Here's chapter 2! Dedicated to AmandaSimmons95, INanyCASE, Pink Mockingjay, moveouttathewayitzh, Fallon Skywalker, HideBehindTheMask, DannySamLover20, Coco Gold, wolfshadowstorm, and FaeryGirlsRock. My first reviewers, thank you!

I do not own Radio Rebel.

"...despite our differences, we're in this together..."

Tara walked into Lincoln Bay High the next morning to find that couldn't turn around in any direction without nearly bumping into someone wearing red. Radio Rebel made a statement, and it seemed like the whole school was shouting it back to her. But she knew there would be some exceptions (Not everyone was as supportive as her friends, even though they didn't know who they were supporting). Stacy, a definite. Kim probably had to follow her lead, whether she wanted to or not. And even though Gabe had agreed to be Tara's secret-keeper, that didn't mean he had to listen to anything she said under her secret identity. It was a sad thought, but she doubted words other than his own held any value to him.

"Hey."

She was almost convinced she had telepathy when he came walking up beside her from who-knows-where. He wasn't smiling, but she could bet he'd look worse if he knew what she'd been thinking. Then again, if he didn't take spoken words into account, he probably wouldn't care about the unspoken ones either. Tara wondered if there was any significance behind the frown, or if that was just his usual expression. Gabe was wearing a plain red shirt, so rich in color that it looked brand new. Something caught Tara's eye, making her laugh lightly.

"Hey." She echoed. "A-Are you trying to make two statements at once?" She stumbled through her question, and could tell by the look on his face that he didn't understand it. "You're willing to drop labels and you got that shirt on sale?"

Gabe exhaled angrily and looked down, to locate and peel the price sticker from his shirt. He didn't know what to do with it, so he stuck it on the front of Tara's binder. "That's for you." He grumbled, walking off as the bell rang.

Tara stood in the middle of the hallway traffic for a few seconds, wondering whether or not she should feel bothered by what had happened. Gabe hadn't made any effort to have a conversation with her, which she didn't mind. It was possible he'd only worn red to ensure Tara would keep up her side of the bargain, and other than keeping her identity secret, he'd do nothing to be part of the dare. Tara stopped herself from mulling over that thought, and giving herself a headache. "I owe it to Audrey." She reminded herself, heading off to class.

The four minutes between classes were opportunities as well as travel time.

Audrey was famous for always starting something among her small crowd of friends, but it was up to them to carry on with the dare.

Larry clasped his hands together, in an attempt to give himself a confidence boost. He was slightly surprised by how much the sound echoed through the library. It caught the attention of a few students, but not the one he was hoping to get to get noticed by.

He had to wonder what Kim was doing in the library anyway. It wasn't exactly a place he'd picture a queen bee's right-hand woman. He sauntered over to the table she was seated at and sat down across from her. She didn't notice, too busy clicking away on her phone. She was looking at the screen as if she had a serious issue with it. He decided he was going to wait until she looked up at him, no matter how long it took. (Barry would stick it out, and he had Stacy to deal with.)

Larry went to fold his hands up on the table, thinking he'd be waiting awhile, but realized letting his elbows point outward was a mistake when he knocked over a lamp. As he rushed to pick it up, Kim's bulging cyan eyes set on him.

Only, half his body was under the table since he didn't want to search for the lamp blindly, so all she saw when she looked up was a red sweatshirt sleeve that covered a flailing arm used for balance.

Feeling awkward as ever, she ducked under the table so she could shoot him a look. Then she sat up normally again and waited for him to fetch the lamp. When he set it back up on the table, trying to brush off the thought that he could never do anything right without Barry by his side, she spoke.

"Whoa, you scared me." Not exactly what Larry was expecting. He'd been prepared for something along the lines of 'What are you doing here?' He got to thinking that they both were alone, an extreme rarity. Maybe she didn't know how to act without someone guiding her, either.

"Sorry." He cut right to the chase. "We should hang out." He knew he had to explain that he was put up to it-although he was going about the dare willingly-or else Kim would find that out the hard way. He wouldn't wish that on anyone, so he said: "It's this dare, Radio Rebel inspired. Which... probably makes you mad." Kim didn't look angry, just puzzled. Larry guessed that she didn't see the point in it all. "Audrey thought it up. I think it's a great idea. What do ya say?"

Kim blinked. "Why?"

"Why?"

"Yeah, why? I mean, I'm really busy with Stacy's prom queen campaign." She said, briefly showing him her phone. "And I'm sure you have to help your brother find his soul mate, right?" Larry couldn't help smirking. She actually listened to their conversations. While that did make him happy, not having a dare partner wasn't an option he was willing to take. He had to find a way to reel Kim in, and he was running out of time.

"Yeah." He replied, under a sigh. "But, if-when... Barry manages to get Stacy to be his partner for this dare, he could take over the campaign. And-"

Larry cut himself off. Seeing that Kim was losing interest-still absorbed in her 'work'-he was about ready to give up all together.

"I... really wanna prove that I can do something on my own. For once."

Kim's eyes darted up at lightning speed. Larry knew he'd struck a nerve. "I'm in."

Gavin and Audrey were sitting atop a lunch table back-to-back (her idea), on the lookout for their friends. They all seemed to be buried in whatever it was they had to do, since no one was around. They made small talk while they waited, basically convinced they wouldn't be seeing their friends for the rest of the day. "Tara said she wished she could talk to everyone the way she talks to me and, I guess, my mind took that and ran with it. I hope it's not inconveniencing you between band stuff, rehearsal and running for prom king."

Gavin had to chuckle at the last one. "Not at all. It's kind of amazing."

The dare was a big risk. One Gavin would have been afraid to take, had Audrey not approached him about it.

"Really? Most people think I tend to over-dramatize." If Audrey had a dime for every time she'd been told that, she had no doubt she'd be a billionaire.

"So, you're a dreamer." Days ago, the dare could only be a dream. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Audrey agreed, but she felt something was wrong. Her stomach wouldn't shut up, even though the two had gotten through eating already. She realized the rumbling sounds were all in her head, but the awkward feeling remained.

She was glad she came up with the idea to sit facing away from Gavin, because the look on her face would've raised a lot of questions.

Her expression was a mix of euphoria, fury, devastation and horror. "Nope. Absolutely nothing."

Barry knew that in order to go the extra mile, he had to take the first step. But every step he'd taken so far had been denied by Stacy.

Putting a note in her locker didn't work; she tore it up right in front of his pouty face.

Following her around all day only had her convinced he was a stalker, and he'd debunk that theory if she'd let him get a word in.

Barry wasn't giving up, even if going the extra mile meant stepping in front of a moving vehicle.

The sound of Stacy's breaks screeching to a halt was music to his ears. "Move!" She shouted, rather attitudinally.

"Only after you talk to me." Barry said, unflinching.

"Fine." Stacy replied with a groan. "Get in. I've got shopping to do, and I'm not letting you delay my plans."

Barry found that amusing. He wondered what Stacy's friends would think if they saw them together. She wondered what random street corner she was going to drop him off on when whatever he wanted to say got too annoying.

"I've never been in a convertable before." He said as he sat down.

Stacy sneered, already losing patience. "What do you want?" She asked through her teeth, as she drove out of the school parking lot.

"You read the note, you know what I want."

"I didn't read it. I was too busy turning it into confetti, remember?" She asked. Barry's pout made a comeback when she swatted his hand away from the radio buttons he was about to play with.

"Well, if you didn't read it, how could you just refuse it?"

"Your name was signed at the bottom. Easiest decision of my life." Her fiery eyes glanced quickly at his clothing. She was seeing red.

If he didn't act fast, Barry knew he'd be left without a dare partner. "Picture yourself standing on a stage in front all your admiring peers, getting a beautiful crown placed upon your head." Stacy would've rolled her eyes at the way he enunciated everything, but she was surprised that the corners of her mouth were turning upward.

"I'd say I appreciate the offer, but I don't. Especially considering Kim's got my prom queen campaign covered."

"Actually-" Barry began.

"Actually?" Stacy repeated darkly. "What do you know that I don't?"

"Kim's partnered up with Larry for this dare. Which means she won't have as much time for you. But I will."

"Non-pops are so evil." Stacy said in a voice she figured Barry couldn't register, though she was wrong. "If I agree to this, what do I have to do for you?" She knew there had to be conditions. There were always conditions.

Barry was baffled. He hadn't thought that part through. "You could... help me find my soul mate."

"Just so long as your soul mate isn't Radio... Meddle." Since Radio Rebel had been the inspiration for the dare and Stacy felt her life was being messed with, she figured the name fit.

"You're really clever with that." Barry complimented.

"Is it?" She asked, not amused.

"Yeah." Barry answered proudly.

Stacy rolled her eyes. "Of course. Everybody loves her."

"Jealous are we?" Barry asked with raised eyebrows.

"I don't care who the object of your affections is." She said flatly

Barry laughed. "I meant that as a general statement, but... I'm flattered."

Stacy's face contorted. "What?" Barely looking-since she had to keep her eyes on the road-she tore Barry's red flat cap right off his head and flung it like a Frisbee. It wound up stuck in a tree.

"Good arm, bad temper." He told her.

"Nice selling point, terrible catch." She retorted. "I can't believe I almost said 'yes' to this stupid dare."

"What if I took out the catch?" Barry asked. It wasn't a compromise. Even Stacy saw it as unfair, though she didn't admit that. "Just so we don't have to be alone in this. I mean, Larry's paired with Kim, Tara with Gabe," Stacy's jaw dropped a bit at that, but she was barely listening. "and Audrey with Gavin."

Stacy would've veered off the road then, if she didn't have more self-control. "Was anyone gonna run that by me?" She screamed the question, as if it was more of a demand.

"I just did. You're welcome."

"Fine." Stacy mumbled. "I'll do it."

"Yay!" Barry exclaimed, with his fists in the air.

Stacy shook her head. "I am so glad there's no one else on this road." She pulled the car over. "Out."

He frowned. "Wait, what if I wanna go shopping, too? I need a new hat."

Stacy repressed a laugh. "I guess suffering through one shopping trip with you is our condition then."

Neither of them smiled as they pulled into another parking lot, wondering what they had gotten themselves into.

"Can we talk?"

Rob looked up from his bowl of fruit-that was probably reserved for pedicure use, though he was too hungry to care-and told Tara: "Sure." Sounding rather surprised. She'd never initiated a conversation between them before.

Tara sat down at the kitchen table, across from her step-father. She searched her mind for a place to begin, and then spoke. "So, there's this guy-"

"Whoa." He couldn't help but interrupt, so caught off guard.

"Okay, bad start." Tara decided. She didn't want to give him the wrong idea. "He's an acquaintance." She rephrased after a pause. "Barely. But, I made him a promise. And I don't like going back on my promises. Even though I already feel like I'm in over my head."

"What was this promise?" Rob felt Tara was being a bit too vague, but he didn't want to pry.

"Basically to increase his band's fanbase. I have some ideas on how to go about it, but I thought... maybe you could help me. But, I don't wanna bother you."

Rob knew getting any band's name out there was a process, and he could already imagine himself printing posters and making music videos. Whatever he could do to help.

"Nah, it seems like it could be fun."

Tara give a weak nod, focusing on the table rather than her step-father's face. She felt that was unfair, since he was willing to help her without even knowing the whole deal. (She figured if she mentioned that she told Gabe she was Radio Rebel, then getting Rob's help with the dare would be out of the question.) She looked up at him and said: "It could... be a bonding thing."

"So, what's your favorite shade of blue?"

Stacy parted a rack of dresses down the middle and stared at Barry through it. "What kind of a question is that?" She missed the part where she told him he was allowed to talk, but didn't feel like wasting her breath telling him to shut up. She went back to browsing, while he thought of a way to answer.

Barry shrugged. "I don't know. You wear blue a lot." He thought it odd, but unique. Most princesses-or wannabe prom queens, in Stacy's case-wore pink as their signature color. Another thing that puzzled him was how she didn't already have a dress for prom picked out. Maybe she had plenty, and was searching for one to add to her collection, to keep her options open.

"You wear hats a lot. What's your favorite type of hat?"

"I don't play favorites."

Stacy scoffed. "Right. You just fantasize about people you'll never be with. People who aren't even real." At this point, Barry knew he had two missions during this dare: make Stacy prom queen and figure out why she hated Radio Rebel so much, but still listened to her.

"Why do we keep coming back to the subject of my love interest?"

"Why are you still here?" Stacy asked, sounding more annoyed with Barry then usual.

"You're my ride home."

"So meet up with me later, you don't have to follow me around."

"Right, that's Kim's job." Barry knew he'd crossed the line with that comment, especially since Stacy looked about ready to shove the words back down his throat. "See ya later." He choked out, turning on his heel and breaking off into a run.

Rolling her eyes, Stacy turned around. She'd lost her focus, nearly forgetting what she was looking for in the first place. Barry's comment may have been uncalled for, but he was right about one thing. She virtually always had a shadow. Now she had no one.

Until Barry came back seconds later, looking cautious.

She gave him a look. "What?"

"You've gotta come see this. I think you'll like it."

"If you found it, that's highly doubtful." Barry went to put on another pout, and she walked off so she wouldn't have to look at it, without a clue where she was going. He caught up quickly, and went ahead to guide her to the window of another dress shop.

"Do I have a good eye, or what?"

When Stacy answered, she sounded rather distracted, looking straight ahead. (Not that she'd ever given Barry the respect of looking at him directly.) "No. There's no way I'm taking fashion advice from you."

"Then how come you can't stop staring?" Stacy shook herself out of her dress-induced trance. "It's a 'no', end of story. Go find your hat."

"I should probably give you my number first." Barry said casually. She looked at him as if he asked her to give him a kidney. "So you can call me and tell me where you are when you're done shopping." He explained.

She reluctantly handed over her cell phone and watched uneasily as Barry typed his number in. "You know I'm gonna delete it as soon as drop you off home, right?"

He placed the phone gingerly back in her palm as he said: "The way you constantly remind me you have no interest in me, kinda makes me think you have an interest in me."

"Go." She replied angrily. With a smirk, Barry wondered off once again.

"I know the dare was my idea, but I don't think... we'll have time for it."

Gavin looked down at his striped comforter, where he had his phone on speaker. It wasn't very effective, since Audrey couldn't see his expression from her living room. "We'll make time." He insisted, sounding sure of that. "We could even help each other rehearse, if you want."

"No!" That response came out sounding panicked, unlike Audrey had planned. "I don't wanna mess with our... individual creativity."

Gavin laughed. "Okay, if you think that's best. I don't wanna give up on this, though." He was surprised Audrey did. That wasn't like her. He sighed. "If we back out of this dare, everyone else is bound to follow. And some of us... need this."

"Like Tara."

"And Gabe."

"And Stacy." They said in unison, making each other laugh.

Audrey sighed silently, submitting. "Okay. This is gonna be a challenge for me." She quickly added: "And for you, but... we'll make it work. We just have to mind our time."

Gavin's eyes went wide in realization then. "Which reminds me," He checked the time on his phone. "I'm late for band practice."

"Good luck." Audrey said, knowing how Gabe could get.

Without thinking, Gavin answered "You too." She giggled before they said their goodbyes.

Audrey buried her face in her hands briefly. The sound that came out of her mouth was somewhere between a sigh and a whine. "Thanks, I'm gonna need it."

Gavin rushed to get to Gabe's garage, and when he got there, everyone was already set up.

"Is your watch broken?" Gabe asked, rather than giving him any kind of a greeting.

He hadn't meant to come back sounding snarky, but all Gavin could think to say was: "Glad to see you finally took the price sticker of your shirt." (He hadn't mentioned it that morning because Gabe was being grumpy then, too.)

Gabe held back a groan of frustration, while the others laughed.

Stacy didn't bother calling Barry until she got to her car, to avoid conversation. While she waited around, she debated whether or not to come back another day for the dress he'd found. She decided she'd only do that if the exact same one showed up in some fashion magazine. If so, she'd say that was the reason she got it, not him.

She couldn't help but wonder if he found something he wanted. He hadn't mentioned not being done shopping when she called, but he sounded pretty unhappy about something.

Stacy's eyes locked on something in the passenger's seat: Barry's wallet.

Her first thought was that he was an idiot for leaving a wallet full of money in a convertable with the top down. Her second thought was: How was he supposed to buy anything without any money?

She picked the wallet up and opened it to find that it was empty. Which could only mean that Barry hadn't planned on buying anything to begin with. If that was the case, why would he even come along?

Stacy put the wallet down in the same place she found it and sat back, just as Barry came into view.

When he got in the car, he slipped his wallet back into his pocket silently, thinking she hadn't noticed.

Stacy considered asking why he didn't bother her for some cash, but didn't. (Though she figured he was probably too scared to do so.)

Something inside told her that the empty wallet was a statement.

He wanted her to know that he didn't go to the mall with her so he could shop, but he didn't want to have to say so.

Knowing that, Stacy only had one question: Why?

"I can't remember the last time I spent a day without Stacy. Is that sad?" Kim asked, looking at her shoes rather than Larry.

"Nah, she's, like, your best friend... right?"

"Sure." Larry wanted to question what she meant by that, but figured it was a touchy subject. The two of them had been walking around aimlessly since the school day ended. Now the only things left on his agenda was to walk Kim home and then tune into Radio Rebel. Even with this dare going on, he was still on a mission to uncover the DJ's true identity.

He tried to think of something else to talk about. Questioning what she was wearing seemed stupid. There wasn't a speck of red visible in her entire outfit, but that was most likely Stacy's fault.

"So, you work at a pizza place?"

"Uh-huh. I'd say you should come visit me when I'm working, but you'd probably just disinfect everything and then get really bored."

Larry laughed. "We'll figure this out... I hope."

"Ooh, we're here!" Kim nearly went past her own house, and her outburst sent Larry spiraling toward the ground. "Are you always this clumsy?" She asked, debating whether or not to help him to his feet.

"Just lately." He said, once he got up again.

"Alright, well, I'll be seeing ya." She said, walking toward her door.

"Yep." He replied, ready to head home. He turned around and took three steps.

"Hey, Larry?" Kim called out, making his ears perk up. He was surprised she still had something to say, and turned back around to find her standing right in front of him. "I have a feeling that, as crazy as this idea is, it'll be good for us."

Larry couldn't help imagining how Stacy would react if she heard that. He knew she only agreed to the dare because of the promise to be made prom queen. "Yeah." He said with a smile.

Kim was about to go back to her house again, but then she thought of something. "Thanks for choosing me." She extended her hand, and after some hesitation, Larry shook it.

It wasn't his germaphobe ways that kept him from shaking her hand at first. He faltered because something caught his eye.

On the edge of her sleeve, was a little red heart...

Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! All ideas are greatly appreciated, I'll update ASAP! =]