I'm so happy to (finally) udate! This chapter is dedicated to FaeryGirlsRock, CuttieGirll57, QueenGenie16, wolfshadowstorm, maricafa and Mary-Aly.
I do not own Radio Rebel.
"What's on the agenda for today?" Barry asked as he walked through the hallway at Lincoln Bay, sounding eager to start his first official day of the dare. Stacy didn't look nearly as excited as he did. She didn't like that this dare was her one way to get what she wanted. Or how Barry acted like the dare was the best thing since the invention of prom queen. She'd much rather be with Gavin, and wondered what he was doing at the moment. She hoped Audrey wasn't putting him through the same sort of torture she was going through because of Barry.
"Twelfth Night rehearsal for me and prom queen campaigning for you."
"Us." Barry corrected, making her look at him as him as if he was speaking another language.
"What?"
"This is a team effort, it has to be. I'm not the one who wants the crown." He said, to show her he wasn't going to let himself be pushed around. "If you really wanna be prom queen, you have to be just as dedicated to the campaign as I am.
Stacy blinked, irritated. "And how exactly have you shown your dedication to this at all?"
"I set up your fan page."
Stacy was slightly impressed, since Kim had never gotten around to doing that. Though she wouldn't give Barry the satisfaction of knowing that. She realized something. "How'd you manage that? You hardly know me."
Barry laughed, and replied with: "I can learn a lot just by observing."
It took all the strength Stacy had not to pull out her phone and check out the monstrosity she figured his attempt at a fan page must be. For the moment, she decided to just let it go. "What else are you-we gonna do?" She asked in a mocking tone that Barry ignored.
He shrugged. "We'll start with the basics. It'll be like a class president campaign, except not as important." Stacy narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth, causing Barry to suppress a startled yelp. "That was the wrong thing to say again, wasn't it?"
He spoke his thoughts more when he was around Stacy. It was uncontrollable.
She answered him with a blunt "Uh-huh."
"Sorry."
Around the corner, Tara and Audrey were talking by their lockers. "Where's Gavin?" Tara asked casually. She was almost glad he wasn't around. She seemed to embarrass herself more every time he was. Audrey talked to him so much easier, since she had no crush to combat when she did. Plus, they had similar interests.
Though Gavin left his drama in the classroom.
Audrey took some time to answer, and Tara hoped her shyness hadn't rubbed off on her. "My guess? With the warden." The two girls shared a laugh.
"By 'warden' do you mean Stacy or Gabe?" This only made the girls giggle louder, until a voice cut through the laughter.
"Nice."
They turned to see Gabe standing behind them. "Oh, Gabe." Tara said, her surprise apparent.
"Oh, Tara." He replied, with mock hurt, making Audrey chuckle. Even though it was obvious he wasn't offended, that didn't make Tara feel any better about what she'd said. No one seemed to know what to say next.
Audrey was the one to break the very awkward silence. "Before I forget," She said, looking at Tara. "since this dare is splitting up us BFFTLEWE's," Tara nodded, while Gabe raised an eyebrow slightly. "I think we should set aside a day every week just for the two of us."
Gabe wondered how long she expected this dare to go on, while Tara automatically answered. "How 'bout Saturday?"
"Saturday sounds great." Audrey agreed. The best friends shared a smile, and turned back to Gabe. He looked bored. Either that, or he was tired.
"I know I haven't done anything to help the band yet," Tara started slowly, hoping he hadn't gotten fed up already. "but my step-dad's on board-" Gabe's eyes lit up a little at those words, even though Tara's sentence fell flat afterward. Rob knew what he was doing when it came to things like making sure a band was marketable. Having him on their side meant the GGGG's were bound to go somewhere. "We'll make it happen, I promise."
Gabe didn't look doubtful, but she had no way to tell what he was thinking. Her mind traveled to the worst case scenario, where a broken promise would lead to dead airtime during her segment. Tara stopped herself from following that thought, fully aware that her worry showed in her face. "Okay." Gabe replied, in a way that made it impossible for Tara to tell if he said it to calm her down or get the conversation over with.
It really served both purposes, since he left without saying anything else. "Bye, Gabe." Tara said, though he was already out of earshot. Audrey seemed to be the one who was upset by his actions, given how she huffed and rolled her eyes. "I'll see him later." Tara assured her, though she wasn't entirely sure of that herself.
"Are you staking out rehearsal?" Larry asked jokingly. He walked up beside Kim, who was watching intently from the auditorium doorway.
"Just watching." She replied, though there was no explanation needed.
"From this distance?"
She shrugged. "I don't wanna bother anybody."
"Tara and Gavin wouldn't mind, and Stacy probably wouldn't even notice." Before Kim even thought of a way to answer that, Larry was off to find himself a seat inside.
"If we're gonna do this, shouldn't we be sneaky?" She asked as she followed. He seemed more focused on getting there quick-so he wouldn't miss any more of the 'show'-than being stealthy. Even though, in his mind, he was a master at that.
They sat all the way in the back. Kim never lost her focus on the scene in front of her. It was compelling, and if she hadn't known it was all an act, she might have believed otherwise. Even Stacy could see something brewing, since she called cut.
The whole time Kim had been watching the rehearsal, Larry had his eyes set on her. He just couldn't wrap his head around what she found so fascinating, and his facial expression spoke his curiosity. Though she took no notice, still fixated on Gavin and Tara, as the two took their break. She smiled when they smiled, and Larry could only wonder why.
She turned to say something to him-maybe give some insight as to what was going on in her head-but lost her train of thought when she caught his glance. "What is why you, your brother, and staring?" She wondered aloud, not sounding the least bit annoyed or creeped out. Larry motioned to the stage rather dramatically, to say that she was the one who'd been staring. "Touché." Kim replied, laughing at her use of the word.
Larry lost interest in the rehearsal when Stacy did. He got up and walked out when she stormed off, but Kim trailed behind. She frowned when she saw Tara leave Gavin hanging on a high-five, and frowned more when she saw her take a green CD case. The one that belonged to Gavin. Kim knew what she witnessed was none of her concern, so she just went on her way.
Gavin caught up with Audrey at the end of the school day. She was practically running through the hallway, so he had to do the same. "Hey, Audrey, wait up!"
She stopped short, standing stiff and then turned around. Before she could say anything, the apologetic look on his face got her distracted. She decided to just let him explain himself.
"Remember when you first told me about the dare Monday afternoon?" Audrey gave a slight nod, not seeing where Gavin was going with this. "You had to get something out of your locker, so you asked me to hold your water bottle for you, and I dropped it? And it cracked?"
"And pretty much exploded." Audrey answered, under laughs. Her eyes went wide like they were when it happened.
With a chuckle, Gavin said: "Well, in case you were wondering, the reason I seemed to drop off the face of the earth this morning was that I went shopping for a replacement."
Audrey rolled her eyes playfully. "You've been hanging out with me too much already. You're starting to talk like me. 'Drop off the face of the earth.'" She repeated, emphasizing the dramatization. Gavin smiled, though he disagreed. He didn't see why other people saw Audrey as strange. He couldn't see himself ever getting sick of her and her quirks. "Why would you do that for me?" Audrey appreciated it, but she felt more guilty than Gavin did breaking the original. It wasn't some grand gesture, but she hated making him go out of his way.
Gavin looked at her like the answer was the obvious. "'Cause that's what friends do." He said, pulling the new bottle out of his messenger bag. He slowly turned it around to show her it was personalized. "Even if they have to go through shelves full of Abbys and Alexs to find an Audrey." While she looked at it, surprised but happy, he said: "Oddly enough, this was the only one."
He didn't know any other Audreys, so he figured if the store carried water bottles with her name on them, there would be plenty to choose from. To Gavin, that was symbolic. She was one of a kind.
He handed the water bottle over, and Audrey accepted it with a smile. "Thanks."
"No problem." Gavin answered. With that, Audrey went to leave again. "Wait a minute." Maybe it was all in his head, but he felt like she was blowing him off. Audrey turned back around. "I know you hate to start something and not finish it. Do you have any ideas on how to kick this dare off officially?"
He found it funny that they had the most common ground, and still didn't know where to start. "Not yet," She told him. "but I'll think of something and get back to you... tomorrow." Gavin gave a reluctant nod and Audrey walked away.
He thought about how he'd almost turned down the dare, not only because of timing. He'd figured he and Audrey hung out enough as it was. He was wrong, because if that was the case, he would at least be able to guess what was bothering her lately. All Gavin was sure of was that it had to be something.
That afternoon, Rob was sitting in the kitchen trying to map out all the possibilities for getting the GGGG's on the map, when his wife scurried into the room.
She was squealing with delight and had her newly manicured nails on display in front of her beaming smile. She fanned her face rapidly, as if she might hyperventilate from all the jumping around she was doing. It took Rob awhile to figure out what all the excitement was about.
"Delilah, that's just Gabe." He explained, sort of sorry he had to. He didn't like spoiling her celebration.
"Oh." Delilah said, trying to hide her disappointment while she regained her composure. She didn't do a very good job of that, sounding almost angry when she spoke next. "Well, who's 'Just Gabe' and why am I just now seeing him?"
"He and Tara weren't friends before." Rob didn't know if he could even call them friends. Tara hadn't.
"That's a good reason." Delilah joked. They shared a laugh and she started reading over her husband's shoulder. "What you got there?"
Upstairs, Tara held her own list closer, rather than relinquishing it to Gabe.
He sighed heavily from where he sat at the edge of her bed. She sat at her desk chair, looking nervous but focused. She didn't want him to break her concentration. He didn't want to go into their plan blindly.
"Please let me see it." He said, suppressing a groan of annoyance. He didn't like having to ask for anything. Especially when it was band-related.
"What if it's not good enough?" She was thankful Rob was drawing up a list as well, or else getting the GGGG's more exposure might be impossible. Aside from the secret she was sitting on.
"I'll tweak it." Gabe reasoned, making her eye him strangely. (Though he didn't notice.) Did that response imply that he thought her list would need tweaking? She didn't know whether to be impressed or offended by his honesty.
Meanwhile, Rob and Delilah were having the same sort of discussion. "Do you really think my plan's gonna need adjustments?" He asked, sounding a lot more confident about his list than Tara did about hers.
"Just a few." Delilah insisted, trying to take the paper Rob playfully kept out of her reach.
"Like what?" By the way she looked at him, he could tell what his wife had in mind. "If I end up directing a music video for these guys there's no way Tara can play the lead girl."
"Why not?" Delilah asked, hiding a whine.
"From what she's told me, none of their songs are about relationships," Rob explained, watching her face drop. "and the second Tara sees a camera... she'll faint."
Delilah laughed lightly. "Okay."
Tara submitted as well, handing her paper over to Gabe.
He read through it quickly, barely batting an eyelash at anything, which was unnerving for her. When he was done, he only asked one question. "Why exactly is this list labeled 'Phase Two'?" He echoed the title mockingly, then asked: "What's Phase One?"
Tara smiled. "You'll see."
"Wow." Kim gushed as she looked around the pizzeria. It was so spotless it practically sparkled, and she could see her face in the table she sat at with Larry. "My boss is gonna wanna adopt you."
Larry laughed. "Thanks. Just doin' my job."
"But you don't even work here."
"I meant for the dare."
"Pretend I was joking." She told him, clearly embarrassed. He forced a laugh that didn't do much help. Kim decided to just change the subject, instead of linger on her moment of confusion. "So, are you and Barry gonna stakeout SLAM later?"
Larry chuckled at the reference to earlier that day. "Of course."
"Why?" Kim asked.
Coming from her, the question never failed to stump him. He tried to answer anyway.
"I guess I wanna know who she is as bad as he does." Lately, Larry had been debating that. There was so much more to do because of the dare, that he'd lost a hold on the mission. It was no longer the center of his life.
"Well, what does it matter?" Kim asked innocently. "Would you love her any less if you found out?"
"Huh." Caught off guard, that's all he could say. He'd never looked at the situation like that. "It could make us famous." He explained, once the awe wore off.
Kim pondered that, and responded with: "Couldn't you make you famous?"
The bell attached to the door rang as it opened, interrupting the conversation. The boss was back-which meant break time was over for Kim-and by the look on his face, Larry was already famous in his book. At least, that's how Kim saw it. Considering what he asked her. "I was only gone ten minutes, what happened?"
Using an equally happy tone, Kim pointed to Larry. "He happened."
Gavin's phone rang that night, and he was feeling so flustered he could barely remember what button to push to pick it up. When he did, he had no chance to even give a greeting.
Audrey was talking, in a much happier tone than she was that afternoon. "You were on the RADIO!"
He barely knew how to answer, and just went with: "I know, I heard." He was still stunned.
"I am so happy for you. Do you know what this means, Gavin? You're one step closer to SUPERSTARDOM!"
He had to laugh. "Thank you." He said gratefully, rather than telling her superstardom wasn't what he was after. "I'm glad you called. I was wondering... is anything wrong?"
The other line was silent for a second. "What do you mean? The GGGG's are officially out there, on Seattle's hottest radio show no less, and I feel like I'm on top of the world!"
"I meant... with you." Gavin clarified, knowing Audrey was trying to avoid the subject by changing it. "That sounded like an insult, sorry. Just... is everything okay with you?"
His concern had her concerned, but she didn't let that show. "It's better than okay."
"You sure?"
"Positive. I even came up with a few ideas." She didn't have to specify what for. "I tell you about all it tomorrow. For now, just keep enjoying your glory."
"Whatever you say." Gavin replied under a laugh. He smiled as they said their goodbyes, but Audrey figured she didn't have to fake a smile he couldn't see.
She was tired of that annoying new habit, so she walked over to her bedroom mirror. She was prepared to give herself a pep talk, and get her real smile back. "You're overthinking things, that's all. Stop stressing. Tomorrow's a brand new day."
The following morning, Tara was getting books out of her locker before class. The hand she opened her locker door with was resting on it, with the palm facing out. Someone took that as the opportunity to steal a high-five.
"Props."
"Props?" She repeated, though it was unclear whether she didn't understand why that was said or she felt she didn't deserve it.
"For phase one." Gabe explained, a hint of a smile flashing on his face. (He didn't mention how he was so excited to hear himself on the radio that his legs gave out. He happened to be out in public at the time, and it gave all the people around him a good laugh to see him fall over.) Tara smiled back, but didn't get a chance to respond. "So, is that a thing with us?"
"Uh..." She began, clearly lost.
"You say something, I repeat it back to you." Gabe said, clearing things up for her. "Or vice/versa, with the necessary variations." He gave himself a look, regarding how overcomplicated he made that sound.
Though Tara understood, thinking back. "I guess so."
He didn't seem to notice how she brushed the idea off-despite liking it somewhat-and he went back to their original topic. "How'd you pull that off?" He had the urge to add 'without my help' to the end of that, but decided not tp.
"It wasn't anything special." Tara told him, though she smiled like it was. "Gavin just happened to drop one of your demos."
Gabe gave a curt nod in reply, and Tara realized she'd made Gavin sound irresponsible. Since Gabe was still ecstatic yet dumbfounded over the GGGG's getting radio play, he mentally shrugged that off.
Another awkward silence fell. After a few seconds, Gabe broke it with: "See ya."
"See ya." Tara echoed, not knowing what else to say.
"Our goodbyes too?" He joked.
He was already walking away before she had time to laugh.
When lunchtime rolled around, Tara was back by her BFFTLEWE's side. "So, have you decided what you're gonna do to move forward with the dare yet?"
Audrey shrugged. "Since Gavin's so busy right now, I'll think I'll mostly just... shadow him."
"Hey, Tara." Gavin called out as he came into view. "Can I talk to you?"
Except for now. Audrey thought. Tara hesitated, as she expected. That was fixed with one helpful push, though Tara couldn't help feeling like the encouragement was a little less than enthusiastic. She would've wondered why if she could think straight.
Audrey left Tara and Gavin alone and went to find her own lunch table, which was quickly invaded by the twins.
"Where's Tara?" Barry asked curiously.
"On a whole different planet." Audrey answered. Both boys looked lost. "With Gavin." She could tell they didn't see the connection between her two sentences, but didn't bother elaborating.
Larry looked between his brother and his friend. "Well, at least one aspect of our lives can stay semi-normal."
Audrey knew he meant that lunchtime would serve for when everyone would catch up on what was going on in their lives, but she couldn't resist laughing. Her life had never been normal, and that's how she liked it.
"I don't know whether to hug you or slap you."
The three looked up to see Stacy. Barry laughed that off, while the others hoped she wasn't talking to them. "So, you've seen your fanpage?" Barry asked.
"Surprisingly, it wasn't a total disaster." Larry and Audrey exchanged glances, wondering if Stacy ever gave a real compliment. She swallowed a sigh. "So, what's next?"
"You're asking me?" Barry thought that sounded backwards. Stacy was always the one in charge.
"You made all these promises, and if I don't keep them, it's your fault for making me look bad."
"I already told you I'd help you." Barry answered, at least acting like he wasn't offended by her attitude. "All you have to do is say 'please'."
Audrey and Larry looked at each other again, clearly having just as much fun as Barry with this.
Stacy rolled her eyes. First she was forced dance by Radio Rebel's orders-only to remind Gavin that he was her prom date, not Tara's-and now Barry expected her to grovel? It was either that, or end up a crownless queen.
"...Please?"
"Okay." Barry answered, as if hearing that was no big deal either. "It's simple. First, you target your subjects stomachs." Larry pointed to his brother, nodding. He saw exactly where he was coming from.
Stacy figured the twins only thought way because they were always hungry, but that's not what she said. "What do you expect me to do, buy cupcakes?"
The look on Barry's face made him seem disgusted by the idea. "No, make cupcakes. The extra mile, Stacy, the extra mile."
"You want me to go the extra mile for the whole school?"
"Those who like cupcakes." He answered simply.
Stacy bit her lip, blinked back a glare and said: "Whatever makes me prom queen." Then she walked off.
Barry sighed silently. This was supposed to be a learning experience. So far, Stacy had learned nothing.
Not even his brother saw that he was bothered by that. Larry was preoccupied by the realization that Audrey hadn't even touched her tray. "You gonna eat that?" He asked. Misinterpreting the question, she slid the tray his way, said her goodbyes and left.
"Free meal." He remarked, sounding unhappy to have it.
Barry looked just as worried, wondering how talking about food caused Audrey to lose her appetite. "What just happened?"
When school let out, Kim ran through the crowded halls, nearly knocking Gabe over in the process. He was stronger than her though, and quick to catch his balance. So it did nothing more than make his stumble a bit. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"
"Oh, hey. Sorry." She said, completely avoiding the question.
"I'll forgive you when you tell me why you're in such a rush." His tone implied that he already knew the answer, but she was too excited to catch on.
"I'm trying to find Stacy. We didn't get a chance to talk in class and I've been looking for her ever since."
Gabe gave her an odd look. "Why can't you just call her?" He asked, blocking her path when he saw she was trying to get around him.
"Lost my phone." He laughed a little, but her hurt look cut him off.
"Sorry." He said, as if it was automatic. "What's so important that you need to tell her right now?"
Kim gave up trying to sneak around him, and asked: "Did you hear your band on Radio Rebel's show last night?"
Gabe managed to make a scoff sound proud. "Who didn't?"
"Do you know who to thank for that?"
He gave the obvious answer. "Radio Rebel."
"Tara Adams." Kim corrected.
Gabe looked at her, beyond confused. "My 'dare partner' Tara Adams?"
"Your dare partner Tara Adams?" Kim said in the same tone.
He seemed more confused hearing that. "Don't you and Stacy discuss these things?"
"I guess not."
"Anyway," Gabe said, wanting off the subject and out of the conversation. "you think Tara's to thank for this... why?"
"I saw her take your demo CD. I didn't know for sure if that's what it was until I heard 'Turn It All Around' play on Radio Rebel's show, but I put two and two together."
"So, you think Tara gave the demo to her step-dad and he passed it on? 'Cause that's very possible."
"Actually, I think Tara took it for herself." Kim clarified.
"That's very not possible." Gabe replied, cracking himself up. "I mean, her? There's no way some shrinking violet like Tara could pull that off."
"I could be right." Kim said defensively, not seeing what he found so funny.
"What difference does it make if you are?" He asked, catching her off guard when he looked her straight in the eye. He made her think about what she'd said to Larry, and how going against that would make her seem hypocritical. "Even I know that you secretly support Radio Rebel. Why would you wanna bring her down?"
Kim sighed. "Good point. I guess... I didn't see anything." She said, putting on a smile.
Gave gave one back, mentally congratulating himself on his acting skills.
The act was dropped soon after, when Gabe made his way to SLAM, knowing exactly who he was going there for.
He hated having to take a bus, but he didn't have much of a choice. To his surprise, he ran into Delilah while he was waiting at the bus stop. She seemed to drop whatever it was she was doing to come talk to him. It made him feel like he was in the middle of a crazy fan encounter, but it was blatantly obvious to him that she was rooting for him for a reason other than the music he made.
"Hi."
"Hey." He replied, not really knowing what to say. He'd thought Tara was the queen of awkward conversations, but had a feeling this was going to be much worse.
"You're adorable." There was the proof.
"Thank you." Gabe wondered if Delilah found it fun to try to embarrass him to death, or if she even knew she was doing that.
When the bus pulled up, he felt like running for it. He kept his cool, but Delilah couldn't. He didn't blame her. He was having his own moment of victory seeing 'Who Is Radio Rebel?' on the side of the bus.
Before getting on, he offered Delilah a congratulatory high-five opportunity she gladly accepted. (If he and Tara weren't at 'hug level' yet, they certainly weren't.)
"Isn't this crazy?" She asked him, under a fit of happy laughter.
Thinking about it, Gabe saw that the whole situation was. The dare, being paired up with Tara, Tara become a celebrity. Delilah treating him like he was a celebrity-for a very weird reason, but it still counted in his eyes-and his band on their way to becoming celebrities as well. All of it.
He smiled before boarding the bus, getting in three words before he was on his way. "The best kind."
Tara had to go into SLAM through the back way, to avoid getting caught by the Barry and Larry.
Once in the studio, she pulled the blinds up, startling Cami into spilling her salad. Which sparked quiet laughter from the corner of the room.
Tara turned to see Gabe, who'd apparently gotten there first. She hadn't expected him to be there at all. Before she could say anything about that, Cami came through the door.
"Did you see the posters?"
Hard to miss. Gabe thought, as Tara unknowingly echoed him.
She recounted a story about her mom calling her to tell her 'she' was on the bus, and he had to laugh again. He wondered why he hadn't been in Tara's retelling, and if Delilah had even mentioned he was a witness to that in the first place. He decided to quit wearing out his brain over it, since he figured he'd never understand a woman's logic.
He listened to Cami call Tara famous and had to wonder why she seemed bothered by the idea.
"No, I'm not. No, Radio Rebel is." She scoffed, disgruntled. "Even Gavin has a thing for her."
Gabe found himself laughing at that too, but his reaction went unnoticed.
"That's good." Cami said. "We like Gavin, right?"
With this question, Gabe realized that-whether they knew it or not-the girls were talking like they were the only two in the room.
"Yes, we do. An-"
"Ladies." Both of them turned to Gabe, a bit annoyed but also sorry, given what he said next. "Can we talk about something I might actually be able to give some input on?" He looked directly at Tara when he added: "Like how you owe me, big time?"
"For what?" Cami asked, angry he was acting that way, unaware that he was joking.
Tara didn't know that either. She swallowed the lump in her throat and let Gabe speak. "Convincing Kim there was absolutely no way you could be Radio Rebel and even if there was, she shouldn't say a word to Stacy about it."
Tara let that sink in, figuring out she must've gotten caught taking the GGGG's demo. "Sorry for the slip up." She told him. "And thanks."
Gabe shrugged it off. "Be happy. You're famous."
With a laugh, Tara took a stray piece of lettuce from Cami's hair.
"Baby, you got fan clubs in every school in Seattle. I mean, look at all of the petitions." When Cami went to show her the computer screen, she looked back at Gabe. He was standing there, still feeling out of place. "C'mon, join the huddle."
He chuckled and walked over, squeezing between the two of them. "Speaking of dance breaks, I think I sprained something this morning." He told Tara.
She looked apologetic, like it was her fault he overdid it with expressing himself. "I hope you still had fun."
"I'm here, aren't I?" She didn't seem to hear him, too amazed by the response her listeners were giving her.
He could see the lightbulb going on above Tara's head, and she confirmed his assumption when she said: "Wait, I have a really good idea..."
Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! All ideas are welcome, but I really need more for the GGGG's rise to fame and Stacy's prom queen campaign. Also, any suggestions for things the 'dare pairs' can do together. Let me know if there's anything from this chapter you want me to elaborate on as well. I'll update ASAP! =]