She Rocks My World

80's Rocker, Edward Cullen, is the frontman for the enormously popular band, Cullen. He's every woman's dream; handsome, wealthy, and talented, but the elusive rocker has something to hide until an overwhelmingly talented, doe-eyed beauty steals his heart at first sight and sound.

This is Beta'd by the wonderful and lovely Sunflower Fran.

Here's the new story. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter One: The Concert.

I'm still in the dressing room as my heart races as I faintly hear the intro. Shaking my fingers and jumping up, I bounce in place, revving up my adrenaline by pounding the beat on the walls with my fists. My music is my only lifeline.

I take one last look in the full-length mirror. Sliding my hands under the leather of my pants, I adjust myself, tying the lacing over my crotch and lowering the waistband. I decide not to wear my torn T-shirt, leaving me with only the matching leather-laced vest. Running my fingers through my fully-layered, thick hair, I can't seem to tame, so I give up.

Jen, our assistant, walks in with my drink and I quickly guzzle down my elixir. She's a bit of a thing with a braid down to her ass, tattoos, piercings and a big mouth. "Jesus, Sparky, take your time with that."

"A man needs his libation, squirt." I smile, pat her head and point. "And don't call me, Sparky!"

"Can I brush your ends? They look matted," she deadpans her request.

I lean down, and she runs a brush through my wild long locks, and picks at the ends. "After that dye job, you need a trim."

I smirk and jut my hips against her side. "How about this?"

"Would you cut it out?" She rolls her eyes and snaps, "Is your sock in place?"

We leave the room and walk down the narrow hallway.

I slide across her and blow in her ear. "Oh, baby, you know that's all me."

She shoves me as we near the opening to the lift. "Get on the platform before I knock you flat, and it rises without you."

"Aw, you love me, and you know it!"

"Yeah, get into your dumb-ass character."

Rolling my eyes, I jump and I hear the riffs.

Fuck.

The sound is off-balance. I tell Jen to get Benny to lower the bass amp, up Jazz's vibes, and send a sign to Garrett to bring down his cymbals. Don't these people pay attention to my sound checks?

As the platform rises, I see Jazz pressing Gertie and wailing her strings tightly under his furious fingers, as Emmett dances across the stage with his bass booming and kicking his legs to the side. Garrett looks down at me tipping his head in a nod. He's gentler with his Zillgens.*

The pyros blast, sparks fly, explosions boom, crackle, and sizzle, as I ascend to the stage on top of my baby grand piano.

The announcer shouts, "Your American Badasses, Cullen!"

The crowd explodes once I jump up into a split, flares set off around me, as I solidly land on my feet with a loud bang of a drum. I laugh and graciously exaggerate a bow to the screaming audience. Adjusting my leather pants, I pull off the vest, spinning it around over my head, taunting the girls in the front, then throwing it out into the crowd. There's a major catfight of pushing and shoving, but one victor jumps up and down, clenching my leather in her hands.

I motion for her to come to the stage. As security escorts her to me, I bend down, grabbing the back of her hair and kissing her soundly. She squeals when I let her go, crying a 'thank you.' I keep my eyes on her as I back up and exaggerate a slow wipe over my mouth, tell security to bring her backstage after the concert, and blow her another kiss.

Jazz starts to play the beginning of our new hit, "Kiss Me, Baby" and I command the stage strutting from one side to the other puckering my lips and running my tongue over them.

We play three of our new songs, and I feel the need for a drink. I look into the wings and Jen raises a large glass in her hand. Singing, I dance over and grab the glass, mouth a 'thank you,' take a swig and place it on Garrett's drum platform.

Every bit the rock star, I play with the crowd and when the song ends, I grab my drink and sit at the piano bench as I tickle some ivories. My piano faces stage-left, and I turn my head to address the audience as I lean into the mic, "Hey, Seattle, it's nice to be close to home."

The crowd roars.

"We've been on the road for nine and a half months," I play a few notes.

Emmett stands at a mic and kids, "Time to check if you're a daddy."

The crowd laughs.

I defend, "In your fuckin' dreams, my brother. I cover my joystick."

Jazz chuckles into his mic, "The man covers it twice."

Garrett joins in from the back, "And how would you know, Dweeb?"

Jasper freezes and points. "He told me," he spits.

"Spitting in the corner over there with a red face and angry eyes is my brother from another mother, Jasper 'The Jazzman' Whitlock, lead guitarist." Jasper's fingers move with precision. His strings siren the crowd to roar. "And he's no peepin' Jazzman!"

Jasper chuckles as he makes Gertie sing.

"On the drums," I announce and point to Garrett. He flips his sticks, twirling them over his toms* and snare*, attacking his hi-hat* and screaming a 'whoo oo.' "My older cousin, the sex-starved beater, Garrett, 'The Hammer' Norman."

Garrett takes a bow, and there are more roars.

"Yes, to my right, my big brother, the bad ass from Forks, the twinklest toes of the North West, and bass guitarist, Emmett, 'The Love Machine' Cullen."

Loud screams and whistles blare through the air. Emmett, plucking out some low notes with a quick rhythm. Dimples deep, he moves his head from side to side in a grimacing fiercely in concentration.

"And yours truly, I'm Edward, 'The Frontman' Cullen." I nod and the place shatters from the crowd's reaction. "I'll play any instrument if you'll play mine."

Through the blaring noise, I start to lightly play a soft melody. Within seconds, you could hear a pin drop. I stop, finish my drink and continue to play. I lean forward to the mic and sing,

"I'm not the man you think I am.

I'm not the guy to say goodbye."

I get a shiver, and I stop. Emmett approaches the piano, and I jump up, a little wobbly, but wink at him. He steps away, giving Jazz and Garrett the high sign.

Pulling a mic from a stand, I rasp, "Naw, naw, naw, we need some rock' n roll. You fucking hear me, people." I rouse the crowd clapping my hands and running from one end to the other. Garrett follows along with snaps on his snare. Emmett taps out the beat on his thick strings, as Jasper segues into the next song.

I jump onto my bench with both feet resting on the cushion and leap into a 360-degree angle doing a roundhouse kick with my right leg pointing straight up, running to stage left and pushing my legs off the wall into a backflip and then three handsprings. I stop in front of Emmett and he high-fives me.

One last jump; I set my boot-clad feet at the edge and push off strongly, doing a forward roll.

For three solid hours, we play three sets, introduce more new songs from the next album, and I'm about as dead as I can get. My head pounds and I'm numb all over.

The four of us stand center stage, arm in arm, bow in unison, saying 'goodnight' before exiting stage left. When we break apart, Emmett still has an arm over my shoulder, holding me up. "I got you, bro."

The After Party

The after party takes place in our set of suites. Emmett didn't want to drive the four hours down to Forks, so Big Bro takes good care of all of us.

Jasper and I sit at the table going over the show and jot down changes we both work on together. The girl with my vest carefully walks up with a shy smile. I immediately stand and hug her.

"Did you want the this back?" she sadly asks.

I reassure her, "No, I wanted you to come back so I could sign it for you."

Her face glows.

"What's your name?"

"It's Bree. Bree Tanner," she shyly stammers.

I grab a marker and write her a short greeting and sign it on the inside lining. "How old are you, Bree?"

"I just turned sixteen."

My face falls, and I apologize, "Bree, I'm sorry about the rough kiss."

She excitedly says, "No, no, it was … the best first kiss ever." She smiles up at me.

I hug her. "Well, don't you allow just any guy to kiss you."

"Edward, you're not just any guy. I will never forget you," she proudly whispers and touches her lips, turning beet red.

I kiss her cheek. "You're going to be a heartbreaker, Bree Tanner."

Jasper furiously writes behind me.

"Thank you, Edward."

I nod to the security guard, and he escorts Bree down to the lobby.

I watch Jasper write, stare up, bite the pen, and write more.

"What's got you all on fire?"

"Bree inspired me."

"Yeah?"

He reads, "Bree Tanner with an innocent smile.

She plays with your heart for endless miles.

She's the girl you take home to mother

But you don't want her near your brother.

I gave Miss Bree her very first kiss.

The look on her face was total bliss.

She's the girl you won't ever forget

To give her the first with no regret."

I nod. "Not bad, Jazz."

"Hey, you gave her a gift that will last a lifetime. I just added to it." He smirks and stares at me. "You look like shit, man."

I exhaust, "I need a drink." I tap the back of the chair and head for the refrigerator.

Jasper's voice follows me, "Don't overdo it."

The Following Morning

I stir for the first time, stretching my arms and legs, but I hit something on both my sides and hear moans. "What the fuck?" I mumble.

Sitting up, I have company. Then, the fear waves over me. I toss the blanket off and breathe a sigh of relief. My zipper is down, but my flaccid dick flops to one side. No sign of any action. I reach back into my memory about these two girls and can't quite grasp what happened to get them into my bed.

After I zip up, I shout for Emmett.

Within seconds, he opens the door, drawing out, 'yessss?' He sees the girls and mouths, 'what the fuck' at me.

I shake my head.

Emmett booms, "Okay, ladies, you need to get up."

Jasper and Garrett stand at the door in shock.

I sternly stare at them. "No!"

Jasper points. "I recall the redhead trying to get into your room. Garrett, didn't you grab her?"

He smiles, "Yeah, she was with me and the other one all night." He winks.

Jasper laughs, "So they switched?"

Garrett chuckles, "Apparently."

Emmett shakes his head. "Jesus. C'mon, ladies, get your asses up or I'll call security."

The redhead moans, "Keep your shirt on."

The blonde giggles, "You guys were so very gracious."

"I know, I worked very hard," Garrett puns, smiling at the blonde.

"You did." The redhead stands sans no clothing. "I think I left my dress and panties in your room." She walks out shaking her ass, as Garrett follows her, but he stares back at the other girl.

She sits, covering herself with the sheet. "I'm sorry, Edward."

"Can someone find her clothes and give her some privacy?" I grouse.

Jazz and Emmett leave the room.

"So, you and your friend snuck in here?"

"Yeah, Vicki had this idea that we could crawl in with you."

I hesitantly ask, "Did anything happen?"

"No! Well, I didn't do anything. I was pretty wasted, but Vicki tried. She, um, pulled your fly down, but you were pretty out of it."

Vicki barges in and tosses the other girl her clothes. "More like you couldn't get it up!"

She turns to her friend, "Kate, get dressed. Garrett offered to take us to breakfast." She stares at me with her hands on her hips.

Kate rises and runs to the bathroom.

I stare back at her. "Sorry, I wasn't complying."

She sniffs. "It happens. You partied hardy."

Kate walks back into the room. "Again, I'm sorry, Edward."

I smile still staring at Vicki, "Hey, it happens."

She finally cracks a smile, and they exit.

Jasper and Emmett walk back in.

I sigh. "Nothing happened."

Emmett breathes in a long breath and exhales even slower, as Jazz sits on the bed. "Ali called."

"What's going on with my little sister?"

"Our little sister says we broke a record last night, and she has everything arranged for the studio work."

"When?" I slowly get out of bed.

"Not for another two months."

I nod. "Good. I want to go over all the material with you." I point at Jazz. "And work on music for those new lyrics. Did she have Benny check out the system? He said he was leaving early this morning."

"Yeah, everything's a go." He emphasizes, "My wife also said your mom redecorated."

I nod with a smile.

Garrett pokes his head in. "I'm taking the ladies to a diner and I'll make it to Forks tonight."

"Which one has your attention?" Jasper asks.

I answer, "The blonde … Kate."

Garrett smiles. "See you later." He taps on the door.

Emmett frowns. "How do you do that?"

"She's his type. Besides, for him not to travel with us, she must have hit a nerve,"

I add.

I head for the head. "I'm going to shower, and we can go anytime after that. Okay?"

Jasper asks, "You all right, Edward?"

I answer without looking back, "Yeah, shower, shave, drink and I'll be raring to go."

The Way Home

Usually, Emmett likes to drive the tour bus, but he wants to hang back with Jazz and me.

Our head roadie, Seth, takes the wheel, while all three of us sit behind him playing our guitars. Once in awhile, Emmett gets a melody in his head, and this time it fit perfectly for Bree's song.

She's a sweet girl. I feel weird about kissing her the way I did, but with that new opening song, I like to show the badass self kissing a girl before we play it. "I'm glad I had security get her home address and phone number. That way, we can send her a copy of the original disk." I laugh to myself, 'Who gets to have their first kiss from a famous rocker?'

The phone rings and I answer right away, "Hey, Ali, what's doing?" I tilt the receiver so the guys can hear.

Jasper lifts his head in my direction.

"I'm calling to tell you that the new engineering panel is working great," she excitedly informs. "Benny ripped it out in a few hours."

"That's good to hear. And Benny did all of this, this morning?"

"Edward, he left right after the show when I told him the panel came in. He's asleep now."

"Can we give him a raise?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Jasper greets, "Hey, Baby, I can't wait to see you."

"Me, too, Jazz. We have all night. Mom wants a family lunch when you arrive, but I have something special planned for all of you tomorrow night."

"What's that, Babe?"

"My best friend is back in town, and she's playing at a club. I thought for support, we could go see her."

Jasper looks at me, and I nod. "Sure, we're up for it."

"Okay, great."

"Where's Emmett?"

"I'm here."

"Hey, Big Bro, have you been taking care of everyone?"

"Yeah, Ali, I'm watching our boys."

"Love you."

"How come he gets a 'love you' and I get zip?" Jasper busts her chops.

She purrs, "That's because I'm going to show you." Ali giggles.

"Don't want to hear this, Ali," I say covering my ears and repeating, "lalalalala."

"Then, don't listen, Sparky!" she yelps.

Emmett chuckles, "She called you … Sparky."

I squint my eyes and ask, "Ali, did you tell Jen?"

She hesitates, "I may have mentioned it."

I angrily complain, "Well, she called me that last night before I went on stage."

"She did?"

"Yeah."

She quips with a shaky voice, "Sorry?"

"You're not."

"No, she isn't," Jazz adds.

"Edward, get over it. Jen's not going to tell anyone."

"What else have you told her?" I growl.

"Jesus, Edward, calm down," Emmett pleads.

Jazz grabs my arm and glares at me. "She wouldn't."

I sigh and lean on my guitar. "Sorry, Ali, I didn't get much sleep."

"Then, take a nap, okay? I'm sorry I upset you, too."

"We'll see you in a few hours. And tell Mom, we want pot roast and potatoes."

Emmett roars, "And her apple pie."

"And ice cream," Seth shouts and then, shrugs. "I got carried away." He laughs. "My mom's making me fried chicken and mashed potatoes."

We laugh.

Arriving Home

Seth turns off the main highway, down the dirt road and up a small hill.

Home.

Mom comes running out with a dishtowel in hand broadly smiling. Her hair swishes in the wind. Emmett gets to her first, grabs her into a bear hug, twirling her around.

She laughs, "I won't even complain about being spun to death. I'm so happy to see you."

Dad stands in the doorway watching, as Ali scoots past him and jumps Jazz. "Say hello and goodbye and let's go home." She wraps her legs around his waist and kisses him.

"But what about lunch?"

"I have doggie bags."

Jasper gasps, "We'll take Seth home."

Dad extends his hand, and we shake. Then, we hug. "Glad you're home, son."

Mom joins in with Emmett.

"It's good to be home."

When we walk into the house, the tantalizing aromas magically move me to the kitchen. "Mom, your cooking was sorely missed."

Emmett stands at the stove already dipping a spoon into a pot and chewing. "God, Mom, no one can beat you."

She smirks. "I hope you always feel that way. Now, get out of my kitchen so I can feed you."

When Emmett and I enter the dining room, we find Dad sitting in his 'at-the-head-of-the- table' spot patiently waiting. He looks up. "So, everything went well on the tour?"

I sit across from Emmett. "Yeah, Dad, for the time we were gone we had very few mishaps. Your idea of keeping a mechanic with us was a great help."

"And how about your new assistant? She works out for you?"

Emmett interjects, "I liked her. She was efficient and kept Sparky in line." He belly laughs. Dad joins in.

"Can you two stop?"

In walks Mom with a large platter of pot roast and veggies. She places it in the middle of the table. "What are you two laughing at?"

Between breaths, Dad huffs, "Sparky." And they start up again.

Mom has a glint in her eye, but she admonishes the both of them. "Oh, stop, it's not like Edward lit himself on fire. The pyro techs should have known better."

"Please, they warned Edward not to use any product in his hair." Emmett hysterically laughs, "He looked like a used Q-tip on fire."

Mom smoothes my hair. "Well, it grew back very nicely; a bit unruly, but full." She looks at the top of my crown. "And the bald spot is gone."

Dad lets out a hoot while Emmett still holds his stomach.

I squint at them. "They're never going to let me live this down."

"Just revel in the laughter, Edward. You're bigger than that." She winks at me.

Emmett has his face over his plate.

"Wait, I have mashed potatoes for all of this to go over," Mom says rushing out of the room and coming back with a bowl of her prime potatoes.

And what does Emmett do? He plops a mount on top of the succulent roast and shrugs, "What? It all goes into the same place. Mom, this is so good."

Silence fills the room, other than forks clacking on the plates, while Emmett's hums.

After lunch, Emmett drops me home, and I step down into the basement checking out the new panel.

I flip the lights, take in the lounging area and notice all of Mom's decorative changes. The walls are a warm brown with black trim. I like this. The three sofas are a soft, black leather with mahogany framing. There are end tables and a large, mahogany coffee table between the sofas.

I continue down the hallway and walk into a totally different engineering room and studio than when I left. The room is now equipped with the works and then some. My eyes shift from one corner to the next. There's a digital audio workstation that makes me cry. I run my hands over it in disbelief. Looking through the large soundproof windows, there are new mics and stands, amps, guitars, piano, electric keyboard, a new sound system, and an eleven-piece drum set sitting in a place of distinction. Garrett will shit a brick.

I think we'll cancel the session at Johnny's Studio, record here and produce our own music.

This is a musician's dream. My feelings run rapid in many directions and my head clouds. A bit dizzy, I sit behind the control panel with my head down waiting for it to pass.

I find one of my bottles, twist the top off and guzzle down the caramel-colored elixir. I blow out a long sigh and regain some strength, but ...

I need to sleep.

I slowly stand and walk the two flights of stairs to my room. The new paint-job surprises me. When I awake, I will have to do a tour of Mom's new handiwork. I crawl into bed, hugging my pillows. I call Jasper and Emmett and tell them I'm going to , a quick call to Mom to thank her for lunch. Within minutes, I fade to black.

My Room

I yawn, stretching my arms and legs and open my eyes to two blue orbs staring at me.

"And how long have you been sitting there?"

"Just a few minutes."

"And the reason?"

Jasper sighs. "Making sure you were breathing."

"Jazz, I can handle this. I'm fine."

"It's just the …"

I interrupt and grab him into a hug, "I've got it."

Emmett walks in and smirks. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Jesus, is my room a walk-through?"

"Alice told me to stick a fire under the two of you. Her friend goes on at ten and it's almost eight-thirty."

I jump out of bed and head for the bathroom. Before I close the door, I look at Jasper, "I'm fine."

The drive to the club annoys the hell out of me. Ali won't shut up about her friend. I know she said her name, but I was lost in thought over a few songs.

"Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"So what do you think?"

"About what?"

"Do you ever listen to me?"

I smirk. "Sometimes."

"I said, it would be advantageous for the band to start your own label."

Jasper adds, "We've been thinking of producing our own albums, Ali."

"But not on your own label, Jazz. And you could bring in new talent, too."

"Does this idea have anything to do with your friend? Is she looking for a free ride?" I snap.

"She doesn't even know I'm coming. Why do you always have to think the worst of people?" She huffs and wraps her arms around herself. "Bella's classically trained, Edward. She graduated from Juilliard with honors. Music seeps out of her pores."

"Jazz, did you know about this girl?"

"Only that she's Chief Swan's daughter."

"Okay, Ali."

"God, one of these days I'm going to have to kill you."

"Why haven't I heard about her before?"

"You have. You just don't listen. Bella moved here the year you went away to college. You never got to meet her."

"How did she graduate from Juilliard and you, BC?"

She fumes, "She left BC before her sophomore year. They invited her on a full ride. Does that tell you something or did you not hear?"

Emmett moans, "I told you he tunes us out."

A/N: Pay It Forward will be featuring fics in four different categories on their new blog. Number one will be our Rookie ... A new, first-time writer showcasing their first fic on our blog. Number two will be our Encore ... A new fic from a seasoned author giving us a sneak peek. Number three will be our Classix ... one from the vault, a time-tested oldie. And four, is an Overlooked fic that needs some love.
If you are a Rookie and need help, contact Fran on the PIF page. And if you have an Encore, contact her to get your new fic showcased. Also, anyone interested in writing a summary on one of their favs, please feel free to send it in for our Classix section.

A/N:

*Zillgens - a brand name for cymbals.

*toms and snare - drums.

*hi-hat - a pair of cymbals mounted on a rod so that the upper cymbal can be lifted and dropped

on the lower by means of a pedal.

*segues - smoothly transition from one song to another.