¤ I'm sorry this update took so long, QuickEdit wasn't working. Well, on to the story! ¤

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. Harry Potter™ is the sole intellectual property of JK Rowling, Warner Bros. and various others who all aren't connected to me in any way. No money is being made with this fanfiction and no copyright infringement is intended.


§ ¤ § Chapter Two: Wishing on a Star § ¤ §

On July fourth, Harry was greeted most unfavorably in the morning.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" An all-too-familiar voice yelled excitedly in his ear. "It's my birthday!"

Harry groaned and put his pillow over his head. It didn't work, though.

"Wake up, lazy, Sirius is waiting for you!" KayKay said, grabbing the pillow and whacking him with it.

"Why are you even in here?" Harry asked crankily.

"I told you! Sirius wanted me to come and get you!"

"Well then, why didn't Sirius come?" Harry said, taking the pillow back.

"Oh, he said something about annoying you and 'Special Birthday-Girl Privileges.' "

"Yeah, yeah, go away." Harry mumbled, covering his head again and trying to go back to sleep. Suddenly, the pillow beneath his head was yanked away and he was being pummeled with it.

Now, some people know the less secretive secrets of life, and some don't. But the fact that being hit by pillows not only makes it hard to sleep but also makes it hard to resist retaliating is a pretty well-known one.

So, it should come as no surprise that Harry responded in the only logical way—by getting a good hold of his pillow and swinging it mightily at his opponent. She simply pranced out of his reach and hit him again, provoking him to jump out of bed (quite suddenly very awake) and chase her around the room, into the hall, and down the stairs. He'd made it to the kitchen before suddenly realizing that he was only wearing shorts and running back up to his room, pillow abandoned and KayKay laughing hysterically.

When he returned five minutes later, fully clothed, KayKay was sitting on a stool at the counter eating a chocolate-chip muffin while Sirius talked to her.

" . . . But really, when the two of you are fighting, he seems to be having a lot more fun than you—well, hi Harry!" Sirius said brightly as he noticed Harry. "Muffin?"

"I didn't know you could bake muffins." Harry said, taking a blueberry one and sitting down.

"Neither did I, but KayKay helped. Well, so did my wand. It's nice to see that Tarzan abandoned his loincloth and joined civilization."

KayKay snorted, almost dropping her milk glass in her hurry to grab napkins and press them to her nose.

"Ha ha, very funny."

"Ow." KayKay commented, still laughing but trying to get milk out of her nose.

"And that's just sick." Harry informed KayKay, who turned and punched him hard in the shoulder.

"Shut up." She said as he rubbed his arm. "It's my birthday."

"Ah yes, seventeen going on eight." He decided to idiotically comment. KayKay punched him again.

"When will you stop doing that?" he demanded, whining somewhat.

"Whenever you stop saying stupid things that provoke me." KayKay answered calmly, finishing off her muffin. "Thanks Sirius. I'd better be going now, though."

Sirius turned and looked at the clock. "Okay, I guess we'll see you later today then, won't we?"

"Yup!" KayKay grinned, jumping off of the stool and heading towards the door.

"Happy Birthday!" Sirius called after her. She yelled a "thanks" back, and the front door snapped shut, earning a grin from Sirius.

"Eleven-thirty," he commented. "Yup, they should all be there by now."

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤§ ¤ § ¤ §¤ § ¤ §

"Uncle Remmy!" KayKay shouted, bouncing in the door, "I'm back!"

She was greeted with silence.

"Remus?" she asked cautiously, a bit less enthusiastically. "Where are you?"

She pushed open the door to the kitchen. "Hellooo-ooo!"

"Hi there," someone replied from behind her. KayKay froze. It didn't sound like Remus . . .

She turned slowly to see who it was and then, quite suddenly, squealed with delight.

"Chad!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

Chad was a year older than she was, and he had attended Escondito School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in California, the same wizarding school KayKay had attended until her cousins died and she was adopted by Remus. Chad had stepped into the role of "older brother" for KayKay not long after she'd started at Escondito, and his guidance had helped her greatly.

"Hey, how are you, kiddo?" Chad laughed in reply.

"Excuse me? 'Kiddo'? May I point out that I'm now just as tall as you are?"

"Are not!"

"Are too! Look!" KayKay used her hand to mark an imaginary line from the top of her head to the top of Chad's. He laughed again and pulled her into another hug.

"Man, I missed you! Escondito is too weird when you aren't around. It's been two years in a row now!"

"Well, you'll have Megan now—wait, you won't will you? You've graduated!"

Megan was KayKay's best friend from America, and she and Chad had a kind of there, kind of not there relationship.

"But I'll still visit him, of course," A new voice piped up from behind KayKay.

"Megan!" KayKay squealed (as if she hadn't just seen the girl a week prior at Hogwarts).

"Hey, don't forget about me!" Hermione said, strolling into the kitchen. KayKay rushed forward and hugged both of the girls at once.

"Hey, what about me? Don't I get a squeal of delight and a hug too?" yet another voice asked.

"Matt!" KayKay felt an odd sort of elation as she hugged Matt, giggling, and as he spun her around.

It was utter pandemonium, everyone greeting everyone and in the middle of it all, Casey barking and jumping around, trying to get in on the action. Somewhere in the confusion, Ron, Ginny, and the Weasley twins showed up, adding their voices to the ruckus. But KayKay felt that the best entrance, by far, was made by Sirius.

"KayKay!" he yelled in an oddly high voice (he must have been pretending to be a teenage girl), throwing his arms out as if for a hug.

"Sirius!" she cried in reply.

"Like, oh my gosh! KayKay!"

"Like, totally wow! Sirius!"

He ran towards her in a funny, spirited skip, arms wide—not noticing the can of whipped cream that Fred (or was it George?) had shoved into KayKay's hand. Just as he drew near, KayKay raised the can and—well, you can just guess at what happened.

After most of the ruckus had died down (in other words, once KayKay dragged Casey outside and a towel was located to wipe of Sirius's face), KayKay was finally able to voice her question.

"Really though, what are you all doing here? I thought you guys weren't coming until five or so—"

"Surprise!" Remus said, pushing his way into the kitchen. "In honor of your birthday, the party is open for extended hours. Eat. Drink. Be merry. And all that good stuff." He winked.

"Oooh, thank you Remus!" KayKay exclaimed happily, giving him an elated hug.

"Sorry I'm late." A new voice said. KayKay looked over Remus's shoulder at the doorway and saw . . .

"Brian!" she let go of Remus and gave the new arrival a hug.

"Happy Birthday, KayKay!" he said, hugging her back. "I'm sorry, I can't stay—new job, you know—but I just had to pop in and say hello. Oh, and drop off your birthday present," he added, pulling a small box wrapped in blue paper out of his robe pocket.

"Oh!" KayKay said, taking it and walking a few steps over to place it on the table. "You didn't have to do that . . ."

"Of course I did! I have to go now, but Happy Birthday! I hope you have a fun time—by the looks of this crowd, you will. And Fred and George Weasley—" he turned to the pair and gave a mock bow, "—an honor, oh Lords of the Prank!

"Goodbye," he said, turning back to KayKay. "Have a great summer—and a good school year too. I'll try to stay in touch."

He gave her a hug goodbye, and looking over his shoulder, KayKay noticed two odd things happen at the same time. The first was that Matt was looking at Brian with some sort of anger or displeasure—well, that may not have been too odd. The second strange thing was Harry giving Brian a similar look—what was that supposed to mean? What reason did either of them have to hold a grudge against him?

Eh, forget it. It's my birthday! she thought, stepping out of the hug and waving goodbye as Brian left the house and disapparated.

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

The day passed with much laughter and shouting, not to mention many funny moments—of course, what could one expect when the Weasley twins were around? They succeeded in making Megan unable to do anything but hiccup bubbles for half an hour, enchanted Sirius to have to walk on all fours and chase his "tail" like a dog, and they caused three people to end up with wacky-colored hair.

"Change it back!" Harry demanded.

"You're kidding, right?" Fred asked.

"Change it back!"

"Come on, Harry," George said, "be a sport!"

"Yeah, Harry!" KayKay laughed. "Pink is such an adorable color on you!"

"Shut up, Madame Blue-Hair!"

"You!"

"You!"

"You infinity!" KayKay retorted, sticking her tongue out at him.

Hermione tugged at her hair, which was tipped with purple and simply said, "I'm just wondering what my parents will say!"

"It is a good idea, really." Megan said later, once her bubbles had cleared away. "I'm sure the hair coloring will be very popular for Quidditch games."

KayKay was about to agree when a cry of frustration distracted her.

"Casey!"

She looked just in time to see Sirius trip over her dog, knocking into Remus, who stumbled backwards and fell into the table they'd set up on the lawn. What next happened is best described as "the seesaw effect"—the punch bowl and cake at the other end flew high in the air and landed on Sirius and Remus, respectively. There was stunned silence for a few moments afterward, and the only soul daring enough to make the first move was the culprit who'd caused it all—Casey. The dog bounded up to Remus, tail wagging happily as she tried to lick the frosting off of his face.

The first one to laugh was Sirius as he lifted the punch bowl off of his head and spat out a mouthful of juice. Chad and KayKay weren't too far behind, and after that, everyone started laughing, Remus being the last to join in.

It was a rather good thing indeed that they weren't muggles, for if they had been, fixing the mess would have been rather difficult. But it was mended soon enough, and as soon as the sun set, the candles on the cake were lit and everyone sang "Happy Birthday".

After eating, everyone flopped back onto the grass and watched an array of fireworks, courtesy of Fred and George. KayKay was very thankful for the fireworks, because it incorporated a part of her birthday that she'd thought she was giving up upon moving to England. See, her birthday being on the Fourth of July, America's Independence Day, there were always fireworks in the evening.

Despite how packed the day was, when it was time for everyone to leave it seemed to be much too soon. The noisy, rambunctious Weasleys were the first to leave, followed soon by Hermione and Megan, then Chad. As everyone left, KayKay shouted another "thanks!" after them—for the box of prankster items from the Weasleys, the book How to Make Your Own Jinxes from Hermione, and Quidditch Through the Ages from Chad (no surprise there).

Sirius and Harry must have thought that she needed enough sugar to keep her awake for five years—they certainly gave her enough sweets to do so. (She thanked them as they waved goodbye, walking across the lawn.)

"I wonder what Harry is going to do about that hair." KayKay said to Matt as they stood at the end of the driveway (the apparating point).

"I really don't know, but he'd better come up with something soon. I wouldn't put it past Fred and George to let him go back to school like that."

"Yes, terrible blow to his macho ego." KayKay snorted.

"Here, I haven't given you your gift yet . . ." Matt said, digging in his jeans pocket for something. "Ah, here."

He handed KayKay a laminated identification card on a lanyard.

"Wow, Matt . . . a . . . picture of me. Ummm . . . thanks?"

"It's a pass," he said, as if that would explain everything.

"Er . . ." KayKay still wasn't sure how to respond.

"For next week." He continued, "This 'picture of you' will be your ticket into my dad's recording studio and to meet Garth Brooks."

"What?" KayKay shrieked, looking at the card with new interest.

"Yeah, and if you aren't too shy, you can do some work in the recording studio and get a soundtrack of your own. I mean, it's not like it would be released for the public, but it may be something you'd like to keep—"

"It rocks!" KayKay exclaimed, hugging so tightly that it was a wonder that he still could breathe. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Anytime!" Matt gasped, giving her a hug back and sighing in relief as she let go and he was able to breathe regularly.

"I want you to sing with me." KayKay said. She must have said it quite abruptly, because it took Matt a few moments to react.

"What?"

"Oh, come on, you're a good singer! We could sing a few songs together! It would be a great reminder of who made the recording possible in the first place!"

"Well . . . if that's what you want . . ."

"It is." She said, with a finality that left no room for argument. Even if it had, she changed the subject quite easily. "Hey look!"

She pointed at the diamond-scattered sky, where a star shot across, fading towards the horizon.

"Make a wish." Matt instructed, closing his eyes. KayKay was quick to follow, unconsciously grabbing his hand. After standing in silence for a few moments, the pair opened their eyes.

"What did you wish for?" Matt asked.

"Can't tell. Otherwise it won't come true. What about you? Can you tell?"

"Of course. Mine probably won't come true unless I do." Matt said.

"Well? What is it? What did you wish for?"

KayKay looked at Matt curiously as he took a deep breath.

"Courage." He confessed.

"Courage?" KayKay echoed, confused. "What for?"

Matt looked at her, and she knew even before he answered.

"For this," he said, tilting KayKay's chin up and giving her a short, simple, but sweet kiss. KayKay looked at her feet a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Well then," she said finally, looking up at him, "it looks like we both got what we wished for tonight."

At this, Matt's face broke out into a huge grin. KayKay could hear the joy in his voice as he said, "Yeah. Well, Happy Birthday! I'll pick you up next Saturday at nine for your recording thing, then. Happy Birthday!" he repeated.

KayKay laughed, then boldly gave him a quick kiss.

"Goodbye, Matt!" she smiled, waving. He waved back before disappearing. Sighing happily, KayKay turned to head back up to the house and was surprised as she saw the shadow of someone standing outside the house next door.

"Goodnight, Harry!" she said, waving, unnaturally friendly. Harry didn't even respond, just opened his front door and disappeared inside, glancing back at KayKay once more before letting the door swing shut.

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤§ ¤ § ¤ §¤ § ¤ §

Harry felt funny. Not funny like a good joke, funny like a strange smell.

Not to say that he smelled. It was just to say that he felt . . . weird. Off. It had started at KayKay's birthday party the week prior. He didn't know why, but some part of him insisted that it was alright for him to start dating other girls after he and KayKay broke up, but it was not alright for her to.

Date other guys, that was, not girls. Well, actually, it wasn't okay for her to date girls either. But that wasn't the point. Why did it matter anyhow? He hated her, didn't he? But that wasn't the point either. The point was—

"Yah!" Harry felt a foot connect with his stomach and, unprepared, he doubled over, trying to catch a breath.

"What's wrong with you?" KayKay asked, exasperated. "It's like you're not even trying!"

"Oh, so you want me to kick you, is that it?" Harry asked, rubbing his stomach.

"I'd like you to at least try . . . what, you don't want to kick me now, is that it? Listen Potter, I know I'm better than you in everything but Quidditch, but that's no reason to give up!" KayKay said angrily, wiping her brow.

For the uninformed, Harry and KayKay were practicing martial arts, having graduated past sword fighting (KayKay still beating Harry easily). It was still early morning, the coolest part of the day for practicing. It was a good thing they were both morning people . . . by ten o'clock or so, the day began to heat up, and it would've been far too hot for pants and long-sleeved shirts, even if they were loose and airy.

"Come on, Potter!" KayKay said, shoving his shoulders. "Give it your best shot! Hit me, kick me, something! If you can." She added.

Glaring at her, Harry grabbed her arm and shoulder so she couldn't escape and tipped her to make her fall easily. She toppled to the grass so easily that Harry had to wonder if she was just letting him win.

"Oh, good boy!" KayKay said clapping as she looked up from where she was laying on the ground. "Our wittle Hawwy knows how to fight!"

"KayKay!" Remus interrupted, poking his head out the front door, "It's eight thirty. Isn't Matt picking you up at nine?"

"It's eight thirty already?" KayKay exclaimed in horror, rolling over and pushing herself up, ignoring the hand Harry offered (well, perhaps she just didn't see it). "I'm not even ready yet! Augh! What am I going to wear?!"

As KayKay hurried into the house, Harry looked up at the sun, shielding his eyes. He was so distracted, he didn't hear her sneak up behind him, which would explain why she easily tripped him with a leg sweep.

" 'Constant vigilance', Potter!" she chastised in a singsong voice, looking down at him.

"I hate you." He said by way of reply, narrowing his eyes at her.

"And I love you too." She rolled her eyes. "Beat you tomorrow!" she called, running into her house.

"Don't you mean 'see'?" Harry asked, rolling onto his stomach. KayKay poked her head back out of her door.

"No, I mean beat. Toodles!"

Harry watched KayKay's door a long time after she disappeared. Yes, he hated her.

He hated her so much, it hurt.

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤§ ¤ § ¤ §¤ § ¤ §

Not too long after her panicked rush to get ready, Matt arrived and was knocking on KayKay's door.

"Hi," she answered it, smiling as she tried to do three things at once. "I'll be just a minute . . ."

"Alarm clock didn't go off?" Matt asked, stepping inside and closing the door while KayKay ran around looking for shoes while she put on a mismatched pair of earrings.

"No, it went off, Judo practice went long is all." She said hastily, not bothering to explain. "Ah, there they are!"

She'd finally located her sandals and hastily tried to shove her feet into them. Matt laughed as she tried to unlock the mystery of slip-on shoes and switched them around so she was putting them on the right feet. He also handed KayKay the matching earring to the one she had on already.

"Hey, that looks just like . . ." she felt her ears, then rolled her eyes at herself and took the left one out. "Thanks," she said, blushing as she looked for her watch. "Is what I'm wearing okay?" she began babbling, "I had no idea what to put on, I mean after all, how many times do you meet your favorite singer? And then I realized I didn't even know what state it'll be in, but of course I'm assuming it's Minnesota because that's where you live, but then again I never know, and what's it like there right now? Will I need a sweatshirt? Maybe I shouldn't wear shorts. Am I being too offhand about how I look? Maybe I should change into something nicer—"

"KayKay." Matt laughed, grabbing her hand and stopping her from darting about the room. "You look great. Don't worry about it! You'd be surprised how little some famous people worry about how they look when they're not at a concert—he'll probably be in jeans and a tee-shirt."

"Right, right, right." KayKay muttered, breathing slowly, eyes closed. They popped back open suddenly.

"Oh my gosh—the pass! Where did I put it?!" She began running around again, and she heard Matt sigh. "I know I had it right before you got here . . . but where—" she turned back and saw Matt swinging the lanyard on his finger, looking very much amused.

"Oh . . . thanks, Matt. Where was it?"

"On your table, right next to the hairbrush." He said with a grin, slipping it over her neck. "Now, breathe with me now . . . inhale . . . exhale . . . in with Mr. Good Air, out with Mr. Bad Air."

"Thank you, Sir Yoga." KayKay sighed, smiling all the same.

"All in a day's work," he said. "Shall we?"

"Yeah—oh, should I bring my guitar? Maybe I—"

"There are guitars at the recording studio." Matt said, putting his hands on her shoulders and steering her towards the fireplace. "Anyhow, you'll probably be singing with back tracks that have drums, guitar, backup singers, and all that good stuff."

"Right," KayKay said, suddenly feeling quite foolish indeed. "Are we Flooing?"

"Just to the station in Saliente. From there we'll be driving."

He lit a fire with his wand, then took a pinch of powder and threw it into the dancing flames, making them burn green.

"After you." He bowed low and gestured towards the fire.

"Thanks, I—oh, wait!" KayKay said suddenly, causing Matt to straighten, eyes disbelieving as KayKay ran to the front door and opened it. KayKay was probably more disbelieving when she found herself face-to-face with Harry on the other side.

"Potter, what are you—nevermind. Remus, we're leaving now! I'll see you—I dunno, later! Bye!" she called, stepping down the walk a bit to make sure Remus, who was talking to Sirius over the fence, had heard. He waved, saying "Have fun, Kayleigh!"

KayKay turned to go back in, finding herself once again face-to-face with Harry. She made a noise of irritation, walking around him to get into the house.

"I swear, Potter, you're absolutely crazy!"

"Shut up." He retorted.

"Oooh, ouch." KayKay said sarcastically. "Want a bit of bite to go with that bark?"

"Shut up." He said again, glaring this time. KayKay looked at him in disbelief.

"You are such a dork!" she responded before slamming the door in his face with a frustrated sigh. After taking a moment to regain her composure, she turned and smiled brightly at Matt, who was looking at the door strangely.

"Don't mind him, he's just . . . weird," she said, not really knowing the right word to describe Harry's random nature. "Well . . . let's go!"

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

KayKay stumbled out of the fireplace, holding her head and weaving around, trying to get even footing. She tripped suddenly, and Matt caught her.

"What happened?" KayKay asked lazily, closing her eyes and shaking her head to try to make the world come into focus.

"Just a bit of jet lag." He replied, helping her steady herself. "It'll wear off soon. We just had to adjust to the new time zone."

"Time zone . . ." KayKay said slowly as they left the Floo station and stepped out into the bright sunlight. "Wait, shouldn't it be the middle of the night here?"

"No. Well, yes it should be, but we used the time adjustment fireplace. See?" he handed her a receipt from the station, then proceeded to scan the area for his truck.

" 'Two Travelers, Time Change Fireplace' " she murmured, reading it out loud. "So how does that work?"

"Honestly?" Matt said, shrugging, "I have no idea. I just accept that it does. Come on, this way." He nodded to the left and took KayKay's hand as he began walking.

KayKay breathed deeply. The air was different here. She wasn't sure if it was good or bad, she just could tell that it was different.

Matt was laughing.

"What?" KayKay asked incredulously.

"Nothing. You just look so . . . enthralled."

"Oh, stop it." She said, purposely bumping into him. This, if anything, only made him laugh more.

"Hey, where's your truck?" KayKay asked suddenly when she realized that none of the cars around them looked like the red truck she'd seen him driving the previous summer.

"Truck?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've never owned a truck."

"Yes you have, you were driving it last year when I met—"

"Oh, that truck." Matt said in one of those well-why-didn't-you-say-so voices. "That wasn't mine. It was for hauling sound equipment, instruments, all that good stuff for Garth Brooks' concert. Driving it was part of the job."

He let go of KayKay's hand to rummage through his pocket.

"No, the car I've always driven is this one," he said, gesturing to a Jeep Wrangler with the keys. Looking around surreptitiously, the tapped the door handle with his wand, then unlocked it with the keys. Seeing KayKay's curious look, he explained.

"Protecting a car with just a normal lock is a bit pointless when there are wizards who can unlock it with the tap of a wand. It's always a good idea to put a charm on the car as well."

"I'll remember that." KayKay said, sliding into the passenger side. The seats were warm and soft from the sun, and she was feeling a thrill of excitement that she knew wasn't about to go away.

"Do you mind having the ragtop down?" Matt asked as he got in and started the car.

"Me? Heck, no! Make it as windy as you want!" KayKay said happily. "I didn't get a chance to dry my hair anyhow."

Matt grinned at her, looking just as excited, and flipped on the radio. It was playing (what else?) country.

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

"Now KayKay, don't forget to breathe." Matt joked as they entered his father's recording studio.

"Who's breathing?" KayKay said softly. Matt sighed.

"Obviously not you. Come on! And I promise, it won't be as embarrassing as last year."

"Better not be, or you're dead meat." KayKay muttered. Matt looked at her in what she recognized as a somewhat frightened manner, so she immediately put on one of her best innocent smiles. Matt snorted.

"As if I'm buying that," he said. KayKay immediately switched to a pout, successfully breaking Matt's poker face. He laughed, putting an arm over her shoulder and drawing her next to him. She smiled happily as he kissed the top of her head.

"Come on. Let's go meet your country star."

As they continued walking, KayKay realized that she wasn't quite so nervous as she'd thought she was. She really didn't hang out with many people who were laid-back and who simply wanted to goof around and laugh.

Okay, sure, Harry had been great . . . really great . . . but he was definitely lacking in the fun-ness area. It wasn't like he never had fun, they'd shared plenty of laughs, but he was usually uptight and worried about the whole "An-evil-wizard-wants-to-kill-me" thing.

No, that really wasn't a ridiculous thing to worry about, but . . . it was always there! He never really cut loose.

Well, someday he'll meet the perfect uptight girl, and they'll live in a perfect uptight house, and they'll have perfect uptight kids and have an all-around perfectly uptight life. KayKay thought, smiling to herself. It was a funny picture.

Matt pushed open a door and KayKay nearly froze. It was Garth Brooks!

"Hi there, Matt." He said, shaking his hand good-naturedly.

"Hi, Garth. This is KayKay." He indicated her, and all she could manage to do was smile and hold out her hand for him to shake. The first thought that came to her mind, and it was a positively ridiculous one, was, Wow, Matt was right. He IS just wearing a tee-shirt and jeans.

"You have to forgive me for forgetting, but I know you don't I? At least, the name is familiar."

"Oh yeah, you publicly embarrassed me at your Fourth of July concert last year." The words popped out before KayKay could stop them, and she clapped a hand to her mouth. Garth, however, simply laughed.

"It's alright, I suppose it is public humiliation whether we enjoy it or not. I remember now." KayKay saw him notice Matt's hand on her shoulder, and he asked Matt the exact same question he'd asked the year before.

"Is she your girlfriend?"

KayKay at Matt immediately looked at each other. Matt looked lost, as if he wasn't sure how he should answer, so KayKay answered for him.

"Yes."

Garth was smiling knowingly, probably thinking something like, "Ah, young love" or "Now, ain't that special." Matt was smiling wider than KayKay could ever remember; he looked like he'd just won the lottery. KayKay could feel herself blushing as she too, grinned.

"A recent development, I take it?" the country star asked.

At this, KayKay couldn't help but laugh as she nodded.

A door opened, and a man who bore quite a resemblance to Matt walked in. Matt immediately led her over to him.

"Dad, I'd like to meet KayKay Determan. KayKay—this is my dad." Matt said, and his father gave her hand a friendly shake.

"It's nice to meet you. Well, shall we get started? Matt tells me that your forte is country music—well, obviously—what song would you like to record first? I have nearly any backtrack you can name."

"Ummm . . ." was all KayKay managed. "I . . . don't know. Do have any songs from Lee Ann Womack?"

He grinned at me. "Do I have any songs from Lee Ann Womack?" he chuckled. "Which one are you thinking?"

"Well, two, actually. 'I Hope You Dance' and 'Forever Everyday' "

"Ah, first one in the file—'Forever Everyday'. Are you ready?" he asked, looking at me from the computer.

"Ummm . . . may I practice once first?"

"Of course! Here, let me show you how this works." He grabbed a set of headphones and motioned for KayKay to follow him into a sound room with fancy microphones, a wooden floor, and lots of wiring.

"You just put on the headphones, stand right here—not too close to the mike, now—and sing. It's as simple as that. Just don't let the harmony confuse you."

"Oh I won't, trust me." She smiled. Mr. Siempre nodded, then left the room, closing the door behind him. He, Matt, (and Garth?!) popped back into vision in what must have been the sound booth. Matt gave her two thumbs up, and the song introduction began to play in the headphones.

KayKay was horribly nervous while she waited to come in, but as she began singing, she felt her anxiety ebb away until she felt just like she would singing along with the radio. She loved this song, especially the chorus.

". . . Remember waiting all year for December
Thought God was cryin' when it rained
And that the stars were fireflies
Dreams were real and big as life
It was forever everyday . . .
"

She was smiling when she finished the song. She looked at the booth and Matt was smiling too. His dad and Garth were talking.

She jumped when she heard Mr. Siempre's voice, before realizing he was speaking over an intercom.

"I know you wanted to do a practice run, but if you don't mind my opinion—and I've been doing this for quite a while now—we should probably just stick with that one. Are you ready for another?"

KayKay nodded, and then proceeded to sing "I Hope You Dance", "One Day Closer to You" (Carolyn Dawn Johnson), and "Wild Angels" (Martina McBride). It was then that she asked Matt to join her in singing one.

"Please? Please, please, pleeease?" She begged.

"But it's your gift!"

"So then the other part of my gift can be that you sing on it too!" KayKay insisted.

"I don't think she's going to give up until you sing with her." Garth Brooks advised Matt.

"Oh, okay. What song?"

"Well, do you know 'A Bad Goodbye'?" KayKay asked.

"With Clint Black and Wynonna? Who doesn't?" He asked, grabbing a headset for himself and heading into the room.

"One duet, coming right up." Mr. Siempre said over the intercom as Matt switched on another microphone.

KayKay had never sung a duet before, and she was somewhat surprised at how well it went. Halfway through, she looked through the glass window to the sound room and noticed something odd. Garth Brooks was talking animatedly to Mr. Siempre, who nodded. Garth responded by pulling out a cellular phone and dialing a number quickly and talking to someone. He was still talking when the song ended.

When the question, "What next?" came over the intercom, KayKay responded quickly with, "The Dance."

"But . . . that isn't a duet." Matt said.

"Of course not. That's why I won't be singing." KayKay said, turning off her microphone and sitting on a stool.

"But—"

"Oh please? It's my favoritest song!" KayKay said in a childlike voice. Matt chuckled, then nodded.

"Alright, but only because it's for you." Matt said, giving his dad the thumbs-up. KayKay listened on her own headset as he sang the song by Garth Brooks that she loved so much. The man himself looked up again and smiled before going back to his telephone conversation. He was getting off of the phone just as the song was ending. Rather than coming over the intercom, he walked around and came into the room.

"Matt, KayKay—do you know the song 'Squeeze Me In'?" He asked. Both of them nodded.

"The one that you and Trisha Yearwood sang? Of course!" KayKay added.

"Would you two be kind enough to sing it?" Matt and KayKay exchanged a confused look but agreed all the same.

"Okay . . . sure."

Garth smiled, gave them a nod, then went back to the sound booth.

"What was that about?" KayKay mouthed to Matt.

"No idea" he mouthed back. Just then, the introduction came on and KayKay hurried to turn on her microphone. It was a bit hard to concentrate when she was thinking What's going on? but she managed well enough. Garth motioned them to come out and Mr. Siempre disappeared to his computer.

"Dad?" Matt asked him cautiously, "What's going on?"

"Can you hold that question for just a moment? In the meantime, I need you to find my photo equipment, then go to the costume closet and find something for yourself and KayKay."

KayKay and Matt exchanged another look, but nonetheless went to do as instructed.

"Why on Earth do we need to be in costume?" KayKay asked as Matt led her down a hall with doors that said things such as "Janitor's Closet", "Office Supplies," and "Boiler Room."

"I'm really not sure," he admitted. "Perhaps he wants to make a nice CD jacket for you. I mean, that's the only logical thing, isn't it?"

"I suppose." KayKay agreed as he came to a door that said "Photo and Lighting" and unlocked it.

"I don't think he wants anything fancy, probably just a 35 millimeter camera and a tripod." Matt said to himself, looking through a shelf. He finally selected a large red bag, grabbed a tripod, and switched off the light.

"On to costumes?" KayKay asked, taking the tripod from him.

"Yep, just this way." Matt said, leading her further down the hall. The room they needed wasn't locked this time, but it was big.

"It's like . . . a personal shopping mall!" KayKay exclaimed, looking at all the racks of clothing. Matt laughed and directed her to a point halfway through the room. "You'll need something from this area. Nothing fancy, I'd say. There's a bathroom just across the hall where you can change."

"Aye, aye, Cap'n!" she said, saluting. He returned the gesture, then turned and went to a different area; presumably to get his own clothing. KayKay turned and began to wander through the racks, humming to herself as she flipped through decidedly western clothing. Some of it was definitely a bit over the top—like leather chaps and boots with spurs—but some other things weren't too bad. Finally, KayKay grabbed some simple blue jeans, a denim jacket to match, and a loose, cottony white blouse (on her way out she grabbed a brown pair of cowgirl boots that looked like they'd be about the right size).

I can't believe I actually met Garth Brooks! She thought to herself as she entered the bathroom and latched a stall door behind her. This is just too unbelievably . . . COOL.

Changing was made a bit difficult because of the small space, but she managed well enough. When she came out and looked in the mirror, she thought she'd done a pretty good job. The shade of the jacket exactly matched the jeans, and the billowy ends of the blouse sleeves just poked out past the jacket cuffs. All in all, she looked pretty good.

Now, if only the boots fit. KayKay wrestled with them for a while, but they were simply too small. Odd, really. They were her size . . .

She shrugged it off and walked back out across the hall and into the room barefoot, returning the boots to their shelf and beginning her search for some in a size larger. She couldn't find any on the lower shelves of the rack, but she saw some just out of her reach that looked about right.

Well, what would anyone else have done? She, placed her foot on the first shelf and pulled herself up, starting to climb (well, alright, most people would've found a chair, but . . . that was for people who were unoriginal.)

Finally reaching the shelf with no problems, KayKay grabbed the boots with a triumphant "Gotcha!" From below, Matt replied, "Why yes, it seems that you do."

"Oh, Matt!" she said, climbing down as quickly as she could and turning to face him, "I um . . . I just had to . . ."

"Don't worry about it, it's no problem—but there is a stepladder right next to it for that specific purpose . . ."

"Oh." KayKay, not for the first time in her life, or even that day, felt very foolish. "Well . . . now I know, I guess." She pulled the boots on. Well, at least that was a good thing. Perfect fit.

"Weird . . ." she said to herself, looking from her feet to the original pair of boots. They were the same size, and yet . . .

Oh, wait, she thought, feeling dumb, I sure hope I didn't . . .

She checked the bottom of the boots. Oh yes. She did.

Memo to self: when looking at shoes, make sure the "9" isn't actually an upside-down "6"

She rolled her eyes at herself, then looked back to Matt.

"Well . . . shall we? Hey!" she finally took note of his attire, "Great outfit!"

Matt did a complimentary twirl. His clothing was simple, but still country-ish—blue jeans, a western style plaid shirt (again, blue), and a brown cowboy hat that matched his boots.

"And you look quite lovely yourself, if I may say so," Matt replied, sweeping his hat off as he bowed low. KayKay giggled (that's right, giggled . . . she couldn't believe herself, either), and tapped him on the shoulder.

"We'd better be getting back." She said, to which he nodded. They picked up the camera equipment and began the short walk to the recording studio.

"Perfect!" Mr. Siempre said as soon as he saw them. "I couldn't have picked better outfits myself. Now, Mr. Brooks" (KayKay found it hard to think of Garth as "Mister" Brooks) "has something he wants to talk to you about. I'll . . . go set up the photo equipment.

"Matt—KayKay—let me say first of all that the two of you have a tremendous amount of talent. You could prove to be very successful in the music industry."

He paused, as if waiting for verification, so KayKay gave it.

"Well, I do love singing, but actually I'm planning on becoming an Aur—ouch!—I mean, joining law enforcement. You know, police force, SWAT team, FBI—that sort of thing."

She looked at Matt and rubbed her foot where he'd stepped on it. He looked at her apologetically before replying himself.

"And I'm going into law—lots of schooling, yes, but—well, it's always fascinated me."

"A pity." Garth said. "But that's a bit beside the point at the moment. I'm talking to you because I was so impressed with your vocal skills that I—well, I got on the phone and talked to Trisha, and Mr. Siempre sent her the song via computer—and she has agreed to what I want to do."

"And what is that?" KayKay asked slowly, anticipation mounting inside of her.

"Well, we were planning on—only if the two of you approve, of course—adding your version of 'Squeeze Me In' as a bonus track to the end of the album we'll be releasing in a little less than a month."

KayKay wanted to start jumping up and down and hug everything that breathed, but for some reason she asked instead, "A month? That seems like awfully short notice—are you really able to do it in time?"

"With today's technology? You bet. Still, we'd appreciate being able to put in a few pictures of you two—I'm sorry that they won't be anything fancy—but I'm sure that they'll look nice enough."

There was a long moment of silence, then KayKay said slowly, "We're going to be on a CD . . ."

She turned to Matt and grabbed him by the shoulders. "We are going to be on a CD!" she gave a squeal of excitement and hugged him happily before turning and giving Garth Brooks a hug.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed. He chuckled.

"I'll take that as a yes, then. That is of course, if you agree, Matt?"

KayKay froze and turned to look at Matt. She knew he wasn't very fond of singing when it was a public ordeal . . . and he still hadn't made a move or said a word.

"Please Matt? Please?" she asked slowly. "This is . . . I mean . . . I've always dreamed . . . oh, please?"

He stared at her for a long time, and KayKay was certain he was going to say no—when his face suddenly cracked into a huge grin and he said, "We're going to be on a CD!" KayKay flew into his arms, hugging him happily and laughing. (Of course, he did the thing where he spun her around, making her laugh even harder.)

The rest of the day passed quickly. The photo shoot was, if possible, even more fun. Mr. Siempre wanted a few shots of them looking natural, as if they were singing, but then Garth asked for a few fun ones.

KayKay and Matt had looked at each other in deliberation for a few moments before Matt quite suddenly plunked his hat onto her head and scooped her up in his arms, spinning her around as she clung to his neck for dear life and everyone laughed.

They also got a few more fun pictures, which included one of KayKay getting a piggyback ride from Matt, one of both of them leaning back-to-back lazily, and then a few pictures of them having a water fight using a metal bucket and a hose. (Guess which of all the types of pictures was taken outdoors?)

The day of fun came to a close with signed contracts, quite a few free CDs, dinner with Matt as a fast-food restaurant, then the quick floo trip back to England (again using the time-adjustment Floo). It ended with a goodnight kiss, a smile, and dreams of the crazy fun KayKay had experienced.

Being with Matt was a little fast paced, yes, a little crazy . . .

But a bit of craziness now and then was fun.

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤§ ¤ § ¤ §¤ § ¤ §

Little Hula girls on the shot glass,
All we need's a little salt and lime.
We can plug in the hot pepper lights
And pretend that we're livin' on Key West time

I can run to the store an' get some charcoal,
Buy a tikki torch an' fire up the grill.
The whole town wants to know when I'm gonna grow up,
But you know I never will.

Yeah, I might be a little bit loco, but it keeps me from losin' my mind.
Oh, but half insane, that's ok, babe, a little bit crazy's all right

There's nothin' wrong with a little excitement.
No, it makes me forget about work
'Cause I live by the rule that everything's cool
Just as long as nobody gets hurt.

Hey! I feel like I'm on vacation.
Honey, you say the word and we'll go
'Cause you're getting to me in those cut off jeans
And that T-shirt from Sloppy Joe's.

Yeah, I might be a little bit loco, but it keeps me from losin' my mind.
Oh, but half insane, that's ok, babe, a little bit crazy's all right

Yeah, the deep end might be so close
Oh, that I'm hangin' on for dear life.
Yeah, I might be a little bit loco, baby, but a little bit crazy's all right

That's right.

Yeah, I might be a little bit loco, but it keeps me from losin' my mind.
Oh, but half insane, that's ok, babe, a little bit crazy's all right.

Might be a little bit loco, baby, but a little bit crazy's all right.


Okay! Thank you, thank you, first to David Lee Murphy for the excellent song. Second, thanks Garth Brooks for not yet discovering that I have personified you in my story and/or are not suing me for it.

Thanks Icy and Jen for your reviews—thanks for letting me know that you're out there, Jen! ¤ big smile ¤

Well, I personally couldn't stand the second half of this chapter, I'm glad that I'm through with it, and now I can move on to . . . er . . . different things. So please read, review, and offer advice if you see fit. ¤ smile and a wave goodbye ¤