The second song of the story (hmm, maybe this should be a musical :) comes into this chapter. And the mention of the third song. I own 100 of them both. I wrote them myself, didn't have any help at all...You get the picture, right?
"Why do I get the feeling you're hiding something, Cassie?" Tom asked me a few days later. Tom and I had skipped lunch to work on a new song.
I rolled my eyes. "Tom, I'm sure we all hide a lot of stuff, so can we please just get back to writing the song now?"
I started to write, and Tom grabbed my wrist. "Cassie, I'm not writing anything until you tell me why you've been so depressed lately." He stared at me for a moment and I realized just how mesmerizing his eyes were.
My eyes started to water, so I snatched my hand back and looked down at my lap. "I-f-fine." I stuttered. I sniffed and took a deep breath. "You already know that I was raped. But I didn't tell you that I got pregnant."
There was a sharp intake of breath, and I looked up, searching his face for a reaction. "W-what happened?"
"I had a miscarriage," I said simply. "I don't know what happened, exactly. I was about four months pregnant when it happened."
Tom didn't seem as shocked as I thought he'd be. "You seem to be holding up well."
I sniffed. "Yeah, but seeing him again really shook me up…" Tears started streaming down my face. Once again, I ended up in Tom's arms.
"I think we should grab something to eat," he said standing up.
I grabbed his hand. "Tom, don't tell anyone about this," I said. "It was hard enough telling you." I immediately regretted what I said when I saw his face. "Not that I can't tell you anything. It's just…hard. To talk about."
He smiled. "Cass, you have nothing to worry about. I won't tell a soul. He held my hand the whole way down to the dining area. The boys were eating out. I grabbed an apple and a bottle of water from a vending machine, but realized I wasn't hungry.
We went back upstairs, and I forced myself to eat the apple, but ended up choking down only about half.
"So, got any ideas for a new line?" I asked Tom, picking up my guitar and playing the new melody we had.
Tom watched me play with a thoughtful look on his face. "What'd you think about, 'the thought of me the thought of you'?"
I made a face. "Not for a chorus. Maybe as the first line or something."
"Then let's use it as the first line. 'When I think about you' isn't the greatest way to start a song anyway."
With Tom's music and lyrics, and my…lyrics, this song was sure to be a hit. And it proved to be one when we performed the song at a concert. What I didn't know was how close the words were to the truth. The song was called 'Million Miles Away.' Despite having co-written it myself, I thought some of the lyrics were a bit cheesy. But the audience seemed to like it. The chorus goes something like,
"What are you supposed to do?
When you're in love with someone who
Doesn't live next door 'cause they
Live a million miles away."
I never knew how much work being a famous band could be. I only had to have a few rehearsals and recordings with the guys, although I went to almost all of them anyway. There were a few occasions when Tom convinced me to go shopping with his cousin who lived in New York. Or rather, they kicked me out. Little did I know what the guys were doing when I left.
Danny's POVAs soon as Cassie and Alyssa left, I turned to Tom to ask him a question about the song, but my mobile beeped, telling me I had a text message. I grinned, and Tom rolled his eyes.
"Is it that girl you met in that chat room?" he teased.
I rolled my eyes back at him. "She has a name," I said, reading her text and texting her back.
Tom snorted. "Of course she does. You just don't know it yet. And what happened to airhead girl…Katrina?"
I sighed and picked up my guitar again. "Karen. So what exactly did you plan for this little love song of yours?"
Tom's POVHonestly, I had no idea. I coughed. "Um…something romantic?" I guessed. "I don't know. It's gotta make sense."
"Gee that helps," Danny said. "Thanks."
I suggested some lyrics, and we tried them out. I decided they fit perfectly with the whole situation. That's when I thought of the perfect chorus.
Cassie's POV"Did you try on the pink one?" Alyssa asked. Despite living in New York her whole life, Alyssa had a faint British accent.
I sighed. Don't get me wrong; I adore shopping. But this was the eleventh skirt she was having me try on. I needed food.
"Alyssa, can we get lunch now? I'm starving." I came out of the dressing room and shoved all the clothes I didn't want into her hands. She sighed.
"Fine. But you better prepare yourself for an interview by mwa."
We ate at a little diner with only a few people inside. Perfect for me to come up with answers for the questions Alyssa fired at me.
"Hey, Alyssa, how much time do you spend with the guys?" I asked before she could say anything.
She somehow knew I was referring to her accent. "Well, I usually see Tom every other month. Somehow his voice affects people."
I laughed, my face turning red. She didn't know how right she was. Unfortunately, she noticed, and smiled. "You've got a thing for my cousin, don't you?"
I avoided eye contact. "What are you talking about?" I looked at her face in time to see her roll her eyes.
"Oh, don't even try to play dumb, Cassie. You and I both know that you're in love with Tom."
I blushed and didn't deny it. "Well…"
"I knew it!"
I laughed. "Okay fine. You caught me. But it's not like anything will happen. And even if it did, Tom lives in England; I live in America. We're like, oceans apart."
Alyssa picked the onions off her burger. "Maybe so, but you don't know Tom like I do. Er…maybe you do. But when he wants something, nothing gets in his way. Not even the Atlantic. Or the Pacific."
I took a bite of my BLT to hide my embarrassment. Was that true? Did Tom really want me? I hoped I'd find out soon, because I only had two months left with them.
"Have fun?" Tom asked back at the hotel room. I would've glared at him had he not been looking so adorable, sitting on the bed in his glasses, with a notebook in front of him. I resisted my urge to sigh.
"Yep. I got this really cute dress." I threw my bags in the corner and hopped onto the bed next to him. He slammed the notebook shut. I raised an eyebrow at him, but changed the subject. "My friend Amanda has been dying to meet you guys-well, mainly Danny. She's coming to the next show."
"She's not one of those psycho girls who try to jump on stage and ask their idol to marry them, is she?" Danny actually looked worried.
I laughed. "She's not really that type. But she is a bit obsessed…" I told him about her randomly singing song lyrics in our conversations and how she would always bring them up, no matter what subject we were on. He laughed.
"That's good."
I took a shower and got ready for bed. Tom had disappeared when I came out of the bathroom. "Where'd Tom go?" I asked Danny, drying my hair.
Danny looked up from his laptop and shrugged. "I think he went to get some extra pillows or something. I wasn't really paying attention."
"Oh." I sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Danny, can I ask you something?"
He set the computer down. "Sure. What's up?"
I figured I could trust him, so I just blurted out what I wanted to know. "Do you think Tom likes me?"
I was expecting him to laugh at me or something, so I quickly added, "Alyssa thinks he does, and I was just curious." I groaned and fell back on the bed, covering my face with my hands, furious at myself for what I'd done.
Danny just laughed. "Cassie, are you really that blind? Tom's crazy about you." He came over and sat next to me.
I sat up. "Huh?"
"Okay, let me put it this way. Obviously, you like Tom. And obviously, he likes you back. Got it?" he asked.
I giggled. "Yeah. Putting it in McFly song title form helps," I joked.
He smiled. "But what brought that up?"
I shrugged. "Well…everything. Tom's been so sweet to me. Ever since my mom died, it seems he's the only one I can talk to…" I sniffed.
Danny took my hand. "Hey, don't cry. You know you can talk to me right? Tom's not the only one who knows how to comfort a girl." He winked.
I laughed, hugging him. "Thanks Danny." The door opened, and he let go of my hand as Tom walked in.
"What's going on?" It was more of a questioning tone than an accusing one.
"Hey, dude, that girl finally told me her name," Danny sat back down on his bed, picking up his computer again. "It's Amanda."
I froze. Coincidence much? We ordered pizza for dinner. I ate and went to bed. It only took me a few minutes to fall asleep, despite the light still being on and Tom and Danny talking – loudly.
I was glad the next morning was Sunday. No rehearsals, no recordings, no anything except relaxation.
I rolled over to face Danny, who was staring at the clock. "What are you planning on doing today?" I asked him.
He yawned. "I'll probably go see a movie or something," he said. "What about you?"
I shrugged. "Shopping," I laughed. And that was exactly what I did. I went shopping with Alyssa. She grinned when she saw me.
"Are you ready for the greatest shopping spree of your life?" she asked excitedly.
I smiled at her enthusiasm. "Does this mean trying on more skirts?"
"Maybe. I was thinking more about trying on dresses for the premiere of Drew Barrymore's new movie in Florida."
I looked at her, surprised. "Nobody told me about it."
Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Of course not. You can't trust guys. Now let's get going." She dragged me to a huge department store. I loved shopping, but I wasn't looking forward to this.
I found the perfect dress in Nordstrom's. Sure, it was nearly a hundred dollars. But I had spending money from my dad.
The first dress I tried on was red, spaghetti strap, and knee length, with lacy material over the skirt to make it sparkle. Although it was kind of itchy.
"You can wear a slip," Alyssa said when I complained. "Otherwise it's perfect."
It became not-so-perfect when I saw the price tag. We had better luck with the next one.
It was strapless, black, with an uneven hem. The skirt was made of silk, and had white polka dots. Alyssa gasped when I came out. "Cassie, that dress is so perfect!" she squealed.
It didn't take very long for Alyssa to convince me. As soon as she told me Tom would love it, I took it off and paid for it. Alyssa and I said our goodbyes, she went home, and I went back to the hotel. I decided not to show Tom my dress until the night of the premier.
There was a knock on the door. The lock still being broken, Dougie walked into the room. "Hey, dudes, Harry and I are going to that pub down the street. Want to come?"
I declined, claiming I was really tired. Tom just yawned as an answer, but Danny jumped up. "What are we waiting for?"
As soon as they left, Tom plopped down on the bed beside me. "Want to watch a movie?" he asked. I nodded.
We flipped through the channels until we found one that we both agreed looked interesting. After a while, however, the movie got boring, and somehow the TV ended up on Dawson's Creek. Tom was practically drooling over Katie Holmes
"Get over it. You have as much chance with Katie Holmes as I do with-" I stopped myself in time.
Tom looked at me. "With who?" he whispered. I knew that he knew what I was about to say. I swallowed, his nearness making me nervous. Our lips met. I felt a tingling go through my whole body when we kissed, and it seemed that time froze. When we broke apart, I shivered.
We just looked at each other until we heard the door opening. Danny was back.