Chapter four (:
I'm super pumped about where this is going. Hehe.
Oh, and just so you know, the major major plot twist I had originally planned for this story has been removed. As I was thinking about it, I realized it was a little implausible. So I replaced it with Elliot :D
Oh Elliot. What a derp.
Disclaimers. Right. I don't own Danny Phantom, Marry Me by Train, or iTunes. Hehe.
Well, I guess I own iTunes. It's on my laptop. I have my playlist that I designed for this story on there. But I don't own the company that created iTunes.
Man, even my OC's disclaim in this chapter. Hahaha.
Love it.
I'm gonna talk about something a little more serious down at the footnote. A topic that this chapter brushes. You'll see.
Until then!
Enjoy (:
All Around Us
Chapter Four: Marry Me
January 5, 2012
You can't stay the same. If you're a musician and a singer, you have to change, that's the way it works.
- Van Morrison
"Mom! What the hell is this?" Sam shouted across the house. She was standing in what used to be a rather large guest bedroom, all of whose furniture had been removed and replaced by a single, shining black grand piano.
"Don't you just love it? It's just gorgeous!" Her mother cooed when she appeared behind Sam's shoulder. "We never used that old bedroom anyways, so I decided to turn it into a music room!"
"But no one in this family does anything involving music," Sam growled through clenched teeth.
"That's not what Mr. Lancer told me earlier when he called here," Mrs. Manson sang teasingly.
Sam whipped her head around sharply at her mother's words. "What?" She shrieked. "He called here?"
"Well, yes. He said it's protocol for anyone trying out for Battle of the Bands to get a phone call home reminding you of the rules. Speaking of which, he told me to tell you that there are only a few rules: all music produced during your each round of auditions and the actual competition performance have to be live, the only people who can perform during any performance have to be members of your band, and...um...there was one more..."
"Mom, mom, mom!" Sam cried, plugging her ears with her fingers and closing her eyes. "I don't need to know any of this! I know it already! Stop it before someone hears you," She glanced at the walls nervously. She had an inkling of a feeling that Danny could be hidden there, invisibly stalking her to see why she wasn't at her car right after school. That was where they met on Wednesday afternoons instead of the Nasty Burger. Sam, of course, had failed to show up, choosing to hide in the girl's bathroom until she was sure the boys had gone, when she snuck out to her car to hide even more.
"Calm down, dear," Her mother said, patting her shoulder reassuringly. "It's not like anyone can hear us all the way up here!"
"That's what you think," Sam grumbled under her breath. "Listen, mom, some...um...the rest of my...band...is coming over in a few minutes. Will you let them in when they get here?"
"Certainly," Mrs. Manson said cheerfully. "Oh! I remember the last rule! If you're going to add any new members to your group, it has to be done before your first audition. After that, no one else can join." Sam rolled her eyes when her mother had turned to walk away before bounding up the stairs to her second-floor bedroom. She fumbled around the underside of her desk until her fingers made contact with a button Tucker had installed. She pressed the button and heard a faint whir as the ghost sheild around her house kicked to life. That should keep Danny out, she thought with a satisfied smirk.
"I can't believe you haven't told anyone how rich you are," Nate murmured in disbelief.
"I can. And I can also believe that none of you will tell anyone. Because if you do, you're short a lead singer. And I will make it a point to sneak into your bedrooms in the dead of night and saw off your favorite body part." Sam said threateningly.
The three boys' eyes widened. "We won't tell a soul," David said humbly.
"Okay...so..." Sam started awkwardly. David, Nate, and Tarlton were all gathered in her music room. Sam was settled on the piano bench, Nate behind a make-shift drum set, David clutching an electric guitar that was plugged into the most ancient amplifier Sam had ever seen, and Tarlton was nervously toeing the case of his bass guitar, which he had yet to open. "What are we gonna do for our first audition?"
"I dunno," Nate shrugged. "Tarl, take your bass out."
Tarlton immediately stooped beside his guitar case and tore his guitar out. He straightened up and slung the strap over his shoulder, letting the bass rest against his hip. He shuffled his feet nervously.
Sam watched him, a single eyebrow raised. "Tarlton...why are you so nervous?"
"Huh? Me? Nervous? Heh, no, I'm not nervous. I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not nervous." He repeated. He blinked for a moment before brushing his curls out of his eyes again.
"O...kay," Sam shook her head. "Ideas?"
"Well we should see what we're all capable of first," David suggested. There were nods and murmurs of agreement. "Shall I start?"
"Go right ahead," Sam gestured.
He settled back on the amplifier, using the box like a stool. He unplugged his guitar and began to strum a fairly complicated, but repetitive melody. "I'm not the best singer, so, bear with me," He said over his strumming.
"Forever could never be long enough for me
To feel like I've had long enough with you
Forget the world now we won't let them see
But there's one thing left to do
Now that the weight has lifted
Love has surely shifted my way
Marry me
Today and every day
Marry me
If I ever get the nerve to say 'hello' in this cafe
Say you will
Mmm
Say you will
Mmm
Together could never be close enough for me
To feel like I am close enough to you
You wear white and I'll wear out the words 'I love you'
And 'you're beautiful'
Now that the wait is over
Love has finally shown her my way
Marry me
Today and every day
Marry me
If I ever get the nerve to say 'hello' in this cafe
Say you will
Mmm
Say you will
Mmm
Promise me
You'll always be
Happy by my side
I promise to
Sing to you
When all the music dies
And marry me
Today and every day
Marry me
If I ever get the nerve to say 'hello' in this cafe
Say you will
Mmm
Say you will
Mmm
Marry me
Mmm,"
David strummed one last chord, his eyes locked with Sam's. And in that instant, Sam realized something. David blushed a deep, solid beet red as he registered the realization in Sam's eyes. Don't, his eyes begged.
She didn't. She joined with Nate and Tarlton as they applauded him, and he beamed and bowed theatrically.
"That was amazing!" Nate shouted.
"Thanks," David grinned appreciatively.
"Did you write that?" Tarlton asked eagerly, forgetting to shuffle his feet.
"Nah. That, my dear bass guitarist, was all Train." David waved his hand over his head. "I just borrowed,"
"It sounded really good," Sam grinned. David gave her a hesitant smile. Please, please, please, please, his eyes whispered.
She smiled and just barely shook her head. His smile grew wider.
"Me next!" Nate called. "I don't really have a song...just a few rips," He laughed nervously. "Okay, here goes nothing..."
He was impressive. The drum sticks in his hands were mere brown blurs as they flew over the battered drums, producing fast, deafening beats. He was breathing heavily when he finished, his glasses flashing excitedly in response to their excited applause.
"Wow!" David laughed. "Where'd you learn to do that?"
"I dunno," Nate shrugged. "Been doing it as long as I can remember,"
"Kicked ass, man," Sam saluted him. "Tarlton?"
Tarlton gulped. "I don't really know any bass guitar solos," He admitted in a hushed voice. "I just pick along to songs I hear on the radio sometimes,"
"So play a song you know," Sam suggested. He winced at the sound of her voice, but did as she suggested. He picked along at a slow, steady pace. The other two boys began to nod their heads along with the beat, while Sam merely watched in facination. She caught David staring at her. He looked away quickly, trying to appear absorbed in Tarlton's bass playing.
How could I have not noticed before...I thought I had such a good radar for that kind of thing! Sam thought as she continued watching David. It's so obvious now...
"That was great!" David said enthusiastically when Tarlton had finished. Tarlton blushed and shuffled his feet without meeting David's gaze. He muttered a thank you.
"Sam?" Nate said. The three boys turned to look at her.
"I, um, don't really know much music at all, actually," Sam admitted. "I used to take piano lessons, but that was three years ago when I quit,"
"Well do you know how to read music?" David asked. She nodded. "Then go get a piano book or something. We can go to the music store a few blocks away and pick one up right now, if you want,"
"Sure, okay," Sam said unenthusiastically. She stood.
"Um, Sam? Can I talk to you in private for a minute?" David asked. Nate and Tarlton immediately turned and left, Nate closing the door with a soft click behind them.
"What's up?" She asked, trying to look unconcerned.
"Listen...I...um...I know you know," He whispered, stepping closer to her.
"Know what?" She denied.
"You know I'm gay," He whispered.
"Really?" She tried to act suprised. She just sounded sarcastic. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You're right. I know. I won't tell anyone,"
"You won't?" He looked genuinely suprised. She nodded earnestly. A wave of relief crossed his face; Sam could visibly see his muscles relaxing. "Oh, thank you! I haven't officially...you know...come out yet. I'm not planning on it anytime soon, especially not in this school," He looked haunted for a moment as his mind slipped into the alternate universe where their merciless school knew of his darkest secret. He shook his head vigorously. "You don't...you know...you're not a homophobe, are you?"
"Nah," Sam said, smiling at him. "You're still a human being. No change there,"
"I'm so glad you recognize that," He said. "Most people, straight men especially, act like I have the plague when they figure it out. That's why I've avoided telling people at school if I can help it, not everyone is as open-minded as you."
She smiled and patted his arm reassuringly. "Trust me, I don't care at all. When I look at you, I see kick-ass guitar player. That's all I'll ever see."
"I'm gonna assume that's a good thing," He teased, pointing at her the way she pointed at him when they first met. She grinned. "Alright, let's go, Manson. We've gotta get you to a music store, stat. When we get back, remind me to burn you a CD for you to rip onto your iPod tomorrow,"
"I don't have an iPod."
"...oh my God. My poor deprived child. Fear not, I shall show you the light!" He wrapped an arm around her shoulder with one arm, and with his other he extended his index finger into the air as if he had just discovered the cure to cancer. Sam laughed as he dragged her out of the room, his finger still held aloft.
"There, your iTunes account is all set up," Tarlton said, swiveling back from Sam's laptop. She sat up on her bed, gazing at the screen.
"And here is my gift to you, celebrating the fact that you, a seventeen-year-old female, is just now getting her first iPod!" David said cheerfully. He slid a silver disc into the CD port. Several songs popped up on the screen. He dragged them over to a folder on the side of the screen. "Your job is to listen to these. Study them. Live them. Breathe them. They are your life now,"
Sam grimaced. "I don't know if I have enough time to listen to all those all the time," She said, her eyes scanning over the list. "That's a lot of songs,"
"Sixteen songs are not considered 'a lot of songs,'" David said without glancing back at her.
"For real," Nate chortled. Sam shot him a disdainful glare, which he shrank beneath. "Sorry,"
She glanced at the clock on her wall. It read 8:45 PM. Danny would be sick with worry, she knew it. He was probably pacing the floor of his room at that exact moment, alternating between sending her texts demanding to know what was wrong and calling her. She gulped.
"Alright, I'll take care of it," She said quickly.
"You have the piano books?" David asked, turning to look at her.
"Yep, in the piano room downstairs," She nodded. "I'm sorry, I'm supposed to meet someone at nine..."
"Oh, we'll get out of your hair, then," David said. The three stood, murmuring their goodbyes to Sam. She returned them, walking them down the stairs and to her front door with a promise to see them all tomorrow.
She raced back to her room and dived onto her bed, digging her phone up from her window sill. She was right; she had about thirty text messages and fifteen missed calls from Danny and Tucker combined. Most of them being from Danny.
"Hey, I'm really sorry about that, I couldn't find my phone. It was out in my car, duh," Sam said when she returned Danny's calls.
"Good, I thought something really bad had happened to you. I was about to fly over there to check on you. Where were you after school today?" Danny asked.
"Oh, I, uh...I had to stay behind and ask Mrs. Dominguez a question about this new forensics project she just assigned," Sam said quickly.
"Ah. What's the project?"
Shit! "Oh...Well it's a group project, for one," Sam said quickly. "We have to pick a serial killer and reconstruct two of their murder scenes. And then we have to write a paper analyzing the psychological motives for the serial killers to do whatever they did,"
"Sounds like something Jazz would be interested in," Danny laughed. "Well, cool. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, I was thinking something terrible had happened, like Skulker or Technus or Ember had gotten you or something,"
"Nah, I'm fine," Sam laughed nervously.
There was a scuffle on the other end of the line. Sam distinctly heard someone shout, 'Give it to me! Let me talk to her!' before Danny shouted: "Tucker! Get off me!"
"Hi Sam!" Tucker's voice suddenly replaced Danny's. "You'll never guess what happened after school today!"
"Hey, Tuck. What happened?" Sam chuckled. She could still hear the faint noises of Danny struggling with Tucker; she guessed that Tucker was sitting on Danny, pinning the poor boy to Danny's bed.
"I asked Valerie out!"
"Again? Tucker, when are you finally gonna gi-"
"She said yes!"
"She did?" Sam gasped. "Really? Well, congatulations! Man, that's awesome!"
"Yeah! Now all you have to do is start dating Elliot, and Danny can date Paulina, and then we can all have girlfriends and boyfriends!" Tucker laughed. Before Sam could retort, she heard a huge scuffle. Tucker grunted and shouted indignantly. Danny must have finally gotten free.
"I'm gonna have to call you back, Sam. Tucker just asked me to kick his ass." There was a pause. "Yeah? Well I'm gonna kick it anyways!" Danny shouted. "See you tomorrow Sam!"
"Goodnight," Sam laughed. The line went dead.
Sam glanced at her computer screen. Her iTunes was still pulled up, staring her in the face. She glanced at the title of the first song: Born This Way. Someone named Lady Gaga.
"Gross." Sam muttered. She closed her laptop and climbed into bed. Just get through this, Sam, and you're home free. Penn State, here I come!
You can't stay the same. If you're a musician and a singer, you have to change, that's the way it works.
- Van Morrison
Alright.
David is gay.
Let me explain.
I didn't just randomly decide to make him gay. There is a good reason behind it. In fact, the plot line kind of hinges on David being gay. If you are reading this and you were offended by ANYTHING I said, I am genuinely sorry. I meant no harm.
I am not a homophobe. I'm not gay, but I have gay friends. I love them all dearly.
JUST LIKE I LOVE YOU :D
Oh, and I don't think Train's gay, either. I don't know if he is. I don't think so. But you never know.
I'm gonna quit talking about that now.
So, yeah. That's my latest chapter. I think I'm gonna go write the last chapter to Darkness now to get that out of the way.
Oh...oh. I just got a new idea. A new story is forming in my overactive little mind.
I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH ALL THESE PLOT BUNNIES.
GAH.
Well, thank you for reading!
Love you my darlings!
:D
- Tori
