"Everybody wants to know her name, how does she cope with her newfound fame? Everyone asks me, who the hell is she? That weirdo with five colours in her hair."

The sound of guitars and drums filled the bowling alley to the brim. The sound of the heavy balls being dropped to the wooden lanes were even drowned out, the sounds of the falling pins, that were just a little bit louder, didn't stand a chance either. The bleating of video games from the arcade, talking and cheering from those that were taking their turns to bowl, and the screaming, cheering, and singing of fans all mixed together.

Jake, Fletch, and Ronan sat at the bar stools of the counter where those wanting food got their orders, nodding along to the beat of the songs that were played by their bands. To make sure the audience wouldn't get too used to one band over the other, they would switch off every three songs. And with a arsenal of songs under their belt the changes were seamless as well as making the audience excited when they would join each other on a song. Busted and McFly doing each other's songs were a hit, as was the DarkElements joining each other band to play along with their songs as well as them joining theirs. The stark difference in the songs were interesting to see, how the DarkElements' had some darker songs that McFly had mentioned time and time again that they were fans of, they could now sing along with it, especially since the release of Radio:Active, with their own dark songs.

Ronan let out a low breath, resting his hand on his cheek, elbow on the bar as he tried to keep his head upright. It swam, feeling like his head was filled with waves, sloshing around each second he moved his head. The injection he had taken earlier that day had started working on him sooner than he thought it would. The last few rounds of chemo that he had given him the same symptoms but not until nearly half a day later. Then again, he had been able to hide it better when back in Australia, getting used to the seasonal changes always made him a little sick at the beginning.

The pulsing sounds of the drum beats, no matter how far back he was sitting and the ear plugs in his ears did nothing to stop his pounding headache and churning stomach. Nausea slid over him and Ronan swallowed hard, wiping sweat away from his forehead. He managed to make it a few seconds, then turned and puked into the trash can sitting next to him.

Jake and Fletch immediately recoiled and looked around to see if anyone else had noticed it. It seemed like those around the bowling alley were having too much fun bowling and watching the bands to notice. Even better news, those that had come that represented the press weren't paying much attention either. They had their moments to interview the band members and the managers and producers almost immediately after arriving.

You can only hope for small miracles, Ronan thought. He leaned back, running his arm across his mouth. He didn't have to look at Jake and Fletch to know they were reacting with concern and shock. Ronan braved a smile. "Don't worry about it, I just had an injection. It happens, it's nothing serious."

"You think spewing like a fire hydrant is nothing serious?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, mate, I know you keep saying you're fine—"

"—And I am!" Ronan stood up, resting his hands against the counter. "I just…I'm just not feeling so well. It's a side effect. Even if I was in a hospital bed getting this crap pumped into my body I'd be throwing up like no one's business." He ran a hand through his hair, letting out a long breath. "I'm going to skip out on the party. I've done all of the networking I need to do here." He pushed himself away from the bar. "I'm just going to head back to the hotel. Tell my kids that I needed to get some work done." Jake and Fletch gave him identical expression so disbelief. "I'm actually going to do some work when I'm not too busy with my head in the toilet. Relax, I'll call if anything comes up."

Ronan got up from the stool and walked to the door of the bowling alley. He greeted Katy with a hug and a pat on the back before directing her over to Fletch and Jake before leaving. Jake looked over at his cousin and beamed, wrapping his arm around her in a tight hug. "Hey, cuz. How's it going?"

"It's going good," Katy replied. "Just finished my classes for today and I'm so ready for the weekend." She held out her hand and she and Jake did their secret handshake. "And for this party. Thanks for inviting me."

"I couldn't not have my best girl there," Jake pointed out.

Katy looked at him curiously. Then her full lips pulled back into a smirk and she flipped her hair over her shoulder before sticking her finger in Jake's face. "You better not. I can't not be there when you propose."

"So you're actually going to propose tonight?" Fletch asked. The ever present smile on his face widened. "Like, you're actually going to do it? I've heard you say it a few times before but nothing's come of it."

"Yes, I'm actually going to do it," Jake said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Nerves," Fletch said automatically.

"That run of bad luck you've got," Katy added. She shrugged. "You never know, it could come back and bite you in the ass."

"I already gave my luck to you," Jake reminded her. He thought for a moment. "Better yet, that's probably a good point. The day is going too well as it is, something's bound to go wrong. Katy, come here." Jake leaned forward to grab her but Katy backed out of the way.

"I don't think so. It's worked well for me so far, I'm not giving it up yet." Katy laughed and turned on her heel, pushing her way through the crowd of dancing bodies. She managed to work her way to the side of the stage, close to the front and tapped Gen and Jacqui on the arm. "Hey!" She greeted them. "How's it going? How're they doing?" She nearly had to scream to be heard over the music.

Her ears were already ringing and she had only just arrived. She couldn't imagine what was going on with the others that were right next to the monitors and the amplifiers on stage. Jacqui nodded over to her. "Better than ever," She said. "I can't wait to see what everyone says when they go on their promotional tour."

"Yeah, they've been trying out some of the McBusted stuff tonight," Gen added. "It's actually a lot better than I thought it would be."

"Just as long as it doesn't go to their heads," Katy said. She laughed, remembering the last McFly concert she had been to. Which, in actuality, had been the only concert she had been to. The guys had just gotten signed to Masquerade Records and were doing their showcase at the Hard Rock. As Jake's guest she had been able to go and had a blast. (Okay, part of it was because she had a major crush on Danny at the time and being able to hang out with him was always fun). Since then she had been too busy with school to go to other concerts of theirs and just helped promote them to her friends and classmates when she got the chance "But Jake was telling me about it, about the two bands coming together and their upcoming shows. I think it sounds awesome."

"It's one of the best ideas they've had," Jacqui agreed.

Gen pushed her hair behind her shoulders, then crossed her arms. "We won't know how it turns out until they start gaining traction. And it may take some time. Don't get me wrong, I think they can do an awesome job with it. But it's the first time anyone's tried something as big as this."

"That's not true," Jacqui said.

"Yeah, they did the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys thing," Katy said.

"Yeah, but they didn't do it the same way these guys are. They did it where they sang their own songs but headlines. These guys are doing their own songs but both bands singing with the opportunity for an album entirely of new songs." Gen clapped appreciatively as the song and the show ended. Despite her worries, she couldn't help but grin

Gen's worries aside, they were talented bands and it would take a lot for things to completely fall apart with them. Katy clapped and cheered along with the audience as the bands came out to do their boys. Katy caught Noah's eye and quickly waved to him. He smiled and waved back, nudging Patrick in the side to point her out. Patrick looked over and waved too, then made a motion for her to wait. Katy nodded back.

"Ooh," Gen teased. She elbowed Katy in the side. "Is it just me or is this whole love triangle starting up again?"

"Oh please." Katy felt her cheeks flush. It wasn't even really that embarrassing. They were young and they were the only guys her age that was around. Yes, she liked to hang out with both of them and yet she knew they both liked her. But it wasn't anything they let get in the way of their friendship. There was no point; she was going to stay in New York, they were going back to Australia and England and long distance was never her thing. Plus she had met her first boyfriend shortly after that so…

The problem with that boyfriend, apart from the fact that they were young, was that he was boring. IN comparison to Jake's life, working in the music industry that he willingly took her in, everything paled in comparison. Classes and homework was nothing compared to being in the recording studio and watching a band play live. Being able to go backstage and hang out with the band, get to see how the band worked in a more real way than fans saw after everything was manufactured.

Being able to hang out with a couple of bands, even those that were actually her age showed her a world that she never thought would actually exist for her. And yeah, Patrick and Noah were really good looking. And, yes, she had a crush on both of them at one point. But that was in the past, it hadn't come between any of them, and she wanted nothing more than to continue that friendship. Plus, being able to spend more time with Jake was always fun.

Her was her favorite cousin and despite their age difference they were best friends.

"They're just really good friends. And I haven't seen them in forever. You guys either. What's been going on with you?"

"Same old thing. Studying, traveling, dreaming about taking over the world," Jacqui joked.

"That sounds like something I'd say."

The girls all laughed. The lights in the bowling alley lifted, allowing Katy to get a good look around the crowd. She spotted some of her friends from her college classes and quickly greeted them, before then going to greet Anna, Brody, Rooster, Storm, and Jewel, having met them the last time they were all in New York. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to wrap her arms around Noah's neck.

"Good job!" She said, squeezing him tightly. "That was so awesome!"

"Thanks," Noah said. He hugged her back then stood back, taking a long sip from a water bottle. "Did you just get here?"

"Yeah."

"You missed out a lot of stuff. Hearing some of those old songs again was beauty."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just had a lot of homework I needed to finish before stopping by the party." Katy laughed and ran her hand through her hair. "What about you? You guys have some new music you were working on?"

Noah shrugged. "Here and there. Nothing too amazing. Right now we're trying to figure out what's going to happen with the upcoming tour. That's the most important." He grinned, starting to put the water bottle back to his mouth again. "Did you say 'hi' to Danny yet?" He laughed and ducked out of the way when Katy lifted both of her hands and shoved him hard on the arm. "Hey, I'm not the one that had a crush on him. I mean, the guy's pretty but he's not my type." He tilted his head. "Doesn't look like your type either."

Katy laughed. She crossed her arms. "Then what is my type?"

"Out of McFly?"

"Mhm."

"Tom."

"Every girl wants a Tom."

"I hear that a lot." Noah shook his head. "Nah, Tom and Gen are freaking made for each other. I just hope that they can make their way back to each other soon." He paused, chewing his lower lip as if realizing he made a mistake in his statement. Now Katy was curious. Everyone had the same mentality, that Tom and Gen would've been the ones that could make it more than anyone else. Who made everyone actually believe in 'true love' if that was a thing.

Still, even Katy knew something had happened to tear them apart. Distance was a bitch to everyone. But then they were together for the last tour and they were back together for this one. Drama from the last tour aside they more than likely would've gotten back together. So what was the problem now? Katy knew all of the questions were resting in her eyes as Noah did his best to avoid her gaze, pushing his hair into his face to do so.

"Noah."

"What?"

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Something I was told in the strictest confidence by my sisters…by Gen."

Katy continued to look at him. Noah rolled his eyes and recapped his water bottle. He shook out his hair and something wet—she hoped it was water and not sweat—landed on her. Finally, Noah let out a low sigh and motioned for her to step closer, so that no one else could hear. Katy wasn't' sure who would be paying attention to their conversation, then realized there was press around. Always looking for that juicy tidbit.

"Gen's boyfriend, the one she had after Tom," Noah started.

"Yeah?" Katy prompted. She knew it was big, her thudding heart knew it.

"He died."


Danny slammed the shot glass to the counter, letting out a loud 'whoo' as he did so. Around him, Tom, Dougie, and James did the same, all making different faces. Some with eyes screwed up, others with mouths puckered as the burning liquid slid down their throats. The rest of their friends all cheered for Danny, patting him on the back and shoulders as they did so.

Around them, the party for masquerade records continued to rage. It had been ever since they walked through the doors. Some of the biggest celebrities in NYC were there, the socialites from the Hamptons were there, and those that worked in Masquerade Records and those lucky enough to get invitations flooded the party space. It was packed wall to wall with dance floors, tables to eat at, roped off areas for VIPs, and a portion that held an arcade. And it looked like everyone was having a good time. There were sporadic cheers that came from the dance floor and smiling faces as far as he could see.

It was one of the best parties Danny had been in a long time. Parties like that never used to be his thing, mostly as ones thrown for record companies were more for networking purposes than anything else. Not to mention that Fletch never let them go to the first set of parties they had been invited to, the big ones that would've been fun. Though, considering how everything went down with their smoking weed when Fletch found out, going out to those parties would've ended up with their asses handed to them.

Or worse, a band that broke up because friendship lines were drawn in the sand from the very beginning. Getting a beer, Danny turned in his seat to look over at James and Matt, who were sitting on their own stools, talking and laughing with each other. Until someone—a very beautiful woman—walked over to the two and started to talk to them, leaning close to be heard. Danny watched the two. He wasn't quite sure which one she was into more, but it looked like they were having fun figuring it out.

Danny took the opportunity to look around. Once the competition had finished, Jacqui had grabbed Gen, Riley, and Rhuben and dragged them onto the dance floor where they were then dancing in a circle to the house music being played. Sydney grabbed Anna's hand and twirled her out onto the dance floor, pulling her close as they moved to the beat of the music. Patrick and Noah were talking to Harry, and the Jacksons' backup band had taken the floor as well.

Tom sat beside Danny, slowly sipping at his own beer as he tried to work up the nerve to dance with Gen—at least that's what Danny had to guess from the wistful look on his face. Rolling his eyes, Danny turned towards Tom. "Go," he said.

Tom looked at him, raising his eyebrows. "I'm sorry?

"You'll be even sorrier if you don't make a move," Danny pointed out. He gestured towards the dance floor with his beer. "We're all here having fun, Tom. Don't be a stick in the mud."

"I'm not being a stick in the mud."

"Even Syd had more game than you and he's ten years younger than you are." Tom scowled as Danny laughed at his own—accurate—deduction. "Come on, just go dance, it's not a big deal." He reached out his hand towards Danny. "You want me to dance with you?"

"Get away from me!" Tom swatted at Danny's leg.

"You know, that really doesn't help with the Flones rumors we have, right?" Danny said. He reached forward and rubbed Tom's knee, making him lean even further away from him. "You might as well just sit back and let it happen."

"This explains why you've never been able to keep a steady relationship, mate. You're just too creepy."

"Yeah, well, I've got a great smile and amazing musical talent so that makes up for it."

"Eh, you had to get something."

"So what's going on there?"

"She made it perfectly clear that she doesn't want to try and be anything anymore."

"So why not try being her friend?" Danny's suggestion was so simple but Tom looked over at him as if he had just given him the secret recipe to be completely successful in life. "If nothing else works, just try being her friend. Rhu and I were friends first and things worked out there. Much better than any of my other relationships."

Now Tom laughed, his dimple appearing in his cheek. "Mate, where were all stuck together when we met. She could've easily decided to go for me or Harry, or even Dougie." At that, Danny snorted. "I reckon not Dougie. But you get my point." Then he bobbed his head back and forth. "Okay, you have a point, too."

"See? I can be smart every now and then. I just choose when to show it."

"Too right." Tom set his beer down and got up from his seat. He looked over at Danny and Danny could see the hesitation in his best friend's eyes as well as in his posture. "You coming, mate?"

Danny scanned the dance floor for a moment. No one that particularly caught his eye. No one except one. "In a minute, I just want to see what's going on with Harry, first." At that, Danny turned in the opposite direction and looked at Harry, who leaned back and forth on his bar stool, trying to see through the crowd. "Mate, when are you just going to go out there and have some fun?"

"She'll be here," Harry said. His eyes continued to rove. "I found out her name, I got her on the list. She'll be here."

"Right, and I'm the pope." Danny laughed. His infectious laughter made Tom crack up as well. Being around Danny meant laughing more often than not. Well, it also meant staring at him funny and shaking your heard when he said something that either wasn't funny or stupid, like when he mentioned he thought eggs were vegetables. "What's so special about her anyway?"

"I don't know. I can't explain it."

Danny was seconds away from making fun of him for it, but then realized that Harry was being sincere. There was no teasing in his voice, no jokes, nothing. He just continued to earnestly look around the dance floor of the party. Then, a broad grin came over his face. Danny and Tom leaned over, stacking atop each other, to find her. It didn't take too long. She walked straight towards Harry with confident strides, another girl at her side.

Danny's eyebrows rose when he spotted her companion; tall, blonde, and a lovely smile. All that he could want in a girl, really. If the physical attributes were the only thing that counted. He was sure she had a great personality, too.

"So, you figured out my name," Izzy remarked.

"Yeah, your real name," Harry agreed. He chuckled at her joke. "It's Brittany."

"Correct." Izzy crossed her arms. "How'd you figure it out? Most people don't think you can get Izzy from Brittany."

"I looked you up," Harry replied. His smile widened. "It took a lot of work, and I had to do it fast before our show. But I figured it out." He reached out his hand then stopped, dropping it to his knee. "How was your show? You performed tonight, right?"

"It was great, we preformed at the orchestra a little ways down the street," Izzy said. "We have a sort of residency going on right now so it was just the first night of many." She looked over as Tom and Danny both cleared their throats, glaring at Harry. It took Harry a few seconds longer to realize it and he blinked over at his friends, as if coming out of a trance. "Oh, I'm sorry. These are my mates, Tom and Danny."

"Hi."

"Hi."

Izzy smiled towards the two. Then her eyes widened and she gestured to her companion. "I guess I should apologize, too. This is my mate, Georgia Horsley."

Georgia smiled. "Hi, it's lovely to meet you."

Danny thrust his hand out to her. "Nice to meet you, too. I'm Danny. But you can call me Dan or whatever you'd like."

"How about desperate?" Tom said with a smirk.

Danny glared at him. He stood up from his stool and motioned towards Georgia. "Fancy a dance?"

"No, actually, I came here with some other mates. I just wanted to make sure that Izzy was alright meeting up with this guy." Georgia grasped Izzy's arm and smiled at her. "Now we know he's as real as she says I'm not needed. Have a lovely time."

"Cheers," Izzy called to her. Then she smile and sat down on Harry's other side, the two immediately falling into conversation.

Danny frowned, but only for a moment. It wasn't like he hadn't been told 'no' before. But it was the first time in a while. And it didn't help the way Tom was smiling at him. Like he wanted nothing more than to bust his balls. But Danny wasn't going to give him the satisfaction to know how taken aback he was. Instead, Danny put his beer down and tilted his head towards the dance floor, motioning for Tom to follow him. Danny pushed his way amongst the crowd and up behind the girls.

"I'm borrowing her," he called to Jacqui, Gen, and Riley, grabbing Rhuben's arm on a twirl, using the momentum to turn the two around. Rhuben laughed and easily moved into Danny's grasp, placing her right hand on his shoulder and her left one in his and he maneuvered them around.

"Smooth," Rhuben said with a laugh.

"What can I say? I need my best dance partner if I'm going to dance a little," Danny said. "I need you to make me look good."

"I reckon you're not that bad, mate," Rhuben said. She pretended to think for a second. "I mean, your break dancing is a bit aggro, and you could use some practice with your footwork, yeah?" She laughed, lifting her arms to spin the two around. Danny's arms got caught for a second but with a few skillful rotations, Rhuben managed to untangle them. Danny grinned. Her dancing ability, being a choreographer for their bad aside, always impressed him. It just showed how much she truly lived and breathed dance. "So what took you so long to get out here?"

"Tom and I were checking out that bird that Harry was talking about," Danny explained. "Get this, he actually figured out her name." Rhuben's eyes widened. "Yeah, I didn't believe it either."

"Good for him! He seems to really like her…from the short amount of time he talked to her." Rhuben blew her strand of purple hair form her face, striking Danny as well. Her breath was cool and sweet, doing more things to him than he thought was possible. "What'd you think of her?"

"She seemed nice."

"That's it?"

"Do you want anything else?"

"Normally you have a novel length thought about girls."

"Nah, that was only you." And Danny meant it. He looked seriously at Rhuben as she rolled her eyes. The music shifted to a slow song and Danny pulled her closer as Rhuben moved her arms around his neck. "I'm being serious, love. Don't you sometimes wonder what it'd be like…" he trailed off, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He could feel himself flush from his neck all the way to the tips of his ears. Rhuben shifted her gaze back to him.

"If we tried again?" She asked. "Dan, we've had this conversation before."

"Not really, no."

She chewed her lower lip. Danny recognized that tell, she was stalling for time. Trying to figure out a way to collect her thoughts before speaking. That's something else that set her apart from her siblings when the most obvious nuances came down to it; she tried to think things through. Riley was rapid-fire with her thoughts and was not one to hold back with her blunt honesty, Patrick typically preferred to say what came to mind, Noah tended to think while he spoke, and Sydney was always very precise form the beginning.

"I'm not trying to push you into anything, I'm just saying," Danny said quickly, sensing her hesitation. "I think about it a lot. We have a lot in common and we get along well, you were one of the better girlfriends I had in a while."

"Until you got bored of me," Rhuben pointed out.

"You didn't give me the chance to get bored of you."

"It was going to happen."

"How do you know?"

"Are you denying it?"

No, he wasn't denying it exactly. As sad as it was, there always had been a shelf life to his relationships. A certain point where he found things that he found out about his girlfriends not being exciting anymore, but…bland. Where he dreaded having to see them rather than hanging out with his friends. That's probably where it became messy, that they were friends first and worked together, so they couldn't get away from each other even if they wanted to. But he had been telling the truth, he didn't get the chance to become bored of her. He could see it potentially happening but it hadn't…and while he was confused when she started the conversation that led to their breaking up he at least respected her decision about it and continued to date after her.

But part of him always held that confusion and frustration over it.

"No," he finally said.

Rhuben smiled and poked him in the cheek. "You hesitated."

"I had to think about it."

"You hesitated."

"Whatever."

The two laughed again. They continued to dance along to the song and then it shifted to another fast one, quickly pushing away the somewhat tense conversation around them. On one twirl around the floor, Danny noticed Rhuben's eyes shift to the side. "What?" He asked. He turned his head to follow her gaze, spotting it fairly quickly.

Riley was sitting at the bar on a stool with Matt in front of her, his hands resting on the bar around her. The two smiled and laughed with each other, then Matt leaned in to say something in her ear, that made her laugh again, swatting him on the arm when he leaned back. Then her head shifted to the side when Dougie collapsed onto the seat next to her. He dropped his head onto the counter and said something to the two before sitting up, placing his beer on the counter. He continued to sway back and forth until Riley reached over and pushed his beer bottle away and stood by his side, holding him up.

Dougie leaned over and rested his head on her shoulder, nearly falling to the floor, while Matt frowned.

Danny turned to look at Rhuben, silently asking her again what was wrong. "Nothing," she said.


A/N: As I've needed to do recently, I apologize for the wait on this update. Things get in the way sometimes, you know?

~Riley