After debating it over and over in my head, I decided to call Kayla. The only thing worse than knowing she was mad at me, was not knowing anything at all.

"Hello," she answered sounding as if she had just woken up.

"Kayla, did I wake you up?" I said.

"Wonder, you fucking bitch. I was sleeping."

"I'm sorry. Where are you?"

"In New York, where I live, duh."

"Well, it's been months since you've even called me, so…"

"Holy shit, why didn't you just fly up here and see me? I've been working, babe. No time for phone calls." She said.

"Working on what?" I asked.

"We can't have a convo like this over the phone. Where the fuck are you? I'm buying a plane ticket."

"I'll be in Germany tomorrow." I told her.

"Germany, why?"

"European tour, remember?"

"Okay, Germany here I come." She said before hanging up the phone. Does anybody say goodbye anymore?

Two days later, at about 3:00 AM Germany time, Kayla was sitting in my hotel room. "So tell me, what is the 'big project' you've been working on?" I asked.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But you can't tell Dean, and that means you can't tell Freddy either." She said giving me a serious look.

"Dean? I don't even talk to him, like ever." I said. "Why can't he know?"

"You're not going to say anything to Freddy right?"

"Um, I don't know, Kayla. We don't really keep secrets from each other. It doesn't matter, it's not like he would say anything to Dean either; they hardly talk anymore."

She sighed. "Whatever, tell him whatever you want. So remember how I told you Dean wanted me to do some movie with him?"

I vaguely remember her mentioning something like that. "You said that like two and a half years ago…"

"Right, so the producers called me up and offered me the job. The only thing is they don't want Dean."

"What? Why not? He's a really good actor." I said.

"Beats me, at first I felt bad but like, hello! This is the chance of a lifetime. The director of the movie is like totally famous. I just don't want Dean to get his feelings hurt, you know? I still kind of like him even though we've been broken up for a while."

I was so confused. Was Kayla lying to my face, or was she trying to convince herself that she likes guys? Since I wasn't all that good at playing it cool, I was sure that she knew that I knew she was a lesbian. But then why would she dangle it in front of me?

"You like… Dean?" I asked.

"I know he's a total douche bag and stuff, but I can be a real bitch too. He's just so hot. It's not like I want to marry the guy or anything."

I inhaled sharply. "So… you don't like girls?"

Her jaw dropped and she stared at me for a total of five long seconds. "What, you didn't know already?" she said.

"I'm confused. You do or you don't?"

She laughed at me. She actually laughed. "Wonder, everyone knows I'm bi. At least everyone who is anyone knows, anyway. It's no secret."

"I knew, I mean I've heard around… but I just couldn't ask you."

"Why? Everyone else did?"

"Um, I don't know. I guess I was scared you would be mad at me." I said honestly.

"Wonder, please. I like Dean, and I like sexy guys. Remember when we used to rate the guys in the magazines on B-Kidz?" she asked.

"Yeah I guess."

"I'm attracted to guys, but I really like girls too. I can't label it. At first I thought maybe it was just a sex thing but now I've learned to just let it be. Why bother to categorize myself, you know?" she asked. I did know. I wasn't a lesbian, but I definitely knew what it felt like to be labeled and packaged.

"Why haven't you told everyone? Like your fans and stuff, I mean." I wondered.

"I don't know. The same reason why you couldn't ask me- I'm just scared I guess. I will one day, I'm just not ready." She replied. "I have other things on my mind right now."

"When do you start filming your movie?" I asked.

Her eyes lit up. "This month, I'm so excited! But I'm glad I got to come see you before filming starts."

"When do you have to leave?"

"Soon, but there's something I need to do first." She told me.

"In Germany?" I asked.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I need to apologize to Tig. I was such a bitch to him when I fired him."

"Oh," I said. That was unexpected.

"He has been my manager since I left B-Kidz. I needed to move on in my career, and I get he was busy with you. I'm not pissed, really. I just… I don't know. Tig is more than just a manager. He's practically my family." She admitted.

"I understand." Tig was a great guy. He was one of the few people in this business that actually cared about your well-being.

"Like, who am I supposed to go to for advice, my parents? I think not. They are way too busy being mad-scientist college professors and they are mega-embarrassed by my 'trashy' career. I don't want Tig to be my manager anymore, we fight way too much. But he is more than a dad to me than my real parents." She explained. I couldn't have felt more understanding. I loved my parents a lot- both of them; but Tig was like a second dad and mom at the same time when my real family wasn't around.

"Wow," said a man's voice behind me. "And the truth comes pouring out."

"Tig!" I exclaimed. He was standing right there in my room. "How did you get in?"

"You forgot to lock the door and I checked to see who you were talking too. I thought some obsessed fan had broken in or something." He replied. "It wouldn't be the first time that's happened."

Damn, I forgot we had conjoining suites. Kayla looked a little surprised and a lot embarrassed. "Tig, I'm sorry." She said.

He stood there seriously for a moment, before a smile spread across his face. "I can't stay mad at you!" he said.

Her relieved expression lasted for about a second and a half before it was replaced with a mischievous grin. "I knew you couldn't." she said as she ran her fingers through her long straight black hair.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Freddy asked me. "Theses decisions tend to be permanent." We were at a random tattoo shop in Germany. I had been thinking of getting a tattoo for a while, and I asked Kayla and Freddy to come with me.

Kayla stared at him. "Are you trying to scare her? What's your problem, dude. You're being a total buzz-kill."

He laughed. "No, I'm not trying to scare anyone. I love tattoos." He pointed to the flame on his wrist. The flame was the 'N Sync logo. Underneath it, he had a red rope which stood for fame and a celebrity lifestyle. All the members of 'N Sync had the tattoo except JC. The second 'N Sync tattoo the group got depicts a marionette - also wreathed in flame, and wrapped up in the red ropes, as a motif. 'N Syncs No Strings Attached album also has a puppet theme.

Kayla laughed. "Look at the TV!" she said as she pointed to the flat screen on the wall. On the screen was my latest music video for my third single of my album, Stronger. I was dressed in all black and was dancing on a moving chair. The camera zoomed in on my tight abs to reveal my new belly-button piercing I had just gotten two days before the video shoot.

Hush, just stop

There's nothing you can do or say, baby

I've had enough

I'm not your property as from today, baby

You might, think that I won't make it

But you're wrong

'Cause now I'm stronger, than yesterday

Now it's nothing but my way

My loneliness ain't killing me no more

I'm stronger!

The video was probably the most edgy thing in my career yet. "The Germans love you!" Freddy laughed.

"So, international pop princess, what are you getting today?" Kayla asked.

"Well I was thinking Mickey Mouse ears on my left hip, but low enough so you can't really see it. Or maybe a butterfly on my lower back…" I really should have thought this through before.

"Why not do both?" Freddy offered.

"Now that's the spirit!" Kayla squealed.

"What the hell?" I said. "Let's do it." Oh, my mom is going to be so pleased about this.

"What the fuck is that?" Steve practically screamed when I showed him my new tattoo. We were back in Los Angeles because the tour was finally over.

"It's just a butterfly, no big deal." I hadn't even showed him Mickey yet.

"Oh yes it is! What kind of teen virgin has a tattoo like that?" he yelled.

"Steve calm down," Tig said. "I think its fine. It's black and it's hardly noticeable."

"She didn't even come to us before doing this!" Steve said to Tig.

I was frustrated. "Do I have to? I'm almost nineteen. I'm an adult. I can do whatever I want." I cringed on how much I sounded like Kayla. But seriously, I hadn't done anything wrong. Kayla was irresponsible sometimes, but this was just ridiculous.

"Wonder, don't worry about it." Tig said, trying to calm the situation.

"I can't deal with this right now." Steve ranted as he lit a joint. "You have somewhere to be, don't you? Go, I'll be here running your whole life while you're gone."

I rolled my eyes. It's funny how Kayla thought Tig was crazy and controlling because next to Steve, he looked like the most easy-going person ever.

"Don't let him bother you, babe." Freddy told me when we got to the recording studio. "Forget about it, just relax."

I took a deep breath. Freddy was right, I needed to relax. "I have to admit, I've been a little… tense. I'll try to not be so much of a nightmare."

Freddy rolled his eyes. "No way, you make it more like a dream."

I smiled all giddy-like. "Make sure that you make me sound good on record." I told him. On tour Freddy, my choreographer Wade Robson, and I had written a song called What It's like to Be Me and with Freddy's genius musical mind, he told me he would even produce the track for my upcoming album. I was kind of nervous to be working like this with Freddy. It's not like I couldn't take constructive criticism, but I wasn't used to having such a personal relationship with a producer.

The song was pretty much about standing your ground and not letting anyone tell you that you are something you're not. I could really relate because standing my ground was something I really had in mind to do (especially with Steve) I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

"As if you could sound bad," he laughed, "So, when do I get to see your new place?" he asked.

Because I'm no longer on tour, I decided to buy myself a house for my nineteenth birthday. "You can come whenever! I'm still living at Trina's house until I get it renovated and stuff but you can still come." I chewed on my pinky nail.

"Are you nervous?" He asked me.

I sighed. "You know, I'm still afraid of the dark. I don't have a license. I've never lived on my own before." In other words- yes, I'm extremely nervous.

"Wonder, you've been responsible for yourself since you were sixteen." He tried to comfort me. "You will still be working; you'll still be on the road. Nothing has changed." He said. "You will still have me. I live only ten minutes away."

"Ten minutes to you. About an hour for somebody like me, who has to walk." I joked. I really needed to get my license.

"When we get married, where do you wanna buy a house? I know you like Malibu… or maybe we could go back to New York?" he pondered.

I smiled. "I love Japan. I've been there on my first tour, but I didn't get to see much." I remembered. "It would be awesome to go back and live there for a while."

"Tokyo is amazing." Freddy agreed. "So many choices, so little time."

I was having a lot of fun imagining what it would be like to marry Freddy and live in all these amazing places. "We would need a huge house. Our kids will need a lot of room to run around…"

"Well, how many are we going to have?" he asked.

"I don't know…" it wasn't something I had really thought about. I think of myself as still too young for children, but something about being with Freddy made me want to speed up time. "Maybe two or three, I guess. I really want a son."

"One of them has to be Freddy Jr."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever!" I laughed. "I wonder if they will be musical…"

"Of course." He said. "This reminds me… I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" I asked.

"After promoting Celebrity, the guys and I have decided to… take a break." He told me. Celebrity was the album just recently released by 'N Sync.

"The guys, as in 'N Sync? Why?"

"It just seems right. We all have different things on our minds. It may not be permanent though," he explained. "I was thinking of making a solo album, but I wanted to know how you felt about it."

Freddy was too amazing. He wanted to know how I felt about him making an album! "You sing, dance, and produce. Freddy, you have more than what it takes."

He smiled, "What are in the plans for you, though? I mean I know your career is kinda in the forward of your mind. You wouldn't mind if I did this? I don't think it would affect our relationship."

"No! Do it. This is an amazing opportunity for you." I told him sincerely. "Even Trina said that Destiny's Child is taking a break. I wouldn't be surprised if she decided to put out a solo album too." I said.

"Yeah, I'm going to do it." Freddy decided. Well say hello to solo-careers, and goodbye to the era of 'little boy and girl groups'.

The door to the studio opened and in came my tour choreographer Wade Robson. He was about 5'10 with curly blonde hair, a nice tan, and dance moves that make you want to dance without music. "Are we ready to get started in here?" he asked.

"Wade, my man!" Freddy fist bumped with his good friend. On tour, Wade had gotten close with the guys of 'N Sync. It was an unexpected bond, but I'm glad it happened. An amazing song had came out of our friendships.

"The gorgeous Wonder, nice to see you!" Wade said as he hugged me.

"Alright, I've got some sick beats for this laid down on the track already." Freddy informed us. "Listen to this." He played the track containing pop elements and Freddy's background vocals.

Walk a mile in my shoes
Do me right or I'm through
Can't you see that
If you wanna stay around (I'm telling you)
You've got to figure me out
Take your time or you lose
This is my game, my rules
And I can see, obviously,
Baby You don't know
What It's like to be me

"So what do you think?" he asked once the song was over.

"I can't wait to start recording that." I told him. "You're so good at this!" I imagined what it would be like to work with Freddy even more in the future. We share almost everything together, why not music? We could write more songs, we could even record an album. I smiled at the thought as I put my arm around his waist.

"Hell yeah!" Wade exclaimed. "Wonder, we need to record this pronto. As soon as it's done I'm going to choreograph a dance for this. The beats are perfect." He said with excitement. I loved Wade's passion for dance. It was like no other.

"Oh yeah," I said. "When I go on tour, we are definitely adding this to the set list." Not to get ahead of myself.

"Well, here we are." I announced as Freddy drove up to my parent's lanky-dank home in Devonport. It was always a shitty house, but even compared to the luxury suites I stayed at in hotels this house seemed small.

"It's not that bad. You made it sound so much worse." He replied. Of course, he didn't realize how much renovation I had paid for since making it big time.

Charles pulled up behind us (yes, my little brother can drive before me) in his navy-blue pick-up truck. "Waddup Porter?" Charles asked as he lit a cigarette.

"Nice to see you buddy." Freddy patted him on the back.

"Zoe's inside. She's been really excited to see you." Charles told me. Zoe had just recently come home from L.A after shooting season two of the Nickelodeon show All That. In perfect timing too, as school was going to start up again soon. While shooting, I even came to guest star in one episode.

Freddy followed me inside my house. "Hey big sis'" Zoe hugged me and Freddy.

"You look just like Wonder, its crazy." Freddy told her. I cocked my head. She had long beach-blond hair, blue eyes, and her 13-year-old boobs were already big and perky. Oh yes, she definitely got the family traits. It was weird how even though we were Hispanic on my dad's side, we hardly showed it. Despite his background, my dad was as pale as could be. The only traces of Latina in my appearance were my full lips and large butt. My mom had blue eyes and brown hair, but it was much lighter when she was younger, which would explain our blonde hair.

"So I've been told by everyone I've ever met." She chuckled. "That's alright though; people only ever have nice things to say about Wonder." Occasionally, I felt kind of bad about the situation I left Zoe in. I loved her to death, but I couldn't imagine what it would be like to live her life in the "shadows" of my fame. Because I know what it's like to have a dream, I couldn't do anything but encourage Zoe to go after her acting career. But at the same time, I was scared for her.

"So, what's it like going to school and being a huge child-network star at the same time?" Freddy wondered. As far as the child-network thing, Freddy and I both had that down on B-Kidz, but we were homeschooled on set, which meant no exposure to "real" kids.

"Oh, well I still have my same friends," she smiled. "I don't really go to all the award shows and stuff that you guys go to, so you know, I'm really not that different from all the other kids." I smiled. Good, Zoe should be able to have the best of both worlds.

"Hey Freddy," my dad called when he walked into the room. "Would you mind helping me lift a couple of boxes?" The whole reason Freddy and I had made the trip to my old home was to bring my belongings back to L.A. Now that I had my own house there, it was time to start the moving process.

"No problem, Mr. Blake." Freddy replied.

"I loved your performance at the MTV Video Music Awards last week." Zoe complimented as she handed me a stack of newspapers and magazines with my face on the cover. "It was so awesomely over the top! Everyone's talking about it."

"So I've heard." I replied as I flipped through the pictures. On the cover of one of the magazines it read "Oop! This pop diva is not that innocent!" (Referring to the lyrics in my song) and another wrote "Wonder Blake sets a mile stone when her sexy innocence becomes… well not that innocent."

I laughed, but I was a little embarrassed. The performance started off with me singing a cover of the Rolling Stones' song I Can't Get No Satisfaction in a rotating tower. I wore a black suit with my hair up inside a hat. Once I came down stairs to finish the song, I stripped off the suit to reveal skin-colored pants and bra covered in a thousand real Swarovski diamonds and I threw off my hat to let my blonde hair flow loose. I then continued to perform an intense dance routine while singing my song …Oops! I Did it Again inside a rotating orb with fire surrounding the stage.

I knew the performance was over-the-top-sexy and I knew the outfit would be considered revealing since it looked see-through. Still, I couldn't help but feel surprised and embarrassed when the media refers to me as sexy. I'm an eighteen year old (almost nineteen) who likes to have fun and dance. I pick out revealing clothes and I do sexy things (maybe even have sex from time to time), but I was not trying to be a sex symbol. I'm just trying to be me.

"Where did Charles run off to?" I asked Zoe.

"Henry and Katie's I think. He actually went to go help them move a couple things also."

"Oh," I said. I hadn't forgotten about Henry and Katie, in fact, I was looking forward to seeing them. "I'm going to go over there."

"Wonder!" Henry engulfed me in his muscular arms once I walked over to his house. "I've missed you."

"Same here," I told him. "Come to dinner tonight! I want you to meet Freddy. My mom is cooking."

He smiled. "Sure, I'll stop by." He said as he continued to assist Charles with lifting boxes. Damn, he had gotten manly.

"Wonder, come inside." Katie pulled me. "They are boring anyways."

I walked in to Katie's room only to find that most of it was boxed up also. "Are you moving or something?" I asked her.

She giggled. "Yeah, Henry and I are. College starts this fall." She answered.

Oh, college. I was familiar with it, but it sounded like something people did in other countries or traditions. In my world, college was barely existent (except for the rare few like Dean Marconi). "Oh, right. I totally forgot about that." Katie had told me when she got accepted, although I don't remember where she was going. Somewhere in Massachusetts I guess. What I did remember is that Henry got in to Stanford, now that was a big deal. "What about your boyfriend…" shit, what was his name? "Did you break up?" I asked her.

"Oh yeah, just last week!" she laughed, although I didn't see what was so funny about that. "Can you believe it? The asshole was cheating on me. Whatever, I was going to break up with him anyways."

"That's horrible…"

"Anyways, what about you?" she asked. "You and Freddy seem to be pretty serious." I was surprised on how casually she said that. Katie had always been the type to drool over someone semi-famous. Now here she was, asking me about Freddy in a strictly girl-talk manner.

"Yeah we are." I said honestly.

She flipped back her curly blonde hair and looked at me intensely. "How serious? Like how you and that guy Jorge were or more?"

"More, definitely." Jorge was my first love and I would never forget him, but Freddy was… different. We had already been dating about two years and we just connected so well.

"Oh yeah?" she said. "You have that 'I'm so in love' look in your eyes."

"I am." I admitted, "Katie, I think he's… the one."

Her jaw dropped. "No way!" she said excitedly. "Are you for real?"

"We've talked about stuff. Like marriage and kids." I told her. "We want to get married, but like, obviously not right now. I have my career and he has his. But, you know, it's perfect because we are both doing the same thing. Like, I understand his career, I understand him." I rambled. It was true; I wanted Freddy to be the person in my life.

"Oh my god, oh my god!" she almost screamed. "Wonder, what the fuck? You are so in love, it's not fair. Why can't I have that?"

"I guess I'm just a lucky one…"

"You guys are too perfect for each other. I mean, you both came in on the Top Ten List on Forbes Best Dressed!" She squealed. I rolled my eyes. Some habits just die hard.

"You're doing really well. You should get your license in no time." My dad told me as we practiced driving in his old beat-up car. I was just surprised the thing actually ran.

I turned over to look at him. "Thanks, you know it weird that I've never tried to learn before-"Bam! I first heard a loud noise, and then I felt the vibration. Shit, I hit our mailbox.

"Sorry!" I squealed.

"Wonder, please be more cautious when you drive on the main roads." He lectured as he got out of the car to check the damage. I followed. There was a huge dent right in between his headlights. He sighed. "That car's time was about up anyways…"

"I'll buy you a new one!"

He looked at me strangely. "I don't want my daughter to buy me things."

"Dad!" I rolled my eyes. "It's not like I can't afford it. Let me do this, please." My dad has been at home since Lucky died. He was working on a novel that he said "would make us millionaires". I'm not sure how the book was going for him, I haven't read a page of it (and apparently neither has anybody else). If my dad really wanted too, I could get his book published quite easily. My mom and I have already published one book called Heart-to-Heart with Wonder Blake and we are almost done with another called A Mother's Gift. It was a fictional story about the relationship between a teenage girl and her mother and how they don't have enough money to send her to a school of the arts, even though she is musically talented. Honestly, the plot of the story was my completely my mom's idea; she was good with stuff like that, I on the other hand, was much better at writing song lyrics. Somehow, I think everyone in our family knew that my dad was never going to finish his book. We all fell apart after Lucky died; my mom quit her law firm. Only now was she finally moving on with her life. My dad hasn't yet.

My dad smiled at me in a melancholy way. "You really are grown-up. My little girl is finally going to drive!"

"Imagine how grown up you would have thought I was at sixteen if I started driving then!" I joked.

"Really, though. That's when it all started." My dad commented. "You were sixteen, making a career for yourself. You grew up very fast. You never even got to go to prom like the rest of the high school kids…" Oh contraire, daddy. But I didn't even bother to fill him in on my prom horrors. "I don't know if I've ever told you this, but I am very proud of you. We all are. You stood up when the rest of us just laid around like couch potatoes."

"You weren't couch potatoes…"

"Oh yes, we were. And I know that I haven't always been the best father, and I am terribly sorry for that." He said, the outside of his eyes getting puffy. "And I realize now that you're buying your own home that soon I'm going to be walking you down the aisle, maybe I'll even be a grandfather one day..."

I inhaled. Whoa, this all seemed so fast. I wanted it though, I wasn't sure if I was ready, but I wanted to walk down the aisle and have children- even if they do turn out to be megastars as well. "Dad, give me time please." I joked.

"What do you see in your future, Wonder. Do you see Freddy?" he asked me seriously. "The two of you… have been getting kind of serious."

I stared at him. My dad never really asked me about the guys I dated. He liked Jorge, but he wasn't really the type to push for details.

"Yeah, I do." I told him as I smiled. "He's a really great guy."

He smiled too. "He always has been. Even when you were kids; I liked him way better than that Dean boy…" he said. I laughed. Oh, the irony.

"So you approve?" I asked.

He shook his head and laughed. "Yes. Yes, I approve."

"Uh-oh, no way." My mother said.

"What's wrong with it?" I asked.

"It's a porno!" she yelled. I had just shown my mom the music video for my last single of the record called Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know. It was a pop-ballad about a girl longing for her boyfriend to tell her he loves her. It was my favorite song on the album, and I wrote it with Shania Twain.

"I'm not sure if I like it, either." Freddy commented. I looked at him. Why wouldn't he like it? Sure, it was a little bit sexual, but was that a problem? It took place on a beach where my love interest and I run around in the water and share a few kisses by the bonfire. It was extremely romantic- and lustful- but it was nothing to over the top. Freddy told me he thought my "controversial" performance at the VMA'S was creative. Why wouldn't he like this?

"I'm wearing a bikini. So what? It's not like a big deal." I complained.

"I just don't like all the touching and kissing." She stated.

"Me either," Freddy chirped in. "Not with some random guy." Oh, so that's what this is about.

My mom looked back and forth to both of us. "I need to go help Charlie with a few things." She made up. "Um, we will be talking about this later." She told me.

I waited until she left before talking to Freddy. "Are you upset?" I asked him.

He sighed. "No, I'm not upset. I'm just a jealous boyfriend."

My heart melted. Sure, jealousy wasn't fun- but it sure was cute. "You have nothing to be jealous about. You are the only one I look at."

"I know, I know." he smiled. "I get it, I do music videos too. I'll try not to be that way."

"Thank you so much for being so understanding." I told him. "You're great."

"You better go talk to your mom. She's the one you have to be worried about." He pointed out the door.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, be right back." I planned on finding my mom, but stopped when I saw my brother going into his room. "Mind if I come in?" I asked him.

"I don't care." He replied as he took a swig of Monster energy drink.

"So, um, school's starting up soon. Are you excited?" I asked in attempt to socialize.

"Not particularly. So you have an album you're working on. Are you excited?" he asked before wiping his brown skater-style hair out of his eyes.

"Yeah, it's still teen-pop but it's more personal I think. I'm going for a little bit more mature sound. I was more involved. It's really cool; I think you'll like it."

"Yeah, I'm glad this fame thing is working out for you." he said. I was surprised. Charles was always supportive, but never overly-excited about my career.

"Me too." I told him. "I feel… accomplished." I mumbled with lack of a better word. Honestly, fame had hardly hit me. The concept was hard to wrap my head around. I still thought of myself as plain old Wonder, even after all this time.

"I can't believe Zoe got into all this stuff to. You know, now that she's acting and all. Nickelodeon asked her to audition to get her own show, did you know that?" Charles mentioned.

"No, she didn't tell me. That's great!" I exclaimed. "Lucky and I always were made for the spotlight. I guess it's not a surprise Zoe wants it too."

Charles smiled. "You all are alike, I guess."

"What happened to you?" I asked him. "Why aren't you trying to be famous?" I asked only half-kidding.

"Fame? Me? No way." He smiled. "No fucking way."

"Why not?" I asked. It was kind of weird. Lucky was on B-Kidz back in the day, and the whole world knew Zoe as my adorable little sister on Nickelodeon. Everyone expects Zoe to follow in my foot-steps. But Charles, people hardly ever hear about him. He didn't want to be heard. "Do you know what you want to be after you graduate and stuff?"

"I kind of want to be behind the lens, you know? Like, a director. I shot a music video for a local girl band just last week. It was fucking awesome." He told me.

Oh god, where have I been. How could I have not known that my brother was into directing? He was made for the business, after all! He just didn't want to be in the spotlight. "That is so cool!" I exclaimed. "You know Kayla co-directed one of my music video. Maybe you could work with her!" I offered.

He smirked. "Kayla?" he laughed. "No thanks."

"Why not?" I pouted.

"Well, there are several reasons." He said. "But mainly, she's just way too main stream. I told you, I don't want to be famous."

I crinkled my brow. "Hmm, okay." I just didn't make sense to me. Fame was extremely hard, but it was worth it. Wasn't it?

Later that day, I confronted my mom about my music video. She sighed, "What would people say about me when they see it, Wonder? They will think I am a horrible mother."

"Mom, what were you doing when you were eighteen?" I asked her.

She sighed again. "I was married to your father."

"Oh, so you mean that your mom wasn't there telling you what to do and wear all the time?" I asked innocently.

She laughed ironically. "Okay, okay I get it. You can do what you want. I would just feel a little more comfortable if you had it edited a little bit."

"Alright mom, but please understand that I can't ask you for permission every time I change my clothes. I love you mom, but I can take care of myself." I explained as gently as I could. I was way too overprotected.

"I don't mean to suffocate you, honey. I really don't. And just between me and you, I think you looked like a sexy mama in that video." She joked.

I laughed. My mom just called me a sexy mama. "Didn't I? The director did a great job with the lighting!"

"Oh, my little girl!" she patted my hair. "Okay, go on and pack your things. You have a mansion calling your name back in L.A" she smiled. I took a look around my mom's crappy house. I doubt that I would miss this place, but it was kind of sad to say goodbye to any ounce of small-town girl I had left. If I had any left.