"No," Shane shook his head. "I'm done with this pop shit, I'm not singing this, there's no fucking way." Shane stood up, glaring at Mr. Larson, the record executive. "There's good music out there, REAL music, and this is not it! When you're finally going to let us sing something good, let me know." Shane threw down the music sheets and lyrics in his hands and walked out of the Pollywog Records conference room. Nate and Jason looked at each other before Nate stood up and walked after Shane. Jason looked at Mr. Larson for a second before catching on and following his band mates.

"Shane," Nate called. "Shane, what are you doing?"

"Aren't you sick of it?" Shane asked, turning around and looking down at Nate. "None of our songs are good Nate, they make us sin TERRIBLE shit…I just don't get it! How do you handle it? I mean Jason I understand, he's a nimrod, but-"

"You don't give him enough credit," Nate sighed and shook his head.

"Ok, well that's not the point," Shane looked Nate in the eyes. "The point is to play real music, isn't it? I know that we said that we would put up with their shit and soon enough we'd be doing our own stuff, but it's been two years and I'm starting to get sick of it…you are too, Nate, don't pretend that you're not."

"I am, but it's worth it! I like the fans, I like getting to play live even if the music isn't great and I love seeing you and Jason all the time…"

"Dudes, what's wrong?" Jason asked, wandering over to Shane and Nate.

"Shane's sick of everything…again." Nate sighed. "You know, ever since you started going out with Mitchie-"

"Hey," Shane glared at Nate. "Do NOT put this on her!"

"Well I wouldn't put it on her if it wasn't her fault!"

"It's NOT her fault!" Shane shook his head. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me!"

"Oh, how sweet," Nate said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "As much as I would like to hear all about-"

"Guys, stop!" Jason put one hand over Nate's mouth and one hand over Shane's. "We're Connect 3, we don't fight! Come on guys, I hate it when you fight!"

"Jason," Nate grabbed Jason's wrist and gently uncovered his own mouth. "We're not fighting, ok? We're arguing, it happens."

"Arguing leads to break up, I don't want to be bandless!"

"Look," Shane narrowed his eyes and began yelling at Jason. "Just because you're parents are getting a divorce doesn't mean-"

"SHANE!" Nate yelled at Shane as Jason's face fell.

"Oh my god, Jason, I am so sorry!" Shane reached out to put his hand on Jason's shoulder, but Jason pulled away. "Jace, I didn't mean that.

"Yes, you did." Jason turned around and walked away, breaking into a run after a few yards.

"Do you know how bad that's got to have hurt him? How could you say that?" Nate shot a nasty glare at Shane before running after Jason. He caught up with his friend in the parking lot, Jason standing by his car, digging his keys out of his pocket. "Jason," Nate put his hand on Jason's shoulder. "He didn't mean to say that Jason, I'm sure that it just slipped out…" Nate took the car keys out of Jason's hands and hugged him. "The divorce isn't your fault Jason, you know that, right?" Nate rubbed Jason's back.

"What if it is my fault?" Jason asked, sniffling. "What if it's because of the band? What if I'm stressing their relationship? And I mean what if my stupidity is just causing extra stress?"

"Jason, you're not stupid!" Nate pulled the hug tighter.

"Yes, I am!" Jason nodded, again sniffling slightly.

"No, you're not." Nate shook his head. "You're just smart in a different way, I've never seen anyone read people as well as you; you just can't get a read on yourself; you can't see all of this great stuff that I see in you." Nate looked at Jason and smiled slightly. "Come on Jace, let me drive you home." Nate moved towards the driver's seat of the car.

"I can drive, it's my car, besides you're too young."

"I've got my permit, no one's going to pull us over. Let me drive you home, come on."

"Fine." Jason sighed and got into the passenger seat while Nate got in the driver's.

"Jason," Nate sighed as he began to drive. "We're not falling apart, ok? I promise you, this isn't like what's going on with your family."

"Shane's always wanting more." Jason sighed. "He wants out."

"No he doesn't." Nate shook his head. "If Shane wanted out, he'd tell us straight up, he's a forward kind of guy."

"Yeah."

"Ok, look, let's go back to my place, you can stay the night and I can sleep on the couch."

"No." Jason shook his head. "I want to be in my house as much as possible while both of my parents are still there. Go to your house, I'll drive myself from there."

"Are you sure?" Nate asked, looking over at his friend once they reached a red light. "It wouldn't be any trouble to set up the couch."

"I'm sure," Jason nodded, wiping his eyes. "I want to go home."

"Well alright…" Nate sighed. "I just want you to know that Shane didn't mean that, he cares about you, he's just fed up, you know that he's more impatient than either of us." Nate took one hand off of the steering wheel and squeezed Jason's shoulder. "Hey, would you feel better if we stopped at the store and got a make-your-own birdhouse kit?"

"No." Jason shook his head. "I don't want a birdhouse."

"What? Last month that's all you could talk about!"

"That was before." Jason slumped back into the seat and let out a sigh. "Just get back to your house, I want to go home."

"Ok." Nate sighed and continued to drive in silence. "Jace, if you need anything, call me, ok? Or just come over, I'm only a few blocks away." Jason nodded and Nate looked around to see if anyone else was watching the car before leaning in and giving Jason a quick kiss on the lips. "I love you, be safe." He slipped out of the car and Jason moved into the driver's seat.

"I love you too," Jason sighed and rolled up the window as Nate headed towards his house, walking backwards and waving at Jason. Jason pulled out of Nate's driveway and headed home. He went upstairs and lay down on his bed, ignoring the constant calls and text messages from Shane saying that he was sorry. Eventually, he was able to fall asleep; thinking about Nate calmed him down. He was awoken early in the morning by his phone ringing. It was Nate's ring tone, so he decided to answer. "Hello?" he asked groggily.

"Hi, Jason, it's Nate's mom, Anya."

"Oh, hey Mrs. Walker, what's up?" Jason sat up, yawning.

"Is Nate with you?" She sounded slightly worried, which caught Jason's attention right away.

"No, why?"

"He's not here and he didn't take his car or leave a note, so I can't think of anywhere else he would be…"

"I don't know where he is, I'm – hold on, Shane's on the other line, maybe he picked Nate up…" Jason switched lines on his phone. "What?"

"Jason…" Shane's voice sounded shaky. "I know you're mad at me, but don't hang up, Nate's in trouble."