~*A/N*~: This is my first SOR fic, so NO FLAMERS! I get really pissed
off with those since I know I am not the best writer, and I don't need
anyone telling me. My self-esteem is low as it is, and I don't need some
schmuck off the ff.net block lowering it any further. I have always been a
fan of School of Rock *grins and rushes to hug Kevin and Joey*, and after
being inspired by the many SOR ficcies there were, thought I would give it
a shot. I love reviews, and constructive criticism is definitely ok. So
please R+R! Oh yeah, and for my own evil purposes, I decided to make this
story take place 6 years in the future, hence they're all around 15/16. And
if you're a Freddy/Katie fan, I suggest you hit the back button right now.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything School of Rock related except for the really cool soundtrack, a movie poster, and the new DVD! Although I wouldn't mind owning Kevin Alexander Clark...*evil grin*, but I guess the "shrine" I made to him in my assignment notebook is just gonna have to cut it for now. I wouldn't mind owning Joey Gaydos jr either, cause he's the coolest guitarist ever (of course, I still love Kevin/Freddy more *fans self* Man he's so hott.), but he's a little young for my taste. At least I'm the same age as Kevin, hence I find that I am more attached to him. I do not own any of the SOR character *sniffle sniffle*, except for a few of my own making, like Arin. Thank You.
~*Chapter One*~
The world went by out the car window, and though she was staring out the window, the scenery passed unseen by Arin Kam. The fifteen-year-old, almost sixteen sat emotionless in the back seat of her aunt's car. Her hand was going numb, but what did she care. All that she had known was now lost to her.
"Debbie can't wait to meet you." Her aunt's voice broke through her cloud of chaotic thoughts, and snapped her out of her reverie. Yet she still said nothing, preferring to stick to the silence she had initially created. Arin wouldn't move either, in fear of waking her six-year-old brother Charles since he was tightly gripping her hand as if he would lose her if he didn't.
"Your Uncle Ben and I haven't seen you since you were really little. I hope you like our home. We worked really hard to make it possible to have three children living under the same roof. The neighborhood's really nice too."
Home. The memory drifted through her head, filling her once again with the bitter feeling of loss and despair. Arin missed the small, sleepy part of Toledo, which she had lived in her whole life, and would give anything to return to. But a few fateful moments had changed everything, which now led up to her and her brother being in her Aunt Ruby's car.
Arin didn't dare to close her eyes and fall asleep in the belief that the replay of her parents' deaths would haunt her. The cars had collided head on with each other, the sickening crunch of metal ringing in her ears. Both she and Charles, or Cha Cha as she affectionately called him, had been in the back, and suffered minor injuries. However, her parents had fared worse, and the accident had proved fatal for both of them, as well as the driver in the other car whose tire had blown.
Orphaned with no other relations in Toledo, they had been entrusted into the care of their Uncle Ben and Aunt Ruby, who were related through their mother being sisters with Aunt Ruby.
"You both will be going to school here. I've enrolled you into private schools, as it's something you both are used to, am I right?"
"Yeah." Arin broke the silence softly, her dark, straight-as-a-pin black hair falling to either side of her face as she bowed her head. Her blue eyes darkened in memory of school, another pang to her heart.
"And I hear you are quite the talented musician." Aunt Ruby was rewarded with the first genuine smile out of her only niece.
"That would be true." The girl tilted her head thoughtfully, hearing the strains of a song that she had been writing drift through her head.
"What instruments do you play?"
"A bunch. Mainly guitar, drums, piano, violin...okay, I'll stop now before I bore you to death." Arin laughed softly, ruffling the head of her sleeping brother.
"That doesn't bore me. Tell me though, does Charles like music?"
Arin nodded her head slowly; unsure of where this was going.
"But anyways, I know it's kind of a rush, but school starts again in a week. We've got all the books and everything, so you don't have to worry."
Like I was worried. Arin thought sulkily, but she was interested to know what her aunt was originally talking about. "What about Charles liking music?" Her brows furrowed in confusion.
"Well, your uncle and I know of this man named Dewey Finn. His friend Ned teaches younger kids how to play guitar, so I thought your brother might want to be enrolled, so I took the initiative, as his sister already knows how to play. Hope he doesn't mind."
Arin felt a little angry and a little grateful about the way Aunt Ruby was taking charge of their lives, trying to make them fit in. She was appreciative of all the work her aunt had to go through, but at the same time she was a little pissed off that Aunt Ruby would think to try to cut and paste them into cleverly created lives that didn't really belong to them.
"I don't think he will." She fought to keep the icy undertone hidden, and luckily succeeded. Her aunt looked relieved, and smiled as she pulled into a neat little driveway.
"Well, we're home. Come on; let's get your stuff. I'm sure you want to meet your cousin Debbie!"
Arin got out of the car rolling her eyes. Her cousin Debbie was only a few months old, and everyone made a big fuss out of her. Arin had only seen photographs of the chubby baby, but never Debbie in person. Hauling her duffel bag onto her shoulder, she followed her bubbly relative into their well-kept home after shaking Cha Cha awake gently.
"This is your room, and Charles is going to sleep upstairs. What?" Ruby turned to see Arin's disgruntled look.
"I'm not a flowery kind of girl." She stated darkly, tilting her chin defiantly. Her aunt sighed, and looked to the bedspread that had bright pastel flowers on it, then to the curtains, and to the lampshade.
"Well, I have some blue sheets if that's what you prefer, and I can change the curtains, and we can put in a new lamp." She offered, hoping to get some response from the now silent girl.
"Blue is fine. Anything but flowers." Arin said in a monotonous tone. She took another look around her room, seeing some familiar items from home. Some of their stuff had been sent over in advance before the two siblings arrived, so Aunt Ruby had taken the liberty of adding their possessions to their new rooms.
"I take it you can be happy here?"
"Yeah. I can." For her aunt's sake she tried to sound as convincing as possible. It must have worked, because she started to head towards the door.
"Great. I'll go get those sheets and curtains, and leave you to familiarize yourself with your room." Her aunt smiled breezily and swept out of the small bedroom that must have originally been a guest room.
Easier said than done. Arin glowered, Does she honestly expect me to just forget everything about Toledo and home, and just live it out here just like that?
But all her anger was forgotten as her eyes fell upon the guitar and amp in the corner of the room. Immediately she dug into the pocket of her jean jacket for her favorite, and lucky pick, seated herself in the dark blue chair near her guitar, and reached for it, turning on the amp. Her fingers traced the familiar lines of the strings, smiling at all the memory it brought her.
Though she was not normally one for country music, as she MUCH preferred rock by a long shot, Arin strummed out the chords to John Denver's Country Road. The song seemed fitting for a time like this.
"Country road...take me home, to the place I belong..."
The door interrupted her melody, and Arin jerked her head up, angry with whomever would disturb her. But the harsh lines of her face softened considerably when she saw it was Charles. He timidly approached her, sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"Hey Cha Cha." She whispered softy, lifting a hand to ruffle his hair. " What's up?"
"I want to go home." He told her dolefully, his eyes that were the exact shade of blue that hers was were brimmed with tears. "I want to see mom and dad."
"I do to Cha. But hey, why don't I sing you a song? What would you like me to sing?"
"Barney's 'I Love You' song." Charles immediately perked up, a small smile creeping to his face. Arin had the grace not to look disgusted at her brother's choice in music. She was not the biggest kids songs fan, but to make her brother happy, she sang it anyways.
"Isn't this cute?" Aunt Ruby was back, this time with Debbie in her arms. "You really are talented Arin. But anyways, here's the sheets, and if you'll hold Debbie, I'll change your curtains.
"Thanks Aunt Ruby." She put her guitar back on the stand, and accepted the weight of her cousin. "Hey there Debbie."
Arin couldn't find any reason to be mean to this...baby. Sure she could put on her "I hate the world and everyone on it" façade, but not right now. She didn't even know if she could ever don that guise again after what happened to her parents. Arin blamed herself, for if she hadn't been so bitchy to everyone, she might have been able to stay with a friend in Toledo. But no, she had to mouth off to anyone who tried to help her. It was her own damn fault that she was there.
"You're really good with children. Maybe you should baby-sit for our neighbors." Ruby offered up her idea upon seeing how good her niece was with her daughter. Arin frowned, the action changing the planes of her pretty face.
"No thank you."
"But come on, you're a natural at babysitting, and you're really nice to your brother too."
"I said no thank you."
Ruby was taken aback at how much Arin looked like her sister Yvonne. Their proud and defiant expressions were the same, as was their short temper. She finished changing the curtains, and got down, hands on her hips. "Okay, okay. I give up. You do whatever you want, as long as it's not drugs and alcohol. Your mother would kill me if she was alive and I let you do those."
Immediately she regretted her words as Arin began blinking furiously. Even Charles looked shaken up. She quickly walked the distance between them and knelt.
"I am so sorry about what happened to your parents." She hesitated, almost seeing the wall that Arin formed in three seconds. "I know I shouldn't have said that, but...it sort of came out. I hope you understand. Please forgive me."
Still there was no response. Except the tears that had begun to course down Arin's face which she quickly wiped away. Wanting to fill the silence, Ruby went on. "Arin, Charles, please listen to me. If ever you want to talk about your parents, please come to me. I'm willing to listen to what you have to say. Family sticks together. That's what your Paw-Paw said."
Arin's eyes narrowed before she nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. But Aunt Ruby? Don't you ever bring up the damn topic of my parents again without our consent."
Her aunt tried not to flinch at the coldness of the words and the intense anger and frustration radiating from the girl. "I promise."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Freddy tried to inconspicuously make his way back into the house. You would think that over six years his parents would be more accepting of the fact that their son was in a rock band, and for a time they were, but only so much. They were proud of him, as any over ambitious parents would be, but when it came to his musical aspirations, they never failed to lecture him about it to the point that he had to sneak out or just barge out of the house just to make it for practice.
Clothing was another issue that he did not really want to go into. Freddy couldn't keep track of how many times his mom had sent him back to his room to get changed because he didn't look "appropriate." None of the other band members complained as much about his parents as he did partially because they didn't have to go through this nagging hell every day for the past six years.
He tiptoed across the hall and was about to go up the stairs when a voice called to him from the living room.
"Late night Fredrick?"
Freddy's heart sank as he turned to face the firing squad seated on the expensive looking living room couch that looked about ready to shoot him on the spot. "I guess you could say that." He grinned sardonically, shoving his drumsticks into the back pocket of the pants that were already sagging low enough.
"Don't mock me young man. I don't appreciate that tone of voice." His father growled, rising to his feet. "Were you out practicing with that sorry excuse of a band you so dearly love? Banging those...horrendous sticks against that stupid instrument you play?"
Freddy didn't know how to respond to that question, so he held his tongue, a practiced indifference gracing his handsome face. But his mother unfortunately was not as silent. "I am appalled at you Freddy. This behavior is unacceptable."
"Take a chill pill mom. You look like you could use one right now." Freddy retorted, defiantly tilting his chin up. He felt so much more comfortable in his sagging pants, shirt with ripped off sleeves, and the goggles around his head than any designer outfit his mother tried to stuff him into.
"Don't you speak to your mother like that boy! You will apologize right now! DO YOU HEAR ME FREDRICK?" The two 'men of the household' squared off, each trying to best the other.
"I hear you loud and clear dad. I just wish I was deaf so that I could miss out on your 'words of wisdom'. Oh, wait. They aren't words of wisdom, as they sure as hell don't do any good for anyone."
To his satisfaction his father turned red, and then a shade between red and purple. Well now his father was really cooking.
"WATCH THAT GODDAMN TONGUE OF YOURS SON!"
"Speak for yourself pops." The bitterness emanating from him couldn't even be rivaled by the cold of a winter morning. Freddy glared towards the father that was steadily approaching him.
"I don't have to tolerate this from you. You're insufferable, and thick headed, and argh. I just don't know what to say to you. I sometimes wish you were never born."
Blinking back the tears that threatened to fall, as he didn't want his dad to have the satisfaction of seeing it, Freddy turned and ran up the stairs.
"Like father like son." He yelled over his shoulder, hearing the loud thudding of his dad's heavy footsteps. Smiling tightly he slammed the door to his room in his dad's face, refusing to even acknowledge that his father was screaming his name on the other side.
"FREDRICK! FREDRICK OPEN THE DOOR!"
"Leave me the hell alone dad! Goddamn YOU!" Freddy crossed the room, sinking onto his small bed, dropping his head into his hands. He heard the heated exchange between his parents before his mother tried to give talking to him a shot.
"Freddy..." His mother tried knocking again.
"Go away." The young drummer snapped bitterly, his voice muffled slightly. "I don't want to talk to you."
"Freddy..." his mother repeated, insistent.
"I said go away! Leave me alone!" He yelled, throwing the pillow hard against the door. He listened for the silent retreat of his mother, and when he was rewarded with it, he sighed. When were his parents going to understand him, and let him do as he pleased? He was lucky that he didn't have school the next day or his parent's would have really flipped out more than they already had. All in a glorious day in the life of Freddy Jones.
"When will they get it?" Freddy muttered to himself as he glanced briefly at the clock next to his bed. He turned over onto his stomach, then changed his mind and lay on his side, his mouth forming obscene language though he didn't put any voice behind them.
"Stupid parents." He yawned, his eyes getting heavy. "I just wish—they would—leave me alone."
With a final sigh he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep even with the heated debate outside in the hall between his father and mother.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Arin still hadn't exactly familiarized herself with her surroundings three days later. She was...happier if that accounted for anything, and in her honest opinion, the state she was in was far better than being miserable. Charles was doing fine, and adjusting to the change, and the other day they had met Ned Schneebly who would be teaching him how to play the guitar.
"I get to play music like Arin!" the six-year-old had crowed to everyone in the household much to his sister's amusement.
"Arin, clean yourself up, we have company coming for dinner." Aunt Ruby stuck her head into the room and glanced towards the girl who lay on her bed, ankles crossed in the air. Arin pulled her headphones off, frowning slightly.
"Company? Look Aunt Ruby, I appreciate your concern, but I can damn well make my own friends." Arin grinned cynically before she rolled to a sitting position, her eyes meeting that of her aunt's. Ruby sighed, wondering why her niece was being so difficult.
"This isn't about you making friends. I just happened to be good friends with the family, and invited them ahead of time."
"Oh. Okay then." She shrugged, pulling her headphones back on, signaling that she was through talking, but her aunt didn't budge from her position in the doorway.
"They have a son your age."
"I don't frickin care. They could have a hamster my age and I wouldn't give a damn."
Ruby rolled her eyes and shut the door. She was going to have to do something about that tongue of her niece. Especially since her brother looked up to her and would probably take after her example.
Hearing her aunt's retreating footsteps, Arin bounced off her bed and went over to her closet and picked out what she was going to wear. After jumping into the shower, she blow-dried her hair, pulled it into a ponytail, and donned her red long-sleeved shirt with a devil smiley face on it, and black jeans. She was busy fastening a fang necklace around her neck when her aunt returned.
"You ready? Cause they're here."
Arin groaned and followed her relative into the living room. Seated there was an Asian family, seeming perfectly harmless.
Trust Aunt Ruby to socialize with other Chinese families. Arin grumbled, idly wondering why Asian people were so enthusiastic about knowing or meeting other Asians. She certainly didn't care.
"This is my niece Arin and her brother Charles." Ruby was saying, patting them each in turn on the shoulder. Arin tensed, hating the way her aunt treated them like they were on display for the world.
"Hi." She smiled quickly, faking cheerfulness. It was one of the things that Arin was exceptionally good at, being able to put a distance between herself and others, and putting on a mask as to defend herself.
"Hello."
"This is Lawrence. You both will be going to school together."
"Oh."
Lawrence studied Arin's face in amazement at how pretty she was, especially when she smiled. But right at the moment she had returned to looking calm and serious. He really hoped she would smile again.
"Dinner's on the table; so come on before it gets cold." Ruby ushered them all into the cozy dining room. Arin nearly choked when she saw the rice, the fish, and all the other dishes her mother loved making. She blinked away tears as she sat down, staring blankly at the little mound of white rice in the center of her plate.
"Arin, are you okay?" Charles whispered to her, taking one of her hands between his little hands and giving her a gentle squeeze.
"Yeah, I'm fine Cha Cha." She whispered back, smiling quickly before picking up her spoon.
"Do you want the vegetables?" Lawrence smiled, offering the bowl to Arin. She looked at him strangely before accepting the bowl with a small smile.
"Thanks."
"So have you...been to a private school before?"
"Yeah. I have."
"Did you like it?"
Arin looked like she was going to laugh. "No. Not really come to think of it." She resumed picking away at her food. "And now I don't want to think about my old school."
Lawrence could tell when a conversation was through and let her be for the time, though he couldn't help but sneak a few glances now and then at her. She caught him one time, and her eyebrow quirked, but Arin didn't say anything.
"May I be excused please?" She asked, setting down her cutlery quietly. Ruby frowned slightly, looking at the food left on her niece's plate.
"But you've hardly touched your food!" She protested.
"I would like to be excused please." Arin repeated softly, her eyes deflecting any words. Ruby sighed, dismissing the girl with a tired wave of her hand.
Arin emptied and set her dish in the sink before turning towards the piano in the living room. Quietly she crossed into the room and seated herself, placing her hands on the keys and drawing strength from them. She didn't play then, for she wanted to acquaint herself with the feel of this piano first. Arin remembered the one back in Toledo, its long brown lines gracing her memory, and much different from the polished black of her aunt's piano.
The strains of Bach Toccata in D minor floated around the empty room. God she even hate classical music at that moment, but at least she could use the piano as a way to vent emotion.
"Not bad." Lawrence came up behind her, seeing the unguarded expression on her face. It was unlike any that he had seen on her all night. Arin ignored him and launched into another song. "I don't know this one." He admitted after a while. She allowed herself a humorless smile.
"Of course you wouldn't. I wrote it myself."
"Ah, that would explain it." Lawrence hesitated; full of amazement that she of all people had written a song. "I used to play classical, but now I have been converted to Rock by Mr. S...or Dewey."
"That's a pleasant change. Rock is like its name, it rocks." She shrugged as if this was the most widely known fact. Lawrence laughed and adjusted his glasses, not really knowing how to respond. Luckily Arin spoke.
"Well Mr. I'm-a-rocker, play me something." She was so cute when she demanded something. Grinning, he took the seat she had vacated, and waggled his fingers before playing some piece that came to mind.
"I usually play on a keyboard, so I can't really do anything fancy right now." He apologized mid-song. Arin waved a hand airily. "Don't really care. Just play."
Lawrence was only too happy to obey. He wondered what she thought of him, and strove to impress her further. Arin just stood there, listening to him and appreciating his talent.
"You're really good." She smiled as the song came to a close. "And you're pretty nice too. But it's late, and I am gonna jet." Arin waved. " I'll see you around I guess."
"Yeah, bye." He watched her leave, knowing he had a huge grin on his face.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Freddy Jones. Now that was a hottie to die for. The face of the cute blonde drummer drifted across Katie's mind as she absently twirled her pen, unsure of how to start her paper, and completely oblivious to anyone on the other end of the phone line.
"Katie? You there? Katie!" Summer groaned exasperatedly. "You're thinking of him again aren't you." It wasn't a question.
Katie laughed, returning to reality with a bang. She nodded her head, even if Summer wasn't there to see it.
"Sorry Summer. I just kind of spaced..."
She was cut off by her friend's skeptical snort. Summer tapped her own pen to her almost finished essay, trying to think of words to say to her friend.
"Look, you've liked him for almost six years. Why don't you tell him?"
"Cause I'm afraid of what he might say." Katie shot back, feeling a little pissed off with all of Summer's pushing. What if she didn't want to say anything just yet? What if she didn't think she was ready for a relationship yet?
"Well if you don't do something, eventually he's going to slip out of your fingers. Freddy's not going to stay single forever you know."
"Yeah, yeah. We've gone over this before."
"Too bad you never listen to me." Summer grumbled, flipping her hair back with a hand. "Now I have more important things to do than council you in your love life, or lack thereof."
"All right. Some friend you are." Katie frowned, knowing how it would affect Summer.
"Well excuse me if I want to maintain a perfect GPA for all four years of high school." She huffed, "Now I gotta go. We have practice tomorrow you know."
"I know. I get to catch up on Freddy staring." Katie could almost see Summer rolling her eyes before saying a loud 'You're obsessed!' and hanging up. With a smile she slipped the phone onto the hanger and sighed, trying for the life of her to come up with something for her assignment.
~*A/N*~ So what did you think? Please drop me some, as I repeat, I love reviews (and hate flamers,), and I am very tolerant of CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. But yeah, the plot basically revolves around Arin and Freddy and Katie and Lawrence, but never fear, Zack gets a lot of coverage, as I love his character almost as much as Freddy! Drummers and guitarists so rock. (hehe, I'm both. But I'm nothing compared to their greatness.) And contrary to popular belief, this is not one of those "flirt with me" kind of things all the way through. I get kind of sick with that, and I like writing Angst. I need to be somewhat original in SOR ficcies...so I have a big...rectangle. And I can't help the fact that Kevin Alexander is so damn sexy (he totally rocks my world. Ok....obsessed much.), at least to me, but others are entitled to their own opinions, and I accept that (so you'd better accept mine.)
Disclaimer: I do not own anything School of Rock related except for the really cool soundtrack, a movie poster, and the new DVD! Although I wouldn't mind owning Kevin Alexander Clark...*evil grin*, but I guess the "shrine" I made to him in my assignment notebook is just gonna have to cut it for now. I wouldn't mind owning Joey Gaydos jr either, cause he's the coolest guitarist ever (of course, I still love Kevin/Freddy more *fans self* Man he's so hott.), but he's a little young for my taste. At least I'm the same age as Kevin, hence I find that I am more attached to him. I do not own any of the SOR character *sniffle sniffle*, except for a few of my own making, like Arin. Thank You.
~*Chapter One*~
The world went by out the car window, and though she was staring out the window, the scenery passed unseen by Arin Kam. The fifteen-year-old, almost sixteen sat emotionless in the back seat of her aunt's car. Her hand was going numb, but what did she care. All that she had known was now lost to her.
"Debbie can't wait to meet you." Her aunt's voice broke through her cloud of chaotic thoughts, and snapped her out of her reverie. Yet she still said nothing, preferring to stick to the silence she had initially created. Arin wouldn't move either, in fear of waking her six-year-old brother Charles since he was tightly gripping her hand as if he would lose her if he didn't.
"Your Uncle Ben and I haven't seen you since you were really little. I hope you like our home. We worked really hard to make it possible to have three children living under the same roof. The neighborhood's really nice too."
Home. The memory drifted through her head, filling her once again with the bitter feeling of loss and despair. Arin missed the small, sleepy part of Toledo, which she had lived in her whole life, and would give anything to return to. But a few fateful moments had changed everything, which now led up to her and her brother being in her Aunt Ruby's car.
Arin didn't dare to close her eyes and fall asleep in the belief that the replay of her parents' deaths would haunt her. The cars had collided head on with each other, the sickening crunch of metal ringing in her ears. Both she and Charles, or Cha Cha as she affectionately called him, had been in the back, and suffered minor injuries. However, her parents had fared worse, and the accident had proved fatal for both of them, as well as the driver in the other car whose tire had blown.
Orphaned with no other relations in Toledo, they had been entrusted into the care of their Uncle Ben and Aunt Ruby, who were related through their mother being sisters with Aunt Ruby.
"You both will be going to school here. I've enrolled you into private schools, as it's something you both are used to, am I right?"
"Yeah." Arin broke the silence softly, her dark, straight-as-a-pin black hair falling to either side of her face as she bowed her head. Her blue eyes darkened in memory of school, another pang to her heart.
"And I hear you are quite the talented musician." Aunt Ruby was rewarded with the first genuine smile out of her only niece.
"That would be true." The girl tilted her head thoughtfully, hearing the strains of a song that she had been writing drift through her head.
"What instruments do you play?"
"A bunch. Mainly guitar, drums, piano, violin...okay, I'll stop now before I bore you to death." Arin laughed softly, ruffling the head of her sleeping brother.
"That doesn't bore me. Tell me though, does Charles like music?"
Arin nodded her head slowly; unsure of where this was going.
"But anyways, I know it's kind of a rush, but school starts again in a week. We've got all the books and everything, so you don't have to worry."
Like I was worried. Arin thought sulkily, but she was interested to know what her aunt was originally talking about. "What about Charles liking music?" Her brows furrowed in confusion.
"Well, your uncle and I know of this man named Dewey Finn. His friend Ned teaches younger kids how to play guitar, so I thought your brother might want to be enrolled, so I took the initiative, as his sister already knows how to play. Hope he doesn't mind."
Arin felt a little angry and a little grateful about the way Aunt Ruby was taking charge of their lives, trying to make them fit in. She was appreciative of all the work her aunt had to go through, but at the same time she was a little pissed off that Aunt Ruby would think to try to cut and paste them into cleverly created lives that didn't really belong to them.
"I don't think he will." She fought to keep the icy undertone hidden, and luckily succeeded. Her aunt looked relieved, and smiled as she pulled into a neat little driveway.
"Well, we're home. Come on; let's get your stuff. I'm sure you want to meet your cousin Debbie!"
Arin got out of the car rolling her eyes. Her cousin Debbie was only a few months old, and everyone made a big fuss out of her. Arin had only seen photographs of the chubby baby, but never Debbie in person. Hauling her duffel bag onto her shoulder, she followed her bubbly relative into their well-kept home after shaking Cha Cha awake gently.
"This is your room, and Charles is going to sleep upstairs. What?" Ruby turned to see Arin's disgruntled look.
"I'm not a flowery kind of girl." She stated darkly, tilting her chin defiantly. Her aunt sighed, and looked to the bedspread that had bright pastel flowers on it, then to the curtains, and to the lampshade.
"Well, I have some blue sheets if that's what you prefer, and I can change the curtains, and we can put in a new lamp." She offered, hoping to get some response from the now silent girl.
"Blue is fine. Anything but flowers." Arin said in a monotonous tone. She took another look around her room, seeing some familiar items from home. Some of their stuff had been sent over in advance before the two siblings arrived, so Aunt Ruby had taken the liberty of adding their possessions to their new rooms.
"I take it you can be happy here?"
"Yeah. I can." For her aunt's sake she tried to sound as convincing as possible. It must have worked, because she started to head towards the door.
"Great. I'll go get those sheets and curtains, and leave you to familiarize yourself with your room." Her aunt smiled breezily and swept out of the small bedroom that must have originally been a guest room.
Easier said than done. Arin glowered, Does she honestly expect me to just forget everything about Toledo and home, and just live it out here just like that?
But all her anger was forgotten as her eyes fell upon the guitar and amp in the corner of the room. Immediately she dug into the pocket of her jean jacket for her favorite, and lucky pick, seated herself in the dark blue chair near her guitar, and reached for it, turning on the amp. Her fingers traced the familiar lines of the strings, smiling at all the memory it brought her.
Though she was not normally one for country music, as she MUCH preferred rock by a long shot, Arin strummed out the chords to John Denver's Country Road. The song seemed fitting for a time like this.
"Country road...take me home, to the place I belong..."
The door interrupted her melody, and Arin jerked her head up, angry with whomever would disturb her. But the harsh lines of her face softened considerably when she saw it was Charles. He timidly approached her, sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"Hey Cha Cha." She whispered softy, lifting a hand to ruffle his hair. " What's up?"
"I want to go home." He told her dolefully, his eyes that were the exact shade of blue that hers was were brimmed with tears. "I want to see mom and dad."
"I do to Cha. But hey, why don't I sing you a song? What would you like me to sing?"
"Barney's 'I Love You' song." Charles immediately perked up, a small smile creeping to his face. Arin had the grace not to look disgusted at her brother's choice in music. She was not the biggest kids songs fan, but to make her brother happy, she sang it anyways.
"Isn't this cute?" Aunt Ruby was back, this time with Debbie in her arms. "You really are talented Arin. But anyways, here's the sheets, and if you'll hold Debbie, I'll change your curtains.
"Thanks Aunt Ruby." She put her guitar back on the stand, and accepted the weight of her cousin. "Hey there Debbie."
Arin couldn't find any reason to be mean to this...baby. Sure she could put on her "I hate the world and everyone on it" façade, but not right now. She didn't even know if she could ever don that guise again after what happened to her parents. Arin blamed herself, for if she hadn't been so bitchy to everyone, she might have been able to stay with a friend in Toledo. But no, she had to mouth off to anyone who tried to help her. It was her own damn fault that she was there.
"You're really good with children. Maybe you should baby-sit for our neighbors." Ruby offered up her idea upon seeing how good her niece was with her daughter. Arin frowned, the action changing the planes of her pretty face.
"No thank you."
"But come on, you're a natural at babysitting, and you're really nice to your brother too."
"I said no thank you."
Ruby was taken aback at how much Arin looked like her sister Yvonne. Their proud and defiant expressions were the same, as was their short temper. She finished changing the curtains, and got down, hands on her hips. "Okay, okay. I give up. You do whatever you want, as long as it's not drugs and alcohol. Your mother would kill me if she was alive and I let you do those."
Immediately she regretted her words as Arin began blinking furiously. Even Charles looked shaken up. She quickly walked the distance between them and knelt.
"I am so sorry about what happened to your parents." She hesitated, almost seeing the wall that Arin formed in three seconds. "I know I shouldn't have said that, but...it sort of came out. I hope you understand. Please forgive me."
Still there was no response. Except the tears that had begun to course down Arin's face which she quickly wiped away. Wanting to fill the silence, Ruby went on. "Arin, Charles, please listen to me. If ever you want to talk about your parents, please come to me. I'm willing to listen to what you have to say. Family sticks together. That's what your Paw-Paw said."
Arin's eyes narrowed before she nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. But Aunt Ruby? Don't you ever bring up the damn topic of my parents again without our consent."
Her aunt tried not to flinch at the coldness of the words and the intense anger and frustration radiating from the girl. "I promise."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Freddy tried to inconspicuously make his way back into the house. You would think that over six years his parents would be more accepting of the fact that their son was in a rock band, and for a time they were, but only so much. They were proud of him, as any over ambitious parents would be, but when it came to his musical aspirations, they never failed to lecture him about it to the point that he had to sneak out or just barge out of the house just to make it for practice.
Clothing was another issue that he did not really want to go into. Freddy couldn't keep track of how many times his mom had sent him back to his room to get changed because he didn't look "appropriate." None of the other band members complained as much about his parents as he did partially because they didn't have to go through this nagging hell every day for the past six years.
He tiptoed across the hall and was about to go up the stairs when a voice called to him from the living room.
"Late night Fredrick?"
Freddy's heart sank as he turned to face the firing squad seated on the expensive looking living room couch that looked about ready to shoot him on the spot. "I guess you could say that." He grinned sardonically, shoving his drumsticks into the back pocket of the pants that were already sagging low enough.
"Don't mock me young man. I don't appreciate that tone of voice." His father growled, rising to his feet. "Were you out practicing with that sorry excuse of a band you so dearly love? Banging those...horrendous sticks against that stupid instrument you play?"
Freddy didn't know how to respond to that question, so he held his tongue, a practiced indifference gracing his handsome face. But his mother unfortunately was not as silent. "I am appalled at you Freddy. This behavior is unacceptable."
"Take a chill pill mom. You look like you could use one right now." Freddy retorted, defiantly tilting his chin up. He felt so much more comfortable in his sagging pants, shirt with ripped off sleeves, and the goggles around his head than any designer outfit his mother tried to stuff him into.
"Don't you speak to your mother like that boy! You will apologize right now! DO YOU HEAR ME FREDRICK?" The two 'men of the household' squared off, each trying to best the other.
"I hear you loud and clear dad. I just wish I was deaf so that I could miss out on your 'words of wisdom'. Oh, wait. They aren't words of wisdom, as they sure as hell don't do any good for anyone."
To his satisfaction his father turned red, and then a shade between red and purple. Well now his father was really cooking.
"WATCH THAT GODDAMN TONGUE OF YOURS SON!"
"Speak for yourself pops." The bitterness emanating from him couldn't even be rivaled by the cold of a winter morning. Freddy glared towards the father that was steadily approaching him.
"I don't have to tolerate this from you. You're insufferable, and thick headed, and argh. I just don't know what to say to you. I sometimes wish you were never born."
Blinking back the tears that threatened to fall, as he didn't want his dad to have the satisfaction of seeing it, Freddy turned and ran up the stairs.
"Like father like son." He yelled over his shoulder, hearing the loud thudding of his dad's heavy footsteps. Smiling tightly he slammed the door to his room in his dad's face, refusing to even acknowledge that his father was screaming his name on the other side.
"FREDRICK! FREDRICK OPEN THE DOOR!"
"Leave me the hell alone dad! Goddamn YOU!" Freddy crossed the room, sinking onto his small bed, dropping his head into his hands. He heard the heated exchange between his parents before his mother tried to give talking to him a shot.
"Freddy..." His mother tried knocking again.
"Go away." The young drummer snapped bitterly, his voice muffled slightly. "I don't want to talk to you."
"Freddy..." his mother repeated, insistent.
"I said go away! Leave me alone!" He yelled, throwing the pillow hard against the door. He listened for the silent retreat of his mother, and when he was rewarded with it, he sighed. When were his parents going to understand him, and let him do as he pleased? He was lucky that he didn't have school the next day or his parent's would have really flipped out more than they already had. All in a glorious day in the life of Freddy Jones.
"When will they get it?" Freddy muttered to himself as he glanced briefly at the clock next to his bed. He turned over onto his stomach, then changed his mind and lay on his side, his mouth forming obscene language though he didn't put any voice behind them.
"Stupid parents." He yawned, his eyes getting heavy. "I just wish—they would—leave me alone."
With a final sigh he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep even with the heated debate outside in the hall between his father and mother.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Arin still hadn't exactly familiarized herself with her surroundings three days later. She was...happier if that accounted for anything, and in her honest opinion, the state she was in was far better than being miserable. Charles was doing fine, and adjusting to the change, and the other day they had met Ned Schneebly who would be teaching him how to play the guitar.
"I get to play music like Arin!" the six-year-old had crowed to everyone in the household much to his sister's amusement.
"Arin, clean yourself up, we have company coming for dinner." Aunt Ruby stuck her head into the room and glanced towards the girl who lay on her bed, ankles crossed in the air. Arin pulled her headphones off, frowning slightly.
"Company? Look Aunt Ruby, I appreciate your concern, but I can damn well make my own friends." Arin grinned cynically before she rolled to a sitting position, her eyes meeting that of her aunt's. Ruby sighed, wondering why her niece was being so difficult.
"This isn't about you making friends. I just happened to be good friends with the family, and invited them ahead of time."
"Oh. Okay then." She shrugged, pulling her headphones back on, signaling that she was through talking, but her aunt didn't budge from her position in the doorway.
"They have a son your age."
"I don't frickin care. They could have a hamster my age and I wouldn't give a damn."
Ruby rolled her eyes and shut the door. She was going to have to do something about that tongue of her niece. Especially since her brother looked up to her and would probably take after her example.
Hearing her aunt's retreating footsteps, Arin bounced off her bed and went over to her closet and picked out what she was going to wear. After jumping into the shower, she blow-dried her hair, pulled it into a ponytail, and donned her red long-sleeved shirt with a devil smiley face on it, and black jeans. She was busy fastening a fang necklace around her neck when her aunt returned.
"You ready? Cause they're here."
Arin groaned and followed her relative into the living room. Seated there was an Asian family, seeming perfectly harmless.
Trust Aunt Ruby to socialize with other Chinese families. Arin grumbled, idly wondering why Asian people were so enthusiastic about knowing or meeting other Asians. She certainly didn't care.
"This is my niece Arin and her brother Charles." Ruby was saying, patting them each in turn on the shoulder. Arin tensed, hating the way her aunt treated them like they were on display for the world.
"Hi." She smiled quickly, faking cheerfulness. It was one of the things that Arin was exceptionally good at, being able to put a distance between herself and others, and putting on a mask as to defend herself.
"Hello."
"This is Lawrence. You both will be going to school together."
"Oh."
Lawrence studied Arin's face in amazement at how pretty she was, especially when she smiled. But right at the moment she had returned to looking calm and serious. He really hoped she would smile again.
"Dinner's on the table; so come on before it gets cold." Ruby ushered them all into the cozy dining room. Arin nearly choked when she saw the rice, the fish, and all the other dishes her mother loved making. She blinked away tears as she sat down, staring blankly at the little mound of white rice in the center of her plate.
"Arin, are you okay?" Charles whispered to her, taking one of her hands between his little hands and giving her a gentle squeeze.
"Yeah, I'm fine Cha Cha." She whispered back, smiling quickly before picking up her spoon.
"Do you want the vegetables?" Lawrence smiled, offering the bowl to Arin. She looked at him strangely before accepting the bowl with a small smile.
"Thanks."
"So have you...been to a private school before?"
"Yeah. I have."
"Did you like it?"
Arin looked like she was going to laugh. "No. Not really come to think of it." She resumed picking away at her food. "And now I don't want to think about my old school."
Lawrence could tell when a conversation was through and let her be for the time, though he couldn't help but sneak a few glances now and then at her. She caught him one time, and her eyebrow quirked, but Arin didn't say anything.
"May I be excused please?" She asked, setting down her cutlery quietly. Ruby frowned slightly, looking at the food left on her niece's plate.
"But you've hardly touched your food!" She protested.
"I would like to be excused please." Arin repeated softly, her eyes deflecting any words. Ruby sighed, dismissing the girl with a tired wave of her hand.
Arin emptied and set her dish in the sink before turning towards the piano in the living room. Quietly she crossed into the room and seated herself, placing her hands on the keys and drawing strength from them. She didn't play then, for she wanted to acquaint herself with the feel of this piano first. Arin remembered the one back in Toledo, its long brown lines gracing her memory, and much different from the polished black of her aunt's piano.
The strains of Bach Toccata in D minor floated around the empty room. God she even hate classical music at that moment, but at least she could use the piano as a way to vent emotion.
"Not bad." Lawrence came up behind her, seeing the unguarded expression on her face. It was unlike any that he had seen on her all night. Arin ignored him and launched into another song. "I don't know this one." He admitted after a while. She allowed herself a humorless smile.
"Of course you wouldn't. I wrote it myself."
"Ah, that would explain it." Lawrence hesitated; full of amazement that she of all people had written a song. "I used to play classical, but now I have been converted to Rock by Mr. S...or Dewey."
"That's a pleasant change. Rock is like its name, it rocks." She shrugged as if this was the most widely known fact. Lawrence laughed and adjusted his glasses, not really knowing how to respond. Luckily Arin spoke.
"Well Mr. I'm-a-rocker, play me something." She was so cute when she demanded something. Grinning, he took the seat she had vacated, and waggled his fingers before playing some piece that came to mind.
"I usually play on a keyboard, so I can't really do anything fancy right now." He apologized mid-song. Arin waved a hand airily. "Don't really care. Just play."
Lawrence was only too happy to obey. He wondered what she thought of him, and strove to impress her further. Arin just stood there, listening to him and appreciating his talent.
"You're really good." She smiled as the song came to a close. "And you're pretty nice too. But it's late, and I am gonna jet." Arin waved. " I'll see you around I guess."
"Yeah, bye." He watched her leave, knowing he had a huge grin on his face.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Freddy Jones. Now that was a hottie to die for. The face of the cute blonde drummer drifted across Katie's mind as she absently twirled her pen, unsure of how to start her paper, and completely oblivious to anyone on the other end of the phone line.
"Katie? You there? Katie!" Summer groaned exasperatedly. "You're thinking of him again aren't you." It wasn't a question.
Katie laughed, returning to reality with a bang. She nodded her head, even if Summer wasn't there to see it.
"Sorry Summer. I just kind of spaced..."
She was cut off by her friend's skeptical snort. Summer tapped her own pen to her almost finished essay, trying to think of words to say to her friend.
"Look, you've liked him for almost six years. Why don't you tell him?"
"Cause I'm afraid of what he might say." Katie shot back, feeling a little pissed off with all of Summer's pushing. What if she didn't want to say anything just yet? What if she didn't think she was ready for a relationship yet?
"Well if you don't do something, eventually he's going to slip out of your fingers. Freddy's not going to stay single forever you know."
"Yeah, yeah. We've gone over this before."
"Too bad you never listen to me." Summer grumbled, flipping her hair back with a hand. "Now I have more important things to do than council you in your love life, or lack thereof."
"All right. Some friend you are." Katie frowned, knowing how it would affect Summer.
"Well excuse me if I want to maintain a perfect GPA for all four years of high school." She huffed, "Now I gotta go. We have practice tomorrow you know."
"I know. I get to catch up on Freddy staring." Katie could almost see Summer rolling her eyes before saying a loud 'You're obsessed!' and hanging up. With a smile she slipped the phone onto the hanger and sighed, trying for the life of her to come up with something for her assignment.
~*A/N*~ So what did you think? Please drop me some, as I repeat, I love reviews (and hate flamers,), and I am very tolerant of CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. But yeah, the plot basically revolves around Arin and Freddy and Katie and Lawrence, but never fear, Zack gets a lot of coverage, as I love his character almost as much as Freddy! Drummers and guitarists so rock. (hehe, I'm both. But I'm nothing compared to their greatness.) And contrary to popular belief, this is not one of those "flirt with me" kind of things all the way through. I get kind of sick with that, and I like writing Angst. I need to be somewhat original in SOR ficcies...so I have a big...rectangle. And I can't help the fact that Kevin Alexander is so damn sexy (he totally rocks my world. Ok....obsessed much.), at least to me, but others are entitled to their own opinions, and I accept that (so you'd better accept mine.)