Hello everyone! How are you? It's 2 in the afternoon where I am and I just wanted to say that I stayed up til 3 in the morning writing this. I didn't even think I'd actually be able to upload anything since I'm visiting my grandparents...but guess what? They discovered the internet! I'm so proud...

Anyway, this is Chapter 4. I kind of rushed through it because so many thoughts ran through my head and somehow found themselves on my computer, but I'm very proud of it.

*Kanks to the Angel of Randomsity for giving me such an amazing idea. It kept me up all night, for I refused to sleep until I wrote it in the chapter!*

And Kanks for the amazing reviews. I appreciate them all so much.

As you all know, I do not own Lemonade Mouth, its characters, the setting, etc. But I do own this story's plot, the song lyrics (they are all original), my OCs, etc.

Enjoy!

Even though it was the first day of school, the band had already gotten clearance to have after school band practice. There weren't any talent shows or competitions coming up; and they hadn't booked any shows so they could get used to school, but they wanted to keep up the tradition even if it wasn't necessary.

By that time, Stella had put herself together, thankfully not having any more classes with her band mates, plastering her usual bored expression on her face, and ignoring the confused looks given to her by people around the school. Of course, by seventh period, the entire school had heard of her breakdown; but Stella wasn't all that concerned about it. Strangers could think what they wanted. Besides, they'd all forget in a matter of weeks.

But Lemonade Mouth was another story. They had supported each other since the beginning and were always there for each other. Now that their dear leader Stella was in a tough spot, they would stop at absolutely nothing to make her feel better…whether she wanted it or not. Stella really couldn't blame them. How many times had she badgered her band mates to the point of happiness and cheered them up relentlessly when they were having trials? On the other hand, demanding her friends to be happy was HER job. No one else could do so…effectively at least. Stella sighed. Some people just weren't meant to have friends. Friends who understood. Maybe she was one of them.

When the bell rang, Stella begrudgingly made her way to her newly assigned locker, the ultimate question raging through her head: To go or not to go? She never missed a practice and severely interrogated then punished all band mates who dared even think of skipping a practice, so bailing out of their first practice of the school year would only make the situation impossibly worse. Still, what good would showing up for practice do if she ended up blowing up at her friends again and storming off? Even though she had cooled considerably since lunch, Stella could feel the barely suppressed anger desperately trying to find a way to the surface yet again. She didn't know what was happening to her. She'd gone a whole year without once slipping up or even giving her friends a slight reason to think anything was wrong. How could one day completely unravel what she'd worked so hard to conceal? She stuck her head in her locker, willing herself to stop thinking, lest she have another breakdown.

"Do you really think she's going to show?" Charlie asked as the band made their way to the elevator. They had all met in front of the trophy case nearest Principal Brenigan's office as they had done last year. After waiting fifteen minutes for Stella to arrive, they all decided to continue to the Underground without her.

"Of course," Scott said, although he was feeling pretty doubtful himself.

"What makes you so sure?" Mo asked, raising her eyebrow at her boyfriend.

"Stella has never missed a band practice," Wen said, "even when she was crazy sick. I don't think there's anything in the universe that can keep Stella away from her music."

"You're right," Olivia replied, "but she can play music at home. Who says she has to come to band practice?"

Charlie nodded in agreement. "I honestly think she'd risk her perfect practice attendance record to get a break from us for a while. It seemed like we really struck a nerve back there." He looked thoughtfully. "What were we even doing when she blew up?"

Olivia burrowed her eyebrows. "We were just trying to cheer her up."

Mo's eyes widened. "Yeah, and what were we cheering her up for?" She asked Olivia.

"Because of what Ray had told her," Olivia replied, not understanding what Mo was getting at.

Scott seemed to. He put his arm around Mo's shoulders. "Whoa, Mo. Let's not jump to conclusions."

Mo scoffed. "What do you mean, Scott?" She turned back to Olivia. "Don't you get it? This is all Ray's fault!"

Scott quickly came to ray's defense. They may not have been friends for a while, but Scott was still there for his former best friend. He knew what Ray had to go through. He knew the truth behind Ray Beech. "Slow down," he said. "Ray didn't know what he was doing."

"Didn't know what he was doing!" Mo exclaimed, stopping and pulling herself out of Scott's arms. Everyone else stopped as well. "He's been trying to slip Stella up since the first day of school. His goal in life is to make her snap. He knew exactly what he was doing."

"No, he didn't!" Scott replied, glancing at Wen and Charlie for support. Unfortunately, they were frowning at him, puzzled that he would defend their worst adversary.

Mo gave him a hard look that said he'd pay for contradicting her.

Olivia stepped in between them. "Scott," she said softly, "I know you used to be Ray's friend and you try to see the good in people—"

"Even people that have no good in them," Charlie interrupted.

Olivia smiled a bit, agreeing with him, then wiped it away and continued, "But Ray really did hurt Stella. He has done something serious to her—he's made her crack. And he needs to know this. Something needs to be done about this."

"And we are going to do something about this," Mo said, holding up her hand when Scott tried to say something else. "Ray Beech has wronged his last Mesa High student. I may not be Stella, but I am going to hurt him in ways Stella has never even imagined."

"I wouldn't go that far," Olivia said, "but I am with you on revenge, Mo."

"Whoa, Olivia White wants revenge?" Wen asked. "It's a miracle!"

"Right after band practice," Olivia replied.

"Yeah," Charlie put in, "Hit him where it hurts the most, when he's weak and sweaty from soccer practice in front of all his brainless jock friends."

"Whether or not Stella shows up, she'll be with us. We have all turned into little Stella demons!" Mo laughed.

Charlie grinned. "She'd be so proud!"

"Especially of Olivia."

"C'mon," Olivia said, smiling. "We still have to practice."

The band began walking, heading for the elevator again, but Scott called them back. As they reached him, he asked, "Don't you think you guys are going a bit too far on this one?"

"Nope," Charlie replied matter-of-factly.

"Wen?" Scott asked, knowing asking the girls was futile. They were already set on their target.

"Sorry, man, but I gotta agree with them. Come on, you don't think—not even a tiny bit—that Ray went too far?"

"Ray always goes too far," Scott said, smiling to himself a little. "But that's not the point. What about Stella?"

"What about her?" Mo asked. "We're doing all of this for her."

"No," Scott replied. "You're doing all of this for yourselves. You tell yourselves you're doing it for Stella, but think about it. You're just doing something Stella would do in retaliation."

"Exactly," Charlie said.

"Yeah, exactly what Stella has been doing…and look where it's gotten her. Showing up Ray in front of his whole soccer team—or anywhere—isn't going to help Stella. What we need to do is talk to Stella."

"We already tried talking to her," Mo said. "That didn't work. Now we need to show her that we care."

Olivia nodded. "What else can we do?" she asked.

"We tell ourselves that we know Stella, but do we really?"

"Yes," Mo said. "Scott, I know you're trying to help, but you don't know Stella as well as the rest of us do. You're 'outsider philosophy' approach to this is just annoying."

Olivia put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Just hear him out," she said gently. "Maybe it will all make sense."

"Thanks, Olivia," Scott said.

Olivia nodded in response.

"Anyway," Scott continued. "The Warrior Stella that we thought we knew may not be as much of a warrior as she wanted us to think. Warrior Stella wouldn't have been very concerned about anything Ray had to say to her, but our Stella obviously was. We need to talk to her."

"Right after band practice then," Mo said. "If you're really sure about this and you think Stella's been lying about who she is this whole time, maybe we can figure all this out."

Wen closed his eyes and sighed. He could just see Mo and Stella getting into an argument. Stella was definitely the defiant, rebellious one; but Mo could be pretty headstrong when she wanted to. They'd be back to square one if that happened. He thought about Olivia. She was quiet, but it seemed like she frustrated Stella sometimes. He didn't know why, though. He really thought those two should stay out of any confrontations any time soon. "Okay," he said. "Here's what I think. I think you, Olivia, and you, Mo should talk to Stella later. Let me talk to her after band practice."

"What!" Mo asked.

"Mo," Scott said, knowing exactly what Wen was thinking. "You'll have plenty of time to talk to Stella later."

Mo looked at Olivia, who didn't quite understand why Wen didn't want her to talk to Stella but nodded in after locking eyes with Wen. "Olivia?" Mo said. "Are you okay with this?"

Olivia hugged her friend. "It's okay, Mo. It's just like Scott said, maybe we don't know Stella as well as we think we do. So maybe we aren't the ones best fit to figure all this out."

Mo stared at Olivia. She then looked at Scott and Wen. Finally, she looked at Charlie, who raised his hands up in surrender. "If it helps," he said, "I'm just as confused."

"Don't worry," Scott said. "We'll work this out. And when we do, Stella will be better than ever."

Mo frowned, but with her friends surrounding her, she couldn't stay unhappy for long. She gathered them up in a hug then walked with them to the elevator. She thought about Stella and hoped she was okay. She wanted her friend to be just as content as she was with Lemonade Mouth's friendship.

Stella had finished setting up the instruments for band practice, and was sitting on her amp, wondering if her friends were even going to come to band practice. She had had a time deciding whether or not she would come, but in the end, there was ultimately only one possible answer. Of course she would come. Nothing in the world would keep her from maintaining her perfect band practice attendance—which would be the only place she'd even receive that award. Regardless of how her relationship with her friends changed, as long as there was Lemonade Mouth, there would be a Stella Yamada showing up for band practice.

It was twenty minutes later when her friends finally showed up, all of them stopping in shock when they saw Stella. Wen was the first to recover.

"Hey, Stel," he said, lightly punching her shoulder as he made his way to his piano. "Whoa, thanks for setting everything up."

Stella smiled, glad that he wasn't acting weird around her or mentioning the lunch incident. "No problem. I mean, I did have twenty extra minutes to wonder if anyone was going to show up."

"So how's everything going?" Scott asked as he put on his guitar which was already plugged into his amp.

"Great," Stella said, standing up. Her guitar was already strapped. She was ready to go. "How are you guys?"

"Fine," Olivia said, giving Stella a hug as she stood in front of the mike.

"Same old same old," Charlie said at the same time as Olivia as he fingered his drumsticks.

"Oh," Mo said, pretending to tune her bass. "My stomach might be a little queasy from lunch."

"Mo!" hissed Scott as Olivia gave her a hard look and Wen gave Charlie, who has stifling a laugh, a hard look as well.

"What?" Mo replied innocently, glancing at Stella. "It is."

"That was mean, Mo," Olivia said.

Mo sighed. "I know. Gosh, Stella, I'm so sorry."

Stella laughed. "It's okay. My stomach's a little queasy. I didn't get to eat all that much."

Olivia smiled. Maybe Stella wasn't so bad off after all. "Okay, guys. So remember that song we were working on a few weeks ago."

"The one with the killer guitar solo?" Stella asked.

"Yeah. Well, I worked on some lyrics to go with the music."

"Really?" Wen asked. "That's great."

"I'm not finished. I just wanted you guys to hear them. It's not good, but…Well, it's pretty bad since I did it myself and I didn't get any help and I could use some help that's why the song isn't finished but—"

"Stella!" Mo interrupted, laughing. "Let's play the song!"

"Oh, okay," Olivia said sheepishly. She nodded at Stella, who began the opening chords.

The song started off with Stella then Mo joining in with a simple bass accompaniment. Charlie then adds the drums which are soon followed by Scott's guitar. Olivia then started to sing.

Is it rage?

Is it sorrow?

Is it yearn for tomorrow?

Is it hope?

Is it pain?

Is it thirst for the rain?

Is it ire?

Pure desire?

Am I stuck in this choir?

What if I want a solo?

Wen joined in with the piano and Mo's bass became more complicated. Scott slowed down with his plucking while Stella's guitar slowed to a bass-like steady beat.

Will I ever see

Let alone believe

What this world has done to me?

Will I ever know

Where I can go

To fight this flow?

Will I ever have

Another chance

When I ruin everything?

Can I find

A new place

To make a new scene?

Olivia turned to her band mates, signaling that she had no more lyrics.

"Olivia," Charlie said. "That was great!"

"Seriously," Mo said, hugging her. "You've outdone yourself!"

"Thanks," Olivia said, blushing.

"And don't get all shy on us now, Olivia," Stella continued. "You are the best songwriter in the world. Truly."

"Thanks," Olivia said. "But honestly, I do need help with it."

"Then I degree you get to Wen's house immediately to finish that song."

"Uh," Scott said. "Practice isn't over."

"And anyway, I was hoping you would help me with the song this time," Olivia said.

Stella stared at her. This wasn't the first time Stella had helped writing the songs. In fact, she wrote almost all of the music in the songs except for the piano chords. She wasn't good with the piano. But Stella didn't really have a knack for writing lyrics. She just never felt she could get the true Lemonade Mouth vibe in words the way Olivia did so naturally. But she couldn't deny the lead singer. "Well, if you really want me to…that's fine. But later, okay?"

"Sure," Olivia replied. "Any time."

"In the meantime," Scott said. "We still have practice." He had skipped soccer practice without permission just to be with the band, so he wanted to at least say something productive happened in his defense when coach chewed him out the next day.

"Right," Olivia said. "Umm…"

"Why don't we just go through some old favorites?" Wen suggested. "It's okay to have a slow day."

Scott groaned. Everyone looked at him. "Sorry. It's…nothing," he said defeatedly.

"Oh," Mo said, realizing what was wrong. "You have soccer practice."

"Scott," Olivia said, "you didn't have to skip for us. This is the first day and we have nothing to rehearse for."

"Yeah, well…" Scott said. He shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Soccer practice sucks anyway. I'd rather be here with you guys any day."

"I hope your coach agrees," Mo said. "He's going to kill you!"

Scott shrugged again. "Who cares?"

Charlie snorted. "I bet you will when coach makes you run a thousand laps around campus for missing."

"Ugg," Scott replied. "Don't remind me. That's exactly what I was trying to forget."

Everyone laughed. "I know what'll make you feel better," Wen said. He began playing the opening chords of "Determinate", Scott's favorite Lemonade Mouth song and the song that officially branded him as part of the band. Everyone grinned as they got back in place. Soon, Olivia had everyone jamming out as their turned Ms. Reznick's music room into a dance floor.

It was a moment of true unity. A moment where not one member thought about themselves or their own problems…or problems at all. Everyone was together. They were a band, a whole body of one thing. They were themselves and no one simultaneously. And it was moments like these that made them realize why they were so close. Why they cared so much about each other. Why that faithful day in detention meant so much to them. Why that day at WRIZing Star was so worth everything. It was why Stella felt so bad about hiding her true self. It was why Olivia wanted her friend to feel better so badly. It was why Mo was so determined to uncover the truth about Stella. It was why Scott was so happy to be a part of Lemonade Mouth. It was why Wen wanted everyone in the band to feel as content and as if they belonged as he did. It was why Charlie could finally say he had a family that understood him and cared for him…and that he cared for.

After band practice, everyone began to put away their instruments. Stella was completely oblivious to the looks everyone was giving each other, looks that told each person where to go, when to leave, and how to leave—all in preparation for Wen and his talk with Stella.

"Well," Mo said. "I have to go. My dad is really keen to see my books for this year's AP classes."

"I'll walk you home," Charlie offered.

"Sure," Mo replied. "Bye guys," She said.

"See you, Mo," Scott said, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Bye," she smiled at him, then walked out with Charlie.

Wen walked Olivia to the door. "See you later, Liv," he said.

"Bye," she blushed. "Oh, I hope things go well with Stella," she said.

"Yeah," he glanced at where Stella was putting her guitar in its case. "Me too."

"Don't worry too much about it. I can tell you're getting all worked up about this. It's just another conversation. Just like the usual ones you have with her."

"Yeah…Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Bye." She blushed again before leaving.

Wen turned to Scott, who was staring at the floor. Stella had finished putting her guitar in its case, had strapped it on, and was looking at the two with her eyes narrowed. Wen put his hand on Scott's back and turned him so they were both facing away from Stella. "I take it you were planning on staying."

"Yeah. I thought it was the plan all along."

"I figured you wanted to. Got something to say about Ray, right?"

"Yeah."

"I hope you know what you're doing, because if I were Stella, I sure wouldn't want to hear his name any time soon."

"Relax, Wen."

Wen rolled his eyes and was about to say something when Stella interrupted.

"Are you guys just going to stand there all day? I have places to be you know."

They whirled around. "Sorry," Wen replied.

Stella walked out of the room and started heading towards the elevator.

"Stella, wait!" Scott called.

She turned around. "What?"

"We wanted to talk to you."

"I know," she replied. "You made that obvious when you had that secretive huddle right in front of me. I mean, really guys. Would it kill you to be more subtle?" She started walking again.

"Are you going to let us talk to you?" Wen asked. "Where are you going?"

She turned around again. "Sure. But it's nice outside. I just wanted to sit on a bench."

"Oh," Wen said. "Okay." He and Scott followed her to the elevator, no one talking as they made their way to the designated spot.

Under the air of confidence Stella was spewing out, she felt terrible. After that unifying band practice, she felt terrible. They were her band mates, but could she truly say that? Band mates know everything about each other. They play off each other's strengths and weaknesses. But Stella had denied her friends that. So what did that make her? Certainly not a part of the band. She didn't feel like talking, but what else could she do? They were concerned about her, and they deserved something.

She reached a bench and sat down, Wen and Scott sitting on opposite sides of her. "So…?" she asked, not ready to drop the act just yet.

"Stella," Wen said. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, still not ready.

"You know exactly what I mean. Why…what happened with Ray?"

Stella was about to respond that she had already told him that, but he held up his hand.

"Not what he said," Wen continued. "But how it affected you. What nerve did Ray strike?"

Stella scoffed. "Ray strikes every nerve in my body. It's how it goes."

"That's not how it went today," Wen said. "Stella. We know. Don't try to hide it. That's what got us into this mess in the first place."

Stella stared at him, silently berating herself. She couldn't believe she was finally giving up. "I…I don't know," she finally said. "He just…what he said made sense…and some of it was true…I am insecure…and I'm not invincible."

"Stella," Wen said honestly, "this is the part where I would tell you that you are invincible. That Ray is a jerk. That even if you're insecure, you're unbreakable to me. To us. To every Lemonade Mouth fan out there. That we will always support you no matter what and that you don't need to be perfect to be our favorite girl in the world. The one was always go to for everything we need. The one we can count on to sacrifice everything in the world for us." He wrapped his arm around her. "And all that stuff is true. But I know that you've heard enough of that. I know that isn't going to help you. The only problem is…I don't know what it is that will help you. And I'd appreciate it if you would help me out. We're all crazy concerned about you, Stel. We're scared for you. We want to help, but we don't know how. Can you help us help you?"

Stella shook her head at the ground. "I wish I could, Wen. I really do." She looked up at him. "But I can't. I don't know why what you guys say doesn't make me feel better. I know you guys are trying, but it just isn't clicking. Don't be offended."

"We're not," Wen replied. He squeezed her shoulder. Then sighed. "I don't know what else to say, dude," he told Stella.

She smiled and hugged him. "There's not anything else to say, man. But thanks for trying anyway. You're the best."

He got up. "I guess I should be going, though. I'll see you tomorrow, Stel. Bye, Scott."

"Yeah, see ya," Scott replied.

"Bye," said Stella.

Wen left, leaving Stella and Scott alone to talk about the infamous Ray Beech.

They sat in silence for a while before Scott finally said. "You know he didn't mean to hurt you that much."

"Yeah," Stella replied. "I know."

"Really?" Scott asked, surprised. "How?"

"I saw him when I left lunch…"

"What happened?"

"I didn't kill him, if that's what you think."

Scott chuckled. "Nope. I know you hate him, but I don't think even Stella Yamada would be that extreme."

"You're right," Stella replied, laughing a little as well. "I wouldn't kill a man. I haven't been trained as an assassin yet."

"That must be on your bucket list," Scott said jokingly.

"You know it," she replied matter-of-factly.

"The sad thing is…I can't tell whether you're serious or joking."

"You don't joke about killing people," Stella said. "That's the easiest way to get the government to knock down your front door and trash the place while your mother's home."

"Oookay," Scott said. "I'm going to change the subject."

"Fine by me."

"Ray isn't all that bad a guy."

Stella rolled her eyes. "Typical thing a former best friend would say."

"I'm serious. He just has a lot of family problems. He's misunderstood."

"Yeah, and so are a lot of people. But they don't become Kings and Queens of the jerkfaces," Stella snapped. "He's just spoiled. That's what he is."

"I thought you said you knew he didn't mean to hurt you."

"I do. But just because you accidentally said too much doesn't mean that you still aren't the jerk that started the argument in the first place."

"Stella…" Scott began.

"Don't try to talk me out of hating Ray, Scott," Stella interrupted, "because it's not going to work. He might have tried to apologize, but he still came off as the jerk he is and always will be. And I might have forgiven him, but that's one thing crossed off the never-ending list of wrongs Ray Beech has done to Lemonade Mouth."

"Stella…" Scott said.

"Really. After all he's done…and you just expect me to forgive him just like that? Olivia, maybe. Maybe even Charlie or Wen. You, definitely. But not me. Never me. It doesn't matter what happens to him or where he goes or if he changes…I'll never forgive him."

"Stella…Let me just talk."

"Whatever." She crossed her arms.

"I know you're mad. And I know that when you're made there's no way of convincing you of anything. But just take what I'm about to tell you and ignore it until you've calmed down. Will you do that?"

"No promises," Stella responded through pursed lips, even though his approach had already calmed her enough. She was very curious as to what he thought was that important.

He sighed. "I'll take that as a yes." He paused before continuing. "Ray has gone through a lot. I don't really want to tell you his whole life story because that's his and not mine to tell; but just believe me when I say that he's been through a lot. What you did outside before school hurt him badly. I saw him. He kept on a good angry front, but you just about ruined everything he worked so hard to accomplish since going to Mesa High. You completely threw him off of the throne. And you have no idea how hard he has been working on getting and staying there."

"Maybe," Stella said, "but if he's had such a hard time, why work so hard to be a bully? Why won't he work hard to do something productive, something worth something?"

"That is worth something to him."

Stella scoffed. "Figures. Being 'King of Mesa High' is all that matters to him. Yep, that' the Ray Beech everybody hates."

Scott sighed. He had no idea how to get to Stella. "You don't get it, Stella. You just don't—" He remembered something. "Remember how you felt at lunch, when you told us that we didn't get it? That we just didn't understand how you felt?"

"Yeah," Stella said, trying to avoid reminiscing that moment.

"That's it. That's how Ray is. He has a reason for everything Stella, but it's deep…It's very deep, and you just don't get it."

Stella stared at the ground, understanding but willing herself not to. This was Ray Beech…

Scott smiled. He could tell by the confused look Stella was giving her shoes that he had finally gotten to her. "I've got to go," he said. "See you tomorrow?" He started walking away then stopped and turned. "You want a ride home?" He was a year ahead of her and had a fully functioning car and license.

She looked up briefly. "Oh, no. I'm fine."

"You sure?" he persisted. "It's a long walk home."

"I need it," Stella replied.

"Okay," Scott said. "Bye."

"Later."

As Scott left the school grounds, Stella thought to herself about what he had said. Now she identified Ray with herself. She thought back to what had happened when she had left the cafeteria and found that "unused" janitor's closet.

Her body heaved as she cried. Her tears stained her face. Her nose sang a horrible sounding symphony. The cold floor seemed to agree with her agony. Eventually, she got tired of trying to hide her noise. She didn't care if anyone heard her. She just sobbed. As the tears lessened, she heard sniffles in the darkness. They didn't belong to her. She immediately quieted herself. The mystery person seemed to realize she was there as well, for the sniffles stopped at the same time.

The sudden silence reverberated around the room, until a familiar voice broke the stillness. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Yamada," Ray Beech said.

"Ray?" Stella replied, silently cursing the quivers in her voice until she realized that Ray sounded just as bad. As if he had been… "Were you crying?"

"Weren't you?" he shot back.

"Yeah," she replied. She didn't know why she was being so honest; but there was no use trying to deny it. She had been crying, and since it'd probably be around the whole school in an hour—she was, after all, with Ray—she figured she'd better go ahead and get over it.

"Yeah?" Ray asked, shocked that she'd admitted it. "Well…" he hesitated, then made a decision. "I was, too." What use would denying it do? Stella was bound to tell the world the minute she left.

"Wow," she said.

"What?"

"I can't believe you just actually admitted to doing something…especially something that would make you vulnerable."

"Yeah, well go ahead and tell the world, Yamada. What does it even matter? I'm done with you getting to me. So who cares?"

"You do," Stella said confidently. "You know you do. All you ever do is try to come out on top and ruin my life."

"Well looks like the tables have turned because today you ruined mine."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Don't act like you're the victim, here, Stella. Not everything is always about you. You're not the queen of this school."

"I never wanted to be the queen of this school. And I know not everything is about me. Do you know that not everything's about you?"

"Whatever, Yamada. Why are you even talking to me? Just go away. You can have your fake temper tantrum somewhere else."

"Fake?" Stella replied. "You think this is fake? I can't believe you, Beech. You're so fake you think everyone else has to be fake."

"Shut up, Stella."

"No, you shut up. This isn't fake. What you said back there, Beech, when you called me all those things and just hissed cruel in my face, actually stung."

Ray scoffed.

"Yeah, I know. Why would something you say actually mean anything this time? I don't know…but it did. It really hurt, Ray." Try as she might to stop them, tears slowly poured down her face.

Ray looked at her. He couldn't believe it. He hadn't meant to make her cry. He wondered why she cried now, instead of when he'd first said that to her. "Look, Stella," he said, reaching out to her and touching her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I just always took it you could handle anything I threw at you, since you're so quick to totally trash me."

She dried her eyes quickly, not even believing that she had actually cried—shown weakness—in front of her worst enemy. "I can handle it," she said. "It just stung a little."

Ray laughed. "Typical Stella Yamada thing to say."

Stella smiled a bit. Was she actually getting along with Ray Beech? She guessed similar circumstances broke down barriers. That reminded her. "Well, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Ray's smile faltered.

"Why are you crying in a closet? And don't try to deny it. You've already admitted to it."

He sighed. "It doesn't matter," he replied. Even though she'd admitted something to him, and he felt obligated to tell her how deeply her words had affected him, he just didn't want to. He was Ray Beech. Even if Stella had finally given up her plan of being invincible, it didn't mean he had to give up his. He couldn't give up his. It was just impossible.

"Come on, Ray," Stella said.

Ray glared at her. "I told you. It doesn't matter!"

"Are you serious?" Stella replied. "I just told you everything and you think you're going to get away with NOT telling me?"

"I don't think, Yamada. I know."

Stella scoffed. "Yeah, right. Come on, Ray. It'll make you feel better."

Ray knew she was right. He needed to tell someone and get it off his chest, and he had no one else to talk to. But he couldn't give up. He could still redeem himself and come back on top as the Ray Beech everyone knew and feared. "Shut up, Yamada," he hissed. "You don't know anything. You're just a stupid loser wannabe rocker with a group of misfits backing you up. You're worth absolutely nothing. What makes you think I'd talk to you of all people? I have actually friends, unlike you."

"Yeah, Beech," Stella replied coldly. "You have friends." She got up and stomped out of the closet, leaving Ray feeling even more empty and dejected as he had when he first walked in. A single tear ran down his face. He angrily clawed it away.

Of course, Stella didn't know of that part as she sat on the bench outside and finished thinking back. She sighed as she wondered about Ray, tying in what she remembered with what Scott had said. Maybe she could identify with Ray. He had been vulnerable in the closet, but she could tell that he had told her more than he'd expected to. He denied having any weakness aside from admitting that he was crying. And he got angry at her for trying to help him. Yes, Ray Beech had some problems to work out. But, Stella was sure, he had no one to work out those problems with. She gathered her book bag and guitar and headed for home, all the while thinking about Ray Beech.

And that concludes chapter 4. Hopefully, I brought out a little of the Ray we are so desperately trying to get more of.

Spoiler Alert: Next chapter = Ray's POV

I'm sorry if you think the song is kind of out of character for Lemonade Mouth. It's the closest to LM that I had in my song book. But as I write more of it (or, as Olivia and Stella write more of it), I think it will kind of mold itself into the LM lyrics we know and sing everyday.

Please review! I love gettting everyone's feedback. You guys are seriously awesome.

Did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Want to see more of something? Less of something?

Right now, this story is just going where it wants to, and I'm happy to take the ride. It's fun!

Kanks, you guys so much for everything! I love hearing from you and hopefully the Chapter 5 will be here soon!