Disclaimer: I love Erik to death, but sadly I don't own him. And another afterthought: Don't own Usher, Avalon, LOTR, or their music either. Wait, or R-E-S-P-E-C-T or Flashdance. USHER ROXX!

Sam

Ch. 17 – Aftermath With CDs

Josie and Erik stood looking at each other for a minute, then he spun on Kayla, his voice harsh again.

"Did you not have Mozart all along?"

"You got it," she said, grinning.

He advanced on her slowly. "So you play the best – my best – composition ever?"

Kayla sighed in a mock-swoon. "It was so worth it, though."

Erik stiffened, and he and Josie both blushed.

Kendall giggled at the look on Josie's face. She put her hands together and bowed and said like a Chinese person: "He teach you well, young grasshopper."

Kayla joined in with a quote from the book. "The grasshopper hops jolly high!"

We all (excepting Erik of course) cracked up. He gave a wry smirk and actually sat down on the edge of the bed.

"So if you don't listen to Mozart or Beethoven in your time," he gestured toward the laptop, "what do you listen to?"

"Well, that depends," I said. "There are so many different genres of music in our time."

"Par example?"

"Let's see… We listen to stuff like country and Christian and pop, and rock, and rap…"

"Speak for yourself," Kayla muttered.

"And then there's punk and metal and alternative and all the stuff the rebel kids listen to," Kendall put in.

"In ten words or less, the trash you had on when I came in?" Erik suggested with another smirk.

"Watch yourself, monsieur," Josie lightly slapped his uncovered cheek.

He stared at her in amazement.

"Don't call it trash, then," she said in response to his look.

Kayla giggled. "Well, I listen to all kinds of stuff. Actually, I think we all have pretty wide ranges." She glanced at the girls. "I mean, think about it. A little R&B, some rock and pop, Christian, and of course my one love, SOUNDTRAXX!"

"Down, girl," I said, swiping the laptop from her. "Do you have iTunes on this thing?"

She rolled her eyes. "What kind of question is that? 'Do I have iTunes?' That's like asking if you have a cell phone. Dur!"

"Reahr," I muttered, clicking around. "So what torture shall we subject His Highness to first?"

Erik glared at me, and Kendall pulled out a CD. I put it in and 'R-E-S-P-E-C-T' blared from the little speakers.

She and Josie cracked up laughing at the look on Erik's face. "What is that?"

"It's called 'Respect'," said Josie, "and it's our favorite duet from the karaoke machine."

Another song came on that I didn't know. Kendall sang through it, Kayla and Josie picking up on parts along the way.

"Joy to the World," they said when it was over.

"Otherwise known as 'Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog," Josie added.

I clicked on a different track. "Okay, whatever. Here goes nothing."

Peace up, A-town down

"Awww, yeah!"

Kayla and I laughed as Yeah! came on, first because of the memories, and second because of the look on Erik's face. He was frozen again, and stayed that way through the entire song.

I passed the laptop to Josie when Yeah! was over, and Erik hissed, "No… more… of that."

"D'accord, d'accord," Josie soothed, flicking around. "Okay, this is better."

An acoustic guitar's strums filled the air, and Kayla asked, "Avalon?"

"Avallon?" Erik echoed. "There's a city in this one?"

We looked at him. "No, the group is Avalon, not Ava-yon or whatever you said," I replied.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Impertinent little…"

"Huh?" Real intelligent.

"Rien… Nothing."

The next chapter's gonna be interesting, I'm giving a fellow fanfic writer a cameo whether she wants it or not, and I hope it's enjoyable. I had fun with this one, but it needed to end. Sorry, wait for the next one! 