AN: I got no funny thing to say soooo... WAKA WAKA MUTHA FUKA!

Disclaimer: I own only the plotline and some OCs.

Phoenix POV

"So, hold up. You're telling me, two of the greatest musicians that ever lived are yours and Faith's dads!" Tom asked me. I smiled.

"Yup. That's it in a nutshell," I said back to him. We were both chilling under the oak tree outside of the school. Faith and Morgan were only a few feet from us talking about whatever they talk about. I'd probably find out sooner or later.

"Dude, your life must rock. Do you live in a big house? Your own estate?" He asked. I laughed.

"Yeah, and I also own my own island. I got it when I turned five!" I said laughing. Tom slugged me in the arm.

"I asked a pretty good question, smartass. Geez. You could've just said yes or no, dude," he said leaning back on the tree. I laughed and rubbed my arm. Wow, his hit actually hurt...Not often does a friendly punch hurt me.

"Damn dude," I said, "What do you do, bench 220 or something?"

"Yes actually," Tom replied, "How'd you guess?"

"I didn't mean to. I just did. Ow. You should defiantly try out for the football team," I told him. He chuckled.

"Nah, I thought I'd go for the debate club," he replied sarcastically. I slugged him on the arm that time. He laughed and rubbed his arm.

"So what about you? 200?" asked Tom. I sighed.

"Damn, you guessed right on the spot," I said, "We're just a couple of muscle heads aren't we?"

Tom laughed, "Yeah, I guess we are. So, you and Faith, huh?"

I sat up fast and looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him. Tom gave me a blank look.

"Oh come on," he said, "I've saw you look at her during my first song."

"We didn't even hear the whole song!" I exclaimed quietly, "and we're best friends! We aren't going to end up like her parents."

"Dude, please. Too much drama for me. And I have numerous sisters," Tom said. I gave him a blank look this time. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm a foster child!" Tom exclaimed to me. I mentally kicked myself for going right to the gutter of my mind.

"Oh," I managed. Tom looked away and stood up.

"Just forget it," he said. Tom started to walk away.

"Tom, wait! I'm sorry! I didn't know you were in foster care," I called after him. He stopped and turned back to me, rage in his eyes. I came to a stop only a foot away from him. Morgan and Faith appeared next to me.

"Maybe you didn't know because I didn't want you to know!" Tom yelled at me. He turned his head away and shut his eyes and tried to even his breathing out.

"Sorry," he said, looking back at us, "I'll see you in class later."

He started to walk away.

"The bell hasn't even rung yet, though!" Morgan called after him. Not after she said that, the bell rung and we were left with the decision to follow Tom, or get to class. We reluctantly decided to go to class.

Tom POV

I walked ahead of everyone with my head down. I mentally kicked myself over and over for snapping at Phoenix. He wasn't the one that blew my cover.

I did.

Idiot! I thought bitterly.

I thought running away from my foster home would be my best idea ever. I forgot the part about a major manhunt of worried people who don't actually care about you but the governmental funds that come with you. Yeah, that's my foster parents in a nutshell. They don't even care about the other kids in their home. They just care about the money that comes with them.

I kept walking and cursing myself until I bumped into someone. We both fell backwards.

"Way to go idiot! Now I'm late for first period!" The person I knocked over said to me.

"Sorry," I muttered. I got back up to my feet and walked over to the girl that was currently dusting herself off.

"Are you okay?" I asked. She looked at me.

"Yeah, I guess I'm fine. Sorry for snapping at you," She said. I shrugged.

"It's no biggie. I deserve every bit of it today. You know, you could probably make it to first class if you hurry," I said to her. She smiled.

"Thanks, but aren't you going?" she asked. I shook my head.

"Nah, I'm not even enrolled here...I mean I'm just on my way to my school," I lied. I was enrolled here; I just didn't want to face my mistakes. Hey, my mother didn't. She posted me for adoption. Mother is always right, or whatever the Hell the saying is.

"Uh-huh. Come on," The girl said dragging me by the arm.

"Hey! Lemme go!" I said trying (and utterly failing) to escape her iron tight grip. She looked back at me with a smile and I knew I wasn't going anywhere but where she wanted me to. Not because of the smile.

...Okay it was because of the smile. She has a nice smile, okay?

"So what's your name?" She asked.

"It's Tom," I said, "And I'm starting to lose the feeling in my arm. Can I have it back now?"

"Are you going to skip school still?" the girl asked.

"I'm still considering it, yes," I answered.

"Then no," she replied. Damn. I planned on hitting Dairy Queen before heading back to my Motel room. Don't ask how I got the money for it.

You don't wanna know.

Trust me.

"I'm Alex," the girl said introducing herself. I struggled with my arm again.

"Nice to meet you, Alex," I said. She smiled back at me again. I finally understood some of the Flatts songs. Aw crap.

Now, I swore I'd only stay here until the heat in Erieville blew off. Meeting Morgan and her friends was purely coincidental. Talking to Phoenix was good for a bit, but I kind of knew that I'd have to let it go. Meeting Alex however has really put my tear in my plans.

Alex has long light brown hair and her eyes are a beautiful green. Her smile is breath taking and her strength and determination are just...wow.

It's official.

I'm in love.

Crap.

"What's your first class?" she asked me, drawing me from my la-la land.

"Uh, History in room 201," I replied. She beamed at me.

"Wow! That's mine too! Looks like I get to make sure you don't skip class," Alex said. I smiled along with her.

"Looks like it," I said back to her. She stopped dragging me and walked with me to first period. We made it but I knew I'd have to talk to Phoenix and apologize after class.

Faith POV

"So you didn't even know he was in foster care?" I asked Morgan. She shook her head.

"We never brought up our parents. Well, I didn't because I think of Frankie and the band as my family. My parents were too busy with work to actually take care of me, remember?" Morgan replied. I nodded my understanding. In fact, I only remember meeting her parents once.

School had let out and we hadn't been assigned anything yet for homework. The teachers weren't fully supplied yet for some reason. Morgan and I were walking around the football field and talking about things. We stopped walking when we saw Phoenix and Tom walking towards us with a girl I had seen only once before in my Advanced Spanish class.

"Phoenix! Tom! Where have you been?" Morgan asked them. Phoenix chuckled.

"We were talking to the coaches about sign-ups for football and girl's track team," he said.

"And I was apologizing for earlier," Tom said, "I'm sorry I snapped at you guys."

"It's okay Tom," Morgan and I replied in sync. The other girl giggled at us. Morgan and I looked at her and then Phoenix.

"Oh, right. Faith, Morgan, this is Alex. She's going to be on the Girl's Track team this spring," Tom said.

"But in the meantime, I'm going to be helping you two cheer on our football team's Fullback and Tailback," said Alex. I looked at Phoenix.

"You're actually trying out for football?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"Sounds like fun," Phoenix said, "Why? Do you have something against me doing football, Faith?"

"No," I said, "It just surprised me is all."

"Cool," He said.

"This is great and all, but I kind of want to go meet your dads now," Tom said.

"Oh, ditto!" Alex said, "They're so cool on stage! I can't wait to meet them in person!"

"Well we need to wait for Eric," Morgan said, "He's our ride."

"Well okay," Tom replied, "We'll wait with you, and if there's no room, I'll drive Alex."

"You're fifteen! How can you drive?" Phoenix asked. Tom shrugged.

"I was held back, I'm actually sixteen. And licensed," he replied.

"Do you have a car?" I asked. Tom beamed and nodded.

"Yup. It's the old '98 Z28 black Camaro over there in the parking lot," He replied.

"Damn, dude," said Phoenix, "That's a beautiful car. How much was it?"

"Three summers worth of savings," Tom said, "and about one fall's worth of work. It took a lot to get it to look like it does now."

"I call shot gun!" Alex said raising her hand. Phoenix's shoulders drooped.

"Dammit. I wanted shot gun," he muttered.

We all laughed at him and went to the parking lot to inspect Tom's car. I had to admit, it was a nice car. He had a V8 engine and had a custom Bose radio system installed in it. This car was remade for style. Tom got in and put the convertible top down. He revved the engine and it roared alive.

"Dayyyyyum. That's one beautiful sounding car," Phoenix commented. Morgan and I nodded our agreement. Then Morgan's eyes glazed over.

"Eric's driving over this way. He wants to see your car, Tom," Morgan said. Tom chuckled and popped the trunk. He walked around and set his bag in the back. Alex walked behind him and looked into the trunk.

"Tom, what are those?" she asked. Tom's face turned red. He took Alex's bag and set it in the trunk. He started to close the trunk, but Alex stopped him.

"Are those art canvases?" She asked. Tom turned his head slightly and muttered, "Yes."

"No way, let me see!" Morgan said. She walked to the back and pulled one out. Alex and Morgan "aww"-ed at whatever the picture was. Phoenix and I walked around and saw the picture. I resisted an "aww" just as Phoenix did.

On the picture was a black dog playing with a younger dusty blonde girl. Tom carefully took the canvas back and set it back in the trunk.

"Who was that in the picture, Tom?" I asked.

Tom sighed, "It was my youngest 'sister'. Her name is Kyla."

"And the dog?" Morgan asked.

"It was my Labrador I got for Christmas. She was wrongfully put to sleep without my consent," He replied. Before we could press on the manner, E pulled up in his Porsche and practically jumped out of the car. E is a big car buff.

"Hey Eric," Tom said. E signed 'Hello Tom'. E and Tom got into a large signing conversation about...I don't know actually. My sign language reading skills is rusty.

"Eric," Morgan said finally, "can you please drool over Tom's car at home? We wanna go see Frankie and the band!"

E's shoulders slouched and he agreed silently. We piled into the Porsche and Tom and Alex got in the Camaro. We drove back home telling E about our two new friends and our first day at school.

AN: Well, lemme know what you think. Send in song requests people! Oh and Fang's POV is next.

Never Give Up

T-Bones158