Always Be Around

A/N: GEEZ, if ever makes a Cory in the House section, this'll be posted there lolz.

Disclaimer: Disney owns this show, not me. -tear- But I do own the song.

Summary: When Meena is nervous about singing in front of the whole school, Newt finds a unique way to calm her down.

!#$&()+

"Where's Cory?!" Meena Paroom asked her friend Newt Livingston in her thick Bahavian accent, as she tried to clip her hair back. Unfortunately, it was not working out the way she wanted.

"You're a bit high strung today, aren't you?" The blonde guitarist asked her.

"High strung? Me? Why would you say that? Of course I'm not!" Meena exclaimed, beginning to get annoyed at her hair.

"Well, Cory said he'd be here soon. Probably about ten minutes," Newt said calmly. He always found a way to be completely mellow when performing in public. You see, Professor Vanderslice had approached Meena about singing at a school assembly. Meena had been extremely nervous ever since. Right now, she was frustrated with herself, and was taking it out on her hair. She ended up throwing the clip on the ground and jumping up and down in a huff.

Newt chuckled softly and picked the hair clip off the floor. He walked over to Meena and motioned for her to turn around. With that, he placed the clip gently in her hair in the exact place Meena wanted it. The gesture gave Meena chills as Newt's fingers brushed the back of her neck.

"You cold?" He asked her. Darn, he'd noticed.

"Not really. Thank you," Meena said with a smile.

"Just try to relax," Newt said, stepping out of the room. Meena took those words to heart. She sat down on the couch and tried to breathe normally for a few minutes, shaking all the nerves out of her. She also tried to cry, but remembered that would effect her voice.

She tried everything to calm down, but nothing was working. She looked at her watch and realized it was almost time to go on. She jumped up and ran to the entrance to see if Cory had arrived yet. There was no sign of him.

"It's been eleven minutes! He's not here yet!" Meena yelled to herself, exasperated.

"Meena, calm down," Newt said, appearing beside her.

"Why should I calm down?! We are supposed to go on in like five minutes! Cory isn't even here yet! What if he doesn't show? We'll be humiliated on stage! What will we do then?!" Meena cried, not letting Newt get a word in during her rant.

"Just chill out, Meena. He'll be here," Newt said, grabbing her shoulders gently.

"Chill out? How do you expect me to chill out? I have to go sing in front of eight hundred people!" Meena shrieked, pacing back and forth.

"Just breathe. Man, I've never seen you like this," Newt said in a louder voice than he'd intended. But she was getting him worked up as well.

"That's because I've never sang in front of this many people! You just don't understand," Meena said, on the verge of tears.

"You're crazy," Newt said to her. Meena stopped pacing, dead in her tracks.

"What did you say?" Meena asked, shocked.

"I said you're crazy," Newt replied. Meena was glaring at him, hands on her hips, waiting for an explanation.

"You just don't know how talented you are," Newt stated softly, shaking his head.

"What?" Meena questioned him, obviously floored by the change of pace in their heated conversation.

"You're a great singer. You don't have anything to be nervous about," Newt responded, recieving a small smile in return.

"But what if I screw up? What if I embarrass myself as well as you and Cory in front of hundreds of people?" Meena spun off once more, pacing back and forth once again.

"You won't," Newt said, with a sigh, rolling his eyes.

"You don't know that!" Meena exclaimed, not even sparing him a glance.

"Well, if you mess up, just do it again. Don't give up. And stop being so hard on yourself," Newt groaned, wondering when she'd stop. This was certainly not the Meena he knew.

"You don't get it, Newt," Meena said, her tone softening, as she approached Newt and became incredibly close to him.

"I don't think I can go out there. I just don't think I have it in me. I don't have faith in myself," Meena said sadly, looking down at the floor, ashamed of herself.

"I have faith in you," Newt informed her, in a featherlight tone, lifting her chin with his finger.

"I just can't do it," Meena said, beginning to sob. Newt hated to see her cry. He remembered every single time she had ever cried in front of him, and every time she did, his heart broke into a million pieces.

"Please, don't cry Meena," he said sadly. This obviously didn't stop her. Newt was desperate. He searched for any possible way to change her mind, to calm her down. He could find no words, only actions. So he performed the first action that came to his mind. He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers.

When he pulled away, Meena didn't bother to try to hide her shock. The intial surprise of the moment had made her forget her worries and doubts. Instead, she soon found herself grinning.

"What was that for?" Meena asked, in a voice hardly above a whisper.

"To make you stop crying. You know I hate that," Newt replied. Meena was slightly disappointed in his answer, and it showed in her eyes.

"Oh," she sighed.

"And to show you that I have all the faith in the world in you. I know you can go out there and do your best. And as long as you do your best, you won't be letting anyone down, or disappointing them," Newt explained to her, taking her hand.

"Well, let's go knock 'em dead," Meena said with a chuckle. As if on cue, Cory burst through the door, blissfully unaware of the events that had just taken place.

"Sorry I'm late, guys. My dad's car broke down four blocks from here and I had to walk the rest of the way," Cory groaned, setting down some of his equipment.

"So, what've you guys been up to?" Cory asked, surveying his belongings. Newt and Meena shared a secret look.

"Nothing," they said at the same time.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Professor Vanderslice said, peaking through one of the many red velvet curtains.

"Yeah, ready as we'll ever be," Meena said, looking to each of her bandmates. As Cory scurried along to the stage to set up his equipment and Newt went to follow him, Meena grabbed his hand before he was able to get away. As he spun around to wonder what she'd done that for, Meena planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

"What was that for?" Newt asked her, in the exact same tone she'd asked him.

"To say thank you. For making me feel better," Meena told him, all smiles.

"Anytime," he replied, still a bit surprised.

A few minutes later, the DC3 were onstage and Meena was singing her heart out.

Here I am again

In my room again

Thinking of you again

Staring at the picture of us

That was taken so long ago

I'm mesmorized by your smile

I remember what it tastes like

Everywhere you go

What you do when you get there

It doesn't matter

When the sun comes up

Or when it goes down

Here's to hoping

You'll always be around

So, it's dark again

I'm missing the light again

My eyes shut tight again

Killing time with words and daydreams

Will you wake me up, please?

Everywhere you go

What you do when you get there

It doesn't matter

When the sun comes up

Or when it goes down

Here's to hoping

You'll always be around

I want to be with you

Holding you close

I miss the warmth

I'm stuck out in the cold

Beyond alone

I need you with me

Everywhere you go

What you do when you get there

It doesn't matter

When the sun comes up

Or when it goes down

Here's to hoping

You'll always be around

Everywhere you go

What you do doesn't matter

The sun comes up

But then it goes down

It doesn't really bother me

Because I know you'll always be around

It doesn't bother me

I know you'll always be around

A/N: It is not easy to write a love song after listening to 'Face Down' by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. That song is about abuse, so I hope my song was okay lol. Ciao!