AN: 'allo again, minna-san!!!!!!!!! (minna-san = everybody) back on track with chappy seven, omigod, that's so awesome for me, since I usually run out of steam by chappy three… woooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry, I had sugar today… ^__^) oh, ja, btw, this chapter is slight Rachel-angst, just so y'all know… I'M SORRY, I HAD TO DO IT, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! anyway, I'm gonna stop being weird and get on to the story I know you're all anxious for, right?

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL (much as I would like to for all of a day) OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT EXISTS IN REAL LIFE!!!!!!! AND I'M NOT EVEN GONNA BOTHER TO TELL YOU PEOPLE NOT TO STEAL MY OC'S, COZ Y'ALL SHOULD KNOW THAT'S A BAD IDEA BY NOW.

Previously: Maybe Bill would know. He always was the more mature one when it came to girls and relationships.

Yeah, he'd ask Bill. Bill would know what to do.


TOM

Tom let the door snap shut behind him, trying to forget the way she'd looked at him as he'd turned back. Surprised, confused, absolutely adorable and sexy without even realizing it. How on earth had he lucked out and found someone like Rachel? He though of how her fine black hair framed her face and how pale her skin was. She was paler than Bill, and he almost never went outside. Unless he had to, of course. Tom shook his head, forcing himself to stay on track. Rachel. What had she been about to say?

"Feel right? It feels right to have me, the one no one ever wanted-" she'd said. He leaned back against the door, closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to picture the expression she'd had when she'd said that. After a moment, it came to him. It had been a mixture of sadness, loneliness, and a million other things that he was hard-pressed to name. He sighed, wondering what it was in her history that had given her such a look. Slowly, he opened his eyes again, just in time to see Georg about to pounce on him.

"What the hell, Georg?"

"Just trying to get your attention," the bassist replied with an impish grin. Tom shook his head at him and went to find Bill, who was checking his hair for what Gustav said was about the fiftieth time.

"Bill!" Tom called into the bathroom.

"Was?"

"You were the one yelling at me to hurry up, so come on!" He heard Bill mumble something about annoying twins and snickered. "Annoying I may be, but I'll keep us on time. For the most part." This time it was Bill's turn to laugh. "Quit laughing and come on." Finally Bill emerged from the bathroom looking exactly as he had when they first went on. "You're as bad as a girl."

"Yeah, but at least I look nice."

Tom studied his brother. Black hair stuck out in his porcupine imitation, red shirt with some kind of sparkly design on it, black jeans, combat boots. "Ja, you look good. There. Ego stroked. Can we go now?" Bill sighed and started to give Tom the sad face treatment, which usually ended with Tom doing whatever it was Bill was asking for. But it wasn't going to work this time, mainly because Tom turned and started walking quickly towards the hallway door. He heard Bill laugh again and run lightly to his side.

They walked in silence for a little while, but Tom was waiting for Bill to start with the questions. He didn't have to wait long. "So."

"Let me guess. What were we doing, did we just talk, and about a million other questions." Bill grinned at him sheepishly and nodded. "Sat behind the couch and talked, yes, just talked, and no I didn't do anything." Bill nodded, satisfied. Tom thought for a moment, then went out on a limb, deciding to ask Bill's advice about Rachel now, instead of later. "Hey, Bill?"

"Was, Tom?"

"I had a question."

"OK."

Tom took a deep breath, let it out in a whoosh, and filled his brother in on all the stuff that had happened in the dressing room, what they'd talked about, the brief mention of her past, and her refusal to talk about it. "…and now, I think I'm interested, and not the way I'm usually interested in girls. I get that warm, fuzzy feeling you're always rambling about." He stopped before Bill started going on about the "love at first sight" nonsense he usually would when Tom thought he liked a girl. "Anyway, I want to get to know her better, but… I don't think she'd appreciate me asking her number, 'cause she might not even have one."

Bill looked thoughtful for a moment then told Tom, "I have an idea." He had the look on his face that said he was planning on being a butt and not telling.

"Tell me," Tom practically ordered. Bill, of course, just smiled.

"Nope."

"Bitte, Bill. Tell." Tom rarely said "please" when dealing with Bill, so he hoped that saying it would make him spill faster.

"Well, since you said 'please'," Bill grumbled. 'Yes, it worked!' "Ok, here's my idea: you give her your number, and let her know you'll be in town for a little bit longer. That way, if she wants to see you again, she'll know she can. And she has a way of contacting you." Tom thought about this for a minute, deciding this plan made sense. He smiled and hugged his twin around his thin shoulders, causing Bill to look at him oddly, and Georg, who apparently had snuck up on them at some point, to burst out laughing and make some comment that Tom chose not to hear.

"Bill. You are a genius. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Cause I'm the genius."

"I come up with better jokes."

"Practical jokes do not count as genius."

Georg and Tom both glared at him, insulted. "Yes, they do!" they retorted at the same time. Bill only stared at them.

"Ok, now I see what you mean by the creepy at-the-same-time thing." Tom and Georg rolled their eyes, sighed, and ran ahead, Tom calling a last, "Dankeschön!" Georg suddenly grinned his "I'm planning something" grin and stopped suddenly. Tom, who hadn't been paying attention, kept going full speed. Georg stuck his foot out as Tom passed him, sending the dreadlocked young man sprawling.

"HEY!" Tom yelled as Georg sprinted past him. "THAT WAS CHEATING!" All he heard was Georg's ridiculous laugher echoing back down the hallway as Bill came up and stopped by him.

"Do I even want to know?"

"Nope."

"OK, then. Not gonna ask."

Tom smirked at his twin as the headed out towards the stage, but his mind was already wandering back to the dressing room, where he hoped a certain girl was still waiting.


RACHEL

Rachel sat on the couch in shock for a few minutes after Tom walked out. She closed her eyes, listening to the noise of them getting ready to go back on stage. Bill and Tom were apparently having some kind of argument, but she didn't catch what it was. A few more minutes of noise from the other room, then blessed silence.

She thought briefly on those last couple seconds with Tom, before Bill had interrupted. Was there any chance she could tell him? No. He would walk off, just like everyone else in her life did. She couldn't trust anyone, not anymore. Any time she'd trusted someone, they'd betrayed her.

……………………………………………*MEMORY*…………………………………………

Ten-year-old Rachel plopped down at the kitchen table, waiting for her daddy to come in and give her breakfast, like he always had. Long minutes passed, and Daddy didn't come in. Rachel hopped down from the chair and went in search of him. She peeked into the living room, thinking that maybe he was reading the newspaper.

He wasn't there.

She tried her mom's room next. Maybe he hadn't woken up yet.

He wasn't there.

She looked into her own room; maybe he was playing.

He wasn't there, either.

Finally, she came back to the kitchen, suddenly feeling terrified. Daddy had to be here somewhere. He couldn't have just vanished into thin air, like people did in stories. Daddy was real, he wasn't in a story. Why wasn't he here? That was when she saw the letter on the table. It was on a piece of notebook paper, written in her daddy's neat, precise handwriting.

Rachel,

I'm so sorry, dearest. I can't be here for you anymore. Daddy and Mommy had a disagreement that we can't fix., and she told me to leave. So I have to leave, but I promise, as soon as I get settled in a new house, I'll come back for you. I promise, so just wait for me.

Love and kisses, Dearest.

Daddy

Rachel read and reread the note, tears pooling in her eyes. Daddy was gone. He was gone and he wasn't coming back. But… he promised to come for her, so maybe… maybe she'd be able to leave Mom and Rebecca. Maybe Daddy would find a lady to marry again who would love Rachel. She clutched the letter to her chest and wished with all her heart that her daddy would come back.

………………………………………*END MEMORY*………………………………………….

Rachel allowed herself to fall sideways, ending up laying on the couch, tears rising in her again at the memory. She'd waited, all right. She'd waited for eight years. Yeah, he'd come back for her. That note was the last she heard of him. He hadn't come back, and now she knew he never would.

And she'd been stuck wither her mother and sister, both of whom had never made it a secret that they didn't want her around. Her father was the only one who had even bothered to love her a little, and even he hadn't loved her enough to keep his promise.

She'd trusted him, believed in him, and he'd betrayed her. Rachel pulled her MP3 out and looked at it, remembering when her father had given it to her. It had been her tenth birthday, shortly before he left. She stuck the earbuds in and closed her eyes, intending to take Tom's advice and rest. The first of many Tokio Hotel songs began to play softly in her ears as she tried to sleep.

That plan failed. As soon as Bill's voice started ringing through the buds, she began to sing along with him. The songs came one after another, and she sang them all, German and English, her voice getting louder and stronger with each passing song. She lost track of time and place, her world filled with the music, filled with nothing but her voice following Bill's.

This was her world, the only place she truly belonged.


TOM

Once on stage, Tom thought he might be able to forget about Rachel and actually concentrate on the music. That did not happen. Every time a song ended, he found himself looking for her, and even when he was playing, hers was the only face he saw. He heard the hundreds of voices singing along and screaming, but all he heard was the quiet voice of the black-haired girl that he thought he might honestly like.

The concert continued, and he forced himself to keep up his normal behavior, trying to show that nothing was different, but it was. He was no longer in the music, and it wasn't in him anymore. It was her. Rachel. She was what he played for now. Not Bill, not himself, not the G's. They weren't even on his mind as he played. She was.

Bill motioned for the next song to start, and he played the opening lines of "Sacred". Like everything else since he'd seen Rachel go down by the stage, it made him think of her, but this time… this time, he had the emotion again. He played the song for her, as if she was there to hear it. Unaware of anything but the song, Tom played better than he ever had before.


RACHEL

Rachel had already gone through almost her entire playlist; she was completely focused on the music, more so than she usually was. Normally, her music was her only venue of escape, the only way she could avoid her mother yelling at her for things that weren't her fault, or her sister's insults. The words made sense to her. These were things she understood better than anyone else. Realizing she'd missed the opening of the next song, she forced herself away from those dark thoughts, and she started singing along with "Spring Nicht". Her voice cracked a couple times, but she ignored that and focused her entire being on the song, the words.


TOM

Finally, they were on the last song of the night. "Final Day". It was a great ending song, and Tom enjoyed playing it, mainly because he was exhausted by now, and really wanted to go lie down somewhere and sleep for a decade. Gustav started the drum part, and he and Georg soon followed suit. Bill's voice leaped in after them, even as he started bouncing around the stage with the same level of energy as he'd had in the beginning. Tom's attention to the song wavered for a second, wondering how on earth Bill managed to maintain that kind of energy. Hell, all he'd done for these two hours was stand in one spot and move his hands and fingers, and he was more tired than his brother, who'd spent that time leaping around the stage like a nut. Than again, that was Bill.

Tom forced himself back to the song. 'Come on, moron, you can't lose focus now!' Just as he rebooted his brain and got completely refocused, he heard Bill sing the last few lines of the song.

Live on…

Live on…

This is our final day…

The crowd went absolutely nuts as the four of them headed off the stage, glad that was over and they could get around to some much-needed sleep. Tom pulled Bill behind him, racing for the rooms, and the couch that he was going to claim for a little while. Or share with Rachel, as the case may be.

Speaking of… As they neared the door leading to their quote-unquote "private area", Tom heard an unfamiliar voice singing "Rescue Me". He froze, causing Bill to nearly slam into him, and listened, ignoring Bill's annoyed, "What the hell?"

"Listen. Is that-?"

"Rachel? Can't think of anyone else that would be in there."

"But… she can sing, man. If that's actually her, that is."

"Open the door and find out then, genius." When Tom didn't move, Bill shoved him out of the way and opened the door, yanking Tom in after him. He then shoved Tom in the direction from which the voice was coming. "Go find out, man."

Tom slowly approached the door, listening to the familiar words, sung in such an unfamiliar way, and tone… and emotion.

The walls are coming closer

My senses fade away

I'm haunted by your shadow

I reach to feel your face.

You're not here; are you here?

The voice cut off abruptly, and he heard a soft sigh through the door. Rachel. He carefully pushed the door open, but she didn't hear him. After a brief examination, he realized why: she had earbuds in with music turned up so loud he could hear it from five feet away. Tom approached her from behind, laying a hand gently on her shoulder, not in the least expecting her reaction.

She shrieked and leaped nearly a foot in the air, her hair forming a cloud around her head. He almost started rolling all across the floor laughing, but the embarrassed, slightly ashamed look on her face kept him from doing so.

"Sorry. I didn't mean-" Before he could finish, a loud bang and a shout from the other room cut him off.

"RACHEL!" a woman's voice screamed. Tom turned towards the door, confused, but at Rachel's soft gasp, he faced her again. She had shut down. All emotion was gone from her face.

"Who's that, Rachel?"

After a long moment, she answered him. "My sister. I knew she would come eventually." Even her voice had lost all inflection, scaring the crap out of him. Her eyes dropped to the floor. "I gotta go. Danke, Tom. For everything." She started to move towards the door, looking like she would rather be going anywhere but there. Tom slipped an arm around her shoulders in a brief hug, and the grateful look she gave him was worth even Georg's teasing for what he wanted to do.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "No matter what she or anyone says, I'm glad I met you tonight, Rachel. I wouldn't trade a minute of it." She looked up at him, and a brief light rose in her eyes.

Don't turn around, you'll see

You can make it, never forget

To me you'll be forever sacred.

AN: yeah, sorry about the crapiness of that last bit, I got tired and braindead… yeah… oh, well, hope y'all liked it anyway… yup rebecca's back, and she's just as annoyingly evil as before… whoo-hoo… *note the sarcasm* anywhoodles, see that little green button on the bottom of the page? Yeah? Hit it and make me EXTREMELY happy… ^__^

Tata for now!!!!!!!!!!

This is TwinSwords signing off!!!!!!!!!!