Zoe's P.O.V.
I went into the MacAfee household with the boys behind me. Arguing was heard in the hallway. I knocked on the wall. Mr. and Mrs. MacAfee turned their heads to look at us.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but can we stay here for dinner?" I asked them. They both nodded their heads at me.
"There's plenty of left over French Toast in the fridge" Mrs. MacAfee told me.
"Thanks" I replied. I went to fridge with boys and we started to reheat the French Toast in the oven. We all stayed in the kitchen listening in on the argument between the couple.
"I don't care. I've changed my mind" Mr. MacAfee's voice rose, "My daughter is not going to be publically kissed by that… that wiggler! The deal is off!"
As they argued, I understood both sides of the argument. Mrs. MacAfee was worried about Kim's emotional well-being for making her not do it due how she was as a teenager as well as most of the girls in this town. For something this big and turn it down would show something not just for her, but those other girls as well who supported Birdie, and from once being a teenage girl herself, she didn't forget what having a celebrity crush meant at that age. Mr. MacAfee on the other hand had been dealing with problems from co-workers and customers about the Birdie mess, not to mention he's always hated paparazzi. He was feeling like his was being ruined by all the press, and I couldn't blame him. If I were in his shoes, if making it in show business wasn't my passion, I'd feel the same way. He was now shouting that he wanted Albert and Rosie gone and his was reluctant to tell them that sine they generally are nice people. The guys and I didn't have anything against them because of that, our only issue was with Birdie since he was nothing more than a vain asshole who loved all the attention he was getting, especially from the girls. When Mr. MacAfee started to talk down about the crowd that runs in show business and knowing that crowd, I nearly smashed my fist into the table before Caleb rested his hand on mine, silently telling me to calm down.
As Ace went to check on the French Toast, we heard Mr. MacAfee confess that he worked for a circus one summer and ended up hating it.
"If you hate show business that much, then why do you let Zoe, Caleb and the boys practice their music in our garage?" Mrs. MacAfee asked her husband enraged.
"We've known Zoe since she was six, and if she wants to be in show business, that's her choice since her parents are too stupid to notice anything going on with her. Zoe isn't like those circus midgets, she actually knows what she's doing for the business, unlike them" he responded, "As for Caleb and those other boys, like Zoe, while they may be a pain at times, they're harmless. They're not going to hurt anyone and they actually respect this house and the people in it."
I wasn't happy with his reasoning, and from looking at the guys, they weren't happy about it either, but none of us wanted to make that argument worse than it already was, so we all kept our mouths shut. I looked up and saw Ace with the reheated French Toast and we all took some. While I wasn't happy with Mr. MacAfee generalizing people in show business, I understood why he was so upset about what was going on. I thought it was right when Mrs. MacAfee reminded him of how long their engagement was before they married after he complained about Albert and Rosie being engage for six years, which actually one year less than Albert and Rosie's engagement. Randolph had a habit of bad timing asking his father if he was stupid after catching a bit of the argument, not understanding what was going on. At least his mother sent him up to bed, placing his tortoise on the ground since Randolph brought it with him when he came downstairs. They already had a dog in the house and I knew the dog wouldn't hurt the tortoise so I didn't have to worry. We all ate our food and kept listening in. I was glad that Albert offered to pay him back for the long-distance calls he needed to make for Birdie's appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, and for that it would've been nice if Mr. MacAfee would've been humble about it and taken his offer, but he had too much pride and his ego wouldn't let him do it. It wasn't until he yelled that Birdie had parked his motorcycle in his living room that I lost it.
"WHAT?!" I shouted enraged from the kitchen.
"That's right Zoe!" he shouted back, "Take a look if you don't believe me"
Needing to confirm it for myself, I walked over to the living room and there the motorcycle was. I needed to finish my food and get out before the jerk knew I was still here. I ran back to kitchen, stuffing the food in my mouth.
"Zoe, what's wrong?" Mrs. MacAfee asked me concerned as she walked over to me with her husband. Since my mouth was full, Caleb spoke up.
"Birdie took liking to Zoe" he explained.
"What?!" Mr. MacAfee freaked, "What the hell did you do to get his attention Zoe?"
"How am I supposed to know?" I answered him tartly now that I had swallowed my food thanks to the water in my glass, "I told him to back off and that I'm with Caleb, but he doesn't know how to take a hint and go away. Can you please not come down on me about this Mr. MacAfee, I'm already dreading having to deal with this as is, not to mention his fangirls are going to be breathing down my neck the second they find out that their idol is into someone who can't stand him."
"Alright Zoe, fair enough," Mr. MacAfee said calming down a little bit knowing there was a teenage girl wanted Birdie gone as much as he did, if not more. He then told his wife about another problem he had gotten because of this mess. His biggest customers in his job threatened to shut him down if he didn't cancel the deal with Birdie. His wife felt trapped. She wanted to support her daughter, but she didn't want the family to suffer because of this mess either. Just as Mr. MacAfee lit a match for his cigar, he accidentally set off another one of Randolph's stink bombs.
"Open up the windows guys," I called out to the boys, though Timmy seemed to be ahead of me as he ran to the first window he saw, opening it up. In a matter of seconds, we had opened all the windows in the kitchen, including the back door to get the stink out. When I turned around, Albert and Rosie had come downstairs and to my surprise, Albert had successfully analyzed the chemicals Randolph had used.
"How did you know which chemicals were used to make the stink bomb?" Timmy asked him.
"He's biochemist" Rosie answered, "That's his passion."
"Then why are you Birdie's manager and writing songs for him?" Noah asked.
"Two reasons: survival and his mother" Rosie curtly answered. I was confused now.
"What does your mother have to do with anything you with your life? Aren't you a grown man and not living with her?" I asked.
"It's complicated," he answered, "It's my mother who wanted me to be a song-writer and thinks that if I pursue chemistry that I'm turning against her. Every time I try to talk to her about it, she gets upset and faints."
"She sounds like a stereotypical Jewish mother to me," Noah spoke up.
"How would you know?" Albert asked him.
"I'm Jewish" was Noah's answer, "My mother does the same thing or goes on and on about the pain she's feeling or that she's feeling sick or something along those lines whenever I do something she doesn't agree with like the band, or being friends with Zoe, or refusing to become a Rabbi. It's gotten to the point where I just don't talk to her anymore."
"How do you talk to her when you need something? You're not out of school yet?" Albert asked him not understanding.
"I live with my dad. My parents are divorced" Noah explained.
Mr. MacAfee changed the topic back to Birdie trying to tell Albert and Rosie to leave, but they distracted him with Albert's work as a chemist and offering him to work with him in his formwork, using something Albert invented to speed up the process of various animals such examples being a hen speeding up in laying eggs. As a demonstration of his invention, he gave one to Randolph's tortoise. He also said that despite it needing a few more tests, it does work, but I'm guess not right away since the tortoise gulped the whole thing down and nothing happened yet. While Mr. MacAfee was while to go into business with Alfred, he tried to refuse Birdie once again, but made him back down for good was Rosie telling them about neighbors seeing on the Ed Sullivan show which was why he was willing to let Kim do it in the first place.
While he had a dazed look on his face, I turned back to the guys.
"Caleb, what time do we have to be at the gym in school tomorrow?" I asked him, since the rehearsal was going to be there and we had to be ready in case Birdie couldn't perform for whatever reason.
"We have to be there at eleven in the morning since the rehearsal is going to take a while, but I think we should stock up on food and get there early so we won't be blocked outside by the fangirls." Caleb answered. The others and I nodded in agreement. As we began to lay out plans of how to handle tomorrow and what songs to rehearse at the gym before we decide on the song perform in case we get chance at the spotlight, the phone rang. Kim's mother picked up the phone and gave the phone to her husband telling him that it was the mayor and that sounded angry. I didn't blame him. I knew what Mr. MacAfee was going to tell him, but it wasn't until he told the mayor that he was wanted to make a speech on the Ed Sullivan show that I freaked out. It was a bad idea. Caleb said that Birdie only had four minutes to perform and Kim had to make her speech for Birdie as a part of it. This would take time away and could only end in disaster. As good as Mr. MacAfee was in everyday business, when it came to the entertainment world, he didn't know a thing about it. I could only guess that he was probably too upset by the circus people to pick up on anything there. I'm the same way when it came to political science. Albert had offered that we end the day from there, but then we all turned to the tortoise because the little guy started to move and then all of a sudden, he had gained super-speed and ran right out the door just as Hugo and Ursula opened the door and stepped in the house. Ursula freaked when the tortoise ran past her, and for once I couldn't blame her, because to her, the tortoise came out of nowhere and went right past her. It was still funny and the boys and I couldn't help but laugh at what had just taken place. Albert decided to call his invention "Speed-Up" and Mr. MacAfee the idea. Mrs. MacAfee was worried how Randolph would get his tortoise back and her husband just told her to give Randolph one of the Speed-Ups. I just hope that it'll be just as harmless to people as it is to animals.
"Hey Hugo, hey Ursula" I waved to both of them. Hugo said hey to me and waved back, but Ursula just gave me a cold glare. She had to have known about Birdie being interested in me by now, I was sure of it. The only way to confirm it though was hear her say out loud that she knew.
Hugo thanked Mr. MacAfee for not letting Kim on TV and kissing Birdie. I hung my head knowing he was in for a disappointment. Ursula became fearful that it was true, but she calmed down when Mr. MacAfee decided to let her do it since she's old enough to make her own decisions. Hugo was upset by the news, and as much as I wanted to help my friend, this was something he had to talk with Kim about. He was about to leave when Kim walked down the stairs telling Hugo to stop acting like a child. I grunted when heard her say that and when Ursula asked to see Birdie, but Kim said that he was asleep.
"Thank God!" I said expressing my joy at the news. Now we can pack everything up for rehearsal tomorrow in peace.
"Hi Zoe. Have you been here long?" Kim asked concerned, looking nice in a green dress with a necklace and watch.
"Yeah, I told her. I wasn't bored though. I was rehearsing with the guys here" I told her giving a gestured toward the rest of the band as they waved "Hi" to her and she returned the gesture, "Listening to arguing, eating a little bit and avoiding your idol." Kim nodded as she knew that I don't care for Birdie.
"You've got some nerve to be here!" Ursula exclaimed to me as she walked toward me. I rolled my eyes at her. "What are you talking about Ursula?" I asked her.
"I'm talking about Conrad Birdie wanting you!" she went on, "I saw him looking at you when you sang earlier today and just I leave my house, the girls told me that he was hitting on you!" Kim looked at me with shock.
"Is this true?" she asked me.
"Yes, it is true Kim," I answered her "For unknown reason Birdie is interested in me and when I told him no and that I'm with Caleb, he refused to leave me alone."
"If you want him to leave you alone, why are you here?" Ursula demanded.
"Because this is where we do our band practice," I calmly answered her, "I've been here many times before and I'm not about to let a vain-jerk-excuse for a singer keep me from doing what I love or being at a place I enjoy coming to and I've been visiting this house for years."
"What did you just call him?!" Ursula cried getting defensive.
"Ursula, any louder, and you'll wake him up" I said to her, reminding Ursula that he's sleeping right now.
"How about we rehearse one more song before we pack and call it a night?" Ace suggested.
"I'm in" I told him, and the other guys agreed, and all walked out the kitchen to the garage. As we got our gear ready, I saw Kim walk outside with Hugo, I'm guessing to talk to him. They both gave us a nod that they don't mind us practicing, though knowing Kim, she'll want to talk to me after we finished. Ace played the first notes and then I sang the first part of the song.
Lyin' here with you so close to me
It's hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe
Caught up in this moment
Caught up in your smile Caleb sang the next part
I've never opened up to anyone
So hard to hold back when I'm holding you in my arms we both sang the next verse together and we we're both already smiling at each other as we sang
We don't need to rush this
Let's just take it slow
Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight
Just a touch of the fire burning so bright
No I don't want to mess this thing up
I don't want to push too far
Just a shot in the dark that you just might
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life
So baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight I sang the next part by myself
I know that if we give this a little time Caleb and I jumped right into singing together again
It'll only bring us closer to the love we wanna find I sang by myself and then Caleb sang alone with me joining him toward the end of the next lyric before we sang the chorus together again
It's never felt so real, no it's never felt so right
Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight
Just a touch of the fire burning so bright
No I don't want to mess this thing up
I don't want to push too far
Just a shot in the dark that you just might
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life
So baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight
No I don't want to say goodnight Caleb sang solo next
I know it's time to leave we sang the next lyric together
But you'll be in my dreams, Caleb sang first, then I sang then we both sang together again
Tonight
Tonight
Tonight
Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight
Just a touch of the fire burning so bright
No I don't want to mess this thing up
I don't want to push too far
Just a shot in the dark that you just might
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life Caleb sang solo again
So baby I'm alright
Oh, I sang solo again
Let's do this right we sang together once more
With just a kiss goodnight I sang solo once more time and then Caleb sang the last lyric solo
With a kiss goodnight
Kiss goodnight
With that, the song ended and Caleb and I really did give each a kiss with the moon shining over us. Noah, Timmy and Ace laughed at us kissing after singing the song, but we just ignored them. We held each other close as Caleb rubbed his hands on my sides and I started to move my hands on his back, needing him, like he needed me.
"Guys, you can have fun later, right now we need to pack everything up!" Ace called out to us.
"No, we're good here," Caleb said to pulling away so we could talk to them. If looks could kill, the look on Ace, Noah and Timmy's faces would've done that at least a thousand times over.
"I'm kidding!" Caleb told them with a goofy smile on his face.
"You'd better be kidding" Timmy remarked, "I don't want any more nightmares than necessary." I just laughed when he said that.
"Don't worry Timmy, we'll get past this," I told him with a smile, "One day at a time." Everyone nodded in agreement. Caleb and I let go of each other so we pack up and then later on continue where we left off.
Hey people. I'm sorry it took so long. Not only did inspiration escape me for a long time, but for while now, I'm in a bad situation and am still dealing with getting my life back on track. If anyone wants to know what happened, you can PM me. Just a heads up, it will take a while before I can update any of my stories right now. I just hope for things to get better for me ASAP and I'm hoping you all enjoy this update.
Just A Kiss belongs to Lady Antebellum
Nothing here belongs to me except my OCs.