"No, we should play some of our demo songs."
"And have most of the crowd not know any of them?" Tori argued.
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. Phil called and congratulated us on getting a spot performing at Times Square on New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, we didn't find out that we were performing until Phil called us. We were rushing trying to figure out our three song set list.
"Guys, let's just stick to the original plan. We play our two most popular songs and one of our favorites from the first album," Danny said, trying to calm Jack and Tori down.
"What about one popular song, one favorite song, and one from our new album," I suggested. They looked at me like I was crazy.
"What?" Jack and Danny asked at the same time.
"We haven't played those new songs live yet," Tori said.
"We're gonna have to eventually," I said.
"And it would get us some good publicity for the new album," Danny added.
"Now you're on her side?" Tori asked.
"I never said I was on anyone's side. I'm just saying that we could benefit from performing a song from the new album."
"It does make sense Tori," Jack agreed.
"Alright, fine," Tori said, throwing her hands up in the air. I gave the brothers a look and they understood. We knew better than to talk to Tori when she got worked up like that. She gets upset and frustrated when things don't go her way, which is perfectly fine. I mean, we are human. And in the wise words of Hannah Montana, nobody's perfect.
Jack hit the last note on his drums as I stepped away from the mic. I took a breath and smiled at the rest of the band,
"I don't know about you but-"
"Are you feeling 22?"
Jack gave Danny a look and continued his thought, completely ignoring Danny, "-I think we're going to rock New Year's Eve."
"Hell yeah we are!" I cheered. We were practicing for the show in Jack and Danny's basement since the studio wasn't open. Not that I minded, since their dad was possibly the best cook in New York. Tori suddenly gasped from the corner of the room.
"Oh my god!" She said, staring at her phone, "Austin Moon's performing on New Year's' Eve!"
"No way! I can't wait to see him!" said Danny.
"Yeah, and his buddy Dez. I've missed that awesome weirdo," said Jack.
Okay, so you're probably wondering how we know Austin Moon and his team. Well, we had a show in Miami one time and our equipment was lost due to inaccurate labeling at the airport. We stopped at Mr. Dawson's store Sonic Boom to buy new instruments. Anyways, it turned out that Austin was a huge fan of ours and his manager called us and asked if he could perform as a surprise guest at the show. We of course said yes, Tori more enthusiastically than the rest of us. We didn't get to meet him at soundcheck or before the concert, so Austin took it into his own hands to meet us. Him and his team walked onto our bus, not knowing that we weren't in there. When they heard us walk into the bus, they hid up on a bed that was on top of the driver's area. We didn't know they were in the bus and that they had a clear view of the room so we took off our masks. If I remember correctly, it was Dez's fangirl screams that gave their hiding spot away.
Long story short, after making them swear not to tell anyone who we were, we all became very good friends. Anytime we played a show in Miami, we'd always stop by Ally's shop and spend as much time as we could with them. And now Austin was finally living his dream and performing at Time Square on New Year's' Eve! I wonder if him and Ally have gotten together yet…
"Jessie, can we please go to Times Square tonight?" Emma asked as her, Jessie, and Luke walked into the kitchen. "I have to see Austin Moon-"
"-and I have to see Unknown. This could be the night I can finally meet them!" Luke pleaded.
"I already told you, the answer is no," Jessie said as she placed her purse down on the kitchen counter.
"We'll do anything."
"Yeah, anything."
Jessie looked at the pair and raised her eyebrow.
"Will you do your homework that's due at the end of winter break?"
A silence passed over them and I laughed quietly.
"We'll do anything but that," said Luke.
"I'm sorry guys, but the answer is no," Jessie said, walking out of the kitchen. Luke and Emma sighed, slumping into the chairs around the table. My eyes darted between them and my fruit salad. I was debating on making a run for it and stay here and let them rant to me, like they usually do when things don't go their way.
"Well that was a bust," Luke said solemnly. Emma nodded her head in agreement.
"I guess we'll just watch it in the screening room like every year," pouted Emma.
"Hey Clarke, you wanna watch a movie or something?" Luke asked, obviously too depressed to do anything else.
"I, um, I actually have to go," I cautiously answered.
"Where are you going?" Emma asked, her interest suddenly peaked.
"I'm going over to Jack and Danny's for the night," I said, walking over to the sink so I could wash my bowl.
"Oh, do you think we could come over too? I'd rather be there than stuck in the penthouse for another New Year's," said Emma.
"No!" They gave me a weird look. "I-I mean, you can't. Their parents send out invitations for it every year. It's like a black tie event kind of thing. Trust me, I'd much rather be here than watching adults sip champagne and listen to classical music," I said.
Luke and Emma nodded their heads in understanding and wished me a good time. I was surprised they bought it, considering I'm a horrible liar.
To say I was nervous was an understatement. I felt like my stomach was turning inside out. I didn't understand what was going on. I hadn't be this nervous since our very first major concert. Was it because we were performing for the very first time at Times Square? Or the fact that we were performing songs that we had never gotten perfect during rehearsals? I didn't know. All I knew was that I had a hard time speaking when different celebrity hosts interviewed us for their New Year's Eve program. Thankfully, Tori answered all the questions, which mostly concerned our new album that was going to be dropped at the same time the ball dropped.
The minutes flew by and the next thing I knew, we were being ushered to the stage. My eyes wandered around the stage, looking for a familiar blond mop of hair. I wondered where Austin was.
The commercial break ended and we were being introduced. The somewhat small audience that they brought up for us roared as we walked on stage. I grabbed the mic and walked to Jack's drum set, placing one foot on the platform. I raised the mic above my head, signaling that I was ready. Jack raised his drumsticks above his head and clapped them three times before playing an all too familiar rhythm. I began dancing around stage, all my nerves gone in a blink of an eye.
I started to sing my heart, the crowd singing along with me. My eyes wandered to the people in the first row and I reached my arm out to touch their hands.
When I started the chorus, I noticed a certain freckled boy standing first row with another certain Indian boy. Luke's arms were like weed wackers, desperately trying to touch my hand. Just for the fun of it, I grabbed his hand and sent him a wink. I thought he was going to faint as he stumbled back into Ravi's arms. I smiled and focused all of my attention back to the performance. But all throughout, my eyes would wander back to him just for a second. I'm definitely going to hear all about this tomorrow morning.
Austin Moon always makes an entrance. And tonight was no exception. He was dropped off by a helicopter, the Ross's helicopter to be exact. What a way to be remembered. He did amazing, as always. Once his show ended, I waited backstage in the wings to congratulate him. He walked off stage, sweaty, exhausted, and shoe-less.
"Wow, New Yorkers are pretty wild," He said, breathless.
"Well, welcome to New York," I said, giving him a small hug. "Look at you," I said, "Mr. Playing Times Square on New Year's Eve."
"I know," He said, "I can't believe that just happened."
Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms hug me from behind. I let out a small scream as they lifted me off the ground.
"Oh, I've missed you my little rockstar," I laughed and turned around, coming face to face with Dez.
"And you too, Big Red," I said. Trish and Ally followed close behind.
"Little Rockstar!" They shouted when they saw me. 'Little Rockstar' is the nickname that they gave me so they didn't use my real name when I was wearing my mask. I ran into their arms, giving them the biggest hug I could muster up.
"I missed you guys so much!" I said. Ally smiled and looked at Austin.
"What happened to your left shoe?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at his naked foot.
"Oh, that blonde girl who gave a ride in the helicopter stole it," He said nonchalantly.
"Who, Emma?" I asked.
"Yeah, you know her?"
"I live with her," I said, then started laughing quietly, "She would steal your shoe."
"Come on guys," I said, pulling their arm, "we're having an after party at T's place."
"Will there be cookie dough?" Dez asked hopefully.
"Of course! Who do you think we are? Animals?"
I arrived back at the penthouse with Austin, Ally, Trish, and Dez in tow the next morning. When the elevator doors opened, the four of them stepped out cautiously.
"Woah," They gasped. I smiled, giving them a tongue in tooth grin.
"I know right," I said. I took a step away from the group, letting them have a moment to take it all in.
"Hey, look who I found in the lobby," I shouted and Emma rushed through the kitchen door.
"Austin! You came back for me!" She squealed, running into his arms.
"Actually, I came back for my shoe," He said, "It's freezing outside and my foot is numb."
"Ooh, if frostbite causes one of your toes to fall off, I call dibs," Emma said, the last part directed at Ally. She laughed nervously and leaned over to Trish. "I told you New Yorkers were weird," Ally said through her teeth.
"At least she's a fan," said Trish.
"Who might be a cannibal," Ally cheered sarcastically.
"Sorry, she's actually harmless," Jessie apologized.
"Then why is Austin not breathing?" Dez asked. We all turned back to Emma and Austin. She was holding on to him so tight, his face was turning red.
"Emma!" Jessie shouted, clapping her hands together, "Release!" Jessie grabbed on her waist and pulled her off. Austin gasped. Dez looked over at me and I nodded, signaling to go forward with the plan.
"Well, guess we should go back to that hotel room we don't have," He said solemnly. He and the group sighed and looked down at their feet.
"Maybe we can find four park benches close to each other," Trish said.
"And some lonely pigeons to keep us warm," Ally added in.
"Too bad you don't know someone who has a penthouse with plenty of room to spare," I said. They nodded their head in agreement and they started to walk away slowly.
"Wait," said Emma, "If you guys need a place to stay, we have plenty of room here. And we can fly you home in our private jet."
"It's like you're being stalked by a blonde Bill Gates," Trish said excitedly.
"That is so nice of you guys," Austin said. "How can we ever repay you?"
Dez chuckled, "Uh, she already told you. Give her one of your toes."
Austin scrunched his eyebrows and shook his head. Jessie laughed nervously and excused her and Emma for a moment. I looked at the group and smiled.
"Do you think she'll let us stay?" Ally asked.
"Totally. Emma has a way with her word," I said. A few seconds later, Jessie walked over with a wide grin on her face.
"Welcome, besties," She said, linking her arms around Austin and Dez's, "The bedrooms are upstairs, the day spa is downstairs, and our butler will be happy to prepare anything you desire."
"No, I won't," said Bertram from the kitchen door. "Go away. No more kids," Bertram walked back into the kitchen.
"He secretly loves us," I said, smiling at the group.
"Hm, could've fooled me," said Trish, laughing quietly.
After Ally, Austin, Trish, and Dez settled in, Emma suggested we watch a movie. I was in the kitchen, helping Luke get together some snacks.
"So, how was your night last night?" I asked, curious to see what Luke said about my concert.
"Oh, it was great," He said excitedly, "I was front row at the Unknown concert!"
"Really? Wow, that must've been awesome." I said.
"The lead singer touched my hand. My hand!" Luke squealed, holding his left hand up for emphasis. "I am never washing this hand again." I laughed and shook my head, pouring popcorn into 4 separate bowls.
"We even made eye contact. And winked at me! I think I fell in love as I looked into those beautiful, green eyes." Luke sighed lovingly, staring into the distance.
"Come on lover boy." I said, handing him two bowls of popcorn. "We've got mouths to feed." Luke followed me into the screening room, obviously still giddy about his encounter with 'the lead singer'. Emma rented Austin's favorite movie, which happened to be about zombies. I didn't really care for zombie movies, so I pulled out my phone and went on tumblr. A lot of people were freaking out over our new album. Many of them already had blog posts put up, analyzing each of our songs and the album as a whole. I was in the middle of reading one about their theory about the album's theme when I felt someone sit on top of me.
"Hey Luke." I said nonchalantly. "Whatcha up to?"
"Oh, you know, watching a movie."
"Hm, do you think you can do that without crushing me?"
Luke laughed and moved off the side of the chair.
"Sorry, all the other seats are taken."
I sighed dramatically, "Fine, if you must, you can share my throne."
I propped my feet on his lap and the movie started.
About 10 minutes in, chills started running down my back so I wrapped my arms around my body in attempt to keep myself warm.
"You cold?" Luke asked quietly.
"No, actually, it's a bit toasty in here. I'm just shivering for the heck of it."
Luke stood up and walked over to a small basket in the corner of the room. He pulled out a large blanket and walked back to the chair, placing it over us.
"Thanks." I said as I pulled the blanket to my chin.
"Anytime." He said quietly.
The movie continued and I felt weight fall on my left shoulder.
"You don't mind, do you? I'm starting to get tired."
Luke's curly hair tickled my neck. I rested my head on top of his.
"Not at all."
I sighed happily as the warm, humid breeze blew through my air. The hot Miami sun beat down on my back, a refreshing change to the cold winter wonderland in New York City.
Austin and Ally agreed to let Jessie perform one of her songs as a duet at a concert here in Miami. So it was goodbye snow jackets, hello flip-flops.
The mall was just as busy as I remembered it. Groups of teenagers carrying various shopping bags and causing a ruckus in the food court. My kind of people. Jessie, Emma, and Zuri were in Sonic Boom, hanging out and working on the duet with Austin and Ally for the concert. Luke, Ravi, and I decided to go out and have some fun. I was roaming the aisles of books in a local bookshop that Ally recommended. Ravi was in there too, looking in the nonfiction section with Mrs. Kipling. I sat on the rough carpet, a pile of books surrounding me. Whenever I go book shopping, I always pull out the books that I'm thinking of getting and make a pile. Then I read the first chapter or the first few page of a book to narrow down my choices. I currently had 7 books stacked next to me as I sat, reading. I heard a shuffle of feet and a chuckle next to me. I looked up and saw Luke, staring at me with his hands in his pockets.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing," He said, still chuckling, "It's just that you look like a total nerd right now."
"Oh shut up Filbert," I replied, returning to my book.
"Are you going to get all of these?" Luke asked, gesturing to my pile of books.
"I wish," I said, "No, probably just 1 or 2."
Luke sighed and sat on the floor next to me. He pulled out a green bouncy ball and began throwing it against the wall.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Will you stop?"
"Does it annoy you?" Luke asked, a small smile tugging on the corner of his lips.
"Yes, actually," I said, my voice dull and annoyed.
"In that case…" Thump. Thump.
"If you don't stop, I will not hesitate to cut off your hand."
Luke stopped and looked at me dead in the eye. He raised an eyebrow, challenging my threat. I raised both of mine, as if to ask him if he really wanted to go there.
Thump.
Ravi had to buy the books for me because Luke and I weren't allowed to step into the shop ever again.
"Hey Clarke, come take a selfie with me!" Luke said, already posing in the middle of the food court.
"I think I'll pass," I said, reading my book at one of the tables.
"Why? Afraid you won't look as good as I do?" Luke asked, popping his shirt collar.
"Please, these pages of ink look better than you," I teased, marking my page and closing the book. "By the way, you have a little bit of sunscreen right there," I said, pointing in between my eyebrows. Luke scoffed, probably thinking I was lying. He looked into his camera and let out a small yelp. That 'little bit' of sunscreen connected his eyebrows like a solid white London Bridge.
"Oh, that's why those girls were laughing at me," He said.
"Yeah, that's the only reason why."
Ravi walked over with Mrs. Kipling and a new tube of sunscreen.
"You do not want to get burned, Mrs. Kipling," said Ravi as he lathered the lizard in sunscreen. "The only red on your snot should be from the blood of your victims."
A group of girls who sat nearby screamed and ran away.
"You are one big can of girl repellent," Luke said. Ravi shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head in agreement.
"So," Dez announced as he walked over to us, "little dudes. And dudette," Dez added as he looked over at me, "What cool Miami sights can I show you first?" He asked. "The world's largest bottle of sunscreen, a manatee that looks like Ernest Hemingway-"
"No way!" I exclaimed suddenly, jumping out of my seat.
"Yeah way! Oh!" Dez said, continuing on his list of places we could go, "the Vanilla Ice museum." He started beatboxing and stepping side to side, both of which he did horribly.
"This guy's nuttier than a Port-a-Potty on a peanut farm," Luke commented as we stood off to the side to watch Dez's freestyle.
"True dat," Ravi agreed, looking at Dez like he was a horrific sight. Ravi stepped forward and placed his hands in front of Dez, trying to calm him down. "Thank you, Mr. Dez," He said, "but we have other plans."
Him and Luke began to walk away, while I stayed behind. I decided that while they were exploring, I could catch up with my third favorite ginger (the first and second being Fred and George Weasley). But suddenly, they stopped and turned around.
"Mrs. Kipling?" Ravi questioned, looking at the lizard in a surprised manner. I followed his gaze and saw Mrs. Kipling's tail coiled around Dez's bright yellow shoe.
"Hmm," Dez hummed knowingly. He bent down on one knee and began stroking Mrs. K's scales. "Looks like someone can't get enough of the Dez-meister."
"Or maybe she thinks you're a rat," I said quietly to myself. Dez turned his head and glared at me for a second before turning back to the boys.
"Maybe we could all go to the beach?" Dez suggested with a toothy grin.
"Great idea," Ravi said, false enthusiasm dripping in his words, "Perhaps I could bury you in the sand up to your neck and the crab will start nibbling at your eyeballs!" Luke jumped forward and held Ravi back by his shoulders.
"Vanilla Ice Museum it is," Luke chuckled, trying to cover up Ravi's mini blow up.
Ravi stared at his tablet screen sadly. He was looking at the pictures Luke had taken on our outing again. Like the one he took of Dez and Mrs. Kipling surfing while Ravi flopped around like a fish. He closed the tablet and pushed it away.
"I cannot bear to look at those pictures you took any longer," Ravi said solemnly, "They prove Mrs. Kipling favors another."
"Dude, there's no way she'd choose Dez over you," Luke explained.,"You hatched her from an egg."
"You took care of her babies," I added in.
"Trust us, she loves you," Luke finished, patting Ravi on the shoulder.
"For realsies?" He asked.
"For realsies," Luke and I said simultaneously. Ravi gave us a reassuring smile.
"I heard everything," Dez said, appearing behind the table suddenly, "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to steal your best friend." He crouched down to Ravi's level, "Animals just love me. Isn't that right Señor Whiskers?" Dez pulled a brown rat out of his pocket and I slightly jumped back in horror.
"Wait, how long have you had that rat?" Luke asked.
"It's not a rat, it's a gerbil," Dez said, "And I got him in New York. You guys have got tons of these just roaming in the streets."
Oh Dez, you idiotic ginger giraffe.
"Oh, thank goodness," Ravi sighed with relief, "Mrs. Kipling was only after her favorite snack. She does not give one wet toot about you."
"Rude!" Dez gasped, "I don't think our whole friendship is based off Señor Whiskers-," Dez screamed as Mrs. Kipling pounced on him, trying to get a taste of the rat.
"Remember, no flash photography, and-," Trish was cut off by Emma taking a hold of the microphone.
"-And make sure to stay at leaf ten feet away from Austin at all times," Emma said officially. Her eyes spotted a pretty girl near the stage.
"Make that twenty feet."
Trish gently pushed her off stage, but Emma continued to glare holes into the girl's head.
"Your sister's kind of weird about Austin."
"I'll say," Luke scoffed, "She's been collecting his hair so she can clone him."
"He should really get more security," Ravi commented, "And a hairnet."
Trish appeared back onstage and introduced Austin Moon to the crowd. He jumped on his a white jacket, blue shirt, and grey jeans, looking as lively as ever.
"I wanna introduce a new friend of mine," He said.
"Hey, Jessie!" He called out, and Jessie walked out of a door, making her first concert appearance in Miami. Her face beamed with happiness and I was so proud of her. I probably cheered the loudest in the crowd.
"She's gonna be singing this new duet with me, and she wrote the lyrics," We cheered again, but Jessie's smile fell.
"Actually, I didn't write them," She confessed to Austin. She turned to us and smiled at Zuri. "An amazing little girl named Zuri Ross did."
Jessie pulled Zuri onstage and the crowd cheered again, this time for the true songwriter.
"I'm sorry," Jessie apologized to Austin, "I know I should've told you earlier, I just- I just wanted this so much."
"Wow. It takes a really big person to admit-,"Austin begin to say but Zuri interrupted him.
"Enough with the jibber-jabber," She yelled, "Sing my song!"
Austin laughed and shrugged his shoulder.
"Hit it!"
After the roller coaster of events that was Miami, we arrived back in New York in one piece, surprisingly. Unfortunately, coming home also meant that the winter break was almost over, which Jessie did not fail to remind me on the plane ride home. The elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal the penthouse in the same state as we left it. Still decked out top to bottom in Christmas gear. Bertram was sitting on the floor in a conductor's outfit, playing with a toy train set.
"Bertram?" Luke chuckled as we gathered around Bertram. "Whatcha doin'?"
"Playing with my christmas present," Bertram responded nonchalantly. He pulled a doll dressed in a red coat out from behind his back. He placed the doll lying down on the track next to 5 other dolls that looked weirdly like us.
"How come you have five dolls that look just like us?" Zuri asked as if she read my thought.
"Aw," Emma cooed, "Are we passengers on your choo-choo?"
"Uh, passengers are not usually tied to the tracks," Ravi pointed out. Suddenly, Bertram ran over 'us' with his train, causing everyone to gasp in horror. Bertram sat there, laughing maniacally.
"Next year, we're getting him a cookbook," said Jessie
"And a girlfriend," Zuri added in. Slowly, we all stepped back as Bertram laughed at the evil he had done. He certainly had a happy new year so far.