"His Escape"

His whole life was dedicated to business. The music business. Even before he got into it, he was hard at work. He was educated at the finest preschool, where he met Nat Wolff, Thomas Batuello, David Levi, and Josh Kaye. The four started the Silver Boulders along with Nat's younger brother, Alex, and he, Cooper Pillot, was their manager.

Cooper never minded managing the band. But it was a lot of work. He had to schedule all the rehearsals, make calls to the record company, make sure the studio was open for them to record, and much, much more. Not to mention this mostly happened durning the school year, and he was expected to maintain at least an "A-" average like his older sister.

The stress really got to him at times.

"Cooper. Cooper, you there hun?"

Cooper shook his head and looked at the blonde who had her head resting in his chest. He smiled his little crooked smile and nodded. "I'm fine Patty. Just thinking."

"About what?" She shifted so she could look at him.

Cooper let out a breath. "About, well, if I wasn't the manager of the band. Or if I wasn't in the family I'm in. It's really stressful keeping my GPA and doing everything I do for the band. And that's without stopping their fights every once in a while."

"Do you ever wish it was that way?" Patty inquired.

Cooper looked at her surprised. "What? That I wasn't a part of all this?" Patty nodded. "No, no! I love this. Sure, it's stressful, but they're all my best friends. And school, well, I need to get into a great college. After all, I don't think the band will last much longer after Rosalina graduates next year. No, I wouldn't trade this for anything."

Cooper looked out the window. His mind went off to that area where he thought about where he would be if the Naked Brothers Band never existed. Or even the Silver Boulders. Would he have come out of his shell and made friends with Nat and all them? Would Nat and Rosalina have admitted they liked each other? Would Thomas and David be the pranking duo everyone gets annoyed with?

Many questions haunted Cooper every night or whenever he was really feeling the pressure. The pressure really came onto him when the band was a little out of control. Like when they started the fight with the LA Surfers and had to cover it up with a press conference. Unfortunately, Cooper had an orthodontist appointment and was unable to stop the band from their actions.

But if that never happened...

"...I wouldn't have met you," Cooper said mainly to himself as he was still in thought.

Patty looked at him, startled by his sudden words. "What was that?"

Cooper shook his head once more and looked at her. "If I wasn't the manager of the Naked Brothers Band, I never would've met you."

"That's right." Patty smiled at the memory. "If we never got you guys to do the charity concert we wouldn't have met."

"Or fallen for each other," Cooper added with a smile.

He gave Patty a small kiss and she returned to her earlier position. Of course, now he had gotten her thinking. Did he ever get any down time? He had to keep his grades up, keep the band in line, make the schedules for the band, and spend time with her? Where was his "Cooper" time?

She moved again and sat up. Cooper looked at her in confusion.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Don't you ever get any 'Cooper' time?" She sighed. "You know, time to escape the stress of school and work?"

"I've got that," Cooper said simply.

"When?"

"Right now." Patty gave him a look of confusion; she needed more explanation. He smiled his crooked smile again. "You. You're my escape."

Smiling once more, she leaned in and kissed him. Both cuddled comfortably as they always did when they were alone.

Cooper stroked Patty's blonde hair and smiled. She always made him feel relieved of his everyday lifestyle. Maybe his life wasn't as stressful as other people, but definitely more than the average fifteen year old. But even just talking to Patty over the phone on those nights he couldn't see her made him feel better. Like he entered a completely new world. Like there was no school; no band to manage.

She, Patty Scoggins, was Cooper Pillot's escape from reality.

End