FicWad

“Starlet, Im sorry to bother you, but…..”
“Summer, I don’t think I pay you to drop your jaw and stand there like an idiot. Well, what do you want……?”
“Well, umm, you’ve ah…..” Summer stammered.
“Got no shirt on, yes I know. I wasn’t trying to remake ‘The Emperors New Clothes’ just get a tan.”
Summer laughed, “Okay well you’re double booked for tomorrow, twice. The Annual Committee Meeting at 9am and for some reason you’re scheduled to practice ‘Falling Over Backwards’. Why, it beats me, but you wrote it down, so it must have some importance. Also at…” Summer stopped to scan the page in her hand, “4pm you have Travis’s Studio opening and a meeting with one of your fathers business partners. What would you like me to do?”
“Forget the Committee meeting, there will be plenty more of those. And you can ring my father and tell him that I say, if he would like to know how I’m doing he can damn well ring and talk to me himself, instead of sending his man-servants to do it for him. And can you bring in my lunch now, thankyou Summer.”
Summer forced a smile and headed towards the door to get Starlet her lunch.
“Sometimes I wonder why I ever took this job.” She muttered under her breath, as she waited for the elevator. The door opened and three young children rushed out at Summer knocking Starlet’s schedule out of her hands.
“Shit!” She exclaimed, picking it up, trying to remove the footprints the children’s shoes had made. She rushed into the elevator as the doors started to close and pushed the button for the floor the cafeteria was on. Summer tapped her foot impatiently, watching the glowing numbers slowly decrease. Finally her floor came and she walked out into the busy lunch room to collect Starlets lunch. Picking up a tray, Summer joined the lunch queue. It seemed to her that everyone had suddenly gotten hungry just to test her patience, of which she didn’t have much. She chose a ham sandwich and an apple from the display and put them on the tray, sliding it down to the counter.
“Put it on Starlet’s bill.” She told the cashier.
As she turned to leave, Summer backed into the young man behind her.
“Im so sorry.” She said as she turned and met his eyes. “Really, I am. I, I’ve got to go and, uh, give this to Starlet now. I’m sorry again.” She said as she backed away.
“Now that was the most gorgeous thing I’ve laid eyes on all day,” Summer thought to herself walking back to the elevator. “I wonder if he works here.”
When Summer reached Starlet’s office she laid the tray on her desk.
“Before you ask, its ham. Its all the cafeteria had left.” Starlet nodded. As Summer was leaving, she turned back to Starlet.
“Oh and Starlet? The reason your father doesn’t talk to you is because you asked for his calls to be screened a few months ago when you starting dating Travis. He always called you to say he didn’t approve of his daughter dating someone with his fashion sense as it was very unbecoming of you.” With that Summer left with a smirk.

Picking up the juice carton that had been sent flying from his lunch tray, Peter watched the strange young blonde girl walk away. He was supposed to be on the down-low, getting the facts from the inside and discovering how the place worked for the guys if they did decide to record her, all the while remaining unnoticed. So far Peter hadn’t succeeded in either task; he had been disaster prone and removed by security from two of the studios for unauthorized access. Peter flipped his hood back up and made his way to one of the benches in the cafeteria. He pulled his sidekick from his pocket as it started to vibrate and answered it to hear Rick’s voice.
“Hey buddy; you wouldn’t believe how hectic things are here.”
“Same here,” Peter laughed, “I was assaulted by some weird blonde with a lunch tray. She went all ‘Fuck-You’re-Hot’ on me and lost her cool completely.”
“Yeah that’s what you think Peterpan; it was probably more of an ‘If-Those-Daggers-He’s-Shooting-Were-Real-I’d-Be-Dead-Right-Now’ loss of composure.”
“Nope Rick, it was definitely a ‘Fuck-You’re-Hot’. You should have seen it. Hilarious; everything ended up on the floor. Well, everything on my lunch tray.”
“Peter, I’m sorry about how I reacted yesterday. I was so wound up. We’re all supposed to have the same goal, and I’m willing to do what’s best for the band. I’ll support whatever decision we make, whatever that may be.”
“Seriously, it’s cool Rick. Just remember, next time you decide to word vomit, grab a bucket, and don’t do it all over me.”
“Yeah, will do. Anyway, just called to apologize, I’m off to the hospital again now.”
“Bring me back a souvenir, kay Rick?” Peter joked.
“Sure, just make sure you get me one too.” Rick laughed back.
Fishing for coins in his wallet, he wandered around in search of a vending machine to fuel his urge for fluorescent sugary goodness.Before Peter realized what he was doing, he had found his way to an empty recording booth. Peering in the glass, he lost himself in the dreams of what it would be like to be famous, to record, to go on tour with thousands of fans screaming his name as he played. He barely heard the footsteps behind him as a burly security guard walked into his booth.
“You again boy!” The guard shouted, grabbing Peter by the shoulder, “I thought I told you not to come back!”
“And I thought I chose not to listen.” Peter retorted, shaking the guard’s arm from his shoulder, taking a swing at his head with his free arm. The guard dove towards Peter and thinking quickly he swatted the guard away with a chair, pinning him by his chest against the glass dividing wall. The guard ripped the chair from Peter’s hands and in one last attempt to contain him, he threw himself on Peter. With all his strength Peter kicked the guard in the chest and sent him flying through the glass wall, where he now lay in a disheveled heap of glass and muscle.
“That’s what you get when you mess with me, bitch.” Spat Peter fiercely.
“This isn’t the last time you’ll hear from me.” Was all he heard as he turned tail and fled to his waiting car.

“One last kiss for you
One more wish to you
Please make up your mind, girl
I’d do anything for you
One last kiss for you
One more wish to you
Please make up your mind, girl
Before I hope you die”
“Fuck Joseph, now is not the time or place. We’re in a hospital for Pete’s sake. We don’t want anyone dying on your behalf. Go chat up that nurse or something.” Whispered Rick in the hospital waiting room.
“For Pete’s sake aye? Your in love with Peter?” Joseph taunted. “And when you’re the famous celebrity gay couple everyone will call you two PetRick.”
“Sometimes, I have no idea why we put up with you, you’re ridiculous. Isn’t obvious Im not gay Joseph? It is Alyssa we’re here to see.”
“Oh I don’t know, Ricky my boy. I did see a few very good looking male nurses back there.”
“Then maybe you’re the gay one, lets see, you do often chat yourself up in the mirror.”
“That doesn’t count, I have to practice my pickup lines somehow. You’d rather I use them on you?”
“Eww, heck no! And Joey we can’t forget that one time with Peter. In the dark, at the carnival.”
“How could I forget? But I did have an excuse! I was drunk and you know it!”
“Drunk on lurve Joey. How about Peteseph? Or Joeter?” Rick burst out laughing. “You know what, that’s entirely unfair that your names together sound so ridiculous! And anyway, Im the only one making excuses tonight.”
“Yeah, Yeah. Mr. ‘I-Wear-The-Pants’.” Joseph scowled.
“Ha, look at that, I do to. You’re wearing shorts. That’s almost ironic.” Rick looked up and noticed a nurse walking towards them.
“You two can come on through now.” She told him.
Rick swallowed, but his heart still felt as if it was stuck in his throat. He unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, fully knowing that it wouldn’t help in the slightest. Biting down on his lip he entered Alyssa’s room and took his place next to her bed beside Shanae.
“When did you get here?” He asked her.
“At about six this morning.” She replied with a yawn.
“Did you get any sleep last night Sah?”
“Not really, I couldn’t get the thought of her being here all alone from my head. I’d close my eyes and then I’d see her in my dreams crying for help. It was seriously creepy.”
“All night I could hear Drew’s washing machine, atleast that’s what I think it was, making these beeping noises. In my dreams they were the heart monitor flat lining.” Rick confessed, studying the intricacies of his chucks. “The lies you weave are Oh So intricate.” He muttered under his breath, which until now he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
“Did you say something Rick?” Shanae asked him, clearly amused that she had caught Rick talking to himself.
“Nothing at all, maybe it was Lyss?” He offered, taking up Alyssa’s hand in his own eyeing the needles protruding from it. “Do you reckon she can hear us?”
“Probably, I mean she’s not dead, not even close. She’s just asleep, I bet her ears still work. Anyway, why so curious?”
“No reason.” He shrugged casually. He planned to sing the song he wrote for her, in between the dreams he’d had the night before, as soon as they were alone.Rick checked his watch. 1:47.
“Have you had lunch yet Sah?” he inquired, “It’s almost 2:00.”
“Im not really very hungry, but I do need to use the bathroom. Be right back.” She said walking past Joseph out the door.
“You want me out too?” Joseph asked him.
“Nah, its cool. Just give me a beat won’t you?”
“Sure thing.” Rick watched as Joseph fumbled through his bag, retrieving a pair of drumsticks, and began to tap out a beat on the end of Alyssa’s bed.
“Where’d you get those from?”
“Stole them from Drew.” Joseph said with a cheeky grin, continuing the rhythm.
“Im starting now.” And then Rick sang,
“My heart is in my throat,
I’ll swallow it down,
To let my feelings go.
Angels hold you in your dreams,
But when you wake,
Don’t forget about me.
Like a drug coursing through my veins.
Without you my world just wont be the same.
Incomplete when you’re not here,
We miss you.”
“Guitar solo!” Cried Joseph, throwing down the sticks, he jumped onto his chair, strumming his air guitar.
“You suck,” Rick told him, “Drew is so much better on drums.”
“What do you expect?” Joseph challenged, “I play the ukulele!”
“Don’t you mean guitar, Joey?” Shanae asked as she shut the door behind her.
“Yeah that’s the one.”
“How often were you dropped on your head as a child Joseph?” Rick asked him, laughing.
“Well, there was this one time, I was on the swing, and my cousin dared me to jump off into the sandpit. I never made it that far, ended up with five stitches under my chin.” Joseph admitted. Rick’s Sidekick went off in his pocket.
“Sorry guys, Peter’s calling.” He said excusing him self from the room.

“Hey Peter, what’s up?” came Rick’s voice from the other side of the line. After the episode he’d had back at the studio, Peter had driven to the only safe place he could find.
“I kinda got into some trouble back at the studio.”
“So where the hell are you now? Not in a station I hope Peter. What the fuck have you done?”
“I beat up security, I threw the guy through a wall. I’m at the old train station we used to play in as kids. I didn’t know where else to go that nobody would know about.” Peter leant his head forward onto the steering wheel and sighed. “We’re supposed to go in for our appointment tomorrow. What if they recognize me?”
“Did the guy see your face?”
“I had my hood up, but its not like I was wearing a balaclava. If it came to a line up, the guy would definitely pick me out.”
“Does he know your name?”
“No, he was the only person I spoke to, and I didn’t say my name.” Peter frowned, “Stupid, stupid! I didn’t even have a good reason, I was the one trespassing and he was just trying to do his job.”
“Then nobody will be after you, if they don’t know who you are. Fuck me Peterpan, next you’ll be robbing the jewelry store and telling them to make you some grillz.”
Peter laughed.
“You have no idea how incredibly wrong you just sounded Rick.” He said reclining in his seat. “Your house have any food? I’m out. I’m thinking I might add ‘Petty Thief’ to my resume.” Peter joked. “It’ll look good right next to ‘All-Round-Trouble-Maker’ don’t you think?”
“Haha, very funny. Just come home, if you’re seriously scared you can stay at mine. I’m pretty sure I have some of those jelly babies left.”
Peter turned the keys in the ignition and backed his car out from behind the trees and back onto the main road.
“Now that’s an offer I can’t refuse.” He told Rick. Peter fiddled with the switches on the dashboard and;
“On the drive home,
You joke about the kid you used to see,
and his jealousy.
Breaking hearts has never looked so cool,
As when you wrapped your car around a tree,
Your make-up looked so great next to his teeth.” blared from the radio. Peter laughed nervously, here he was on the drive home, breaking hearts, hoping like hell that his car wouldn’t wrap itself around anything like the song predicted.

“What was that about?” Shanae asked, lifting her head from the gurney.
“Uh, Peter ran into a little trouble. He’s fine now.” Shanae frowned into Alyssa’s sheets.
“Not again.” She sighed, restlessly.