantly unfolded. It was a letter, written in pink pen, with cat faces randomly doodled in the margins. Jen listened as Justin read.
"'Dear Justin and Jen:
I know this may seem really, really random, but rest assured there is a reason for this. My name is Taylor Swift, and --'"
Jen's mouth fell open. "WHAT?!?"
"Believe me, I'm asking myself the very same thing," Justin told his wife. He went on: "'-- and I was told to contact you by a very special fan. When I was in Connecticut last week, I met a girl who had written a parody of my song Superstar.'" Justin paused. "Oh my God."
"What?" Jen asked.
"It's...it's Katie. If this is legit, she's talking about Katie."
Jen's expression changed from confused to shocked. "Coffee milk and maple candy. That Katie, right?"
Justin nodded and turned back to the letter. "'Enclosed you will find two tickets to my Denver show, where Katie' - see, I told you it was Katie - 'has agreed to perform both as an opening act and a duet with me on Online Star. Also enclosed are two wristbands allowing you access to the T-Party, an exclusive post-concert event held at every show where fans can meet and talk one-on-one with myself, my band, and the opening acts. Of course, for your show, this will include Katie.
Katie and I will be "enchanted" to see you.
With much love, Taylor and Katie.'"
Jen snatched up the fat white envelope and peered inside. Sure enough, two VIP tickets to Taylor Swift's Denver concert lay in the envelope, along with two white rubber bracelets inscribed "Taylor Swift T-Party". She picked one up and twirled it around her finger. "I guess we're going to see Taylor Swift," she said to her husband.
Justin smirked. "This'll be interesting."
******
"Katie, you're on in five!" Scott Swift, Taylor's dad, called. "Hurry up!"
Katie gave Taylor a hug. "I always thought my first performance would be somewhere in New England," she giggled. "Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, that kinda place. I never expected Colorado."
Taylor grinned. "You'll do great, Katie. My only advice is, if you get nervous, try and find Justin in the crowd, and sing directly to him as if there's nobody else there." She patted Katie on the shoulder. "He's in the front row. Right behind the pit."
"Thanks, Taylor."
"Now go out there and be awesome!"
******
"Hello there, Colorado!" Katie giggled into the mike. "I know you guys really wanna see Taylor, but I'm gonna do some covers for you in the meantime. Ya cool with that?"
The crowd cheered.
Katie picked up a guitar. "This first song is one I KNOW you all know. It's pretty much required by law for you to know if you live in Colorado. It's more than a few years old, but I love it, and I know you do too, so I wanna hear all of you singing along, okay?"
"OH! I know what she's gonna sing!" Justin whispered to Jen.
"What? By the sounds of it, it's gotta be John Denver."
Justin nodded. "Rocky Mountain High, to be exact," the gamer replied. "She's been crazy about this song ever since I tweeted it to her a few months back."
Katie exhaled and began to strum and sing. "He was born in the summer of his twenty-seventh year....comin' home to a place he'd never been before..."
******
"....Falling, falling, falling in love, as the world falls down."
Katie smiled as she let the chords to her beloved David Bowie song die away, listening to the screams of the crowd. "Thank you, Colorado!" she finally said. "Stay amazing, I'll see you later!"
"She totally did that Labyrinth song on purpose," Jen laughed.
"Gee, you think?!" joked Justin.
Katie raced backstage and almost knocked over Amos Heller, Taylor's bass player. "Sorry, Amos!"
"Oh, that's okay, Kate," Amos chuckled. "You sounded awesome!"
"Thanks!" Katie grinned and glanced at the posted set list. Online Star was seventh, followed by Enchanted, which Taylor had said she may want to keep Katie onstage for. There was just enough time to grab something to eat. "Hey, Austin!" she called to Taylor's brother. "There's ramen noodles in the T-Party room, right?"
"There sure are," came Austin's voice. "Have as much as you want, too, we have enough ramen here to feed a small army."
******
"This next song is a very special one," Katie heard Taylor tell the crowd from her spot under the stage. "How many of you have heard my song Superstar?"
The crowd went crazy. Jen smiled over at her husband. "This is it..."
"Well, when I was in Connecticut, I met a new friend," Taylor continued. "And this friend has a superstar she loves, and he lives in Colorado. But he's not a superstar in movies or music. This superstar has his own web show. So technically, Katie's superstar is...an online star."
On cue, Katie rose out of the stage to the opening notes of Superstar. "This is for the import gamer from Colorado Springs," she said gently. "I'll...I'll always be your silly little fangirl." She took a deep breath and scanned the crowd until her eyes fell on the face she wanted so badly to see.
This is wrong but I can't help but feel like
You remind me of the babe.
Friday morning comes again and I'm so
Excited to see your face.
And I knew from the first port you played,
I'd be breaking all my rules to see you.
When you wear your Jareth costume,
All the girls on TGWTG scream your name.
So dim camera lights, and tell me things like
"You'll always be my KittyMarie."
I'm no one special, just another kitty girl,
Who wants to be just like you.
Give me a Famicom to plug in my wall,
Online star.
Morning loneliness comes around
When I'm not watching "Suburban Knights".
When my world wakes up today,
You'll be playing your DS.
And I knew on my birthday,
I'd be counting down the ways to see you.
When you wear your Jareth costume,
All the girls on TGWTG scream your name.
So dim camera lights, and tell me things like
"You'll always be my KittyMarie."
I'm no one special, just another kitty girl,
Who wants to be just like you.
Give me a Famicom to plug in my wall,
Online star.
You've served in bars, a Hero at Guitar.
I'm invisible, the Internet knows who you are.
And you'll never see, you sing me to sleep,
From Lindsay's Les Mis video...
So dim camera lights, and tell me things like
"You'll always be my KittyMarie."
I'm no one special, just another kitty girl,
Who wants to be just like you.
Give me a Famicom to plug in my wall,
Online star.
Sweet, sweet, online star,
Online star.
If Justin had been flattered and touched when Katie had sung Online Star for him on her stream from her bedroom that September night, it was nothing compared to what he felt now. Here, in front of thousands of people, there was a fan - a member of his Catgirl Army - that was singing her heart out, about him. Jen looked over and discovered that her husband was trying desperately not to break down. But when Katie finished singing and the crowd began to scream, he couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into joyful tears.
Instantly noticing that her idol was crying, Katie thrust her microphone into the hands of a beaming Taylor and dashed down the steps of the stage toward Justin and Jen, her spotlight following her all the way. "Justin!" she cried. "J-Dub!"
Justin laughed through his tears and raced toward his fangirl. "Come here, you," he whispered, letting Katie, who was now also crying, leap into his arms. Thousands of flashbulbs and video cameras lit up the arena around them. "Thank you, Kitten," Justin said softly. "Just...thank you. I will never, ever, ever forget this moment."
"You don't h-h-have to," sniffled Katie, managing a shy smile. "See all those cameras? I guarantee you that two hours after this show ends, about five people will have put this on YouTube already. Including your wife." She gestured behind Justin's back, where sure enough, jen was holding a camera.
"Well, that'll make sure I'll never forget it," Justin joked, giving Katie another bear hug before putting her down. "You better get back to the stage, Kitten. I'll see you at the T-Party later, okay?"
Katie lit up even more. "You'll be at the T-Party?!?"
Justin grinned and held up his arm, where his white T-Party bracelet sat. "You bet."
*****
Katie did end up staying onstage for Enchanted, and Taylor dedicated that night's performance of the song to her. But now the show was over, and there was only one thing left: the T-Party.
The chosen fans streamed into the T-Party room, all eager as could be to meet Taylor, but to one couple, meeting Taylor wasn't as important as seeing her teenage opening act.
"How did you stay calm?" Jen asked Katie. "I'd never be able to do that in front of thousands of people, seriously."
Katie blushed. "I just pretended I was back in my room, singing to my friends on livestream. I never get nervous on livestream, so I thought, why should I get nervous here?"
"Well, you can breathe now," Justin said, handing cookies to both his wife and his fangirl. "By the way, who made these cookies? They're phenomenal!"
"Taylor and I did!" Katie replied proudly. "I think they turned out pretty well, I mean, Taylor's obsessed with baking, so almost everything here was made by her, with a little help from me. I did more eating chocolate than actually helping, though. I'm a chocoholic, sue me..."
Justin and Jen burst out laughing. Taylor grinned and walked over. "Enjoying yourselves?" she asked.
"Taylor, thank you so much," Justin chuckled. "I never would have expected I'd be at a Taylor Swift concert....but with Kitten as the opening act, I can't say no."
Taylor's eyes lit up when she heard Katie's nickname. "Kitten?" she giggled to Katie. "He calls you Kitten?"
Katie's face turned pinker. "I told you he's a Japanese culture enthusiast. That includes catgirls. He LOVES catgirls. And he gave me the nickname KittyMarie when I was teasing him about it once. That ended up being shortened to Kitten."
"That's so cute!" Taylor laughed. "Is it okay if I call you that? I just love it so much!"
"Nya!" Katie cooed approvingly.
"KITTY!!!!!!" squealed Justin. Katie giggled madly and gave him a hug. "You're such a goof," she teased.
"I agree with that," Jen added.
Justin beamed and gave Katie a poke. "I may be a goof, but I'm your online star," he replied. "You said so tonight. In front of 20,000 people."
"Give me a Famicom to plug in my wall, online star," Katie sang.