Back with another chapter :) trying to get a daily thing going here, just because I can :P Set a month after the previous chapter, just in case of any confusion.

"Hey, I better start heading home, or my parents will be on my case more than usual," Mindy said, checking her phone and getting up. "But I'll catch you tomorrow, right?" she asked, with a hopeful look on her face.

"Sure, I'll see you around." Drake smiled back before adding, "Remember what I told you, okay?"

Mindy looked back as she exited the Premiere, giving Drake a small wave before she left. Drake sat back in his chair, sipping his Mocha Cola as he took some time to think things over. Two months ago, he would never have even thought about changing anything in his life. Two months ago, if someone had told him that his next close friend would be Mindy Crenshaw, he would have probably laughed in their face.

But a lot had happened in those two months. He had been a wreck when Traci left, because for Drake, it was another in a long line of failed attempts to make good of a relationship. It had shot his confidence to the point where he felt like maybe it was time to take a different approach.

That was where Mindy had saved him. She rarely pulled the punches when she was talking to Drake, and her advice had helped him find that new approach. He could still be that lazy, dumb guy who played guitar and charmed his way through life, but being on the outside looking in on Mindy's life had changed things. After all, Drake could see that she needed something new just as much as he did.

He had only found out about a week ago that her problems at home had actually been going on for years, and he knew how much she was struggling to deal with the pressure. So he gave her some advice of his own.

"Trust me, Mindy, I know pressure. Like, when I'm performing, there's always the pressure of trying to get everything perfect, worrying about what my fans want from me, and that's not even half of it," he mused. "That sort of shit can get real intense quickly."

"So, what do you do then?" Mindy asked, frowning.

"I let it ride. I mean, when I play my music, I'm playing for my fans, and I do it all for them. But if they really are my fans, they'll support me whatever I do on stage, and I know that," Drake said.

But Mindy wasn't entirely convinced. "So you're comparing your fans and you to my parents and me?"

Drake laughed. "What I mean is, if they really care about you, then they'll get behind you whatever you do. It's your life, not theirs."

Mindy shot a sly smile at him. "Drake Parker, did you just use a metaphor?"

"Hey, I know stuff, I guess."

She laughed, and then looked at him again, smiling. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

Drake got up to throw away his drink and was deep in thought, when suddenly someone in front of him turned around and collided with him, knocking them both to the floor.

He looked over and saw a dark-haired girl slowly stand up and walk over to him. She looked very punk rock, wearing black jeans, a leather jacket, and an attitude that screamed flair. She was looking very intently at Drake, who got up and found himself face to face with all that flair. They locked eyes, and Drake was waiting for a hard slap when she suddenly leaned forward and kissed him.

He pulled away, looking at her quizzically, and she gave him a flicker of a smile. "Hi, I'm Jessica."

Mindy walked through her front door, and again, was met by her mother yelling at her. She started to run up the stairs and escape to her room, but suddenly stopped. Sighing to herself, she walked back down and entered the living room, to see the older woman writing on sheets of paper and still shouting.

"Mom, I need you to just stop talking for a second, and listen to me," Mindy said, softly, but her mother stopped shouting and looked over, staring daggers at her. "I can't live with you and Dad constantly hovering over my head. I feel like I'm suffocating under all this pressure, and it's like I'm standing on the edge," she felt calm, and kept her voice level, even as her mother slowly stood up.

"Who are you to accuse-"

"I'm not finished. I hate living in fear of never being good enough, of never being perfect. It's the worst feeling in the world when the people who are supposed to care for you think that your best isn't good enough," her voice was rising slowly now, "I have been living like this for as long as I can remember, and it's killing me!" she felt herself starting to shout, so she took a moment to calm back down before continuing, "A close friend recently made me realise that nobody is perfect, but that's fine, as long as we be the best that we can be. And if you and Dad really care, you need to be able to accept that." She finished and stormed back up the stairs, furiously wiping tears from her eyes.

In the living room, her mother stood speechless, and wiped a tear from her cheek before sitting back down. She picked up her pen, but then put it back down, holding her head in her hands.

Soooo, very interesting developments here...looks like Drake will be getting back into the swing of things, and after giving plenty of advice to Drake, Mindy's decided to take some from him... I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter, mainly to do with presenting Drake in a new somber light, as well as trying to introduce a new OC, so let me know what you think so far people! :)