Chapter 11: A Heart for Home

"Left foot, green," Ramiele said while holding the spinner for Twister. Kristy, David, Carly, Mr. Cook, and Future Carly were on the Twister mat while Jason was sitting down on the floor next to them. He started playing with them, but after about 30 seconds of playing, he fell down. "Left foot, green! Ramiele, is that even possible?" Mr. Cook complained. He wasn't very flexible and was about to fall on top of the younger David any second now. Ramiele spun the spinner again.

"OK, right hand, yellow," she said smiling at Mr. Cook and looking at his worried face. The fear in his eyes practically spelled out that he thought this game was worse than Hell. He tried to stretch his arm over to a free yellow spot, having to reach over Kristy. His fingers were only about and inch away from the haunting yellow circle, but he couldn't manage to reach. Then, stretching his arm as much as he could he cried "OH MY GOD!!" When he finally got his fingertips just barely touching the mat, Kristy shouted "David!" This caused him to jump and fall down on top of his cousin, leaving them both now out of the game.

"You suck, Kristy!" Mr. Cook said while sitting down in between her and Jason.

"No, you're the one who sucks for falling on top of me!" she pleaded.

"If you hadn't have scared me half to death, I wouldn't have fallen on top of you in the first place!"

"Well maybe you wouldn't have fallen over if you weren't such a fat-"

"Kristy Lee Cook!" Carly cut her off. "Mine you language!"

Carly's input on her argument with Mr. Cook somehow made Kristy angry. "I'm not ten-years-old! I'm not even nineteen!" David made a face and Kristy continued. "Besides that, what are you, my mom?"

Carly was furious now. "Alright, that's it! Get really for some Irish butt-kicking!" she said while getting up from her uncomfortable Twister position. Future Carly and David sat down on top of the mat. "I don't remember being this high-strung," Future Carly said looking at David. "And I also don't remember you being this cute." David looked at her confused. It was really odd having two Carlys around.

"Hey! Girls, settle down!" Ramiele pleaded. Apparently she had enough of this fight as well.

As Kristy, Mr. Cook, Carly, and Ramiele continued to bicker, Danny came into the room. "EVERYONE! SHUT THE HELL UP!" he screamed. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

Ramiele walked up to him, placed her hands on her hips and said with great attitude "Why don't you make me?"

Danny was shocked. "Is that a threat from someone half my size?" This comment really ticked Ramiele off. "You are such a-"

"Hey!" Brooke said. She seemed to pop up out of nowhere. Everyone now directed their attention to her. "Look, I know we've been her for a while now. It's been over a month for most of you guys and Simon's former workers haven't come back. What if they don't? We can't live the rest of our lives here arguing over stupid stuff just because we're stressed! We need to work together to find a way out of here. If not, we may never see our homes again!"

Brooke's pep talk seemed to boost David's spirits as he got up and stood next to her and continued the speech. "Brooke's right!" he said. "Jason, what do you miss the most about home?"

"Food whenever I want," Jason said.

David continued, "And Mr. Cook. What do you miss most about home?"

Mr. Cook suddenly looked upset. "My moo la."

"And Kristy, what do you miss most about home?"

"Kenny Chesney blasting through the stereo!" she said. Wow, Kristy actually wanted to go home! Maybe she was getting over Simon…

"Ramiele?" David asked

"My sushi place!"

"Danny?"

"Queen Bees!"

"Future Carly?"

"My friends and family!"

Original Carly looked at her future self in surprise, "Family?"

"Michael?" David continued.

"My weekly flying lessons!" Michael answered, who had just entered the room with everyone else.

"Amanda?" David asked.

"My Harley Davidson!"

"Brooke?"

"The day-care center I run!"

"Chekezie?"

"Fresh air!"

David then looked at his girlfriend. "Carly?" He asked.

She thought about it for a minute, then looked that the ground and whispered, "Nothing."

David couldn't hear her, "What?" he asked.

Carly stood up and walked towards him. "Nothing," she said loud enough so David and everyone else could hear her. This answered seemed to leave everyone in shock.

Brooke walked back over to them. "Carly, what are you talking about? Why wouldn't you want to go home?"

David's reaction was the same. "Yeah, Carly. Why?"

Carly put her arm around David. "David, can I talk to you in private?" she asked. Then they walked out of the room with everyone still confused at Carly's words. "So," Ramiele said. "Wanna play Twister?"

Once Carly and David got into the stage room while everyone else played Twister backstage, they sat down on the couch where contestants would sit when they were declared safe from elimination during American Idol.

David looked at the love of his life in the blue eyes. "I don't understand," he said. "What do you mean you don't miss anything? Don't you wanna go home?"

Carly sighed. "I'm not sure. I mean, Simon really hasn't made us do that much work lately, we've met some great new people. I think me and Brooke could really be good friends. Same thing with Amanda. And let's face it, she's completely awesome!"

"But just because you want to stay here," David said looking down, "doesn't mean they want to."

Carly sighed, "I guess. But...there is another reason why we should stay. Just you and me. Nobody else."

David showed his adorable little grin again. "I know what you mean, Carly. But what if we're...not...you know."

Carly chuckled, "No I don't know, David. What are you talking about?"

David's look got serious once again. "Well...what if we're not...really...meant to be?"

These words left Carly confused. She though about it for a minute. She and David not meant to be. Well, there was a bit of an age difference. And Michael really liked her. What if one day he actually managed to win her heart? And what about Alexandra Lushington from back home in San Francisco. She seemed to really like David and they've known each other way before he met Carly. The only reason Alex wasn't in this mess with them was because she was on vacation in San Antonio the day of the helicopter crash. But if Carly and David weren't meant to be, Carly wouldn't be too sure of what to do. There's no way, she though. We HAVE to be together. We just have to be! Carly finally had to speak up. "David, weather we're meant to be or not, I will always love you no matter what you think of me!" Then she got up and stood in the middle of the stage as if she were about to sing and turn this into a Disney scene, which is exactly what she did.

"Closed off from love
I didn't need the pain
Once or twice was enough
And it was all in vain
Time starts to pass
Before you know it you're frozen

Ooooh...

But something happened
For the very first time with you
My heart melted into the ground
Found something true
And everyone's looking 'round
Thinking I'm going crazy

But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open"

David was impressed by her singing. He loved it when she sang. She had such an amazing voice that completely matched her looks and personality. To him, she was like Hannah Montana, which he was a big fan of. Then Carly motioned for him to join her, and without hesitation, he started to sing.

"Oooh, oooh...

Trying hard not to hear
But they talk so loud
Their piercing sounds fill my ears
Try to fill me with doubt
Yet I know that their goal
Is to keep me from falling

Hey, yeah! Oooh...

But nothing's greater
Than the rush that comes with your embrace
And in this world of loneliness
I see your face
Yet everyone around me
Thinks that I'm going crazy
Maybe, maybe

But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open"

But Carly, of coarse, couldn't let David have all the fun. So she took over once more.

"And it's draining all of me
Oh they find it hard to believe
I'll be wearing these scars
For everyone to see!"

Then David and Carly began taking turns.

David: "I don't care what they say"
Both: "I'm in love with you"
Carly: "They try to pull me away"
Both: "But they don't know the truth"
David: "My heart's crippled by the vein"
Both: "That I keep on closing"
Carly: "You cut me open and I…"

David: "Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love"
Both: "You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I"
Carly: "Keep bleeding"
David: "Keep, keep" Both: "bleeding love"

After this musically romantic moment, they shred into each other's eyes and just starred. What was I thinking? David thought. How could I possibly think me and Carly weren't meant to be? We have such chemistry! Hmmm...Life is gonna be sweet! At this very moment, Simon walked into the room clapping.

"Wow! That was really quite excellent! I honestly in all my years have never heard a better duet in my life!" Simon seemed to be in quite a good mood today, which caught Carly's attention.

"Gee, Simon." she said. "You sure are in a good mood, giving out complements like that."

"No I really do mean it. That was absolutely fabulous!"

"Oh, well thank you! That really means a lot." Carly stated.

"Yeah," David added. "Thanks!"

"Have you two ever thought of auditioning for American Idol?" Simon asked. He obviously really loved their little 'performance'.

"I auditioned for America's Got Talent once," Carly pointed out. "But I got cut because Sharon thinks I need to be more 'original'."

Simon rolled his eyes. "Don't trust that stupid show or the judges. It's terrible. Just terrible."

Carly suddenly looked confused. "But I though you created America's Got Talent?"

"Yes, but I hate it," he said.

"Well then get rid of it." Carly suggested.

"I'd like to," Simon said. "But the stupid author won't let me."

"Hey!" Carly exclaimed. "No breaking of the fourth wall!"

"I'm not breaking it, I'm just making a statement about the author!" he replied.

"What author?" Carly asked.

"Shannon. The girl who wrote this story and made me the man that everybody hates!"

"No, that's Michael no one likes." Carly corrected.

"Well he broke the fourth wall, too! In the previous chapter," Simon stated

"See! You admit it! You did break the fourth wall!" Carly said pointing at Simon as if they were in grade school and she had just told on him.

"And so what if I did! I doesn't matter anyways!" Simon complained.

"Carly! Simon!" David interrupted. The he giggled, "Hee hee, Carly Simon. Anyways, why don't you both stop breaking the fourth wall before people mistake this for Dora the Explorer!" Simon left the room and David put his arm around his girl. "So do you REALLY wanna stay here?" he asked raising an eyebrow (SEXY!!!!!).

"Not a chance." Carly said. "But how are we going to get out of here?" They both thought about it for a minute, and then David got an idea.

"Hey! You know how America's Got Talent auditions were a few months ago?"

Carly looked at him. "Yeah, so?"

"Well..." he continued. "That means that they're gonna starts the show in a few months and will have to edit it before then, right?"

"Where are you going with this?" Carly asked.

"Well Simon works with the show, right? So he's gonna have to leave and take care of everything. That's when we sneak out!"

"Oh!" Carly said finally understanding. "When do you think he'll leave?"

David shrugged. "Soon, probably, hopefully."

"You're such a genius, David!" she said giving him a bear hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Let's go tell everyone!"

Chapter 12: Operation Mercado

Backstage, everyone was no longer playing Twister and was now instead playing Monopoly. Actually, it was just Danny, Ramiele, Kristy Lee, and Amanda playing, but everyone else had someone to root for. Jason was rooting for Danny and getting overly excited, for he was jumping up and down like a nut and shouting "Danny! Danny!" Mr. Cook cheered for his cousin, Kristy Lee, while Brooke and Chekezie rooted for their future pal, Amanda. This left Michael and Future Carly rooting for little Ramiele, who was the banker. It was also her turn to move, and once she did, Danny stood up, nearly smashed the table they were playing on and screamed "THIS IS SO QUEER!!!". All three of the playing girls leaned back with their eyes the size of golf balls. "I hate it when you're the banker, Ramiele! Ever since we were little kids you were ALWAYS the freakin' banker! YOU SUCK!!! And where'd you get the pink 50s you cheating whore?" It seemed like Danny had just about lost it! Kristy Lee got up to try to calm him down but he only snapped at her, too! "Don't you dare freakin' touch me, Kristy! Ramiele is a cheating whore!!!" Then he picked up the model dog that was used in the game. "I should cut your head off with this little doggie!"

"Hey guys!" Carly shouted while bursting through the room causing Danny to stop screaming bloody murder. "David thought of a way to get us out of here!"

"Wait," Brooke interrupted. "So you DO want to go home?"

"Well, duh!" Carly exclaimed. "OK, David. Tell em!"

"OK. So Simon works for the show America's Got Talent which had auditions a few months ago. This means that he'll have to go to the studio soon to edit the show so it's ready for the summer. And while he's gone, that's when we sneak out of this place, finally go home, and then most likely never watch Idol again. So who's with me?"

Brooke was the first one to speak up. "I am! I think we can defiantly pull it off." Then everyone agreed in unison and began discussing how exactly they were going to escape. In the end, they decided on climbing out the windows since Simon would most likely lock all the doors, but his box-cut brain would not think of locking all the windows as well.

About an hour later, Simon called everyone to the stage for a meeting. "Alright, I have some important news for you worthless people," he announced once everyone got to the stage. "It appears that there have been a change of plans. Obviously, most of you have been here for over a month now and unlike Mr. Cook promised, my regular workers have not yet returned from their vacation and I don't think they will anytime soon." After hearing this, Mr. Cook put his head down in shame while Simon continued. "And another thing, I got a phone call today from the producers of America's Got Talent saying that I've been fired which means I will not be leaving to help out with the show and will be staying hear until the summer when auditions for American Idol start. But since I don't trust you people here alone, you're all going to have to come with me to go to each city and once the live episodes start, you're all going to have to stay here and work. In other words, there's no way any of you could possibly escape." Then Simon left for his room and everyone began complaining.

"What are we going to do now?" Michael asked.

"Are we going to have to spend the rest of our lives here?" Future Carly asked Brooke.

"I can't live like this anymore!' Danny shouted.

Then Jason stood up, cupped his hands over his mouth and said, "Everyone!" They all stopped and looked at the laid-back guy as he continued. "It's not gonna be so bad." Then he started clapping and singing. "Life's what you make it so let's make it rock!"

Michael looked at Jason as if her were retarded. "Hannah Montana is not going to get us out of this mess! There has to be another way!"

"Face it, Michael." Carly told him. "There's no hope. We're trapped and no matter how much it sucks we have to get through this." The complaining and arguing from everyone continued. But it all stopped when suddenly one of the front doors opened. Someone walked in, but all anyone could see was a shadow. Who is that? David wondered.

Is that one of Simon's old workers? Ramiele thought getting her hopes up.

Then Jason stood up again. "Syesha!"

Yes, it was Syesha Mercado. She had finally made it to the studio and was determined to do anything in her power to save her friends. "Hey!" she shouted as she began running towards the stage. She nearly tripped over her golden high-heeled sandals. Once she got up onto the stage she hugged Jason and said "I missed you guys so much!" Once they were done hugging, Jason had to ask "How did you find us?" "Oh!" Syesha exclaimed. "I saw a video of you guys on YouTube, it said you were trapped her at this studio, so I decided I should help."

"A YouTube video?" David asked.

"The one I posted!" Chekezie said. "My video saved us!"

"What was the video?" Amanda asked.

Chekezie laughed, "Oh, it was when you guys got cabin fever and you were like 'whooo' in the head! Aw man! That was amazingly funny!"

"You put that on the internet?!" Michael exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter," Syesha interrupted. "What matters is trying to find a way to get you guys out of here. Now first of all, I need to know some of your names. Girl with the black and blond hair." she said pointing at Amanda.

"Amanda Overmyer." she said shaking Syesha's hand. "And you?"

"Oh," she said. "Syesha Mercado. Nice to meet you! And you with the crazy eyes." she said pointing at Chekezie.

"Chekezie Eze, but never use my last name. Yes I'm part robot, thanks for noticing."

"You are?" Syesha asked. "I hadn't noticed."

Chekezie sighed. "No one does."

Syesha pointed towards Brooke. "And..."

"Brooke White," she answered. "Dig the crazy afro."

"Thanks," Syesha laughed. Then she noticed something. "Two Carlys? What's going on? I thought we were on the set of Idol, not Look-A-Like."

"Ha ha!" Future Carly laughed. "Yep, there's two of us. Me, Brooke, Amanda, and Chekezie are from the future."

Syesha looked confused. "For real?"

"Yep." F.C. replied.

But Syesha was still confused. "But there's no way that...ah, I'll figure it out later. Anyways, come on! We gotta get ourselves home!" she said while walking towards the front door. Once she realized that no one was fallowing her, she stopped and turned around. "What's the hold up? Come on!"

"We can't," Mr. Cook said. "Simon Cowell has ordered us to stay and if we get caught leaving, who knows what he'll do!"

Syesha turned back to her friends. "Simon's watching you? Aw man! Now what!"

"Wait!" David said. "I have another idea!"

"What?" Syesha asked, anxious to hear his idea.

"A distraction." David said.

"A distraction?" Danny asked.

"A distraction?" Amanda also asked.

"Yeah!" David continued. "A distraction! One of us will distract Simon while the rest of us sneak out one of the windows."

"Wait," Syesha interrupted. "Why can't we just use the door?"

"They only open from the outside." Mr. Cook answered.

"Anyways," David continued. "Then the person who was distracting Simon will say they have to go to the bathroom, then once the distracter gets there they climb through the little window and escape. Then we all meet up, catch a bus to San Francisco, and we're home!"

"Hey, can I ask you something." Brooke said to David.

"Yeah. What?"

Brooke continued. "Do you think I could come along with you and stay to live in San Francisco? I'll buy a house, get a new job and things will be good! So what do you think?"

"I think that would be awesome!" David answered as Carly squealed and gave Brooke a hug. It would be a friendship between them that would last a lifetime.

"Uh..." Chekezie began. "Me and Amanda were just thinking that...we'll...we'd like to stay too."

Brooke jumped up and down and gave them both double knuckle-touches. "Boom, baby! Yeah!"

"So what about you, Carls?" Amanda asked the future version of David's beloved.

Future Carly took out a little remote from her pocket that opened up a porthole for someone to go through and end up at anytime period they choose. "I think I'm gonna go back home. I mean, my family really needs me. Jordin and Kelly both need their mommy, and let's face it, my husband can't take care of them himself."

Brooke suddenly felt upset. "Aww, Carly. I'm gonna miss you so much." she said while giving her a hug.

"No you won't." F.C. said. "You'll still have my past self." Then she reached over and gave Amanda a hug as well. "Bye Amanda." Then she let go and looked at Chekezie. He was indeed the most stubborn robot she'd ever met. But he was also the nicest. Then she gave him a hug, said good-bye to everyone one last time, and pushed the button. A blue glowing disc appeared out of nowhere and Future Carly walked through it. She was gone.

After a long pause, Carly said. "Wait! Family? Mommy? Husband? Am I gonna be a parent one day?"

Brooke sighed. "I really wish she would keep her big mouth shut."

"So," Carly said. "Who's this 'husband' I'm gonna get one day?"

"Why don't we just keep that a mystery," Brooke responded. Then David looked at Brooke in an anxious way as she winked at him with one of her blue eyes. "Oh my God, are you serious!" David shouted. Carly looked at him with a confused look on her face. "Serious about what?" David moved his eyes back and fourth. "Uh...never mind. Let's just work on getting out of here."

Chapter 13: Farewell Simon

After a few minutes of planning, everyone grabbed the stuff they needed to head out. "Brooke, did you get the rope?" David asked as they all hid in a giant storage room filled with furniture, speakers, and some of Ryan's creepy "items". "Right here," Brooke answered as she showed him the long white rope. Then David turned to Mr. Cook. "Do you have the bus money?" he asked. "Uh huh," Mr. Cook answered his little partner in crime with tears. The thought of spending money was just so unbearable. Then finally, David turned to Jason. "Do you have the knife?" But Jason didn't answer. Instead his face was a ghostly white and his mouth was wide open. "David James Archuleta! I mean, I know you hate Simon but come on! That doesn't mean you have to..." but David cut him off. "Jason, I'm not going to kill him with the knife! We use it to cut the rope so he doesn't suspect anything until we're far away." Jason looked stunned. "What? Kill him? No, I thought you were gonna tie him up with this rope." For Jason, some things never change.

Then a thought came to David. "Oh, we forgot to pick who's going to distract Simon!" At that instant that storage room became filled with "Not me"s and "I'm not doing it"s and "Count me out"s. "Well someone has to do it!" David pleaded. "How about the tallest does it."

"What?!" Michael exclaimed, for he was the tallest of the group, standing at 6'3". "I'm not doing it. Besides, those bathroom windows are way too small. I'll never fit!"

"You're right." David said. Then he thought for a moment. "How about..."

"Don't you dare say the shortest!" Ramiele interrupted, for she was obviously the shortest while standing at only 4'11". "How about the youngest!" she suggested. Everyone seemed to agree on that one, except David. He was the youngest for he was only 19 years old.

"OK, fine!" he cried in defeat. "I'll do it! You guys go and I'll find Simon." So they all left. But Carly wasn't happy with this idea. "Go, Carly!" David ordered while she continued to stay in the storage room with him. "I won't let you do this, David. I just won't," she pleaded.

"Why not?" he asked. "It's not that dangerous."

"Yes it is!" she said. "If you get on his nerves too much he could kill you! And I won't be there to stop him!"

David noticed how worried Carly was and wanted to assure her that everything was going to be OK. "Please, trust me! I'm not as weak or as sensitive as you think! I'm nineteen! I can handle it."

Carly looked at him as if she were about to cry. "You're right. You're not that same goofy little kid that I met eight years ago. I mean you were eleven! And now, you've really grown and this whole experience and everything that's been going on has been tough." Then she did start to cry a little. "And I don't want to sound like a mother, but...I'm really proud." Then David grabbed Carly's hands, pulled her in and shared another long and romantic kiss. To Carly, it was as amazing as the first. Who knew that after eight years of being just friends, they would finally be together? It was the position in life they belonged in. David and Carly made each other happy and feel important in the world. And they both knew that no matter how much things may change, they will always have each other.

During this, Brooke came back into the room. "Whoa!" she said as soon as she walked in. "Didn't need to see that." David and Carly stopped kissing and laughed. "Come on love birds!" Brooke told them. "We can't leave until Simon is distracted!" Brooke grabbed Carly by the wrist and while being dragged out, Carly gave David a girly little wave. Then he left the room and found Simon in his own room.

"Hey, Simon!" David said as soon as he entered.

"What is it now, David?" he asked in an annoyed tone. He seemed to be writing a letter of some sort, but David couldn't figure out what it was. It didn't matter anyways.

"I was just wondering..." David thought about it for a moment. "Who's your favorite singer?"

Simon peered over at him with a confused look on his face. He decided to answer him anyway. What else was there to do except write his letter? "Leona Lewis," he answered.

"So that's why you liked me and Carly's song," David said. "What's your favorite show? Like, TV show?"

"X Factor." Simon answered.

"X Factor?" David didn't seem to know what that was. "What's that?"

"It's an English show." Simon replied. "Are we done with these questions?"

"Not yet." David said. "What's your favorite color?"

"Gray."

"Favorite movie?"

"Titanic."

"Favorite song?"

"You're the Voice."

"Seriously?" David asked. "Me too! Wow, what else do we have in common?"

"Are you quite finished?" Simon asked again.

David looked at his watch. Everyone was probably out by now. "I guess. Sure. Well I gotta take a..."

"OK!" Simon cut him off before he could say anything else. "Just leave."

"Number two!" David quickly said as he left. Simon rolled his eyes and went back to his letter.

David ran as quickly as he could to the restroom. He tried to open up the door to the men's restroom, but the door was locked. Figures, he thought. Oh well. I'll just go through the girl's restroom. I mean nobody's in there. He pulled on the door to the women's restroom. It was unlocked so he went inside. It was a little strange being inside the women's restroom. Where are all the urinals? he thought. And why is there a tampon machine anyways? Why can't girls ever remember to bring their own? Then he looked into one of the stalls. Why are there little trash cans in here? he asked himself. The girl's restroom was indeed a strange place. But it didn't matter. All that mattered was trying to squeeze through that little window. Carly agreed to be outside underneath the window to catch him when he crawled out since the window was high off the ground. David climbed onto one of the stalls closest to the window and reached as far as he could. He managed to pull himself through the window, but his legs were dangling instead of his upper body like he had hoped. Then he heard Carly say something.

"David? Where are you? Come on before Simon finds out! Please!" she said. What?! David thought. Can't she see my legs? Or at least my feet? How hard is it to see a pair of Chuck Taylor high-tops?!

The reason for this happening was because Carly was underneath the window to the men's restroom. Then she looked up at the window for the women's restroom, and lo and behold, there were David's legs in his blue jeans kicking against the wall. "David!" Carly shouted at him. "Why did you go through the girl's room?"

"Because the guy's restroom was locked," he managed to say despite his uncomfortable position. "Just...just..." he tried to pull himself out of the window, but alas could not. Then he sighed, "I'm stuck".

"Great." Carly complained under her breath. She grabbed onto his ankles and pulled as hard as she could. Then she stopped. "Does that hurt?" she asked him.

"No, no." David answered. "It's just the most painful thing ever!" he cried. Carly kept pulling, and after several tries, David managed to squeeze himself out. This resulted in falling, and right on top of his girlfriend. Carly couldn't get up until David did, which it seemed like he didn't want to. "David." she said.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"Get off of me."

"Right," Then he got up and so did she. He was blushing like mad! His face was redder than a tomato, and Carly noticed. She smiled. "What are you all red about?" she asked. David put a hand up to his left cheek. It was flaming hot! "Woah," he said quietly. "Anyway," Carly continued. "Come on! We gotta go now!" With that she grabbed David's hand and ran to meet up with the others in the parking lot.

"What took you so long?" Syesha asked Carly and David once they got to the parking lot.

"David got stuck in the window." Carly answered. That's classic David for you.

"Yeah, David." Jason said to his friend. "You seriously need to lose a few pounds."

The minute Jason finished saying that, David's mouth was wide open. "What?!" he cried. "I do not! If anyone does it's..."

"Dude, David. No I don't, OK?" Mr. Cook interrupted before David could finish.

"Can we just quite arguing and leave, already!" Syesha demanded. It was important that they left immediately before Simon spotted them. So they all ran down the street to the bus stop. Syesha again had trouble running due to her high-heeled shoes. But she managed to make it to the bus stop with everyone else. As soon as they got there, a blue and white bus stopped at the bus stop and plenty of passengers went off. Michael grabbed one of them and whispered into their ear, "Whatever you do, don't go into the American Idol studio." Then he let go of the person and they walked away, very confused. Then, Simon's now former works got onto the bus while Mr. Cook handed the driver the money. They driver tried to pull it out or Mr. Cook's grip, but it was too hard. "Hey! Let go!" the bus driver said. "David!" Kristy Lee shouted at him. Mr. Cook let go of the money and glumly walked away back to his seat next to Kristy.

"I'm really proud of you," she said patting him on the back.

"Thanks," he answered. "But why me? Why do I have to have such an...obsession? Why me?"

"That's just part of who you are." Kristy said. "But if you ever want your obsession to go away, you're going to have to give it up."

"Give up money?" Mr. Cook asked her.

"Yes, David! I mean, your worse then that one guy on SpongeBob!" she said.

"Mr. Krabs!" Little David shouted, who was too seats behind them sitting with Jason, while Carly and Brooke were across from them.

"At least try to give it up. Please?" Kristy Lee begged. She began giving her cousin the puppy dog treatment.

"Oh no, Kristy. Not the eyes!" Mr. Cook tried to look away but just couldn't. He eventually caved in. "Alright," he sighed. "I'll do it."

"WHOOOHOOO!!!!" everyone on the bus shouted simultaneously.

"This is awesome!" Kristy said. "Now, you make more money than most of us so quit going to the dollar store and go to Wall-Mart already! Buy a new car! You ain't looking so good. It could break down any second. Also, you need a major house make-over. I'll help with that but YOU'RE paying. Do we have a deal?"

Mr. Cook looked at her hand. He thought about it for a moment. "Deal," he said, shaking her hand. Then everybody shouted again. "WHOOOHOOO!!!!"

After about an hour of riding in the bus, Brooke asked Carly. "How much longer until San Francisco?"

"Um..." Carly looked at her watch. "About four hours."

"What?!" Brooke exclaimed. "I can't wait four more hours! I'm starving!"

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Carly said. Then she looked at Jason. "Jason's eating the gum off the bottom of the seats."

"It's good!" Jason answered her with a mouth full of gum. Then he turned to his best friend. "Hey David, you want some?"

David just ignored him and looked at Carly. "How about we sing some songs?"

"What?" Carly asked him. "Why?"

"To make the time pass. I mean, everyone looks pretty bored. And Brooke looks like she's about to die of boredom."

"If singing will give me something to do, them I'm up for it," Brooke said to both David and Carly, her two new friends.

"What should we sing?" Jason asked, who had just swallowed the last piece of gum.

David thought about it for a moment. Then he starting singing loudly so everyone could hear, "I probably shouldn't say this
But at times I get so scared
When I think about the previous
Experience we shared
It was awesome, it was dreadful
It's not possible for me not to care."

Once everyone recognized the tune, they began clapping to the beat of the song while David continued to sing.

"And now we've almost cleared the rain
But nothing's ever gonna change 'til Simon hears
My tears."

Now everyone has smiles on their faces as they took a deep breath to shout, "The seven things we hate about him! The seven things we hate about him!
Simon
He's vain
His games
He's insecure
He loves it when we're hurt
He never laughs, he made us cry, I hate that look that's in his eye
Us friends, we're jerks if he act like him, just know it hurts
I wanna be in San Francisco
And those seven things I hate the most that he'll do
Everything is true."

Then Amanda began singing by herself, while surprisingly she was really good. "It's awkward and silent
As we wait for him to say
What we need to hear now
A sincere apology
If he mean it I'll believe it
If he texts it I'll delete it
Let's be clear
Oh, we're not going back
We're starting, some brand new lives here."

Then everyone joined in again. "The seven things we hate about him
He's vain
His games
He's insecure
He loves it when we're hurt
He never laughs, he made us cry, I hate that look that's in your eye
Us friends, we're jerks if he act like him, just know it hurts
I wanna be in San Francisco
And those seven things I hate the most that he'll do
Everything is true."

Then Ramiele, quivering with fear, began to sing by herself. This left Danny, who was sitting next to her, in a loss of words. "And compared to all the great things
That would take too long to write
I probably should mention
The seven that I like...Come on, everybody!"

Everyone did as she said and joined in one last time. "The seven things we like about him
He's nice
He's kind
He's really fine
He makes everything alright
But those ain't true. He's not that cool. Run before the Simon rule
He's last in line, he's made of slime, and it's not alright
I wanna be in San Francisco
And those seven things I like the most that he'll do
None of them are true."

Once the song was over, everyone began clapping. Then Danny looked at Ramiele. "Wow," he said. "That was really amazing!"

"Seriously?" Ramiele asked him.

"Defiantly! It was incredible!" he answered.

"Aww. Thank you!" she said placing her right hand over her heart as a sign of appreciation.

"Hey, Ramiele," Danny began twittering his thumbs. "I've been meaning to ask you this for about a week now, but..." he hesitated. "Do you want to go out with me?"

Ramiele looked stunned. She had known Danny since they were in diapers but were never that good of friends. Now he wanted to date her. "Sure," she answered him. "Why not?"

"Awesome!" Danny said. Then they began talking some more.

"Leader of the pack, I see." Carly said to David. "Clever use of changing the song, but why Miley?"

"Have you seen her?" David said. "She's hot!"

Carly glared at David with anger in her blue eyes. "Not as much as you, though." David quickly said. Then Carly smiled once more.

Chapter 14: One Step Further

"'Cause the world keeps spinning
'Round and 'round
And my heart's keeping time
To the speed of sound
I was lost 'til I heard the drums
Then I found my way
'Cause you cant stop the beat

Ever since we first saw the light
A man and woman liked to shake it
On a Saturday night
And so I'm gonna shake and shimmy it
With all my might today
'Cause you can't stop
The motion of the ocean
Or the rain from above
They can try to stop this paradise
We're dreaming of
But you cannot stop the rhythm
Of two hearts in love to stay
You can't stop the beat!"

Everyone on the bus was singing, even the driver. Everyone had been on the bus for over five hours non-stop. Ever since David got everyone singing 7 Things, they all began singing songs like We Will Rock You to start off, but then the songs got more complicated like I Kissed a Girl, Circus, When I Grow Up, Don't Trust Me and now they had just finished You Can't Stop the Beat from the movie Hairspray.

"Hey, everyone! We're almost there!" the driver shouted so all could hear. Everyone then began cheering and hollering. They were obviously excited to go home.

"I can't believe we're finally going home." David said to Carly.

"Well believe it, 'cause we're almost there. Just a few more minutes," Carly responded.

"We all have really been through a lot this past month, it's incredible," David said. "We should do something."

"What do you mean?" Carly asked.

"A party!" David answered. "Yeah, we could all throw ourselves a party!"

"Aren't we having a party right now?" Carly asked him.

"Carly. We're on a bus." David said giving her a weird look.

"A party does sound like a good idea," Carly said. Then she stood up and shouted "Hey everyone! David's throwing a party for all of us tonight!" Then everyone began cheering again.

"What? Tonight?!" David exclaimed, looking at Carly with the largest of eyes.

"Yeah! I mean, what better night then tonight! Right?" she said.

"I guess," David responded.

While everyone was still talking about the party, the bus suddenly stopped. "All right! We're finally here!" the driver said. The cheering began once more as they all ran off the bus and down to Union Square where the majority of them lived. Carly agreed to let Brooke stay with her until she found a home, while Chekezie stayed with Mr. Cook, and Amanda stayed with Kristy Lee.

About two hours later, it was party time. Kristy's backyard was huge so she let David use it for the night. All the horses were locked away in the barn and all the crap was cleaned up as well. David and Kristy had set up tables with food and drinks along with his massive stereo system and both of their iPods. Once everything was set up and everyone got there, the music started playing and everyone began to have a good time. When the first song began to play, David made a face and looked at Kristy.

"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is," he complained.

"Oh yeah! Save a Horse, Ride a Kristy! Whoo!" she yelled while dancing herself away and socializing with others.

At that time, Michael came over to talk with David. "Hey, David. There's something I'd like to say, and it's not easy. But...I'm sorry." he managed say.

David wasn't quite sure what Michael was talking about. "Sorry for what?"

Michael sighed. "Everything. You know...involving Carly."

"Oh," David said looking at the ground. Then he looked back up at Michael. "It's OK. You didn't know I liked her."

Michael looked at Carly along with David doing the same. "She's a prize, that's for sure. You're lucky to have someone like that. Unlike me who's wife is across the globe. I don't know if she even remembers me!"

David turned his head towards Michael once again. He had a sympathetic look on his face. "Michael, I'm sure you'll find the right one someday."

Michael looked at David. "You really think so?" he asked.

"Positive." David answered.

After a few seconds of silence, Michael finally spoke up. "You know...I've always thought of maybe getting back together with Kristy."

Then David gave him a push. "Talk to her!" he said and Michael walked off.

During this, Ramiele and Danny were sitting over at two of the chairs. Ramiele had her acoustic guitar in her hands as she strummed along with the song playing. Then Danny got up and turned off the music.

"What gives?" Mr. Cook shouted.

"Come on! Play something!" Danny said to Ramiele.

"What?!" she exclaimed. "No, I can't."

"Come on, Rami. Please?" Danny pleaded with puppy-dog eyes. "You're really good!"

Ramiele stood up. "OK." she said quivering a little. Then she stood up in front of everyone and began to play and sing. "We don't have to try
To think the same thoughts
We just have a way
Of knowing everything's gonna be ok

We'll laugh 'til we cry
Read each others minds
Live with a smile
Make it all worthwhile
Make it all worthwhile."

Then everyone began clapping with the beat as Ramiele continued to sing. Now she had full confidence and was no longer shaking.

"Life has moments hard to describe
Feeling great and feeling alive
Never coming down from this
Mountain we're on

Always knowing we're gonna be fine
Feeling great and feeling alive
Never coming down from this
Mountain were on
The feeling so clear
And it's crazy up here
Life is amazing with you on the ride

We don't wanna sleep
Just wanna stay up
There's so much to say
And not enough hours in the day

We'll laugh 'til we cry
Read each others minds
Live with a smile
Make it all worthwhile
Make it all worthwhile

Life has moments hard to describe
Feeling great and feeling alive
Never coming down from this
Mountain we're on

Always knowing we're gonna be fine
Feeling great and feeling alive
Never coming down from this
Mountain were on
The feelings so clear
And it's crazy up here
Life is amazing with you on the ride

No time to be lazy
The journey is perfect
The pace is so crazy
The race is so worth it
I will be with you
We'll do this together
Always together

Life has moments hard to describe
Feeling great and feeling alive
Never coming down from this
Mountain we're on
(Mountain we're on)

Always knowing we're gonna be fine
Feeling great and feeling alive
Never coming down from this
Never comin' down
Never comin' down
Never comin' down (from this)

Always knowing were gonna be fine
Feeling great and feeling alive
Never coming down from this
Mountain were on
(Never coming down from this)

The feeling's so clear and it's crazy up here
Life is amazing with you on the ride
The place so is crazy
The race is so worth it
Life is amazing with you on the ride."

Everyone was now clapping and cheering for her. Ramiele was truly an incredible singer and was even better when she was confident.

"Ramiele! You were fantastic! Even better than on the bus!" David said as he gave her a great, big, bear-hug. All this praising was nice and all, but Ramiele began to feel like she had just won the final jam in Camp Rock or something.

A few hours later the party was over and everyone had left for their homes. Tomorrow was a new day and their lives in San Francisco would continue once more.

"That was some party." Jason said to David as they walked home.

"Thanks. I figured it would be a good way to end this whole experience." David replied.

Jason looked confused. "What experience?"

"The one with Simon and L.A. and American Idol. Remember?" David asked his not-so-genius friend.

"Nope," Jason answered. "But change of subject, what's going on between you and Carly? Are you guys together forever?"

"Well, we're together. I don't know about forever, but we're together." David responded, looking at the ground as he always did when he felt uncomfortable. He tried to change the subject. "But the real question is: what's going on with you and Syesha?"

Jason grinded his teeth. "I don't know. I guess I'm just waiting 'til I know for sure if she likes me. Then it's not that awkward...like it was for you."

David laughed. "Yeah, that was a bit awkward. First I was shaking, then crying, then next thing I know I'm..."

"Making out!" Jason exclaimed cutting off his friend. Then the both of them laughter even harder. They stopped once they were at Jason's house. "Well, I don't care how much more making out you two love birds do, just not in front of me! Well, goodnight." Jason said while walking inside his house.

David continued to walk alongside the road. His house was only two down from Jason's with Danny's in between theirs. As he walked, David thought of all that Michael and Jason said about him and Carly. Were they really going to be together forever? Was it really right? Did Carly want that? Did HE want that? David pulled out a little black box from his pocket at looked at it. He knew that this task would take a lot of courage and bravery, but he knew he could do it. When you really, truly want something, you'll have enough courage to get it. And when you really, truly love someone, you want to be with them FOREVER. Until the end of time or as long as you shall live. For better or worse, for rich or for poor, in sickness and in health.

If everything goes as I plan, David thought as he entered his house with Archy at his feet. Tomorrow just might be the start of the rest of my life.

A moment later, the phone rang. David picked it up to hear his one love's sweet Irish voice. "Hi David," she said. "Not to bother you, but I'm having such a hard time sleeping. Any ideas on how I can fall asleep faster?"

David's smile was insanely huge now. "Have you ever heard a little song called Crush?" he asked into the receiver.

"No." Carly answered. "Is it good?"

David's smile grew another few sizes as he began to sing. During this he thought, tomorrow is DEFINALTY going to be an amazing day.

The End

Peace

3

(COMING SOON: Little Wonder, the sequel to the 1st ever DavidxCarly tale.)