An: Hey guys! I'm sooooo sorry for how long this took! I meant to have it our awhile ago but high school caught up to me and I've been going through some family drama. My struggles asides I'm very sorry but I do have a break coming up soon, so I will hopefully be able to write some more. I just want to say thank you to everyone who's been reading and leaving comments. There has been one guest who's left multiple comments that have really encouraged me to keep going so Thank You! I'm not gonna hold y'all up anymore so onto the story!
The group watched as the memory changed and hoped that they would be able to get some answers. This time they were in a basement, one that only Nick had seen and could recognize as the one in Jeff's house. As they looked around all the warblers realized that it looked a lot like the time that they sat in one a local group's band meeting and practice. There sat 5 people on various things such as stools and amps.
"We really need to get this done." said a blond boy that shared a shocking resemblance to Jeff.
"Yeah, dude, the tour starts in 2 and half months and we still haven't written all the songs." said a lanky brown haired boy he looked different from the others. He was twirling drumsticks while discreetly looking at the blonde girl next to him.
"You think I don't know that?" Jeff said sharply, speaking for the first time, "Writing these songs is hard, plus I'm the one who's doing all the prep for the tour, of course I know how close it!" No one besides Nick had seen Jeff snap like that, and even Nick only saw Jeff like that after the stress of finals.
"Ri, chill, please. They didn't mean it like that." the blond girl next to the drumstick boy spoke up with sincerity in her voice. She too looked overworked. Why she called Jeff 'Ri' was a question on everyone's mind but no one had the answer.
"Yeah, bro, we all know you're working on it and are busy between this, the acting, and school." said a tall brunette boy who shared a resemblance to Jeff.
"I still can't believe mom made you go to a boarding school!" Laughed a boy holding a clipboard as he entered the room.
"It's too keep our cover!" Jeff defended himself.
"And that group, the warblers was it? Man, I've seen you in practice here vs you practicing there. If out went full out you'd be their lead in no time!" piped up the blond boy, confusing all the warblers. They all knew Jeff had auditioned 6 times, why would he try just to not go full out? Only Nick didn't question it. He was always the one to push Jeff to audition because he saw the potential that the council didn't. It was only after Jeff's second audition did Jeff push for Nick to try too. After that, they always auditioned together, except for the one time Nick lost his voice. He had suspected that Jeff might not have been doing his best for a while.
"It wouldn't be fair." Jeff rebutled with a look of exasperation. "Ryland, was there a reason you came in here?"
"Huh? Oh yeah! Mom wanted me to check on your song progress."
"You can tell her it's a work in progress. We have some more of Wishing I was 23 and Crazy Stupid Love but we think those will only be extras."
"Kay, they were serious though. You should show those Warblers what you can do. That boyfriend of yours would be so happy if you finally got a solo. You should see the way he looks when you get passed up for one." Ryland said as he looked directly at Jeff. Nick blushed, he hadn't realized he was so obvious. Jeff looked away before shaking his head.
"Let's just practice." Everyone in the room shared a look before Jeff spoke up again.
"Guys, I'm serious. Leave it be. Even if he somehow returned my feelings, we all know the label would never approve. I'm not about to give up all of our dreams for my stupid love." Jeff got up and walked over to the stage behind them. All the Warblers who were close to Jeff shared a concerned look.
"He would make you happy, Riker. And if any of us deserve to be happy it is you. Besides, you've been looking sad since you started checking on videos, maybe he could cheer you up." Said the boy with long brown hair. Everyone was very confused as to why Jeff was being called Riker, though some were starting to connect the peoples' resemblance to the fact that Jeff apparently had siblings.
"I'm fine!" Jeff insisted," I would be even better if we practiced." It was clear Jeff was getting agitated. He took a deep breath and fiddled with the bracelets on his wrist.
"Okay, bro, why don't we run Forget About You?" "Great idea, Ross!" Jeff said as he walked over to the stage and the others followed. As the memory faded into white and a new one began everyone was left with more questions than answers. Some people even had suspicions that they hoped were wrong.
Thanks for reading and hopefully new chapters will be up soon.
