Songwriter

by Kasamyra

Alex Zellar and her sister moved to Hollywood just before her last year of high school. At Hollywood Arts, Alex encounters new friends, old friends, and a lot of people she dislikes. Throughout the year she has to handle school and the chaos caused by her new friends while juggling the drama of her family, a possible record deal, and her already established songwriting career.

10. Chapter 10

Hello hello. Thanks for the lovely reviews. As one of you pointed out, it doesn't actually snow in LA, at least not in a couple decades, I was just going along with what the show had, and there was snow on the ground for at least one Moose scene.

Songs used in this chapter are:

Lego House by Ed Sheeran

Stand by You by Rachel Platten

YOUTH by Troye Sivan

Sorry by Justin Bieber

Never Forget You by Zara Larsson

Lost Boy by Ruth B

Brand New by Ben Rector

Not all these are mentioned or actually have any lyrics used, it's just what I imagine Alex's demo CD to contain. Enjoy :)

---

Chapter Ten

"I'm back," Alex called, walking through the front doors.

"In here," Grace yelled from the kitchen. Alex dropped her backpack by the door and kicked off her shoes, then made her way into the other room. Moose was sitting at the table, and Grace was standing as far away as she could from a pot simmering on the stove and still be able to stir it.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked, trying not to laugh at the sight.

"Boiling the noodles for the lasagna," Grace said, then covered her nose with one hand. "My stomach is still upset and the smell is bothering me."

"I offered to stir it for her but she wouldn't let me," Moose said, also trying not to laugh.

"Let me," Alex said, taking the spoon from Grace. "Beck will be back in a little while, he just stopped at home for a minute."

"Cool," Moose said, shrugging.

"Are you drinking my tea?" Alex asked, scowling as she caught a whiff of his drink.

"Sure am," he said, grinning. "It's not as good as back home, but it's still delicious."

"Yes it is," Alex said, glaring at him. "And its harder to get here."

"I'll send you some when I go back," he said, not caring at all that she was using her meanest glare.

"Good," she said, turning back to the pasta as Grace pulled a package of recently thawed hamburger from the fridge and began to open it, then made a gagging sound. "Grace-" Her sister held up one finger, covering her mouth, then darted across the room to the bathroom where Alex could hear her throwing up.

"What's up with her?" Moose asked, grimacing at the sound.

"The flu's been going around," Alex said, shrugging. "She's just getting over it."

"Oh, yeah, I saw on the news this morning that the university cancelled some classes because almost half the students stayed out sick," he said, leaning his elbows on the table.

"Okay," Grace said, coming out of the bathroom. "I'm good now."

"You should go get checked out," Alex said, turning the heat off on the noodles. "Maybe they have something that will help you get over it faster.

"I'll ask when we go tomorrow," Grace said, returning to the meat.

"Let me do that," Alex said, slapping her hand away. "As appetizing as you throwing up every time you smell food is, I don't want to hear any more of it."

"Okay okay," Grace said, moving to the fridge. "I'll make salad. Are you boys staying for dinner?" She asked Moose as she pulled vegetables out of the fridge.

"I don't think so," Moose said, shrugging as Alex heard the front door open again. "We were going to go sight seeing."

"Okay," Grace said, shrugging, then glancing at Alex. "Is Jade going to be here?"

"I don't think so," Alex said, tipping the hamburger into a pan to brown it. "Unless that was her coming in now."

"Jade?" Grace called over the running water in the sink as she rinsed off some leaf lettuce.

"No," Beck said, walking into the room. "Sorry to disappoint. Ready to go?" He asked Moose, who stood from the table.

"Now that you've had all my tea," Alex muttered, scowling over at him.

"Sorry," he said, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Stop whining," Grace said, tossing a piece of lettuce at Alex. "I'll get you more."

"You got lettuce in my hair!" Alex said, shaking it out and scowling at her sister, then she scooped up a small piece of the now cool noodles and flung it at Grace, hitting her face. "Ha!"

"Bitch!" Grace said, laughing as she peeled the noodle away and tossed it in the sink. Alex ducked the cube of tomato thrown her way a moment later and stuck her tongue out.

"Missed me," she sang, then ducked the next piece too. She picked up the can of tomato sauce Grace had set on the counter earlier. "Don't make me open this."

"You wouldn't," Grace said, holding a stick of celery as though it were a sword.

"Wanna bet?" Alex said, twisting the lid until it popped.

"Okay, I surrender," Grace aid, dropping the celery back onto her cutting board. "Cheater."

"I didn't cheat," Alex protested. "You're just a baby."

"No," Grace said, hands on her hips now. "I just don't want tomato sauce everywhere."

"Baby," Alex taunted, still holding the can.

"'You got lettuce in my hair!'," Grace mocked, making her voice whiny.

"'I can't look at raw hamburger without throwing up!'," Alex replied, also mocking.

"I have the flu!" Grace said, tossing her hands up in exasperation.

"Then you shouldn't be cooking!" Alex said, rolling her eyes, but she set the jar back onto the counter. A second later she was hit in the back by three baby carrots. "That's it!" She said, tossing down the spatula she had been using to stir the hamburger. She turned around and tackled Grace, pulling her to the floor, then she straddled her stomach to keep her down and reached back for the sauce, grinning evilly.

"No!" Grace said, trying to wiggle out from under her as Alex dipped her fingers into the sauce. "I'm sorry!"

"Too late!" Alex said, laughing loudly as she smeared tomato sauce over Grace's nose as the other girl screamed. Finally, Alex stood, grinning.

"I hate you!" Grace said, laughing as she tried to wipe the sauce off her face. "It smells terrible!"

"You started it," Alex said. "And I have to win, otherwise you'll start thinking you're in charge or something."

"I am in charge!" Grace said, hands on her hips. Her threatening look was ruined by the tomato smear across her nose, and Alex laughed, which made Grace start laughing too. Then she reached out and wiped the sauce that had been on her face onto Alex's cheek.

"Ug!" Alex said, stepping back immediately, trying to get the sauce off her face. "I'm going to get you back. It'll be unexpected, and probably squishy. Like that time I filled your pillowcase with mushrooms."

"Good luck finding any around here," Grace said, taking the hand towel to wipe her face.

"There are grocery stores here," Alex said, shrugging as she accepted the towel form Grace. "And pet stores that sell frogs."

"Absolutely not," Grace said, hands on her hips again as she glared at Alex. "No frogs."

"Fine, fine," Alex said, smirking.

"No fish either," Grace said. "No lizards, no cactuses, no cheese."

"Please," Alex scoffed. "You think I'm so uncreative I have to reuse my pranks?"

"What did you do with cheese?" Beck asked, his voice amused. Both girls turned to them, having forgotten they were still there.

"I'm not going to tell you," Alex said. "I might have to use it on you some day."

"You poor boy," Grace said, shaking her head, then both girls laughed.

"I'm gong to leave now," Beck said, pointing towards the door.

"Yes, escape while you still can," Alex commented, turning back to the beef. "Oh, do you want to take my car?"

"I have a car," Beck said, raising an eyebrow at her in confusion.

"Yes, but mine is so much more fun to drive than yours is," she said, smiling at him.

"Is yours the Porsche?" Moose asked, raising both his brows as Alex nodded. "And you want to let Beck drive it?"

"Hey," Beck protested. "I'm not a bad driver."

"I don't care who drives it," Alex said, rolling her eyes.

"So I can drive it too?" Moose asked, grinning.

"Sure," Alex said, shrugging. "Just don't crash it or I'll be pissed."

"Yes!" Moose said, looking excited.

"Keys are in my purse, Beck," she said, laughing. "See you later."

"Thanks," Beck said, surprising her at his closeness as she turned toward him. He wrapped an arm around her middle and kissed her cheek, then he was gone.

"You guys are so cute together," Grace said, sighing as she cut up a cucumber for her salad. Alex just smiled.

---

The doorbell rang exactly at six, and Alex, who had been pulling the lasagna out of the oven, nearly dropped it as she flinched from the loud sound.

"I'll get it!" Grace said, her voice excited as she wiped her hands on a towel. She had been preparing garlic bread to go in the oven, so Alex took the cookie sheet full and put it in, setting the timer for fifteen minutes.

While the lasagna had cooked, both girls had gotten cleaned up. Grace had said she wasn't feeling sick at all after her last trip to throw up in the bathroom when they had been layering the lasagna. Alex washed her hands in the sink, then pulled her hair out of the pony tail she had put it in to keep it out of the way.

"Alex!" Grace called, and Alex turned toward the voice as Grace and her new boyfriend walked into the room. He was cute, as Grace had said. He was tall, and looked like he played football, or something, and he had light brown hair and dark brown eyes. "This is Eric."

"Hi," Alex said, holding her hand out to shake his.

"Hi," he replied, his voice a little higher than Alex had expected it to be. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Really?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow at Grace, who shrugged.

"Is dinner ready?" Grace asked, and Alex wondered what her sister had said about her that she didn't want Alex to know.

"In about ten minutes," Alex said, glancing at the timer.

"Great," Grace said, moving to the fridge to get out the various things they had to drink. "Have a seat, anywhere you want."

"Thanks," Eric said, taking the seat that Jade usually occupied when she was over. "So you are still going to school?" Eric asked, looking over at Alex as she stood, not sure where to go.

"Yeah," Alex said. "I'm at Hollywood arts."

"You look too old to be in high school," he commented as Grace set the various drinks on the table, then went back for the salad she had made earlier.

"I'm 18," Alex said, bristling a little at his tone, then forcing herself to relax. He was Grace's boyfriend, which meant she should make an effort to get along with him.

"My mom started her in school a year late," Grace said, sitting down at the table, rubbing her stomach. Alex wasn't sure if she had told Eric she had the flu, so she refrained from commenting.

"And they let you wear those things in your face at school?" Eric asked, raising an eyebrow. Alex clenched her fists, then breathed out and pasted a fake smile onto her face.

"Yep," she was, popping the p. "They believe in the freedom of expression because they aren't judgmental ass-"

"Oh look, the garlic bread is done," Grace said, jumping up to her feet. "Alex, give me a hand."

"Sure," Alex said, following her over to the stove.

"Please try to be nice," Grace whispered as Alex pulled the hot pan from the oven. "I really like him."

"Fine," Alex said, sighing. "Sorry."

"He's just a little outspoken," Grace continued as she held the plate out for Alex to put the bread on. "He's not trying to be offensive."

"I'll keep that in mind," Alex said, putting the empty tray into the sink. Grace patted her shoulder, then went back to the table. Alex followed behind with the now set lasagna.

Dinner passed quickly, and Alex was mostly silent, answering any questions directed at her with one word answers. Alex and Grace cleared the dishes afterword, then Grace got out ice cream for them all. Alex skipped that, but she didn't want to leave and 'be rude' since Grace had asked her to make an effort.

"This is a really nice neighborhood," Eric commented as they ate their ice cream. "These houses must be expensive. How can you afford this when you're going to school too?"

"Oh," Grace said, glancing at Alex guiltily. Alex knew her sister didn't like that Alex payed for almost everything, and she had resolved on paying her back someday, though Alex had told her it wasn't necessary.

"She saved up for a long time when we lived in Seattle," Alex commented from her chair. It wasn't a lie, Grace had been saving up for a house while they lived in Seattle, it had just been slow going because she had spent a long time taking care of Alex and their mother.

"It's impressive," Eric commented. The doorbell rang three times in quick succession, and both girls made faces at the sound.

"I'll get it," Alex said, jumping up from the table, taking the first possible excuse to leave. She pulled open the door, glaring.

"Hey," Tori said, waving embarrassedly. "I have a problem."

"What else is new?" Alex asked sarcastically, crossing her arms.

"No, its just," Tori began, then sighed. "I need to know something that Moose likes."

"So you can obsess over him even more?" Alex asked, rolling her eyes.

"No," Tori said, but she looked guilty. "But Jade is totally winning. I can't lose to her. She's at the school right now making some replica costume of that movie."

"This is so not my problem," Alex said, making to close the door.

"Please just tell me something he likes!" Tori begged, pushing the door open again.

"If I do will you go away?" Alex asked, growling under her breath.

"Yes!" Tori promised excitedly.

"Okay," Alex said, rolling her eyes. "Umm… I dunno," she continued, trying to think. "Hockey?"

"Hockey!" Tori said, jumping a little in the spot. "I can work with that! Thanks, you're the best!"

"Whatever," Alex said, then closed the door on the girl and went back into the kitchen.

"Who was here?" Grace asked, stopping the conversation she had been having with Eric.

"Tori," Alex said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh is she staying over too now?" Grace asked, tilting her head.

"Absolutely not," Alex said, grimacing.

"Too?" Eric asked, joining the conversation.

"Yeah, Alex's boyfriend has a friend visiting from Canada but their house is being fumigated or remodeled or something so they are both staying here," Grace said, shrugging as she stood with the empty ice cream bowls.

"You have a boyfriend?" Eric asked, raising an eyebrow at Alex. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yes," she said, taking her seat again.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," he said, catching her tone for the first time that night. "It's just that I thought you would have scared most guys off with all the…" he trailed off, using his hand to gesture to his face, illustrating that he meant her piercings. Her eyes narrowed further. "You could be really pretty if you took those things off you know."

"Thanks for the opinion," Alex said, rolling her eyes. "Next time I want it I'll ask."

"Alex," Grace warned, coming back to the table. Alex frowned at her. She wasn't about to sit there and take shit from this idiot just because Grace was fucking him, she wanted to say, but she kept her mouth shut.

"I'm going for a run," Alex said instead, getting to her feet, then she turned to Eric, giving him a very obviously fake smile and making her voice sickeningly sweet. "It was just so nice meeting you."

She left the room before he could respond, going up to her room to get her running clothes.

---

When Alex got back from her run it was just starting to get dark, and Moose and Beck had just pulled into the driveway. A car that she assumed to be Eric's was still in the driveway, and she frowned at it as she pulled out her ear buds.

"Hey," she said from behind the two boys as they approached the door. "Grace's stupid boyfriend is still here."

"I take it dinner didn't go well?" Beck asked, wrapping an arm around her waist as she approached them. She relaxed immediately, feeling the tension leave her body at his touch. She smiled up at him.

"It was fine," Alex said, shrugging. "He's just kinda dumb."

"Should we go somewhere else until he leaves?" Beck asked, and Alex shook her head, opening the front door for them.

"How was your sight seeing?" She asked as they all walked inside.

"We went to see all the celebrity's stars," Moose said, shutting the door behind him. Alex could hear Grace and Eric in the living room, watching a movie or something, so she didn't call out that they were there, instead lowering her voice.

"I still haven't been down there," she commented, leading them into the kitchen.

"It's pretty cool," Moose said, following behind her. "You should go check it out sometime."

"Are you guys hungry?" Alex asked now that they weren't interrupting the movie.

"No, we already ate," Beck said.

"Well there's not much to do around here," Alex said, shrugging.

"We have that paper for English due tomorrow," Beck said. "I still need to work on mine."

"Oh, right," Alex said, frowning. "I think I started that."

"I don't understand how you can get straight A's when you do everything last minute," Beck commented, shaking his head, but he was smiling.

"Years of practice," she said, smiling jokingly.

"I'm gonna go catch the end of the game," Moose said, heading back to his bedroom.

"Game?" Alex asked, going to fetch her backpack from near the door where she had left it earlier.

"The Canucks are playing the Flyers tonight," Beck said, shrugging.

"Oh," Alex said. "Tori came by here today asking for information on Moose so she can make him like her."

"Oh god," Beck said, shaking his head. "What did you tell her?"

"She wouldn't leave," Alex said defensively. "I told her he likes hockey."

"That'll be fun to see tomorrow," Beck said, chuckling.

"Apparently Jade is working on something crazy too," Alex said as they walked up the stairs to her room. "I don't really have anywhere up here to work on homework," she said, looking around her room.

"Can we use the table downstairs?" Beck asked, grabbing his backpack from her floor where he must have left it earlier. "Or will we be interrupting the movie?"

"It should be fine," Alex said, scooping her laptop off her bed, then turning to follow him back down stairs.

The movie went on for another hour, and by the time it was done, Alex was just finishing her research paper.

"Okay, there's no way you wrote an entire paper in an hour," Beck said as she closed her laptop with a grin.

"I never said I hadn't already started it," Alex said, shrugging. "You just assumed that."

"So how long did it actually take?" Beck asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I worked on it for a couple hours on Sunday," she said, chuckling. "How much more do you have to do?"

"Not much," he said, turning back to his computer. "I worked on it all last week."

"I guess you can't always be as good looking as I am and still have brains," she said jokingly, leaning down to kiss his cheek. He smiled for a second, then turned back to his work.

"Hello kids," Grace said, coming into the kitchen, smiling.

"Someone looks happy," Alex commented, shoving all her things back into her backpack. "Is Eric gone?"

"Yes," Grace said, then sighed. "You could have been nicer to him."

"He told me that my face scared people away," Alex said, rolling her eyes.

"He did not," Grace said, hands on her hips.

"Well he said he was surprised I had a boyfriend because he assumed most people would be scared off by my piercings," Alex said, shrugging. "Then he said I could be pretty if I took them out."

"I like them," Beck commented, not looking up from his computer.

"Good," Alex said, smiling.

"Okay," Grace said, holding her hands up. "So he's a little…"

"Self-centered?" Alex suggested. "Stupid?"

"No," Grace said, crossing her arms. "I was going to say opinionated."

"I'll make more of an effort next time," Alex acquiesced. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Grace said, patting her shoulder. "I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late, you have school tomorrow."

"Yes mother," Alex said, rolling her eyes, then she chuckled. "Good night."

"Night," Grace said, disappearing up the stairs.

"I'll be upstairs too," Alex said, turning back to Beck. "Whenever you're done with that."

"I'll be up in ten minutes," he said, typing quickly.

---

The next day was weird. Alex had completely forgotten that she had promised to help the guys rehearse for their fundraiser show that evening, and she'd had to cancel on them since she and Grace had doctors appointments at four. They didn't seem surprised, Tori had already told them she was going to the LA King's game that night with Moose, and neither Jade nor Cat had payed any attention when Andre had tried to talk to them about the show.

When Tori had said that Jade was making a duplicate costume, Alex hadn't expected it to be a fake blood stained white gown, and she also hadn't expected Jade to wear it at school. It was creepy to say the least, but Moose seemed to find it interesting.

Alex was almost glad to escape to her house after school. She was also looking forward to Sunday when Moose would be leaving and everything would return to normal, hopefully.

"Hey Alex," Grace said, coming down the steps when Alex pulled into the driveway.

"Hey," Alex said. "Are we leaving now?"

"Yeah," Grace said, shrugging. "I figured since they usually have a bunch of paperwork to fill out we could get there early."

"Okay," Alex said, climbing back into her car. "Is the door locked?"

"Yeah," Grace said. "Should I leave it open?"

"Nah," Alex said, pulling back out onto the street. "The guys are out somewhere with the others, and I'm sure Jade is too busy obsessing over Moose to want to come over."

"You're friends are weird," Grace said, chuckling.

"Does it bother you?" Alex asked, glancing at her sister.

"No," Grace said, smiling. "It's nice having people over all the time. It's like having a giant family."

"You should invite your friends from school too," Alex said. "Then it'll be an even bigger family."

"I'll think about it," Grace said, shrugging. "I haven't really met anyone I want to really be friends with yet."

"You've been there for four months though," Alex said, shaking her head. "How is it that I'm doing a better job of making friends than you are?"

"It is weird," Grace said, laughing. "I'll have to try harder."

"You should join an actual yoga class instead of those online ones," Alex said, turning onto the highway.

"I'll think about it," Grace said, shrugging. "Olivia called this morning."

"I don't know why she doesn't just call my cell phone," Alex said, rolling her eyes.

"She didn't want to bother you at school," Grace said. "She wants to come over tomorrow. She said she has some big news."

"Oh great," Alex said, sighing. Olivia's version of 'big news' was usually her wanting Alex to meet some 'high-up' music business person, which meant lots of smiling and polite conversation.

"She's just looking out for your future," Grace said gently.

"I know," Alex said, frowning. "And she does a great job of it."

"She does," Grace said, agreeing. "She's the one who first suggested moving here you know."

"Because the music scene here is bigger than in Seattle," Alex said, nodding. "I know."

"And she agreed to keep you on even after you said you wanted to finish school before you did anything else," Grace said. "Lots of people would have moved on to the next client."

"I know," Alex said. Olivia only had three other people to manage, none of them had made it big yet so it was easy for the woman to keep up with all four of them. Alex had never met any of the others, though all three lived in L.A. Apparently they were all like Alex herself, preferring to produce their music on their own and then let Olivia handle who it got sent to.

"There's a spot," Grace said, pointing out the empty parking spot in the lot in front of the doctors office. Alex took it, then the two girls walked into the office together. Olivia signed them in and got their paperwork, then joined Alex in the waiting area. They filled out their brief medical histories, insurance numbers, and other information, and within a half hour Grace was called back. Alex had another ten minutes to wait before a nurse came for her too. Since Alex had been on birth control before, for most of last year, she knew exactly what she wanted, and after a brief conversation with a doctor, she was back in the waiting room. She waited for about five minutes, but when Grace didn't emerge, Alex walked to the pharmacy three buildings down to fill her new prescription.

Grace still wasn't done with her appointment when Alex returned, so she settled in to wait, flipping through a fashion magazine to pass the time.

"Alright, we will see you again in four weeks," the nurse said, holding the door open for Grace, who walked out dazedly, her face white. Alex stood, frowning.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Alex asked, seeing Grace's hands shaking a little.

"Yeah," Grace said blankly. "Let's go outside."

"Sure," Alex said, hurting to open the clinic doors. "Did you ask about your flu?"

"Yeah," Grace said, looking down at her hands as they stood near Alex's car. "I'm not sick."

"But you've been throwing up and-" Alex began, but she cut herself off, putting the pieces together. "Oh my god."

"Yeah," Grace said, finally looking up with a weak smile. Alex stared at her. "I'm pregnant."

"Holy shit," Alex said, running her hands through her hair. "A baby?"

"Yeah," Grace said again, resting her hands on her still flat stomach. "I'm five weeks along."

"Oh my god," Alex said again, then she grinned and jumped to hug her sister. "That's so exciting!"

"Yeah," Grace said for a third time, though she seemed relieved at Alex's reaction.

"You want to keep it right?" Alex asked, pulling back. She didn't want to assume.

"Definitely," Grace said, nodding seriously. "It's not a good time, really, but I've always wanted kids."

"I know," Alex said, grinning again. "And I get a baby niece or nephew!"

"I'll make other living arrangements and everything so you don't need to-" Grace began, but Alex rolled her eyes.

"Don't be stupid," Alex said, getting into the car. "You're staying with me."

"Alex, you don't have to… I can take care of myself," Grace said, shaking her head slowly.

"If you move out I'm going to become a bum and have to live with you," Alex threatened, pulling out of the parking lot slowly. "I'll live on your couch and earn my keep with free babysitting."

"Okay, okay," Grace said, finally chuckling. "We'll talk about it later."

"There's nothing to talk about," Alex insisted. "You've always taken care of me, let me take care of you for a little while."

"You're already paying for my school, technically," Grace argued. "And the house, and the utilities."

"I don't want to live alone," Alex said, scowling. "And I don't have anything else to spend the money on."

"I know, but-" Grace began again, but Alex shook her head.

"No," Alex said. "You'll have a lot to worry about soon, but living arrangements are not one of those things."

"Thank you," Grace said softly after a moment. "I'll need to talk to Eric."

"Ug," Alex grimaced. "Is it his?"

"Yeah," Grace said. "He's the only guy I've been with recently."

"I suppose I'll have to make more of an effort with him then," Alex said, sighing. "I promise not to murder him."

"Thanks," Grace said, chuckling again, but she sounded worried. Alex looked over at her as they waited at a stop light.

"You don't think he will be happy?" Alex guessed.

"No," Grace said, frowning. "He doesn't exactly react well to surprises."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Alex said, but it was more of a comforting thing to do rather than that she believed it to be true.

"Yeah," Grace said, yawning as they pulled into the driveway. "Hey, want to see the ultrasound pictures?"

"Hell yes I do," Alex said, hurting to open the front door before Grace got to it.

"I can still open doors, Alex," Grace said, rolling her eyes. "Looks like your friends are here."

"I don't care," Alex said, glancing at the car pulling into the driveway. "Pictures?"

"Go get your computer," Grace said, smiling at Alex's excitement. Alex had begged for a baby brother or sister when she was little, and she didn't give up on that until her parents became too busy to even see them let alone each other. She sprinted up the stairs, grabbed her laptop, and was in the kitchen next to Grace within moments.

"Hey," Beck said, coming in the front door. "We're back. And, uh…" Alex glanced up from the table where she was setting up her laptop. Moose was still outside on the porch, which she could see through the open door. Cat was clinging on to his arm, Tori was standing really closely behind her, and Jade was on his other side, all of them gazing up at him. The snow from a couple days ago had melted, but it was still chilly out, which made Alex a little confused at the outfits the girls were wearing. Cat was in a dress with a short poofy skirt, Tori was wearing a short black skirt, and Jade was in shorts, and none of them had jackets on.

"Tell them they can't come inside," Alex said, shrugging and turning back to the computer as Grace took a CD out of her purse. Beck went to relay her message, and all three of the girls started to talk over each other.

"Look," Grace said, pulling her attention to the screen. "She said I'm just over five weeks along, so it doesn't look much like a baby yet, but there's a video."

"Wow," Alex said, watching the nearly shapeless blob on the screen shift back and forth. "That's the baby?"

"Yep," Grace said, resting her hand over her stomach. "You can see it's head better in the pictures."

"Pull them up!" Alex said, grinning. Her eyes watered a little with happiness as Grace pulled up the pictures.

"Right there," Grace said, pointing to a rounded white blob. "That's his skull."

"He looks like a little fish," Alex said, leaning onto the table to stare at the picture.

"He does," Grace said, laughing as her eyes filled with tears. She wiped them away, then poked Alex's cheek. "Don't you cry or I'll start crying too."

"I'm not crying," Alex said, wiping under her eyes, then laughing. "I'm just excited."

"This is crazy isn't it?" Grace said, giving a watery chuckle. "It doesn't feel real yet."

"We should go baby shopping," Alex said, plopping down in her chair.

"We don't even know if it's a boy or girl," Grace said, chuckling as she shook her head.

"When do you find out?" Alex asked, glaring at the door where there was a growing amount of noise coming from the porch.

"I don't know," Grace said, shrugging. "I don't really know much about being pregnant, it's never happened to me before. She gave me some pamphlets."

"Let's look," Alex said, holding her hand out as Grace dug through her purse.

"Here," Grace said, holding one open to Alex a moment later. "This one has a general time line."

"It says you have to be four months along," Alex said, frowning. "That's so long."

"It'll pass quickly," Grace said, chuckling."I think it'll be a boy."

"Then I'll guess girl so at least one of us is right," Alex said, grinning. A swell of conversation came from the porch again and Alex growled, standing, and marched to the door to pull it open. All five people on the porch froze as the door opened, seemingly halfway through an argument.

"Oh hey Alex," Moose said sheepishly.

"Get off my property," Alex said, crossing her arms. "All of you. Right now."

"But-" Moose began, frowning.

"If you are staying here you can come back when it gets dark. If I see or hear anyone who isn't staying here after that I will call the police," she said angrily. "You have thirty seconds to leave." She slammed the door on them all, then watched out the kitchen window to make sure they all left.

"That was harsh," Grace said, but she was laughing. "Leftovers?"

"Sure," Alex said, turning back to her computer to watch the white blob wriggle around on video again.

---

"Sorry about earlier," Beck said softly when they were laying in bed that night.

"It's okay," Alex said, snuggling into him.

"Were you crying?" Beck asked, and she opened her eyes to look at him curiously. "Earlier? It sort of looked like you had been."

"Oh," Alex said, chuckling. "They were happy tears."

"Oh?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her again.

"Yeah, but I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you yet," Alex said, smiling against his neck. "It's not my news."

"Oh," he said again, resting his head on her pillow. "Hey… do you think…"

"I have been known to, sometimes," Alex said when he didn't continue. He chuckled.

"Do you think we are moving too quickly?" Beck asked. "I mean, we just started dating and it feels like we are practically living together."

"It's just for this week," Alex said, shrugging against him. She didn't open her eyes again. "On Sunday you'll go back to your place."

"Yeah," he said, sighing. She looked up at him then.

"You can sleep in the guest room if you want to," she said, frowning. "You don't have to stay in here."

"No, that's not it," he said, kissing her forehead. "I like staying in here. It just feels like we… belong this way I guess."

"Now who's being cheesy?" She asked, smirking as she leaned forward a little to kiss his jaw. "It's because we are so comfortable together."

"Comfortable?" He asked, looking down at her.

"Yeah," she said. "We've just spent so much time around each other in the past that it feels like this is where we should be now. At least, that's how I feel."

"I do too," he said, and she grinned, tucking her face back into his neck. "How was your doctors appointment?"

"I just went in for birth control pills," Alex said, smiling a little. "It didn't take long."

"But you guys didn't get home until close to five," Beck said, confused.

"Grace's appointment took longer," Alex said, shrugging.

"So you have birth control now?" He whispered, and she shivered at his tone.

"I haven't started it yet," she said, pulling herself tighter against him. "I'll start it either this week or next."

"Why wait?" He asked, his hand sliding down her back. She shivered against him.

"Because that's how they work," she said, chuckling a little. "You can only start it at certain times."

"Why?" He asked, and she pulled back to look at him with a raised brow.

"Do you really want to know the inner workings of the female body?" She asked, amused.

"I was just wondering," he said, shrugging.

"Well the pills keep you from being pregnant by releasing hormones that make your body think it's already pregnant," she began, settling back to watch his expression. "Since the body produces those hormones naturally at certain times each month, I have to wait until the right time in the cycle of hormones to start taking the fake hormones or the pills will change the timeline my body makes naturally."

"I think I understood that," he said, nodding. She chuckled.

"I avoided using the word 'period' so you wouldn't get uncomfortable," she said.

"Thanks," he said, smiling at her.

"I can make it more graphic if you want," she said, keeping her face straight. "Every month a females body prepares for a baby and when it doesn't get one it throws a fit by shedding the lining of the uterus which results in-"

"Okay, I get it-" he said, stopping her. She chuckled.

"So how was rehearsal for your show this weekend?" She asked, cuddling back into him.

"We rewrote the show," he said, shrugging, then stilling when he remembered her head was on his shoulder.

"What's different?" Alex asked, relaxing into him.

"We changed the song," he said. "The girls bailed on us and you had that appointment."

"I'm sorry I missed it," Alex said, frowning. "I'll be there tomorrow."

"It's okay," he said, soothing a hand down her back again. "We left a space open for you to sing a song though. You can pick any one you want."

"You don't want me in your song anymore?" Alex asked, frowning against his skin.

"No, not you particularly," Beck said, shaking his head. "We just wrote all the girls out since they seem busy."

"What should I sing?" Alex asked, feeling a little better that the others weren't mad that she had missed too.

"We can figure it out tomorrow," Beck said. "Let's go to sleep now."

"You've been saying that for the last two hours," Alex said, chuckling. Every time they tried to go to sleep, one of them would think of something else to say and they would keep talking.

"Yes but now it's after midnight," Beck said, smoothing her hair back. "We have school in the morning."

"Okay," Alex said through a yawn. "Good night."

"Good night," he said, kissing the top of her head.

---

"Why do you always get up so early?" Beck asked, groaning as Alex's phone alarm rang in the morning.

"I like to run before school," Alex said, covering a yawn as she turned the alarm off. "And I like to see Grace before she leaves for classes. Go back to sleep."

"I'd enjoy it more if you also came back to sleep too," he said, stretching an arm across the bed, but she had already gotten up and grabbed her running clothes.

"I need to run," she said, chuckling as he squinted against the sunlight. "Otherwise I'll get fat and gross and then you won't like me anymore."

"I'd still like you if you were fat and gross," he protested sleepily.

"Well I'd rather not test that," she said, patting his head. He grumbled and rolled onto his stomach, trying to hide from the light. "I'll be back in a bit to wake you up again."

His only response was a groan muffled by the pillow, so she went to change and start her day.

"Good morning," Grace said as Alex trotted down the stairs.

"How's my favorite little niece or nephew?" Alex asked, walking over to pat Grace's stomach lightly.

"He or she is good," Grace said. "I'm going to go out to get the prenatal vitamins the nurse suggested yesterday. She said they should help a little with the throwing up."

"I forgot to ask yesterday, did they give you a due date yet?" Alex asked, draping her headphones around her neck.

"Yeah," Grace said. "July 5th."

"That's so long!" Alex said, pouting. "I want to go shop for baby clothes."

"How about you focus on school for now instead?" Grace suggested.

"Fine, fine," Alex said, chuckling. "I'm going on a run. Do you need anything?"

"I can still function for myself, Alex," Grace said, rolling her eyes. "Get going."

"Yea ma'am," Alex said, heading to the door. "Call me if you need anything later!"

"I won't," Grace said, laughing. "Bye."

Alex left the house and started her usual three mile loop, and by the time she had returned, Grace had left for classes and Beck was up and dressed.

"You're up early today," she commented, spotting him in the kitchen. "Sorry I woke you up. I usually wake up before the alarm."

"It's fine," Beck said, waving a hand at her. "I usually get up earlier than I have been since coming here."

"Aw, am I ruining your sleep schedule?" She asked, patting the top of his head.

"Yes but I enjoy it," he said, grinning up at her.

"Me too," she said, remembering their hour of making out the night before. "I'm going to get dressed."

"Do you need help?" He asked, smirking at her.

"I think I can manage on my own," she said, smacking his arm as she passed.

---

That afternoon the girls blew off rehearsals again, so it was just Robbie, Andre, Beck, and Alex there. The boys helped her pick a song to do, and she ran through it a couple times, then listened as they ran through the songs they were going to do. They didn't sound as good as they would have with the girls in it, but they weren't bad. Alex's phone rang as they were wrapping up the rehearsal.

"Hello," Alex said, smiling as she picked up the phone.

"Someone's happy today," Olivia replied. "Did your sister tell you what I told you yesterday?"

"No," Alex said, putting her things back in her bag. "Just that you were coming by tonight."

"I'm on my way over now," she said. "My news is that I made some calls and a man from RCA records wants to hear your demo."

"Oh my god," Alex said, stopping her motions. "Really?"

"Really," Olivia said, and Alex could almost hear the grin. "I've booked you a recording studio this weekend, and I found a band to play for you. If you work hard you can put together a full demo by Monday and I can send it in."

"I have… an obligation on Saturday," Alex said, turning to look at the boys who all immediately pretended they weren't trying to listen in.

"What time?" Olivia asked, and Alex was glad she didn't seem annoyed.

"Five," Alex said. "I'll be done by nine."

"That's some serious time," Olivia said, sighing. "Any way you can miss school on Friday? You'll need at least five good songs, the more the better."

"Yeah," Alex said, pulling out her homework planner. "I can skip out before lunch, but I have to be here for the morning, I have a test."

"That works for me," Olivia said. "I'll get your band together say, eleven?"

"Yeah," Alex said. "I'll be there. Where should I meet you?"

"You know where Downtown Studio is?" Olivia asked, and Alex resumed putting her things into her bag.

"Yeah, 5th and Sunset," Alex said, zipping her backpack with one hand. "I'll be there around 11:30."

"I'm still coming over," Olivia said. "You need to sign some paperwork to use the studio."

"I'll be home in fifteen minutes," Alex said, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"I think we should do a professional photoshoot to get some good head shots for your demo," Olivia said.

"When am I going to have time for that, Olivia?" Alex asked, rolling her eyes.

"How about in an hour?" Olivia asked.

"Where are you going to get a professional photographer on such short notice?" She asked, following the boys out into the hallway.

"I know a guy," Olivia said. "Don't worry about that. Now get home, I'll help you pick out some things to wear."

"I'm not taking out my piercings," Alex said immediately, knowing that would be the next argument.

"But you look so much more approachable without them," Olivia whined. "Please?"

"No," Alex said crossly. "You are awesome and everything, but I'm not budging on this. It's me how I am or not at all."

"I know, I know," Olivia said, sighing. "Love you kid, I'll see you in a bit."

"Bye, Liv," Alex said, then put the phone back into her pocket.

"Are you canceling on us?" Andre asked, looking resigned.

"No," Alex said, rolling her eyes. "I'll be there Saturday, just not tomorrow."

"What was that about?" Robbie asked. "It sounded important."

"If I wanted you to know you already would," Alex said, rolling her eyes. "I need to get home."

"Bye," Beck said as she rushed past him. She turned around, walked back, kissed him on the cheek, then left the building, hurrying to her car.

---

Olivia helped her pick out four different outfits to wear, then drove her over to some house in Beverly Hills where a very fussy, very gay man and another guy who Alex thought might possibly be his boyfriend or husband, did her hair and makeup, then set her up in a bunch of different poses and took pictures for four hours.

"I'll send these over to you tomorrow," the man, who had a name in French that Alex, who spoke some of the language, still couldn't pronounce. He kissed Olivia on both cheeks, then ushered both of them out of the house.

"He's friendly," Alex commented as they climbed back into Olivia's car.

"He's one of the best," Olivia said, backing out of the driveway. "I had to call in some serious favors to get this shoot."

"I owe you," Alex said, nodding.

"Don't be silly," Olivia said, flapping her hand at Alex. "I really think that this could be your 'big break'. Just remember me when you are doing world tours."

"I won't have to remember you because you'll be on them with me keeping me out of trouble," Alex said, chuckling. The idea of her on a world tour was preposterous.

"That'll be something to see," Olivia said, laughing. "Now," she continued, growing serious. "It'll probably take them about a week to actually get to your demo, which works out nicely because you have that school play all next week. But when they do hear it, they will want to meet you, if they like it. So don't make any plans after school for all of the week after next. You need to keep that time open in case they want to talk to you."

"Okay," Alex said, nodding. "I don't really want to sign a contract with anyone while I'm in school."

"I know," Olivia said. "We can talk that over with them if they offer one."

"Okay," Alex said, looking back out the window as they drove. She played idly with her now straightened hair as she watched the houses grow from mansions back to normal sized family houses. "Are you coming in?"

"Nah," Olivia said, parking the car in Alex's driveway. "I need to get to the studio to set up for tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning. I'll have lunch for you."

"Thank you," Alex said, grinning in through the car door. "You're the best."

"Don't forget it," Olivia said, chuckling. Alex closed the door and waved, then went inside.

"Hey," Alex called, walking inside. A chorus of 'hey's and 'hi's met there from the living room and she narrowed her eyes.

"What are you all doing here?" She asked, her eyes glancing around the room for Grace who was absent.

"Watching a movie," Tori grumbled.

"It's the extended directors cut of The Scissoring," Jade said, gazing up at Moose sappily. Robbie, Andre, and Beck were all sitting together on the far couch, all of them looking very close to pouting, which might have amused Alex if Grace hadn't chosen that moment to come in the front door. Alex glanced at her, then frowned, noting the smeared makeup and tears on her face. Grace glanced up, then froze, noticing all the eyes on her.

"Grace?" Alex asked softly, turning her back on the living room. "What happened?" She held out an arm, intending to usher Grace into the kitchen and away from any eavesdroppers, but Grace just stepped into her embrace and rested her face on Alex's shoulder. Alex smoothed down her hair for a moment, then felt her shirt growing warm from more tears. "Come on," she whispered, turning Grace toward the kitchen. When her sister was sitting at the table, Alex put on some water to boil out of habit. Their mother had always thought that tea could fix any problem when they had been little. Alex glanced once at her sister, then went back to the living room. Beck was just coming into the hallway, probably coming to make sure everything was okay.

"Hey," he said softly, meeting her in the entry way. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Alex said, frowning up at him, then she turned to face the living room and flicked the lights on. "Get out."

"But the movies only half over," Cat said softly, staring up at Moose, whom she was snuggled up against.

"Get the fuck out of my house," Alex repeated, her voice cold now as she marched across the room to the DVD player and took the disc out. She took the disc, the box, and what looked like Jade's bag, then walked over to the front door and opened it, tossing all three things outside, then she started on the shoes by the door, tossing them out too. The others scrambled up to get their things, Moose following behind them. "You can stay," she said, grabbing his arm, then shutting the door on the others.

"Should we leave too?" Beck asked from behind her, his eyes worried.

"No, it's fine, you can stay," Alex said, sighing. "Just go… wherever."

"It's getting late, I'm going to bed," Moose said after a moment.

"Yeah, good idea," Beck said, and the two of them disappeared to the rest of the house. Alex went back into the kitchen and made some tea, then sat down at the table.

"Whats going on?" Alex asked slowly when Grace didn't say anything.

"I talked to Eric today," Grace said. "You know, about everything."

"Oh," Alex said, guessing where this was going. "He wasn't happy?"

"He…" Grace started, and tears spilled over her cheeks. "Accused me of cheating on him. He said that there's no way it could be his. When I insisted he was the only guy I'd slept with in a while, he said I was making that up and we were never together, then he pretended he didn't know me and ignored me for the entire class. When I tried to talk to him afterwords, he just walked past me and didn't say anything."

"What an asshole," Alex said, frowning.

"I don't know if i can raise a baby alone, Alex," Grace sobbed, burying her face in her arms. "What am I going to do?"

"You aren't raising it alone," Alex said, moving to the seat next to her sister to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "I'm going to help. And you aren't going to be single forever. One day you'll meet a guy who isn't a douchebag."

"Nobody wants to date women who already have kids," Grace cried into Alex's shoulder now.

"Of course they do," Alex said, smoothing a hand over her back. "If they didn't then step-parents wouldn't exist."

"Alex," Grace said into Alex's shoulder. "Should I have an abortion?" Alex's hand froze, but she forced it to continue.

"It's not my decision to make for you," Alex said after a moment. Grace cried for another moment, then sighed and leaned back, wiping her face on her hands.

"I'm not even really considering it," Grace said with a sigh. "I'm just upset."

"I get it," Alex said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"It's just a lot to worry about," Grace said, finally sipping some of her tea. "Babies are expensive. I don't have very good health care. I know you said you want me to live here but-"

"Stop," Alex said, holding a hand up. "You are the only family I have. You and this little fish," Alex said, gently poking Grace's stomach. "Family takes care of family. If you need anything at all, tell me and I'll help figure it out."

"You can't just give me money," Grace said, shaking her head as she stared into her tea.

"I can and I will, if you need it," Alex said stubbornly.

"You are going to run out of it," Grace argued.

"Then I'll write more songs," Alex said. "I'm making a demo this week for Olivia to pass on to an actual record label. If they like it I could get signed. If they don't like it I'll get a job after school if you want. I'll write songs on my breaks."

"Don't be silly," Grace said, chuckling. "They'll love it."

"Then you have nothing to worry about," Alex said, smiling. "I'll become a famous singer and go on world tours and you can live in my giant mansion with 'baby Zeller' and take care of my three pet dogs and on weekends I'll fly all three of us to Paris to go shopping."

"But who will look after the dogs?" Grace said, wiping her eyes as she giggled.

"They'll come to Paris too, silly," Alex said, smiling while she rolled her eyes.

"Okay, sounds like a plan," Grace said, laughing now. Alex smiled.

"Lets go to sleep," Alex said, getting to her feet. "You'll feel better tomorrow. When's your next appointment?"

"December fifteenth," Grace said, standing too.

"Are you telling people yet?" Alex asked as they climbed the stairs.

"I was going to wait," Grace said. "Well, a lot of people on the internet say that you are supposed to wait until the second trimester because so many things can go wrong early on." She rested a hand protectively over her stomach.

"Can I tell Beck?" Alex asked, glancing toward her door.

"Yeah, sure," Grace said, smiling a little. "Just don't tell a bunch of people yet."

"Okay," Alex said, smiling. "I'll see you in the morning."

"I don't think I'm going to class tomorrow," Grace said, shaking her head a little.

"I'm going down to the studio in the afternoon," Alex said, nodding. "I probably won't be home till late. I only have three days to figure out which songs I want to record and then perfect them."

"Okay," Grace said, nodding. "Well I'll see you in the morning probably."

"Still throwing up?" Alex asked sympathetically.

"Yeah," Grace said, rolling her eyes. "I can't wait for that part to go away."

"Good night," Alex said, hugging Grace one more time, then disappearing into her room.

"So is everything okay?" Beck asked, looking up at her. He was sitting cross legged on her bed, working on homework for some class or other.

"It will be," Alex said, climbing up next to him. "Grace is pregnant."

"Wow," Beck said, surprised. "Is that why she was upset?"

"No," Alex said, her eyes narrowing as she thought about their conversation. "Her boyfriend doesn't want anything to do with her or the baby now."

"That's rough," Beck said, resting a hand on Alex's knee. "Is she alright?"

"Yeah," Alex said, smiling a little now. "I just had to knock some sense into her. It'll be fine."

"Good," Beck said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"I'll be missing some school tomorrow," she said, leaning back against the headboard.

"I heard," he said, closing his textbook. "What for?"

"Olivia, my manager, wants me to make a demo," Alex said, beaming now. "She knows someone at RCA records."

"That's huge," Beck said, smiling over at her.

"It will be, if they like it," Alex said.

"They'll like it," Beck said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to pull her against him. "So is that why you look like you just stepped off a runway?"

"What?" Alex asked, confused.

"Your makeup," he said, raising an eyebrow. "And your hair."

"Oh, right," Alex said. She had forgotten the copious amounts of makeup on her face. "Olivia wanted to do a professional photoshoot. That]s where I've been since rehearsals ended."

"Well you look extremely hot right now," Beck said lowly, leaning in to her.

"So I don't usually look hot?" She asked, pretending to be mad.

"No, I just meant-" he began, looking a little panicked. "I didn't mean that-"

"Calm down I was just kidding," Alex said, chuckling. He relaxed a little but still looked wary. "I need to go wash this shit off my face." She climbed off the bed, making her way into the bathroom. When she came back out she was dressed for bed, and Beck had already turned the lights off. She climbed in to what had become 'her side' of the bed and cuddled up against him, feeling the stress of the day leave her body as he wrapped an arm over her waist.

"You look hot every day," he said, whispering the words against her mouth as he leaned in to kiss her. "You just looked like a different kind of hot today."

"Thank you," Alex said, chuckling. She kissed him back for a moment. "You aren't so bad looking yourself you know."

"I don't know if that was a compliment or not," Beck said, smiling against her lips.

"Take it as one," she suggested, then leaned in to kiss him again.

---

"Okay class," Alex's songwriting teacher began, making the previously chatting students fall silent to listen. "We are starting next weeks assignment early because I figured you would all want the weekend to work on it. After last week's presentations I expect a lot from all of you. You will be working in pairs this time." Half the class let out a groan while the other half immediately tried to scoot closer to their preferred partners. "Not so fast!"

"Great, assigned partners," Andre muttered from his seat beside hers.

"Right you are Mr. Harris," the teacher said, pointing to him. "I will be assigning you all partners, but for this assignment we will be pairing up with Ms. Eisner's R&B vocals class. Now, the song you will be writing doesn't have to be R&B, it can be anything you want."

"Mr. Klume?" Ms. Eisner interrupted, poking her head in the door.

"Yes, yes, come in," he said. "My students, line up along the wall," he directed over the sudden noise increase. "The rest of you line up over there. Now, how many of you have friends or know someone in this room not in your class?" He looked around at the show of hands. Most people knew someone else, it wasn't exactly a big school. "Let's start with you," he pointed to Tori. "Who do you know in my class? Just pick one."

"Andre," Tori said, pointing to Andre.

"Great, you two are partners," he said. "And you?"

"Um," Cat said, glancing over the people lined up opposite her. "I know Andre, and Alex, and Danny, and-"

"Lets pair you with Alex," Mr. Klume said, interrupting her. "Next?"

Cat went over to stand next to Alex, smiling excitedly.

"This will be fun won't it?" Cat said in her usual airy voice.

"Loads," Alex said, rolling her eyes.

"I can come over to your house and work," Cat said. "And Moose will be there."

"Absolutely not," Alex said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, I'm busy all weekend."

"Oh," Cat said, looking depressed.

"We can work on it next Monday after rehearsals," Alex said.

"Kay kay," Cat said, perking back up immediately.

When all the others were paired with people they knew, each pair took seats at the tables.

"Now, some rules I think," Mr. Klume said, grinning. "Each student will write a song about the other."

"Great," Alex said, rolling her eyes.

"First, everyone take out a sheet of paper," Ms. Eisner said, then waited as they did as they were told. "Now I want you to list out as many things as you can about your partner. Personality wise. Go."

Alex glanced once at Cat, trying to think of something about the girl that would make for a good song. She wrote down as many adjectives as she could think of, all revolving around 'cute' and 'nice'.

"Alright," Ms. Eisner said after a few minutes. "Now I want you to pick the three most general terms from your list and circle them." Alex looked over her list, then circled 'innocent', 'nice', and 'childlike'.

"Now for your assignment," Mr. Klume began, walking around the desks. He picked up Alex's paper to use as and example and she glared at him. "Ms. Zeller here has circled the words innocent, nice, and childlike. Good. So your song must be about the exact opposite."

"So you want me to write a song about a mean, slutty old person?" Alex asked sarcastically.

"If you think that it the opposite of these words then sure," he said, and she rolled her eyes, taking her paper back. "You should try to write a song that still fits in with the personality of your partner, but isn't as obvious as the traits you wrote down. Get to work!"

The class began to murmur about their ideas to each other as both teachers sat on either side of Mr. Klume's desk.

"I wrote down that you are 'standoffish', 'independent', and 'strong'," Cat said, sliding her paper over to Alex.

"Great," Alex said. "You can write a song about how caring and happy I am."

"No, I don't think so," Cat said, not hearing Alex's sarcasm. "I was thinking I'd write something cute though."

"Great," Alex said, rolling her eyes. "Mr. Klume?" She asked, raising her voice. "Are we singing the songs our partner writes or do we sing the one we wrote?"

"Good question," he said, looking up from his conversation with the other teacher. "I think you can sing each others songs."

"Fantastic," Alex said with a sigh as the class broke back into chatter.

"Can I hang out with you tomorrow?" Cat asked, looking up at Alex with wide eyes.

"Why" Alex asked, frowning at her.

"Because I have to write a song about your hidden personality and I don't really know that much about you," Cat said simply. "If I spend time around you maybe I will get a good idea."

"I'm busy literally all day tomorrow," Alex said, sighing. "Can't we do this next week?"

"But next week we have play rehearsals," Cat said, frowning. "How am I supposed to learn something about you if you are acting like someone else?"

"Good point," Alex said, frowning in thought.

"So I can hang out with you tomorrow?" Cat asked, perking up.

"No," Alex said, shaking her head. "I… have some work to do."

"Well how about today?" Cat asked eagerly.

"I have stuff today too," Alex said, sighing. "If you promise to just follow me around and not be in the way or talk to anyone you can come with."

"I promise!" Cat said excitedly. "This will be so much fun!"

"I'll be outside the school to pick you up exactly at 2:30," Alex said, sighing as the bell rang. "Don't be late."

"I won't!" Cat said, gathering her things, then darting out the door. This was their last class before lunch, so Alex went straight to her locker to get the books she would need over the weekend, then went out to her car.

By the time 2:30 rolled around, Alex had agreed to let Olivia go pick up Cat from school as she was busy recording the vocals for the song she had written in twenty minutes at Tori's house the week before. Alex hadn't been sure what songs she wanted on the demo so she had let Olivia play recordings of all her past ones for the five band people and let them pick what they liked best.

"Hi hi," Cat said, approaching Alex during a two minute break while the band prepared for another run through of the song.

"Hey Cat," Alex said, turning to the shorter girl. "There's a lounge right over here for you to sit in and watch."

"What are you doing?" Cat asked innocently, staring around at the sound board and equipment with wide eyes.

"Recording some songs," Alex said, rolling her eyes.

"Wow that's so cool!" Cat said, bouncing on her toes.

"Yeah," Alex said, her mouth twitching up a little in amusement. "If you need anything just ask Olivia," she said, pointing to the woman who had picked her up. "You can talk to her about me too if you need help with your song."

"Kay, kay," Cat said, following Alex over to the little 'lounge' area. "Do you know what you are going to write your song on yet?"

"I haven't thought about it yet," Alex said, shrugging.

"Alex, we're ready in the booth," someone called, and Alex left Cat alone to go back to her recording.

---

"Wow, you are really good," Cat said when Alex came out for their next break.

"Thanks," Alex said, plopping down into her chair. "So I had an idea about a song for you while I was recording."

"What is it?" Cat asked, bouncing excitedly.

"What's the worst thing you've ever done," Alex asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Well, one time I had a secret boyfriend and I didn't tell anyone," Cat said, and Alex chuckled.

"Why not tell?" Alex asked, pulling a water bottle from her bag.

"Well, he was older than me," Cat said quietly.

"How much older?" Alex asked, curious now.

"He was 25 when I was 17," Cat said, peeking up at Alex form under her lashes. Alex laughed for a moment, then tilted her head.

"Wait, aren't you 17 right now?" She asked, and Cat nodded. "Are you still seeing him?"

"Well, sometimes," Cat said. "He has a girlfriend right now though."

"Wait, so you only see this guy in between girlfriends?" She asked, raising both eyebrows in surprise. "Why keep going back to him if he dates other people?"

"I dunno," Cat said, shrugging. "I guess he just makes me feel… older. Like I'm doing something bad."

"Hm," Alex said, thinking as she leaned back in her chair. "Okay." She pulled out a notebook and began to scribble down lyrics.

"Who is the most important person to you?" Cat asked while Alex was writing. "Like, someone you depend on a lot."

"My sister Grace," Alex said automatically, not really listening. "Beck. Olivia."

"Okay," Cat said, smiling widely.

"Alex," Olivia called, walking into the room. "We're back in five."

"Okay," Alex said, scribbling the rest of her thoughts on Cat's song out so she would remember them later.

"We're starting on the next song," Olivia said. "Derek thinks we have enough takes of Stand By You to get a good song."

"Kay," Alex said, flipping her notebook closed and standing.

They recorded late into the day, not finishing until close to eleven.

"Do you need a ride home?" Alex asked Cat as she packed up her things.

"Sure," Cat said, still full of energy.

"I'll take her," Olivia said, overhearing. "You get home and get some sleep. I'll see you here tomorrow at eight."

"Okay," Alex said covering a yawn. "Remember, tomorrow I have to be somewhere at five."

"I know," Olivia said, gesturing for Cat to follow her. "Bye."

When Alex got home the house was dark, so she was quiet as she walked inside and up the stairs. Beck was awake, obviously waiting up for her while he worked on something for class.

"You look tired," he said, chuckling as she dropped her bag in her doorway.

"Thanks," she said, rolling her eyes. "That's what every girl likes to hear."

"Don't worry, it's a beautiful tired," he said, chuckling. She smiled at him, then grabbed her pajamas and went to change while he put his books away.

"I have to get up at seven," Alex said, coming out of the bathroom.

"That's so early," Beck grumbled as she flicked the lights off, then crawled into bed next to him.

"It's later than we get up for school," Alex said, chuckling as she relaxed against him. He wrapped an arm over her waist and she buried her face in his neck with a sigh.

"Yeah but tomorrow is the weekend," Beck said in her ear. "We should be able to stay up late."

"And do what?" She asked, smiling against his skin as his hand slid under her tank top, pushing it a few inches up her back.

"All sorts of things," he whispered, and she shivered at the tone.

"We can do all sorts of things next weekend when we don't have so many other things to do," she said, chuckling.

"We have the play next weekend," he said, sighing.

"Then the weekend after that," Alex said, shrugging a little. "It's not like we are going to run out of time."

"What if you get bored of me before next weekend though?" Beck asked, and she completely missed his joking tone. She pulled away from him to look into his face, meeting his eyes.

"I'm not going to get bored of you," she said seriously. "Ever."

"Oh," he said, blinking.

"Yeah," she said, tucking her face back against him as his hand softly stroked up and down her back. They were both silent for a few moments, and Alex, exhausted from the day, fell asleep before the conversation could continue.

---

When she woke the next morning it was to the sun hitting her face, not to her alarm. She resisted groaning at the obviously early hour, not wanting to wake Beck. She crept out of the room, taking her phone with her, and went down to the kitchen.

"Over easy eggs again?" Alex asked, seeing Grace sitting at the table.

"Yeah," Grace said, shrugging. "I've been craving them lately. Your friend is here."

"Which friend?" Alex asked, yawning as she turned on the coffee maker. She didn't usually drink the stuff but she knew she would need it today.

"The small one with cupcake hair," Grace said, chuckling as she scooped a bit of egg to her mouth. "She's in the living room."

"Great," Alex said, rolling her eyes. She went to find Cat, who was sitting quietly on the couch staring off into space. "Cat, why are you here so early?"

"To work on our project," Cat said, grinning at her. "I had some ideas yesterday."

"It's going to be another studio day," Alex warned. "You'll be bored."

"I'm going to hang out with Jade this afternoon," Cat said, smiling up at Alex. "And Tori and I wrote a song for the boys show, but don't tell, it's a secret."

"Are you going to remember to go to the show?" Alex asked, rolling her eyes.

"Yes," Cat said. "It's an apology song. Because we blew them off."

"Good," Alex said, approving. "I need to shower and get dressed. Stay here."

"Okay," Cat said, bouncing her heels off the couch as she swung her legs back and forth.

When Alex was clean and dressed, Beck was downstairs keeping Cat entertained.

"Good morning," Beck said when Alex came downstairs.

"Morning," she said, smiling at him as he stood and came over to kiss her.

"Are you still coming to the show?" Beck asked as Alex grabbed her backpack from the floor by the door.

"I've said yes every time you've asked this week," Alex said, chuckling. "I won't forget."

"I'll see you at five then?" He asked, and she nodded, meeting his eyes for a moment.

"Yeah," she said after a few seconds, blinking. "I… I'll be there."

"Good," he said, smiling, and she was finally able to look away.

"Come on Cat," she said, waving towards the door. Cat stood from the couch and skipped to the door, disappearing through it.

"Bye," Beck said, bending down to kiss her. She kissed him back for a few seconds, then smiled up at him as he stroked a thumb over her cheek.

"Bye," she said softly. "Bye Grace," she called into the kitchen. Grace raised a hand in farewell, then Alex left the house.

---

"Let's take an hour break for lunch," Derek, the sound producer said around noon. They had finished recording three songs by then, and had three more to go before Monday morning when Olivia was due to send in the demo.

"You guys are great," Alex said, to the band members as they left the booth. She was in a good mood that morning as the excitement of possibly getting signed really sunk in. "Thanks so much!"

"Want to work on your song?" Cat asked as they others left the booth. "I have it almost finished."

"Yeah sure," Alex said, shrugging. "I'm not really that hungry anyway. Let's use the booth so we don't bother anyone else."

"Kay kay," Cat said, skipping into the booth. She handed Alex her lyrics, then sat down at the keyboard and began to play the song, humming the tune of the lyrics as Alex listened, nodding along. She picked it up on the second verse, and Cat sang along with her to keep her on track.

"I'm gonna paint you by numbers and color you in

If things go right we can frame it and put you on a wall

And it's so hard to say it but I've been here before

Now I'll surrender up my heart and swap it for yours"

"So what do you think?" Cat asked when they finished it.

"This is really good," Alex said, surprised. She hadn't guessed that the other girl actually had a talent for songwriting. "I like it a lot."

"Do you think it follows the rules?" Cat asked, looking up with wide eyes. "I noticed this morning that you seem to be afraid of what Beck will do when you tell him you love him, that's what inspired this."

"I…" Alex said, frowning. "Yeah," she settled for, not sure what to say.

"You don't think it works?" Cat asked, her lip quivering.

"No that's not it," Alex said. "I think it works perfectly."

"Yay!" Cat said, her emotions doing a complete turn around. "Let's do it again."

They played through it again, Alex singing all the lyrics this time while Cat played the piano through.

"That was really good, girls," Derek said over the mic, and they looked up, not having noticed he was at the soundboard again. Olivia was standing next to him, nodding and smiling.

"Oh," Alex said, glancing at Cat. "Did you want to use that on the demo?" They both nodded. "Is that okay Cat? I mean, you wrote it."

"You like it that much?" Cat said, beaming as Alex nodded. "Of course you can use it."

"Thank you," Alex said, smiling at the other girl. "Want to hear what I've written for yours so far? I don't have any lyrics but I think I've worked out the music."

"Sure," Cat said, standing to move out of the way. Alex played a cursory piano version of the song she had written. Cat clapped when it was over.

"I like it!" She said, giggling. "What's it going to be about?"

"Your secret boyfriend," Alex said, winking at her. Cat blushed, but didn't say she didn't like the idea, so Alex figured that it was okay.

Cat left after lunch, and Alex finished recording one more song between one and 4:45 when she finally declared that she had to leave.

"I think we can call it done for the day," Derek told her as she gathered her things. "We only have two more songs to finish tomorrow and the band can record without you here tonight, then we can layer the vocals in tomorrow."

"Okay," Alex said, rolling her shoulders as she picked up her backpack. "Thanks Derek."

"No problem kid," he said. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye," Alex said, walking quickly to her car. She was running a little late, but her song wasn't until after the boys song so she had a little extra time, more if Cat and Tori were doing a surprise song.

When Alex pulled up to the karaoke joint she could hear the music and cheering from outside the building and assumed it must have been going well.

"You're late," Beck said as she joined them and the other boys at their table while Tori and Cat sang.

"I know, I'm sorry," she said, having to speak loudly to be heard over the song. He shrugged but didn't say anything else, instead turning back to the stage to clap along with the song.

"Cat told us you've been recording songs all morning," Andre said when they all sat around a large table twenty minutes later. The boys had done a song, Alex had sung along to two karaoke selections, inviting the other girls up for the second one too, and now Robbie was doing some pretty good magic tricks which the audience seemed to like.

"Oh, yeah," Alex said, shrugging as Jade and Moose finally joined them, making everyone squeeze closer together. Alex was glad to see that the other girls seemed to be back to normal now, instead of hanging off Moose's every word, though they still sent him sidelong glances.

"What are you recording for?" Tori asked, half paying attention to the conversation, half to the magic tricks. Alex sighed, then shrugged.

"I'm just making a demo CD of some songs I wrote," Alex said. "I got lucky and got the use of a professional recording studio for the weekend so I figured I should make the best of it."

"Wow how'd you swing that?" Andre asked, leaning across the table to hear her better.

"Just this girl I know," Alex said, shrugging again. None of what she said was technically a lie, she just made it sound as though it were unimportant. She really didn't want to find out if these people that she had begun considering to be her friend were the kind to want favors when they found out she had connections.

"That's awesome," Andre said, nodding along with a song that had just come on.

"Yep," Alex said, sighing. "So is anyone else singing tonight?"

"Yeah," Tori said, turning her full attention to the table. "There are some other guys from school who have some things picked out."

"Did you guys raise enough money to get another bathroom?" Cat asked, looking over at them all.

"Sure did," Robbie said, grinning. "And a little extra."

"I'm going to get another water," Alex said, standing. She retreated to the bar area then leaned back to listen to the current singer while the bartender helped the people who had been there before Alex had. She glanced at Beck, who was also watching the singer, and sighed. She could tell he was annoyed that she had been late after her promise that morning that she would be there at five. She had only been about fifteen minutes late, but she should have texted or something. She sighed, turning back to the bar. She was already tired from the almost constant process of recording and while she didn't usually care if people were angry with her, the fact that it was Beck seemed to physically pull the energy out of her.

"Hey there," a guy said from beside her, and it took her a moment to realize he was talking to her. She turned to face him, too tired to do much more than glare. He just chuckled. "I've never seen you here before. Where are you from?"

"I've been here before," she said shortly, turning back to the bar in an attempt to wave down the baristas attention while she took a half step away from the guy.

"I'm from North Ridge," he said, stepping closer to her and apparently not caring that she had purposefully stepped away. "That song you did earlier was really good. So you go to Hollywood Arts with the rest of those guys?"

She stepped away from him again, letting out a breath of relief when the bartender came over to her.

"Anyway," the guy said when the bartender stepped away to refill her water glass. "They look really lame, you should come hang out with me and my friends."

"I have a boyfriend," she said shortly, then nearly growled as he wrapped an arm over her shoulder.

"Well it doesn't look like he's doing a good job of keeping you company," he said, standing too close to her. The bartender set her glass down in front of her and she made to grab it, but the arm draped over her shoulder restricted her arm movement.

"Let go," she said, clenching her fists.

"Oh come on," he said, laughing loudly in her ear. "Don't be like that."

Alex took in a deep breath, then released it. She jabbed her elbow back into the guy's stomach sharply, and he hunched over, wheezing for breath. She made her hands into a single fist, then brought it down on the back of his neck while he was bent over, and he fell onto his stomach. She stepped over him to grab her water, then turned to see Beck standing there, looking worried. She glanced between him and the now unconscious guy on the floor, then out at the crowd who had fallen silent.

"Would anyone else like to touch me without my permission today?" She asked sarcastically, glaring around the room. "No? Didn't think so." She turned and walked back to their table, sitting down in her spot as the people in the room went back to their conversations.

"Are you okay?" Beck asked in her ear as he wrapped an arm over her shoulder. The others at the table were making very obvious 'not-eavesdropping' conversation with each other, though Alex doubted any of them would be able to hear them over the music playing now. She nodded, not wanting to look at him in case he was still angry with her from earlier. "That was totally badass." Her mouth twitched up at the corners.

"Are you still mad at me?" She asked, turning her head toward him a little more to look up at him from under her lashes.

"Mad at you?" Beck asked, confused. "I wasn't mad at you."

"I thought you were," Alex said, frowning. "I was late, and you weren't talking to me."

"Oh," Beck said, shrugging a little. "I was trying to figure out why you don't want the others to know you have a chance of getting signed to an actual label."

"Oh, haven't I explained this to you before?" Alex asked, frowning as she tried to remember if she had or not.

"If you had I wouldn't be confused now," Beck said, chuckling. "Looks like your friend is waking up." He nodded toward the bar where the North Ridge guy was getting to his feet. The people around him seemed hesitant to help him. He stumbled against the bar, then walked back to his table on wobbly feet where three other guys proceeded to laugh at him, probably for getting beaten up by a girl. Alex rolled her eyes.

"Let's go outside," she said to Beck, loud enough that the others could hear. He nodded and stood, then wrapped his arm possessively around her waist as they walked toward the door. Usually things like that bothered her, she didn't like feeling like she belonged to someone else, but now she tossed a smug grin at the North Ridge table, as though saying 'see? I already belong to someone, and he's way more than you could ever be'.

It had snowed again the night before, though very little of it stuck to the ground, and the chilly air was refreshing as she took a deep breath. She explained to Beck what her classmates in Seattle had done when they had discovered she sold songs to bands, and why she didn't want that to happen with the others.

"I think you did tell me about that before, I forgot," he said, but he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to give her a half hug. "They wouldn't do anything like that."

"I don't want to take the chance," Alex said, shrugging. "I'll tell them all when we graduate and I don't have to see them every day."

"If you think that's best," Beck said, pulling her in so he could hug her fully. She rested her head on his shoulder, her arms automatically going around his waist. "Are you really okay?"

"I'm fine," Alex said, pulling back to smile up at him. "I don't think he will put an arm around my shoulders again."

"Where did you learn to do that?" Beck asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've never done it before," Alex confessed, scuffing the toe of her shoe on the ground. "I've just seen it on TV so many times.

"Well now you know it works," he said, catching her chin in his hand and pulling her face up so he could bend down to kiss her.

By the time they got back to the house that night, Grace was asleep, so the three of them were quiet as they separated to their own rooms. Alex made sure to say goodbye to Moose that night since she would be gone the next day when he left for the airport.

"It's going to be weird sleeping without you here tomorrow," Alex said when her and Beck were cuddled together on her bed.

"Yes it will," he said, chuckling against her hair. "You can come over whenever you want you know. Just so long as my mom doesn't know you stay the whole night."

"Well you can come over here whenever you want too," she said, smiling against his neck, then kissing the spot. He shivered. "And it doesn't matter if anyone knows you stay the night here."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said in a low voice as he rolled over her until he was holding himself above her on his elbows. He leaned down to kiss her deeply, and her hands reached up to tangle in his hair.

"I have to be up early again," she said twenty minutes later when both of their shirts were on the floor and she was in her underwear.

"Don't you always?" He asked, but he pulled the blankets back over them both, laying down beside her.

"I'm sorry," she said after a moment. "I don't mean to lead you on or anything."

"It's okay," he said, his hand stroking up and down her side. She shivered and scooted a little closer to him. "One of us has to be the responsible one."

"That's a new title for me," Alex said, laughing softly. "I'm usually the one who doesn't care about rules."

"I happen to recall a time in fourth grade when you cried because you accidentally dropped a tennis ball down the stairs and broke your moms lamp," Beck said, laughing. "You were worried you would get in trouble because your mom had said 'no throwing in the house'."

"Shut up," Alex said, laughing too. "I was only nine."

"You cried for like an hour," Beck repeated, and she snaked a hand up to cover his mouth. He licked her palm and she jerked it back, grimacing, and wiped it on his shoulder, making him laugh harder.