Weeeeel...here I am. And here it is...I hope it's up to par. I legitimately have no excuse for why it took me god-knows-how-long to update anything. I know that this was the last thing I updated (I think?) and I honestly don't remember what was next on rotation, but this was what was coming to me, so this was what I wrote first. For those of you who also read Allegro, I swear I'm going to finish that next, and it's mostly done as a matter of fact. I hope there are still some of you with me on this journey, because this was the chapter I had laid out in my head since I started writing this story and it's gonna get way more interesting after this (at least I think so). Also, no matter how long it takes me to update things (and I'm hoping I'll be more regular since I'll be flexing my writing chops more frequently when I start my writing minor this fall) I absolutely will not abandon any of these stories. I know how frustrating that is, and I'd never do it. So these stories will have a conclusion at some point, I can guarantee that. Additionally, I've tried something new (to me at least) for an upcoming project. Well, two new things actually. I'm writing the entire thing before posting any of it, for one. So there's that. I'm also going to have that story beta'd so I can know a little of what it's like to be on the writer side of that. I know some of you are screaming at your computer, "what? another one? you aren't even updating the ones you have going?" but that's exactly why I'm finishing it before I'm posting it AND you can actually thank that story because it's the one I've been working on while I've been blocked for my ongoing ones, and I'm pretty sure it's got me out of my slump for now. So there's also that. And now I'm gonna shut up and let you get on with it.

Special thanks to afalcone10 for pre-reading this baby and providing me with hilarious commentary. I finally understand why that's so awesome. Love ya!

The story so far (because I'm sure we need a recap): Sookie is a bassist who recently joined Eric, Pam, and Bill's band, Area Five, much to Eric's initial chagrin. The band was out a bassist and vocalist after Sophie Anne and Andre made an abrupt exit. The newly-formed Area Five entered a contest to open for Nickelback, filmed some music videos for said contest, and then had a party at Eric's house after said filming. This is the next morning.

Wow, not a lot has happened so far, how the hell are we on chapter 7 already? Anyway, I'm sure that recap sucked, so I wouldn't be offended if you had to reread. Sorry for the delay once again.

Chapter Seven- Crushcrushcrush

I got a lot to say to you
Yeah, I got a lot to say
I noticed your eyes are always glued to me
Keeping them here
And it makes no sense at all

Paramore, "crushcrushcrush"

SPOV

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I noticed was that I wasn't on the same couch I originally fell asleep on. As I looked around, I remembered wandering in here to find Eric, but nothing other than that. I groaned as I sat up, and then promptly flopped back down. My head was killing me.

I was highly tempted to deliver a junk punch to Eric for making that punch. Tray would get one too for suggesting we play Punch Pong. I could only imagine how much worse for wear he was, with all the losing he was doing.

I managed to successfully sit up on the second try. Thankfully I wasn't feeling pukey, just extremely throbby. I needed aspirin in the worst possible way. Looking around the room again, I saw a large glass of water and a bottle of Bayer on Eric's desk. I took two and downed the water before making my way to the living room.

"Whoever left me the aspirin is getting a kiss," I announced loudly to the empty room.

"We're in the kitchen," responded Pam. "And I'm ready for my kiss, Stackhouse."

"Very funny," I laughed, maneuvering my way into the kitchen. Wrapping my arm loosely around her shoulder, I aimed a kiss for Pam's cheek. Unfortunately for me, and fortunately for Eric and Tray, who were watching with rapt attention, Pam turned to face me and we connected at the lips. My eyes went wide, and I managed to overcome my shock and pull back just as Pam's tongue touched my lips.

I heard both Eric and Tray suck in a breath as Pam laughed. "Tasty," she commented, slapping my ass for good measure. I rolled my eyes, like my best girl friend didn't just try to French me "accidentally."

Eric and Tray were practically statues as I squidged my way between them to get at the bag of bagels that was there. They still didn't move as I leaned over Eric to grab the tub of cream cheese, but their eyes were tracking my movements. I smirked as I craned up to get as close to looking Eric in the eyes as I possibly could. I ran my finger over his bottom lip and then down his chin.

"You're drooling," I whispered before skipping out of the kitchen behind Pam.

xXx

When Eric finally recovered and Bill had woken up, we all piled into my car and drove to the post office to send off our contest submission. We took turns kissing the padded envelope before handing it over to the highly confused post office employee. We celebrated the send off with Aunt Catfish's spectacular brunch buffet and laughed over what we could remember about the previous night.

It wasn't until one month later that we heard back from the Nickelback people. We'd known from the contest website that every band would be notified, whether they were the chosen one or one of the many, many disappointed passovers. So it wasn't like notification guaranteed us anything.

We were sitting in Bill's basement when Eric's phone rang. Bill had pulled out his acoustic guitar and was just messing around with riffs while Pam sang random harmonies along with his playing. None of us were up to practicing, since we'd been at it almost non-stop since submitting our CD, but none of us wanted to sit in silence or go home either. So there we were.

Eric casually sat up and dug his phone out of his pocket before answering it. He said a few yeahs very calmly before saying, "Thank you very much" and hanging up the phone before setting it beside him.

"So," he started out. "It seems we're one of ten finalists in the contest." He'd barely gotten the last few words out before Pam had launched from where she was sitting and tackled Eric.

"Shut the fuck up!" she screeched. Then she sat up, still on top of Eric, and socked him square in the shoulder. "How the fuck are you so calm about this?" she asked, still borderline screeching.

Eric looked up at her for a minute, and then a stupid grin spread across his face. For a minute, I thought he was going to get up and bounce around like I knew Pam was dying to do. Instead, she rolled off of Eric and jumped on my couch to hug me.

"So what does this mean?" Bill, ever the practical one, asked. It should be mentioned though that Bill was wearing a stupid grin that matched Eric's.

"Our CD, and the other nine finalists', now goes on to be judged by Nickelback themselves." Pam screeched again, and it was right in my ear.

After that bit of great news, we were miraculously more motivated to practice, even working some of Bill's random riffs into bits of new songs. We practiced our asses off for the following month, and I secretly hoped that all of our optimism wasn't for nothing.

Turned out it wasn't.

Almost exactly one month from the day we found out we were finalists, Eric received a text message from the same number that called him the first time. In it was a link to a page on the contest's website, and a password.

Pam practically tripped trying to get upstairs to get a laptop, taking the stairs three at a time. She was slightly more cautious on the return trip, and I think it was because she knew that if she killed that laptop, she'd have to repeat the process all over again. She skidded to a halt in front of the couch Bill and I were sitting on, and Eric was laying in front of, and plopped down between me and Bill. Eric practically crawled over us in an effort to see the screen.

Looking past the 6-foot-plus man-child on my lap, I watched intently as Pam pulled up the website and typed in the password. We all waited impatiently while a blank video screen buffered, and Pam and I both screamed when text appeared on the screen reading, "Congratulations, Area Five!"

The text quickly gave way to a shot of Chad Kroger and the rest of the band. "Area Five," Chad began, "congratulations on being the winners of the Rockstar Contest. We really dug your unique sound, and the fact that you had two hot chicks at the front for a song about sex." He laughed and looked to his bandmates, who nodded and laughed along. Pam high-fived me. "So now you'll have to get back to practicing, devise a set list using the songs you submitted, and we look forward to meeting you in Orlando." The little video ended and Pam barely got the laptop into Bill's hands before she was bouncing around the basement.

xXx

Two months later…

We ended up arriving at the Amway Arena a full hour ahead of our call time, thanks to Eric's led foot. I wasn't aware that Ms. Olivia's van could top one hundred. It was also raining when we got there, so we were soggy as well as early as we stood in front of the arena's backstage entrance. The security guard that was standing there took one look at us, smiled and asked, "Area Five?" We nodded, and Eric handed the man the pass that had been mailed to us. "Great. Let's get you inside to dry off and I'll call someone up to unload your instruments and park your van." He opened the door behind him and ushered us through before turning his attention to his walkie-talkie.

"I could get used to this," I commented as I linked arms with Pam as we made our way down a long hallway. We were about halfway down the hall when a woman came out of the door at the end, talking into a headset.

"I've got them. They're soaking wet. Get someone from hair and makeup ready for them," she said into the tiny microphone. She then clicked a button and flipped the mic down, away from her mouth. "Area Five," she said by way of a greeting. "I'm Holly, the assistant stage manager. You guys are early, but that's a good thing due to the weather. I'll take you guys to hair and makeup, and then wardrobe if you need it. We thought you might bring your own clothes, but I got a couple of things, for the ladies in particular, if you're interested." Holly started walking, and we started following.

"We brought our own, but we'd love to take a look. Right, Sookie?" Pam was wearing a smile that threatened to crack her face. Clothes whore.

"Um, yeah, that's fine. Our clothes are in the van, Holly."

"Of course. They'll be brought in with the rest of your equipment." Holly led us into a room that had a bunch of temporary vanities set up, with a partition down the middle. "Now, Sookie, you and Pam will be set up over here." She led us to the far side of the partition, where a man was waiting with two huge cases in hand. "This is Armand. He'll do your makeup and hair." Holly smiled at us and then went back to the boys.

Armand was nice. Quick, too. In less than an hour, Pam and I were made up and styled. Armand had curled my hair, and it was way better than it had been when I'd done it myself before we hit the road. He'd also braided in a few feather hair extensions. Pam's hair was done up in kind of a fauxhawk ponytail thing, and it had glitter streaks throughout. Holly reappeared shortly after Armand left, and she brought the clothes she'd picked out as well as our own with her on a rolling rack. "You all look great. I'll leave you to the clothing selection. When you're done, come to the room directly across the hall. The boys will be in there. Then you'll do your sound check." And she was gone again.

"Yeah, we could definitely get used to this," Pam gushed as she looked at the clothes Holly'd brought in. I laughed; Pam doesn't gush. "Here, you should try this on." She handed me a white lace corset dress that had gathered lace on the bottom that hung around the back and one of the sides. I paired that with the fishnets and black combat boots that I'd brought with me, while Pam found a black sequined bustier that she paired with the long leather skirt she'd ordered offline just for tonight. She was going barefoot onstage, as was Pam's standard, so she slid back into her flip-flops.

We met the boys in the room across the hall, which turned out to be the green room. There was a buffet table covered in food and drinks, and there were people running around in every direction. I spotted Eric and Bill lounging on a couch; Eric was sprawled and eating pretzels, while Bill was sitting on the opposite end and looking down into his lap. I plopped down next to my best friend and put my arm around his shoulders, vaguely aware of the heated look Eric was trying to pin on me.

"Nervous?" I asked, though I could clearly tell he was. Bill gave a slight nod and I wrapped my other arm around his torso and snuggled into him a bit. "We're gonna kick ass at this, you know," I told him, poking his ribs until he smiled at me. We sat in silence for a moment before Holly materialized out of the throng of people buzzing around.

"We're ready for you."

We followed Holly out onto the stage, where Nickelback roadies (they were wearing special t-shirts) were setting up our equipment. Our equipment. Us. Small time band from Daytona Beach.

Holy shit.

Cooler than that (if that was even possible), there was a huge banner hanging behind Eric's drum kit. About a month prior to tonight, we were contacted again, this time by an events coordinator from Amway about banner art for the show. Tray just so happened to be fucking a tattoo artist at the time, and she was more than willing to create some kind of logo for us. We told her we just wanted our name written out somehow, but she managed to go above and beyond in a fuckawesome way. Kady had created a unique font for us that was gothic without looking too hard, and swirly without looking too girly. It looked amazing, and I was hoping Tray didn't piss this one off too badly, because I'd definitely want to hit her up for a t-shirt or album design if it came to that.

I knew from the way we came in, and from seeing other shows at Amway, that the banner was used to partition the main act's kit and other equipment for a quicker setup between acts. Walking over to where my bass had been set on a stand, I picked it up and adjusted the strap, trying not to mess up my hair. After we were all set up, a spotlight was directed at the stage.

"Okay, guys. We're just gonna have you play your first song through while we adjust the mics and amps and such," came a disembodied voice over the speakers. "On your cue."

I put fingers to strings and began to play the intro to our opening song, "Closer." Even through the ear pieces that Holly had given us when we first got to the stage, I could still hear how loud and powerful my chords were sounding. It felt amazing. Soon enough, we'd finished our first song and the sound guys were thanking us and wishing us good luck.

xXx

The first five seconds after I walked onstage were the most terrifying seconds in my entire life. The walking onstage itself was a blur, a sort of out of body experience where I really couldn't remember getting from point A to point B. The stage was dark when we walked on, which was bad enough, but the start of our show was all on me.

Whose idea was this setlist?

I picked up my bass and prepared to play. I couldn't hear anything, since the low din that the crowd was most likely making was tuned out by my ear piece. Once I got the green light from whoever was speaking in my ear piece, I strummed out the intro to 'Closer.' I knew that was when the lights were supposed to come up, but it still shocked me a little bit. I continued to play, and it wasn't too long before I felt like I was back home playing at Crave. It also helped that I couldn't see too many people with all of the lights.

The first song quickly became the second, then the third, and before I knew it we were done with our four song set. I flipped out one of my ear pieces and could hear the cheers from the crowd. My lips moved into a smile that threatened to shatter my face and I barely registered Pam telling the crowd to come hang out with us in the lobby between sets before we were leaving the stage.

I had been lingering on the side of the stage for God knows how long when I felt someone next to me. I turned to see Eric looking out at our equipment as well. "It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" he mused.

"Fucking amazing," I agreed.

"Quite the potty mouth you have, Stackhouse." He side-eyed me.

I snorted. It was most unladylike, much like my potty mouth. "You really should get out more, Northman."

"Maybe so," he mumbled. "Nice dress, by the way." And then he was gone. I looked around, only to see Nickelback crew members moving around to get things set up. What the hell had just happened here? I was starting to question my sanity when Pam called my name.

"They're getting us set up to sell CDs in the lobby, come on!"

I shook whatever that was off and followed her out into the Amway lobby, where Bill and Eric (was he the Flash?) were talking to Holly. They were standing in front of a bannered table with the same logo as was on our backdrop banner. There were also two cardboard boxes and an Amway employee with a money box. A security guard hovered in the near distance and a small crowd was already gathering. Holly turned to look at us as we approached. "Great, you're all here. Like I was just telling the guys, Nickelback turned your demo CD and videos over to us and we turned it into an LP for you guys to sell with an optional DVD of your original song video. Natalia is here to help handle money and Tony is here to keep an eye on things. I'll be back to collect you before Nickelback goes on. Great show, guys." I watched Holly's retreating form for a minute before looking back to Pam, and then on to the line that was starting to form.

We had sold about half our box by the time Holly reappeared. She took a look in the box and smiled. "Not too shabby, huh?" she commented before stepping back. "Tony will leave the rest with your equipment so you can sell them at local shows if you want. You all need to come backstage again now so you can watch the show." With that, she turned tail and started heading towards the stage door.

While we got settled backstage with a fresh drink and a mini sandwich from that buffet table, Nickelback was kicking things off onstage. Chad Kroger was fucking hilarious, telling almost as many jokes as singing songs. They were about halfway through their set (which I knew thanks to the setlist posted near my head) when Chad pulled the mic off the stand while someone set up another next to that one.

"I know you guys have already been treated to the musical stylings of our contest winners, Area Five, but I thought you might wanna hear a bit of what swayed us."

What. The. Hell?

Chad continued, "Now a lot of bands decided to go at some of our more…let's say, racier songs." He started walked towards our side of the stage. "But none did it quite like Area Five. You see," he walked over to us, still talking into the mic, "this is Pam." Pam, who clearly shot me a he knows my name look, looked as if she was about to faint. Chad took her hand (and I may have shoved her towards him) and he lead her out onto the stage. "While I'm sure you all can see this, Pam is a hot girl." There was a large roar of male voices at that. "The song Pam here, and her band, chose to sing was S.E.X." Another loud roar from the crowd. "How would you guys feel if I asked Pam to sing with me for this next one, so you can hear what won us over?" The crowd went absolutely nuts. Hell, I was going absolutely nuts. I had both Bill and Eric by the arm, and I was pretty sure I was cutting off their circulation with my death grip. I watched a Chad moved the mic away from his mouth so he could whisper something to Pam. She nodded vigorously and stepped up to the spare microphone that had been set up.

Chad set his mic back on the stand, grabbed his guitar, and they started the song. Pam may have only been singing the 'yeahs,' but after she got over her shock, you could tell that she was really getting into it. She danced in the way that only Pam can, and she was amazing. I hated to admit it, but I was slightly jealous. Soon enough, the song was over and Pam was casually strolling off the stage after getting a hug from the band. Her play-it-cool stroll last all of about, oh…an eighth of a second after she was clearly backstage. As soon as she knew she was out of the audience's view, she sprinted towards us and jumped on Eric. He swung her around before setting her down, where she immediately latched on to me.

I walked with my Pam-barnacle back to the green room, where she proceeded to let out the scream that I knew she'd been holding in since Chad took her hand and lead her onstage. "OHMYFUCKINGGODTHATWASSOCOOL!" I somehow managed to decipher as she was squeeing and bouncing. "He grabbed my hand…and then he…and then we…and it was SOFUCKINGCOOL," she gasped out.

This was the closest I'd ever seen Pam come to a fangirl moment.

I smiled at her. "Sit. Breathe. Air is your friend." I pulled her over to one of the couches and hugged her to me as we sat. "You were so badass," I whispered.

"Thanks," she whispered back. "I was so nervous, but then I was out there and I just…" she trailed off into a sigh.

"Is it safe?" Bill asked, peeking his head around the corner. Pam flipped him off, which I guess he took as an all-clear, because he and Eric were coming in the room after that. They both piled on the couch with us, Eric on Pam's side and Bill on mine.

This was definitely a moment. I was having a moment. With my band. My band.

Said moment was interrupted some time later when Holly opened the door from backstage, holding it open for an elegant woman in a pantsuit. The elegant woman then ushered Nickelback into the green room. Wow.

"Thanks for a great show guys," Chad said before making introductions.

xXx

After Chad and the guys left for their tour bus, Holly came back to get us ready to go. "All of your equipment has already been loaded into your van, which is parked by the buses. Pam and Sookie, you're more than welcome to keep the clothes. It's been great working with you guys tonight, and I actually mean that for once." She laughed a little to herself. "You guys have a good night now." We were at the backstage door at this point, so we said our thanks to Holly and then she was back up the hallway. As she opened the door, a young woman came out and started towards us. She was wearing a pantsuit identical to the one the Elegant Woman was wearing, only this girl was about our age and she looked extremely uncomfortable in it.

"Area Five! I've been looking all over for you." We all kind of looked at each other. "I'm Amelia…wait!" She reached into the oversized leather bag she was carrying and produced a business card, which she handed to Pam. "I'm Amelia Broadway, head of A&R for Carmichael Records. I'm here because your demo came across my desk on behalf of Nickelback." She paused and fidgeted, and I got the impression that she was very new at this. If I didn't know any better, I would have sworn that she was reading off of note cards. "We at Carmichael Records really liked your unique sound and your male/female lead singer dynamic." She looked up. "Speaking of which, where is your male lead singer?"

Oh shit.

"He's not—" Eric started.

"Because you know," Amelia kept on, "I can't offer anything without him."

Eric tried again, "Pam, she's really stepped—"

"That dynamic was what we wanted, so you either have it, or you don't." Amelia hefted her bag back on her shoulder. She shrugged. "If you don't have it, then I'll just be on my way…"

"He's not here," I chimed in. Amelia raised an eyebrow at me. In fact, there were a lot of eyebrows raised in my direction. "He's…uh…he's sick," I said slowly, hoping it didn't sound as much like a question to Amelia as it did to me. "We have a male lead singer too."

Cliffhanger! I love them. I feel like these serialized chapters should be like TV episodes most of the time. Sometimes you have a nice tidy ending and sometimes there's a cliffy. This is one of those times. So who could this male singer be? Does Sookie have someone in mind or is she just pulling things out of her ass? (It's probably #2, no pun intended) I will happily take your speculations in the form of a review (if you follow me on Twitter, you might have a better idea since my cup of excitement about this has runneth over and I may have spilled these beans over there). Hope to hear from those of you who are still out there.

-Sydney