(A/N) A reader has asked me to make chapters longer, so I'm going to try to go as long as I can for this chapter. We'll see how it goes.

I slam the door closed as I walk inside the house. Marcus hasn't been here in a while; I check the calendar and there's a business trip planned for the next three weeks. Good. At least I'll be able to enjoy a little of my summer.

I climb up the stairs and lie down on my bed, kicking off my shoes in the process. I can't believe I let Zeke do that to me. Tris probably hates me now. I glance at my phone in my hand. I could text her, but I don't want to risk it.

I've plugged my headphones in and decided to take a nap when suddenly my phone vibrates in my hand.

TP: hey, what's up?

I immediately sit up, my back up against the headboard.

TE: just at home. eric kicked us out.

TP: haha why?

Well, might as well tell her now.

TE: zeke made me say some stuff on air, so I got pretty mad. lets just say that we made a lot of noise.

She doesn't reply for a while, and I'm afraid that I've scared her off. I feel my mind flood with relief when my phone vibrates.

TP: yeah, I was listening to you guys today. so who's the lucky girl? ;)

I rub the back of my neck. This needs to be treated delicately. She apparently doesn't know that it's her, which is good, but at the same time I have to figure out how to answer this question without pushing her away.

TE: I can't tell you, this time zeke isn't here to force me either :P

TP: oh come on! you can trust me, I promise.

I almost tell her right then and there when Zeke calls me. I pick up, glad for the distraction. "Hey Zeke, what's going on?"

His voice is charged with excitement. "So you know how we've always wanted a keyboardist and a female vocalist for youth group?"

"Did we finally find one?"

"Well…no." I can practically hear Zeke's sheepish grin. "But we're holding auditions for them next Saturday. I've already posted it on Facebook."

I sigh. "We've had three years of unsuccessful auditions. What makes you think this one will finally get us some musicians?"

"I don't know, man. But I have a gut feeling about this one."

"That's what you say every year, Zeke."

"Yeah, yeah, you keep talking, Tobias. I'm telling you: we're finally going to find them this year."

"Whatever you say, Zeke."

Zeke just groans and hangs up. My phone goes back to displaying Tris' unanswered message. After a few moments, I call her. She picks up on the third ring.

"Tobias?"

"Hey." My voice sounds really high for some reason, but I choose to ignore it. Focus, Tobias.

"Is there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Yeah, actually."

She giggles over the phone. "So who is it?"

"Who is what?" I scrunch up my eyebrows.

"Your secret beautiful crush."

I never answered her text. We're still talking about that. Ugh. "You don't know her." The lie smoothly rolls off my tongue, but it still feels wrong lying to Tris.

"Oh. Okay." Is it just me, or do I hear a note of disappointment in her voice? "So what is it you wanted to tell me?"

"It's not so much as something to tell you as something to ask. By any chance, do you play an instrument?"

"Yeah, I do," she says, surprised. "How could you tell?"

"When you were listening to music in the car, you seemed like you were musical, even when you had never heard the song before."

"Wow, I didn't know you could tell something like that so easily."

"So what instruments do you play?"

"Well I've been playing piano since I was four, and singing for a while too. I've been taking guitar lessons for about five years too. Why do you ask?"

I was speechless. Was Zeke right? Is this year going to be the year that we finally get somebody to fill in the gap of our band?

"Tobias?"

"Sorry, I just zoned out a little. Next Saturday we have auditions for our band. You know, our youth group one."

"That's pretty cool. When is it?"

"At two, at the church. I can give you a ride if you want." And I'll be able to spend more time with her. It's a win-win situation.

"Sure, that would be great. Do I need to prepare anything?"

"Yeah." I rushed to my computer and clicked on Zeke's Facebook post. "What do you want to try for?"

"Probably pianist, but I can do vocalist too. I'm definitely more comfortable on keyboard though."

"Okay…let's see…" I scrolled through the list on the message. "For keyboard, the song you need to play is Great Are You Lord by All Sons and Daughters."

"And to sing?"

"You need to harmonize to…wow. Great Are You Lord by All Sons and Daughters. That's a coincidence."

"Alright then, I'll practice the song."

"Awesome."

I was just about to hang up when I heard her voice, timid this time. "Can I ask you something, Tobias?"

"Yeah, anything." I felt my heart speed up.

"Do you think we could maybe practice together for the audition?" I felt my heart deflate. Of course she wasn't going to ask you out, Tobias. You only just met her on Wednesday. Stupid, stupid…

Then I realized what she was asking. I could just picture us, nestled together on a piano bench, our voices intertwining into harmony, her shoulder touching my arm, her bright stormy eyes locked on mine -

"Hello?"

Not again. "Sorry, I, um, spaced out again. But I could do that."

"Cool. Can we meet at the church on Monday? I would meet with you earlier, but I don't have much time on my hands these days."

"Sure. I'll bring my guitar and there's a piano there for you to play on."

"Great. Bye, Tobias."

"See you." I finally hung up. Even though practicing a song over and over again on the piano wasn't exactly a date, I was glad I would be able to spend some more time with her. I glanced at my acoustic guitar, which was leaned up in a corner of my room. Its shiny exterior winked at me through the sunlight streaming through the window. I picked it up, digging an ever-present guitar pick out of my pocket. I slowly strummed through the chords of the song, which I had memorized a while ago. The song wasn't traditional at all, but it wasn't a total rock and roll song like We Shine. It's more like a heartfelt ballad. (A/N You guys should check out All Sons and Daughters. Their songs are a lot more low-key but they're always very beautiful.) I'm so engrossed in the song that I don't notice the front door open and then slam shut.

Suddenly, I hear footsteps coming up the stairs. I try to remain calm on the outside, but inside my heart is going double time. Marcus can't be back yet. His business trip is for another three weeks. But if it's not Marcus, who could it be? I set my guitar on the bed and feel my muscles clench as I go into defense mode. If there's a robber in the house, I'll take him down. The doorknob turns. I hold my breath.

Instead of the suspicious character clad in black that I expect, there's middle aged guy with salt and pepper hair staring at me. His eyes are the color of steel gray.

"Sorry. I thought no one was in here." He has the grace to look embarrassed.

"It's fine, but, uh, who are you?"

"Oh, right. I'm Andrew. Andrew Prior." The name Prior sounded familiar, but I pushed it out of my head. There were more important things to worry about at the moment.

"Why are you here?"

"Your dad sent me to check on you." Marcus sent somebody to check on me? Why? "He said he wanted to make sure you were…doing what you're supposed to be doing." He turned away and muttered under his breath, "And his assistant has to do all of his petty personal work, of course."

I ignored the last part. Marcus was practically infamous on making employees do random jobs for him rather than the company he worked at. "So what am I supposed to be doing, exactly?"

Andrew shrugged. "I don't know. Just not having parties and getting drunk and high and all that stuff. You've probably heard the lecture before." He eyed me out. "You seem to be a good kid, though."

"I guess, sir."

"Sir." He laughed. "I'm sure you could teach my daughter some manners. She has quite the attitude."

I didn't really know what this had to do with me, but I just nodded.

"In fact, maybe you could come over to our house with your father sometime. Teach that poor girl the right way to act. Marcus did a good job raising you."

I severely doubted that.

"Thank you for the offer, sir. I'll take that up with him." Not.

"Right." He nodded once, as if to clear his head, then stood up and walked to the door. "It was nice to meet you…"

"Tobias."

"Yes. It was nice to meet you, Tobias." He squinted a little and looked at me. "It's strange…your dad has never mentioned your name, just the fact that you're his son."

I'm not surprised. "Just an oversight, I'm sure."

"Good bye, Tobias. I'll see you in a few days."

I stood up and showed him the door, mumbling respectful farewells as we walked. I shut the door behind him and leaned against it, sliding down to the floor. What was Marcus' deal? He's never sent anyone to check on me like this before. He usually just forgets about me until he comes home, and then…

I shiver. Don't think about what happens next.

I trudge back up the stairs, my good mood from my talk with Tris drained away. I peek at my phone. Her text still glows on the screen.

TP: oh come on! you can trust me, I promise.

Tris is definitely a special girl. No one's ever had this kind of hold on me since…yeah, no one's ever had this kind of hold on me. I don't want to scare her off with my past. I'm guessing that family problems aren't exactly an ideal quality in a boyfriend. I'm sure, externally, she'd be really nice about it; internally, though, I know she'd be freaked out. As much as I want to trust her, I don't want to risk our friendship. I sigh and pick up my guitar again, strumming chords. I just hoped she wouldn't find out about all of this. I've kept it hidden, and it's going to stay that way.

A/N And there ends that chapter! Phew. I wrote that all in one sitting. Someone guessed where the radio station is from (Pitch Perfect!) but unfortunately that reviewer is a guest…anyway I'm just going to go by honor code and say this: whichever Guest reviewer gave the right answer, type up a review with the following things:

Name of a Character , Personality Traits, Strengths, Weaknesses, Age, Relation to a character already in the story

That's right! I'm going to be developing an OC through the character you made up. The OC probably won't have a big part in this story but he or she will be represented in the plot. Happy reading (and writing)!