Still with me, readers? Sorry for the long wait. I have most of the next chapter in mind already, but I decided to split it 'cause this deserved an update. This chapter is dedicated toDannySamLover20, AmandaSimmons95, demigirl606, . . .Words, tisha b, purplerosefromyou, Dragonfan47, Dandy-ni, MiYuki Kurama, and The Throne. Enjoy!

I do not own Radio Rebel

Larry's morning routine went uninterrupted by his brother, and that raised concern. Not enough to make him wonder where Barry went so early, though. The events of the dare threw off everyone's schedules. Except Larry's. As he descended the stairs, he knew the only thing waiting at the bottom was the kitchen. (Where he'd serve himself breakfast from 6:30 to 6:45.) At least, he thought he knew. Until his walk was cut short.

Kim sat on the bottom step with her back pressed up against the wall and her legs stretched out so that the toes of her socks almost touched the banister. "Hey!" She greeted happily, as if she didn't notice the look of pure bewilderment on her dare partner's face. "Barry let me in before he left. I wasn't sure if you'd mind me wearing shoes in the house so I took them off at the door."

"Are you trying out a new method of tripping people, or did you just not want me to miss you?" Kim's fading smile told Larry that thought should've gone unspoken. (Especially since, as he reflected on it, it didn't make much sense. If she wanted to trip him, she'd have to be subtle about it.) In attempt to spare her feelings, he said: "You're hard to miss." He realized that might sound worse, depending on how she interpreted it, and clarified: "And by miss I mean 'not notice'." She smiled at his attempt to make her feel better, knowing he never meant to make her feel bad. "I should've just said 'Hey'!" He matched the enthusiastic tone she'd used, making her laugh. She put one foot down to stop her from falling. Even though it was only a one-step drop.

Then she stood up and fixed her shirt by pulling the bottom hem down to where it rested at her hips. "So, how'd you sleep?"

"Well, thanks." He replied rather casually, considering he hadn't seen that coming. "How about you?"

"Great." She said in a tone that made him wonder what she dreamt about, not knowing she was musing over something in her reality.

"Great." He echoed, glad to hear that. He led her to the kitchen, going into detail about all the food he had to offer.

She cut him off, not annoyed. She just didn't want him to waste words. "I'll have whatever you're having."

"Okay, but it's kind of plain." She saw the cereal and berries he prepared to put in a bowl with milk-everything organic-and couldn't say she agreed. In fact, she didn't say anything. She got up and tried to follow suit. Larry stopped her, gingerly taking the bowl from her grasp. *"My dishes, my responsibility." He insisted, thinking the guest shouldn't have to lift a finger.

"You didn't let me handle my own dishes." She pointed out, taking the bowl back. He let go immediately, not wanting to have to deal with broken glass. Once they prepared their breakfast and sat down to eat, Kim felt the need to apologize. "I ruined your plans, didn't I?"

Larry's original plan hadn't included her, but he completely forgotten what they were when he got downstairs. "Right now, keeping this dare going is the only plan. Everything else-except school and work-is up in the air." She looked stunned by the comment, and he watched some berries roll off the spoon that handn't made it to her mouth. Which hung open slightly in disbelief.

"Doesn't that bother you?"

"It drives me bonkers," He confirmed. "but… I could use some spontaneity in my life." He was surprised how easily words he never thought he'd speak rolled off his tongue. It was so unlike him to be unfazed by not having everything mapped out. Even unmasking Radio Rebel had a game plan.

His surprise did not hold a candle to Kim's shock, but she kept quiet about it. Instead, she just smiled. As weird as it was, she felt accomplished. Then that rush of pride rushed out of her. "I don't wanna change you." Her voice was low and her tone was guilty. She remembered how upset he was when he thought a change in her appearance meant a change in personality. While that wasn't the case, she didn't want a change of plans to mean that for him.

"You're not." He assured. So quick and so calm it did little to convince her not to worry. A naturally nervous person didn't usually talk that way. "It's just… something a little different." He used the words she had when defending her new outfit choices. And it worked. "It'll be fun to venture out of my comfort zone."

"And you're not scared?" She asked accidentally. Sometimes she wondered why she ever opened her mouth around him, since the wrong thing always seemed to slip out. He didn't see it that way, though.

Larry couldn't help scoffing. "I'm terrified. And maybe it's not rational to be terrified. How much trouble could we get into?" Kim knew that question was rhetorical, so she let him continue. "Maybe I'm more scared of missing out. I have to accept that there are things I can't plan for." Before bringing his empty bowl over to the sink, he sent his dare partner a smile and said: "I know I'll be happier when I do."

"All I could think to say was: 'You will'." Tara was being her own worst critic, and venting to Cami in the process. While the house that served as their set was nice, they wished for the coziness of the lounge. They sat together on the steps, getting one last look at the place before they joined the others who would be filming outside. "I feel like I can only give good advice when I'm in a booth."

"That's ridiculous." Cami dismissed. "Especially since you used to make these podcasts from your room." They laughed, although Tara didn't feel like laughing.

"Do you think that's why Gabe won't open up to me? Because I can't give him advice like I give to Radio Rebel's listeners?"

Cami shook her head. "He knows who you are. There's less of a filter when you're with him because you don't have to worry about keeping a secret. You would've said the same sort of things if he'd called into SLAM to talk to you. Gabe might not say it, but I think he's glad to have you to talk to. He's happy to get encouragement from you, even if you think it's no big deal. Opening up is just gonna take time."

The argument was so hard to agree with. For Tara, there was such a separation. She and Radio Rebel were not the same person. Like so many fans had said, she wished she had that kind of confidence. That level of honesty. Her frown faded before Cami could catch it, because if she did she would know she hadn't helped. The way Tara saw it, her secret identity was more authentic than the one known to everyone. She managed a nod, and got up to walk out of the house. Cami sensed the change in her mood, from-critical to crestfallen-and hurried to give her fellow DJ a hug.

"You know what it's like, juggling a personality. You have to do that every day. It doesn't make you fake if you're not a hundred percent yourself a hundred percent of the time. It just makes you human."

Tara heard a lot of truth in those words, but it was hard for her to seem like she did when everyone around her was completely in their element. Everyone except Gavin. While the crew and the rest of the band were setting up to perform, he was wondering if he'd even be able to join them. Audrey took notice of how nervous he looked, and decided it was up to her to do something about that.

"You can do this," She encouraged as she walked over to him. He had done this. She'd heard the proof. She had to give him a way to put his doubts about that aside. There was a technique that worked well for her, and as she said it she almost hoped it sounded weird. Weird enough to work. "you are the hyena."

Instead of an odd expression, Gavin gave her a smile in response. Somehow, he knew what she meant. If he could have control over this situation, that gave him hope that he had control over what it would lead to. He just hoped they were right in their thinking; otherwise he had a right to panic.

The doorway that divided Stacy and Barry might as well have been a portal between worlds. She stood there in a state she'd sworn she would never let herself be seen in: wearing loose-fitting pajamas with her hair up in a lazy ponytail. And of course, not a speck of makeup covered her face. He on the other hand was dressed to the nines-in his eyes, at least-in formal clothes that still managed to be fun.

Despite how embarrassed she felt been seen before beatification, Stacy greeted him was a dry mutter of: "You look… colorful." Barry figured this was as close to giving areal compliment as she would ever get. "What are you dressed like that for?"

"Charity." He supplied simply.

"No one dresses like that to do charity work." Stacy dismissed, audibly frustrated.

"They do if they're raising money by dancing until they drop." He went on with his explanation, talking over the volumes her scowl seemed to speak. "It was a friend's gig but he and his partner gave up their slot to support the cause." Those words sounded mocking, which didn't make sense to Stacy considering this made it seem like Barry was taking the campaign very seriously.

"You called in a favor for me?" It didn't feel like a favor. It felt like another way of getting under her skin, and she wondered how many extra miles he was willing to go for that.

Barry didn't see it that way. As he'd said before, he saw the campaign as something bigger than them. "I called in a favor for Seattle. So, are you up for it?"

She mulled it over. It would make her look good, and it wasn't like she had nothing to wear. Her closet full of dresses with the tags still attached made that a futile argument. "Buy me breakfast first?" Stacy was surprised that came out as a question and not a command.

So was Barry, but that couldn't been seen in his smile. "That was the plan." He informed as she turned and went to get ready, leaving the door open for him. She turned when she got to the staircase, pointing a stern finger in her dare partner's direction.

"That doesn't make it a date."

"Uh-huh." He replied, obviously enjoying the fact that she felt the need to remind him.

"It's not." She stressed as she resumed walking. She didn't make it another three steps before he felt the need to reply.

"Sure." While the word was meant to be used to accept what she was told him, his tone told her he wasn't going to drop his theory. She ignored his comment and kept walking, barely making it out of sight before Barry spoke again.

"Hey, Stacy?" He called quietly, as if he just remembered something important. She huffed, thinking he was about to tell her the day's schedule included more than dancing.

He looked up at her as if she was very far away, but spoke in a voice so low she was surprised she heard without being right beside him. He said a single word that he'd been holding onto since she answered the door. (He remembered the look on her face, that he only got a glimpse of before her eyes found the ground and she put on the expression he was used to.) It was something she needed to hear, but knowing that didn't make it any less true. "Beautiful."

Lost for words, Stacy sent him a look he couldn't discern before continuing on her way. Even though she said nothing back, Barry felt satisfied. That meant what he said was sinking in.

"You're really close to the grass." Kim didn't like that she was stating the obvious, but she had to express her concern in some way.

Larry couldn't enjoy himself while he constantly worried about losing his balance. Though, he had a lot more skill with rollerblading than he realized. "It's the lesser of two evils," He rationalized. "If I fall, grass will probably aggravate my eczema. But it won't give me road rash."

With a giggle, Kim shrugged. "Whatever works," She said as she sped past him on the path in the park. "but I don't think you're gonna fall. You're doing fine." She assured as she turned to face him. This only added to his nervousness, because he couldn't see her trusting him to be her eyes ending well. At the same time, it was impressive.

"How do you do that?"

In response, she just gave another shrug. Then she stopped, waiting for him to catch up.

Some sudden spurt of confidence allowed him to veer to the middle of the path to join her. Her beaming smile was a major contrast to the knot forming in his stomach. Being brave wasn't something he saw ending well for him, either. Even if it was one of Radio Rebel's principles.

"Whoa. Where did that come from?" Kim questioned as they continued along the path together, at a slower and steadier pace. When Larry moved, he hadn't thought about why. At first, it didn't even seem possible.

Suddenly, the reason was obvious. "I just… I wanted to keep up."

She didn't think that was something new for him. She didn't doubt that he had to create a lot of courage to keep up with his brother. With this thought, she knew leaving Larry's comfort zone wasn't entirely unprecedented. Barry made that easier. And-although she didn't know how-so did Kim.

To those around her, it may have looked like Stacy was very focused on chewing, but she was actually gritting her teeth behind her lips. "We're the youngest people in here." She pointed out to Barry, who sat across from her, eating in silence.

In what seemed to be one fluid motion, he raised his eyebrows, swallowed and leaned back in the booth, squaring his shoulders. He looked around, but only for a moment. Then he turned his attention back to her. "We're also the people having the least amount of fun." The dinner had drawn a good crowd, of mostly elderly patrons, and the place was alive with happy chatting. "Senior citizens eat early because they get discounts. We're eating early so we make it to our event on time."

He had a point, but she didn't want to say so. Plus, a thought got her sidetracked when her eyes landed on his wallet. It was sitting out on the table beside his glass of juice. "I thought you were broke."

Barry shook his head. "If I was, why would I offer to pay for you?"

She didn't answer, her thoughts still wandered. Her eyes settled back on him as she asked: "So, how much was it?" His expression told her he wasn't following. For a second, he thought she was asking about breakfast. Which they hadn't finished yet. "The dress at the mall. The one you… picked out for me." Stacy found her phrasing weird. Or maybe it was that fact that Barry had done that that seemed so strange.

"Uh," He began, as he chased a potato around with his fork. "I didn't check, but I doubt anything that makes the window would be on clearance." She narrowed her eyes before getting back to eating. Either she didn't find him funny, or found the concept of clearance items to be against the rules of fashion. Most likely both. "What? You're gonna tell me you never bought anything on clearance?" Maybe she was just so dedicated to her image she couldn't own up to that. "I get it. Look good, feel good-"

"I thought for you it was more like: Do good, look good." Stacy interrupted, as if she caught him in a lie.

"Well, it is, but-" For him it was a combination of both. It was one thing to look good. But acting ugly wouldn't have them looking good for long. And then how could they feel good? She didn't give him the chance to voice his thoughts, interrupting again.

"Do you think you don't look good?"

Her question-and the hint of concern her tone carried-had him so confused he could only comeback with: "What?" She knew there was no need to repeat herself. And she knew he was mulling it over. As if boys weren't allowed to get self-conscious about their appearance.

"You look good, Barry." (That was a real compliment. And she figured by his logic, with all the good he did, he ought to have something to show for it.)

Barry dropped his fork. It bounced off his plate and landed on the floor, but he didn't even notice. "What?" He couldn't help asking again, this time in a much lower voice. Stacy didn't bother rephrasing herself. She meant what she said, in the matter-of-fact way she said it.

"You dropped your fork." She told him, repressing a laugh.

Ironically, he did laugh, while he went to retrieve the utensil. "Ya know what that means."

She nodded, and spoke bluntly. "You need a clean fork."

That was true, but it wasn't what he was thinking. "Company's coming." He corrected, earning himself an odd look. Then, sort of absentmindedly, he asked: "Didn't I have a point I was trying to make?"

"Probably." She said, unable to roll her eyes. "Something about clearance."

"Right, yeah." He said, trying to get himself back on track. He pushed his nearly-empty plate in Stacy's direction. She looked at the plate-rather than him-as if she was disgusted. "It's great that you like to present yourself well, but you don't have to waste all you time and money doing that."

His opinion didn't seem valid to her, because her only response was: "Let's get out of here and go dance." She sounded impatient, not eager.

It took a few drawn out minutes before the check came. When the dare partners left, Barry held the door open for Stacy. She said nothing, as she was used to the treatment. He told her: "By the way, thanks."

She looked at him, with eyebrows lowered. Completely missing the point. "Why are you thanking me? You're the one that paid."

Behind the cameras, Tara, Cami and Delilah sat having themselves a mini-concert. Except they were sitting on the lawn, listening to the same song on repeat thanks to a backing track. Take after take, where mess-ups were bound to happen. Greg was rocking so hard he accidentally broke a drumstick. Rather than get upset, he laughed at himself and ran to find a replacement. Gavin and Audrey kept bumping into each other. She had helped him channel his inner hyena, but felt like a lemming since she kept following him around. Not that she was trying to, but she was part of the performance and just wanted to stick to the script. She didn't find it funny, but everyone else took it in stride.

For whatever reason, Gabe couldn't stop yawning. And yawning seemed extra contagious for the band compared to most people. "I know I'm not boring myself." He said, making the others laugh while he wondered what the problem stemmed from.

After a quick water break, the band got back to their places, and Rob rattled off: "Take 412." Sparking even more laughter. It wasn't really, not even close. But the joke cut the tension, and the band worked hard to make sure they didn't reach that number of takes. Not by a long shot.

The three watching acted as their loyal fans, but as Audrey had said, they didn't have to do much acting.

By the afternoon, Kim and Larry had pick up a shift at the pizza place. Working wasn't exactly fun, but it was something to do. This was something in her comfort zone, boring as it could be. Except that he made it less boring. They made quite a team, turning the pizzeria into a spotless place that offered service with a smile. And although they hadn't given it much thought, work wasn't in the plans for other of them that day. It was something spontaneous. Sure, it was a smile step at that. It hadn't surprised them the way rollerblading did. But it made Kim hopeful that things would change for the better.

It was a short workday, and when business started slowing down, she was looking for a way to keep herself entertained. There wasn't much to do besides talk. "What are Stacy and your brother up to today?" She asked curiously, leaning on the counter behind her for a bit.

Larry swallowed a sigh. "She really doesn't brief you on this stuff, huh?" Kim just shook her head. The update hadn't been immediate, but Barry let his brother know what was going on. "They went dancing."

He knew how that would sound. Maybe he wanted it to sound that way, so she would have something to be excited about. He figured his last comment brought her mood down. She knew better, though.

"I bet she's not happy about that."

"Probably not," Larry agreed, seeing there was no convincing her otherwise. "but I don't think he's all that happy either."

"Why not?" Kim questioned. "How could anyone not be happy dancing?"

"I can't speak for everyone, but I don't see how dancing can be fun when your partner hates your guts."

It was clear in Kim's expression that she got defensive over this, since Stacy wasn't there to take offense herself. She didn't sound angry. She sounded more analytical. Though she didn't go deep when she told him: "I don't think Stacy hates anyone. It's a long story, okay?" He would just have to accept that there wouldn't be time to tell that story.

Larry didn't want to accept excuses for why Stacy acted the way she did. Especially when he couldn't even wrap his head around it. "Everyone has problems; I don't see why she has to take hers out on other people."

Kim wondered how her dare partner defined problems, with his medical afflictions and the trouble he had with social skills. She knew more costumers were bound to walk through the door, so if she dared to ask that question she'd have to save it for later. She knew what she said next wasn't profound, and she wasn't trying to pick sides. "I don't either." She admitted, her smile completely gone from her face.

"I'm tired." Stacy complained. Barry expected to hear that, but he expected to hear it hours ago, and a hundred times over.

"Me too." He admitted, though he knew that wasn't the answer she was looking for. They had been holding themselves up. She hadn't explicitly stated this, but it was possible she didn't touch him because she thought him disease-ridden. Which was laughable, given who his brother was.

"How long have we been at this?" She asked as her eyes got heavy. Just as she blinked, she saw him raise his eyebrows at her.

"Can you not see the giant digital clock up there on the wall?" He pointed, as if she had forgotten where to look.

"No," She informed in a whine. "I can't. It just looks like big, red, blurry light." She didn't even try to see for herself, knowing her tired eyes wouldn't let her see clearly. She just made sure she didn't stop moving.

"You're really dedicated to this." Barry marveled. He wasn't sure this was the same Stacy from the morning.

"Don't ask me to explain it. I guess the DJ had a really good set list."

He didn't comment on how she was trying to play it off as no big deal. He just smiled to himself, seeing she was making progress. "You're really good at this, too."

"Naturally." She replied, sounding like her normal self. "So, what time is it?"

Only then did it occur to Barry that he hadn't taken a look for himself. His sleepy voice sounded casual to start, and then there was audible panic. "Oh, it's… 11:15?!" Though they subconsciously knew it would get them disqualified, they both froze.

Their spotlights cut off as they stared wide-eyed at each other. Without waiting to hear word from the announcers, they bolted out the door. Which was impressive, considering how they were dressed. Stacy was in the lead, but she yelled back to Barry as she ran. "We are gonna be in so much trouble!" She doubted the cause counted if they were past curfew. "Why didn't anybody call me?"

"They probably did and you just didn't hear over the music." Barry reasoned.

"That's comforting." She said sarcastically. "How come no one called you?"

"They probably did… but I forgot my phone in the car." He admitted sheepishly. He expected to get yelled at for this, especially since the phone could've gotten stolen.

Stacy did yell. She yelled because her heel got caught on her dress-that reached the ground even when she tried to hold it up-and she took a tumble.

"I broke a heel, not my ankle." She said when she heard Barry scream as he came running for her. "I'm okay." He tried to help her up, but her hands were buried in the fabric of her dress. She got herself to her feet and took off her other shoe. Her feet couldn't feel the cold ground through all that material. She knew she was ruining her dress walking that way, but she couldn't care. She realized her outfit choice wasn't in the least bit practical, and that meant it got in the way of doing something else. Driving. Disappointed in herself-but having the darkness to shroud that-she reached into the pocketbook she had slung over her shoulder and pulled out her keys. She handed them to Barry, who felt as confused as he felt useless in that moment. "You drive." It was supposed to be a demand, but it came out so smoothly it sounded nice.

"The speed limit?" He questioned. It was a joke, but she took it seriously.

"Sure, if you wanna get in even more trouble."

He narrowed his eyes just slightly. "I'm a more than sure I'd be in worse trouble if I drove over the speed limit." They got in the car, and a thought dawned on Barry.

Stacy must've read his mind. "This is a one-time thing, but you can bring the car back in the morning."

He nodded and drove off.

After another long day, the pizzeria was locked up, the music video was wrapped up and some dancers were still up. But Barry and Stacy were asleep in their beds, as was most of the group. Only Rob stayed awake, hard at work editing behind-the-scenes footage to put up after the music video.

Every member on the project seemed to shine, and they each were the focus of someone else. Nobody had used the handheld cameras to film themselves. No one except Gabe.

Rob almost skipped this piece of footage altogether. Curiosity won out over his annoyance for the size of Gabe's ego, so he had to review whatever was said.

The boy on camera stood in some corner of the set, and spoke in a soft tone even though it was obvious he was alone.

"We put our all in this. Our first major project. And I know it's not gonna be major for everyone," He said this as if it was some personal insecurity he was coping with. "but it doesn't have to be. It's about what the fans get out of it." He said his next sentence with an audible smile. And his commentary took a turn Rob hadn't seen coming. It was almost as if the boy was speaking directly to him. "Giving Tara creative control. That was… a smart decision. She's not gonna call herself a star." He said, shaking his head to back that up. "Especially since she was behind the scenes. But she taught me that this isn't about being a star."

Rob smiled, proud of his step-daughter, as Gabe finished his speech. "It's about reaching people. And if we reach people, then we're doing this right..."

Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! (According to The Radio Rebel wikia, The GGGG's drummer's name is Greg. So what about the other guy? I couldn't find anything about him, so lemme know what you guys think.) Let me know if there's anything I should elaborate on, and if there are any spelling/grammar/phrasing mistakes. I'll be rewatching Radio Rebel soon so I can have even more inspiration for next chapter. Ideas are always welcome, I'll update ASAP! =]

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