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"This isn't going to work, Tawny," Twitty said as he shook the song sheets in his hand. "I knew when you told me in homeroom yesterday about this idea that it wasn't going to work, and now that we're here, I know for a FACT that this isn't going to work."

Tawny put her hands on her hips and shot Twitty an irritated look. "You haven't even tried to play the song you told me about. How do you know this isn't going to work if you don't even try it?"

"Well," Twitty said as he picked up his guitar, "for one thing, we need a bass guitar player. And Beans is......."

"You called?" Beans said, materializing behind Tawny and Twitty with his bass guitar.

Tawny jumped, startled by Beans's sudden appearance. "Beans, you HAVE to stop doing that!"

"Whatever," Beans said, walking up to Twitty and stealing the song sheets away from him. "What are we playing?" Beans looked at the sheets and wrinkled his nose in distaste. "I don't know what half of this song means, but it sounds mushy."

Twitty shook his head and swiped the sheets back out of Beans's hands.

"Hey! I was reading that!" Beans whined.

"Anyway," Twitty continued, "we also need a drummer, and you know that Louis wouldn't like the.."

"I'll have you know I like it just fine," Louis said loudly, startling Tawny and Twitty again as he jauntily strolled through the door.

"Are you taking lessons from Beans or something, Louis?" Tawny said.

"Huh?" Louis asked, leaping down the stairs and into his seat behind the drums. "So, what exactly is it I like now?"

"Nothing," Twitty said quietly, holding the song sheets behind his back.

Tawny narrowed her eyes as she looked at Twitty, then suddenly burst out, "I can't TAKE this anymore! Look Louis, Twitty likes your sister and."

Louis looked up at Tawny and shrugged. "So?"

Twitty's jaw dropped. "WHAT?"

"Tell me something I don't know," Louis said. "Dude it has been like SO obvious to me for the last, oh, probably 2 years or so." He stood up and patted Twitty on the shoulder good-naturedly. "I was just hoping you'd figure it out first before I had to tell you myself."

"But, I thought."

"That I'd freak out and have an earthquake-sized tempter tantrum? Well, " Louis said wistfully, "I actually did last December 4th, but I'm over it now." He smiled proudly. "Remember how the whole town shook, and it was on the news? Oh yeah, that was ME."

Tawny and Twitty looked at each other, stunned, as Louis grabbed the song sheets away from Twitty. "Okay, so when are we going to play this for Ren?"

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Thursday after school.....

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Ren smiled as the last beat of "Surf's Up" echoed throughout the room. "So," she said, looking at her watch, "I guess we're done for today guys?"

"Uhm, not exactly Ren," Louis said. "Twitty's picked out a new song he wants to sing for the end of the first set. So you just go over there and make yourself comfortable."

Ren nodded in confusion, then turned around to sit in the large overstuffed chair. Twitty almost never sang solo leads - they usually did them together, or all as a group.

Taking a deep breath, Tawny started her piano keyboard solo as a look of recognition flashed across Ren's face. She smiled, shaking her head in disbelief, as Twitty started to sing the first verse of the song. The song from the U2-soundalike band. The one whose meaning Ren couldn't put into words, but the one that Twitty - Alan - had easily given the justice it deserved.

Ren had never been serenaded before -- she'd only seen it happen in the movies -- and had always wondered what it would be like. As her gaze locked with Alan's, she felt the room spinning around her, her stomach dropping as if she were on a roller coaster, as Alan's gentle voice moved effortlessly with the music. For those moments, she felt as if she and Alan were the only ones in the entire universe.

Then the song ended and the room went silent. Twitty gazed at Ren pensively. Tawny fidgeted while she looked at Louis, who shrugged in his usual 'don't ask me' way.

Ren felt her eyes tearing up. She felt even more confused than she had on Monday. Why was she feeling even MORE this way - about Alan Twitty? There had to be something wrong with her, more than a rebound crush thing. Maybe - maybe she had eaten a bad burrito at lunch - food poisoning -- of course! That was what made her stomach do flip flops. It certainly could NOT be Alan Twitty, because that would make no sense at all. Her innate rationality struggled to rein in her tumultuous feelings as she stood up, brushing a tear from her face and nodding, trying to gather her mind together enough to say something in response to what had just happened.

"I -- I - I have to go, or something," Ren managed to whisper as she quickly turned and ran up the stairs and out the door.

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Ten minutes later....

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"Come on Twitty," Louis said as Twitty quietly started to put the band equipment away. "I've never seen Ren look so confused before, and you know how sure she is of everything, she probably just doesn't know how to.."

"Thanks Louis," Twitty said quietly. "But I give up."

"Louis is right, you know, "Tawny added. "Even Ruby can tell that Ren has feelings about you. And just now, you could tell she."

"You guys are great friends," Twitty said as he tried to manage a half- smile. "But enough's enough, you know? I tried, and it didn't work. On to better things, right?"

"But." Tawny started as Twitty picked up his guitar and walked up the stairs.

Twitty looked back at them, shrugged, then slowly walked out the door.

Louis squinted and frowned. "He is SO annoying sometimes!"

Tawny rolled her eyes and smirked at Louis. "I wonder who he could possibly have learned that from?"

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