"Hey Carrie. What brings you here?" Laney awkwardly smiled.
Carrie Beff, lead singer and guitarist for The Newmans, was running at top speed toward the confused red head. Her eyes filled with cold malice, she stormed up to Laney and grabbed the front of her shirt.
"Don't give me that crap, Penn. You know what you did"
"Could you be a little more specific? A lot of weird things have been happening over the course of these last few days, and my memory is a little hazy"
Carrie growled with frustration.
"You did something to Larry" she snarled. "He never shows up to practice anymore, and all he talks about is you. What did you do to him?"
Laney's gaze drifted toward the ground. How could she tell Carrie the truth? Would the blue haired girl even listen to her? Laney contemplated her decision, before a sudden idea struck her mind.
"Why are you so interested?" she asked.
"Because he's a part of my band and my best friend. Why else?"
Laney gave her a knowing smile.
"There's no other reason? Maybe you're just jealous that Larry wants to spend more time with other girls, than with you"
Carrie's cheeks turned slightly pink. She loosened her grip on Laney and allowed the bassist to fall to the ground.
"I'm not jealous," she said hotly. "I'm just concerned with my friends well being. I could care less who he's interested in"
"Oh really. Then why in the world did you come all the way to Corey's house just to yell at me?"
Carrie opened her mouth to speak, but was unable to find any words to defend herself. She crossed her arms angrily, and glared at Laney.
"So what if I am a little jealous? That still doesn't explain why you decided to make Larry obsessed with you"
"Actually, she didn't" Kon finally decided to speak up.
He ran over to the girls from his hiding place behind Trina's car, and waved hello to Carrie. The guitarist frowned and didn't wave back. Kon awkwardly coughed into his hands.
"Anyway, its not entirely Laney's fault that Larry is obsessed with her. She took some coins from the Peaceville fountain. The coins have made Larry, Nick Mallory, and my brother fall in love with her. We were just heading over to the mall to return the coins and turn everyone back to normal"
A light breeze of wind blew overhead as Carrie processed the words the drummer had just spoken.
"You did what?!" she finally exclaimed, turning towards Laney.
"I took some stupid coins from the fountain, okay. Kon thinks that if I return the coins back to the fountain, everything will go back to normal. It's the only option we have right now"
"I understand that. I was just amazed by the fact that you didn't realize this would happen. Everyone knows taking the coins will make people obsessed with you"
Laney raised her eyebrow in confusion. Did everyone know about this legend except her?
"Whatever. Now you know that Larry isn't really in love with me, and you can go home now"
"Oh, I don't think so" Carrie smiled. "I want to be there so I can make sure you return the coins. I won't let you hang this over our head during future gigs."
"What about Larry?"
Carrie shrugged and got in the back seat of the car.
"That too. I'll admit I really do like Larry, but him liking me back is whole different story. When it comes down to it, I have to focus on the security of the band more than what I want personally"
Laney gave a small smile of admiration as she slid into the car next to the female guitarist. She never expected Carrie to show this much empathy towards anything. It was a nice change of pace.
"Hang on" Trina smiled evilly, slamming her foot on the pedal as soon as Kon closed the car door. The cars tires squealed as the pink vehicle accelerated down the road.
(To The Mall Transition)
Laney groaned as their current velocity pushed her back into the seat. She felt sorry for Trina's driving instructor, and anyone else who dared enter the vehicle of this deranged speed demon.
"Could you maybe go a little slower" she cried.
Trina scoffed.
"Don't be such a baby tomboy. The sooner we get there, the sooner nick Mallory will stop loving you and fall in love with me"
"I doubt that" Carrie muttered.
"What was that?!"
"Nothing"
Trina nodded with satisfaction and returned her focus to the road. Cursing Trina's stubborn attitude, Laney turned towards Kon.
"So Kon, I've been wondering. How come the fountain is considered magic? What about it makes people creepy stalkers?"
"Larry is not a stalker" Carrie reminded her with a frown.
"Right, sorry. Kon?"
The drummer of Grojband thought for a moment. It had been a long time since he had heard the story, so his memory was a little foggy. He decided to start with what he remembered.
"A long time ago, in the ancient lands of Rocklympus, gods of music ruled over mortal men and women. One of these gods was a fair maiden by the name of Athenabass. Known far and wide as the most beautiful of all the gods, Athenabass was also a talented musician of many instruments. Many people would complement her talent and beauty. However, this could not sate the power of loneliness that griped the poor girls heart. Though a large number of gods and mortals came for her hand, she turned them all away. It is unknown why, and the legend is lost to most people, but it remains the truth."
"Care to take a guess?" Laney asked.
"I'd wager that many of those men only loved her for her beauty. She probably wanted someone to lover her for who she was, and not for what she was. And, just when all hope seemed lost for the illustrious maiden, a miracle appeared before her. She heard tale of a young man who could cure any illness with his guitar. Intrigued, Athenabass made her way down to the mortal plain to observe this stranger. She arrived with the speed of light, and was shocked with what she saw. Before her stood a strong man of a great strength and grace. It was love at first sight for her. Asking his name, she discovered the identity of the man to be Guitaricuss of the wilds. Upon seeing Athenabass, Guitaricuss fell immediately in love. Together, the goddess and the mortal played their instruments for all to hear and enjoy. Their love made the fields ripe and illness sweep away from the people. It was truly a magical time"
"But not everyone was happy with this sudden relationship. Jealous that they could not have Athenabass for themselves, many of the gods kidnapped Guitaricuss and locked him deep within the mountains of awful music"
"You guys would fit right in there" Trina interrupted with a smiled.
Kon ignored her and continued.
"Anyway, Athenabass soon took notice about the disappearance of her love. Though she searched for him everywhere, she could not find him. Heartbroken, she began to cry. Her tears fell to the earth below and started to accumulate into a puddle. Soon, the puddle was turned into a fountain for a nearby town."
"Athenabass's crying soon came to the attention of the jealous gods. Guilty for what they had done, they apologized to Guitaricuss, and released him back to her. The two reunited in happiness as Athenabass's tears finally stopped. Guitaricuss told her that her tears had saved him and requested that they be blessed. Agreeing, Athenabass soon granted grace upon the fountain of her tears, and stated that all who had trouble in love need only throw something of value into it to be granted true love."
"And taking the coins mean you take someone's love with you" Laney finished for him.
Kon nodded.
"All we have to do is return the coins" he smiled.
Carrie suddenly turned to Laney and gave her a quick look of annoyance. She was about to ask why Laney had taken the coins in the first place, when all the pre-teens were suddenly thrown forward as the pink car came to a stop.
"We're here" Trina said in a high pitched voice.
Checking to see that they had all there essentials, the trio of unlikely friends got out of the vehicle and began making there way towards the mall entranced. They had made it just in time.
"Thanks goodness" Carrie sighed with relief. "I thought we might have had a problem"
Kon nodded in agreement, and suddenly crashed into a motionless Laney. He stared up at his friend with surprise.
"What's up Laney? Is something wro…?"
Kon felt his words die as he stared at the sign in front of him.
Due To Renovations, The Peaceville Fountain has been moved to a secure location. We thank you for you're patience. Have a nice day!
"Where's the fountain" Trina exclaimed as she caught up to them.
"Gone. Our last hope to fix this problem is gone" Laney whispered.
The distraught bassist slumped to the ground and buried her head in her hands. What could she do now?
"Well, I don't know about last hope" Kon said behind her.
"What do you mean?" Carrie asked.
"While returning the coins to the fountain is the easiest, there is another way to break the spell. All Laney has to do is return coin back to its owner. They will receive they're love back, and all will be well"
"Where to heck was this plan two hours ago" Trina demanded.
"I'm sorry" Kon apologized. "I didn't think it was important at the time. All we have to do now is figure out whose coin is which"
Laney felt the cloud of depression lift from her mind. There was still a way to fix this. With a newfound determination, she grabbed the coins from her pocket and counted them. 1,2,3…4.
"Four? Why are there four coins? I though only Nick, Larry, and your keyboardist were obsessed with you" Carrie said.
Laney stared at the coins in confusion. Who else could possibly have shown interest in her in the past few days?
"Oh no" she muttered.
"What? What is it?"
Laney turned to her companions, tears welling in her eyes.
"Its Corey's" she said. "Corey is the fourth coin".
Authors Note: Firstly, I want to congratulate 1AvrilLavigne for correctly predicting what happened to the fountain. I also want to thank each and everyone of you who have reviewed and enjoyed this story. You guys are awesome. So, what's Laney going to do now? And how will the other boys react when presented with their coins? All this and more in the next chapter!
Read, Review, and Thanks for coming out!