(Flashback)
"Hehe!" I hear Sam giggling. "I'm gonna beat you!"
"No you won't!" I smile, and then allow gravity to take control of me.
We're playing on the swings at the park at Sam's old elementary school, where she did some of her pre-k stuff.
She should be back here in a month or so.
Ugh.
School in a month.
It's about to be August, and school starts on the 3rd of September.
I swing up, and Sam is still ahead of me.
She falls back, then shoots forward.
I glance back.
"HEY!" I yell.
Austin must be back with our drinks.
Sam goes into more raucous giggles and yelled "Higher!"
Ditching my "Be nice and let her win" strategy, I start actually trying to beat Sam and get higher than her.
For about a minute or two, I'm slowly catching up, as Austin is propelling Sam higher and higher.
Thank goodness these are gigantic swings.
"She's catching us!" Sam yelled frightfully.
I laugh and smile.
"Oh no she's not!"Austin yelled, as I'm on the upswing.
When I swing back, I'm fine until there's a jolt.
And I slow down.
"Hey! What are you—HEY! LET GO!"
Austin simply laughed as he has his hands on the chains and is dragging me to a stop.
Sam giggled, and Austin smiled at me.
I would fight him and try to keep swinging, but I know I'd hurt him.
So I let him drag me to a stop, then hop off.
When he hops on, I hop onto his lap.
"That was mean."
He smiled. "C'mon. We need to talk to her anyway."
"Oh." I say. "About the go-karts?"
He nodded. "Did your mom say anything about that interview?"
"No. Just that all the kids will be pictured. She said you could be in it too."
He shook his head. "This is a piece about your family and Jade's and Andre's, and how it's all interconnected."
"And you're a part of that."
"I want to be. I plan on being a part of it. But right now I'm just your boyfriend."
"You're a lot more than that to me." I smile softly.
He smiled back. "You're way more than that to me too."
For some reason, Austin then turned to look at Sam, causing me to look.
She's got her hands covering her face, has stopped and is looking the other way.
I nervously swallow and Austin asked.
"Hey Sam, are you ok?"
"I don't wanna see you guys kiss."
Austin nervously laughed. "We weren't going to."
Then he smiled at me.
I get what he means.
He just doesn't want her to feel awkward.
"Yeah you were. You had that same look Mommy and Daddy used to have." Sam said.
Austin looked confused. "What?"
"You guys look all gooey, and forget I'm here."
"We didn't forget. We were just talking." I say.
Suddenly Sam spun around, still in her swing.
"Really?"
Then the swing chains spun her away from us.
"Woah! AHH!"
Then she tumbled out of the swing and onto the ground.
"You ok?" Austin asked, an edge of concern in his voice.
"Did you get our drinks?" She asked, lying face down.
"Yeah, you ok?" Austin asked again.
Sam gave him a thumbs up.
"Good. Now—" Austin said, then stood up.
I cry out of shock, then smack onto the ground on my back,
Next thing I know, Sam is on top of me, face a portrait of concern.
"Are you ok?" She asked quietly.
"yeah. Hit your brother for me though." I say quietly.
Sam popped up, then started hitting Austin, even though she can't reach above his ribs.
"Ow ow OWW! Sammy!"
"She told me to." Sam immediately smiled, as I pick myself up.
"Well thanks. Your snack is over there. And Syd and I need to talk to you ok kiddo?"
Sam immediately stopped in her tracks.
"Am I in trouble?"
"No!" I say.
Sam jumped for joy, then raced off and brought me my raderade, along with her drink and a banana.
"I don't like bananas." Sam pouted to Austin.
"You need to eat." He said simply.
She frowned at him.
"Sam…"
"No." She said.
Austin crossed his arms. "It's just one. And you need something in your stomach. Otherwise you'll be hungry and grandma isn't cooking tonight."
I grab my apple, and watch the dialogue.
They always get along too well it seemed.
"But I don't like bananas…" She whined.
"Sam, it's just a snack. I'm going out to get dinner tonight. If you keep whining, I'm picking where we eat."
Sam simply wailed "NOOOOOOOOO!"
Now she sounds like Corey.
When he really doesn't like what he's getting.
Almost never happens though.
Suddenly I can sense that Austin's patience is wearing thin.
I gotta jump in.
We have to tell her about the plan.
"Here. Do you want my apple? I'll trade." I offer.
Sam truned around and lit up.
"Yes please!"
We trade fruits, and by the time she's turned back to Austin, she's already taking a big bite.
"Sam, we do need to talk." Austin said, still sounding mildly annoyed.
"Ok. I'm listening." She said simply, then taking another bite.
"Cool. Remember how my mom and dad want to meet you?" I start, jumping Austin's gun.
Sam turned and nodded.
"Well, my brother was having a party at the go kart track. They were wondering if you wanted to come."
"Will anybody else be there?" She asked.
"Some other people that are really important and nice."
Sam turned to Austin. "Are they those people you told me about? That Cat lady and her friends?"
Austin smiled. "Yup. And the baby that loves me."
"I don't know if she's coming." I say.
"Can I come? He said you had a little brother that he thinks I'd like." Sam turned back to me.
Corey.
Yeah, they would probably hit it off pretty easily.
"Yeah, his name is Corey. I bet you guys would like each other." I say.
Sam smiled, then walked over and hugged me.
"Thank you."
I smile and hug her again.
"No problem."
(End Flashback)
Austin stopped the car next to Jade's gigantic SUV.
"Yay!" Sam cheered from the back.
"You sound like you want to turn around already." Austin said, sarcasm evident.
As I hop out, I can see Sam give Austin a look.
By the time I get the door open, I hear Sam say "You don't have to be mean."
"I'm…not?" Austin said, unbuckling her.
Sam piled out on my side, and we all walked to the front gate.
"Hi, we're here with the Valentine/Oliver Party?" I said.
"Ok. Go on ahead." He gestured for us to keep walking.
We do just that, and a minute later, a go kart zoomed by. I think it was Matt.
"Hey!" Dad said, just as we appear as he is digging in an ice chest.
"Hi. Y'all already started?" Austin asked, as people are driving around the track behind him.
"Yeah. The kids are basically all out there except your girlfriend. And you must be Sam! Hi, I'm Sydney's dad." Dad said, then crouching and smiling gently.
"Hi. Can I go kart too?"
"Of course! You won't be able to drive one your own, but I'm sure Austin would let you ride with him."
"Ehhh…" Austin joked.
"Fine. Can I ride with you?" Sydney grabbed my hand.
"Of course."
Austin opens his mouth, and looks embarrassed.
"Come here, there are some people that want to meet you." Dad waved us forward.
Sam kept a hold of my hand as we walk towards where Mom, Jade and Andre are.
"Here you go." Dad handed mom a bottle of something with lime green on it.
"Thanks. Hi Sam!" Mom said happily.
"Hi."
"These are some of the people I told you about. This is Jade and that's Andre." Austin said.
Sam just smiled, then walked over to Jade and hugged her waist.
Aunt Jade just falls apart, then hugs her back.
"AGA!" Olivia squeals, causing everybody to turn.
"And this is Olivia." Austin smiled, taking her from Andre with a smile. "Say hi!" He turned her to Sam.
She giggled and kicked in Sam's direction, then a go kart zoomed by about 15 feet away, causing her to curl up and turn away from the noise.
"Is she ok with all that noise?" I ask.
"Yeah, we've got earphones that we've used, but wanted to give her a little break. We're going to try them out later. She's already had her interview." Jade tickled her tummy, causing her to giggle and unscrunch herself.
"The magazine piece right?" Austin asked.
"Yeah. That's where Tori is. Cat and I have already interviewed. So has Kevin and Matt."
As soon as Sam opened her mouth, Austin was already telling her "You won't be interviewed. Don't worry."
Sam just smiled.
"Enough of us talking. Go karts are right over there, and have fun!" Mom said happily.
Next thing I know, I'm getting dragged by Sam over to the two man karts.
It takes Sam a moment to get buckled in tight, so Austin gets a head start.
Immediately, Sam is urging me to go faster so we can pass him.
"Faster!"
"I'm going faster! We're catching up!"
We obviously got two fast karts, because both of us loop around Beck and Corey, both of whom wave to us.
"They seem nice." Sam said simply.
I laugh, and say "yeah, they are nice."
A minute or two later we've caught up to Austin, who has gotten stuck behind a pitting Ellie.
Must be going to interview.
"We're gonna beat you!" Sam yelled to Austin.
Over all the noise of our engines, I still hear Austin laugh.
"Go go go!" Sam urges me.
Problem is, Austin is a good driver, and knows how to cut us off.
After about 5 minutes of various passing attempts, which even silenced Sam, I go to the strategy I don't want to go to.
Forcing him to let me by. Using the possibility of him spinning out as my weapon.
After a lap or two of trying to position myself right, I see Ellie pop onto the track, and my attempts to pass get reset because Beck and Corey are parking.
We have to slow down for her, as Austin is slowing down for some reason ahead of us.
"Hi! You must be Sam!" Ellie says beside us.
"Yeah! Who are you?" Sam asked.
"I'm Ellie! Her best friend!"
Sam lit up.
"Cool!"
"We're trying to catch him!" I point to Austin, who is now speeding up.
Ellie looked to me. "Let me take care of that!"
"Why are we letting her pass us?" Sam asked, clearly annoyed by the move.
"I'm trusting her. She can't do worse than we have."
"Unless she gets passed by him."
Didn't think of that.
Crap.
"Let's hope that she doesn't." I say.
We complete another lap, and I can't help but wonder why Austin is starting to slow.
Until I hear Austin yell "ELLIE!" in clear frustration.
Then it hits me.
She's slowing him down, and blocking him.
I immediately zoom to the side Austin isn't using and start trying to pass.
"She's slowing him down I think!" Sam says about 2 minutes after I put the pieces together.
I laugh. "Me too!"
It takes a bit longer, but we finally get even with Austin.
"This is SO NOT FAIR! She's your little pawn!" Austin yelled to us, trying to keep his competitive side down.
"Duh!" I smile, and Sam stuck her tongue out at him.
Finally, after about 40 minutes, we sneak past Ellie and Austin and see open track for the first time.
"Yayyy!" Sam cheered. "You're a great driver Sydney!"
"Thank you!"
We drive in relative peace, slowly catching up to Matt until somebody pops up next to us.
Until a loud engine pops up to my left.
"OH NO!" I hear Sam yell, just as I take a turn.
Once we straighten out, I glance over.
He got past Ellie.
"Hang on." I say, starting to try to block him.
I manage to hold him off until I see mom wave for me to come in next time I drive by.
"Looks like I have to go in…'I tell Sam.
She immediately frowned. "Stupid interview."
"It won't take long. I'll be right back out here okay?"
She nodded, and I manage to hold Austin off until Beck leads me into the pits.
Mom grabbed my shoulder and directed me towards an office area.
Behind me, I hear Corey and Sam start to get introduced.
…
"That was a dirty trick you and Ellie pulled on me." I hear Austin say behind me.
I turn around and say "What are you doing here?"
"Your mom told me to come in too. Apparently we're doing this together. Hope you don't mind." His cocky smirk came back.
I roll my eyes. "Boys. You're all the same."
"Hey! I'm not just some boy I hope." He smiled, then made a inappropriate gesture.
I bite my lip, then open the door to see a guy in jeans and a collared shirt, with a cameraman and camera to his right.
"Hi. I'm Riley Rowling, from metropolitan Magazine. You must be Sydney." The man rose to shake my hand.
"Yup. Hi."
"And you must be Austin." He turned to him and shook also.
"That would be me."
"Great. Go ahead and have a seat." He gestured to the chairs.
We both sit down, and he does the same.
"So, before we begin, I do have to say, at your parents behest, that this interview will be video taped. But you can say whatever you want. If you swear, or say something that you don't like after the fact, then we can do that. It's mostly there so I don't have to take continuous notes, plus it'll give your fans a face to put to your name."
I nervously swallow.
"Ok. I've never done an interview before, so I might not be great." I say shyly.
"What do you mean? First interview on camera, or first interview period?" he asked.
"First period." I say.
He suddenly took a step back. "Wow. Didn't know that. But don't worry. I'm not a tough interviewer. This will be fun, all you have to do is relax."
"That's what I always tell her…" Austin smiled.
I whack him. "No you don't."
Riley laughed, then sat down and said "Whenever you can roll."
A moment later, he gave him a thumbs up.
"Alright. Welcome back to Metro Online, I'm Riley Rowling, and I am honored to have here, the one, the only, Sydney Valentine along with her boyfriend Austin. How are you guys?" he said, then turned to us.
"Good." I say.
"Great, thanks for having us." Austin said smoothly.
"Now, before we really begin Sydney, you just mentioned before we started rolling, that this was your first interview of any kind, which surprised me. Would you mind explaining why you have avoided the spotlight for the most part?"
"Well, uhm I've always had the spotlight on me, and I used to really hate it. Just being Cat Valentine's daughter, and all that attention is the polar opposite of me, my instinct is to avoid all that. It's just not my thing. But I'm trying to be more outgoing and accepting of my fame."
Austin jumped in and said "Yeah, she's not really that typical famous type you know? Syd has told me a few times that it gets under her skin that she's famous for doing nothing really."
"Why is that?" Riley asked.
"I haven't put anything out yet. I haven't done TV, movies, broadway, music, anything. I'm just my mom's first kid. I want to change that and be known for something I've done."
He smiled. "Ok, let's get into that. There has been a lot of buzz going around that you're working on music. Tell us a little about that."
"Yeah, I'm in the studio right now. I'm in the process of finding my voice and starting an album. But my main focus is a Cover Album that we'll upload to the Pear Store and SoundStorm, and that'll be like me covering various songs Ellie and I have chosen, with some people coming in to help me. I'm excited."
"I hadn't even heard about the cover stuff. Exclusive!" Riley smiled, causing Austin and I to laugh.
"This is a big day for news, your mom came in here and said that she is putting out an EP in mid September. I assume you've heard about that."
"Yup." I say, and Austin nodded.
"Have you heard any of it?"
"Yeah, it's really good." I say.
Riley turned to Austin.
"No, but I've been avoiding it. Her mom has offered multiple times, but I'm waiting to get my own copy."
"Why?" Riley asked.
"I've been a fan of her mom my whole life. Love her music."
"really? That must be amazing, to be dating her daughter and all. How's that been?"
"Incredible. I don't really know what to say about it. Before I got the guts to ask her out, there had been rumors around school that Sydney's mom was Cat Valentine, but I hadn't really taken them seriously. Then when I asked her out and found out, it was a total shock."
"How is she? Like on a day to day basis?" Riley asked.
"She's awesome. Really cares a lot, asks how I am, just like she's my mom. She didn't freak out when it came out that I've been a fan of hers since I was Corey's age, I really can't thank her enough. And Sydney's dad. He's been great too." He smiled sheepishly.
"Can't forget him." I joke, and both of them laugh.
"No, of course not. Would you mind enlightening us on how you guys started dating? Just describe what happened, that sort of thing."
I just turn to Austin.
"You want to go? Or I can." He said to me.
"No, I can." I say. "It was my birthday, and a few weeks after we went on a double date that didn't go very smoothly, and things were kind of tense. I was at my locker with Ellie, and Austin just came up with some cupcakes and an offer to go to the beach. On the drive down he found out about Mom and then…it just started." I say.
"Skipping school…you crazy kids." He smiled.
"Do as we say, not as we do." Austin joked ot the camera, and Riley and I laugh. "but yeah. I had to make up for the movie fiasco, and it worked out. I think it has at least."
"What happened at the movies?" riley asked.
"t was a double date, and the guy that went with Ellie was a…word I can't say on camera."
"He was." Austin jumped in.
"We picked the wrong movie, and we got in trouble with our parents for being out past curfew." I finish.
"Hence the total fiasco."
"Sounds like one. What did you see?" Riley asked.
"The Bourne Identity remake. Not as good as the first." I frown.
"Ahh. So you guys have been going out for awhile now."
"Yup." I smile.
"Almost 6 months." Austin said proudly.
"Oh you're right. Any big plans?" He asked Austin.
"None that I can divulge at this time." He said simply.
"Ahh…I smell romance."
"I can neither confirm or deny at this time." Austin nodded once, causing me to break character and laugh.
He then smiled at me.
"It's obvious you guys are happy. We've been here for 5 minutes and it just radiates off you."
"Thanks. I'm really happy." I say.
Riley smiled, then asked "What is one thing about Austin that we don't know Sydney?"
"Uhm…"
Crap.
Think think think.
"He can't stand heavy blankets."
"really? They're comfy."
"Nah, too much. Get me a light blanket or I'll crawl into bed with my comforter. Not too heavy."
"Ok, I'll turn it around. Austin, what's something about Sydney we don't know about?"
"Well, it refers back to how she handles her fame. I've only seen her sign one autograph."
"Really? Just one?"
"Yeah. We were at a ice cream shop, and a tiny girl came up and got a picture and a autograph."
"Hmm. Would not have expected that. Well Sydney, Austin, thank you so much for the time. It was a pleasure."
"Thanks for having us." I say.
…
"We're clear."
I let out a sigh. "At least I got the end right." I say.
"You did great. And seriously, thank you. I really appreciate it." Riley stood to shake my hand.
Austin and I both shake his hand, then bid farewell and walk back outside.
"Alright! Looks like everyone is done." Dad said, as Corey smiled and waved at me and Sam came to hug Austin.
"Have you made any new friends?" Austin asked Sam.
Corey suddenly lit up.
"Yeah! Corey here is really nice. He even likes reading!"
"Cool. Maybe you guys read some of the same stuff." I say.
Sam just smiled happily.
"Whenever you guys are ready, we can start go karting again." Mom said.
Sam jumped to me, and I see mom hand Austin Olivia.
"Uhh…are you sure about this?"
I glance at Olivia, and she is smiling at Austin happily with headphones on.
"Yup. Her mom and dad cleared it. If she doesn't like it, just park and one of them will come and take her." Dad said.
"ok then. Let's go. And no having Ellie block me this time." Austin said, to me, as sam started pulling me.
I yell over my shoulder "No promises!", causing everybody to laugh and follow us.