A/N: Just to clear things up-in my headcanon, this takes place in 1982 five years before they get famous. Burger and Ash are 17, Ash being on the older side of 17 and Burger being on the younger side (my logic is Ash was held back in school. It fits for me) and Derek's on the older side of sixteen. Hopefully, no one's confused. Maybe I'll add annotations at the end of this little story or something. Anyway, onward!

Part 2

More and more, Ash and Burger found themselves at Derek's apartment (specifically around dinner time). Even though Derek was sort of bossy and mean, he seemed to like them.

"-is Cleveland big?" Derek was asking one evening. "London is huge, almost like here but cleaner. We like to keep England tidy."

"Not really," said Ash distractedly. He was focusing on an attempt to fish a noodle from a large boiling pot of water. "It's sort of boring."

"We lived outside of Cleveland anyway." Burger rolled his eyes and shoved Ash aside after he failed to get a noodle. He somehow grabbed a handful of pasta and flung it against the wall. Most of the noodles stuck and Burger turned off the stove. "Spaghetti's ready!"

"Dude, you're hand's red…" said Ash with a wince. Burger glanced at his discolored hand and his mouth tightened. The large boy scurried to the icebox and stuck his hand in, whimpering in his throat. Ash handed a bowl spaghetti to Burger and gave him an encouraging pat on the back. "This will help."

"Thanks…" Burger sighed, sniffing a bit. Without the use of his other hand, Burger was left staring at his food while the other sat at the table and dug in. He shrugged and pushed his face into the bowl, slurping loudly. "Huh…Ash, you forgot the parmesan."

"Catch-" Derek flung a container at Burger without looking up from his meal. A yelp and the crash of a breaking dish sounded but it was ignored. "So, what are you lads doing all the way out here then?

"We started a band back home but it kinda didn't work out," said Ash, "We had a full line up and everything, 'till they bailed on us 'cause they wanted to focus on going to 'college'."

"Yeah, college is just made up anyway," added Burger from the floor (he was now eating his dinner off the linoleum). "More school after school? It's like the boogeyman or something."

"I dread going back…" sighed Derek. He looked considerably less happy as he idly poked at his food. "I still have one more year of secondary. You lads are lucky you're finished."

"Oh, we never finished," said Burger, cheerfully. At Derek's incredulous look, he shrugged. "We were both like 'hey, this sucks' and 'let's not go back'-"

"So we didn't and next thing you know, we're eating spaghetti in New York!" Ash concluded. He slurped a mouthful of noodles before talking again. "Soon, we're going to be playing in clubs and getting record deals-"

"We just have to find a new singer and guitarist," said Burger. "We've already found some guys who want to audition! Reminds me, I gotta call them back soon…"

"Really?" Derek seemed to zone out for a moment before continuing. "What's your band called?"

"My Dog's Butt." The other two answered simultaneously. At Derek's confounded look, Burger shrugged. "It was a hit at last years' homecoming dance…"

"Right, well, maybe I could sing-" Derek didn't finish as the door in the front room banged open and slammed shut. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Great. It's him-"

"What the heck, Jupiter-" an annoyed voice demanded. A short, stocky boy stalked into the kitchen and glared at them. His eyes slightly widened at the sight of Burger on the floor, surrounded with chunky, red sauce. "That's disgusting-"

"Guys, this is my flat mate. Brian." Derek grumbled, looking just as displeased. His jaw worked furiously for a few moments before he spoke further. "We're in the same music program…"

"Oooh. He's the talent-less hack who wears too much cheap cologne-" Ash trailed off when Derek gave him a swift look. He looked down into his pasta, suddenly very interested in it. "Or not. Could've been another guy."

There was a tense silence for a moment, only to be broken by Burger's loud chewing. The blond belched loudly and began licking his messy fingers. "Mm…tomato-y…So, pleased to meet you, bro!"

"Uhg, is this who you've been letting into the apartment?" The boy wrinkled his face as though the pair were a couple giant roaches. "Which one of you idiots used my green sweater to clean up a soda spill?"

"I told you, it wasn't us," said Derek flatly. He rolled his eyes and went to the stove. "Let's go to your place, lads."

"I know it was one of you-" Brian looked increasingly aggravated as Derek picked up the large pot and carried it out the kitchen. "That's my pot! What are you doing with my cookware?"

"Dude, it's our dinner," said Burger as though it was obvious. He paused at the table and took the can of tomato sauce. "We're gonna need this."

"And this-" Ash added, taking the container of cheese. He glanced at the counter and snatched a loaf of bread. "This too."

"You pigs are the ones eating my food, too?"

"I told you, it wasn't us!" Derek called over his shoulder as he opened the door for Ash and Burger. At Brian's indignant sputtering, he gave a quick wave and stepped out into the hall. "Don't wait up."

They could hear still hear Brian's shouting after them as they walked up to thirteenth floor. They finally settled back down to finish eating and Ash smiled as he sprinkled more parmesan onto his spaghetti. "He seems nice!"

Derek stared while Burger coughed loudly. "Sure, Ash. So, how d'ya get stuck with that guy?"

"The school ran out of housing and shafted me into this place with him." Derek made a face.

"At least you can hang out with us though!" Ash said cheerfully. When Derek merely looked at him, he pouted. "Right?"

"Right, Ash." Derek conceded.

Ash smiled, satisfied. "Good."

"At least that poser's never around," sighed Derek, looking annoyed. He aggressively began twirling noodles onto his fork from the pot. "He's always in class and studying in his room, so I don't have to deal with him."

"Don't you go to class?" Ash asked with a frown. Now that he thought about it, Derek seemed to be around a lot for someone in school.

"I tried. But it's hard to wake up in the morning," replied Derek, flippantly. "And then there's the writing and the reading and the people who think they sing better than me-"

"So, you pretty much just hang around here even though you spent a lot of money to do the program?" Burger cocked his head at Derek's nod and shrugged. "With the reading and junk, can't say I really blame you!"

"Well, it's also not like I'm wasting my time here..." Derek's tone became overly casual as he began biting into a massive forkful of pasta. "I mean, there's lots of opportunities to do music or join bands..."

When Ash and Burger simply continued to eat, Derek cleared his throat loudly. "Did you want something to drink, dude?"

"No! I'm trying to say, I want to join-give your band a try!" exclaimed Derek, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"Why didn't you just say so? Sure!" Ash smiled as Burger nodded enthusiastically. "We're going to audition people this Saturday. Just come over and you can show us what you got!"

The grin on Derek's face faded suddenly and was replaced with a scowl. "I have to audition?"

"Well, yeah." Burger raised an eyebrow at Derek and frowned. The Brit suddenly got up, looking peevish, and began stalking to the kitchen. "Hey, it's only fair! We have to give the other guys a chance-"

"I shouldn't have to audition!" whined Derek over the sound of running water from the sink. "I'm fantastic!"

"You are!" Ash assured, not wanting Derek to be upset. He paused and scratched his cheek for a moment. "If we ever actually heard you sing."

"Well, I'll sing when I'm the lead singer for this band."

"No. It's not fair."

"But it's not fair to me!" It sounded like Derek was stomping around now as the boy ranted. "It stupid...and..."

When the loud Brit trailed off, Ash and Burger glanced at eachother. Ash started to get up, hoping Derek didn't forget himself and blank out. It happened often enough to him, so Ash understood. "Derek? Are you-

"Anyway-" Derek suddenly walked back out of the kitchen, smiling now. A complete change from the huffiness moments ago. "I better get going, lads. Brian locks me out if I'm later than ten."

"But it's only seven-twenty…" Ash squinted at the clock wondering if he read it wrong. "I think-"

"Okay, I'll see everyone later!" Derek skipped to the door, backwards and slipped out into the hall. "Bye!"

It was midnight when the door was pounded on loudly. Ash and Burger had been engrossed with a Nintendo game and they nearly jumped out of their skins when the knocking startled them. It being midnight in Brooklyn, in an apartment building with little security, Burger grabbed a bat and held Ash in front of him like a shield. "Okay, Ash…like we practiced-"

"You push me into the crazy person and you start swinging the bat while he's distracted." Ash nodded, giving Burger a thumbs-up. "Got it, bro."

"Unless it's the pizza guy."

"Right." Ash frowned and twisted his head to look at his friend. "Did we order pizza?"

"No. But that's okay." Burger raised the bat and lowered his voice as they stood in front of the door. "Okay. Open it-"

Ash swung it open and Burger shoved him, ready to bash some skulls in. He froze seeing that it wasn't a crazy person or the pizza guy. Derek was pushing Ash back away, looking confused. The Brit's arms were loaded with several suitcases and he looked mildly annoyed. "Uh…Derek? What are you doing here?"

"My former roommate and I had a discussion and came to the conclusion that it's best if I found a better place," explained Derek placidly. He stepped into the apartment and rocked on his heels. "Lucky for you lads, this place is closer than my other choices."

"That dude kicked you out, huh?" Burger smirked slightly at Derek's withering look.

"One could see it that way…" grumbled Derek.

"You can crash here for a while, I guess," said Burger, sensing Derek's bad mood. "I don't know where you'll sleep though."

"Well, I suppose you and Ash can share a room and I can get the other one…" said Derek nonchalantly. He pouted at the collective 'no' his suggestion received. "Oh, come on! It makes sense: I can't room with one of you, but you two are mates so it's okay if you move in together! You'll have fun."

"Mates?" Burger made a face and grimaced. "Dude, we're not gay-"

"I never said you were!" protested Derek quickly, confusion on his face. "I'm just saying you two should share a room and I can have one to myself-"

"One-you called us mates. Two-no! Sleep on the couch!"

"Mates are friends, you daft git," snapped Derek. His jaw was clenched tightly and his eyes were narrowed. "I'm not sleeping on the couch."

Ash had been around enough kids to know the beginning signs of a tantrum. He cleared his throat and elbowed Burger before any further argument progressed. "You can take my room tonight, Derek…"

"Dude, what about you?" demanded Burger, crossing his thick arms across his chest.

"I'll just take the couch…" sighed Ash. Honestly, he just wanted to go to sleep right now. "We'll figure it out in the morning."

"Good, then it's settled!" Derek seemed far more cheerful now as he shifted his pillow up in his arms. He strolled to the hallway towards Ash's room, whistling. "It's best this way. Since we're in a band together, it'll be so much more simpler if we live together, yeah?"

"Yeah? No!" Burger followed Derek, close on his heels. "We didn't even say yes to letting you in!"

"We do have two people we were going to check out…" Ash added. He was happy that Derek was apparently eager to be a part of their band but it would be mean to not even let the other guys have a shot.

"Oh, I called them and told them their services were no longer needed," said Derek flippantly. He looked back at the others, smiling widely. "It was obvious you were going to pick me. I just saved you lads a lot of time."

"What?" Burger ran past Derek and stood in front of him. His larger body effectively blocked the other boy from continuing down the hall. "Dude, you can't just barge in here and move in. And you can't just join the band without our decision!"

"You're welcome." Derek looked pleased with himself, as if Burger's exasperation wasn't there. He sighed and walked between the other boys, putting his arms over their shoulders. "You'll see this is the best choice you've ever made. With me at the helm, we'll be flying to the stars by the end of the month!"

Maybe it was Derek's strangely pleasant voice or the accent, but the small speech had Ash and Burger a bit awestruck. They smiled as the trio gazed out the dirty window to the night sky. "…There's no stars in New York."

"Metaphorically. Just keep looking."

Next update will be awhile. I'm always entertained when I see what countries I get views from. Denmark? Wow. Anyway, I'm off on a trip with a few friends! Meanwhile, comments, suggestions or whatever are always welcome.