Fading Lights

Allen sat on the edge of his bed, phone in hand, heart thudding in his chest. It had been a couple of days since his demo deal with Horizon Studios, and tonight, his first single, "Fading Lights," would officially release on Botify, one of the largest music streaming platforms out there. It was surreal. Allen had played countless scenarios in his head, imagining everything from the song flopping completely to it becoming a breakout hit. The latter felt like a distant dream, but even just having it out there for the world to hear? That was something.

He glanced at the clock—11:59 PM. Any second now.

He refreshed the Botify page repeatedly, anxious and excited. Finally, it loaded. There it was: Allen Rice – Fading Lights. His heart swelled with pride. He clicked play, and the familiar opening chords of the song filled his small apartment. He'd spent hours perfecting every part of it, and hearing it now on a professional platform made the whole journey feel worthwhile.

Still, there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. What if no one listened? What if all his effort went unnoticed? The world was full of talented artists, and he was just one more in a sea of millions.

His phone vibrated, snapping him out of his thoughts. He glanced at the screen and saw a notification from the system. Curious, he opened it.

New quest activated: Monitor the success of your single, "Fading Lights." Showbiz points will be awarded based on its performance on Botify.

Allen raised an eyebrow. So, the system was going to reward him for his song's performance? That was a new twist. He scrolled down to read more and saw the details:

Milestones:

1,000 streams: +100 Showbiz Points10,000 streams: +500 Showbiz Points100,000 streams: +1,000 Showbiz Points1,000,000 streams: +10,000 Showbiz Points

He leaned back, digesting the information. He had been awarded points for his busking, but this was on another level. If his song actually did well on Botify, the system would help him level up even faster. He checked his current balance of Showbiz Points. After his previous activities, he now had 1,650 points. It wasn't much in the grand scheme of things, but it was better than nothing.

Allen refreshed Botify again, eager to see if anyone had listened yet. As expected, there were only a handful of streams. It was still early, and it wasn't like he had a massive following. Still, he couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.

"Patience," he muttered to himself, closing the app. "Rome wasn't built in a day."

With nothing left to do but wait, he lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. His mind wandered, thoughts flickering between excitement and anxiety. He thought about Sarah, about their conversations lately. They'd grown closer in the past few days, and there was something different about the way they talked now. He wasn't sure if it was the excitement of his music or something deeper, but it made him smile.

His phone buzzed again. This time, it was a message from Sarah herself.

"Congrats on the release! Just listened to 'Fading Lights,' and it's amazing!"

Allen felt his heart warm at the message. "Thanks! Glad you liked it. Hope more people feel the same," he typed back.

"Don't worry, they will! It's only a matter of time."

He smiled, appreciating her optimism. Her support meant more to him than he wanted to admit, but with everything going on, he had barely had time to process it.

A few more hours passed, and despite his best efforts to sleep, Allen kept checking the stream count. By 3 AM, it had climbed to a modest 500 streams. Not bad for the middle of the night. The system didn't notify him for small milestones like that, but he figured it was still progress.

Finally, exhaustion won, and Allen drifted off to sleep, his phone still clutched in his hand.

The next morning, Allen woke up to a flood of notifications. Groggily, he grabbed his phone and squinted at the screen. His social media was buzzing with messages and comments about his song. Most were from friends and acquaintances, congratulating him on the release, but a few messages stood out.

One was from Sarah again. "It's blowing up, Allen! You're trending on local Botify charts!"

"Trending?" Allen shot up in bed, eyes wide. He quickly opened the Botify app, his heart pounding. His song had now hit 3,500 streams and was steadily climbing. As he stared in disbelief, the number ticked up to 4,000. He couldn't believe it. Maybe Sarah was right. Maybe "Fading Lights" was catching on.

Before he could fully process it, the system pinged him again.

Current stream count: 4,000. Showbiz Points earned: +100.

Allen smiled, watching his points increase. That brought his total to 1,750. He needed to keep pushing. At this rate, he might actually be able to hit the 10,000 stream mark soon, which would net him a much larger reward.

As the day went on, Allen kept a close eye on the song's performance. The streams continued to climb at a steady pace, and by evening, he hit 7,500. The system rewarded him with another small boost in points, putting him at 1,800.

He couldn't help but think about his next moves. The system had given him a clear path to success, but he needed to be smart about how he used it. Upgrading his skills was key, but with only 1,800 points, his options were limited. He could try to save up for bigger upgrades, or he could focus on smaller boosts for now.

He opened the system interface and scanned his current stats:

Vocal Talent: 4/10 Guitar: 3/10 Songwriting: 3/10 Charisma: 4/10 Appearance: 4/10 Intelligence: 5/10

Upgrading any of his core skills would be expensive, especially the jump from 4/10 to 5/10, which required 2,500 points. But Allen was playing the long game, and he knew the system wouldn't give him easy handouts.

His phone buzzed, pulling him out of his thoughts. It was a text from Benji, his childhood friend.

"Dude, you seeing these numbers? You're gonna blow up!"

Allen chuckled, typing back, "Yeah, I'm keeping an eye on it. Crazy, right?"

Benji's response came almost instantly. "We gotta celebrate. Drinks tomorrow night?"

Allen hesitated for a moment. Between watching the song's performance and strategizing with the system, he hadn't thought much about celebrating. But Benji was right. He should take a moment to enjoy this.

"Yeah, let's do it," he replied.

As the night went on, Allen couldn't help but feel a growing sense of accomplishment. The streams were rising, the system was rewarding him, and for the first time in a while, he felt like he was truly on the path to something bigger.

His phone buzzed again with a new system notification.

Current stream count: 10,000. Showbiz Points earned: +500. Total Showbiz Points: 2,300.

Allen grinned as he saw the update. He was so close to being able to upgrade one of his key skills. Maybe by tomorrow, if the streams kept climbing, he'd finally have enough to push his vocal talent or charisma to the next level.

Satisfied, he closed the system and lay back on his bed. Things were moving fast, but for the first time, it felt like everything was coming together.

As he drifted off to sleep, Allen couldn't help but wonder what tomorrow would bring.