The NBB was ready for rehearsal. All the instruments were tuned, and everyone was in their groove. There was only one band member who had to show up before the band could play. Kristina Reyes, the new bass player.

Since this would be Kristina's first rehearsal before her first concert, this was crucial for her. And The Naked Brothers Band could use some practice themselves, since they hadn't performed in concert since Rosalina left. Cooper paced nervously. "Why is Kristina late?" he wondered out loud.

"Maybe she was stuck in traffic, maybe she needed new bass strings, maybe her bass needed tuned, maybe she couldn't figure out what to wear, maybe she slept in…there's a lot of reasons." Nat answered.

"Well, she has 5 minutes before we rehearse without her." Cooper announced.

"Calm down, Coop. This is Kristina's first rehearsal. She really needs this." Nat motioned for Cooper to sit down.

"Yeah. I'll betcha she'll be here before I can say-" Alex started.

"Hola mi amigos!" Kristina said, running in with her bass case and strap.

"Yeah, before I can say that." Alex said, nodding.

"Before you can say what?" Kristina asked.

"Nothing. He wasn't going to say anything. Let's just rehearse." Nat snapped impatiently.

Nat started to feel a little emotional. Ever since he and the Naked Brothers Band got together, he was used to seeing Rosalina there by his side. The way she let her brown hair slide down her shoulders as she gently strummed the bass strings. She was flawless, not just with the instrument, but her attitude and her looks. She knew when to rock out and when to play it cool. Whenever Nat had a problem or was struggling, Rosalina was there to say she loved him. She was the voice of reason. His song he wrote for her, Your Smile, summed up Rosalina in a nutshell. Her way, her beauty, her kindness, her love, communication, cooperation, and the way she did things used to make his life worth living. Now, it kept him on the ground.

Could Nat be able to adjust to Kristina? Where there's a will, there's a way. But right now, standing there getting ready to practice songs for the concert, most of the songs had been written for Rosalina, and it seemed impossible. Kristina was an amazing girl, amazing bass player, amazing performer, amazing friend, amazing everything. But she wasn't Rosalina. But maybe she didn't need to be for Nat to like her.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road. 1, 2...1 2 3 4!"

At the sound of "4" the NBB all started strumming their instruments, making the sound to the song Curious. Singing that song, for Nat, brought back a lot of painful memories. Rosalina's cheating, lies, carelessness and abandonment. Nat felt as though he were the only one trying in the relationship. And the more he tried, the more she didn't seem to care. Maybe I should just forget about Rosalina, Nat decided. Maybe I should just forget about love.

The NBB practiced 20 more of their songs. All of them sounded right on track. The next morning, the Naked Brothers Band would be performing on The House of Blues, the perfect place to introduce their new band member.

"Alright, guys, are we ready?" Nat said to his band before stepping out on the stage.

Alex, David, Qaasim, and Thomas looked psyched, more than ready to rock out on Live TV. "YEAH!" They shouted, throwing their fists in the air.

Kristina stayed silent, clutching her stomach. "I don't know, guys." She nearly whispered.

"You'll do great, Kris, don't worry about it." David tried to reassure her.

"Yeah, your first rehearsal you almost did better than the rest of us." Qaasim agreed.

Thomas put his arm around her and Alex patted her on the back to encourage her.

Nat looked out at the audience. "We have a pretty worked up crowd. I mean, they'd cheer if we had Bozo the Clown out here. It's not like they're going to hate you and boo you off the stage."

"What do you mean by Bozo the Clown?" Kristina snapped. "And how do you know they won't hate me and boo me off the stage? And how do you know I won't screw up? I can't do this, you guys!" Kristina took Thomas's arm off of her and tried to run away.

Thomas grabbed her arm. "Kristina, you can't just run off! What will we do without you?"

"Nat can play the bass." Kristina replied, her voice shaking.

"Guys, can Kristina and I talk…alone?" Nat asked. The band nodded and walked off. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds. Kristina folded her arms and tears were in her eyes. Nat had his hands in his pockets and he had his head to the ground.

"Look, Kristina, you can't run away from your fears. I mean, if you did walk away right now, then how do you know that you didn't just walk away at one of the most amazing moments of your life?" asked Nat. He was nervous about the whole conversation, and he was nearly mumbling.

"I'm really scared. Obviously everyone loved that Rosalina girl. They're not used to me, they'll probably be upset once they see it's Kristina Reyes, not Rosalina. And what if I'm so nervous that my hands shake and I hit the wrong notes? What if I trip on stage?"

"Don't worry, you'll do great. I'll be honest, I don't know how they'll react to you. But it's not like they don't know Rosalina is gone. It's been in the tabloids for months. And when you're playing the bass, just pretend there isn't hundreds of people, it's just you playing your bass in your room. And if you trip on stage, don't sweat it, I've done it before. Just pretend you did it on purpose, or laugh at yourself. Treat it like it's no big deal." Nat pulled Kristina into a hug. "You can do this, Kristina. We believe in you. There was scads of experienced bass players who tried out for NBB and we picked you because we knew you were perfect, and it didn't matter how much experience you had. We really care about you and we'd hate to see you walk out on something like this, something we're positive you can do."

Kristina squeezed out some tears, and then she squeezed Nat.

"Thanks so much Nat. You've done so much for me and you don't even know me. You've made these 3 days the most exciting days of my life. You're such a wonderful person. I'm lucky to be able to be friends with a guy like you."

Nat felt overjoyed to know that he wasn't just business partner or a band mate to Kristina, he was her friend. "Well, Kristina Reyes, let's do this." They stopped hugging and he held her shoulders. "You ready?" She nodded and wiped some tears out of her eyes. "Let's go."

As soon as the Naked Brothers band stepped out on the stage, the crowd screamed so loud Kristina thought there would be an explosion of their vocal chords snapping. Nat, Alex, Qaasim, Thomas and David were used to the action, and they loved it.

"Okay, guys," Nat yelled into his microphone. "as most of you may know, we lost our very beloved and still missed bass player, Rosalina Tai. But for a couple of months now, we've had many skilled bass players rehearse and we all think they have promise to make it out there elsewhere. We picked the most skilled, talented, rockin', amazing bass player we met. She's not only an awesome bass player, but she has a personality to match, and though we haven't known her long, it seems like forever." Nat walked over to where Kristina was standing and put his arm around her. "Ladies and gentleman, it is my honor tonight to introduce you to Kristina Reyes."

The audiences screamed even louder, if that was even possible! Kristina couldn't believe her luck. She grinned from ear to ear.

"Okay, now that we have introduced her to you guys, are you ready to rock tonight? 1, 2, 1 2 3 4!"

As the whole band played their popular song, If That's Not Love, Kristina could positively say that her future in the Naked Brothers Band was going to be sunny.

Author's Note: I am so sorry I left you guys waiting so long! I've been really busy with school and all that shenanigans, so I can't promise the date of the next chapter. But, I assure you there will be a next chapter sooner or later!