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Fandom The Lost Kids


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    It was weird. Even though Belle was quite unconscious, a part of her was aware of everything around her. Natalie’s desperate pleading, Cody calling 911… Damn, did she ruin the party? Maybe she should have waited until Pete and Wendy began fighting, and—

    Oh, what was the use anymore?

    In her unconscious state, Belle realized that she couldn’t keep hoping that Pete would someday magically fall in love with her. That only happened in the movies. And if there was anything Belle had learned by now, it was that life was nothing like the movies, no matter how hard you wished for it.

    Then she heard a voice breaking through the dark. It was warm and reassuring, just like the hand that was now resting over hers. Caleb? It had to be. Had she had the ability, she would have smiled. Caleb was always there for her whenever her heart was breaking over Pete, and now he was here for her when life proved to be just a bit too much to handle. He was the calming force in the tumultuous household. She drifted further into darkness, but not before she murmured, “Caleb…”

    By the time Belle woke up, she was in a hospital bed and very, very tired. A doctor hovering over her smiled gently. “Glad to see you’re awake.”

    “What happened to me?” she croaked. Her voice was hoarse, probably from a mixture of yelling followed by intense disuse.

    The doctor explained, “You have high levels of stress, I’m afraid. That caused your body to overwhelm itself, thereby causing your fainting. But you’ll be fine. However, you will have to make sure whatever caused your stress doesn’t worry you so much.”

    So what you’re saying is, Pete is the root cause of it all? Belle thought ruefully. How many people would Pete ruin before he was through? How many lives would he shatter just so he could do whatever he wanted?

    Closing her eyes, Belle made a decision. If I ever see Pete again, I won’t let any feelings for him get in the way. It never would’ve worked out. He’s too much of a ticking time bomb.
    ​
 
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CALEB;

Their time spent in the hospital was just pure torture. Caleb constantly hounded the nurses and staff to find out anything at all that he could about Belle's condition or, preferrably, let him be with her; and when he wasn't doing that, he was pacing the waiting room or rocking back and forth like a scared child. Natalie brought him a sandwich and coffee in case he was hungry, but he couldn't eat at a time like this. He would just throw up. When Pete tried to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, Caleb winced and shoved it away like it was a demon on his back. "This is all your fault," he gritted through his teeth.

"Caleb---" Natalie said, growing concerned for her boyfriend's brother.

"If it weren't for you, Pete, none of this would have ever happened!"

People in the waiting room took notice of Caleb's growing anger, but that didn't stop him either. Pete didn't say anything. He couldn't. All he could do was wear that hurt look on his face, the one that was full of guilt. Caleb was 100% right and Pete knew it. The only thing he didn't know was that it wasn't about the crazy party and the pudding. It was everything. It was Pete's selfishness, it was the cruel way he used girls and spit them out. It was the way he made Belle the center of his world…until another hot girl walked by and she was invisible again. "Excuse me," a security guard said, interrupting. "Is everything alright?" What he really meant behind those words was "I don't care if anything is alright or not, you just better shut the hell up before I call the cops on your adolescent ass."

"Everything's fine, sir," Natalie lied with a polite smile before turning to Caleb and saying, "You know what, why don't we just take a walk----"

"Just leave me alone, Nat. Okay? Just leave me alone."

Caleb didn't mean to be such an asshole, in fact he never was like this, but Nat did her best to hide any hurt feelings. She simply just looked at Cody, as if he had the answers but nobody could help Caleb right now. If Belle wasn't fine, he wasn't fine. She was the only one who could console him. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and he jumped up from his seat and refused to take no for an answer. "Let me see her," he told Belle's nurse when he saw her passing by. This had to be the 150th time he had begged the nurse to let him in. She sighed and didn't hide her annoyed expression.

"Sir, I already told you. I'm afraid I can't---"

"Let. Me. See. Her." He seethed, tears forming in his eyes. "Please."

****

Caleb had been asleep in the chair next to Belle when she woke up.

"This young man put up one hell of a fight to stay with you," the doctor told Belle, chuckling. "You must be very special to him."

"Special to him?" Belle's nurse said. "Ha. That's an understatement, doctor. He was about to practically break down any door he'd have to just to get to her." Turning to Caleb, the nurse shook him awake. "Hey, your girlfriend's awake." She looked at Belle. "He really loves you, ya know." The nurse turned around to leave then but not without muttering something about teenagers and their crazy emotions. Caleb paid no attention to her, though.

"Belle!" He cried, his heart practically leaping out of his chest as he jumped up to hug her. "Belle, you're okay. Oh my God. You're okay…" he said, laughing and shaking and crying. He had had feelings for Belle for a long time, but it wasn't until that day that Caleb realized how much he cared about her. He didn't know it then, but the nurse was right. He did love her. So much. And the fact that Pete didn't amazed Caleb. He had the most incredible girl by his side and didn't appreciate her and for that, he pitied the guy. Yet at the same time, he was kind of happy that Pete was too stupid to see what he had in Belle and only hoped that maybe, just maybe Belle could love him the way she had loved Pete. Would she keep pining for the rockstar who never noticed her or finally give Caleb a chance to show her what life could be like if she gave her heart to another lost boy who had already given her his?


NATALIE;

Thank goodness for Cody or Natalie wouldn't have known how the hell she would have been able to stay sane through out all of this. As much as the woman seemed to have it together---the maternal figure of the group who always somehow had comforting words of encouragement and a solution to every problem imagineable---she had nothing right now. Even Caleb didn't want her help, and as much as his words stung, she honestly couldn't blame him for pushing her away at a time like this. Noticing her pain, Cody placed his hand over hers and squeezed. “She’ll be fine. She’s stronger than she looks.”

As strong as Natalie herself tried to be, she couldn't help it. Tears fell down her cheek, but she nodded and gave Cody a small smile and squeezed his hand, too. At least Caleb had somehow managed to get himself into her the room with her. Belle wasn't alone. Nat had a feeling that with Caleb, she'd never be.

When Belle's nurse came out with the good news that Belle was awake, Nat let out a sigh of relief and hugged Cody. Pete was eager to see her, but the nurse didn't let that happen. She needed some peace and quiet right now, and Cody made sure that Pete understood that loud and clear. Natalie gave Wendy an apologetic smile. As horrible as Pete could be, he was still Wendy's boyfriend and Natalie sympathized with the hurt and humiliation she could see on Wendy's face.

Another hour went by and Wendy had fallen asleep on Pete's shoulder as the four of them continued to sit in the waiting room. Natalie handed Pete some money for a taxi. "Take her home."

"But Belle---" Pete tried to say, but Nat wouldn't hear it.

"Cody and I will handle it from here."

So Pete and Wendy left, and it was just Natalie and Cody until early morning arrived and they were allowed to see Belle. Caleb was right there with her.

"I know this is like, the millionth time I've said this today, but I'm so glad you're okay," he told her, wrapping his arms around her. He was gentle with her, careful not to hurt her in her fragile state; but he held her close to him, not letting go for the longest time. There was something sweetly intimate about the moment, private. Natalie looked up at Cody and smiled, wondering if they should come back later. The doctor cleared his throat, announcing their presence. Blushing, Caleb pulled away and grinned when he saw Cody and Natalie. Natalie grinned back and ran to Belle, hugging her best friend. Her sister.

The doctor said that Belle would need time recover fully and advised her to stay home, in bed possibly, for the next few days. When he asked who could care for her, Caleb wasted to time in volunteering. He beat Natalie to it. Even though she tried to convince him that she could watch Belle, she knew Caleb would not let Belle out of his sight. Nor would he let Pete be near her. When they got home, he carried Belle up the stairs and got to work on making breakfast for her. "I think Caleb really likes Belle," Natalie told Cody, smiling at the possibility of a blossoming romance between the two friends. With Caleb busy caring for Belle and everyone else at work or school---or in Pete and Wendy's case, job hunting---Cody and Natalie were finally able to be alone. She had to think twice about it, but trusting that Belle would be fine being left with Caleb, Natalie asked Cody, "Why don't we give those two some space and get out of here?" Leaning her forehead against Cody's and brushing her lips against his, she added, "and maybe we should get some alone time together. I think I need to reward you for being my hero last night."

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    Belle had been far too busy musing about her new anti-Pete resolve to notice Caleb. But once she did, and once she registered the doctor’s and nurse’s words regarding how exactly he’d come to be next to her, she blushed furiously. Caleb? Love her? That was ridiculous.

    Then Caleb was awake and hugging her. Uncharacteristically, she started crying, too, her arms wrapping around Caleb. “Sorry I worried you, Caleb. I’m so, so sorry.” She would probably never voice it, but it meant the world to her that he had fought so hard to be here. When the hell would Pete ever do that for her? She was invisible to him as far as he was concerned.

    By the time Cody and Natalie were allowed into her room, Caleb was expressing his relief for the millionth time. Belle exhaustedly rested her head on, his shoulder, taking comfort in the feel of his arms around her. Once upon a time, she would’ve wished for Pete’s arms, but not anymore. It was about time she stopped pining after him like some heartsick puppy.

    Natalie hugged her, too, and the doctor finally let her go home. According to Natalie, Pete and Wendy had already gone home (thank God), and Lily hadn’t come in the first place. Cody had left her in charge of the house. So she wouldn’t have to deal with her two least favorite members of the household at the moment.

    Caleb carried her upstairs when they got home, despite Belle insisting that she could walk. But as soon as he set her down on her bed, she realized she really didn’t want to get up right now. Damn, she should probably call into work and let them know she wouldn’t be there… Eh, maybe later.

    Right now, sleep.

    Of course, she couldn’t sleep, not after nearly a whole night of it. So when Caleb came back with breakfast for her, Belle looked up at him and said, “I’ve decided to give up on Pete.” With a sigh, she added, “I can’t keep playing this game with him. I was losing my mind, thinking he would ever look at me as something other than his best friend.”

    With a single tear sliding down her cheek, she murmured, “I’ve been in love with him for long I don’t know how to move on.”
    ​


 
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Caleb knew he shouldn't have been so happy to hear that Belle was done with Pete. Her dreams of being with him had been shattered; her heart, left broken and bleeding. As Belle's friend, Caleb's responsibility was to be there for her and to comfort her. This was not the time to see this as his way into that broken heart. The single tear sliding down her cheek made him tear up. Seeing Belle in pain killed him, and Caleb couldn't resist the impluse to grab onto her hand and squeeze it comfortingly.

"He's a fool," Caleb told her, softly, rubbing his thumb against the top of her hand. No, this was not a way into her broken heart, but he could pick up the broken pieces off of the floor that Pete left and put them back together. Caleb could bring her back home again if she wanted him to. He knew how it felt to love someone so much yet be invisible to them.

“I’ve been in love with him for long I don’t know how to move on.”

Caleb winced, knowing all too well what that feeling was like. Move on with me, Caleb wanted to say. You and I don't have to be invisible anymore. I could make you happy. God, I could make you so happy.

Instead, Caleb swallowed the words down and gave Belle a sad smile. "You'll move on, Belle. I promise. Okay? You'll be happy again. Someday, someone will love you the way he never could. The way you deserve. Just give it time...just give it time…" And then, he picked up the bowl of Cheerios from the tray that was sitting on Belle's nightstand and offered her a spoonful. Maybe this was the time to tell Belle how he really felt. He wanted to give her more time but she needed to at least know. Hell, the nurse at the hospital could even see how Caleb felt about Belle! He sighed and after a few more seconds of debating, Caleb finally gave in. "Belle, I need to tell you something…"

There was a knock on the door. Fuck. Of course. Of course there was a fucking knock on the fucking door out of all the times in the world for there to be. He had a feeling he knew who it was. Dammit.

"Everything's fine, Nat. Thanks!" Caleb called out. He told her he had this, but knowing Natalie, she needed to be the one to take care of things and play mom. She was great to have around especially when one of the bandmates had a cold, if a fight needed to be stopped or if you needed someone to talk to and cry with; but then sometimes she was straight up annoying and overbearing. Basically like a real mom, actually. She was more of a mom to any of them than their real moms to say the truth.

"It's not Nat," a familiar voice said, and indeed, it was definitely not Natalie's. "It's me. Pete."

---
Natalie raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend when he told her about Caleb's secret affection for Belle. How could she not have seen it…? "Of course," she whispered softly as she thought about it. This was Caleb, after all. The shy one who tended to hide and supress his feelings even if it killed him.

Man, all this teenage angst. She really needed to get away from it all.

“Where do you wanna go? This hero doesn’t care so long as it’s with you.” Cody said, giving her another kiss that she gladly returned. She smiled and took his hand. They left in her car, missing Pete and Wendy by only a couple of minutes.

Having to go to a motel just so they could get a few hours alone was tough and honestly kind of sad, but it was something Natalie knew they needed to do. Why did they have to? Because they had something special, something she didn't want to be ruined by drama and gossip over their age difference and work relationship.

But, if Natalie was being honest, it was also because part of her was also a little ashamed. Cody was too young for her. Just a kid. Nineteen years old. She was almost thirty, and even though he didn't care one bit, she did. Somehow, it felt like she was doing something wrong especially since their relationship was supposed to be stricly business. Then again, none of her relationships with any of the band members were strictly business were they? They were more family than anything.

And maybe that's where the shame came from. The fact that her family of fellow lost kids trusted her and doing something like this, like being with Cody, would be crossing too many boundaries. She was the big sister. The best friend. Not someone to sleep with. Not girlfriend material. That would be too much like dating your teacher. Cringe worthy.

That still didn't stop her from paying half of the money for the room even though the owner gave her and Cody a judgmental look, and it didn't stop her from sleeping with Cody that morning no matter how guilty she felt about it. He deserved so much better than this. Afterwards, she got a phone call from Lily.

"Hey, where are you Nat?"

Nat bit her lip. "I, uh…went to do some errands."

"Where's Cody?"

Nat paused. "He's…helping me."

She felt stupid immediately after saying that but what else could she say? We're hooking up?

After asking about Belle and being assured everything was fine, Nat hung up, got dressed and finally looked up at Cody to see how he'd react to her little lie.

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    Caleb’s hand was warm. This thought distracted Belle more than she thought it would. She gave him a wan smile as he attempted to reassure her with the cliché promise that she’d find someone who truly loves her. Her cheeks turned a distinctive shade of pink as she remembered the nurse in the hospital saying something about Caleb loving her. But that was ridiculous…right?

    She wanted to protest him spoon feeding her like some sort of critically ill invalid, but she supposed she’d indulge him…for now. Leaning forward, she opened her mouth and closed it around the spoon, munching on the Cheerios. Her mouth was still full as Caleb tried to tell her something. “Whab isb it?” Realizing her folly, she swallowed the Cheerios and asked again, “What is it?”

    But before he could answer, there was a knock at the door. Caleb looked strangely pissed off about this, and Belle bit her lip to keep from giggling. He looked kinda funny when he was angry…

    Like him, Belle had been fully convinced Natalie was checking on her, mom friend that she was. But then Pete opened the door and came in, and Belle felt time stop. A part of her still remembered how it had felt, watching him come into a room, back when she still had feelings for him.

    And then she remembered herself.

    Scrambling back as far from him as she could get, Belle pressed herself into a corner. “What the hell do you want, Pete? Haven’t you done enough? You’ve got a girlfriend to make goo-goo eyes at and an ex to piss off, don’t you?” she spat, her heart aching with residual hurt from her recent heartbreak. She didn’t want him here. She didn’t want to see him.

    Why was he here?

    “So I have to be committed to a fucking hospital before you remember I exist? Before you look up from your latest hookup and realize you still have a best friend? I’m not even sure I want to be that anymore, anyway. I’ve spent too much time crying over you to deal with your sorry excuses and shitty apologies. How about you go do something useful and go replace the pudding those idiots ate last night?” Belle pointed out the door, her eyes spitting fire.

    Pete hesitated, but after seeing her expression, he quickly retreated.

    Belle crumpled into herself, bringing her knees up to her chest and letting out a few shuddering breaths. Her heart was pounding so fast she thought she’d pass out again. She managed to choke out to Caleb, “I’m sorry… I don’t know where…that came from…”
    ​


 
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Caleb was ready to tell Pete to back the fuck off and go straight to hell where he belonged, but Belle beat him to it. In fact, she needed no help in this one. It was all her, giving Pete a piece or two of her mind. For a second he wondered who this girl was and what had she done to the real Belle but nope, this was the real Belle. The only difference had been that this Belle had woken up from the fairytale dream she had about the boy who never grows up and wasn't putting up with his shit anymore.

Caleb stood by her side through the whole thing and it didn't take long before Belle sent Pete off with sorrowness and shame. To see his old friend that way truly saddened Caleb, but at the same time, his sympathy only went so far. At the end of the day, he was on Belle's side on this one and always would be no question about it. Everyone was. It just was a no-brainer.

Seeing Belle so stressed out like this made Caleb worry more. He rubbed her back and tried to calm her down by reminding her that everything would be fine. Yes, everything would be just fine. "Shhh, shhh," he said, when she started apologizing for her sudden outburst. "It's okay. Don't apologize. No one can blame you for how you're feeling." Her behavior was only normal, after all; and Belle, as amazing as she was, was only human too.

Caleb continued to feed and care for her, but after about an hour, his lack of sleep started to catch up on him and he found himself dozing off. It started with him simply "resting his eyes" since they were feeling so heavy, and then before he knew it his chin would be on his chest, or worse, his head would be tilted back and he'd be snoring before he jolted himself awake again.

"Would you like some help?" Wendy asked, poking her head in before letting herself into Belle's room. She had an embarrassed and guilty look on her face.

"It's okay, Wendy. I got this." Caleb tried to assure her, but his eyes were still halfway closed and he had drool running down his mouth. Gross.

"Are you sure?" Wendy asked, doubting this. "You look so tired, and I was thinking, well...maybe I could take over for you."

Caleb was about to protest, but she wasn't finished.

"I'm quite good with taking care of others," Wendy said, in that heavy British accent that reminded him so much of Natalie's accent before she started picking up on the American dialect and blending it with the British. "I have two younger brothers, so I'm used to it."

Caleb hesistated, but if he was going to care for Belle, he needed to sleep. He looked at Belle and then at Wendy and said, "Alright, but I'll be sleeping in here," before grabbing an extra pillow and blanket and heading to the pink velvet sofa Natalie had given Belle for her birthday last year. Within minutes, he was asleep and only woke up because his stomach begged him to. He needed a snack and went downstairs to get something. The pudding mess from the night before was still there on the kitchen floor, a reminder of what had happened less than twenty four hours ago. Caleb sighed.

And then he got an idea.

Twenty minutes later, he came back from the store and ran up the stairs with the packs of pudding cups in his paper bag. He didn't even notice that Lily was home and that Natalie and Cody weren't.

"Belle, I got you a surprise," he started to say, but after he opened the door, he saw that Wendy was gone and now Pete was in there.

With pudding cups.

She was going to fall back in love with him all over again; he knew it. God, why had he even thought he had a chance? As if any guy stood a chance when it came to having Pete as their competition. He could be happily married with kids and Belle would still love him and be loyal to him, wouldn't she? He tightened his jaw and shook his head, chuckling bitterly.

He and Belle were never going to happen. The nice guy never won, no matter how much he tried, because as much as girls claimed they just wanted a guy who "treated them right", they'd always go back to the asshole who treated them like shit. The guy who slept with you right before he turned around and slept with the next girl in his phonebook. The guy who'd cheat on you with your best friend or your sister or even both of them at the same time. The guy who'd drive you so crazy he'd end up sending you to the hospital.

Well, if that's what Belle wanted, she could have that.

No. What was he thinking? He didn't even know how Belle was feeling or thinking and yet here he was judging the girl who was way smarter than most people gave her credit for. It's just that he was jealous. Caleb was jealous that Pete had come up with the pudding idea before him. He was jealous that Belle loved Pete and not him.

"I, uh, brought you pudding," he finally announced with a shy smile directed at Belle before offering Pete his "fuck you" face.

Natalie;

After spending a few hours of pure bliss together, it all came crashing down. There was an excitement and a certain high that came with sneaking off to motels for secret hookups but after a while it must have gotten old for poor Cody and Natalie honestly couldn't blame him. He wanted to be her boyfriend, damn it; not just some lovesick boy who followed her around like a loyal puppy, a boy who hung out in her bed.

He is my boyfriend, Natalie told herself, before another part of her had to remind herself, Yeah, but how much of a boyfriend can he be if nobody knows about your relationship but you two?

The lies were getting to be too much. Hurting him was getting to be too much.

She could sense his frustration. The clenched fists. The tightened jaw. His back to her, refusing to face her. But most of all, Natalie knew something was wrong when he hadn't pulled her back down to him so they could hold each other and cuddle and kiss like they always did after they did this kind of thing.

"Cody," Nat said, reaching out to touch his back but stopping when she heard in his voice how upset he was.

"Nat, why do you stay with me if you’re ashamed of me?” Looking over his shoulder at her, he added, “You have no idea how much it hurts to love someone who can’t even admit she’s with you.”

Natalie gasped. She opened her mouth to say something, anything; but all she could do was look down at the stained carpet of this shitty motel room she had brought him to.

Cody pulled on a shirt and went over to her. The last thing she expected was for him to put his arm around her waist and she was grateful for it. Maybe Cody wasn't so upset after all. Maybe he was fine. But she didn't like the look in his eyes when he told her, “If you really love me, Nat, why can’t you tell them the truth?”

Then he left.

And Natalie sat on the bed and started to sob. She had to do something and fast, or she was going to lose him. Possibly forever.

She immediately grabbed her keys and left the motel. It took her a while to find him, but eventually she was able to make out Cody walking in the distance and parked her car on the curbside---not even checking any parking signs or anything of the sort---before jumping out of the driver's seat and running towards him with tears in her eyes.

"Cody, wait!" She begged him. "Please. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."

She took in a deep breath to stop herself from the hiccups that took over as she sobbed and continued, "I'm not ashamed of you. Not you. Never would I be ashamed of you. It's me I'm ashamed of---because---because people would talk and I know you don't give a shit about that but Cody they'd have a good reason to. I'm the band's manager---your manager---and I'm supposed to take the responsibility of keeping that relationship strictly business but I failed at that when I started sleeping with you."

Her voice shaking, she added, "And maybe that doesn't matter so much as the fact that you're nineteen and I'm about to be thirty and how I feel like I'm doing something wrong by loving you. Because I love you, Cody. I love you so damn much it hurts, and the rest of the world wouldn't be able to understand it. I don't even know if our friends would be able to understand it. Being with you is the most wonderful dream come true in the world but it also feels like I'm betraying everyone's trust. I have my responsibilites. I have a band to manage, and a household of teenagers to take care of and being in love with you seems like this beautiful gift that I'm not allowed to have. This wasn't supposed to happen. I thought we were going to just be a one night thing, but then you kept coming back to me and I wanted you to come back. And then I thought we were just friends with benefits but then you started writing me love notes and leaving flowers in my room, and I started keeping them. You started falling in love with me Cody and I started falling in love with you. But I'm afraid that people won't be able to understand this love. Not the fans. Not our families. Not even our friends. And why should they? We broke all the rules. I broke all the rules."

Her whole body shaking now, Natalie leaned her forehead against his and said, "But don't you dare ever think that you're the problem. I am. But I don't want to lose you, Cody. I just don't know how to tell them without being afraid of everyone throwing stones at me for loving you."



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    What was it about Caleb that made Belle feel better when everything else made her feel like shit? His hand on her back centered her, and she felt all the sour bitterness draining out of her as he continued to take care of her. Yet again, she found herself wanting to protest his nurse act, but at the same time…it felt nice. It felt nice to have someone besides Natalie caring about her, to not wish that Pete would look her in the eye for once in her life.

    It felt nice to have someone care.

    But oh man, Caleb was clearly exhausted. He’d been asleep when Belle had woken up, but other than that short nap, he probably hadn’t slept at all. Belle bit her lip, wanting to tell him to go get some sleep, but she didn’t. It wasn’t until Wendy came in that she wished she had. When Caleb looked at her, she widened her eyes, trying to convey that she really didn’t want to have to deal with Wendy right now. Who knew what bitchy thing she’d say to Wendy if she wasn’t careful?

    Instead, he grabbed a pillow and blanket and fell asleep on the sofa, virtually leaving her alone with Wendy, Pete’s current girlfriend. Belle stared at her hands, fisted into her blanket. In reality, she didn’t really hate Wendy all that much—she had just been jealous of her and Pete. But now that she didn’t want to be in love with Pete anymore…there was really nothing to hate Wendy for. Still, a part of her was annoyed that she was here. Why the hell would she care? She’d barely been here for more than twenty-four hours.

    Wendy mostly stayed out of her way, probably sensing, as girls tend to, that she needed space. She brought her some more food and brought a glass of water. Unlike Caleb, she didn’t try to spoon feed Belle, which made Belle sort of miss Caleb babying her all of a sudden. She feigned fatigue and watched as Wendy left, turning off the lights as she went. Belle blinked in Caleb’s direction, willing him to wake up. All of a sudden, she felt very alone.

    It wasn’t a nice feeling.

    Belle rolled over and tried to sleep, but any sleep she got came in snatches of perhaps ten to fifteen minutes, and by the time she was fully awake, she realized that Caleb was getting up and leaving the room. For a moment, she considered calling out to him, but instead, she closed her eyes again. When she came to again, someone was knocking on the door. “Caleb?” she called, but she was wrong.

    Pete.

    And he’d brought pudding.

    Well, at least he’d done what she’d asked. But why the hell did he think coming back to her with puppy-dog eyes and bag of pudding was going to make any of this better? He’d made her feel so bad she’d ended up in the hospital. Couldn’t he see that she needed space before she could even stand looking at his face without crying? The situation became worse when Caleb came in, also with pudding. Belle’s heart constricted when she saw the look on his face. There was some sort of bitterness there, as if he was facing a harsh reality. Maybe what that nurse had said about his feelings about her had some merit.

    God, the guilt hurt.

    Belle threw off her blanket and stood up, swaying a bit on her feet. She put her hands on Pete’s chest and pushed him back. “Thank you, Pete. You can go ahead and put that in the fridge. And while you’re at it, how about you clean up the mess from last night? I’m assuming it’s still there, and since it was your party, you should probably clean it yourself instead of making Natalie do it later.”

    Pete looked like he wanted to protest, but Belle looked up at him. “I need space, you idiot. Coming back every five minutes isn’t going to make me any less angry.”

    When he was gone, Belle shut the door and finally fell to her knees. She’d overestimated her ability to walk so soon after being in a bed for half a day. And yet, the tight feeling in her chest wasn’t going away. Something in her had panicked when Caleb came into the room, only to find Pete in there, too. Maybe it was the look on his face, the resentful acceptance of something he thought he understood.

    He’d thought she was going to fall in love with Pete again.

    Struggling to her feet, she stumbled over to Caleb and grabbed his shirt. “I meant what I said…about giving up on him. Did you think I was lying?” Lifting her head, she stared into his eyes. “If you don’t believe me, how can I believe in myself to get over him? Am I really that predictable when it comes to Pete?”

    Her grip on Caleb’s shirt loosened as she lowered her head. If Caleb of all people didn’t think she could get over Pete, then what chance did she have?
    ​


 
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Well shit, Caleb wasn't really sure what to expect. Actually, if he truly thought about it, he knew what he was expecting, but it wasn't this. He thought maybe Belle's frozen heart would be thawed and she'd accept Pete's version of a peace offering gladly because he's Pete and it's pudding and this is Belle we were talking about here. Belle could stay mad at anyone, but not Pete, right?

Wrong.

Pete was probably expecting the same thing Caleb was. Betting on Belle being foolish enough to let her emotions cloud the truth and take over everything. Forcing her to make choices she'd soon regret.

Both of the young men had underestimated her.

Caleb rushed to Belle's side to help her as she got up from the bed. She was stronger than she seemed, but just in case, Caleb wanted to be next to her in case she got too weak to stand. She was swaying, after all, and getting too upset could cause her to lose balance and hurt herself. She was too busy pushing Pete away, and Pete had a face that was a mixture of hurt, confusion---and this time, something new---anger. If Caleb hadn't been there, he was sure Pete would not have left without putting up a fight and this would have ended ugly.

When Pete left, Caleb sighed in relief; he was thankful that he at least got here in time before any shit could go down thanks to Pete and his inability or just straight up refusal to understand words like "I need my space" and "Leave me alone". Whether it was a smokin' girl at the bar or the very best friend he'd ever had, Pete did not know how to take a no from someone. Whatever Pete wanted, whether it was money, success, girls---or, in this case--- forgiveness, he got it even if it meant demanding it. Even if it meant hurting others.

Caleb refused to stand by and take any more of it, especially when Belle was involved.

When Belle lost all strength she had, Caleb helped her up and carried her back to the bed. He gasped when she grabbed her shirt, surprised and somewhat scared to see how much this all affected her. "I believe you," Caleb told Belle, and after what he saw, he did. He really did. He thought about her last question and had to answer it honestly, though. Was she all that predictable when it came to Pete? "Yes, but so would anybody be if they had to walk in your shoes. You've been through a lot with him and no can blame you."

It hurt to say the next thing but he said it anyway. "I can't blame you."

He didn't end with that, however. "That's gonna take some time, too, Belle," he said, grabbing onto the pudding Pete had left behind. "There will be tons of temptation, but you'll pull through. I'll make sure of it." Not only hadn't he bothered to put the pack of pudding in the fridge, but Pete didn't even get Belle's favorite brand; he got a 99 cent knockoff version. The kind that tasted old and stale, like it had been sitting on the shelf for months because it probably had been.

"Fucking moron," Caleb muttered to himself, but then he remembered the pudding he himself had bought and smiled. He pulled the box out of his backpack and said, "Got your favorite," before handing her a cup and getting one for himself. "Maybe we can watch some Netflix or something? You pick." Caleb suggested and then went downstairs to put the puddings in the fridge and get some spoons and popcorn. When he was in the kitchen, he greeted Lily who was sitting on the island with her textbooks and laptop and Wendy who'd been filling out job applications. Pete was cleaning the pudding mess from the night before surprisingly enough so maybe he wasn't all that hopeless after all. Caleb also saw Cody and Natalie pulling into the driveway. Huh. He hadn't even known they had left, but he didn't question it and instead went back up to Belle once he got what he wanted.

---

Natalie wished that she had never agreed to Cody's idea, because just when things couldn't get uglier---just when she thought that things could not possibly get worse, they did. Big time.

There was no way of escaping this, however, and all the consequences that came with revealing their secret, whether they did it her way or not; but Cody had promised to be by her side and take all the stones they threw at her and she would do the same for him. They were in this together.

The first thing Natalie noticed when she got to the house was Pete cleaning. That was always her job and she had expected (and secretly hoped) that she could get to it and use it as a way to avoid the confession she'd soon have to make. Shit, there must have been a lot that went down while she and Cody were back at the motel for him to be scrubbing the floor on all fours Cinderella style like Natalie always did after every single house party of his.

“Nat and I have something to tell you all.”

Lily and Wendy both looked up at Nat and Cody just then. Pete stopped scrubbing and stood up, prepared for anything. Cody was leaving the band? Natalie was moving out? The fear in Natalie's eyes, the way she played with the cuff of her sweater, alerted him to the fact that whatever it was it was important and huge news.

Please forgive me, Nat thought before she finally had to say what she'd been holding back for so long.

"Cody and I are together," she said, but it sounded more like, "CodyandIaretogether," since she rushed all her words. Pete had understood what she had said though. Arms crossed and eyebrows raised, he replied, "Together?"

Nat nodded.

Now Lily was the one raising an eyebrow. "You mean, together as in...?"

"As in we're a couple."

Just as Natalie knew he would, Pete fucking lost it.

"How long has thing been going on for? How did this start happening? How did you guys keep this a secret for so long? What the fuck, Natalie???"

Pete had so many questions and Natalie couldn't possibly answer them fast enough.

"Pete, please try to understand---I never meant to betray your trust like this---" Nat said, sobbing.

"Bullshit!" Pete shouted at her. "You're sleeping with my best friend! You just crossed the fucking line, Nat. There's boundaries and you went over them."

"Boundaries?" Lily snapped. "Since when are there any boundaries in this house? You make her clean up after all your shit and she's the one who keeps any peace that exists in this damn place. If not for her, this band probably would have broken up already---"

"Not now, Lily---" Pete said, breathing heavily with contained rage.

"The first time you met Nat, you tried to sleep with her yourself and continued to do so for months after she moved in here."

"Shut up!" Pete cried, pushing Lily against the wall.

Wendy gasped, and Natalie ran to Lily's side to make sure she was okay. She was, thank God.

"Don't talk to her like that," Nat said, finding the courage to speak up. "And don't you dare touch her again---"

"None of this would be happening if you weren't such a whore and went to bed with guys your own age," Pete responded. "What are you gonna do when Caleb finds out? How ya think he's gonna like it when he hears you've been fooling around with his brother like some cheap groupie?"

There was a long silence.

"Like you're so perfect asshole," Natalie hit back calmly, new tears forming in her eyes. "Like you don't sleep with the groupies yourself, whether you're single or not. At least I'd never cheat on Cody."

Nat had officially started a fire and now the forrest was burning.

"Alright, that's it," Pete said, grabbing Natalie by the wrist and pulling her up the stairs. Natalie sobbed and begged him to let her go.

"No, Pete! No! Stop it, you're hurting me!"

"Pete! Stop!" Wendy screamed.

Pete opened the door to Belle's room and pushed a crying Natalie to the floor like she was some piece of shit.

"What's going on?" Caleb asked, jumping up from the bed. He'd been sitting by Belle's side, laughing with her just seconds ago.

"Go ahead," Pete said to Nat. "Tell him how you've been hooking up with Cody behind all of our backs."

"What?" Caleb said, before looking up at his brother. "Cody, is this true?"
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    Recalling the expression on Pete’s face made Belle wince. If he’d thought losing his temper at her was going to make her come around, he should’ve known better. How long had they known each other? And how many times had that approach worked out whenever they were fighting. Hint: Never.

    God, was she glad she was moving on now. He was too toxic for her to handle. For a moment, she hoped that Wendy would be a good influence on him. She at least knew when to give people space. If that rubbed off on Pete, many hearts would be left unbroken. And Belle wouldn’t have to deal with as much shit from him anymore. But life wasn’t a fairy tale, so it was highly doubtful he’d ever change.

    Something like Pete couldn’t be fixed.

    But the weight on Belle’s heart lessened finally when Caleb told her he believed her. (Part of that may have been that he’d carried her back to her bed, which was very, very soft.) That reassurance, of course, came with the cold, hard truth: she was extremely predictable when it came to Pete. She’d already known this, of course. In a way, it helped that he’d slapped her in the face with the truth.

    The verbal slap was followed by more kind words, and Belle mustered a smile amidst her heavy feelings of sadness. She hugged one of her pillows to her chest and smiled up at him. “I really don’t deserve a friend like you, Caleb.”

    She noticed the pudding Pete had brought on the floor. Her nose wrinkled when she realized it was a cheap brand from a dollar store. If Pete wanted to make up to her, why the hell couldn’t he actually make an effort with her favorite snack? So when Caleb handed her a cup of pudding from her favorite brand, she licked her lips and gulped it down in less than a minute with one of the spoons from her stash.

    As soon as Caleb suggested they watch Netflix, she pounced on her remote and turned on the TV. Right now, she was feeling The 100, mostly because Bellamy was hawt, and mostly because she could take out her anger on how stupid most of the characters were. Except Monty. He was a god among mortals. But anyway.

    Caleb came back, and Belle scooched over to make room for him. Her bed wasn’t tiny, but considering Caleb was a grown boy, he took up a lot of space. Either that or she was tiny… Nah, it was probably Caleb’s fault. She didn’t mind too much in any case.

    They were having a grand old time, too. Caleb managed to make Belle laugh for the first time in—what, twenty-four hours? It was like some sort of too-good-to-be-true dream. If only things could stay like this. Buuuuuut of course they couldn’t. Not while Pete still lived in this house.

    Pete slammed his way into the room, throwing a crying Natalie to the floor like she was some worthless wretch. Caleb jumped off the bed, and Belle dove off, wrapping her arms around Natalie. She wasn’t hurt, but the look in her eyes was worse than physical pain. Glaring up at Pete, she made a face that said You have less than thirty seconds to explain why I’m the one comforting Natalie.

    And he did. He told them how Natalie had been hooking up with Cody.

    Okay, hold up. Was it just Belle, or was that not that big a deal? It kinda made sense, honestly. Something in Belle had kind of always paired them together, a duo of unstoppable Pete Control. Or something. This was really not that shocking.

    Pete’s reaction to it, however, was. And Caleb was shocked. Tch. Boys.

    Belle stood up. “You make all that noise over this? No wonder none of us like you at the moment. Did you show this side of you to Wendy? If she’s not terrified of you now, what happens when she does something to piss you off and you hurt her? Unless you already did in your goddamned testosterone-controlled fit of rage!”

    Annnnd she snapped. By punching him in the face.

    God, that felt good.

    And then Cody finished the job. Which also felt good. Belle lips tried to turn up in a smirk, but she wouldn’t let them. This was a serious matter. Pete had gone too far; neither Cody nor Natalie were to blame here. They’d had no choice keeping their relationship a secret, especially with Pete in the house.

    Her eyebrows raised as Cody outright declared his love for Natalie. She looked up at Caleb. “You’re not going to ostracize your brother for protecting the girl he loves, are you? Wouldn’t you do the same thing?” While this whole thing with Pete was hurting Natalie and Cody, Belle was sure it would hurt worse if Caleb condemned his brother. And Belle could honestly say she wouldn’t forgive him if he did that. Natalie had done so much for her; could she really blame her for being with the boy she loved? No. Because Belle would have done the same exact thing. It was time for Belle to protect Nat.

    Pete was trying to get up again, but Belle walked over and put her foot on his back. He stared up at her, probably still smarting from her punch. Her eyes were dark and her voice icy as she gave him an ultimatum:

    “Stop this right now. Or I’m moving out.”
    ​


 

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CALEB;;

“I really don’t deserve a friend like you, Caleb.”

Those words should have made him happy to hear since it was a compliment, but they didn't. Not really. And it wasn't because he didn't want to be friend-zoned----well, that was true---but the bigger reason was because he didn't want Belle to think that. She was an amazing person who deserved better than what she got; to Caleb, Belle deserved the whole word and then some.

"Yes, you do, Belle," he assured her. "You do."

He was delighted to see that she was thrilled about the pudding, finishing it within seconds as he worked on his at a much slower pace. He could see why she liked this stuff. It was sweet and rich and pretty addictive actually. Maybe he'd get some more later on...

Belle had been quick to choose her choice of streaming entertainment, picking the 100. He'd personally never seen the show, so it took him a minute to figure out who was who and what was what. Caleb also figured out quickly that Belle had a little crush on one of the male characters.

"What's so great about this Bellamy guy anyway?" Caleb asked, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head. Damn, he hoped Belle couldn't hear the jealousy in his voice. He wanted to sound simply curious, even unimpressed and amused, but Caleb wasn't a good actor whatsoever. He'd known that about himself the day he and Cody were cast in their middle school's production of Sound of Music and Caleb had been cast as Captain Von Trapp. Caleb had been trying desperately to come across as tough and authorative but he was more whiny and exasperated, causing the audience to break out into laughter every time he opened his stupid mouth. That was the last time he was ever cast in a school play and just stuck to the music thing instead.

Would Belle be able to tell that he was jealous? Did she know how he felt about her or had Caleb somehow been able to fool her? Or did she not notice? Had she not seen him that way in the same way Pete never saw her in that way?

Caleb covered up his own insecurities with jokes about the characters and storylines that made Belle laugh, and the more she laughed, the more he kept trying to keep her laughing. She hadn't been this happy in such a long time and man, he wanted to keep it going for as long as possible. If it were up to him, she would laugh like this everyday, all the time.

But good things couldn't last for long, could they? Not in this house at least.

Pete came bursting through that door like some fucking police officer coming in to shut down a crazy house party, but he wasn't alone; he had Natalie, and he threw her against the floor with such hatred and disgust Caleb had never seen from Pete before. Her glasses fell to the ground with her, breaking in the process. Belle wasted no time in comforting their friend.

"What the hell, Pete?!" Caleb cried, wanting to smash his head through the wall. But then came the news that Caleb could have never predicted in a million years.

Cody and Natalie were a couple.

They were sleeping together.

And it was all in secret.

Caleb looked to his brother for an explanation and Cody confirmed that it was true.

Before Caleb could even say anything to his brother, Belle and Cody had ganged up together to beat the shit out of Pete.

"Stop! What the fuck?? Stop it!" Caleb screamed, more concerned about Belle or Cody getting hurt if Pete decided to fight back than Pete getting hurt. Pete simply took it and Cody was through with him soon enough and got back to comforting his girlfriend.

At first, Caleb didn't know how to answer Belle's question. He was in too much shock, to be honest.

"I...Belle, of course I wouldn't ever ostracize Cody....it's just...."

He thought carefully before saying what he said next.

"He's 19 and she's almost 30," he said, sighing when he realized that didn't sound the way he wanted it to. "I don't want him to get hurt. I know Nat would never hurt Cody intentionally, but their age difference is...an obstacle. They're both at different places in their lives, their careers. They're living in different worlds. I don't see how it will work."

Then he just said it. "I don't know if it's a good idea when it is probably just gonna lead to heartbreak eventually."

Caleb wanted to support his brother and best friend. He wanted nothing more than for Cody to be happy, and for Natalie to find that same happiness; but how could Caleb support something that was so clearly a bad idea?

NATALIE;;

Even though Cody had been the one to instigate this relationship, Natalie took all of the blame without hesitation.

Yes, Cody was the one who kissed her first. Yes, he'd been the one to lead her up those stairs, to the bedroom.
Yes, he was the one who kept coming back for more after their night together.

But Natalie had also kissed him back.
She had also gladly followed him up the stairs and into the bedroom.
And every time he came back for more, she welcomed him happily.

As the older one, she should have been the one to stop it. She had the responsibility to stop Cody from making this horrible mistake. At least that's what she told herself; but it wasn't a mistake and he was a grown young man who could make his own decisions. He wanted her, and she wanted him. They'd wanted each other for months. Sharing smiles and brushing hands, secretly pining for each other until they could no longer keep themselves apart.

She started doing her makeup for him. She started dressing up for him. Needing his attention, like some high school girl with a crush on the quarterback.

The night they'd first gave into their feelings, The Lost Boys had a show. Natalie had been in the crowd, wearing a black velvet slip dress and watching Cody play music with such passion and joy while girls screamed for him. Every fan had their favorite. Most loved Pete, naturally. Some thought that Caleb was cute. A lot of girls, like Natalie, adored and swooned over the drummer. The fangirls often gave Cody their numbers and where they'd be after the concert was over too, wink wink. Pete would end up hooking up with them, but it looked like Cody didn't take them up on their offer.

He'd had his eye on Natalie, and all she had to do was give him the green light.

Cody had instigated their relationship, true; but that night, Natalie had given him permission to proceed.

"You got a lot of fans out there," she told him as they hung out together after the show like always. "They were going crazy for you."

She bit her lip before adding,

"I can't say I blame them. You're pretty amazing, Cody."

Not long after that, Nat and Cody were back home, making out and knocking shit over while their friends were out partying.

Now she was on the ground, her glasses crushed. Humiliated. Ashamed. Feeling as disgusting as a roach. But there was Belle, sweet Belle, to come to help her in her pain and comfort her in the way that Nat had done for her so many times. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." She whimpered like a small child caught doing wrong.

Things turned violent and Natalie screamed at everyone to stop, just as Caleb did, but Cody and Belle were not going to let Pete get away with this. When Cody was done with Pete, he came to Natalie's side wanting to make sure she wasn't hurt. "I-I'm fine, darling," she told him, before giving into her sobs again. “I told you I’d take any stones they throw at us,” Cody told her, holding her close and that just made her bury her head into his neck and cry even more, thanking him over and over again. He really did stick by her side and for that she loved him more.

Natalie could hear Caleb and Belle talking, and she knew right away how Caleb felt. He didn't approve of their relationship and why should he?

Then something amazing happened.

Pete was trying to get up again, and Belle of all people actually walked over and put her foot on his back like the bad ass she was and said, “Stop this right now. Or I’m moving out.”

"What!? Are you crazy?" Pete said, before giving into a coughing fit. He obviously didn't take her seriously. Then, when he realized she wasn't playing around he continued, "How am I the bad guy in this? You all give me shit for sleeping around but she's sleeping with Cody." As a last ditch effort, Pete looked up at Caleb. "Caleb, come on. You can't tell me you're cool with this."

Now that Caleb was on the spot, all eyes were on him. Natalie didn't expect him to be on her side, and yet, he surprised her.

"I'm not," he admitted. "At least not 100%. But I won't condemn them either. If they want to be together then that's their right, Pete."

So he was conflicted. That was better than downright disapproval, at least.

"Now you heard the girl," Caleb said, referring to Belle. "Cut it out or she's leaving. And I'll be leaving with her. And Cody and Natalie will leave and I don't doubt that Lily and Wendy will leave your sorry ass soon enough."

"Belle would never leave me, she's just talking shit cause of that damn medicine the doc has her on," Pete said, chuckling with that damn ego of his still intact but Natalie could tell he was doubting his own words. "Get off me," he said, shaking Belle off. He got up and wiped the blood away from his mouth. "Alright well, we got shit to do. Don't we?"

Natalie nodded, getting up. Despite all their drama, Natalie found her escape in working. The boys had a recording session scheduled later on today and Natalie had emails and phone calls to make, running the business side of things.

"You owe me a new pair of glasses, asshole." Natalie told Pete, but he was already walking away. Not having learned a fucking thing from all this. It was times like this when she wished Hunter was here and some days, Natalie came close to calling him up and inviting him back. She was seriously considering it at the moment when Caleb said, "I can't believe you guys didn't tell us. Pete, I understand. But why not us? Did you really think we'd judge you that harshly?"

He wasn't upset. He was hurt, and that was way worse.

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    Up until now, Belle had been having a pretty good afternoon. Caleb had made her laugh, and it had been especially entertaining when he’d seemed jealous of her attention to Bellamy (but come on, the man was a god). And of course, Pete just had to ruin it by bursting in here like some kind of police officer who’d just busted a murderer red-handed.

    Then Belle had gotten a boost of confidence from punching him in the face and giving him the ultimatum to end all ultimatums.

    But Caleb’s reaction to all this was seriously souring her mojo. Was she the only one who saw all the good in this? “Age difference, my ass. Have you seen all those couples with those wrinkly old men marrying those gold-digging younger bitches? What Cody and Natalie is at least real, and if you jackasses could please let go of your selfish ideals and see that, then everybody would be much happier!”

    To Natalie, she murmured, “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

    Her blood boiled once more as Pete practically spat on her ultimatum. In some way, he was right. Were she the Belle of yesterday, she wouldn’t have actually left. But now? Oh, she couldn’t wait to leave now. As soon as he left, she let out a scream and kicked her couch, pushing it back at least a foot. “That. Fucking. Son of a bitch!”

    That had been the last straw. Pete breaking her heart? Okay. Pete basically causing her to go to the hospital? Fine. Pete getting the wrong freaking brand of pudding? He was an idiot anyway. But disrespecting her right to her face? No fucking way.

    So, ignoring Cody, Natalie, and Caleb, she started packing. She couldn’t stay here in the same house as the world’s biggest jerk. Article after article of clothing went into a duffel bag, and she found a small suitcase and threw her spoons and pillow in there, along with some other things. Once she found a new place, she’d come back for the rest, but this would do for now.

    Turning back to the twins and Nat, she growled, “When you all come back and I’m gone, don’t tell Pete I’ve gone to the nearest hotel. Let him figure out that it’s all his fault, and that I wasn’t on my meds when I left.”

    She sat down, hard, on her bed. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to help pay rent anymore, Nat. And I’m sorry, Caleb, but I have to ask you not to follow me, like you told Pete you would if I left.” Belle stood up and took his hand in hers. “I really do appreciate everything you’ve done, but I can’t always lean on someone else. I’ve gotta do this on my own, okay? But, really, thank you.” Going up on her tiptoes, she kissed her cheek, and then she hugged Nat and squeezed Cody’s arm. “You three better get going before the Pete Bomb is set off.”

    Belle shooed her three friends out of the room, and then she shut the door behind them. “I’m going to miss you guys.”

    ~ ~ ~

    Lily crossed her arms. “You know, I’m actually going to miss your sorry ass.”

    “Gee, thanks.”

    The other girl bit her lip. “You… You liked him once, didn’t you?”

    Belle paused. She was gulping down a pudding cup, one of the many Caleb had brought her. “It was dumb, but yes. I liked him. Now I don’t. I find it’s much easier.”

    In an uncharacteristic show of affection, Lily wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Well, since I hate him, too, let me know when your new place gets lonely.”

    “I will.”

    Belle walked right out the door and turned to look back at the place she’d called home for what seemed like forever. Now it seemed more to her like a hellhole. So she turned on her heel and stalked away. Her car waited for her like a loyal horse, and it felt exhilarating to drive away from the place that had been making her miserable.

    It didn’t take long to find a hotel that she’d probably be able to afford. The clerk at the front desk raised her eyebrow knowingly and asked, “Bad breakup?”

    “You could say that.”

    When she was in her hotel room, Belle collapsed on the bed. She was finally free of Pete’s suffocating grip of control. Letting out a sigh, she started laughing uncontrollably. This was the best feeling in the world, freedom. She couldn’t stop imagining the look on Pete’s face when he realized she’s actually left the apartment.

    Why the hell hadn’t she done this before?
    ​


 
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C A L E B ;

One thing about Belle was that even though she was the sweetest and kindest person he'd known apart from his brother and Nat, she also didn't put up with people's bullshit. And Caleb was no exception to her value system. He winced when Belle called him and Pete jackasses but maybe she was right; maybe the two of them were holding onto selfish ideals and if they only let go of them for a second, then everyone would be happier.

Except Caleb had a feeling that, for Pete, this had nothing to do with his "ideals" or about the age difference. In fact, Caleb was starting to think it had more to do with jealousy.

Not that he was in love with Natalie like how Cody was, per se, because hell, Caleb doubted that the asshat had it in him to love anyone but himself. More like, Pete's ego was hurt. The guy was so used to every woman pining for him, and not only was Nat not one of those women, but she had rejected him and gone for Cody of all guys instead. Now Cody was considered attractive enough by a lot of girls---he had his own fandom within the band's fandom called the 'CodyCrazies'---but when it came down to it, Pete was the preferred favorite. The only way a girl could go for Cody is if Pete wasn't available and since it was a known fact that Pete had a girlfriend, a lot of girls went for Cody or Caleb...or they'd sent death threats at Lily because that's how some fangirls rolled when you were dating their "husband". Oops, just one problem though. Lily got dumped and now Wendy was enemy #1.

Not only that, but Cody was losing control of his people and he knew it. But instead of throwing another temper tantrum and letting others know that he knew this and was terrified of what could happen, he went back to his modus operandi: acting like he didn't give a shit and taking control of the ship again. This frustrated the hell out of Belle, and Caleb wanted so badly to comfort her but when Belle needed to be alone, she needed to be alone.

Still, he could see that light inside of her fading and when she began to grab her things and Caleb caught onto what she was doing, he couldn't help but at least try to stop the girl he loved from leaving them for good.

"Belle, wait---" he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I’m sorry, Caleb, but I have to ask you not to follow me, like you told Pete you would if I left.”

No.

“I really do appreciate everything you’ve done, but I can’t always lean on someone else. I’ve gotta do this on my own, okay? But, really, thank you.”

No!

"Oh, Belle, are you sure---?" Natalie asked, reaching out for her just as Caleb had been. But Belle, well, she had already made up her mind. And then she was gone, haunting them with those words,
“You three better get going before the Pete Bomb is set off.”

They were on their own now, with that ticking bomb.

---
Pete was not going to be happy when he found out Belle left, and by not happy, it meant he was going to lose his shit even more than he did with Natalie if that was even possible which Cody didn't doubt that it was. Even though he treated her like shit half the time, even though he sometimes acted like she didn't even exist, the truth was that Belle meant more to Pete than he realized. She meant more to any of them than they could all ever realize but especially Pete. She was his rock, his way back home, his one true constant.

Or at least she was. Until now.

Now that she left him, Pete was about to go down and he was going to take everyone with him. Honestly, it kinda upsetted Caleb that Belle could just leave like that. Didn't she know what she was doing? The damage she would cause by abandoning Pete and leaving her friends, too?

Don't you know what he was doing to her? The damage he was causing her every single day of her life? She was dying in that house. another part of himself answered. It was her turn to change the narrative, to be selfish for once in her life. Otherwise, they'd lose her and that light of hers would go out for good.

Caleb tried to concentrate during their recording session, but he couldn't. He kept fucking up on the song, and the more he fucked up that stupid piece of shit song that wasn't even good to begin with, the more Pete screamed at him; but Caleb just couldn't stop thinking about Belle.

Where was she going to stay?
What was she going to do?
Who was gonna be there for her if not her friends? If not Caleb?
Was she going to be okay?

He texted her when he got the chance.

Let me know that you're okay whenever you get to wherever you're going to, okay?

And then,

I'm so sorry, Belle. You deserve better than this. Just know if you ever change your mind...if you ever want to come back, don't be afraid to...

"Caleb! What the fuck!" Pete called out, irritated. "Let's go. We got a song to record."

"Just, wait a second, alright!" He said, biting his tongue to keep from saying, It doesn't matter how many times we record it, you idiot, it's still gonna suck 'cause your brain is uncapable of writing a good song.

He had to go looking for her. Caleb would have to find Belle, then convince her to come back home and then maybe they could...

"I'm waiting, dipshit!"

Caleb shut off his phone and threw it into his backpack before grabbing his guitar and holding back from using it to smash Pete's head. Pete wasn't the only one who was going to fall apart without Belle. Whatever happened, he and the gang needed to get her back and as fast as possible.

But how could he blame her for leaving? Caleb loved Belle, and part of loving her meant letting her go so she could be happy even if it killed him.

It was a long day, filled with worrying about Belle, Pete ditching work in the middle of the day and coming back with beer and girls, and just more and more screaming and endless demands.

And then hope came in the form of a familiar face.

"Miss me?" Hunter said, arriving at the recording studio with that old mischevious grin on his face.


N A T A L I E ;

Keeping herself together proved to be a challenge for Natalie, but it was what she did. As a professional business woman, she had to let go of all the drama and games that went on behind the scenes and focus on her job. It was a challenge without her glasses but she took comfort in Cody's promise to buy her new ones. She sat in the corner of the recording studio, sending e-mails and returning phone calls and updating the band's social media. She took photos of the recording session for the fan page, trying to get a photo where Pete wasn't screaming at everybody like some kind of monster from Monsters, Inc.

"I'm about to fucking wring his neck," Richie, The Lost Boys' music producer told Nat with gritted teeth. Richie, who wore cartoon t-shirts and owned dorkier glasses than Nat's. Richie, who adored knock knock jokes and puns no matter how lame they might be and usually refused to hurt anyone, including a fly.

Apparently Pete was way more annoying, no, infuriating than a fly.

"Has he been like this all day?"

No. Not at least until he found out I'm having sex with his best friend, Natalie thought. Instead, she shrugged.

"It's just...one of those days," she replied, before going back to her fancy little Canon camera and taking pictures again.

So baby go on ahead and dance, dance on that dance floor
But just know, just know, everybody knows your dirty little secret
You little, oh, you little, little whore...

Natalie closed her eyes and cringed, causing Richie to give her a sympathetic pat on the back and say, "I know. It hurts my ears, too. Man, things were so much better when Hunter was around. At least he knew how to write a good song instead of this emo shit. But give Pete a pen and piece of paper and...."

She wasn't listening because it wasn't the song, although, yeah, it was pretty horrible compared to what Hunter used to write for them. It was the fact that the song hit a little too close to home for her.

And you can say that you're in love
You can say that people, they just don't understand
But everyone knows that for you it's just a drug
Yeah, everyone knows you just wanted to sleep with the boy in that band

Pete was looking right at her when he sang it, too.

Try to get into his head
Try to get into his bed
But girl, to me you're dead...

She looked away, back to business as she typed away on her MacBook. She selected the photo she wanted, uploaded it, and then put in, "The boys are back in the studio. Working on another hit! #newalbum"

She hit send and within seconds, the loyal fangirls were spreading it on the internet like wildfire.

"What are they saying?" Richie asked, scooting closer to her laptop. It was mostly a bunch of excited all caps messages and conversations about how hot "Daddy" looked---aka Pete---but the CodyCrazies were commenting, too.

"Damn," Richie said, laughing. "Cody really does have his own fanbase. Oh wow, did you see this one? 'Ya'll can have Pete, but Cody is MINE.' Ha!"

Nat faked a laugh, trying not to let him see that it made her uncomfortable to be reading these. It was awkward enough that most of these girls were Cody's age and probably should have more of a chance with him than her. They were gonna freak out when they found out he wasn't single anymore and freak out more when they realized who it was that "stole" their man.

"So you and Cody, huh?" Richie asked, having already witnessed Cody and Natalie holding hands when they arrived. "The fangirls are gonna eat you alive."

Nat didn't care about jealous fan girls, but she was concerned about the scandal and gossip that was to definitely come with the news of their romance. Should she and Cody even go public outside of their inner circle of friends? She'd have to discuss it with him.

It didn't take long for Cody to get fed up with Pete and take a break. Natalie wanted to follow him outside, but she figured that just like Belle, he needed to be alone and she respected that. Caleb was staring intensely at his phone, waiting. Probably wanting to hear from Belle. Meanwhile Pete announced he was going to the liquor store for five minutes to get some cigs and who knew how long that would fucking take or if he would even come back. The guy made Lindsay Lohan look like the epitome of professional.

An hour and a half later, Pete came back with cigarettes, alcohol and, oh yeah, girls.

With a cig in his stupid mouth and a girl on each side, Pete said, "I made some friends. Meet Tori and Roxanne."

It was gonna be a long day. Or so Nat thought until soon after, an old friend arrived.

"Aw, you had a party and didn't invite me?" Hunter teased, fake pouting.

Nat, Caleb and Richie all hopped up and hugged him as if they were little kids and he was dad coming home from work to save them from their evil stepmother.

But how did Hunter---?

Cody. Nat knew it. She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and whispered in his ear, "You're our saviour. Thank you."

"What? Couldn't get by with the fake ID so you had to convince these two ladies to buy your beer for you?" Hunter teased Pete once the sweet little happy reunion was over.

"Oh. My. God!" Roxanne and Tori cried running towards the ex band mate, obviously not interested in Pete anymore. "Hunter from The Jolly Roger!"

"What are you doing here?" Pete asked, like he'd seen a ghost. Or a cop.

"Heard you haven't been behaving," Hunter replied. "And by heard, I mean Cody called me. Really, Pete, you're still bitter about Nat not falling for your pretty boy ways?"

"Cody." Pete growled like a wolf who'd just been caught in a trap and wanted to pounce but couldn't. AnimeGenork AnimeGenork
 

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    Almost too soon after her laughing fit had subsided, Belle’s phone buzzed. She opened up the new message and saw it was Caleb. A corner of her mouth quirked up. Idiot. She’d barely been gone for two hours and he was already worrying about her. His first text was just a simple “Let me know when you get there” type thing, but his second text was the one that hurt. You deserve better than this… if you ever change your mind… God, did he have to be so goddamn sweet all the time? Belle bit her lip and drew in a shaky breath.

    Her fingers flew over the screen as she texted him back: I’m in that hotel near the music shop. Closer to work. After a moment of hesitation, she added another message: I don’t know what I’d do without you, Caleb. Thank you. If you weren’t my friend, I would have broken a long, long time ago.

    She sighed, dropping her phone back onto the bed. There was something weird stirring inside her, but she couldn’t quite name it. It was like…the sun, shining through the last of a rainstorm. It spread through her body and warmed her right down to her toes. And she only got that feeling when Caleb worried about her in that sweet way of his.

    Oh, God, the cheesy feels.

    Instead of dwelling on her emotions, Belle changed and headed off to work at the music shop. It paid fairly well, and the owner was practically a father to her. His name was Charlie, and he called Belle his “angel,” a joke that frequently caused her to roll her eyes. As soon as she walked in the door, Charlie looked up and smirked at her. “Somebody’s having a good day for once.”

    “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, Charlie.”

    His smirk widened. “You’re not scowling.”

    Well. That was true.

    “And you look like the sun blessed you with some of its radiance. You’re glowing, Angel.”

    Was she?

    Ignoring Charlie, she distracted herself by organizing the shelves and restocking CDs. She stumbled across one by Hunter’s new band, The Jolly Rogers, and Belle sighed. If Hunter was still in the house, he would’ve prevented Pete from turning into His Royal Psycho Jackass. Probably. Belle hadn’t been as fond of Hunter as she probably should have been, but they still had the sort of friendship that made them check up on each other every couple months. He was a good friend, that one.

    Unlike a certain dumbass.

    The bell above the front door rang, and Belle looked up, blinking in surprise when Lily and Wendy walked into the store. Together. Okay, that was weird.

    Lily gave her a shrug as Wendy rushed up to her and hugged her, causing Belle to stiffen. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” Wendy exclaimed, pulling back awkwardly. “As soon as I realized you’d left, I had to make sure you were alright.”

    “I told her you’d be fine. You’ve been through hell and back,” Lily snorted.

    Belle rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure. But Wendy, are you okay?” She searched the other girl’s face, looking for some telltale sign that she wasn’t. “Seeing Pete like that…couldn’t have been easy.”

    Wendy sighed, her face suddenly drawn and tired. “I… I don’t know. He seemed different, somehow. I just wish he would stop hurting the people around him.”

    Lily snorted again, but it was echoed by Belle. “Wendy, if you can somehow show him that the way he’d doing things is wrong, I will personally build a golden statue of you. Until then, good luck going through a day in which he doesn’t piss off someone.”

    Glancing at her phone, Lily blinked. “Hunter’s at the recording studio. With Pete. And the boys. And Nat.”

    “What?!”

    She nodded. “Cody called him. We’ve gotta go see this.”

    Belle glanced over at Charlie, who waved his hand. “I heard you went to the hospital last night, missy, so you shouldn’t even be in here today. Go on. Tell me how bad it is.”

    So the three girls left and headed to what was sure to be an explosive reunion.
    ​
 
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C A L E B ;

Living life with Pete often felt like a reality show, like some kind of joke. All Caleb wanted was to be an artist---a serious musician---and make a decent living at it. Was that too much to ask for? True, being with Pete made the money making part a lot easier. They weren't millionaires, but if not for that crazy son of a bitch Pete, he and his twin brother would still be back home playing music in their parents' garage and be a lot more broke than they were today. Caleb would have never met Belle...and Cody would have never met Natalie. Their lives would have totally looked completely different. Caleb had to be thankful for at least that.

But shit, watching Pete stumble in with a couple of tipsy groupies made Caleb want to say "fuck it" and turn around and go back home. He just couldn't take it anymore and he cursed himself for ever being stupid and selfish enough to want poor Belle to hang on just a little longer.

Luckily, Cody had probably been feeling some of what Caleb had been because he'd actually had the nerve to bring back a ghost from their past. A ghost they very much needed back in their fucked up band, in their fucked up lives.

Hunter hadn't changed a bit since the old days and Caleb found himself grinning from ear to ear. "Good work, bro," he told Cody, taking some pleasure in watching Pete wriggle like a worm under Hunter's hook with Cody's help.

“You never told them, did you, Pete?” Hunter asked, creating tension in the room. Hunter may have let the question go, but knowing Cody he wouldn't and sure enough, Caleb's brother was demanding an answer as well. Caleb was actually enjoying this so much that he wasn't even all that concernced with the secret that Pete was keeping as much as the humiliation Hunter and Cody was putting him through. Damn, he could film it and watch it every single day and it still wouldn't get old.

That's what you get for hurting Belle, you stupid ass prick. For hurting her enough to give her no choice but to run off to a hotel just to get away from your toxic self.

Speaking of Belle.

There she was, and Cody didn't care how stupid he looked when he ran towards her and hugged her like he hadn't seen her in a hundred years. She had Wendy and Lily by her side. All girls who had been hurt by Pete one way or another, although Wendy would probably be more forgiving just like Lily and Belle were at the beginning. The look on her face was heartbreaking, though. A mixture of shock, hurt and something else...

"You bloody pig," she said under her breath in her British accent and it would have made Caleb burst out into laughter if not for how sad this whole thing really was and how much anger was underneath her words. Lily put an arm around Wendy, showing no bitterness towards the girl her ex boyfriend cheated on her with. Meanwhile, Belle just stayed back. There was a wall between her and Pete and Caleb could feel it. Part of Caleb was happy about it---but the other part, the part that loved Belle dearly---was heart broken about it. Literally. He could feel the hurt, the piercing sword of pain going through her heart and as much as it hurt him to see Belle that way he still wished that he could take it all for her so that she wouldn't have to experience it anymore.

“Anywho, Hunter? You were saying?”

At that point, Wendy had lost it. She had stolen the attention away from Pete by breaking down into tears and then plain sobbing as she ran out the recording room and down the hallway. And just like always during these sort of things, Natalie was on it.

Great job, asshole. You broke three girls' hearts in just a matter of a few days.

Pete tried to escape the room to go after Wendy, probably wanting to play the "comforting boyfriend" but really just looking for an excuse to leave this hella uncomfortably awkward situation. Hunter wouldn't have it.

"Wait...was that your girlfriend?" Tori asked Pete, confused.

"Okay, but you're still single, right?" Roxanne asked Hunter, hope still in her eyes.

Hunter looked down at her with a smile full of pity. "Technically yes," he said, before looking up at Lily for a short moment and then turning his attention back to the girls and adding, "but neither of you are my type, unfortunately. So, you two can go."

In Hunter fashion, he gently pushed them out of the door and dusted off his hands just as Natalie was coming back with Wendy.

"Hunter, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, I know exactly what I'm doing," Hunter replied. "I'm taking back this band. You're not in charge anymore. I am."

"You can't do that," Pete spit back.

"I can't?" Hunter asked, rubbing his chin as if considering this thought. "Hmmm...let me see. Maybe we should take a vote then. If any of you are in need of a new band leader, raise your hand."


N A T A L I E ;

If it wasn't for the fact that they were in public, Natalie would have probably ripped Cody's shirt off right then and there and start kissing the hell out of him and more. The fact that he cared about her enough to not let Pete abuse her, the fact that he cared enough about everybody to get Hunter back in the group made her love this boy even more. However, a part of her did have her doubts about this. Hunter, according to Pete, was not to be trusted. He may have been zero drama and not as much ego where as Pete was all drama and ego, but that still didn't take away from his bad reputation of being, well...a thief. A song thief. It didn't make any sense though. He was such a great songwriter, he didn't need to steal anybody's songs because to be quite honest, nobody's lyrics could compare to his. In her almost twelve years of being a music manager, Natalie had never met someone as talented as Hunter when it came to making a great song.

And then Hunter mentioned something about Pete never telling the group about...what? What was it? Was Pete keeping a secret and, if so, did it have anything to do with the songs Hunter allegedly stole? Because as much shit as Pete talked about Hunter, none of the gang ever got any official proof. Nobody had answers. It was just rumors, and that's what drove her crazy the most.

Before they could get any answers, Belle, Lily and---oh, no, Wendy---were all here to witness the show that was going down. After her experience of living in a house with young girls and dealing with their boyfriend drama, Nat could predict the tears before they fell and as soon as they did, she booked it out of the room and followed her old friend.

"Wendy!" Natalie cried, "Wendy!"

It took a minute for Nat to catch up but she eventually did when Wendy couldn't find an exit out of the hallway and was stuck in a corner with her face in her hands as she sobbed. "He's a liar. He's a liar!"

It was just like the old days. So many times---after a fight with her parents or spending time on homework she just couldn't understand---Wendy would break down and Natalie would be the one to comfort her and remind her that everything would be alright. Natalie had practically been her mother, raising the young girl with as much care and love as possible. Like preparation for what was to come with Pete and his friends.

"He was supposed to be my Prince Charming....my forever..." Wendy hiccuped as she shook violently.

But what could Natalie tell Wendy now? Nothing was okay and she couldn't promise they would be anytime soon. Natalie had no words. All she could do was hug Wendy and hope that was enough.

They came back into the room shortly after, Wendy wanting to face Pete herself to tell him just how she felt but Hunter was just in the middle of something. Like a pirate taking over a ship, he took control of this situation and was taking votes for a new leader of the band. After seeing how badly Pete had hurt even Wendy, Natalie couldn't hesitate to raise her hand and neither could Caleb, Lily, Richie, nor even Wendy. The gang needed a new leader and Hunter was just the guy. Who else would it be?

"Looks like you're outta luck," Hunter said with a shrug. "Don't worry, you'll still get to be the pretty face who sings the songs but from now on, I'm the captain of this ship."

LATER THAT DAY;

Having Hunter back in the house was so weird but comforting all at the same time. Now things were finally going to be about the music, things were finally going to change. Hopefully.

Wendy was still staying in the house, but only because she had no where else to go. She needed time to think and plan things through if she did decide to break up with Pete and leave. As for Belle, well, Natalie wasn't entirely sure what she'd choose but she knew that Caleb had gone to her hotel to visit her.

"She needs her pudding cups," he explained, but Natalie only shook her head and smiled because she knew that Caleb's visit had way more to do with his feelings for her than some silly pudding cups. Did the guy even know how obvious his crush on her was? Maybe he'd convince her to come back. Or maybe he wouldn't. But if there was someone who could love Belle the way she deserved, it was Caleb and Nat hoped that Belle would eventually be able to give that boy a chance to heal her broken heart.

The best part about Hunter being back besides Pete turning into a powerless wimp with no authority whatsoever anymore, was how Cody and Natalie were free to love each other in their own home without any fear. After she made dinner for everybody, Natalie took Cody upstairs to his new 'home'.

Kicking her bedroom door behind her, Nat put her arms around Cody and began to kiss him. "Welcome to your new room. To 'our room'." She said, before adding with a giggle, "No more kicking you out of here in the morning while you try to put your jeans back on and leave without anybody noticing."

She fell into the bed with him, taking his shirt off and kissing him happily before she pulled away and asked, "Do you think it's true, Cody? About Hunter stealing those songs?"

As much as she hated to ruin the mood, she needed to ask the question that had been bugging her since Hunter arrived. Could they all really trust Hunter or would this all turn out to be Pete 2.0? Or worse?
AnimeGenork AnimeGenork
 

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    Belle tried to keep on the fringes of the group. The farther she stayed from Pete, the better. But considering the presence of the two groupies he’d supposedly picked up along with his liquor, she probably shouldn’t have worried too much. Hunter was also taking all the attention away from her little corner of the room.

    Caleb, however, was not.

    As soon as he saw her, he practically attacked her in a hug. Belle was rooted to the spot for a moment as she tried to calm the raging blush spreading across her face. “H-Hey…” she managed to stutter, awkwardly wrapping her own arms around him and patting his back. It felt nice to be greeted like this; it was something she expected from Natalie, usually. It was nicer with Caleb, though.

    Of course, Wendy (thankfully) stole the attention from her and Caleb by breaking down into sobs. Honestly, she didn’t blame the girl. Pete was a shit boyfriend and couldn’t seem to learn from his mistakes. Even Lily seemed to be on Wendy’s side, not just the Anti Pete side. That was perhaps the most shocking development of all.

    Wendy shot out of the room, and Natalie followed. Hunter took the opportunity to shoo away the groupies, shooting a glance at Lily that Belle caught. Was something going on between them? If even Lily was losing hope that she and Pete would ever be truly together, than something had definitely shifted. Pete wouldn’t get to have multiple girls fawning over him anymore at this rate.

    Pete, however, was trying and failing to regain control of the situation. So Hunter called for a vote to see if the band needed a new leader. Caleb was among those to raise their hand, and Belle tentatively raised her own just for the fun of it. Hunter grinned over at her, and she shrugged. Not that she cared what happened to the band in general, but she cared what happened to Nat, Cody, and Caleb. If the band went to shit, those three were in trouble.

    There was a new captain.

    Oh, God, would Hunter be making these pirate jokes all the time? Good thing she’d left.

    ~ Later ~

    Everyone returned home, and Belle returned to her lonely hotel room. She wasn’t quite sure what to do now that she’d witnessed Hunter’s return. Maybe if she was feeling particularly inspired, she’d write an epic screenplay about it. The Captain’s Return, or something equally as stupid. She snorted at the thought.

    Not too much time passed before Caleb arrived at her door, bag full of pudding cups in hand. Her eyes widened and a smile spread across her face. “YES! This is exactly what I needed.” She let Caleb in and took the pudding from him, hugging the bag to her chest before tossing it onto the bed.

    Turning to Caleb, she threw her arms around him and squeezed. “I’ve probably exhausted the phrase over the past twenty-hours, but thank you thank you thank you for bringing me my precious pudding. You’re a lifesaver.” She pulled back slightly and laughed. “I’m so happy, I could kiss you!”

    Wait.

    What.

    Belle blinked. And blinked again. And then once more. Her face reddened significantly, and she refused to look Caleb in the eye. Where the hell had that come from? More importantly, did she mean it? Did she want to kiss Caleb? She sank back into their hug, burying her face in his chest and completely avoiding the fact that she’d said anything about kissing. Hugging him was fine.

    A few moments passed in awkward silence. Belle wasn’t sure how exactly to continue any sort of conversation after that. Finally, she stepped away, wringing her hands together. This wasn’t going to go away, so she might as well continue pushing into awkward territory. She turned to her pudding cups and started to open one. In a flippant voice, she asked, “So, um, that one nurse told me you loved me, or something, just because you were sitting by my bedside. But that’s crazy, right? I mean, you? Liking someone like me? That’s obviously an insane thought. I just wanted to ask if it was true or not, which it’s obviously not, but anyway—pudding?” She ended her nonsensical babble by holding out a pudding cup in his direction.

    Oh, God, she’d never been so embarrassed.

    But at the same time, she had to know.
    ​


 
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. C A L E B .

Caleb was happy to have Hunter back and in any other time he would've celebrated his old friend's return with the homecooked meal Natalie had made that night; but as much as he loved Natalie's mashed potatoes, meat loaf and mac and cheese---oh man, the mac and cheese!--- there were more important things on Caleb's mind than comfort food. It wasn't the same without Belle. He couldn't celebrate anything without her because without her around there was nothing for him to celebrate. The party just wouldn't be complete. Not for him anyway.

"No need to worry about trying to warm up the frozen pizza," Natalie said with a chuckle as Caleb rummaged through the fridge. "I'm making your favorite tonight, extra cheese on the mac."

Caleb could almost taste the cheesy paradise on the tips of his tongue---damn Cody was lucky to have a girlfriend who could cook so well---but he snapped out of it and put his focus back on his mission. "I might have to miss dinner tonight, Nat," he told her, continuing to move the contents of the fridge around. Where were those freaking pudding cups?

Natalie's face fell, but she was quickly able to figure it out.

"They're in the back, next to the pickles."

"Huh?" Caleb replied, turning towards her.

"Belle's pudding cups?" Natalie said, chopping up some carrots for her chicken noodle soup. "They're in the back next to the pickles."

"Oh, thanks," Caleb said, before returning back to moving things around the fridge and just as Nat said they would be, there they were. Next to the pickles. "You know," he quickly added. "I just wanted to make sure she had these. You know. Since they're hers."

Natalie nodded, smiling with both amusement and understanding while Lily came into the kitchen to help Nat with the food. She picked up a knife and began cutting some celery and for some strange reason watching Lily cut vegetables scared him a bit. Maybe that's because when Nat cut vegetables, she did so gently and with care; whereas Lily just slashed through the things like a fearless warrior slicing the limbs of her enemies' dead bodies.

"I mean, she has to have them. Right? I don't want her to have to go out and buy some more---or worse, go without any at all because she should have her pudding if she wants to---"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lily said, growing tired of Caleb's lame excuse. "We get it. You want Belle the same way Winnie the Pooh wants honey. So get outta here already that way I can eat your share of the mac and cheese."

Natalie sighed and shook her head like a mother dealing with fighting teenagers, but she smiled at him again with kindness. "Go on now," she said, nodding towards the door before quickly adding with a whisper and a wink, "And don't worry. I'll save some mac and cheese for you." Then, she grabbed her car keys and in a louder tone, added, "Take my car," before throwing her keys at him.

Caleb caught them and grinned at her. "Thanks, Nat." It had been so long since he and Cody had been back home with their own parents, their own mother. When he and Cody first moved out, Caleb honestly missed having a mom to have freshly cleaned clothes out for him when he didn't have the time to do his own laundry; to cook him up something warm and delicious when he got sick of cold cereal and microwaved pizza rolls and to lend him the keys to her car when he had to go see about a girl. But when Nat came in and took over, she'd become the mom they didn't know they needed.

And all this time, Cody had been falling in love with her.

As Caleb left the house with Belle's beloved treats, he thought about how the two of them were able to hide it so well and for so long. But the signs were there. In little things, like how Natalie would always give Cody just a little more food on his plate than the other guys or how Cody could say something that wasn't really all that funny but she would laugh like it was the most hilarious thing in the world. The biggest signs, however, were the times when Caleb would find a pink scrunchie or a heart shaped necklace on the floor or, the most hilarious one that he wouldn't stop teasing his brother about, the pink sweater that somehow found its way into Cody's bed. He figured either Pete was bringing girls into their room or Cody was sneaking them into the house which was fine except it seemed out of behavior for Cody since he paid no attention to groupies at all. Caleb should have put two and two together when Natalie had lost her glasses one day and everybody got together to help her look for them and they ended up being in Caleb and Cody's room but he didn't. Probably because everyone figured she must have left them there when she was cleaning the guys' room and not when she was in the middle of hooking up with Cody.

Yet somehow Caleb hadn't acquired the same skill as his brother to be able to hide his feelings so well, and even then, Caleb had to admit that it was so damn obvious by the way Cody looked at Nat and the way he seemed to care about her in a way that went beyond how he cared for others. His brother got tired of hiding those feelings eventually and came clean with everyone so why did Caleb feel the need to hide his own feelings for Belle?

Because Natalie loves Cody, meanwhile Belle doesn't love you. She loves Pete.

Cody didn't have to fear rejection, at least not from Natalie. He'd already won her heart. He'd already got the girl he wanted. Caleb, however, hadn't. And the idea of being rejected by Belle was too painful. To come clean like Cody was too much of a risk.

To hell with it, though. He was coming over and he was going to tell Belle just exactly how he felt about her.




He'd planned over and over in his head what he would say.

Belle, I know right now might not be the best time but I have to tell you something...

He was so ready to get it done and over with it. To just tell her.

I...I love you. I'm in love with you and whatever happens between you and Pete, I want you to choose me.

But as soon as she opened the door for him with that smile, he could barely breathe let alone talk.

Please choose me, Belle.

Things got even more awkward not only for him but Belle when she confessed that she was so happy about the pudding that she could kiss him.

Damn, I wish.

The way she was turning red right now was so cute that he wanted nothing else but to lean in and kiss her right now. And maybe he'd have the courage to, if he knew that she for sure wanted him to kiss her...

Then things got even more awkward when she brought up that night at the hospital with the obnoxious but very perceptive nurse and now he was the one turning red with embarrassment. Thankfully they had pudding to distract from the tension and unanswered questions in the room but there was only so long he could go before he needed to give her some sort of answer. This was his chance. It was now, or never.

He put his pudding cup down and sighed. Caleb grabbed her hands, a bold move on his part that surprised him. "Belle," he began.

There was a knock on the door. "Housekeeping!" The voice of an elderly lady called out absolutely ruining the perfect moment.

"No, thanks!" Caleb said with a little more annoyance than he realized. "We're fine. Please come back later!"

"Belle?" The woman squawked in her raspy voice. "Who's in there with you? Are you okay, sweetie? Just scream if you need help!"

Caleb rolled his eyes. Really?

"Get ready. I'm comin' in!"

All of a sudden the door burst open and a yelling little old lady came charging at Caleb with the rage of a bull before smacking him with broomstick of all things.

"Ow!" Caleb cried, trying to sheild himself with his hands but she was a strong one. "Miss, please! I'm a friend of hers---ow!"


---

. N A T A L I E .

Cody was able to comfort Natalie by assuring her that Hunter most likely wasn't a thief because, come on, Pete's talent was limited to a cute face, abs, and a mediocre-but- good-enough-to-satisfy-teenage-girls voice. Hunter was the real deal and unlike Pete he would actually have a career after his youth left him and he crossed over into a more sophisticated audience. She laughed and shook her head at the thought of actually believing that Hunter would steal songs from Pete.

Of course, it still bothered her that Cody believed them to be hiding something. Something had gone down with Pete and Hunter, but what?

Cody took her out of her anxious thoughts like always, making her so happy to have someone to protect her from people's bullshit and how cruel they could be. Pete was a good guy, deep down inside. Deep, deep down inside. He just had a lot of issues and if he wasn't going to take control of them, well, then, they'd all have to with the help of Hunter.

Natalie sighed happily in Cody's arms.

And then more worries came to torture her.

"Poor Wendy," Natalie said, with overwhelming sadness. "I've known her since she was a kid, and she can be very...well, naive? She sees the world through rose colored glasses and life's not that way, and it's so heartbreaking to see her this way, to slowly lose her innocence and her dreams. She's always been a dreamer but now I don't think she can bear to stay in this house. She didn't even really eat all that much tonight and I don't think it's good for her to be near Pete right now but where else could she go? I don't want her to be alone in this big city, Cody, she's like my little sister."

As if that wasn't enough she was also worried about Belle. "And I don't like Belle staying in that motel all by herself. It's not safe and it's not right. If anyone should be living outside of this house, it's Pete! What did Belle do? Caleb was so worried about her he didn't even eat dinner tonight either and I made his favorite. He never says no to mac and cheese! I'm scared he and Pete are going to get into a fight and I don't want anyone to end up in the hospital again or have to move out because of Pete. Our whole family is falling apart and it's scaring me and it's not fair and it's not right and I can't seem to fix it like I usually can and I don't know what to do and, and, and...."

Natalie had to stop. She was getting too stressed out, whimpering and barely able to breathe due to all the stress. Her chest hurt so damn much, and she needed Cody so much to take away those worries and fears that were gonna end up putting her in the hospital. She rested her face against his chest, finding love and comfort and strength and all those good things in his loving arms. "And I need you right now. So much." She whispered, before finding safety in kissing his lips and escaping under the cool sheets with him.

An hour or two later---she lost track of time---Natalie was wrapped up in the blankets with Cody, kissing and cuddling with him when her phone started beeping. It was close to time for bed, which meant that could only be one---well, two---people calling her.

"My parents!"

Ever since she moved to America, it had been Natalie and her parents' tradition to Skype during Natalie's lunch hour and every night before she went to sleep. It was the way the timezone hours worked out for them. When it was middle of the day for Natalie, it was bedtime for her folks in London; and when it was bed time for Natalie, it was morning for them. After the hectic day today, she had to skip Skyping with her parents but she couldn't ignore them now or they'd get worried. Besides, she missed them. She grabbed the closest tshirt she could find in the dark, which happened to be Cody's, and put her messy hair into a bun before answering their call.

"Mummy! Daddy!"

"Natty!" Her father cried with nothing less than pure joy. "There's our little girl!"

"Oh, darling, did we wake you?" Nat's mother asked, noticing the dark room and how messy her daughter's hair was.

"Uh, no," Natalie replied before clearing her throat and turning the lamp on her nightstand on. "No, no, no. Not at all."

They caught up with each other the way parents and children living apart did. She told them about the new album the Lost Boys were putting out and they told her about all the cousins and neighbors who were getting married, having kids and all that sorts of stuff. They were in the middle of laughing about a funny story about a recent family reunion when suddenly the topic changed.

"So everything seems to be going well with your career, but what you, sweet pea?" Father asked. Mummy nodded. "Yes! How's your personal life, dear?"

She'd never told them about Cody. She'd never even told them she was seeing anybody, but with Cody here laying beside her, she knew that now was the time to tell them about him. She felt so guilty for keeping them from knowing for so long and her parents must have seen the shameful look on her face because the next thing her mother said was, "Oh, Natty. I'm so sorry..."

"What?" Nat said, confused.

"Well, discussing about your cousins' weddings and babies, especially with your 30th birthday coming so soon..."

Oh, no. Not in front of Cody.

"It's okay. Really." Nat insisted, because this was gonna be way too embarrassing to talk about in front of her boyfriend. It shouldn't have been, but it was.

"You know, your aunt Flo didn't meet her husband until she was thirty eight and she was still able to have your cousin Lindsay and Dylan..." Her dad said.

"Daddy---"

"Yes! You still have some time to have a child and nowadays there's still ways to have a baby without---"

"Mum!"

There was a long silence. So Cody now knew about this. For a while now, she'd been worried about not finding her happily ever after until she met Cody. But one of the things Nat still wanted but didn't have was...well, a baby.
If there was anything she wanted most in this world besides to be with Cody forever and ever, it was a baby. She still had time, yes, but not a whole lot and the only man she could ever see herself having a child with was...well, Cody. She'd be lying if she said she didn't think about that possibility but by the time Cody would be ready for to be a dad, especially with his career, it would be ten years from now at least.

When Natalie was forty.

Maybe that's why she was so hesitant to get into a serious relationship with him, because how could she expect a nineteen year old with the whole world ahead of him to want to settle down so fast?

"I have something to tell you." Nat announced. "I've...I've met someone. I'm with someone."

There was more silence. And then, her mother squealing and demanding details.

Natalie giggled. "I, uh, work with him. You could say we do business together."

"Ah, a businessman!" Daddy said, pleased. "Let me guess, one of those fancy music executives?"

"Uh, no," Nat said, nervous now. "He's a musician. A drummer, to be more specific."

Her parents' faces fell but only for a second. "Well, if he makes our little girl happy..." Daddy smiled, because even if they weren't thrilled, they were still supportive as long as Nat was happy. Mum agreed.

"Oh, Mummy, Daddy," Nat sighed dreamily, sinking into her pillows. For a moment, she forgot Cody was beside her as she said, "He makes me so happy. So, so happy. He's everything I've ever wanted. He's so good to me. You'd love him..."

On and on, she went gushing about him until finally she confessed with tears in her eyes, "I love him."

"You mean, you think---?" Her mother said.

"He's the one."

Her mother gasped with tears in her own eyes. "Our little girl is in love!"

And then she told Natalie's father, "Oh! Charles, we may be getting grandchildren sooner than we think!"

That's when Natalie remembered Cody was still in the room. Thankfully, her mother took notice of time and the two quickly got off the call so they wouldn't be late for work leaving Cody and Natalie by themselves. Natalie had just confessed about Cody to her parents but they had no idea about his age and she wasn't sure if she wanted to tell them. At least not until they got to meet him face to face so it wouldn't be too much of a shock. She looked over at Cody, wanting to know what he was thinking after that conversation.

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    For a second, Belle was ready to laugh off the awkwardness and pretend that she was acting crazy because of the meds she was on—Pete had accused her of that very same thing this morning. She certainly hadn’t expected Caleb to take her hands in his. He started to say something, but there was a knock on the door before he could say anything else.

    Belle wasn’t sure if she was relieved or annoyed. Her heart was pounding so loudly she could’ve sworn Caleb could hear it, but she couldn’t tell if it was the sort of feeling that came from tension or from someone telling you how they felt about you. A part of her wondered if Caleb had been about to confirm her suspicions.

    But, no, housekeeping just had to interrupt. Earlier that day, Belle had met the housekeeper of the hotel, Mrs. Williams, and she’d taken such pity on Belle when she told her why she was there. She seemed determined to act the part of mother hen for the entirety of Belle’s stay. So when she called through the door for Belle to scream if she needed help, she felt an urge to laugh.

    Mrs. Williams wasted no time in bursting through the door and whacking Caleb with a broomstick. He let go of her hands and tried to shield his head, but Mrs. Williams was relentless. Belle sighed and managed to stop one of the blows before it hit Caleb. “Mrs. Williams, Caleb is a friend of mine. We used to live in the same apartment. He’s not the one I was trying to get away from.”

    Pausing in her assault, Mrs. Williams scrutinized her through narrowed eyes. “Well… If you say so, Belle.” She brushed her hands along her skirt and inclined her head toward Caleb. “I’m sorry I jumped to such wild conclusions, young man. Please take good care of Belle. If you don’t…” She raised her broomstick in a threatening way. Then she left, shutting the door behind her.

    Crouching beside him, Belle put a hand on Caleb’s head. “I’m sorry about that. We’ve only known each other a day, but Mrs. Williams is already protective of me.” She picked up his pudding and handed it back to him. “Let me make it up to you.”

    She dragged him to his feet and hopped onto the bed, patting the spot next to her so he would sit. Picking up the remote, she turned on the TV and flipped to a channel playing a random Disney movie. As always, she scarfed down her pudding in record time. The pudding gave her bundles of energy, and she bounced up and down on the bed. “Crazy to think that Hunter’s back, right? I hope you guys will start doing better with him running the show. I was thinking about writing something like a screenplay about it—The Captain’s Return. Doesn’t that sound funny?”

    Pausing in her babbling, Belle poked him in the shoulder. “What were you going to say before Mrs. Williams came in? I didn’t ask after she left. I’m sorry.”

    The movie on the TV was starting to get to the cheesy romantic part. Belle took another pudding cup and starting eating it, and her head dropped onto Caleb’s shoulder as she waited for him to answer her.
    ​


 
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C A L E B .



The things we do for love. To others outside of that love, what we do may look crazy, and they probably are; but when you were the one stuck in the middle of it and and all its craziness, it didn't matter. Telling Belle about his feelings for her were part of Caleb's plan. Getting his ass kicked by an elderly cleaning lady was not. He did not sign up for this, and probably should have run when he had the chance and told Belle he'd come back another time because what the hell was he doing? Maybe this was a sign. This was all wrong, wrong, wrong. He needed to stay away from Belle, to give her her space. If Pete found out that Caleb was here, he'd probably kill Caleb.

That was just the thing with Pete. He didn't try to pursue anything with Belle, but he was extremely possessive of her. If a guy showed any interest in her, he wouldn't be happy about that. If the guy was brave enough to hit on her, to perhaps try to get her number, Pete would tell him to fuck off and most wouldn't argue but some would...until Pete pulled out his pocketknife. He wouldn't do shit with it, and Caleb doubted if Pete would ever have the courage to actually get into that kind of fight with that stupid piece of shit of a weapon he found at a pawn shop, but nevertheless, it worked. Try to have anything with Belle and you were dead. He was like an overprotective brother except even protective brothers knew when to step aside and didn't seem so jealous when their sisters were close to other males.

Pete never tried to have Belle, but if he wasn't going to have her then nobody else would. Caleb had a lot more to worry about than an elderly woman beating him with a broomstick.

"She thinks I'm Pete," Caleb said, nodding. Shit, Caleb wished that asshole was here to get the beating he deserved. Let him get physically assaulted by a tiny old woman who was stronger than she looked.

Mrs. Williams apologized to Caleb for her error but not without leaving him with a threat, and Caleb couldn't really blame her with everything that Belle had been through. He smiled a little when she left, happy that Belle had found a mother figure---besides Natalie of course---to care for her when she needed it most.

"She seems nice," Caleb joked, rubbing his head. There was a pounding sensation and the room was spinning. "Ow," he groaned, burying his face into his palms. He shook his head, as if to shake the pain away. It still stayed but at least the room stopped spinning and his vision became clearer. And Caleb only got better thanks to Belle and the Disney movie she decided to put on for them to watch.

He chuckled when she told him about her screenplay idea. "It sounds amazing, Belle. I'd totally pay good money to see that. It'd win Oscars," he said, grinning at her, and then continued, "Things are...not as bad as they used to be. Only time will tell. You know Pete and Hunter. Put those two together and it's like lighting gasoline on fire sometimes. I trust that Hunter can handle Pete, though."

And then Belle was asking Caleb about what he was trying to tell her before Mrs. Williams and her broomstick made their grand entrance earlier. "Uh," Caleb said, thinking and hoping that Belle had forgotten about that. He focused on the TV showing some Disney princess and her prince about to kiss when Belle dropped her head onto Caleb's shoulder. His eyes widened.

Fuuuuck! Caleb screamed internally.

He gulped.

"I was gonna say that, that..." He started, voice shaking. "The nurse...what she said...about me and you. About me liking you...about how I love you.."

Just say it.

But Caleb was not going to say it.

He was going to show it. Once and for all.

Caleb quickly took Belle's face in his hands and kissed her. Slowly and sweetly at first, then harder and more desperate before pulling away just as fast.

"It's true, but I can't," Caleb confessed. "I can't do that to everybody. I can't do that to you. I'm sorry. I'm not the only one who has feelings for you."

With Hunter back in the picture and Natalie and Cody being a couple, things were already difficult enough. But if Pete found out about Caleb having something for Belle---having something with her ---that would really destroy everything.

"I think Pete might feel more for you than he even realizes, Belle. And I...I should go."



N A T A L I E.

If not for her vulnerable state right now, Natalie would have grabbed a pillow and playfully smacked Cody with it after he made that joke about not using protection. Then she'd burst out laughing and then maybe Cody would tickle her and the whole thing would turn into a giggle fest before they'd be making out again and be back under the sheets once more. Instead, Natalie gave a weak chuckle. Great. Now he must have thought she was crazy. Some crazy and clingy girlfriend who was going to tie him down and force him to give her a house full of babies. This is exactly what she was afraid of when she started dating someone so much younger than herself. Who was she kidding, honestly? She couldn't expect him to want the same things as her at his age.

Cody must have realized that this wasn't the time for jokes---although Nat didn't judge him for it since it was such a shocking and sensitive subject---because he became more serious with her. He grabbed her hand and looked her in the eye before telling her that she was the one and that he loved her and that if she wanted kids, he wanted them too. She smiled and teared up when he told her she'd make a fantastic mother and laughed when he told her how well she'd raised their little gang of lost kids.

But he was so serious. So intense, but not like how he was with Pete earlier. Much gentler. Almost like a small child and Natalie could see in that moment how young and vulnerable Cody was but also how much of a man he was, sure of what he wanted. Natalie had only seen that side of him a few times like the first time they slept together; when he snuck into her bedroom the next night and the first night he had snuck her into his own bed when Caleb was out. Scared and insecure, but going for it anyway with courage.

When they had their children and they'd ask her how Daddy proposed to Mommy, Natalie would tell them about this moment. She'd remember what Cody told her that night, word by word for the rest of her life. And this, this was the beginning of her life. Cody was it. Her future.

"Are you asking me---?" She choked out, tears running down her cheeks again.

He kissed her, cupping her face in his hands. With his body pressed against hers, she returned the kiss and put her arms around him.

“Please say you’ll be mine,” he murmured in her ear before kissing her again.

She continued to kiss him for a few seconds, stopping only to whisper as she sobbed and laughed with joy, "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you, Cody."

But it wasn't going to be that easy; because even though Hunter was around now, Pete was not going to let go of control so easily. He'd find a way to get back at Cody for bringing Hunter back into their lives and it didn't take long before he did considering he found somebody's phone left behind on the kitchen table.

Cody's phone.

He looked around to see if anyone was watching. Caleb was out; Lily and Hunter were hanging out and drinking beer in the backyard and Cody was upstairs with Natalie.

Smirking, Pete picked up the phone. There was a password, of course. Dammit. Pete took a few guesses. Birthdays and all that kind of stuff until he finally guessed right. He laughed, not believing how easy it was to unlock the thing. Either Cody was an idiot, or Pete was a tech genius and should consider being a hacker on the side. Looking through text messages, he found the messages he was looking for. Countless conversations between the two forbidden lovers. A secret relationship filled with cringe worthy confessions of love and affection and...what was this?

"Oh, this is too precious," Pete said with a snort.

Meet me at the motel at 8pm.

Last night was amazing.

I can't wait for tonight. Knock twice at my door when you get here. Don't let anyone see you, especially not Pete.

And there were pictures. Kissy faces and puppy dog eyes with captions that said "Missing u baby" and even one with Natalie showing off her new bikini and asking Cody what he thought.

Pete found just what he needed to make Cody's life a living hell.

By tomorrow morning, those pictures and messages would be all over the internet for their fans and the rest of the world to see.

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    Belle had been convinced that Caleb would try to avoid the question. Why continue with a mildly awkward situation when you could discuss possible autobiographical screenplays instead. Yet Caleb seemed ready to pursue, or attempt to pursue, her question, though his voice was shaking as he did so. She lifted her head and watched his face as he considered his words.

    Then he was kissing her.

    Having never really been kissed before (except the very rare times when Pete had convinced her to drink alcohol), Belle wasn’t sure what to do. All she knew was that there was a fluttery feeling in her chest, and she felt the world stop, and she was pretty sure that she couldn’t breathe. The kiss itself differed almost as much as her emotions, and she was left nearly gasping for breath when Caleb pulled away.

    Disoriented, Belle only just processed what Caleb was saying. He has feelings for me he has feelings for me. That was all she could register.

    That, and the fact that she kinda wanted to kiss him again.

    As soon as he mentioned Pete, she became aware of everything again. Grabbing his collar, Belle spat, “That jackass had his chance with me. I’ve been pining after him since we were children; he’s had multiple chances. I don’t care if he’s the overprotective or possessive brother I never wanted. He’s not worth the heartache and tears.”

    Her hand shook as she started to release Caleb, her hands sliding down his chest as she leaned her forehead against his collarbone. “But you, Caleb… You’re different. I’m not sure what I feel, exactly, but I know that you’ve always treated me better than Pete has or ever will. At least when you talk to me, I’m your equal. I’m not some object that you need to keep away from others. I…” She swallowed. “What I feel for you isn’t love, Caleb, but I know that it’s turning into it. And I think a part of me has felt this way for a long time, ever since that first time you brought me pudding to help me when I was crying over Pete.”

    She wasn’t sure if what she said had made any sense, but it was entirely the truth. Though she didn’t feel as strongly for Caleb as he did for her, she was sure that he made her happier than Pete ever could. To prove her point, Belle lifted her head and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She hadn’t been imagining things earlier; kissing Caleb felt amazing.

    Pulling away, Belle looked him in the eye. “Stay here with me, Caleb. Like you did in the hospital when I was out cold. I’ll feel safer with you here. And if Pete tries to bust down the door and beat you up, Mrs. Williams will give him the what for.” Attempting a grin, Belle hugged him. If Caleb stayed here with her, at least for the night (in the other bed of course, since she still didn’t know what she felt about him), maybe she would be able to accurately figure out how she felt about him.

    When Belle fell asleep that night, she smiled. It looked like she’d found someone to treat her right sooner than she thought she would.

    ~ ~ ~

    Belle’s phone was buzzing when she woke up. Hunter’s number flashed across the screen. She groggily reached over and picked it up. “’Ello?”

    “Belle,” Hunter barked, clearly pissed off. “Have you seen Pete’s social media this morning?”

    “Of course not. All Pete posts there is pictures of himself shirtless or making out with some chick. Why the hell would I care about it?”

    “He’s gone too far this time. Jerk posted Cody’s text messages with Natalie. Very incriminating text messages with Natalie.”

    She inhaled sharply. That was going too far. Quickly, she pulled out her laptop to check Pete’s social media, and lo and behold, there they were. Messages to plan secret trysts and hookups, messages about missing each other, the cheesiest-ass love confessions she’d ever seen (though in context of Cody and Nat, they were kinda cute), and… Oh, dear. The picture of Nat in a bikini really cinched it. Lost Boys fans had already posted angry comments in response to the post, saying how it was disgusting that an older woman was “taking advantage of” Cody like this, or how she “sank her slutty claws into him.” This was not good.

    Leaping over to the other bed, Belle shook Caleb awake. “Caleb, hurry. We have to get back to the house. Pete has gone too far this time.” She punched the wall and growled, “Why can’t he ever just leave us all alone?” Blinking back angry tears, she gathered her coat and her keys. It was time to put Pete in his place.    ​

 
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C A L E B .



What the hell did he care if Pete was going to kill him for taking a chance with Belle? As Belle grabbed his collar and confessed her feelings for him---confessed that she didn't want Pete but him---Caleb had the need to kiss her again. It wasn't love for her exactly, not yet, but he'd give her time. He waited this long. He'd give her all the time in the world if that's what she needed, what she wanted from him.

This time it was his turn to receive a kiss and he didn't hold back from returning it. He breathed her in like oxygen. She was a dream. She was the moon and the stars and the sun and all the good things in life. She was laughter and love and joy and she...she was Belle. That light in her was still there, despite its fading from all she's had to put up with and he'd never felt so alive until he'd experienced the way her lips tasted. Sweeter than anything he knew. Belle was holding on, and Caleb wanted to be the one she held onto.

Then she was asking him to stay with her, which made him uncomfortable not only for himself but for her. "Belle, I...I don't know if that's such a good idea..."

I’ll feel safer with you here.

That's what got him. That was all she needed to say. No more, no less. He didn't even take a second to worry about the rest of the gang wondering where he'd gone for the night.

There were two beds, thankfully. Thankfully. Otherwise, who knows what could have happened and the last thing Caleb wanted was to cause Belle to do something she regretted in the morning. He wouldn't blame Mrs. Williams for beating his ass for that one.

"Okay," he whispered softly, rubbing his thumb on the top of Belle's hand and planting a kiss on her forehead. "Okay, I'll stay."

---
That next morning was chaos. Definitely not how Caleb expected it to go but, then again, when did life ever go the way he expected it to?

This, however, was possibly the worst thing to happen since Hunter left the band.

Caleb's phone was blowing up with notifications and it was all about Natalie and Cody's secret relationship and the texts that served as evidence---or receipts, as the internet called it these days. Overnight, the two had both managed to become memes and subjects of debate. There was Cody's face photoshopped onto a baby in a crib with a picture of Natalie standing over it and message boards and threads filled with arguments between fans who were taking sides.

LostBoysLoverxo:
Look guys, Cody is a grown young man. He can do whatever he wants and if he's happy with Natalie, so be it. Love is love. #WeSupportCodalie

PeteIsMyHubby99:
HELL NO!! Natalie is such a slut and needs to back off and date men her own age. Besides, it's totally unprofessional. She's the boys' manager for crying out loud!!! #DumpNatalie

TakeMe2Neverland
I don't know you guys. I want to support Codalie but at the same time it bothers me. Why did they keep it a secret for so long?? But awwww Cody is so in looove....#ConflictedAboutCodalie

Then there was the whole issue about Pete leaking the texts. Some people were supporting Pete for doing the "right thing" by "exposing a snake when he sees one"; while others denounced him and called him the snake for betraying Cody like this and invading the couple's privacy. It was a mess and the more messages came in, the messier it got. Ultimately, the fangirls were on Pete's side.

Caleb tried his best to keep Belle calm, but this was hard for him, too. He may have not been the biggest supporter of his brother dating an older woman who also happened to be their manager but he in no way was going to put up with any asshole messing with his family, especially when it was Cody.

And Natalie. How could Pete do this to her?? Before Natalie, the boys were sleeping on couches and air mattresses they found on the side of the road; living off of ramen noodles and sharing a home with cockroaches and rats in their cold and shitty and totally cheap studio apartment. She took a bunch of teenage boys who nobody gave a shit about and helped them achieve the career of their dreams. They weren't at the top yet, but they were on their way thanks to her. Nat was the first to believe in them while everyone was laughing them off of the stage and out of audition rooms. If it wasn't for her, Pete wouldn't have all these girls pining for him; Hunter wouldn't have his record deal and #1 hits, and Caleb and Cody would have probably given up on their music dreams and gone back home to live with their parents and do something responsible like looking into law school or whatever. It was because of her that they were able to live their dreams, which is one of the reasons why it hurt not just the band but her so badly when Hunter left them; but now Pete was doing the same thing Hunter had done. He was betraying the one that kept them together.

Caleb didn't have a chance with Belle. Not unless he wanted her to get hurt the same way Natalie just did, and he didn't. Caleb would kill Pete if he did something like this to her and no doubt he would.

When they got to the house, the first thing Caleb heard was screaming.

N A T A L I E.




"Five, four, three, two, one! Ready or not, here I come!" Cody cried, before uncovering his eyes and running off to search for Natalie and the kids. Their kids.

Natalie was dreaming, of course. Dreaming of the future where she and Cody were married and playing hide and seek in their backyard with their son and daughter. He'd found their daughter first, then their son, and immediately attacked them with hugs and tickles.

"Daddy! Daddy!" The kids yelled, laughing.

"Now where's Mommy?" Cody asked, but it didn't take long for him to find her, too; taking her into his arms and kissing her passionately as their kids delightfully squealed in disgust. All she could do was laugh and laugh...

And then the dream was over and her nightmare had begun.

Not even twelve hours ago, Natalie was getting engaged to the love of her life and now?

Now her whole life was falling apart.

It all happened so fast.

"W-what? Cody, what are you talking about?" A half awake Natalie asked as Cody explained to her what was going on. The first thing she thought was happening was that there was a fire or a flood but then she heard those words, Pete’s gone and told the entire world and our fans that we’re a thing... and she saw Pete standing in her room and he was saying, "Did you really think you and Hunter could fuck with me and get away with it, Cody?"

"What's going on?!" Natalie cried, her voice strangled. Wendy and Lily were here, their eyes knowing and sympathetic yet angry at the same time.

That's when Hunter came in.

"This," he said, handing Cody's phone to her and letting her see it for herself.

"Oh my God," was all that came out of her, her hand shaking as she pressed it against her mouth.

Everything. All their texts, their shared photos and videos, even their voice mails were out there for the whole world to see and hear. And the bikini photo. Even the bikini photo. All of it was a joke for everyone to scrutinize and criticize and mock. The whole timeline of them falling in love was out there for people to laugh at like some kind of stupid joke.

Daaaamn, sounds like Cody has mommy issues. #mommyfigurewithbenefits ???

Omg what a cougar! Is Natalie that desperate that she had to get with her 19 year old client??? Trashy.

LMAO this is so cheesy and stupid and cringe worthy but I CAN'T STOP READING THIS IS PURE COMEDY AT ITS BEST.

Not only that, but there were music websites and some pretty famous musicians and execs commenting on all of this as well.

...Very unprofessional and disappointing....

...Irresponsible and childish...

...For her sake, let's hope she waited until he was eighteen, otherwise she's looking at jail time...

...Her career is most definitely over...


Pete went on with taunting Cody, and that's when Natalie snapped.

Jumping from the bed, she screamed, "You son of a bitch!"

She was on top of Pete in no time, punching his chest, his face. A different side of her took over, one that she herself didn't recognize and she felt hands on her pulling her away from Pete but she wouldn't let go until she was finished with him. Pete finally got his strength and pushed Natalie up against the wall, ready to punch her back when---

Hunter knocked Pete out. Meanwhile Caleb, appearing out of nowhere, immediately came over to hold Natalie down so she didn't go crazy again and end up hurting herself.

"Let me go!" Natalie cried, sobbing. "Let me go!"

Caleb looked to Hunter but Hunter shook his head. "Listen to me, Nat," Hunter said, crouching down to face her.

"No," Natalie said, terrified and nauseous. She was like a wild animal. "No!"

Her life was over. Done. Last night, when Cody proposed to her, she thought it had just began. That was a lie.

"Natalie, you're in big trouble here so I suggest you listen to me," Hunter said with the stern voice of a father. "I know how we can fix this."

"You can fix this?" Lily asked, both doubt and hope in her tone.

"It's gonna take some work," Hunter admitted, "but with the right strategy---"

"Strategy?" Wendy asked, like she'd never heard of the word.

"You guys remember Fairy Gold's scandal a couple of years ago?"

"That all girl punk band...?" Caleb said.

"The one where the lead singer went to jail for that car accident that put all those people in the hospital?" Lily asked.

Nat remembered. The lead singer had been driving drunk and injured twelve people that night. It had been the hugest scandal in the music scene for a while.

"Didn't she go to rehab or something?" Lily asked.

Hunter snorted. "Bullshit. That's just what her publicist said to tell everyone. To fit her narrative."

"Narrative?" Wendy asked---again, as if it was another word she had never heard of.

"Everybody said her career was over, but then two years later she and the band came out with Spreading These Wings..."

"Their number one album," Lily said, remembering. "The one that got them a---"

"Grammy." Hunter finished. "And why did it win them a Grammy? Because they took a shitty situation and turned it into this inspiring concept about overcoming your demons and all that shit. Fairy Gold made a comeback and was bigger than ever."

"Comeback..." Wendy repeated to herself, making Hunter look at her like she was an idiot.

"So how does this relate to Nat?" Caleb asked, confused.

"We gotta do the same thing," Hunter said. "Right now people hate Natalie but if we create this narrative---this comeback album that we can put together---"

"About what?" Wendy asked.

"About Cody and Natalie, what else? People adore a good love story and if we get them to fall in love with Codalie---"

"Codalie?" Wendy repeated.

Hunter rolled his eyes. "It's their---never mind. Look, if we make an album about this couple in love and a bad guy that gets in the way of that, not only can we fix this but it'll turn everyone against Pete and he'll be forced to quit the band. And unlike a redemption story for a drinking problem, we can do all this within a few months."

"But Pete's our lead singer," Caleb said, still unsure about this idea. "Unless we got a new lead singer for this album---"

"I'll do the vocals." Hunter said quickly.

"I know that Pete's been difficult," Wendy said, "but he's not bad. I don't think we should do this."

"Nat, what do you think?" Lily asked.

"I don't know," Natalie said, "this isn't who we are..."

"Fine," Hunter said, shrugging. "Move back to London. Say goodbye to your friends and your dreams forever. Let Pete win."

Ouch. That one hurt.

She looked over at Cody. He would know what to do, wouldn't he? Was this a good idea or not?



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    Belle had been angry many times before. Angry at herself, angry at Pete’s stupid groupies, angry at the idiots who’d eaten her pudding at Pete’s most recent party. And though she’d been angry at Pete countless times before, this time was worse. She regretted being his friend for so long. How could she be so blind? Belle was supposed to know him better than anyone, but right now, she didn’t know who Pete even was anymore.

    That was perhaps the scariest thought of all.

    Screams were not the first thing she’d expected to hear when she walked in the door, but it wasn’t exactly a surprise. By the sound of the screams, Natalie had found out what Pete had done…and he was paying for it. Oh, she had to see this. Taking Caleb’s hand, she pounded up the stairs and ran into Natalie’s room. She was punching the crap out of him—extremely entertaining—and Hunter was trying to pry her off of him—not so entertaining. After his initial surprise, Pete got up and tried to retaliate.

    Annnnnnnd Hunter knocked him out.

    Leaning over her former best friend, Belle curled her lip at his face. “Such an evil little angel when he’s sleeping.”

    Caleb immediately went to restrain Natalie, and Belle’s heart broke as she watched her friend struggle against him. Natalie was the calmest person she knew, always levelheaded where Belle certainly wasn’t. It looked like it was her turn to be the calm one. After everything Natalie had done for her, she had to pay her back somehow.

    Coming over to Natalie and Caleb, she gently pried Caleb off of her and wrapped her arms around Nat. This time, she would be the mother figure. This time, she would do the comforting. “Shh, Nat, it’s okay. Just listen to Hunter.”

    Hunter started recounting the Fairy Gold scandal from a few years before. The all-girl band was Belle’s favorite, and the scandal had broken her heart. The album Hunter mentioned, Spreading These Wings, happened to be her favorite. So, really, Hunter’s plan to do the same thing with Cody and Natalie was pretty smart. Codalie was going a little too far, though…

    Nat seemed unsure about the plan, so Belle stepped away from her and looked at her. “Nat, you know I give public image about as many fucks as I do people who eat my pudding. But the only way people will leave you alone is if you move to Antarctica or go along with Hunter’s plan. At least give it a shot. Antarctica will wait for you.”
    ​


 
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C A L E B .



Something was off. Really off. And it was bothering Caleb. He hated this feeling so much. This sense of suspicion, of knowing when something was wrong. Since childhood, Caleb had had a good sense of discernment. He could tell when a situation was too shady, too good to be true; when someone was being truthful and when they were dishonest. It was almost like a superpower and he both loved and hated it. It was great to be able to spot trouble from a mile away and protect his loved ones, but it was another thing altogether to convince people to believe he wasn't seeing things and to convince himself of that, too.

But the worse thing of all?

Wanting to trust someone when all the red flags were there, when all the alarms were going off in his head.

Caleb's intuition usually never failed him.

Usually.

After all, he was stupid enough to trust Pete at one point in time. Maybe it had to do with his charisma, but either way, he never doubted the guy and if not for meeting Belle and the rest of the new family he and Cody had found in Nat and the rest of the gang, he would have regreted it.

Caleb looked between Natalie and Hunter and he could tell that Nat was conflicted about this, too. She was sensing the same thing Caleb was; she had to be. Hunter wasn't like this. For as long as Caleb had known him, Hunter had been about the music. Sure, he had good business sense as much as Natalie did, but he never was one to resort to gimmicks or publicity stunts either. He liked to keep things real. Authentic.

Another reason why it was so surprising that he left the Lost Boys and let a bunch of record execs tell him what to do. That wasn't like the Hunter who Caleb knew, the one he'd have late night jams and all night conversations with. The one he called his best friend.

Caleb waited for Nat's response. She wasn't in the best emotional place right now considering Caleb had to pretty from restrain her from killing Pete or injuring herself, but he trusted that she, above anyone else, would know what to do. She always did.

But she left it up to Cody.

And Cody agreed with Hunter.

And so did Belle.

Caleb looked around at the room and his eyes met Lily's. Without saying anything, they both knew what the other was thinking and Lily was having the same doubts as Caleb, as well. Arms crossed and with a sigh, Lily gave up. "Sure," she said, "it's worth a shot." Wendy nodded in agreement. "I mean, I'm not a musician or anything like that," she said, softly, "but I trust that Hunter knows what's best."

Caleb thought that Wendy seemed like the type to trust the Big Bad Wolf to know what's best, but Caleb kept his mouth shut. Hunter's eyes were on Caleb now. Cody had already given Hunter his blessings, but Caleb could feel Hunter watching.

What could he say?

Caleb's eyes were on his brother now. Cody wasn't stupid but he was much, much more trusting than Caleb ever had been with people. More inclined to see the good in folks and give them the benefit of the doubt. He looked in those trusting eyes for any sense of uneasiness.

"Well?" Hunter asked, eyebrows raised.

Finally, Caleb's eyes were on Belle.

"…the only way people will leave you alone is if you move to Antarctica or go along with Hunter’s plan. At least give it a shot. Antarctica will wait for you.”

Maybe Belle was right.

Or maybe Caleb just wanted her to be, because then Pete would be out of this fucking band and Caleb and Belle could finally be together without any fear or drama.

Whatever it was, it made him say, "Yeah, okay…let's do this."

He had a feeling his opinion didn't matter, though. Perhaps it shouldn't have mattered, because Natalie was in really big trouble and it wasn't getting better any time soon.

"Anyone hear that?" Lily asked, frowning.

"Yeah," Caleb said, listening intently. "Sounds like—"

"Eggs being thrown at a car," Wendy finished, looking out at the window where Nat's car was parked. A group of teenage girls were throwing eggs and writing grafitti on it.

Caleb opened the window immediately.

"Hey!" He screamed, "what the hell is your problem?!"

The girls gasped and looked up, before immediately dropping their stuff and running away from their crime. One of them, however, was brave enough to yell out, "Bitch!"

"I'm gonna call the cops," Caleb said, taking his phone out of his pocket. Someone's hands were on his just then. "Don't," Natalie said, "just let them go."



N A T A L I E.




Slut. Skank. Whore. Cougar. Bitch. All those words and more were written on her car with grafitti now with egg yolk running down them. Natalie grabbed Cody's hand, squeezing so tight that she didn't realize her fingernails were pressing into his skin until she let go.

"We could always live with a bunch of penguins in an ingloo," she whispered to Cody softly, chuckling and wiping her tears away. Moving to Antartica sounded like a good option right now, but she couldn't give up that easily on her dreams. She had to give Hunter's idea a shot before packing her bags for good and going to live with polar bears.

No, she had to fight.

Or was it even worth it?

"So Natalie…" Hunter began, wanting her to make a decision.

Caleb's phone rang, interrupting everything.

"Holy shit," Caleb said, looking at the screen. "It's mom and dad."

From what Natalie knew, Cody and Caleb didn't really keep in touch with their parents. With the exception of Christmas cards and birthday wishes, their parents weren't much incolved in the boys' lives. They had almost disowned them once they ran off with Pete to make music before slowly reconnecting with their sons in their own way. If they were calling, it was only because of a special occasion.

They knew.

Caleb answered and just by the way he winced, Natalie could tell that things were not good.

"Okay, look, mom—I understand this is all—what? No, I didn't know! Well, not at first, I mean—he didn't tell me right away—"

Natalie rest her forehead on Belle's shoulder, finding strength again in her dear friend. It felt so good to be held by someone who understood you, who never judged you and Natalie needed that so much right now.

She could hear everything being said.

"What the hell is that woman doing with your brother?

"How long has this been going on for?"

"Caleb, you tell that slut to keep her hands to herself, or so help me, we will get the authorities involved."

But the worst of all was when Cody's mom asked,"How old was he?"

Natalie closed her eyes, squeezing them with much pain. She knew what they were asking.

Caleb's face turned white. "She'd never do that," he said, "because I just know her, okay?? She'd never take advantage of him like that—no, I don't know that for sure, but I—will you just listen to me?!"

They wanted to make sure Cody was of age before anything happened, and he was. The problem was getting anyone to believe that. Yet what broke Nat's heart the most was knowing that Cody's parents hated her, that they were upset at Cody and Caleb because of her.

The conversation went on like that for a while and then Caleb got hung up on.

"Don't follow me," Natalie told Cody, before she ran to the bathroom and threw up until nothing was left and she was shaking and breathing heavily. Then, she washed herself up and faced everybody.

"I'm in," she told Hunter. Maybe if people could understand—if Cody's parents could understand—what Natalie and Cody had thanks to a record, they could accept their relationship. Natalie didn't know a single thing on this planet that didn't change people's minds, that said the things that words couldn't, as much as music did.

Hunter put his arm around Natalie and smiled at her, before addressing everyone else. "Pack your bags, kids. We're going to London."

"London?" Caleb, Lily and Wendy said in unison.

"I got some friends over there who are gonna help us make our new album," Hunter explained, patting Nat on the back. "These guys are the best in the business."

London. Where Natalie's family was.

Did they know about the scandal?

Natalie wanted to throw up all over again.

"Please tell me you're coming with us," she told Belle.


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    There were many things in life Belle despised. Pete, for instance. People who ate her pudding, also. But most of all, she hated sorry little bitches who loved celebrities so much that they’d egg someone’s fucking car to show how angry they were. Like, really? Was it worth getting arrested over? Natalie wasn’t going to be convicted anytime soon—especially since Cody was of age when it happened.

    Even though Natalie let them go, Belle still slid out of the room and called the cops. She wasn’t going to let some stupid bitches get away with humiliating her best friend. Lily peeked out of the room and raised her eyebrows as she hung up the phone, but Belle put a finger to her lips so she wouldn’t tell the others.

    Everyone else started filing out of the room, and Belle tagged along with Caleb all the way downstairs. At least he’d finally agreed to this plan of Hunter’s. When they finally got outside, Belle sighed and lowered her head. “Why are people so stupid? Why the hell do they care about others’ lives when they should worry about their goddamn own?”

    Hunter once again tried to convince Natalie to agree to the plan, but before she could say anything, Caleb’s phone rang. Belle listened with increasing pissed-off-y-ness as she heard his parents say all sort of things about Natalie. She was glad when Cody snatched the phone from his brother’s hands and then gave it back just their parents hung up.

    Belle glanced up at Caleb. “Those can’t possibly be your parents. You’re nice. Even in the face of world-changing relationships.” Then she took a good look at his face. It had turned white during the conversation with his parents. “Caleb? Are you okay?” She tentatively threaded her fingers through his, concerned about his reaction to all of this. Really, she had no idea what he was thinking about this entire thing.

    Her thoughts were interrupted by the word London coming from Hunter’s mouth. That didn’t sound like a bad idea. Belle nudged Caleb in the side, hoping he was just as excited as she was. Smiling at Natalie and giving her a one-armed hug, she exclaimed, “Are you kidding, Nat? Of course I’m coming! I wouldn’t miss the chance to be an ocean away from Pete for the world!”

    And maybe I’ll be able to figure out what exactly I feel for Caleb while we’re there, she added silently.
    ​


 
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C A L E B .

Although he could see their point and could relate to their concerns, Caleb was still pretty ticked off with his parents. Heart beating fast and taking deep breaths, in and out, he tried to regain his composure. Belle must have noticed what was happening to him, because she asked him if he was okay and he could feel her smooth and comforting fingers locking with his; and somehow, somehow that brought him back. Belle always brought Caleb back home. This whole stupid argument took him back to those old days when he and Cody were a team against the two, determined to make music and a life of their own despite their mom and dad's protests and hurtful words.

"You'll never amount to anything no matter how hard you try."

"Go ahead, throw away your whole life. Go make music and be a loser."

"Once you leave this house, don't come back crying for help you little pieces of shit."

It was just Caleb and Cody, all those years ago in that hellhole of a home; it was the two of them when they packed their whole lives into a bag and got onto a Greyhound bus to LA with Pete and all these other strangers they'd soon call their best friends. And to this day, it was still that way.

Except, it wasn't.

Mom and Dad were expecting Caleb to keep Cody out of trouble like this, but Cody didn't need Caleb to be watching over him all the time. The brothers would always be together, but now things were changing. One of them was in love with a girl he shouldn't have been and didn't dare apologize for it, and the other was also falling for a girl he couldn't have, but was willing to fight for her if it was the last thing he did. One thing never changed, however. And that's that Caleb would never, ever let anyone hurt Cody. Not Pete, not Natalie, and definitely not his parents.

"Yup, those are my folks. Just like 'em, too. They didn't give a shit for us back when we were eating out of cans of beans and sleeping on an air mattress," Caleb told Belle, gently squeezing her hand. "But now that Cody's causing the family embarrassment, all of a sudden they care. Makes me fuckin' sick, ya know?"

London. Maybe a new environment, a new direction in their album would be just what they needed. Seeing how excited Belle was made all those worries about Cody and Natalie fade away, and his thoughts were replaced with the sweet idea of being far away from Pete and somewhere where he and Belle could figure their relationship out together.

But Caleb had never been on a plane and it was terrifying. To make matters worse, he didn't know he had a fear of flying until he and the gang actually boarded the plane a few hours later.

"You okay?" Natalie asked, sitting behind Caleb with Cody next to her.

Caleb, not one to easily show his emotions, nodded quickly.

"Bullshit," Lily said, flipping through a copy of Vogue in the seat block next to Belle and Caleb. "He's sweating."

"Lily, seriously," Caleb said, annoyed. "Do you really gotta call people out on their BS all the time?"

Lily pretended to think about it, before grinning at Caleb and answering, "Yeah. Yeah, I do." And then, "Belly, will you please calm your boyfriend down?"

Caleb blushed. "Lily—! You—! Ugh!" He cried, but he was too frustrated and downright embarrassed to come up with any sort of good comeback. Still, having Belle sitting next to him helped a ton and he had to admit, he kinda loved being referred to as Belle's boyfriend.

If only…. He thought, resting his head back against the seat. Maybe, just maybe after this trip that dream could be a reality. And even though the others could see him, Caleb reached out and took Belle's hand. Squeezing it tight. The whole thing just felt so natural, so right.

"He won't be able to hurt you anymore," Caleb said, not even bothering to say Pete's name. "He won't be able to control us. This will be our new beginning."

When Pete woke up, everyone went along with the story that they were all taking time off to "figure things out" and, yeah, part of that was true. However, they didn't mention anything about going to a completely different country and recording an album without him. An album with Hunter.

"Shouldn't we just tell him the truth?" Caleb asked Hunter as the guys threw their luggage into Hunter's SUV.

Hunter shook his head. "Just makes things more difficult than they have to be."

"Well, I get it that—but don't you think he has the right to know—"

Hunter slammed the car door, almost closing it on Caleb's hand. "Look, are you on his side or ours?"

The conversation was over then, but that sick feeling in Caleb's stomach never left him and he wondered if his nerves were solely because of his fear of flying or something else entirely.

"Prepare for take-off, please."

"Okay, here we go.." he said, exhaling slowly. He hadn't realized he'd be holding his breath for the past two minutes. "Okay, I'm fine."

And they got higher, higher, higher. Until they were flying in the sky.

"Think of a wonderful thought," Natalie suggested.

"Any happy little thought?" Caleb asked with a chuckle.

"Don't forget faith, trust and pixie dust." Wendy giggled.

"I think I'm gonna vomit," Lily said, rolling her eyes and putting her headphones on.

"There's a lot of wonderful thoughts for me to think about these days," Caleb said, but he wasn't looking at Natalie or Wendy now. He was looking straight into Belle's eyes this time.

Eleven hours later and a little after twelve pm, they arrived safely to their destination.

N A T A L I E .

Home. Natalie was going home.

She hadn't seen her parents in years. She had always made it a priority to visit as much possible, at least once or twice a year and a few years after she first moved to California, her parents visited her, too; but after getting with the boys, her life got so much more busier. They were her first real taste at success after working her ass off and hitting the pavement in the music scene for almost ten years. Her parents, of course, understood. They always understood. But that didn't change the fact that Natalie felt so guilty for not seeing them for…what? Two years? Three?

Come on, Nat. You've got to stop feeling so guilty for everything.

She couldn't help it, though, especially after witnessing the nasty argument Cody and Caleb got into with their parents. All because of her. Nat knew Cody already didn't have the best relationship with his folks and it had nothing to do with her, but she didn't like to complicate things. She didn't like that she made this worse. So when the gang got to the airport and waited for their flight, Natalie couldn't help but bring it up.

"Cody, I'm so sorry," she started, and before he could assure her that it wasn't her fault and that his problems with his parents went way back, she added, "I know. You and your mother and father are not on good terms, but darling, I hope…I hope that someday you'll be able to forgive and move on and, and maybe things won't be perfect and you may not ever be close like my parents and I are, but I hope that at least you don't hate each other. I just want you to be happy and I don't want to ruin any chance of you and your parents reconciling…"

With a small chuckle, she said, "If for anything, think of our kids? They're going to need both of their grandparents."

That's when her phone rang. Oh, God.

Oh, God, oh God, oh, God.

She took a deep breath.

"Mummy! Daddy!" Natalie said with a strangled voice and a painful grin on her face as she held the phone to her face.

"There's our little Natty!" Daddy said, that same comforting smile on his face.

"Hello, darling!" Mum said, giving a little wave. They exchanged "how are you's?" and small talk. Surprisingly, mum and dad didn't seem to know of anything. There were no questions, no awkwardness, at least not on their end. They were in the middle of discussing about an old friend of the family retiring and moving to Brazil or something like that when mum's eyebrows went up and she got closer to the screen.

"Sweetheart, are you in an airport?" she asked.

"Yes, actually, about that…it's kinda last minute but..." Natalie began, tucking her hair behind her ear. A nervous tic she got from her mum. "The band and I are…well, we're meeting up with some producers and songwriters to record a new album."

"Oh, how exciting! That's so nice!"

Mum and dad went on for a few minutes how wonderful it was that the boys were getting to be so successful and how proud they were of Natalie and that they couldn't wait to listen to the new album and tell all their friends about it.

Wow. They really had no clue about what was going on with the Lost Boys. Nat didn't know if she should feel relieved or terrified.

"Where are you going to record the album?" Daddy asked.

"Um. London."

Nat had to cover her ears and give Cody an embarrassed smile as her mother began to scream with joy and then sob all within five seconds.

"Our little baby is coming home!" She cried, before blowing her nose. Natalie chuckled, wanting so badly to reach her hand into the screen and hug her mum.

"And there's one more thing," Natalie said, biting her lip. "Mummy. Daddy. When I get to London, I…I want you to meet my fiance."

"Fiance?" Daddy said. "You're—?"

Natalie nodded. "I'm getting married."

And Nat's mom was back to screaming and sobbing with joy again and they immediately began to make plans. Everything was happening so fast, but they'd eventually find out about Cody and even if they didn't Natalie wanted to share him with her family. He deserved that and it was now or never. This was the love of her life. Hunter then came to let everyone know that it was time and Nat said goodbye to her parents, then took Cody's hand in hers before kissing it.

"They're going to love you. I'm sure of it, baby," she told him, but there was a part of her that was scared that she was wrong.

During their flight Natalie chatted with Cody about her family, giving him names of uncles and aunts and grandparents and cousins. "And my cousin Bea, she's so much fun. She can be quite talkative and easily excited. She's mischevious, too. One time, when we were little, we played a prank on our uncle Edward—uncle Edward is a very sweet man once you get to know him but he's also very stern and serious—he doesn't really appreciate jokes. Anyways, one day Bea and I planned to scare uncle Edward by pretending to be ghosts—"

And on and on it went. She shared every story, every tradition, every little thing about her childhood and her family until she found her eyes getting heavier and heavier.

Next thing Natalie knew, Hunter was saying, in a soft voice, "Nat. Nat, wake up. We're here."

It took her a moment to figure out why her head was resting on Cody's shoulder and where she was, but it all quickly came back to her when she looked outside the plane window.

"This look familiar?" Hunter asked, a big grin on his face.

"We're home, Natty," Wendy whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Home.

Miles and miles away from Pete. For now, at least.

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  • 68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5a67646f795538316272514a74673d3d2d3333353238383433322e313531636231386236623463376437633235353633353833303837322e676966
    Thankfully, Belle didn’t have to explain much to he boss at the music store; he wasn’t exactly surprised to here that she was going with the gang to London. However, she had to check out of her hotel before going to the airport. When she got there, she allowed herself to think about how Pete would react to everyone going to London without him. Ahhhhh. What a pleasant thought.

    The gang finally got on the plane, and Belle sat down next to Caleb, across the aisle from Lily. Belle hadn’t been paying too much attention to Caleb, so when Natalie asked if he was okay, she looked at him in surprise. Though he tried to cover up his discomfort, Lily called him out on his bullshit, only to ask “Belly” to calm her “boyfriend” down. Normally, Belle would have been appalled by the casual use of the word “boyfriend,” but she was more concerned about something else. “’Belly’? Lily, you must have a death wish. Call me that again and you’ll regret it.” Lily simply smirked and turned back to her magazine.

    Before she could continue engaging in her usual war with Lily (which had actually been calming down the past few days), Caleb grabbed her hand. She glanced over at him just as he started murmuring about how Pete wouldn’t be able to hurt her, hurt them anymore. The thought made her smile, and she threaded her fingers through his as the plan began to take off. “I always imagined breaking away from Pete. You know, like that Kelly Clarkson song. And now I’m flying like a bird.”

    Natalie tried to comfort Caleb by getting him to think wonderful thoughts, to which Wendy replied with the “faith, trust, and pixie dust” mantra that Belle always pretended she hated. Caleb looked her in the eyes and said he had a lot of wonderful thoughts to think about. Belle found herself blushing, but she kept her gaze locked with his as she leaned over and gently kissed him on the mouth. “Shut up before I’m the one about to vomit.” Her heart was beating a mile a minute; was this what Caleb had felt with her? It was an overall pleasant feeling…

    Belle yawned after a little while on the plane. Settling her head on Caleb’s shoulder, she murmured, “I’m glad I came with you guys.” She fell asleep for a good part of the plane ride, waking up only when the plane finally touched the ground. Her head had lolled away from Caleb’s shoulder to a weird angle, so she had a crick in her neck. Moving her head this way and that, she muttered, “Shoulda used a pillow…”

    They got off the plane, and Belle looked around. “Please tell me we don’t have to immediately get to work and I can see Diagon Alley at least once while we’re here.” The one nerdy part of Belle was tingling, and she really wanted to go sightseeing. After they dropped their luggage off at the place where they were staying, of course.
    ​


 
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