Rock with me, Roll with me

.:THREE:.

To Deal

Freddy's P.O.V.

Fire is like a beautiful woman.

Eerily lovely to behold from a safe distance, it may even take your breath away. Once you start, however, to mess around with it beyond your capabilities, it rages out of control and is consequently a danger to your health.

Basically, you're fucked.

"That is why," I continued my lecture on the phone, "my friend, you get out of the situation before it locks you down. Okay, Marco? Don't get locked down. Just dump her already!"

"I can't," Marco said on the line, his voice sounding slightly muffled. I sighed, cradling my cell phone under my ear so I could light a cigarette. I made my way up the staircase through the kitchen, up to the roof of my apartment, (it pays to be able to get the penthouse), and continued my pointless conversation there so I wouldn't wake Katie up.

"What do you mean, you can't?" I demanded, rolling my eyes. A cool gust of wind was chilling the air as soon as I stepped outside, and I immediately wished I'd thrown on a sweater or something instead of exposing my bare torso to the elements.

"I can't," Marco repeated, "It's like she's got me trapped, Freddy. She's so horrible, and she's always telling me how I should arrange my stuff…I hate it when she tells me to arrange my stuff, Freddy…"

I nodded wordlessly, agreeing. Why do chicks always do that? All I can say is, if any girl lucky enough to get into my apartment started telling me I had to arrange my vintage disc collection in some way, she'd be out the door before you could say 'dissed and dismissed'.

"Tough break, man," I said, getting bored. "I wish I could help you out more."

"You know, it's easy for you to say. You never get the worst of the bunch."

I grinned, taking a wheeze out of my cigarette. "I'm born blessed, man. Sorry. Also, you need to know how to pick 'em, and pick 'em quick. It's not an easy battlefield, Marco. You need to know how to lay the ground rules quickly, so that they know not to step outta line."

Marco sighed, "Okay, whatever. Thanks, anyway, Freddy, I…", he broke off, then came back sounding completely petrified. "Holy shit, I think she's at the door…I gotta go…" And with that, we said goodbye.

Just then I saw a sleek black and white VW Beetle pull up in front of the building. Great, I thought, squinting my eyes a bit to make sure I was seeing right. A morning call from the delightful Summer Hathaway.

I took my sweet time going back into my apartment, thinking maybe I should head off Summer at the door so the doorbell wouldn't wake Katie up. What did she want at this time anyway?

For a second I almost regretted inviting Katie over to my place from hers last night, but I just can't seem to sleep anywhere other than my own beds.

It was completely bizarre.

I went into the kitchen area and checked the time. Ten-thirty a.m. Just like Summer Hathaway to annoy me at the crack of dawn. She was lucky I hadn't had a good night's rest, but that, I reminded myself happily, was Katie's fault.

The doorbell rang just as I'd realized I'd poured soy milk into my bowl of cereal. Annoyed, I realized instantly that it was a good thing Summer was at the door. I went over and yanked it open, opening my mouth to let loose a good one, when she streaked right by me in a flurry of silk, khaki and rosewater scent.

"G'morning, Wilfred," she said breezily as she let herself in. She tossed her leather satchel onto the nearest and walked right into the kitchen unit.

"I trust Katie's around, then?" I heard her ask as I slammed the door shut. How did she know that? I started to follow her, when I saw the landmine of clothes Katie and I had, er, misplaced, along the hallway leading to my bedroom.

Grinning, I went into the kitchen, just in time to see Summer swig a spoonful of my cereal.

"I'm glad to see you're consuming the soy milk I got you," she said, not looking at me.

"Yeah," I said lazily, taking a barstool next to her. We took turns with the spoon in peace. Occasionally, Summer and I are not so territorial. But that's only in the mornings, when I'm completely out of it. "Thanks for this disgusting nutritional…fluid, Sum. I just love it when you restock my fridge with the type of shit you like." I spoke with my mouth full, just to annoy her.

"Gross," she said, jumping away from me and hurrying back into the living room. She returned almost right away with the satchel at hand. She pulled out a couple of files and slapped them onto the table, just as Katie walked into the kitchen. She must've gotten up sooner than I'd thought, because she was all showered and dressed and ready to go.

"Hey," she said, looking unsurprised to see Summer with her usual files. "I thought that was you at the door. Hey, are those sheets Zack's music?"

Summer shook her head, "I'm trying, believe me, but that boy's as stubborn as a mule when it comes to his stuff."

"You guys leave my man alone," I drawled, finishing the last of my cereal. "If the guy wants to be shy about his touchy-feely lyrics, then let him."

"You think he'll show VeeVee?" Katie asked as she went to the fridge, completely ignoring what I'd just said.

"Maybe," Summer said with her head poring over whatever it was on the counter. "But he told me he'd show it to us as soon—"

"As he feels the muses are done," Katie and I chimed in along with her. We'd heard it a million times.

"Freddy, you need to go shopping," Katie informed me. I didn't turn around. Instead, I was vaguely interested in what Summer was so busy looking at when she'd been the one to come here. I mean, seriously, if she's going to be such a rude guest and go reading something then she could've easily done it at her place.

Besides, all she did at mine was just complain that I didn't keep the place sparkling clean or something like that.

"I'm going home," Katie announced, leaning over my shoulder so she could give me a kiss. I tried to say goodbye but her lips were pressed against mine so tight I wondered—briefly—if she was trying to make Summer jealous. The girls are always trying to fix her up on blind dates and stuff. Promote her social status, as they say.

It didn't look like it had worked. Summer was still as glued to her pieces as before, and I thought I saw Katie roll her eyes before grabbing her bag off a couch and heading toward the door.

"I'll see you later, guys," she said, then left.

I turned back to Summer. She was sitting across me so casually, I felt like I was the guest.

I leant my elbows on the table and peered in close. "What," I said very quietly so she couldn't accuse me of disturbing the peace, (yes, she loves accusing me of that), "the hell are you doing?"

She didn't look up. "I'm arranging a schedule of activities we can do once we get to London, seeing as how none of you will think of it beforehand."

"Oh," I said, almost immediately losing interest. Anything with plans and maps was no good with me. "Yes, thank the Lord for Summer Hathaway, our beacon of touristic hope."

"You made that word up," she muttered, then sighed before looking up. "Alright, now that she's gone, I can get down to business."

I knew this was coming. I started drumming my hands along the edge of the smooth marble tabletop, just to annoy her, or (hopefully) stop her from talking.

"What business?" I feigned surprise.

"You know full well what I'm talking about, Freddy. This idiotic scheme Dewey thinks you can handle—"

"Ouch," I said, "Do I detect a note of doubt, Tink?"

She rolled her eyes at me.

And she accuses me of being immature. Now that is just calling the pot black. I mean, kettle.

Or is pot?

Whatever. As if anyone uses either of those in this day and age.

"FREDDY JONES", the banshee screamed in my face.

"I'm listening," I said loudly.

I watched, half-amused, as she struggled to keep her temper down and her breathing easy. "Listen, Freddy," she started, looking down at her hands as she spoke. Summer loves doing this. I somehow believe that all the Answers to the Queries of the Earth are inscribed delicately on those two little hands of hers, because Summer is always spreading them out and waving them around in the air when she thinks she's making a point that I will actually care about.

When, in fact, I don't really care all that much about anything.

In fact, I could probably count the number of things I do care about on one hand.

"Freddy, listen to me," Summer said again firmly, and I nodded for her to go on. "I really think she can do it. Okay, so she's a little self-conscious and everything, but I was hoping you could talk her out of it…"

"Wait." I said, shaking my head already. "Who are we talking about?"

"Tomika, Freddy," Summer said exasperatedly. I don't know why she's all in a huff, it's not as if I heard her say Tomika's name.

"Tomika?" I echoed, scrunching my face up as I thought about it. "No," I said after a while, shaking my head. "No, no, no. It's not going to work."

I knew this would happen. Tomika's like the only friend Summer has, so of course Summer would nominate her friend.

"It's not going to work," I said again.

"Why not?"

"Because," I said, "It's Tomika. She won't do it."

"I know!" She practically shouted, leaning over the tabletop earnestly. "That's why you're going to convince her."

"No, I'm not," I said again. "Convincing people to do things they don't want to do is stupid and a waste of time, two things I don't abide well with."

"Oh, you're kidding me," Summer said flatly, folding her arms in front of her. That's another one of her Favorite Things To Do To Me. "You don't abide well with stupidity? That's new to me. And also, I can't believe you used the word abide."

I smiled cunningly at her. "I threw that one in for fun."

She rolled her eyes at me, (yet another habit of hers when it comes to my presence), and said, "I'm serious, Freddy, and I'd really appreciate it if we could both take the time to realize how workable this thing with Tomika…"

"Forget it," I said loudly, getting off the stool. I turned my back on her, figuring I'd better go take a shower now that Katie had left. "It's not going to work, Summer, regardless of how tight you may be with her. She's got great pipes, yeah, but Tomika is never going to strike up the nerve…"

"Sure, if you don't give her a chance, Freddy," she said loudly as she made started following me into my room. "You know, for someone who's so sure of himself, you really don't have enough faith in people, do you?"

"I have faith in me," I said confidently, not bothering to turn around. I was tempted to slam my bedroom door shut in her know-it-all face, but then she'd probably pick the lock with a shoelace or with some other equally smart method.

"Pfft," she made some funny sound like that, and walked into my room behind me. She made another funny sound, this time even more sarcastic. "Wow," she said flatly, looking around my haven.

Despite myself, I looked around with her.

My four-poster black and gray bed was situated right up against my amazing view of town, unmade from the night before but usually my Peruvian maid comes in later on weekends. Dark wood and gray steel meshed at various areas in the room in the form of furniture; state of the art study desk, a couple of chairs, bedside tables, wardrobe…I prefer the true bachelor-pad theme, minimalist all the way.

"Oh my word," I heard Summer sigh beside me, shaking her head as she took in the bed. "How I hate this room."

"People don't really think it's bad after a while," I said defensively, turning away from her so I could rummage through my wardrobe.

"People," she snorted, then added in a disgusted tone, "They get used to it after a while as in…a night, right?" She made some snarky comment under her breath, but I pretended not to hear.

Suddenly I remembered the brainstorm I'd had the evening before. I turned back to Summer with a grin. "Summer," I said, going over to her and grabbing hold of her shoulders. "Forget Tomika. I've got our lead."

Summer—who'd been looking at me suspiciously the moment I'd said her name—took a moment to register what I'd said. "You've got what?" she asked, her tone flat, her eyes narrowed. "You've got our lead. Who is it then?"

I smiled. I had to play it well. With any body else, with anything else, I'd have them eating out of my hand. Unfortunately, Summer Hathaway was not as malleable.

"Yeah," I said, letting go of her because it was agony having to do so. "And she's great-"

"Oh," I heard her say. "A she, then. I should've known."

"Yeah, she's better than you'd expect, actually. And what's even better is that you already know her. All of you do…"

"Look, Freddy," she said, her tone all prim and proper as usual. "VeeVee's already doing too much, as it is. We can't just replace her when-"

"No, no, no," I said quickly, realizing I'd been too subtle. "It's not VeeVee. It's Katie."

Summer's eyebrows went way up at that, and, for a second, I thought I saw a sliver of surprise in her eyes. "Katie," she said flatly. "Katie is going to be our lead."

I nodded, "She sings great, I tell you. Okay, not as well as Tomika, or even Dewey for that matter, but she already knows all our material, and is willing to take the part…"

Okay, so I made up the last part. Katie hadn't said anything about being willing. Still, everyone would see how right I am this time, just as soon as Summer agrees.

"Katie can sing?" Summer asked now, looking like she was trying to keep her tone neutral. "I didn't know that. How come she hasn't said anything before this?"

Good point.

"Uh…she's shy," I said, nodding encouragingly, "But she's willing to put that aside for now for the…sake of the band." I patted myself mentally for that one. Summer was all about self-sacrifice and dedication.

Sure enough, she was silent for a change, meaning she didn't quite know what to say yet. I took the opportunity to plough on. "Yeah, in fact, she and I were thinking of announcing it to the band tonight at the gig…"

I figured one little white lie should follow another.

I waited patiently for her reaction, turning my back on her. "I'm going to take a shower," I announced, heading for the bathroom. "You can make yourself at home, and if you do, can you go into my study room and feed Tangerine? Your coming here made me forget…"

Usually I don't allow anyone to mess around too much with my pets, of which I have two. Tangerine is my three-year old chameleon that Dewey got me for in the ninth grade, for managing to pass English literature that year. If I'd failed another test, I'd have had to repeat the year behind the others, but Dewey had asked, (or bribed) Summer to tutor me.

I loved that chameleon from the very first day I'd seen her. Just as much as I love Mister Blister, my two-month old bulldog. I got him when we'd graduated, an unusual gift from my parents, who'd also gotten me the traditional car.

"Fine," Summer said now, walking out of my room quickly when I made like I was going to start stripping right then and there. I grinned at her retreating back, and decided she'd come around to my idea by the time I'd finished showering.

Some time after, I walked into my study room to look for Summer. I found her sitting in one of the grandfather couches lined up against the bookshelves.

"What are you doing?" I asked, not even bothering to look at the title of the hardcover in her hands. I walked over to the four-foot glass case at the other end of the room, easing my arm in so I could stroke the rough edge of Tangerine's back.

"I'm reading," Summer said, not looking up. "I'm sure you understand the concept, unfamiliar as you may be with it."

"Ha ha," I said dryly, smirking slightly as I knew we were both easing back into our usual selves. I gently lifted Tangerine off the piece of wood she'd been resting on, replacing it with my shoulder as was our custom. Immediately, she made the incredible effort of moving an inch to get comfortable, the end of her tail resting lightly against the back of my neck.

"So what do you think?" I asked Summer, walking leisurely over to the desk. I grabbed a box of cigarettes, flipping it open to smack one out.

"Hmm? About what?"

"About Katie."

"Oh, right," she said, looking up. Her eyes rested on the cigarette in my hand, and she frowned. Before she could protest though, I'd lit it and taken a puff already. "Must you do that now, Freddy?"

"You're not answering my question."

"Look, I don't actually think it's a good idea," she said, snapping the book shut and setting it on the nearby desk. She smoothed the front of her skirt as she got up. "To tell you the truth, I don't really understand how you can tell me my efforts with Tomika are based on a friendship we already have…"

"I didn't say that," I said defensively.

"No," she admitted, waving the smoky air away from her. "But I know that's what you're getting at Freddy, there's no point in denying it."

I made a face, but I didn't say anything. She was right, as usual.

"So I don't really see why you should get to involve Katie in this," she said simply. "I mean, if you weren't going out, I doubt you'd even be considering her."

I stared, trying not to lose my temper. "What's that supposed to mean, if we weren't going out? What does that have to do with anything?"

"The same 'anything' that has to do with my friendship with Tomika. Face it, Freddy, you're just dragging Katie into this-"

"I'm not dragging her into anything!" I half-shouted, waving my hand around so the cigarette would annoy her even more.

"Yes, you are," she countered back, looking at me with a stubborn look on her face. "So I guess what I'm saying is that if you're blocking Tomika, then I don't see why I should let Katie walk all over this band just because you want to win."

"Win?" I echoed angrily. "What the hell does that mean? We're supposed to be a team, remember?"

"Then, as a team we need to find someone we both approve of," Summer said loudly, her cheeks turning a soft shade of red. "And would you STOP waving that cancer stick around in the air? You're infecting me with carcinogens as we speak…"

"Will you shut up with that stuff?" I replied angrily, walking out of the room. I headed toward the kitchen, aware that she was following me anyway. I couldn't believe this. I had a great plan together, and here it was being blown into nothing before I'd even brought it forward to the others.

"Are you going to the gig early?" she asked me as she took a seat at the counters, swiveling herself gently on the barstool. I could tell she was trying to change the subject.

Now that she'd closed it, apparently.

"Yeah," I said flatly, mad at her, and mad at myself for not having convinced her.

"Good. I'll give you a ride, I'm leaving in a couple of hours," she said, dragging the folder she'd brought toward her again. "You're going to have to drive though, because I still have to resolve some papers with the owners of that club on the way there…"

Just then the doorbell rang, interrupting her before she could bore me further. I went to get the door, exhaling another cloud of puff. I considered putting Tangerine back until I was done smoking, but then figured she was used to it.

"Hey, Freddy," Victor said once I'd swung open the door. In his arms was Mister Blister, his tiny fawn-colored body looking newly shined after a morning at the groomers'.

"Hey, Vic," I said, stuffing my hand in one of my pockets to come up with a fifty dollar bill. "Here, you can keep the change. Was he any trouble?"

"None at all," Victor said, his face lightening up at the money. I took my dog from him, saying goodbye to his pet-sitter and shutting the door behind me. I walked back into the kitchen slowly, stroking the tiny head of my pup while trying not to throw Tangerine off with every stroke.

"Hey, Freddy, I'm going to get lunch ready, since you don't…" Summer looked up and saw me. "Oh, hey, Mister Blister!" She brightened up instantly, hurrying off her chair and coming over to me so she could coo all over him. "Aw, aren't you just adorable…can I hold him, Freddy?"

I shrugged, not wanting to seem too relenting. "I usually order take out," I informed her as she walked away from me, the pup in her arms. "I got a stack of brochures in there…" I said, pointing at a nearby high table but she shook her head.

"You never know how they make those," she said, kissing Mister Blister on the top of his head. "Besides, we have two hours to kill before we go."

I opened my mouth to protest about how this was my house, etc. etc. Then I remembered Summer's cooking and decided to keep it shut. "Fine," I muttered, taking one last, lingering sip before I threw the cigarette into the sink. "But whatever you make, don't add—"

"Any tomatoes, zucchini or vanilla," Summer recited, giving the dog one last kiss before setting him onto the couch in the living room.

I nodded, disgruntled. Everyone who knows me knows I'm allergic to vanilla, but few know that I really hate tomatoes and zucchinis. Only Summer Hathaway would know everyone's particular likes and dislikes and store it into the memory vaults in her little head.

As she rummaged familiarly around my kitchen unit, I went over into the living room to play around with Mister Blister. I set Tangerine down onto the couch, careful to leave her where I could always see her.

Mister Blister waddled over to her on pudgy legs, sniffing unceremoniously at her. The next second he took a couple of violent sneezes, his little wrinkled head shuddering slightly with every attack.

I chuckled, always amused at the only flatmates I'd ever had, not including Zack of course. Suddenly I remembered that when we left for London, it was going to be for at least a month.

"Hey Summer," I called back, frowning slightly. "You know anything about the company whose cruise ship we're boarding?"

"What?" Summer replied, sounding confused. She also sounded like she was rummaging around for a pot, if the loud clanging noises were anything to go by. "I don't know much yet…I think they're called Genesis Cruisers. Why?"

"You got any idea on their policy with pets?"

"What? Freddy, what on earth are you…", Summer stopped, and so did the noises. In a flash, she was out the kitchen unit and staring down at me, a large frying pan gripped tightly in one hand. "Freddy Jones," she said loudly, her eyes narrowing, "Don't you dare suggest what I think you're suggesting."

"And what's that?" I challenged in a drawl, tugging Mister Blister toward me for defense, just in case.

"You are NOT" she yelled, "bringing them to London."

"Yes, I am," I said simply. Calmly, even. "What do you expect me to do? Abandon them for weeks on end? I don't think even you would so inhumane, Summer."

"Argh!" She cried, then leant down over me menacingly. Her face was so close I could actually count her eyelashes. If I wanted to, that is. "Freddy," she said, her tone low but forced. "You are not bringing your pets onto that ship, and that is final."

I stared back at her, determined to keep it cool. Finally, I gave a careless shrug. "Whatever," I said, grinning at her. "If you say so, Tink. Your word is law, after all."

She glared at me a second longer, but probably thought it wasn't worth the effort at the moment.

Which it wasn't, really.

But it would've been nice to have her support in at least one thing in my near-future.

Summer's P.O.V.

Why are boys so stupid?

Seriously. I mean, I know the whole drill. Girls mature earlier, they grasp certain concepts easier, etc. etc.

But if Freddy thinks for one second that he can somehow hustle in a bulldog pup and a half-foot long chameleon into a cruise ship without alarming the authorities, then he's even thicker than I thought. Even he can't get away with it.

I was still thinking about it after we decided it would be better to leave my Beetle and use Freddy's flame-red BMW instead. Or Mavis, as he and VeeVee named it when they'd taken it for a test drive. That had been when they were going out, and VeeVee was still pretty new to the band.

Freddy had told me he'd 'handle' the newcomer and give her a warm welcome. Needless to say, asking her out for drinks hadn't quite been what I'd expected.

"Are you meditating again?" Freddy's voice burst into my thoughts once he'd smoothly slotted the car onto the busier streets in town.

"No," I said, flipping out my Blueberry from my pocket. I saw him out of the corner of my eye, glancing at me when I got it out.

"Then what? Why are you getting that thing out already? We're not playing for hours…"

I just shook my head, hoping he'd shut up. He has no idea about half the things on my daily agenda as band manager, and I'd long abandoned the expectation that he—or anyone, for that matter—would understand.

"You're not still mad about the pet thing, are you?" he asked, a smirk lounging easily on his mouth. "I'm not taking them, don't worry your genius little head over that…"

I rolled my eyes, but was a little pacified. We talked about the night's gig for the rest of the ride, hoping that there would be no 'incidents' as there sometimes was once we'd hit radio mainstream.

We got to the club in no time, parking at a space near Zack's moss-green Scorpio. Unlike Freddy, Zack had never gotten into the whole fixation with sleek sports cars that most boys seem to be genetically programmed with.

I hoped Tomika had already arrived. Despite what Freddy said earlier, I didn't really believe that Tomika wouldn't consider the lead position. I had to try a little harder, that was all.

I was in luck.

Once Freddy and I'd entered the dark-themed cavern of the club, (everything is in bleak shades of black and brown in there), we split ways almost instantly.

"Yo, Mooneyham! Seymour!" he shouted, like a barbarian, grinning maniacally at Zack and Andy, who were busy tuning at one end of the place. I smiled and waved back at Zack when he looked up and saw us, but then turned right around and spotted the band's backup singers right away.

"Hey," I said briskly once I'd reached their table. Tomika, Marta, and Alicia were running over their material in harmony, although they really didn't have to practice. Years of being together in a band have made them evolve together musically, and they rarely made mistakes.

"Hey, Summer," Tomika smiled, stopping to shift up so I could sit. I shook my head though. I needed to talk to her alone.

"Come with me to the bathroom, would you, Tomika?" I asked casually. I needn't have bothered. Apart from a wave from Alicia and a wink from Marta, neither girl had stopped singing, their eyes reverting right back to the material in their hands.

"Sure," Tomika said, getting up, "My throat feels like it's going anyway."

I led her into the small cubicles at another side of the still-empty club.

"What's up, Summer?" Tomika asked, walking over to the sink to retouch her fringe.

I went to stand beside her, looking at our dim reflections in the mirror. Next to her, (actually, next to any other girl in the band), I was dressed pretty conservatively.

Okay, fine. I was dressed like a pensioner.

Freddy always says I dress like one of those preppy girls at school we all hated. But I'm not a preppy. I just happen to like dressing neatly, comfortably and appear always businesslike.

"Listen," I started, deciding I'd cut to the chase. "Tomika, you remember what Dewey said yesterday, right? About the Blackaby thing?"

Her eyes shone with recognition. "Oh, of course! How could I forget? It's just too bad about you having to work with Freddy on that other thing…"

"Yeah, actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about…" My mouth felt kind of dry. I reached a hand to turn on the faucet, relieved to have the water gushing out. Now my voice wouldn't sound so hollow. "Freddy's got this crackpot idea that Katie can sing lead—"

"What!" Tomika practically shrieked, turning to face me. "Katie? As in, our Katie? Katie can sing?"

I felt my confidence inflate. If Tomika reaction was anything to go by, her horror could probably help me out a bit here.

"Yeah, apparently," I said, nodding, "Anyway, I won't believe it until I see it. Or rather, hear it. But you know who I know can sing? And is perfect for the part?"

"Who?"

"C'mon, Tomika." I said urgently. "Won't you do it?"

"WHAT?" She completely shrieked this time. She turned back once more to me, staring down at me. This is quite impressive, as anyone can attest once they've seen both her height and my dwarf factor. "Summer, are you nuts? I can't be lead singer for the band!"

"Why?" I cried, "It's for the band! You've always said you'd do anything for the band while there's still breath in your body…"

"Yeah, while there's still breath in my body, Summer." She shook her head, turning back to the mirror. "Trust me, accepting the part will kill me. I can't do it."

"You won't even try?" I couldn't help it. I started raising my voice, and I could already feel the hotness on my neck.

"It's not that I won't even try, Summer. I'm just not going to, okay?" I turned back to the mirror at that, my heart feeling like lead. I met Tomika's eyes in our reflections, and I was surprised to see how serious she was. "Look," she said, "It's more complicated than that, Sum. I'm not brave like you, or glamorous like Marta, or hip like Alic—"

"SO?" I yelled, throwing my arms in the air. "You can sing like TOMIKA, and that blows the whole rest of us out of the water!"

She laughed. Actually laughed at such a critical time like this. "I'm just backup material, Summer."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You're not backup material. People are going to love hearing your voice, Tomika…"

"Maybe," Tomika said, sobering up right away. She turned to me once again, but I continued watching her reflection instead. "They may love hearing me, Summer, but they're going to hate seeing me. Trust me, Dewey's tried this before..."

I opened my mouth for a ready retaliation, then realized something. I realized at that moment that maybe, despite being practically the only friend I had…

Maybe I didn't really understand Tomika after all. Maybe what she was saying was all something I'd heard a million times, but never accepted to be true. I still don't believe it's true, but maybe under all that, I was missing the point.

What it was, I couldn't figure out. But why the hell did it have to be Freddy—of all people--who'd suggested it to me in the first place?

Because it looked like he was right. He'd warned me this would happen.

I stood still for a while, studying the seriousness in Tomika's face, realizing that the anger I felt at that moment wasn't directed at her. It was fully for Freddy.

How dare he be right?

I couldn't—I wouldn't—accept it.

"Summer?" I heard her voice break in tentatively. "Summer, are you okay?"

"Yes," I said, my voice cracking slightly. "Band meeting on Friday for the trip. Pass it on, would you?"

And without another glance at her, I left the bathroom and was out the door.

Looking back now, I don't know why I couldn't so much as wish Tomika good luck for the gig or something. Heaven knows it was the most trivial of things, that gig.

Not when I know now what happened afterward.

The only thing I can actually remember about that night is Hunter.

And how he'd broken into our little band's peace of mind so suddenly…

So effortlessly…

Just in time.

A/N: I don't know why the ruler in this editing thing isn't working. Anyway...Yes! I finally got this chapter done. Ha that was fun writing, although it wasn't the ending I was planning to make. Hunter was actually supposed to make his entrance here already. Anyway, hope you like it, although the 'real' story's only about to start in a bit…

Oh, and I'm also sorry if these chapters are too long, I know some people prefer them to be more concise. I'll try to shorten things up next time...

Thanks everyone! And to those who've reviewed:

Nanners-77-Ha ha thanx, it means a lot. Yeah, I do have a lot of P.O.V.s going around, I guess, but it isn't always going to be like that. Only an occasional switch from chapter to chapter. It's still Freddy and Summer's story, after all. Oh, and Freddy kisssed Katie just to shut her up. Haha.

endymion015-I love writing Freddy for some reason. Haha. I'm sure you have that feeling too! I've been wanting to get this chapter done for AGES. I'll chek out that story you talked about-The Lies They Tell Us, I think it was. I admit, I like the Zack-Katie thing now too, but I'm still not sure where Zack's heading in this story. I love his character too, kind of the lone-ranger thing going on. Haha. Hope you update soon!

The Ponderer-Hey Kuda. Thanks for reading this, it means a lot! Yeah, I admit, I've made a lot of errors in the first two chapters, but mostly because I was rushing things and couldn't reread them a third time as I usually do. And that thing with Lebanon being African-ugh. I'll fix it. VeeVee IS supposed to be Asian-African, but then at the last minute I switched her from Liberian to Lebanese, and I guess I forgot to go back and amend that. I will soon. Thanks SO much, your reviews are always so heartening.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original School of Rock people, (yet). But I do own Andy Seymour and Vee-Vee Qing-Khan.