A/N: Have to do this real quick, because I'm late for work. Okay, so I was browsing the SoR fandom the other day, and realized there was serious lack of Summer/Freddy fics. So I thought it was time to rectify that by, none other than, updating my fic! Yay! There are a shitload of reasons as to why I haven't updated this in so long, and I don't have time to tell all of you about all of that. So, I'm sorry, is all I'm going to say.

Thanks to all of the reviewers for last chapter, too many to count. I owe you a huge apology, too, sweetcaroline. I didn't mean to blow up at you about all of that. It wasn't entirely you that I was mad at. I was angry about a lot of other reviewers who were starting to piss me off, and then you posted that review and then updated your chapter at the same time, and I had tovent steam. It was wrong of me, and I hope you can forgive me.

ENJOY!

Chapter 18: Best Friends Forever part 2

Summer slumped forward on the cafeteria table as she watched the band talk in hushed whispers. She'd never felt so isolated from them. There they were, talking about things having to do with the band, and she couldn't be a part of it, because she wasn't technically a part of the band at the moment. She knew the Battle of the Bands was that night, and that the past week had left the band members in a frenzy trying to get everything perfect. For a moment, as she held a limp fry in her index finger and thumb, she wondered what it was all about. Were they really doing all of this for her? Or was it all just about beating the Barber Boys, stamping out pop with rock in an ultimate force de triumph.

She startled when an arm slunk over her shoulders and a warm body leaned heavily against her.

"You'll be at the Battle of the Bands, right?" Katie asked, close to Summer's ear. Summer shrugged.

"I suppose I should, right?"

"Definitely," Katie exclaimed, glancing at the other band members who were still chatting and discussing the upcoming gig, "We want you there."

Summer's eyes wandered to Freddy, who had just joined the table between Frankie and Lawrence. Aside from brief glances and "accidental" run-ins in the hallways, they hadn't really spoken to each other. He'd called her a few times, but always hung up on the second or even first ring, as though losing the nerve. She kind of wished she had the nerve to pick up the phone and talk with him when he called. She tried to picture what they would talk about. Maybe the upcoming Greenday concert. Or they might discuss the Backstreet Boys trying to make a comeback with scoffing comments, and mockery of pop culture entirely. She leaned her chin into the palm of her hand, swirling her ketchup with the french-fry and trying to shake those thoughts from her mind.

She heard giggling and her eyes snapped up at Marta who sat leaning across the table so that her focus was on Freddy as she spoke with him. He was smiling and nodding and suddenly Summer felt badly. The guilt swarmed when his eyes flickered to meet hers and a blush flowed across her cheeks. She immediately looked back down. He wanted to be her boyfriend, that's what he'd said.

"My life used to be so simple," Summer muttered, and Katie glanced her direction, humming question, "Go to school, go to band practice, the every-now-and-then gig, and homework. Why does everything have to be so complicated?"

"You did complicate things, princess," Zack murmured distractedly from across the table and Summer startled, flustered. She hadn't realized he'd been listening, or that anyone had been listening for that matter. She saw Katie from the corner of her eye shaking her head at Zack, but the boy was looking down at his notebook reviewing whatever was written down in it. "I mean, first you bring Kyle into the picture to disrupt our happy family. Then you bring up the prospect of you wanting to leave under the alleged reasoning that you feel underappreciated, which we've already determined isn't the real cause. And even now that Kyle's out of the picture, you're still pushing forward with this stupid Battle of the Bands thing. Do you really want to manage your ex-boyfriend's singing group?"

"Uh…what?" Summer stammered, furrowing her brow at him and trying to get her brain to keep up with what he was saying. He glanced up, meeting her eyes, his own shadowed over with dark seriousness for a moment. Then, suddenly, a smile spread across his face, though his eyes remained with that somber undertone.

"It's alright," he said lightly, eyes holding her captivated, "We still love you though."

The bell rang, shaking through the cafeteria at almost the exact same moment Summer's heart gave a heavy thud against her ribcage, so that it felt as though her heart beat jolted through her entire body. The other students around her scrambled to their feet, gathering their things to shuffle to their classes, and she remained sitting, her eyes wide and unfocused.

What had that been about? It was almost as though Zack were trying to tell her something, but he didn't want to or couldn't come right out and say it.

"You coming, Summer?" Michelle called from behind her, and she turned slightly to eye the blonde waiting impatiently with Eleni. Katie stood by the cafeteria exit waiting for Summer as well, staring questioningly. Summer scooted from the table bench and walked carefully towards them, heart still pounding.

She walked beside her three friends as they broke into chit-chat about some "totally hot" boy in their next class. She partially listened, but couldn't shake the feelings and emotions wracking her brain. We still love you.

Over the time waiting for the Battle of the Bands to approach, Summer had tried to maintain her strained friendship with the band mates, but it didn't change how much like a third-wheel she felt around all of them at every moment of the day. Kyle called her constantly, but she didn't want to speak to him, and of course, she avoided him in the halls. She walked everywhere with Katie, or any of the other girls in the band. Once she had been desperate, lagging with Frankie and Leonard, who didn't seem to mind her company too much. She just didn't want to be caught alone and off-guard with Kyle, and she knew he wouldn't approach her if she was with the School of Rock members.

She avoided Marta as well.

She thought about what would happen if she and Freddy were to date, though just the idea turned her face beet red. How would Marta react she wondered. How would everyone in the band react? She knew Katie would be happy for them, Zack probably wouldn't mind too much. Michelle and Eleni would claim they saw it coming all along, probably squeal and giggle whenever Summer and Freddy would be in the same room. The boys would all be unanimous, almost, in the weirdness of it all. They would try to pretend they didn't care, maybe even joke around with Freddy about it, but they would all hate it probably. They'd be immature about it. Except maybe Lawrence, who would probably strongly disapprove, as he didn't think too highly of the way Freddy managed his love life. And then Billy would try to pretend to be happy, but he'd put on a drama queen hissy fit whenever they were around, because he was alone and bitter. Tomika might be happy as well. Dewey wouldn't like the inter-band relationship, but he would steal every chance he had to make fun of them with the other guys and wouldn't feel right about putting his foot down on the relationship.

But Marta would be furious. Marta didn't develop passing crushes. She didn't experience "puppy love". She wasn't fickle and she never did anything half-heartedly. When she liked a boy, she liked him entirely, with her whole heart. She fell head-over-heels madly in love with him, and she didn't back down. And the feeling, strong as it was, never ever fully faded from her heart. Admitting her feelings for Freddy at the mall had been the equivalent of "staking her claim", calling dibs, or something like it. Every girl in the band, or that was present, was supposed to rally to her cause and support her in her attempts to gain the drummer's attention. Summer realized, with a lump in her stomach, if she and Freddy were to date, that would be an ultimate betrayal. That it would alienate the blonde, and perhaps all the girls in the band. She shuddered at the thought of crossing Alicia, Marta's best friend. The "spunky" former brace face was tough, and could be quite frightening when angered.

But Summer didn't fall lightly either. In fact, Freddy was the first boy she'd ever felt this way for. She was beginning to wonder if falling in love was worth it. But remembering his touch, his lips against her own, the way he held her in his arms as though she were the only girl in the world, she knew with every fiber of her being that it was. She wondered if he would still feel the same way after the Battle of the Bands.

Her heart wrenched at the fear that he wouldn't.

Be your boyfriend. Everything inside of Summer had threatened to fall apart. Every fortitude against the abrasive emotions of others and herself that she had spent years building around her heart had threatened to tumble, to shatter, at those words. She'd almost lost all will to fight him, and she hated that vulnerable feeling as much as she desired and desperately needed to feel it again.

"Summer?" Michelle's voice broke through her thoughts, and she startled, looking up to meet the sparkling eyes of her friend, "You alright? You look really flushed…do you feel okay?"

"Yeah," Summer mumbled, bringing her hand up to touch her heated cheek, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just…I'm fine."

Michelle paused, seeing something through the crowd, and the other girls looked questioningly to her. She smiled quietly to herself.

"I…um…forgot something at my locker," she told them unconvincingly, "I'll meet you guys at class." Before anyone could open their mouths to rebuke, she was weaving through the crowd, leaving them behind. Eleni sighed, and Katie rolled her eyes.

"Frankie," they muttered together, and Summer couldn't help but giggle with the other two as they continued down the hall and slipped into their classroom. Summer slunk into her usual desk at the front of the room, as Katie and Eleni took their seats around her. She lowered her eyes to her desk as she saw Kyle, with a few of his basketball buddies, waltz in. He walked past her desk, going out of his way to brush her shoulder gently with his body and she frowned, growing cold against the touch.

Over the days, as her feelings for Freddy grew, she also found disgust slowly welling in the pit of her stomach for her former boyfriend. The way he seemed to focus so much anger and hate towards the carefree drummer, the way he sauntered about the school as though he were top dog, the way he stared longingly at her. She shuddered at his touch and almost immediately her thoughts flew to Freddy and she blushed, forcing her mind on the desk in front of her and pulling out her books. She could feel Kyle's eyes on her and hoped he didn't think that blush was for him.

-0-0-

Michelle walked in slow, casual movements towards the wall of lockers. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and attempted her usual confidant smile, as her eyes never left that bulky form leaning awkwardly against her locker and watching her nonchalantly from the corner of his eyes. She flustered as she thought of how attractive he looked in the school uniform, his jacket discarded, his sleeves rolled up, the top buttons of his shirt undone. He was tall, and large, though his body mass was more muscle than fat. She loved when he wrapped her in his big bear hugs, the way he gently brushed his hand in the small of her back, and held her protectively. His hair was mussed, and she thought momentarily about fixing it with her delicate fingers as they talked.

With every step she took towards him, Michelle grew more self-conscious, more anxious. Other boys were easy. She could smile and flirt and never think twice about it because she knew they were mad about her long silken legs and flowing blonde hair. With one bat of her beautiful blue eyes, they melted in her hands, putty for her to mold. But with Frankie it was different. It had always been different. She couldn't use her usual tricks on him, she'd tried, and he'd scoffed disgustedly at her attempts. He told her later that he'd always thought there was something deeper to her, that she was capable of holding a person's attention with more than her usual superficial wiles. That he could see that she was far more intelligent than that. They had spent late nights, talking on the phone about books and literature, art and philosophy, things that people wouldn't guess Frankie knew anything in the slightest about looking at him. He was the only boy she couldn't fool, and the only one who's opinion of her mattered.

"Hey," Frankie greeted, shoving his hands uncomfortably in his pockets. While they could talk so easily on the phone, face-to-face, Frankie became shy, stumbling on his words and fidgeting. Michelle tugged her skirt down, suddenly aware of how short it must seem, as she'd rolled it up before school started. Now she found herself worrying that Frankie might find it too tacky.

"Hi," she returned, smiling sheepishly, "Did you want something…?"

"Uh…um…nope," Frankie stammered, straightening and lowering his eyes to focus on his shoes, "Why?"

"Well…" Michelle pointed out, "You're standing by my locker…"

"Oh," Frankie jumped nearly three feet away from the wall of lockers, staring at them as though they had burned him, "I…uh…guess I am…"

Michelle stepped forward, her eyes watching him with suspicion as she carefully began opening her locker. Frankie looked as though he were dying from desperation. He was torn between wanting to run and being completely unable to move. Michelle opened the locker door and a small slip of paper flittered out, falling gracefully to the ground. She let out a small gasp and knelt carefully to pluck it from the ground and scan it. She turned leaning against the lockers and pushing her hair behind her ears as she mouthed the words written in shaky calligraphy, a poem speaking of beautiful eyes like waterfalls, tumultuous swirls of a deep inner soul, laughter like an angel, and a smile like Mona Lisa, holding a secret between perfectly pursed lips.

"It's beautiful," Michelle whispered, raising her eyes to look into Frankie's anxious face. She held the paper to her chest, pressing her lips together and staring at him through her lashes, "They always are…" she took a deep breath, pressing her hand firmly to her rapidly beating heart, as she knew she was taking a giant leap, "I just…well…wish you'd give them to me in person."

"Uh…well…I…" Frankie mumbled, then lowering his eyes and shifting his weight, "I thought it would be weird…um…me…giving you poems and everything…I just thought you'd think that…"

"I wouldn't think it was weird," Michelle told him quietly, reaching forward to carefully take his hand in her own, "If it was…well…a boyfriend giving his girlfriend poems…"

Frankie's eyes snapped up, meeting hers questioningly and she smiled despite herself. He seemed confused for a moment, trying to figure out what she was saying, and he seemed to be asking her if she meant what he thought. She nodded confirmation and slowly, a smile slid along his face as well. He stepped forward, carefully, cupping her chin in the palm of his hand, and hesitantly, brushed his lips against hers. She leaned against his chest, curling her fingers between the buttons of his shirt, and when they broke apart, faces flushed, and bodies overwhelmed with warmth, they looked up into each others faces.

"Can I…um…walk you to class?" Frankie asked, and Michelle nodded. He took her books from her hands and she closed her locker as they walked dizzily down the hall, fingers intertwined.

-0-0-

Summer sighed, shivering and tightening her grasp on the plastic trash bag as she made her way from her house to the curb, the night air pressing against her. She lifted the lid of the tin can and dumped the bag in unceremoniously. She frowned, glancing at her watch. Battle of the Bands was in another hour. She hadn't spoken with anyone about getting a ride and now she was beginning to wonder if she should even go. She didn't think she could stand the suspense. Or more precisely, the lack of. In the previous years, she'd always gone with the determination that School of Rock win. Backstage she would cheer her brains out, squealing like a teeny bopper on steroids when they announced School of Rock as the winner. Now, she wouldn't know when to be excited, who to cheer for. Part of her hoped some new band, impartial to their little competition, would win. Or a band that entered often and came on full force that night with new material would blow School of Rock and the Barber Boys out of the water.

But Summer knew, that wasn't happening. She'd seen the competition, most of which was shoddy, in lyrics or musical direction. They just didn't have Dewey like School of Rock did. And the Barber Boys were freshly equipped with a big name record label behind them. Professionals wrote all their music and lyrics. Summer frowned, staring prudently at the trash can in front of her. She dreaded the idea of entering that house and asking her mother for a ride to the Battle of the Bands. After the lunch with Mr. Philbur, the older Hathaway woman had eased up considerably on her daughter, but there was still a great deal of tension there. And winning the scholarship on her own terms hadn't really gone over well with Summer's mother.

So instead, Summer walked along the sidewalk. She paused momentarily at the electrical conduit, flushed, remembering when Freddy had sat there with her. She touched a tentative finger to her bottom lip. She admittedly missed his kiss. But not as much as their usual banter. She missed the chat she used to have with all the band members. Sure, they chatted now…now that they were all on seemingly good terms once again, but it wasn't the same. There was a tenseness in it. It was as though both parties were holding back. There was an uncertainty to their conversations, an unfamiliarity.

Summer startled from her musings. She was in front of the Fuller house now. And she wasn't certain, but it felt as though the air were twenty degrees colder there. She froze when she heard the sound of someone approaching. Quirking her head, Summer recognized Rachel's figure and glossy red hair. The other girl was carefully making her way down the pathway from the Fuller house. She paused upon seeing Summer. For a moment, they held each others eyes, like deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. Summer thought about turning and walking back home, locking herself in her room and forgetting this sudden encounter.

There was something about seeing Rachel, something about whenever she saw Rachel, that caused a great deal of pain to wash over her. The memories she'd shared with the redhead, the times when she'd laughed and joked with that other girl. When she'd thought they were friends. It made her shake, tears threatened to fall. She would become a quivering child. Nothing like the Summer Hathaway those at Horace Green knew.

Rachel began forward again, and Summer seemed glued to her spot on the cement. She begged and pleaded with her legs to move, to head back to her house, but they weren't listening or simply didn't care. Rachel stopped at the edge of the Fuller lawn in front of Summer, she crossed her arms over her chest and gave Summer a once over. Summer lowered her eyes, immediately. She didn't want the redhead to see the mortification in her overly emotional eyes. Rachel folded her arms over her chest.

"We haven't talked in a long time," Rachel said carefully, and Summer's body tensed. She peeked up at the other girl.

"I suppose you're not counting all those times you insulted me and addressed me as you would a piece of dirt on the bottom of your shoe," Summer retorted carefully. The clever remark caught noticeably in her throat. Rachel lowered her eyes, and Summer thought she saw shame cross the other girl's face.

"We've gotten so far away from one another. We used to be so close."

"Whose choice was that," Summer replied bitterly. Rachel flinched involuntarily, she licked her lips, and shoved her hands into her pockets.

"I've done some awful things," Rachel continued, "I thought I wanted to be popular…that I wanted to hang out with all those people that used to treat us both like some viral disease. God, Summer, I haven't been happy since our friendship ended."

Summer stared unblinkingly at Rachel, who hung her head in seeming shame. Was she really hearing right? Was Rachel really saying these things? Have you been happy since that friendship ended, Summer asked herself. Have you ever been able to shake that lingering feeling, that you'd never have a friend who understood you as Rachel seemed to? Summer chewed her lower lip.

"The other day, when I saw Allison trying to use you like that," Rachel went on, "I realized, that she was using me the same way. I mean, I knew she was using me…I just didn't realize what that meant until I saw her trying to use you. I guess it sort of…bugged me. Because I thought there was nothing worse than the way she used people, and I didn't want her to start using you like that. When I saw how you resisted it though…like it was nothing…"

"It was nothing," Summer interjected, "You think I could really forget the way Allison's treated me over the years? I could never want that kind of friendship."

"I don't want it anymore either," Rachel admitted, "I miss you, Summer. A part of me still thinks of you as my best friend. Allison could never replace you. I just…I was never strong enough to rise above it the way that you did. I had to get her to stop treating me that way…I guess I used you, the way I didn't want Allison to. It really hurt me, though, all those times I treated you so badly. I thought I had to, but now I realize, I was hurting the only real friend I ever had."

Summer stared in stun. It was all the things she'd dreamed Rachel would say to her. All the things she'd wanted to hear from the redhead for the longest time. She'd lie awake fantasizing about this moment, when Rachel would spill all of these feelings out, and then Summer daydreamed she would shoot her down. "I don't need your friendship," she would say. But now, finally hearing all of it, something cracked inside Summer. Tears slowly began spilling down her cheeks and she smiled. She couldn't treat Rachel that way. She couldn't be that cruel.

"I miss you too, Rachel," Summer murmured.

"I want to start over," Rachel said, smiling to the other girl, "I want to be best friends again."

"I want to start over too," Summer exclaimed, "I'd always wanted to start over, to get back where we'd come from. I'd never had a friend like you again. I could never get close to anyone the way I was with you."

Rachel bit the corner of her lower lip, leaning forward to embrace Summer. Summer returned the hug, squeezing her eyes shut. This was all unexpected, but her heart was pounding mercilessly in her chest. She hadn't felt so happy in the past week.

When Rachel pulled away, she was smiling something devious. Summer frowned somewhat, furrowing her brow. She looked down, following Rachel's eyes to her chest, her lips parting. There was a sign that was taped to the front of her blouse, with a picture of the young Soleil Moon Frye, in pigtails and a bright smile. The words: 'Punky's been Punk'd' were typed underneath it. She looked questioningly to Rachel, seeing Allison coming out from behind the Fuller's tree, where she'd hiding in the shadows, a camcorder in hand. Both girls were laughing cruelly.

"That was classic. Such a touching reunion of friends! Everybody will get such a kick out of this," Allison was crowing, coming to stand behind Rachel. She still held the camcorder up, the viewfinder focused on Summer. Allison donned a mocking, high-pitched, nasally voice, "Oh, I miss you too! I want to start over. You're my best friend."

Summer took a few steps back, shaking her head as the girls broke into laughter again. You should have known better, she told herself, you deserve this. You let yourself get played again. You let her lead you on, let her treat you this way. You fell for her act again, and this is only what you asked for. It's your own fault for being such a fool. She pressed her lips together, fighting the tears of embarrassment threatening to fall.

We are best friends, aren't we?

Yeah, Summer. We are.

Red flashed over Summer's eyes. Rage quickly replacing the embarrassment. Frustration, anger. I don't deserve this. Before any of the three girls knew what had happened, Summer's hand cracked against Rachel's cheek. The redhead grabbed hold of it, turning wide-eyed to Summer and Allison's laughter died. She lowered the camcorder slightly, but it still focused on Summer and Rachel. Rachel slowly began lowering her hand, her jaw dropped open, and Summer's hand slapped once more across the already raw spot on the redhead's jaw line. Neither Allison nor Rachel had ever seen the other girl so enraged. They didn't know this side of the small girl and they didn't know how to react to it.

"You must think you're so clever, Rachel," Summer seethed, ripping the sign from her shirt, crumpling it, and tossing it at the redhead who flinched back in surprise as it bounced harmless off her shoulder, "You know, for the longest time, I thought there must have been something terribly wrong with me. Some reason you would betray me the way that you did, when I'd thought we'd had such a great friendship. Then I thought, maybe you'd never been my friend. From the very beginning, you were never my friend, and I blamed myself. I thought it was my fault, that I was incapable of making friends, that no one could ever truly want to be my friend.

"But as I look at you now, I realize how pathetic you really are. You used me. You're so determined to make it to popularity, you don't care who you have to step on to get there. You're so determined to be little miss perfect. You want to be adored and admired. You shut yourself off from people and maybe you'll never be able to let anyone in. You're a cold hearted bitch, stepping on people all the way to the top and…" Summer shook her head, realization slowly enveloping her, "And…I've spent so long trying not to get hurt by someone like you again…that I've become you.

"But you know what, I'm different than you. Because unlike your superficial friendships with Allison and Jeff and everyone else from school, I have real friends. I have people who care about me, love me, actually listen when I talk to them. They actually want me around, not because I make them look good. They love me for who I am…who I really am. Can you honestly say that Allison ever listens to you the way that I ever did?" Summer looked sadly at Rachel, "I've hurt so many people because of you. I've pushed away all my friends…because I was too blinded by what you did to me. By how you betrayed me. I thought they were like you, I thought everyone was like you. I didn't see, that they cared about me and loved me for who I was."

"Really," Rachel sneered, finally breaking from her stun, hand clutching her injured cheek, and fire burning in her eyes, "Then where are your real friends now? A Friday night and you're all by yourself, as usu-" She was cut off by the sound of Deep Purple blasting Smoke on the Water through the night air, the roar of an engine tearing onto the cul-de-sac, and then the squeal of tires breaking against the pavement.

"What the hell is that…?" Allison gaped, her camcorder falling to her side. Rachel raised her eyes in surprise at the intruding vehicle and Summer slowly turned, a smile working its way on her face as she knew only one person who drove like that with classic rock pounding from the speakers.

She recognized the car immediately, the old red junker, her smile broadening into a grin. The old convertible's top was pulled down, and she quickly noted Katie and Zack in the front seat, Tomika and Lawrence in the back. Katie put the car in park in front of the Hathaway's humble abode, and Zack was turned blanche her direction.

"Are you trying to kill us?" he demanded.

"I would like to have a word with the DMV personnel that granted you a license," Lawrence agreed, his voice a quiet and uneven quiver.

"…Austin hangs out with weird ones," Allison was murmuring to Rachel, but stopped when Tomika leaned out against the car door, looking to Summer.

"Hey, girl," she called, smiling her beautiful toothy smile. Summer was making her way over in tentative steps. The others in the car turned her direction, Katie leaning over the car door as well and Zack attempted to stand someone in his seat to see over Katie's head. Lawrence peered over Tomika's shoulder, smiling softly.

"Tink," Katie cried, then warily looking at the girls over Summer's shoulder, "Those chicks giving you a hard time? I will mess them up for you, just say the word, and they are roadkill!"

"You guys, what are you doing here?" Summer finally questioned, finding her voice out of her elation to see her friends, "You should all be at the amphitheater, Battle of the Bands starts in less than half-an-hour."

"Duh," Zack muttered, "That's why we all panicked when we realized you hadn't gotten there yet!"

"We've been calling your cell phone the past twenty minutes," Tomika explained, "When you didn't pick up, we decided to come here and find out what was up!"

"We thought maybe something horrible had happened," Katie put in, "You not answering your cellphone is one thing…but not being punctual on your arrival to the theater! We knew something was up!"

"Well…I'm glad you're all here," Summer told them, coming to stop a few feet from the car, and folding her hands in front of her, she cleared her throat, "I owe everyone an apology for the past few weeks. I've been completely out of it, and treating you all so badly for something none of you did. I was upset because a long time ago, the only friend I had betrayed me, and it really messed me up inside. But now I know that you're all the best friends I've ever had and…"

Katie looked to Zack, pointing to Summer and he nodded in understanding. He lightly slapped Lawrence's shoulder as he leapt over the car door and headed over towards Summer, still giving her apology speech. Lawrence carefully opened the door, crossing over to join Zack. Lawrence bowed apologetically to the petite girl, who, still speaking, looked questioningly at him. And then, without warning, both boys lifted her from the ground. She squirmed in startle, giving a cry, and Allison and Rachel, who had been watching with uncertainty, raised brows in surprise.

"What are you guys doing?" Summer demanded. Zack grinned at her as they carried her to the car.

"Just keep going," he told her, "You were at the part where you realized you were very wrong, you're very sorry, that you love infinitely and now know that we all love you infinitely…go on from there…" Summer swallowed, flustered.

"Well…I'm very sorry, and I hope you can all forgive me. I love all of you and…" They dumped here in the front seat, leaping in the back, "Ow…"

"I'm sorry," Lawrence murmured.

"And?" Katie prompted.

"Oh…and…um…I want to continue managing School of Rock. I never really wanted to leave you guys. It's just that my mother and…everything…but I'm a sixteen year old girl. I should do what makes me happy now, not what furthers my career." She looked back to Zack, who was blushing somewhat at that, "You helped me realize that."

"We're so happy to have you back," Tomika squealed, leaning over the chair and squeezing the petite girl, pressing a light kiss to her cheek, "And of course we forgive you." The others quickly piped agreement.

"And I'm sure the rest of the band will feel the same when you give them that speech," Katie assured her.

"Thanks guys."

"Now," Katie revved the engine, "Let's get to the amphitheater and kick some Barber Boy ass!"

"Sounds good to me," Summer grinned.

"Now we need some tunes to match our mood," Zack suggested, "And I think Summer should decide what we listen to."

"Well…" Summer blushed, sinking a bit in her seat, "I haven't let the Led out in awhile…" Zack pumped his fist in the air, mouthing a 'yes' as Katie put the music in.

"Have I ever told you you're my favorite manager?" he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pecking her lightly on the cheek. She shook her head at him.

"I'm you're only manager," she reminded him. He grinned.

"And let's keep it that way."

Katie roared down the street, Allison and Rachel watching speechlessly.

END A/N: Okay, now I have to get to work, because I'm supposed to be there right now. Anyways, I'm going to focus on finishing this story within the next month or so. But as it's finals week, I don't know how long it'll take. There's about..two more chapters left.

Please excuse any grammatical and typing errors (I didn't proofread), and Please REVIEW!

Thanks for reading.