~4~

He shimmied his hands out from behind his head and ran them over his face, wondering just how much time had passed, how the audition was going, and when Jasmine would give her lips a rest and stop talking. She was always one to fill in any and all silence, awkward or not, barely letting anyone get a word in edgewise. She hated the silence almost just as much as she hated drama, despite being the one to act overly dramatic most times.

But she was just nervous.

They all were.

Lance felt the butterflies tickling the insides of his stomach, trying to find a way out of his stomach, find their way as far u as his rib cage. And he wasn’t even the one auditioning. But, a lot was at stake with this audition. Just a few years ago he was in the same spot, practically shaking like an old fashioned alarm clock, the hammer striking the two bells with fervor.

“How do you think its going?”

“Jazzy, you’ve asked that four times already,” Lance said before Darren could snap at his sister much like he did the last three times she had asked. Not like a lot of time had passed between each time she asked. It was like time flew past double the speed for her. Ultimately, he wouldn’t be too surprised if that was the case.

“Maybe you should find something to distract yourself with, sweetie,” Diane said, reaching out a hand to pat Jasmine on the arm.

“Like the beach!” Jasmine said with a bright smile, clasping her hands together. She started kicking her legs back and forth. “The warm sand, the warm sun, ahhh, I can practically smell the salty air.” She then paused, wrinkling her nose. “Urghh. Maybe it won’t be so great. It won’t smell like home.”

“It’s not so bad,” Lance said, sitting up, draping his arms over his knees. “It’s better than the smog in California.” He let out a small sigh. “You’re right though; it’s nothing like home.” He then got to his feet, stretching his back. “I’m going to look around.”

“Wait up,” Darren said, getting to his feet. “I can’t take anymore of Jasmine’s constant talking.” Jasmine stuck his tongue out at her brother, curling her upper lip. Darren did the same, rolling his eyes.

“How’s your ankle, Mr. Ryan?” Lance asked, sliding his hands into his jeans pockets. “I could go find some ice for you.”

“No, no, son, I’m alright,” Ryan replied with a brief shake of his head. He had his arms crossed over his chest, staring straight ahead. “I thank ya, kindly.”

“Sure,” Lance replied with a nod of his head. “Mom?”

“I’m ok, sweetie, thank you,” Diane replied, giving her son a warm smile.

“Alright,” Lance said with a shrug of his shoulders. He lifted a hand, curling his fingers into a fist before gently punching Darren on the shoulder. “Let’s go.” The two of them walked around in silence, Lance leading the way. Having been cooped up in the audition room all day, he didn’t have any chance to stretch out or see anything else other than that audition room. “So what’s bothering you?”

Darren blinked in surprise before he let out a sigh through his nose. He stopped walking and leaned up against the wall nearest him. Lance did the same, resting his weight on his shoulder, crossing his arms over his chest. “That bad, huh?” he asked. Darren’s cheek twitched into the briefest of smiles.

“Look, I’m just gonna come straight out…Anna thinks her dad is still workin’ at the construction company a secretarial job,” Darren said in a low tone, pinching the bridge of his nose. When he removed his fingers, the white skin slowly returning to a rosy pink color as the blood rushed back under the skin.

“I’m…guessing he’s not,” Lance slowly replied, feeling his heart sink. Darren slowly shook his head back and forth and Lance made a groaning sound in the back of his throat. “Oh, no. What is it?”

“He got fired,” Darren replied and Lance’s facial features twisted into a look of pain. “The reason he busted his ankle in the first place, there was some argument or a fight or somethin’ and it set back the project they were working on thousands of dollars and days, maybe even months of work. I think he was jus’ coverin’ for a co-worker or somethin’, but…this audition is a bigger deal than Ace thinks.”

“She doesn’t know?” Lance asked before he could stop himself.

Of course she didn’t know. He knew her parents well. They tried to keep things that affected the family between the two of them, trying to figure things out before relaying the news to her. Time and time again they tried to shield her from the ugly truth and time and time again, he’d have her flying through his front door or shimmying through his bedroom window with a rant posed at the tip of her tongue.

And he was always there to listen and to give advice. Telling her to talk to her parents didn’t help that much. She was just like her parents; letting things bubble under the surface until it just imploded. She liked to say, in her anger, she wasn’t anything like her parents, or at some times that she didn’t want to be anything like her parents. He knew, however, that deep down that she liked being as independent and strong willed just like her mom, and yet laid back and fun loving like her dad. It got her into jut as much trouble as it helped her get out of it. To her best ability anyway. Clinton, Mississippi was a small town, everybody knew about you and your family. If you acted out at school and were sent to the principal’s office, your parents knew about it before you even left the administrative offices.

It only took less than half a second, from what he was told, for the whole town to know that Annaleigh’s mom had walked out on her family. He could only imagine what it was like to be a celebrity of his hometown in that light. To have people pointing and whispering trying to find out if she indeed was, “the one with the parents’ failed marriage.” He knew what that was like in a way; people pointing and whispering to see if he really was the Lance Bass. Only for him, he didn’t get pitying looks, he got screams, and shrieks, and tears.

“No,” Darren replied after a moment of silence. “Her dad told our parents—“

“Naturally,” Lance said, rubbing the pads of his fingers over his chin.

“Yeah,” Darren agreed with a short chuckle. “They’ve been offerin’ him help, but you know where Ace gets her stubbornness from.” Lane felt his lips twitch upwards into a smile for a brief moment. He could practically hear his friend’s stressing tone, practically watch Annaleigh’s nostrils flare just slightly before saying in a reprimanding tone, “It’s not being stubborn, it’s being proud.”

“Tell me the truth,” Lance said, letting out a sigh through his nose before running his hands over his face, “how much have I missed since this whole *NSYNC thing started?” A muscle in Darren’s jaw twitched.

“A lot,” he replied, the words barely slipping past the small parting of his lips. “That’s the simplest way I can put it, but I’ve been lookin’ out for her like ya asked.” He then gave Lance a pointed, mock look of annoyance. “So, I thank ya kindly for the months and months of verbal lashing I’ve been gettin’.”

“You can hold your own against her and you know it,” Lance said with a brief eye roll. And he knew his friend had found some enjoyment out of it, too.

Their arguments and name callings showcased annoyance and what they insisted was hated for each other, but he saw the way they looked at each other, how they smiled at each other. But, both of them were too stubborn to do anything about it. She thought he was out of his league for how much older he was, and he was just waiting for the perfect time to let his feelings for her be known after years of insisting that he only saw her as a little sister. It was basic kindergarten psychology: they masked their feelings by being mean and teasing each other, she was too afraid to say anything, and on his end he wanted to be there for her and provide her some stability before deciding to try and take the next step with her.

It was actually kind of sad, but Lance knew that Jasmine would do whatever she could to get them together. “They were meant’a be together” she would say over and over again. “You’ll see. It’ll happen.”

Lance could see that his friends would be perfect for each other, but it called it like he saw it; Annaleigh was a lot like her parents. And if he knew his friend well, which he did, he knew that their actions defined her own from time to time and this time, he wondered if all the parental arguments and tense atmosphere was ultimately affecting her love life or lack of one.

“Anyway, I jus’ wanted ta warn you,” Darren said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Yeah, thanks,” Lance replied, nodding his head. He sucked in a deep breath of air, his cheeks bulging as he held it before he let it out through his nose, feeling his ears pop. He reached his fingers up into his hair and gently pulled his hair until his skin stretched taut, burning just slightly. “This is even more complicated than I thought.”

“Do you think she’ll get in?” Darren asked, a serious look crossing his face. “What with her stage fright and everythin’. Be honest.”

“I don’t know,” Lance replied, slowly shaking his head back and forth. “I mean, Annaleigh knows the guys as JC, Justin, Chris, and Joey, but now they’re ‘JC, Justin, Chris, and Joey of *NSYNC’. That’s what I’ve been—“

“Hey, Lance!”

Lance craned his neck, pushing off of the wall to see Joey leaning out the door, waving a hand, beckoning him to come back into the room. “Worrying about,” he finished his sentence before he clapped Darren on the shoulder in silent thanks. Lance slid his hands into his jeans pockets, only to remove them a split second later to jog to the doors. “What’s up, Joe?”

But, Joey’s face said it all. He lifted his eyebrows before angling his head to the side, beckoning him inside. Lance followed him into the room, closing the door behind him. Annaleigh stood on the X taped onto the floor in the middle of the area they had taken up for the auditions, keeping her gaze low to the ground, missing his smile and small wave of encouragement. Her bass sat on the floor and she tightly gripped the neck with her hands. An extension cord ran from the amp to the wall, a low hum filling the air.

He gave the woman, who was ushering the auditionees in and out of the room and currently perched on a side table sitting by the door, a small smile and wave as he passed. “How’d she do?”He asked, keeping his voice low. He looked over at Johnny Wright, who sat in the center of the two long white tables. His chair sat empty next to Joey’s.

“Well…” Joey replied in the same tone of voice, his facial features twitching just slightly into a look he couldn’t decipher. “Once she got her bass connected to the amp, and took a little while to compose herself…” He trailed off and Lance gave a brief nod of his head. “It wasn’t too bad, actually. Her nerves have just gotten the best of her.”

“Yeah, man,” Chris added as Lance and Joey dropped down into their seats. “She does have talent, I’ll give you that. I can see why you suggested her.” Lance rolled his eyes at the smile on his face. He was being sincere, Lance could tell, but he didn’t miss the quick twitch of his friend’s eyebrows, indicating a waggle to show that he noticed her looks.

With her wavy brown hair, dark eyes, freckles over her nose, and the mole on her lip, she was different from all the girls they see in California. They’d describe her to be average looking in a heartbeat. In Clinton, she was suitable for beauty pageants, having won numerous titles since she was a kid, and one that the boys in town would take the time to look twice at. Whenever he or Darren weren’t around anyway. Lance did think Annaleigh was beautiful, but she simply wasn’t his type. Not in a relationship sense, anyway.

“She’s one of the better players we’ve seen today,” Justin added, spinning the pencil in his hands around his fingers. He stared straight ahead for a moment before swinging his head to look over at him, his blond curls swaying just slightly from the movement.  “And that’s kind of saying something with her stumbling through the song. It was a great song choice, though.” He smirked in Lance’s direction. “It wasn’t country.”

Lance let out a short laugh, but didn’t take the comment to heart. Lance had chosen a Garth Brooks song for his own audition and with the two of them being from the South, it was a bit of a stereotype. But, they both were avid fans of country music; something that made them to be good friends. “Very funny,” he replied. “Johnny?”

“She does have talent,” Johnny replied, leaning back in his chair. He gave a sharp tug of the brim of his trademark hat, much like he did whenever he was preparing himself to deliver bad news. “That much is true. I can see lots of ways we could spin this if she were to join. There aren’t a lot of women bass players out there. People already have their eyes on you, wondering what you’ll do next, and this could work to our advantage.”

“But?” Lance prompted.

“But, there’s going to be people that’ll say if we give her the job that she just got it because she’s your best friend, Lance, so she needs to have the talent, and the confidence, to back it up,” Johnny said, using the side of his hand to emphasize his point by hitting it on the side of the table.

“C?” Lance asked quietly, turning his gaze over towards JC, who was sitting at the far end of the table. He had the ankle to his right leg resting on his left knee cap. With his right arm crossed over his chest, his fist propping up his right elbow. His chin set between his thumb and curled forefinger, the knuckle pressing into his lips. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know,” JC responded after a long stretch of silence. He lifted his head and looked Lance in the eye. Lance felt his shoulders drop just slightly. His muscles tensed as he tried to hold his posture. They were still visible to his friend. “I’m sorry, Lance, but she’d have to be performing in front of thousands of people. If she can’t do it for us…” He bowed his head, scratching the back of his neck.

Lance let out a sigh through his nose, lifting a hand to run his fingers through his hair. “Please, just give her another chance,” he said. “You don’t understand. She needs this.”

“Excuse me?” Lance turned when he heard his friend’s quiet voice and saw that she had her hand in the air as if she were in class. She kept her gaze on Johnny. “Am I allowed to say something, sir?”

“Go right ahead,” Johnny replied, giving a small smile as he folded his hands together, setting them on top of the table.

“I know I’ve messed up, but I never really thought about how important this was ta me,” Annaleigh said, taking a small step forward. “I kept sayin’ I didn’ want to do it because I didn’ want ta leave my dad at home and I guess ‘cause I was a little scared; if this was going to work out or if it wasn’t going to work out.”

“I really need the money from this, and I’m not jus’ doing it for the money, but I’m not going ta deny that it’ll really help. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I never thought I’d ever get a second chance at bein’ able to just come out to Orlando and see how things are done. If that’s all I get ta do, then that’ll be enough for me.”

“I thank ya kindly for the opportunity as it has already, in a way, changed my life, but to get the job would be somethin’ else. Sure, this may not have been somethin’ I’ve always wanted ta do with my life, and I know it’s not all glamorous, but I don’t have anything else going on in my life that really makes me happy. I don’t know what else I want ta do with my life, or where to go with, or what makes me happy but this. Music is like a different world that I can escape to for a while. Maybe that sounds all sappy and kind of fairy tale-ish, and I might not ever be able to leave my life, nor do I really want ta do that fully, but if I can do that for other people, then it’d be worth it.”

Annaleigh let out a deep breath of air before pressing her lips together for a moment. “And…yeah,” she said. “Sorry for ramblin’, sir.” Lance couldn’t help but laugh a little as he bowed his head. He looked over at Johnny who had a thoughtful look on his face, lips pulled back into a half smile of amusement.

Southern charm could get anyone a long way in life. She could always charm just about anybody, Lance thought to himself. Heck, she could charm the fish right out of a fish bowl if she wanted, of course only to put them back in the water.

“You’re definitely something, Miss Carr,” Johnny commented. “You’re also the first person who’s printed out a resume to give to me.” He held up the piece of paper sitting in front of him before reaching for the CD in front of him.

Lance glanced over and saw a picture of Annaleigh and her father on the front. His smile got wider. Leave it to her to come prepared. “And, this is a CD you did with your father?” Johnny asked.

“Uh, yes, sir, Mr. Wright,” Annaleigh replied with a nod of her head.

“You can call me Johnny,” Johnny instantly corrected her, leaning out of the way as Justin shot out his hand reaching for the CD. Annaleigh gave another nod of her head before scratching the back of her head.

“I know I can do this,” she said to him, practically wringing the neck of her guitar. “If…if my dad was in here, I could. I was doing the bass line to one of his songs and—“

“Wait!” Justin said loudly, excitement filling his eyes. “Ryan Carr is your dad?” He looked up at her and Annaleigh gave him an odd look. “The Ryan Carr? Seriously?”

“Uhhh…yeah.”

Justin sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before letting out a low whistle. “I…man, I love his music. I used to listen to his albums all the time,” he said, slowly bobbing his head as if he was listening to his music right then. “Wow. His band, Oathkeeper, was amazing.”

“Normally, we don’t do this, but if it makes you feel comfortable, we could ask your friends and family into the room,” Johnny said, his eyes narrowing just slightly. “Do you think you’d be comfortable enough to sing with Lance?”

“What?” Lance asked, lifting his head, startled when he heard his name suddenly called. He looked over at Annaleigh who gave him a curious look. Lance just shrugged his shoulders, trying to figure out where his manager was going with it.

“It says on here that you’re an Alto and have participated in your church’s Christmas service numerous times, correct?” Johnny asked. “And that you’ve won numerous pageant titles with the aid of your singing.” Which was kind of ironic given that pageants were meant to build confidence and self-esteem to those who chose to participate in them. “We’ve been entertaining the idea of putting Music of My Heart onto the playbill for this upcoming tour. You’d be harmonizing not just with Lance but all five of these young men.”

“Well…I…yeah,” Annaleigh replied, bobbing her head in a series of nods. “Sure, I can. But, did you want me to….” She trailed off, motioning towards her guitar.

“Miss Carr, from what I’ve gathered you’re a dancer, you started out on the guitar, moved to the piano, then stuck with the bass,” Johnny explained. “I have no doubt in my mind that you can pick up rhythms fairly quickly. Chris, if you could go get her family and friends, please.”

Lance got to his feet and skirted around the table, making his way over to Annaleigh, who looked surprisingly more freaked out up close. “Don’t panic,” were the first words out of his mouth and Annaleigh’s eyes shot over to him.

“Naw, because I’m jus’ downright peachy right now,” she said, her upper lip curling far enough for the mole on her upper lip disappearing as she did so. “Is it bad that I’m in here for so long?”

“Not necessarily,” Lance replied. I hope. He let out a deep breath of air before putting his hands on his friend’s shoulders, gently shaking her. “He’s at least letting everyone in here to help calm you down. Johnny wants the bet out of you, so that’s saying something.”

“Ok, yeah, yeah, that’s a good point,” Annaleigh replied. Lance reached for her guitar and had to tug at the neck a couple of times before she relaxed her tight grip. “Good point.”

“Why are you so nervous?” Lance asked, carefully setting the guitar down onto the ground. “You’ve performed in front of people before. I mean, I know this is a big audition and—why are you shaking your head?” Annaleigh had her thumbnail in her mouth, chewing on it, eyes wide as she shook her head back and forth.

“Not like this,” she said to him and Lance gave her a confused look. “It’s not the people or the situation. I mean, yeah, it is but…I’ve never done it like this before. By myself.”

“Ohhh,” Lance said, holding out the word. Once again, that’s something you’ve missed, Lance. That brings up the total to 3 bajillion, right? Of course. He had the inkling that she wasn’t just talking about the audition but a whole lot more. At this moment in time, the only thing he could do was take her hand, and give her a warm smile. “It’ll be fine. You’re not by yourself right now, I’m right here.”

“Yeah, only one problem,” Annaleigh said, sarcasm coming to her tone. She was coming back to be her old self. “What song are we going to do? We haven’t done a lot of duets, we’re normally singin’ with Dare.”

Lance thought for a moment before snapping his fingers on his free hand, a loud pop hitting the air. “Except for one,” he said before pressing his finger to his lips. He leaned closer towards her, lowering his voice. “Remember that one Christmas service we were doing that one duet and you had run off stage in the middle because you had gotten your peri—“

Annaleigh slapped a hand over his mouth. “We both agreed that we wouldn’ talk ‘bout that ever again,” she said to him, a sweet smile suddenly plastered on her face. Hearing the creaking of Mr. Carr’s crutches, he understood why. “No talk-ie, no break-ie.”

“While I am glad you’re not going to break my arm, as you’ve threatened numerous times over the years,” Lance said with a brief roll of his eyes before giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “We never got to finish, so I think this it’s time for our encore. Sans music of course, but we had worked on it for a long time, we can do it.”

Annaleigh rolled her eyes, but nodded her head. He noticed that she was doing that a lot. That was one thing they had in common, when things got overwhelming, they retreated inside themselves. Observing, barely talking, using their body language to divert the attention from what storm was brewing on the inside, to just about anything else on the outside. He just wondered if her storm was growing into the hurricane like his own.

After the microphones were set up in the room and everyone had gotten comfortable, waiting for the two of them to start, Lance gave Annaleigh a second reassuring smile before snapping his fingers, giving her the pace of the song. He took in a breath of air, closing his eyes just slightly to calm himself before he parted his lips and started to sing.

“Dancin' in the dark, middle of the night. Takin' your heart and holdin' it tight,” Lance sang in his deep timbre. Many people had wondered with his pre-mature deep tone why he hadn’t gone into singing country music instead of going into the pop world. He was proud of the octaves he could reach because it meant he could fit in just about any genre of music. “Emotional touch, touchin' my skin and askin' you to do what you've been doin' all over again.”

Annaleigh rocked back and forth on her heels, chewing on her bottom lip, bobbing her head up and down to her internal metronome. She twisted her fingers in front of her, keeping her gaze low. Lance shifted his gaze from his friend over to his mom.

He felt his lips part into a wide smile at the look of love and pride on her face. He was sure she would only last a short amount of time before she started to cry. In a way, it was like he was auditioning for the band all over again, but how it should’ve been the first time, with his best friend by his side. “Oh, it's a beautiful thing. Don't think I can keep it all in. I just gotta let you know what it is that won't let me go.”

He looked over at Annaleigh as she joined in at the chorus, her voice mixing in perfectly with his. “It's your love, it just does somethin' to me.It sends a shock right through me, I can't get enough. And if you wonder about the spell I'm under. Oh, it's your love.”

“Better than I was, more than I am and all of this happened by takin' your hand,” Annaleigh sang the beginning of the next verse, tilting her head to the side to look at him, giving a smile. Lance couldn’t help but smile back, seeing the familiar light in her eyes she always got when she performed. “And who I am now is who I wanted to be, and now that we're together I'm stronger than ever, I'm happy and free

As the chorus came around a second time, Lance darted out his tongue to lick his lips before he joined singing her again. “Oh, it's a beautiful thing, don't think I can keep it all in. And if you asked me why I changed all I gotta do is say your sweet name. It's your love, it just does somethin' to me. It sends a shock right through me, I can't get enough. And if you wonder about the spell I'm under, oh, it's your love.”

“Oh, baby,” Annaleigh sang, closing her eyes with emotion as she put power behind the lyrics she sang.

“Oh, it's a beautiful thing, don't think I can keep it all in. I just gotta let you know that it is that won't let me go. It's your love, it just does somethin' to me, it sends a shock right through me. I can't get enough. And if you wonder about the spell I'm under, oh, it's your love. It's your love, it's your love.”

As Lance added a vibrato to the last note he sang, he and Annaleigh were met with silence. He looked over at Annaleigh, who had bowed her head a second time before peering over at him, her lips parting into her charming smile. And then her arms were wrapped around his waist as he hugged her. Lance smiled into her hair before she hugged him back.

“Thank you,” Johnny spoke up, after he loudly cleared his throat, adjusting the cap on his head. “That was great. We’ll get back to you shortly. If you are to be chosen, you’ll be moving to California to start working as soon as possible. You’ll be meeting the other members of the live band to start work on the live performance for the AMAs. It’s a quick turnaround because the boys have to be filming their new music video for Bye, Bye, Bye from the 9th to the 11th and an event to attend before the awards show. You’ve already looked at the contract and have had your lawyer deem it suitable for you to sign, again, if you are to be chosen.” He shuffled the papers in front of him before lacing his fingers together before looking up at Annaleigh, his eyebrows lifting. “Do you have any questions?”

“I…thought y’all lived here in Orlando,” Annaleigh said, pointing a finger towards the carpeted floor.

“Joey’s the only one that really lives here now,” Lance quickly explained. “He and his family still live out here, but now we all live together in California.”

“She wouldn’t be living by herself, would she?” Ryan asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

“Dad,” Annaleigh groaned.

Lance could practically see the gears turning in his head. It wouldn’t surprise him if Ryan suddenly decided to pack up the house back in Clinton and move out to La La Land with his daughter. “She’d have a chaperone? I remember Diane flying out to Germany.”

Johnny hesitated for a moment before replying, “She’d be staying with the boys. I figured it’d be the best for her to be close to Lance so she has a sense of home with her.”

“I promise I’ll keep an eye out for her, Mr. Ryan,” Lance quickly spoke up. “You won’t have to worry about anything.”

“Of course, she’ll also have some women around,” Johnny quickly explained. “The hair and make-up women and some of the drivers for the group are around frequently and I have let them know that she’s auditioning.” He turned in his seat to face Annaleigh’s dad. “I understand your concerns and would be happy to discuss them even further with you after I finish the rest of these auditions.”

As far as Lance was concerned, Annaleigh already had the job. Looking over at his friends, he could see that they felt the same way as well. Apart from Justin who was staring at Annaleigh’s dad in awe, tightly gripping the back of his chair and the side of the table with a tight grip as if he was waiting for permission to talk to the man.

“I understand, sir,” Ryan replied, bending at the waist just slightly, in a bow of thanks. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Johnny replied. Lance looked back and forth between the two men, letting out the breath of air he didn’t realize he had been holding. Johnny was someone he, and everyone, had great respect for. Once he started talking, everybody listened to what it was that he had to say. He was a self accomplished man and it was evident that Ryan could see and respect that. “That would be all, Annaleigh, we’ll let you know soon.”

“Don’t sweat it, you did a great job,” Lance said, looping an arm around his friend’s shoulders, giving her a squeeze.

Now all he had to do was wait for the good news.

“You ok, Ace? You’ve been really quiet. You said you wanted ta swim, but now you’re not doin’ anythin’ but floatin’. What about Marco Polo or seeing who can hold their breath longer, or practicing mermaid kicks, or playin’ Swamp Thing?”

Annaleigh rolled her eyes, listening as Darren’s words echoed off of the walls of the hotel pool area before adjusting her grip on the raft made out of pool noodles under her arms. “We haven’ played Swamp Thing since ya were in junior high,” she said to him. “Y’know, before you thought ya were too cool to hang out with a little kid like me.”

Normally she’d jump at the chance to be in close proximity with the guy (much more so than they already were) but her mind was too preoccupied. Justin had said that her dad had a band, but she only knew of her dad’s music as a solo performer. At least, that's what he had told her.

Yes, with touring even as a solo act, you’d need a backing band, but the way he had brought it up, he had really toured as a band. Oathkeeper? She had never heard of it. He had albums. Plural. Like more than one. More than one that she had never seen or heard in her life.

How is it possible that someone who lives in Tennessee know more about my dad than I do? She asked herself over and over again. She wanted to talk to her dad about it, but he had practically ran out of the room as soon as her audition was over. Well, as fast as he could go with crutches anyway.

One of her eyebrows lowered as the other shot up. “Is that weird? My not talkin’?”

“Because it’s you; yes,” Darren replied, mocking her arched eyebrow. He faced her, folding his arms on the raft. They kicked their legs in the water, keeping themselves afloat with the help of the raft. “What’s up, Ace? Figured you’d be jumpin’ at the chance to head to the beach with Jazzy and Miss Diane.”

As soon as Annaleigh was done with her audition, to which she constantly picked apart, asking if her singing was really that great or as terrible as she had thought it was, they had made their way back up to their hotel rooms. Lance joined the band in trying to decide who would get the bass part, Jasmine and Diane went to the beach, Ryan stayed in his hotel room, and Annaleigh and Darren went down to the pool where they were now treading water near the deep end.

Annaleigh let out a breath of air through her nose, blowing droplets of pool water off her upper lip “Why d’ya think my dad didn’ tell me about his band? I mean, mom had kind of brought it up before but...dad always said it was just a solo thing.” An ache formed in her stomach, sending warm shock waves to her spine when her foot brushed across, um, some part of his leg.

Darren blinked once, twice, three times. “Since when did ya not know?” Darren asked, a confused look crossing his face. “You always knew ‘bout his music. Ya jus’ made that album with him.”

“I always thought it was a solo thing, Chippendale,” Annaleigh replied and watched as Darren made a face at the name. “He just said the songs were a couple he had done years ago, that’s all.”

“Maybe ‘cause he knew you’d react like how you’re reactin’ right now?” Darren asked. Annaleigh’s second eyebrow shot up to join the first. “Both of y’all can be as stubborn as a mule in cement. Jus’ give him time, he’ll explain it to ya.” Annaleigh snorted. “You were the one that wanted ta come to the pool instead of talkin’ to him, Ace.”

“He could’ve stopped me from leavin’,” Annaleigh mumbled. He knew he had a point, though.

“Don’t get too big for your britches, Anal-Lee,” Darren replied. Annaleigh stuck her tongue out at him before allowing herself to sink into the water, the water line stopping just beneath her nose. She let out a breath of air, bubbles forming around her mouth. “He doesn’ have to tell ya jus’ because you want him to.”

“You make it sound like I’m being a brat,” Annaleigh said, popping up, sending the water shooting out in every direction. She scowled at him with a scowl and Darren let out a sigh, resting his chin on his arms. “I helped him with that album, remember?”

“Look, no one ever really knows their parents,” Darren replied, shaking his head, swinging his wet hair out of his face. “They probably have a whole side of ‘em we’ll never get ta see. He’s gone through a lot, so have you. I think it’d be best for both of y’all to talk, but if he’s not ready ta do it, he’s not ready ta do it.”

“But—“

“And are you really that ready to listen to what he has ta say?” Darren interrupted her. “It might be somethin’ bad. Somethin’ coulda happened that made him choose not ta tell ya. He didn’ even want ya ta do this to begin with, remember?”

Annaleigh pouted. “I hate it when you’re right.”

Darren grinned. “Naw, you just hate bein’ wrong,” he replied. “Now, why does everything have to be one-sided with ya?” Annaleigh’s eye twitched, but she didn’t say anything. Talk about things being one-sided.“What?”

“Truth?” Annaleigh asked after a moment of silence.

“Please and thank you,” Darren replied.

Annaleigh bowed her head for a moment, feeling her skin burn despite the cool water splashing around her. “I’m surprised you didn’t realize how I felt ‘bout you,” she muttered, keeping her gaze on the colored pool toys below her arms. She let out a short laugh. “I was pathetic, really. Had to have been obvious.” She peered up at him through her wet bangs.

“Always thought you were takin’ a liking to Lance,” Darren replied with half a grin. Annaleigh felt her eyes widen. “What?”

 “D, you’re nuttier than a fruitcake,” she commented, slowly shaking her head back and forth.

 “You were followin’ Lance ‘round everywhere,” he commented, running a hand over the back of his wet head.”So, I jus’ assumed.”

“I did everything I could to get your attention,” Annaleigh explained, an amused look crossing her face. “Lance always told me to tell ya, but…I don’t know, I thought you’d eventually realize or somethin’.” She then cleared her throat, quickly trying to backtrack. “I got over it, though. I can only be called Bookworm  or Anal-Lee, or Kid, for so long.” Darren made a humming noise in the back of his throat. “I hung around with Lance, partially because I knew you’d be around, and partially because Lance is…comfortable.”

Darren arched an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Lance always looked on the bright side of things, you know?” Annaleigh explained. “He always had this self-confidence that I wish I had. He always worked hard and everything paid off for him. Around someone like that for so long and you wish it’ll rub off on ya. Only, here I am, three years later, same old Annaleigh.”

“Well…maybe we all prefer you this way,” Darren suggested. His gaze was on his fingers as he picked underneath his fingernails. Not that he had any dirt underneath them, being in the pool for so long if he had any, it’d be long gone. Their fingers and toes were starting to shrivel up and look like raisins. “Don’t be getting a big head in California.”

“We don’ even know if I’ll get in, Chippendale,” Anna replied.

“If they see how much talent you have that I see, you’ll get in no problem,” he said, waving a hand in the air. “It’s ok to be scared.”

“I’m ain’t scared of nothin’,” she said, to him.

“You can go creek stomping, mudding, and racing with the best of them, I’m not denying that,” Darren replied, putting a hand into the air, lifting his head to look at her. “You’re scared of what you don’ know. Liiike; why your parents fought all the time, why your mom left, these auditions, why you never told me you liked me-“

“I didn’t tell you because I don’t want ta be like my parents,” Annaleigh replied and Darren instantly stopped talking, giving her a curious look. “I couldn’t even tell ya if they still love each other or when they fell out of love, or if they just hate each other or what, but I don’t want ta end up like them.”

“What makes ya think we would’ve ended up like that?” Darren asked, his eyebrows knitting together into a look of confusion.

“We already are like that,” Annaleigh replied. “Taking digs at each other, callin’ each other names, arguin’ from time ta time, it’s what we do.”

“Yeah,” Darren agreed with a nod of his head. “But, that’s just us.” He lifted his hand and indicated between the two of them. “Like ya said, it’s what we do. It wouldn’ change if we got together.”

“It’d get worse,” Annaleigh replied with a short laugh, shaking her head. “Only, it’d be more personal ‘n’ anythin’ would be fair game.”

“So you’re just going ta stop yourself from bein’ happy?” Darren asked. “An’ you say I’m nuttier than a fruitcake.” Annaleigh stayed silent, shifting her gaze to peer into the fire in front of her. He reached out a hand and shoved her shoulder, knocking her off of the raft. Annaleigh flailed her arms and legs, keeping her head above water.  “It’s your turn.”

“Did you seriously just say that?” she asked with a laugh.

“Yes, I seriously just did,” Darren replied with a nod before releasing the make-shift raft, sinking below the water’s surface. His distorted figure dove under the water until his head popped up, breaking the surface. He lifted his hand, brushing his hair back off his forehead, using his arm to wipe the water from his face.

“You’re actually tellin’ me when it’s my turn ta argue with you?” Annaleigh asked, lifting her foot , placing it on his stomach, pushing herself away from him. “You’re such a loser, D.”

“Takes one ta know one, Kid,” Darren replied, making his voice as high pitched as he could get it. He grabbed her ankle, pulling her back towards him.

“I hate it when you call me that,” Annaleigh said with a whining tone to her voice.

“Why do you think I do it, Ace?” Darren asked with a smile. “You’ll get in the band, don’ worry.”

 “When I do, just don’ gloat too much or your head will get bigger than it already is.” Annaleigh gave him a cheeky smile. “Might not like you as much anymore.”

“Why do you like me?” Darren asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Dimples,” Annaleigh replied with a shrug. Or rather, the best she could shrug muster while treading water. Her smile widened, nose wrinkling slightly as she gave him a teasing look. “You better be nice to me or I’ll find someone in California with dimples.”

“…I hope you don’t,” Darren replied.

“Yeah, right, like I could forget you,” Annaleigh replied with a roll of her eyes before swinging her arm through the water, splashing him. “Hey!” A startled laugh slipped past her lips when he lunged towards her, grabbing her legs to pull her towards him.

Annaleigh blinked in surprise when he leaned over and pressed his lips to hers in a sweet kiss. An ache formed in the pit of her stomach as she gently put pressure on his lips with her own. As soon as he pulled away, Annaleigh let out a breath of air, bowing her head to hide the smile that worked its way onto her face.

“What was that for?” she asked quietly, brushing her hands across her cheeks to try and cool her heated skin before looking up at him.

“Come on,” Darren said. Instead of answering her question, he started back stroking towards the pool ladder. “Lance and the guys are going to show us around and take us to dinner.” A challenging look crossed his face. “Race ya to the ladder.” He turned onto his stomach, lowering his face into the water, and started swimming as fast as he could.

“No fair!” Annaleigh shouted after him before hurrying to catch up. Just like she was always doing: playing catch up, serving as second fiddle, being there as back up. That was just the cards she was dealt. Only this time, she intended to get as much use out of it as possible.