New chapter is here! Thanks once again for the amazing reviews guys, they really mean the world to me, seriously they make my day! 333
Enjoy! (and pls don't forget to let me know what you think ;))
"Hey!" Tatiana greeted them warmly, but all the rockers could do was just staring.
They kept eyeing her in silence for a couple of seconds, and then Derek turned to Tripp and mouthed, so the girl couldn't hear them:
"Is she the one you were talking about?" Tripp nodded, so Derek turned to Ash and Burger and asked another question:
"Is she the one who stepped out of my room?" they nodded as well.
He then took another look at Tatiana, this time checking her out a bit, and turned once more to the others saying in a very suggestive way:
"What are you doing to me…?"
Noticing that Tatiana got a bit confused of what was happening, Tripp decided that he should introduce her to the guys himself rather than letting them present themselves.
"Guys!" Tripp called.
"What?"
"Focus!"
"'Kay!" the band said finally taking their gazes away from the young woman.
"This is Tatiana, she gave an audition last night to join the band" he explained "Tatiana, this is the band" he said turning to her "This is Burger, Ash"
"Hi!" Ash said smiling and waving his hand in his usual way.
"And…" Tripp once again tried to end his sentence, but this time he was interrupted by Tatiana.
"Wait a sec!" she said "Burger, Ash, Tripp…" she added pointing at each one of them when she would say their names and then eyed Derek, cocked her eyebrow and continued: "And let me guess…You're Pole?"
"Derek" the lead singer said with a coquettish, but at the same time a bit irritated smile on his face "Jupiter"
"Aha…" Tatiana nodded her head "Well that's…unusual!"
"Hi!" Ash greeted and waved his hand once again.
"Anyways…I'm pleasured!" she continued smiling, her voice having the usual alluring tone it would always have.
"Hi!" Ash waved his hand for the third time.
"Enough of that Ash!" Tripp said fast.
"Sorry!" the drummer replied quickly, putting down the hand he was waving with.
"So" Derek turned to Tatiana with a flirtatious smile and settling his thumbs in his pockets "What brings you here sweetie?"
"Joining the band…" she said matter-o-factly, cocking one eyebrow.
"Right…" Derek let out a bit embarrassed of the obvious question he just asked only to flirt with Tatiana.
She then took a good look at Derek, at Ash and Burger behind him and at Tripp, with a gaze which would suggest the question: "Are you serious?", and then took a deep breath, smiled friendly and said:
"Well then…I'm really pleased to meet you all" Tatiana said these words before getting closer to Derek and kissing him on the cheeks like she did the night before to Tripp "I'm glad I have the chance to work with you" she then added turning to Ash and kissing him as well "And I hope we'll get along wonderfully" she ended doing the same thing to Burger as well.
"Hey, where are you going Tatiana?" Tripp asked when noticing that she was departing from them and heading to the kitchen.
"I'm off to get some breakfast, I'm starving Tripp!" Tatiana replied annoyed of the teen's question and a bit rudely before entering the kitchen and shutting the door behind her.
Tripp then turned to look at the rest of the band who was just standing there dreamily, mesmerized after Tatiana had kissed them. After a small moment of silence, all three of them melted in the couch behind them with a long gasp of happiness.
"I'm never gonna wash these cheeks again!" said Burger dreamily, gazing vacantly and rubbing his cheeks.
"Yeah, like you ever washed them before…" Tripp said rolling his eyes.
"So what do you know about her?" Derek asked, changing his position on the couch so he could be closer to the teen.
"What do you mean?" Tripp asked puzzled.
"What do you mean 'what do I mean'? I haven't seen something like that in years! A few moments ago I couldn't shut your mouth up…DETAILS, DETAILS!" the lead singer said quickly and anxiously.
"Well I guess…She started singing when she hit high school and joined a band called…"
"Do I look like I care about when she began singing, kid? Tell me important things like…How old is she? Is she single?" Jupiter said.
"Does she have a twin sister?" Ash asked from next to Derek.
"Does she a triplet sister?" Burger asked as well "Preferably chubbier…"
"Guys!" Tripp let out unbelievingly "May I remind you that this is neither 'A Shot at Love with Derek Jupiter' or 'A Shot at Love with ANY Iron Weasel Member'?"
"WHAT? You mean it's not?" Ash asked surprised.
"NO! Of course it's not! Tatiana is here to join our band and to be our SheWeasel…she's here to help us on our comeback!"
"Oh man…" the drummer said disappointed.
"But kid" Derek began cockily "If that's true, then why did she came to us and kissed us?"
"Because in her country kissing on both cheeks is a usual and ordinary greeting when people meet for the first time" Tripp explained, him doing some research of his own about Tatiana's country the night before so he could be aware of a few things from her culture.
"You mean she's French?" Burger asked excited before the other two rockers could start rejoicing as well from the news they got from Burger's assumption.
"No, she's Romanian!" Tripp then said in order to stop the three from their loud high-fiving and their shrieks of joy.
"What?" the band asked in one voice.
"Yeah, she's from Romania so she's Romanian!"
"Romania, where's that, in Asia?" Derek asked completely confused.
"I knew it was somewhere close to Brazil…" added Burger.
"I always thought Romania is hair-gel brand" also said Ash.
"Must every name or thing you've never heard about be a hair-gel brand to you?" Derek asked rolling his eyes.
"Ummm…" Ash thought a little "Yeah!"
"Whatever…" Derek said after hearing his friend's answer "French, Romanian or any other nationality it's good enough for me! I'll go talk to her" he added getting up from the couch and heading to the kitchen.
"Derek…" Tripp said trying to block the lead singer's way.
"How do I look?" Derek asked the teen.
"You're hair is uncombed, you're unshaved, the eyeliner spread all over you're eyelids and you're still wearing pajamas!" Tripp said nodding his head.
"Oh, don't exaggerate!" he replied, but when Tripp held a hand mirror in front of his face, he let out a short yell "I gotta go change!"
"Derek we don't have time for you to change!" Tripp said looking away from the lead singer "I have to talk with you guys about her audition last night and we all should decide if we can accept her in the band or not!"
"I'm ready!" Derek's voice could be heard. When Tripp looked back at where Derek was sitting just a few seconds ago, he noticed that he was changed in one of his half-unbuttoned shirts and tight pants and the cologne he had used smelt from miles away.
"How did you…" Tripp let out, astonished of the speed Jupiter had had when changing his clothes.
"You'll learn when you'll be my age" Derek gave a simple answer.
"Okay…" Tripp said as the lead singer sat back on the couch "So, last night when Tatiana came over to give her audition…" Tripp began to tell the story.
Meanwhile, Tatiana was in the kitchen to prepare some breakfast. She had a huge unpleasant surprise when she had opened the fridge. She who was used to eating only healthy and calorie-free had the shock of her life when discovering that the refrigerator was filled with junk food, such as pizza, burrito and nachos. Tatiana had no idea what she could eat in order to respect her diet. She found some eggs too, only that she didn't want to look through Tripp's kitchen for a frying pan in order to cook them, thinking that that would be extremely rude of her. In the end, Tatiana decided to eat a few carrots and apples she had also found in the fridge.
"So, now that you guys are here, we can all have the decision if to accept Tatiana or not in Iron Weasel" Tripp said after retelling what happened at Tatiana's audition and the small stories she had also told about her life.
"Well that seemed like a nice movie Tripp! I wish I was home last night to see it too!" Ash replied.
"What? What movie?' Tripp asked puzzled.
"The movie you just told us about…about a Romanian girl whose parents divorced when she was thirteen but she had her friends beside her so she didn't suffer at all and she joined a band when she was in high-school and…" Ash began.
"Ash, that's Tatiana's story!" Tripp cut him off.
"Oh…" the drummer nodded his head.
Right then, Tatiana finished eating her 'breakfast' and returned in the living room.
"Oh, what's this smell…" she said when sensing the intense smell of cologne in the air. She looked around and when noticed Derek had changed his clothes, she stopped herself in the last moment from rolling her eyes and said sarcastically: "I wonder what it might be…"
"So…the little man told us you're not American and you flew all the way here" Burger said trying to build up a conversation. Tatiana nodded "And you're Ro…Ra…Romen…"
"Romania" Tatiana helped him smiling.
"Right…Please help me know if I'm right…Is Romania somewhere next to Brazil?" continued Burger filled with curiosity.
"Oh, c'mon guys" she started amazed "Don't tell me you've never heard of Romania before…" the room went silent for a couple of moments "I mean, you know…Nadia Comaneci, does this name ring any bell?" she asked putting herself in a gymnast pose.
"The supermodel?" asked Derek totally confused.
"Hagi? The king of football?"
"We don't watch football" replied Ash.
"Ilie Nastase?" Tatiana asked, pretending to hold a tennis racket in her hand and to play tennis.
"What is she doing?" Burger asked looking puzzled at the girl before him.
"I think she's fishing" Ash gave a guess.
When Tatiana heard Ash's comment she almost felt like giving up, but one more idea came up to her mind so she added rolling her eyes:
"Dracula?"
"Oh yeah! Romania, of course! Amazing place there in Transylvania" all three of them said in one voice.
Tatiana felt a bit insulted that rockers could only identify her country by a legend and not by its talents, but she figured that's at the end of the day they're all rockers so she should've seen that one coming. She then turned to sit on the chair from the right of the couch, closed her eyes and sat back to relax after a night in which she barely caught any sleep.
Derek then decided that that was the 'appropriate' moment so he got up from the couch, waved back his wavy hair and headed to where Tatiana was sitting. Tripp said Derek's name in a whisper in order to stop him from doing something stupid, but all that the cocky lead singer do was to turn his head and mouth the words: "Watch and learn!".
"So you're from Europe? Well that's another thing we have in common! I'm British, you see…Maybe we can hang out later to exchange opinions and thoughts together…alone" Derek said placing himself behind the armchair where Tatiana was sitting, putting each hand on each side of the armchair, looking down at her.
"I don't think so" Tatiana cut him off before opening her eyes and asking Tripp, in a much warmer voice than she used when answering to Derek "You talked with them Tripp?"
"Oh yeah, I did! And I think it would be fair if they could hear you sing too before we take any decision, I mean you gotta see how talented she is guys!" Tripp answered, making Tatiana smile widely on his last words.
"C'mon kid, do you think I can't see how 'talented' she is?" Derek said using a slang term in order for Tatiana to not understand what he really meant through 'talented'.
"Tripp" Tatiana began, her smile gone from her face "Do you mind stopping your little…" she gazed above her to take a look at Derek "…large friend from drooling all over me?"
"Well if he's drooling and getting you soaked then you might need this" said Ash handing Tatiana an umbrella.
"Oh thank you" she said grabbing the umbrella and opening it above her head, just under Derek's chin "You're a sweetheart!"
At the sound of Tatiana's compliment, Ash simply froze and displayed a wide smile which would make you think that he was nearly crying of joy because of some reason.
"What is it, dude?" Burger asked puzzled.
"My entire life I've been called all sorts of stuff: My parents called me a brat, my older sister called me a jerk, my teachers called me an imbecile and now…this wonderful creature calls me a…a…SWEETHEART!"
"Oh my goodness, she's blind! Oh, poor thing…" Derek said when hearing Ash's remark.
"Ok, enough with all these games" said Tatiana closing the umbrella "I got something I must talk with you. Derek, sit down!"
"What?" the lead singer asked surprised at Tatiana's nerve "How dare you tell me what to do? Do you know who I am? I am Derek Jupiter and I demand you show me some resp…"
"SIT!" Tatiana cut him off, pointing to the couch with the umbrella.
"Okay" Derek then agreed quickly sitting down.
"Now, I came here all the way from my country in order to join Iron Weasel and to fulfill my dream of being a rock singer. I am aware of the fact that you are like a family and I totally respect and like that, that's why I understand the fact that it will be hard for you to accept a new figure in your family. I will promise to do my best in order to impress you guys and to convince you to accept me in the band, but if it won't happen, then I'll understand. And for the family part: If I'll be in, I'll be in as a sister, cousin, aunt, godmother…whatever…you know what I mean! I'm not here to make alliances" she added the last words eyeing Derek in particular "And I'd like to add as a closure: I'm here to join a rock band and a family not to fill my pockets with money, for I already have enough, or to obtain fame, for I know how much responsibilities it also brings you…I'm here for real!"
A small moment of silence set in the living room for a few moments, in which the band and Derek in particular, began contemplating a bit. The silence was suddenly broke by Tatiana's words while getting up from the chair.
"Those being said, I better show you how I can sing!"
"Yeah, let's go!" Tripp said, talking about the garage where the band would rehearse.
"Great! Is the studio far from here?" she asked, thinking that Iron Weasel had a recording studio where they would also rehearse.
"Oh wow, what a beautiful word…Can you say it again?" Ash pleaded.
"You mean studio?" Tatiana asked puzzled.
"Umm Tatiana…we don't have a studio…" explained Tripp a bit embarrassed.
"What?" she asked forcing a smile.
"Yeah, we rehearse in my garage" replied Tripp.
"In your garage, aha…" Tatiana nodded her head "I don't know what I'm still doing here to be honest with you, but after doing all sorts of crazy stuff in my life, I think I'm ready for one more!"
"C'mon let's go!" said Tripp, leading the way to the garage, Ash and Burger following him quickly. Derek remained behind so he can have one more try. Tatiana wasn't in the band yet, so she wasn't part of their 'family'.
"So did you sleep well last night?" he asked getting closer to Tatiana, while they began walking slowly after the others.
"Actually not, the sheets I slept in were really smelly, I barely caught some sleep near dawn" she answered in a friendly manner.
"And did you dream anything?" he asked getting even closer to her and putting one arm around her.
Tatiana rolled her eyes and let out a small breath before continuing, wanting to make a bit of fun of Derek.
"As a matter of fact I did…I was standing somewhere and there was this really cute, smart, handsome guy standing right next to me…"
"Oh, Tatiana…That's not a dream, it's reality!" Derek said referring to himself, flashing his perfectly white smile at her.
"Too bad he was a rapper though…I don't like the style" Tatiana continued, in order to make Derek regret of what he previously said, keeping in mind that rockers usually despise genres such as rap and hip-hop.
"That was a dream alright…" Derek said after taking in a big breath of air and his smile simply got erased from his face. He then pulled away from Tatiana and headed to the garage faster, leaving her behind.
"So predictable…" she chuckled before following the Weasels to their garage.