Fandom The Lost Kids

[DisneyGirl]

C A L E B .

She kissed him. In front of everybody. Belle had kissed Caleb in front of all their friends and it was fucking awesome. It didn't take away the anxiety of flying away—not fully at least—but he was smiling, too. After watching a few action movies, Caleb eventually fell asleep waking up only a couple of times every few hours to see Belle resting on his shoulder. Every time, he'd grin down at her and gently rest his head on top of hers. Man, he could get used to this.

When they got to London, however, it was all business. Caleb chuckled when Belle mentioned wanting to see Diagon Alley and hoped like her and his brother that they didn't have to get to work right away.

"We're heading to the studio right now," Hunter answered flatly. He didn't seem one bit tired. Had he even slept?

"Right now?" Lily asked, raising her eyebrows in concern.

"But what about our luggage?" Caleb questioned. "We have to drop our stuff off first."

"Don't worry about that," Hunter replied, putting his sunglasses on. "I've got people to take care of it."

Sure enough, he did. A black SUV came to pick up their luggage and drive it to the hotel they were staying at. Just one of the perks of being rich and famous, Caleb figured. Another black SUV came to pick them up and Hunter spoke to the driver in French, probably directing him to the studio. Caleb looked over at Cody with a raised eyebrow. Since when did Hunter speak French?

Hunter and the driver made small talk during the trip, laughing like two friends who hadn't seen each other in a while. Natalie also laughed, joining in the entirely French conversation. The men laughed again. When Natalie noticed Caleb staring at her in a mix of awe and confusion, Natalie blushed and shrugged. "My parents thought it'd be wise for me to learn a different language or two. One of the languages my tutor taught me was French."

"And the other languages?" Lily asked.

"Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, and a little bit of Japanese." Natalie answered, seeming almost embarrassed. "Hey, I went to a private school, okay? A lot was expected of us!" She added, laughing.

"Do you talk to Cody in French?" Hunter asked, dropping into their conversation. Almost everyone howled with laughter.

A short time later, they pulled up in front a circular glass skyscraper with a giant water fountain in front. Caleb whistled, impressed. "You could swim in that thing," he said, nudging Belle playfully. "I've got some pennies and dimes if you want to make a wish." If the outside was impressive, the inside was just as jaw-dropping spectacular. Shiny marble floors and glass walls, but what made it stand out were the colors that danced around the room like they had just entered a futuristic disco party.

Where were they?

Hunter approached a blonde woman at the front desk who immediately stood to greet him. They spoke in Portuguese, and judging by how much he was giggling, the words they exchanged were flirtatious. When did he find the time to learn all these langauges? Probably from touring around the world. After all, it was easier to pick up girls from other countries when you knew their language. Lily looked like she had just swallowed her own vomit watching the two of them. When Hunter and the woman were done acting like the rest of them weren't around, the woman led them to a circular glass elevator, reminding Caleb of that one elevator from Charlie and the Chocolate factory. This whole place felt as strange as Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. The elevator left them at a hallway with blue coloured walls, giving the environment an otherworldy underwater feel. The woman knocked on a door, and when it opened, they were met with their own Willy Wonka.

N A T A L I E .

The last thing Natalie felt like doing after their long flight was work. All she wanted to do was lay down in bed, maybe sip a bit of wine, and cuddle with Cody under the warm blankets as they talked about her loving family. But this was a business trip and not a vacation, so business came first. And like every good businesswoman, she ignored her own wants and needs and put her game face on. The music industry, like a lot of industries, was male-dominated; and as much as she knew that others in her field liked to talk about how supportive they were to opening the doors to women, the unequal pay spoke otherwise and Natalie learned fast that if she wanted to play with the big dogs, she herself had to be a big dog. It was a side of her that the boys—specifically Pete and Hunter—would joke about. Sweet and loving little Nat, out there in a man's world. She could be on the phone making deals and negotiating like a badass while making sloppy Joe's and apple pie for dinner.

"Hunter!" A pale and lanky man with sunglasses called out, as the group were dropped off in front of a conference room at the end of the hall. He reminded Nat of one of those characters she'd read about as a child. Goofy and strange. Odd but loveable. A cartoon character with a lot of tattoos and spiky black hair. He wasn't alone either, but surrounded with a group of people about Natalie's age. Hands were shook and names were given, everyone getting the opportunity to meet and get to know who was who. The pale man with the sunglasses was Billy Marino the co-owner of Marino Records. To Natalie's surprise, everyone already knew who Cody and Natalie were.

"You two are gonna make this band famous," Billy said, putting one arm around Natalie and the other around Cody. "Trust me, we're gonna take care of you guys. We got the best team in the world." Natalie chuckled, trying to be friendly even though this guy creeped her out.

"Where's Bobby?" Hunter asked, taking a seat.

Where were the songwriters? Natalie figured that since this meeting was all about the business part, the songwriters would come in later. Still, weren't they supposed to meet them today?

"I'm here! I'm here! What'd I miss?" Another voice called out. This one belonging to a tall and muscular man with a cigar in his mouth. Bobby Marino. He was a charming one, planting a kiss on Natalie's hand and jokingly asking Hunter where he got all the beautiful women from. Wendy seemed to find this to be funny, giggling. Bobby was obviously the one in charge, too, because his people nervously laughed at every joke he made no matter how cringe-worthy it was. This man reminded Nat of that Hades guy from Hercules.

And just like that, it began. Continuing with the charm, Bobby recited every career milestone of The Lost Boys—not even bothering to ask where Pete was—and congratulated the boys on their success. Caleb grinned with pride. "Well, a lot of it has to do with Natalie," he replied. "We wouldn't be here with you without her. We wouldn't be anywhere without her." Natalie smiled at this acknowledgement and praise, but the moment didn't last for long. Bobby nodded impatiently. "I'm sure, I'm sure. But if you think your career is good now, just watch what we can do for you. You haven't seen nothin' yet, kid."

Natalie smiled painfully. That one stung a little, but she understood that Bobby didn't mean to put down her hard work. If anything, he was right. The boys had a long way to go.

"I'm talking about world tours, international fame, Skechers commercials—"

Lily snorted. "Sketchers commercials?" She repeated. "They're musicians, not the Kardashians."

"Don't interrupt the man, Lily," Hunter snapped, surprising Natalie with his harshness. She'd never seen Lily look so small and ashamed. A child reprimanded by her parent.

"With all due respect, sir," Caleb began, not threatened by Hunter. "we're not looking for that kind of—fame. We just want to make music…and repair Natalie and Cody's reputations while we're at it."

"Of course, of course," Bobby said, grinning like a shark. "The album. We can't do all this without the album. You'll all be working with the best of the best in the biz. Sunny Stewart, Jax Porter, Derek Kidd—"

"Sunny Stewart? Jax Porter?" Natalie repeated excitedly. They were only the most amazing songwriting duo in pop music today, having written tons of radio hits and award winners.

"Derek Kidd!?" Caleb cried. "But every album he's produced has won a Grammy—"

"And yours is his next winner," Billy replied, smugly.

There was screaming and squealing and Oh my God's. So that's why they were in London. Sunny, Jax and Derek were all from London but were known around the world for the music they helped create. The Lost Boys had literally hit the jackpot. One of the only people who didn't seem happy about this whole thing was Lily.

"Derek Jedd?" She said, back to herself now. "His stuff sucks! He hasn't produced a good album in ten years. And aren't Sunny and Jax more known for their relationship drama than their songs nowadays ever since they did that stupid reality show? Guys, c'mon. Seriously?"
AnimeGenork

 

[AnimeGenork]

• Belle
• Cody

• 
  
  

  
  
  Belle frowned at Hunter as he took charge. He was certainly a step up from Pete, who would normally be all about finding a party and drinking himself silly, but Belle kinda wished he wasn’t so serious. At least he had their luggage taken care of. But why the heck did she have to go to the studio with them? She was tempted to steal Lily and run off to find Diagon Alley.
  
  With a sigh, she sank into the seat of the SUV that picked them up. Hunter started speaking French to the driver, and then Natalie joined in. Belle widened her eyes. “You need French in London?! Why didn’t anyone ever tell me that? I wouldn’t have quit French in high school.”
  
  Natalie explained that she knew multiple languages, which made Belle feel even more inadequate. Crossing her arms, she muttered, “I can barely English right. Geez.” Hunter chose that moment to make a crude joke about Natalie speaking French to Cody… which was actually pretty funny.
  
  The gang arrived at the studio, and Belle marveled at the giant fountain out front. Caleb nudged her, and she nudged him back harder. “Your pennies and dimes are no good here in London, doofus.” They entered the building, and Hunter proceeded to flirt with the receptionist. This guy. Lily did not look happy, which made Belle raise her eyebrows in her frenemy’s direction.
  
  They were all ushered into a glass elevator, and Belle sighed. “Really embracing their Roald Dahl, aren’t they? The U.K. loves its literature.” The elevator let them off into a blue hallway, and Belle glanced around, only to be shocked by the sight of their very own crazy-ass studio executive.
  
  Annnnnd this was the part where Belle got to sit there looking pretty. She was so bored by the conversation—some bunch of music jibber-jabber she didn’t bother to decipher—that she ended up in a thumb war with Lily. Belle nearly won, too—and then Lily interrupted the big official conversation when she heard something about Sketchers commercials. Hunter reprimanded her, though, and Lily shrank back. That wasn’t right. What happened to Lily’s tiger, the one she always had when talking back to Belle or Pete? Belle narrowed her eyes at Hunter. Something was going on with those two.
  
  Well, now she was basically forced to listen to the conversation. Belle leaned her chin on her hand, her eyelids drooping. It wasn’t until Lily interrupted again, showing how unimpressed she was this whole conversation, that Belle yawned and said her piece. “She’s got a point. I know the names as well as anyone—doesn’t mean I think they’re any good. Take Justin Bieber—everyone knows who he is, but have you seen how many people diss him? If we’re talking real awesomeness, I refer you to Fairy Gold, but maybe I’m just an idiot who knows nothing.”
  
  She glanced briefly at Caleb and then away again. If she ended up ruining this for the guys, she didn’t know what she’d do with herself.
  ​
• 
  
  

  
  
  Okay, so apparently they were meeting Hunter’s friends now soon. Cody would’ve protested, but he wanted this whole mess to end as soon as possible. So he didn’t say anything as someone came to take their luggage and a black SUV came to pick them up. He slipped into the car just after his brother.
  
  The idea of Hunter speaking French wasn’t as surprising to Cody as it should have been. No, what was surprising was that they were witnessing this in London. It seemed odd, but then again, London was a cultural center. Was it that much of a surprise? Natalie joined in the French conversation, admitting that she knew multiple languages. Cody smirked. He’d end up making some joke about how she was insulting him in another language. Hunter made a joke about Natalie speaking to Cody in French. “Even if she doesn’t, I’m still getting more action than you are, Hunter,” Cody remarked dryly.
  
  For the next half hour, Cody remained silent, still a bit tired from the plane. He also wanted to lie low and not say anything that could embarrass him or the band. As they pulled up to a glass skyscraper with a bomb-ass fountain, he decided to really take on this philosophy. The inside of the building was just as impressive and intimidating as the outside, but the most impressive part was Lily’s reaction to Hunter flirting—in Portuguese—with the receptionist.
  
  The glass elevator was a bit much. Cody wasn’t fond of seeing just how far he could fall if someone sang too high a note. But maybe that was just him. He smirked at Belle’s comment, only to adopt his serious expression once again as they exited the glass elevator into a strangely empty hallway.
  
  In the blink of an eye, they were joined by the executives, one of whom seemed to already know who he and Nat were. Cody tried not to flinch as the guy—Billy?—slung his arm around his shoulders and Nat’s. One look at Nat’s incredibly fake smile told him that she was having a similar reaction to this guy.
  
  Oddly enough, they weren’t joined by any songwriters, but one of the execs came in late and kissed Nat’s hand. Cody scowled, sitting down beside Nat and pulling her closer to him. A major Back off vibe seemed to radiate from him, but if any of his friends noticed, they ignored it.
  
  Belle may not have been paying attention, but Cody made sure he didn’t miss a word. He especially noticed how Bobby barely gave Nat any acknowledgement when Caleb pointed out that the Lost Boys’ success was because of her. Cody made a point to kiss Nat on the cheek and shoot a glare Bobby’s way. Sexist pig.
  
  The guy started elaborating on the type of things they could do to make the Lost Boys big, including Sketchers commercials—which Lily had to comment on. Hunter immediately shot her down, though, which elicited an odd reaction from her. Cody and Belle exchanged a surprised glance before Cody turned his attention back to the meeting. Caleb pointed out that they didn’t want all the stupid stuff that came with fame—they were here to write the album that would fix Pete’s mess.
  
  Instead of completely answering this change of topic, Bobby started listing all the people they’d be working with. Impressive names, to be sure, but something didn’t seem right about them. Even Natalie’s awestruck, excited look couldn’t shake this feeling. They’d hit the jackpot—shouldn’t he be happy about this?
  
  It wasn’t until Lily commented once again that he realized why he’d been doubting this. Sunny Stewart and Jax Porter’s clearly repressed sexual tension (no, he did not speak from experience with his manager…) had been something of a frustration to him the past few years. They worked so well together…when they actually worked together. If they were going to help out the Lost Boys, how could he trust them to actually get the job done. As for Derek Kidd, Cody was fairly sure he’d only liked one album the guy produced. Or was that some other producer? Why was his music knowledge so shitty?
  
  Belle said her piece after basically being thrust into the background for the past half hour. Cody nodded. “Our resident fairy has a point herself. Personally, I was somehow convinced Hunter would be writing most of the songs on this thing.” He cut a glance at Hunter, who had to be livid that Lily had interrupted again, only to be followed by Belle. “I’m not saying I’m not grateful for what you’re doing for me and Nat, guys, but I understandably have my doubts about songwriters who can’t just do it and get over their shit. How can I trust them to write about me and Nat’s relationship if they can’t even work out their own?”
  
  Looking around, he realized he’d probably said too much again. Slumping down in his seat, he grumbled, “But… uh… what do I know?”
  ​

D DisneyGirl​

 

[DisneyGirl]

CALEB

When Belle and Cody spoke up, the room went silent before Bobby laughed. "Fairy Gold is a good band and all," he said, "—but they're not—well, they're not much, sweetie," the man chucked at Belle, before lighting a cigar. Caleb took in a deep breath and bit his tongue. He didn't like the way Bobby just dismissed Belle like that and Caleb looked over at her, his eyes pleading for her not to say anything more. If she kept talking and this guy kept patronizing her, Caleb wasn't sure he'd have the self-control not to say anything to Bobby and fuck this up for everybody. Damn, what was Belle doing here dealing with all this bullshit anyway? She didn't need to be here. Caleb just wanted to leave this stupid meeting already and take Belle to find Diagon Alley. As soon as this meeting was over, he was gonna steal her away and take her out for the night. To Cody, Bobby said, "And Hunter will of course be helping out, but I'm not sure if you're in a position to criticize, kid. Sunny and Jax have their issues, true, but how many number one hit singles on the radio do you have under your belt?"

"The boys have written a lot of great material if you would like to listen to—" Natalie began, trying to stand up for her man in a civil way but Lily was louder.
"Have you even listened to any of their songs?" Lily challenged, crossing her arms. "The Lost Boys make real music. Sunny, Jax and Derek haven't made real music in years and probably wouldn't recognize it if you slapped them in the face with it. I'm starting to think you wouldn't either."

Caleb wanted to scream, but Bobby didn't seem at all fazed. "And who are you again? Besides the ex-lead singer's ex-girlfriend?"

"Lily, just stop—" Hunter warned.

"Excuse me?!" Lily cried.

"Look, if you're just gonna be trouble, then you can leave, or—" Bobby said, shaking his head like he was too old and tired to deal with a fiesty young woman like her.

"Or what? You'll call your fancy security guards on me? Then do it!" Lily yelled, obviously hurt by the man's words about her and Pete. This was a whole other side of Lily that Caleb hadn't seen.

"Stop it! Right now!" Hunter snapped once more, getting up from his seat before taking in a deep breath and sitting back down. "Bobby, don't—" Hunter said, narrowing his eyes at the older man but staying perfectly calm this time. "she's just—she doesn't know how it works—" he added, with a shrug. "None of them really do. Nat barely does. They're all pretty new to this. Please be patient."

Bobby and Hunter exchanged silent words only communicated by the way they looked at each other. Caleb recognized that look; he and his brother would exchange it whenever they had an agreement that the other wasn't keeping. Something was up here, but what?

"As I said, Fairy Gold is a good band, but they're not special," Bobby continued, before grinning and saying, "now The Lost Boys? They're special."

"Yes, very special," Billy agreed, nodding enthusiastically. Bobby continued, "Fairy Gold is talented, sure, but do they have the "It" factor? Eh. The Lost Boys, however? You guys have It."

Caleb grinned at that, even if he wasn't sure what exactly what "it" was. "And Fairy Gold may have won a Grammy a few years ago," Bobby added, "but the band hasn't had a hit single in years. If you want to survive today's market, you gotta get on the radio and stay there. All. The. Damn. Time. 'Till they're sick of ya." He chuckled. "That's how you sell concert tickets and win more awards and become stars. So maybe you don't want the Skechers commercials, that's fine."

"—but imagine this!" Billy said, putting his arms around Cody and Caleb. "Stadium tours full of fans screaming. Cheering your names and knowing every single word to every single song."

"Wow," Caleb whispered, seeing it in his imagination. Everything that he and Cody had worked so hard for. Just within their reach.

NATALIE

"Or you can move back home and continue playing music in your garage," Bobby suggested with a shrug as if he could care less what choice they made. "That'll be the only thing left waiting for you back at home ever since your little…scandal."

Natalie shrunk in her seat in shame. She was sure that Bobby didn't mean to call her out, but she still felt the jab. The message was clear. Either sell out or give up your dreams and go home. Nat had to make sure the boys took this deal. She couldn't let her mistakes get in the way of their hard work and dreams…of Cody's hard work and dreams. She had to make Cody see that this was the right choice. Or…or she couldn't live with herself. As if he could read her mind—that, or just sense her guilt—Bobby turned to her and smiled. "What do you say, honey? You want to see your boys be successful, don't ya? You want to see Cody be successful? It'd be a shame that those bikini photos and late night hookups at motels would destroy everything you all worked so hard for."

He was manipulating her emotions and a part of Natalie knew that, but she still fell for his spell. Turning to Cody, Natalie took his hands in hers and said, "I think we should take this offer. I know it's not exactly how we all imagined this—but…but…Cody, I don't want you to lose your dream before you could ever fulfill it."

Looking around the room at all her friends, she said, "Let's just see how it works out, okay? Let's just try." Even though Lily and Belle weren't in the band, they were family and had been with the boys and Nat since the very beginning and she wanted them to be at peace with the decision as well. She wanted them to trust Bobby and Billy because if they didn't, it was a trip back home on a Greyhound for all of them. The Lost Boys is what brought them together and Natalie wouldn't let the band fall apart. Without Bobby and Billy, the band had no future.

"You should listen to your little girlfriend," Bobby said to Cody with an amused grin, "she obviously loves you very much."

Girlfriend. That reminded Natalie that she and Cody still hadn't told their friends about their engagement. Knowing Wendy, she'd want to throw a party to celebrate to marriage-to-be. Natalie smiled. One day they're a struggling band and Cody and Natalie are hooking up in secret; the next, she and her love are engaged and the boys about to sign their first big record deal contract.

"Tell you what, kids," Bobby said, getting up from his leather chair. A signal that the meeting was over. "Take this contract. I'll give you an extra day to sign it. Twenty four hours to get back to me. You sleep on it and take some time to consider it amongst yourselves and then you call me back and tell me you're ready. If I don't get that phone call within twenty four hours, you'll never see me again and can consider this trip a nice free vacation."

"And if we do call you?" Nat and Caleb asked in unison.

"Then you'll start working with Sunny, Jax and Derek right away and be on your way to making the album of the year."

Natalie didn't know what she was more nervous about. The big decision they had ahead of them, or the fact that in a few hours she was going to be introducing Cody to her parents. Either way, her heart was beating way too fast to be considered normal and she desperately needed some wine if she was going to survive their time in London.

AnimeGenork

 

[AnimeGenork]

• Belle
• Cody

• 
  
  

  
  
  Normally, having her opinion written off as Bobby did would piss off Belle. But the way she was dismissed this time made her more embarrassed than anything. Crossing her arms, she glared out the window, wishing she could punch Bobby where the sun don’t shine. If sexist pigs like them were working in the music industry, what kind of chance did bands like Fairy Gold have of making it big. He could say what he wanted, but Belle knew they were amazing. It took real guts to form a girl band in this day and age.
  
  It looked like she wouldn’t have to say anything, though, because Lily was on top of it. Being an observer of Lily’s anger was much different than being on the receiving end of it. No wonder she and Lily had had the tendency to fight; their anger, when unleashed, was a terrible and scary thing.
  
  Almost as soon as the tension escalated, it dropped quickly as Hunter glared at Bobby and told him to stop. That was odd and all, but what was really odd was how submissive Bobby seemed to Hunter. Bobby’s attempt at calming everything down still didn’t excuse him for his sexist behavior, though. He continued ratting on Fairy Gold, so Belle tuned him out and continued glaring out the window.
  
  In the course of a few minutes, Cody went from silent mouse to avenging angel…sorta. Bobby had been guilt-tripping Nat into agreeing to work with them. Belle and Lily exchanged pissed glares. They silently agreed to keep an eye on Bobby from now on. They may not have anything to do with the band, but if they could help it, they wouldn’t let Natalie get roped into any jackass’s mind games.
  
  They wouldn’t let another Pete brainwash them ever again.
  
  ~ ~ ~
  
  Belle started spouting curses as soon as they left the building. “I can’t believe I let you guys drag me in there only to get snubbed by some pompous executive jackass!” Lily was about as enraged as she was, and they complained loudly together.
  
  Once back in the car, Belle nudged Caleb. “You better take me to Diagon Alley, Caleb, or I’ll be even more pissed off than I am now.” Thoroughly done with the day’s events, she leaned her head on his shoulder as the car drove toward their hotel. “Thank goodness you’re not like those jackasses, Caleb.”
  
  ~ ~ ~
  
  After unpacking at the hotel, where she was sharing a room with Lily and Wendy while Caleb shared with Hunter and Natalie shared with Cody, Belle had dragged Caleb out the door. She really, really, really, really wanted to see Diagon Alley after that shitty meeting. It had been just as amazing as she thought it would be. Belle made sure to take a whole bunch of pictures.
  
  Now the sun was close to setting and Belle was still dragging Caleb everywhere. “How about we go to the Ferris Wheel now? With the sun setting, I bet the view is fantastic up there!” A sudden idea of kissing Caleb at the top of the Ferris Wheel popped into her head, but she shook her head to push the idea away, her cheeks going pink.
  
  “C’mon, Caleb, let’s hurry before we miss the sunset!”
  ​
• 
  
  

  
  
  It took all Cody’s willpower not to snap at Bobby. First he disrespected Nat, then he wrote off Belle, and now he was treating Cody like a stupid kid? Were all music execs like this? He barely restrained himself from saying that Sunny and Jax’s “number one” singles were nothing but conformist crap that people liked just for the sake of liking.
  
  Lily, of course, took the offensive and started screaming at Bobby, who looked about to call security on her. Cody leaned forward in his chair, ready to leap in front of her, but Hunter managed to calm everyone down. Still, Bobby and Billy continued to act like jerks. Cody couldn’t believe that he was going to be working with these jackasses after the way they treated his friends.
  
  What really stung was Bobby’s clear insult directed at Natalie. It was one thing to insult Belle’s favorite band continuously to her face, it was one thing to nearly call security on Lily, but it was a completely different thing to blame Natalie for their current situation when it was all his fault. The worst part was that she was falling for it. Squeezing her hands, he said, “I’ll try, Nat. But only if you stop messing with my girlfriend’s head.” He leveled a deadly glare at Bobby. “She can make her own decisions.”
  
  What a sticky mess they were in.
  
  ~ ~ ~
  
  Cody was incredibly relieved to be leaving that stupid meeting. He punched Hunter in the shoulder and hissed, “I hope you’re willing to tell those jerks to stop treating the girls badly. I’ve never met anyone so sexist in all my life. Besides His Royal Jackass, of course.”
  
  Grabbing Natalie’s hand, he slid into the car waiting for them. “Let’s go back to our hotel so I can make myself look at least somewhat civilized before I meet your parents.” He kissed her cheek and leaned his head against hers. “Don’t you worry about what Bobby said, Nat. He’s a jerk, and you’re better than him in every single way.”
  
  And if he ever insults you again, I’ll punch that smirk off his face.
  
  ~ ~ ~
  
  Sharing a hotel room with Natalie was definitely Hunter’s doing, not that Cody was going to complain about it. Having seen her expression after the meeting, he immediately got her an alcoholic beverage. Cody collapsed onto the bed and promptly flung his arm over his eyes. Before he knew it, he’d fallen asleep, and when he woke up, it was nearly sunset.
  
  In a flurry of movement, Cody took a shower and threw on some clean clothes. “C’mon, Nat, let’s go to your parents’ place. I’ve been dying to meet the people who raised you. Argh, why won’t my hair stay down?”
  
  Reaching the hotel room door, Cody smiled over at Natalie. “I promise to be on my best behavior, so don’t you worry about a thing, alright?”
  ​

 

[DisneyGirl]

Caleb;

The energy within the group had changed considerably. Belle and Wendy were ranting about the dumbass executives they'd just met with; Natalie wanted to know where the nearest bar was while Cody was both a mix of pissed and relieved and loving towards Nat; and Wendy...well, Wendy was actually the only one who hadn't changed, really. She seemed pretty excited about this new business venture. Hunter was the only one that caused Caleb to feel uneasy. He didn't at all seem concerned by his "friends" and their behavior back at the office. He just kept saying over and over again, "You'll get used to it," and "don't take it personal" and "it's just how they do business."

"Just how they do business?" Caleb asked, a little calmer than his brother. "Dude. Would you let someone talk to your girlfriend like that? Your sister? Your mom?"

Hunter pressed his lips together. "They have good intentions," was all the guy could say.

Caleb rested his head against the seat and sighed, unsure about how to feel about all of this. He still didn't know if he could trust Hunter. He wanted to, so badly...but was it really the smartest thing to do after their not-so-great past?

And then there was Belle. Making him laugh and providing some sense of sanity and peace in the midst of it all. Resting his head against hers, he replied, "You bet I will." And when she told him that she was glad he wasn't like those jackasses, he squeezed her hand and smiled. Somehow, that meant everything. Her opinion meant everything.
---
"Ya sure you'll be fine, Wen?" Caleb asked Wendy as he came over to the girls' room to pick Belle up for their date. Shit, was it a date? Or were they just hanging out as friends? Was he really supposed to be wearing cologne right now or was that too much and unnecessary? Did this brown leather jacket make him look cool or just stupid?

Wendy, sitting cross-legged on the bed in her pink pajamas, nodded. Holding a teddy bear in her arms, she said, "I've got Luvy and ice cream and Netflix to keep me company!"

Caleb smiled back at her, not with pity exactly, but somewhat close to it. Everyone had their significant other with them on this trip, meanwhile Wendy was all alone. It must have sucked for her, at least a little bit. She was just being a really good actress. The one person who didn't bother to hide her feelings was Lily. "Don't worry, she won't be alone," Lily told him, brushing past where he stood in front of the door before entering the room. She had beers in hand. To Wendy, she said, "Get over here, bitch. We're getting drunk."

"I don't drink—" Wendy began, before Lily threw the can at her.

Lily offered some to Caleb but he politely declined with a shake of the head and a "no, thanks". Lily shrugged. "More for me, then," she said before opening up her can and chugging the drink down.

"I'm guessing you and Hunter aren't getting along after what happened today," Caleb said, wincing.

"Well, he's not taking me to Diagon Alley, that's for sure," Lily replied, wiping her mouth. She let out a burp. "Wow, you've got a map and everything."

Caleb grinned. "Yup, Belle and I are going on an adventure."

"So what house are you?"

"Huh?"

"Ooh, I'm a Ravenclaw!" Wendy volunteered.

"Ptff, the hell you are," Lily replied, scrunching her nose. "Freakin' Hufflepuff."

Wendy pouted. "Well, what are you?"

"Gryffindor," Lily said, smugly.

"More like a Slytherin, if you'd ask me," Wendy mumbled.

"Yeah, well no one's asking," Lily bit back. The two girls then turned their attention to Caleb again. "So what are you?" Lily asked again.

"Uhhh," Caleb said, scratching the back of his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about, to be quite honest actually."

"Harry Potter?" Lily said, like it should have been obvious.

"I've…never seen or read Harry Potter." He confessed.

"WHAT?!" Both girls said.

"I don't like that sort of stuff," he said, shrugging. "Fantasy is not really my thing. I'm more of a science fiction kind of guy."

"Whoa, you really do like Belle," Lily said, grinning and shaking her head. "Does she know you're a muggle?"

"What?"

"Never mind."

Wendy took a sip of her beer and cringed at the taste, but said nothing. Then the girls began to discuss which movie they wanted to see. Wendy wanted Frozen. Lily wanted Scream. And the arguing of best comfort movie to watch began. Sheesh, poor Belle. She needed this night off just as much as he did.

Diagon Alley was fun though. Caleb did his best to act like he actually knew what Belle was talking about as they visited Harry Potter sites. He didn't have the heart to tell her he had no idea what she was talking about and besides she looked so cute, taking pictures. It would have been horribly boring with anyone else but with her, it couldn't be more exciting. She could talk about calculus and it'd be the most fascinating topic to him and Caleb hated calculus with a passion.

"F-f-ferris wheel?" Caleb repeated, trying to hide his nerves. "Yeah, um. Sure."

Caleb hated those things. Probably because when he and Cody were little, their parents would take them to fairs and during one visit when Cody and Caleb rode the wheel by themselves for the first time, Caleb decided he wanted to get a better view of the crowds down below. He got so dizzy and scared when he realized how high they were that he threw up all over Cody and never forgot that day.

Caleb tried to stay calm as they took their seats. As a distraction, he borrowed Belle's camera and took some pictures of her; making a mental note to save some for himself. She looked even better in person and he had the sudden urge to kiss her. He was starting to feel better about this ferris wheel thing---even leaning in to her lips---until they started moving up, their feet leaving the ground.

"Oh, shit," Caleb said, gasping and then trying to cover it up by laughing. "Oh, wow. Okay. Oh, shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Wow, we're high up here, aren't we?"


Natalie;

Natalie held onto Cody's words of comfort like the lifeline they were. If she was drowning in the ocean, he was the the one that jumped into the water to come and save her. If she was burning in flames, he was the water to put out the flames. He was everything, everything, everything. And he was going to meet her family, her parents. After finding out how his felt about her, she could only hope that hers would at least learn to accept the boy who loved their daughter.

Cody had the red wine ready for her when they got back to the hotel and she got tipsy enough to fall asleep in the bed she shared with Cody, cuddled up in his arms. Safe from the world and all the rocks they threw at the couple. It was sunset when they woke up, and it took a few moments for Natalie to remember where she was and the days' events. She almost wanted to ditch seeing her parents altogether but Cody was so excited. They'd gone from secretly hooking up in shitty motels to introducing him as the newest member of her family. She couldn't make him wait. Nat took a quick shower and threw on a little flowy black dress and matching stilletos heels. She kept her make-up classy and simple, maroon lipstick and cat eyeliner. Her hair, a curly mess just as it always was. Natalie giggled when she saw Cody was having trouble with his own hair and fixed it for him in the way only your mother, sister or your girl could. Natalie wasn't scared about how Cody would act. She trusted him to be his beautiful and amazing self. It was her parents' behavior she was worried about.

"I should warn you," Natalie said, taking Cody's arm as they got out of the taxi that dropped them off at her mum and dad's brick two-story house. "They're…well, they're very enthusiastic. Quite affectionate, actually."

When they got to the front door—a door Natalie had went through so many times in her childhood—she took in a deep breath and knocked. Here went nothing. She gave Cody a comforting smile and then the door opened.

It was dark.

"Um, hello?" Natalie called out. "Mummy? Daddy? Is anyone home?"

Frowning with confusion, Nat looked back up at Cody and then the lights went on and—

"SURPRISE!"

Everyone was here. Uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents. The whole family! She wasn't exactly thrilled with this surprise, but seeing family was always a joy and after being apart for so long, very much needed. She hugged everyone, commenting on how much such and such cousin has grown and how good aunt so and so looked until it was finally mum and dad's turn to greet their beloved baby girl.

"Mummy, daddy!" Natalie cried, instantly breaking into tears as she and her parents embraced.

"Oh, darling! We've missed you so much!" Mum cried, as Daddy nodded and added, "So much! Oh, our little girl is home!"

With all the love going on in the hallway, it took everyone a moment to notice Cody and when they did, Natalie wasted no time in introducing him. Her soon-to-be husband. "Mummy, daddy, everyone…" she said, shaking a little due to her nerves. She took Cody's hand in hers and continued, "I'd like you all to meet Cody. My fiance."

"Your fiance?" Mummy repeated, and Nat could tell by the look on her face—by the look on everyone's faces—that this was not at all who they expected to be Natalie's fiance.

There was a long silence.

Disappointed but understanding, Natalie looked down at the ground and accepted their disapproval; but, at the same time, she was not going to leave Cody either. No matter what. Look, I know this isn't what you had in mind but I love him... she was ready to say, but her father beat her to it.

"The drummer," he said, recognizing Cody's face from all the Lost Boys promotional posters and band merch and concert photos Natalie had sent her parents the past few years. Her father walked towards Cody—looking almost intimidating—as he got a closer look. "Well, then…this is the young man who wants to take my little girl from me? Who wants to marry my daughter."

The older man nodded, assessing his daughter's choice in mate…and he grinned. And laughed. He laughed! Full of glee and joy like a child. And he lifted Cody up off the ground, spinning him around in a big old bear hug. "Welcome to the family my boy!" Turning to the rest of the family, he announced, "Everyone, let's welcome the newest member of the family. My soon-to-be son-in-law, Cody!"

The family cheered, one by one hugging him and kissing his cheeks. Mummy took Cody's face in her hands and smiled up at him with so much love that the sight had Natalie tearing up. The woman gave Cody a sweet peck on the cheek and then told everyone, "Let's eat, shall we?"

AnimeGenork

 

[AnimeGenork]

• Belle
• Cody

• 
  
  

  
  
  As they took their seats on the Ferris Wheel, Belle stayed close to the edge. She wanted to be able to see herself rising above the city, above idiots like those music executives, above Pete's absence. It was hard to believe that just a few days ago, she'd been in the hospital for overstressing about her impossible relationship with her no-longer-best-friend. Being in London was certainly better for her health than living in that apartment had been. Even if it did include sexist jerkwads.
  
  Caleb had taken her camera and was snatching pictures of her. She laughed. He'd been a good sport, being dragged around all over London by her. Judging from what she'd overheard from Lily and Wendy while she was grabbing her jacket, Caleb didn't know much about Harry Potter. The fact that he'd humored her and come with her anyway made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She was reminded once again that, unlike Pete, Caleb really did care about her.
  
  He was just starting to lean into her when the ferris wheel started moving. A gasp escaped him, but he tried to cover it by laughing. Still, he was cursing as they started going higher. Belle widened her eyes as she realized her mistake. Caleb must've been afraid of heights! And she'd taken him here, of all places, to watch the sunset. Man, she was such an idiot!
  
  Scooting closer to him, Belle placed her hand over hers. "Caleb, are you afraid of heights? Why didn't you tell me? We didn't have to go up on this thing if you were too scared." His coming up here with her was a silly, albeit sweet, gesture on his part, but really, he should've told her. What if something happened and he ended up in the hospital?
  
  Biting her lip, she tried to think of a way to help him. He'd helped her so many times this past few days--comforting her when Pete brought home Wendy, sitting by her bedside in the hospital, visiting her in the hotel to see how she was doing, and letting her drag him everywhere. It was about time she returned the favor.
  
  So, she did the only thing she could think of to get his mind off this.
  
  She kissed him.
  
  It was a split-second decision, in retrospect. She just leaned over and pressed her lips to his. Like before, back in her hotel room in the States, she felt a strange mixture of emotions. This time, however, having fully let go of Pete, she didn't feel that tug of doubt in the back of her mind. All she could think about was how right she felt, for once, and how romantic it was that they were kissing on a Ferris wheel at sunset. Eat your hearts out, Caleb fans.
  
  Pulling away for a moment, Belle murmured, "Don't even think about where we are or how high we are, Caleb. Focus on me, okay? I promise we'll be okay." She kissed him again, more out of wanting than to distract him. Though that was certainly a plus.
  
  Eventually, she pulled away for real and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad we're here. And no matter what those jerks say, I know you guys are gonna make a great album and save Cody and Nat's butts." Especially since you have Hunter and not Pete here...
  ​
• 
  
  

  
  
  As she had many times before when his hair had disobeyed him, Natalie fixed Cody's hair. He smiled down at her gratefully before turning back to the hotel room door. They went downstairs and caught a taxi to Nat's parents' house. Cody wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek. Though he was excited to meet Nat's parents, he was also incredibly anxious. What if they didn't like him? What if they'd heard the whole scandal about him and Nat? Would they blame him for everyone hating their daughter?
  
  At her warning, Cody chuckled. "Oh, please. I think I can handle it. I grew up with Caleb, remember?" He and his twin had been the epitome of close twins growing up, so Cody knew a thing or two about overbearing affection. Not to mention the way his parents had been before he and Caleb decided to become rockstars.
  
  Natalie opened the door, but instead of a bright room full of people--there was darkness. That was alarming, to say the least, but Cody had a feeling there was more to this. "Are we on one of those prank shows...?" But before Natalie could answer his question, the lights turned on and there was a large shout.
  
  Now the room was full to bursting of people. They were most likely family members of Nat's, but since Cody didn't know any of them, he hung back, smiling at how much they seemed to have missed her. A few of them gave him small smiles as well, but otherwise they ignored him. He supposed that was to be expected. He was the stranger here, and until Nat told them who he was, they weren't exactly obligated to greet him in the same fashion.
  
  Finally, Nat's parents appeared, greeting Nat with all the love and affection he'd heard during some of their Facetime calls. He smiled. They seemed to genuinely care about her, unlike his own parents, who only seemed to care about reputation.
  
  Nat grabbed his hand and introduced him to the entire family as her fiance. He gave them all a nervous smile, but it was clear from her mother's reaction and the following long silence that they had not expected someone like him to be attached to Nat. Cody's smile turned down, and he swallowed. He was waiting for the big blowup.
  
  He flinched as soon as Nat's father recognized him as the drummer from The Lost Boys. Of course that was what he'd see. Of course. Being famous was great and all, except when it brought you nothing but trouble. As Nat's father approached, tall and intimidating as he'd always expected a father of a girlfriend to be. But just when he thought he was going to get it... the man laughed. And hugged him. He nearly choked, the hug was so tight. And yet, he couldn't fight the smile that was growing on his face. They'd accepted him! It felt so good to know that there was at least one group of people who didn't think he and Nat were revolting.
  
  Cody smiled down at Nat's mother, who took his face in her hands. "You raised a wonderful daughter, ma'am." She pecked him on the cheek and told everyone it was time for dinner.
  
  Grinning down at Nat, Cody said, "I'm going to love being a part of this family."
  ​

D DisneyGirl​

 

[DisneyGirl]

Looking into Belle's eyes, Caleb was reminded of something his dad once told him and Cody when they were kids. "Boys, there's a lot of dumb shit that a man can do but you don't realize how stupid you can become until you fall in love. A woman can make a man do a lot of stupid things."

Dad was wrong about a lot of things in his life, like when he insisted that there was no way we'd see the day when a woman ran for a president or how there'd be flying cars by 2015 or how Cody and Caleb's love for music was just a phase and nothing more. But this? This he was right about. Both he and his brother had done some pretty stupid shit for the girls they loved. Cody being with Natalie was a horrible idea from the very start—only because of the gossip and hate that would arise from it—and Caleb being on this ferris wheel was a really, really bad choice considering he was pretty convinced it was only a matter of time before he got too dizzy to function and fell to his death. All for a girl.

A girl who was so worth it.

There was no way he was getting off this thing even if it did kill him.

"Oh, I'm good," Caleb insisted in a high-pitched voice that said otherwise. "No, no. I'm not scared. Do I look scared? 'Cause I'm not…scared." His voice cracked, betraying him. He started breathing heavily now, making a noise that sounded like a cat being strangled. Damn it. Get off the ferris wheel, Caleb. Belle's not gonna judge you for it, his logical side told him. His ego, however, refused to give in to his fear. Be a man, he told himself. A fear of heights at three years old is cute, but being afraid of heights at this point made him just feel sad and pathetic. Belle deserved better than this wimp in front of her. What next? He was gonna start sleeping with a teddy bear and wetting the bed? He had to be a grown-up about this for crying out loud. Caleb straightened his posture, doing his best to appear calm. Relaxed. Maybe even a little bored and unimpressed. Ha. Scared. He wasn't scared. Why should he be scared and—ohhh fuuuuck, they were really up high! Mayday! Mayday!

But all of that was nothing compared to what came next. His heart had been beating wildly fast, but it kicked it up times a hundred when he felt soft and warm lips crash against his trembling ones. The kiss was terrifying and exhilarating all at once, like whenever he played music in front of a crowd or saw fireworks for the first time. Electrifying. That's what it was. No hiding anymore for either of them. A match had been lit, their feelings burning in plain sight. With this realization, Caleb did what was only natural: he cupped her face in his hands, pulling her closer, kissing her back harder.
He would have stayed like that for who knows how long but maybe forever if Belle hadn't pulled away, leaning her head on his shoulder and making him feel honored that his shoulder was worthy enough for her to lay her head on. Screw the sunset. He had the best view of nature's most beautiful right in front of him.

Belle's words brought him back to reality when he didn't want to think about it. Not here, not now at least.

"Thank you," he whispered, with closed eyes before adding, "but let's not talk about that. Least not 'til later. I just want to focus on this," Caleb slipped his fingers through the spaces between hers and squeezed her hand tight before planting a kiss on it. When they got off the ferris wheel and started to explore some more, Caleb heard music playing nearby, along with the sound of kids laughing; he could make out some bright lights, a carousel and carnival style game booths not too far away.

"Well, would ya look at that," Caleb said, offering Belle a mischevious grin. "Looks like I'm gonna have to win you some prizes. I hope Lily and Wendy won't mind sharing a room with a giant stuffed animal or two."

Mother had been known for her delicious pastries and desserts—in fact, Daddy would always tell everyone he met that the woman had won his heart with her delicious blueberry muffins—but it was father who was the cook of the house. He loved to make a good stew and Natalie's childhood had been filled with mornings that consisted of his home-made English breakfast. She'd missed his cooking so much and couldn't wait to dig in, until she'd seen what he'd made for the special occasion.

The table was filled with hamburgers, hot dogs, a gigantic turkey, apple pie, lemonade and glass bottles of Coca-Cola and oh my goodness, a fruit basket filled with Twinkies and Ho-Hos. In other words, an unapologetically stereotypical American dinner.

"Oh, blimey," Natalie said, looking on in horror. Daddy, like all fathers, had embarrassed his daughter many times in her life but this definitely earned a spot on the top ten of Nat's So Embarrassing I Wish I Could Die list.

"What do you think?" Daddy asked, grinning enthusiastically like he just invented the Thanksgiving dinner. "An American feast for my American son-in-law!"

Natalie offered Cody a blush and an apologetic smile. "He really wanted to make you feel welcome," she whispered. "I know the Twinkies are a bit much, but just go with it. My dad's a pretty enthusiastic guy."

Dinner was filled with lively conversation and the sort of laughter that left your belly sore in the best kind of way. A lot of "remember when?" stories and catching up with what everyone was doing these days. Daddy chatted up Cody about music, as fascinated and in awe of Cody's work as he would be if he were talking to a hot shot lawyer or a surgeon. Daddy was so interested in all of it—the songwriting process, the performing aspect of it, the instruments.

"How do you boys come up with those catchy lyrics? I love that one song about the summertime…"

"Where did you learn to play the drums so well? I have never seen such talent. You must teach me some time!"

Daddy praised Cody so much, absolutely adored him. Everyone did. They hung on every word he said, and Natalie sat back and watched proudly. Sometime in between all the conversation and Twinkies—which her family also absolutely adored—her mother winked at her, which Nat knew was her mum's way of saying "Good choice. I approve."

Daddy eventually became drunk enough on champagne to pull out the old family photo album. Giggling over a glass of her second—or third?—champagne, Natalie begged Daddy not to share her embarrassing baby photos with her fiancé.
There were photos of her as a newborn in her mum's arms; as a toddler taking a bubble bath with her cousins and rubber duckie, and her first day of kindergarten where she was crying because her teacher had informed her that she could not take her beloved stuffed bunny rabbit Fuzzy with her to class.

"…Oh, how she loved that bunny!" Daddy said, before mummy added, "I believe I may still have it somewhere…" and came out minutes later with Natalie's old friend.

"Fuzzy!" A tipsy Natalie cried out, jumping up to hug her favorite childhood toy. "Oh, Fuzzy, I've missed you."

"You can give him to your first born," Grandfather suggested, chuckling with delight. "Yes!" Grandmother agreed. "Oh, our little Nattie. Seems like yesterday I was changing your diapers and now you'll be changing diapers of your own soon."

As much as Natalie wanted children—and a lots of them, the thought of growing up made her pour another glass of champagne and eat a few Twinkies. Had time really gone by that fast?

They were now in the Natalie's Teen Years part of the album filled with photos of friends she'd lost contact with years ago or hardly spoke to for the most part and awkward fashion phases that included neon lipgloss, baby blue eyeshadow, pink hair streaks and way too much eyeliner to be legal. Not to mention a hideous amount of denim, like that hideous denim overall dress she wore like a uniform 'cause she thought it was "super cool". However, that wasn't the most cringe-worthy part of that chapter of her life—not even close.

It was her ex.

Photos of her with her high school sweetheart, sharing kisses and laughs and puppy love eyes that made her want to puke. "Oh, God, no." Natalie said, wincing and feeling sick. "No, let's skip that part of my life please."

"I'm sorry, darling. We didn't mean to—" her mother started. Nat shook her head. "Let's not talk about him—about that. Let's just forget that."

And then, there was a knock on the door. Daddy reluctantly went to answer the door, and sure enough, the devil appeared.

Nat's ex-fiancé.

AnimeGenork

 

[AnimeGenork]

• Belle
• Cody

• 
  
  

  
  
  It seemed kissing him did the trick, because Caleb was looking less afraid of the Ferris wheel with every second. At least, she thought so, because he took her face in his hands and kissed her back harder than she’d been kissing him. His kiss took her breath away, and she would’ve gotten lightheaded if she hadn’t pulled out of the kiss sooner. With her head on his shoulder, she couldn’t feel his heartbeat, but she had a feeling it was racing, just like hers.
  
  Caleb changed the subject from the album The Lost Boys were here to record, and Belle let him. It was a pretty touchy subject and thinking too much about it could ruin the mood. She smiled as he threaded his fingers through hers and kissed her hand. They got off the Ferris wheel soon after, and Belle looked over at what looked like a carnival somewhere near them.
  
  Belle smirked over at Caleb. “Even if they do mind sharing with a giant teddy bear, I’m not going to pass up the opportunity at getting one.” She took his hand and let him take her to the carnival. Now that he’d put the idea in her head, she really wanted to get one of those giant teddy bears. And she just happened to spot one over at a ring toss game.
  
  Dragging Caleb over, she leaned in and whispered in his ear, “I really like the black bear with the blue bow. Think you can win that?” She smiled and gave him a good luck kiss on the cheek, and then she sat back and watched him. A few days ago, she would have watched Pete like this, she realized. Of course, now, she saw that Caleb was far cuter and way better at a ring toss game.
  
  Hugging her giant stuffed teddy bear to her, she spotted one of those weird strength meter things. “Hold on a second, Caleb. I wanna see this…” She handed him the giant teddy bear and took the mallet from the man, who gave her a skeptical look that said, You sure you wanna do this? With a glare in his direction, she took the mallet in both hands and hit the pedal with all her might, practically leaping into the air from the force she’d exerted. The bell went all the way up to the top of the meter. The man manning the thing gaped at her, his glasses falling off his face. “I’ll take the giant turtle. Thanks.” Smiling at Caleb, she handed him the turtle and took back her teddy bear. “That one is for you, so you can keep at least one.”
  
  At least four more giant stuffed animals later, Belle could barely see the ground. “I think… we should go back.” She attempted to lead the way back to the hotel, but she nearly fell a couple times. Finally, they got back, but as she reached the door to the room she was sharing with Lily and Wendy, she heard drunken giggling and loud noises from what she presumed was the TV. “They sound busy… Would you mind if I hung out in your room?” Belle followed Caleb to the room he was sharing with Hunter, which was surprisingly devoid of any Hunter. Well, that was just as well. She wasn’t exactly his biggest fan right now, especially after he let those jackasses treat her and Lily like that.
  
  Flopping down on what she assumed was Caleb’s bed (it was already a mess, while the other was neat and tidy and had a bunch of loose-leaf pieces of paper on it), Belle squeezed her giant bunny rabbit to her. “I’m going to name her Fairy Gold, after the greatest band that’s not you boys.” The stuffed bunny just smiled up at her, and she hugged it tighter. “I’m going to have to ship all these to myself later. They probably won’t fit in my suitcase.”
  
  Glancing at Caleb, she grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the bed. “Don’t stand there like a nervous teenage boy. Help me name these other animals.” She crawled through the mound of stuffed animals over to Caleb and leaned into him, holding up a giant stuffed cat in front of her. “Thanks for winning all of these, Caleb. I had a really great time.” Looking up at him, she gave him a kiss. “You’re awesome.”
  
  She leaned her head on his shoulder once more and gathered the stuffed animals together in a pseudo-blanket. “I may just want to stay here all night.”
  ​
• 
  
  

  
  
  Cody had no idea what an English style dinner was like, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t find out anytime soon, because Nat’s family had prepared an incredibly stereotypical American dinner. The best part? His future father-in-law had done this all for him! Cody smiled at Nat and said, “What are you talking about? This is awesome! I love Twinkies!” Almost immediately, he started filling his plate with burgers and Twinkies. He had a feeling he’d never eat this much ever again, unless of course he and Nat came to visit again.
  
  In between each bite, Cody was busy chatting up Nat’s dad. He took such an interest in his music career, it was flattering. His smile had been stuck on his face so long, his cheeks were starting to hurt. “Oh, I’m awful at coming up with lyrics. That was always my brother and the others. I’m not really sure how they do it; I just come up with the beat.” He smiled. “Oh, I’m not that good, really. But thank you. I’d be happy to teach you.”
  
  He’d had no idea he’d have such a good time here. Nat’s family seemed to love him, and that was perhaps the best part of all of this. As Nat’s father poured him more and more champagne, Cody felt giddier and giddier. Some deeper part of his brain realized he was starting to get drunk, but that was okay. Very rarely was he coherent enough to embarrass himself. Eventually, Nat’s father brought out an old family photo album, and Nat begged him not to show any of the photos. Cody leaned over her to look at pictures of Nat as a toddler and a kindergartener. “Aw, she was adorable even then.”
  
  Nat’s mother brought out her old stuffed rabbit, and, tipsy, she hugged it tightly. Cody laughed, and her family started talking about Nat giving Fuzzy to their firstborn, and something about diapers. He wasn’t really sure what was going on, but nonetheless, he started grinning like an idiot.
  
  Moving on in the photo album, Cody oohed and aahed over pictures of Nat as a teen. He gave Nat a look and said, “Neon lipgloss, huh?” Then he realized that Nat had gone quiet.
  
  Apparently, she’d had another sweetheart at some point.
  
  Cody’s smile faded bit by bit as more and more pictures showed this guy and Nat together. They looked so happy… but Cody felt a twinge of satisfaction that he and Nat always looked happier. Nat and her mother started fighting (sort of) about skipping that part, and Cody stayed silent. What had happened with Nat and her ex?
  
  Someone knocked on the door, and Nat’s father went to answer the door. A man appeared, smirking devilishly and giving Cody some general creeps. He glanced at the photo album and back at him. It was the same guy. But how to get rid of him? Cody, having gotten sober from this unexpected turn, gave the guy a saccharine smile and said, “Looking for something, mate?” He leaned over to Natalie and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips. At least, that was what it looked like. In reality, however, Cody was making sure this guy knew he had no chance anymore. “I’m afraid we’re in the middle of celebrating here. I’m going to be a part of this wonderful family someday. Isn’t that fantastic?”
  ​

AnimeGenork​

 

[DisneyGirl]

When did they grow up? Some things about being an adult were pretty great and he could see the appeal from a child's POV, his own younger perspective. For starters, you could stay up and out as long as you wanted to and your parents—assuming you still didn't live with them which, thank goodness, he didn't—couldn't say shit. And there was drinking alcohol and driving your own car, not at the same time though of course. No homework, if like Caleb, you took the no college route and headed straight into the good ol' real world. Ah, the real world. That's where it got complicated, didn't it?

Adulthood came with a certain kind of pain. It brought freedom but responsibility, like paying bills and rent. Some kind of freedom. You went from being bossed around by your parents and teachers to being bossed around by the person who signs your paychecks and the landlords and Uncle Sam who wanted their cut, too. That's why Caleb chose a job he loved. People spent half their lives at work, so might as well love the work you do. Still, that didn't mean his career of choice was free from drama. At least the drama would be worth it. He hoped.

That was just life, huh? As a kid, you had a bedtime and math problems but you didn't have to worry about bills and could watch cartoons on Saturday mornings. As an adult, there was heartbreak and jury duty but there was also falling in love and kissing a young woman who loved pudding and all-girl bands. At this carnival, Caleb felt somewhere between his childhood and his adulthood. Both a boy and a man. He practically shivered after Belle whispered in his ear about her desired prize and kissed his cheek for good luck. He'd give her the moon if she asked him to catch it for her.

One thing out of a million things he liked about Belle was that she wasn't one to just sit back and let guys have all the fun. While other girls he'd been on dates with would have been happy to let Caleb do all the prize-winning, Belle decided to win something for him, too. "How'd you know turtles were my spirit animal?" He joked, before thanking her. "Yeah, the guys will wonder what happened to us," he agreed when she mentioned going back to the hotel, even though his heart fell at the idea of the night together ending so soon. Would they have another night like this? Or would they just go back to their rooms and forget this ever happened? Go back to being Belle and Caleb, just friends? "I am kinda tired," he lied, playing it cool and yawning in a casual but not so casual way as he attempted to put his arm around her. She was already ahead of him however, leading the way.

Yet, the night didn't end right away. Wendy and Lily were having fun all by themselves, and Hunter was nowhere to be found, so naturally, the two continued on this…adventure. Caleb almost couldn't breathe. Belle was in his (and okay, Hunter's) room, laying down in his bed. Belle noticed how nervous he was, and he could only gulp down his anxiety with a boyish laugh. Magic. That's what it was felt like, sitting in that room with Belle. Telling him how he was awesome. "You're awesome too, ya know," he reminded her with a sheepish smile and he didn't have to ask her what her intentions were with him and what their status was because the next thing she did was kiss him and he had his hands up in her hair as he kissed her back and—

“I may just want to stay here all night.”

Was she saying…? Did she want to…? He didn't want to assume anything, but he didn't want Belle to think he was stupid either.

"Are you…?" He began to ask with an embarrassed grin, when his phone rang. Pete. Caleb wasn't going to answer, he really wasn't, if not for the multiple missed calls and texts that had been coming through Caleb's phone the past couple of hours. Shit, had Pete been trying to get a hold of him that long and Caleb hadn't noticed?? Something was wrong. Caleb explained the situation to Belle before hitting the 'answer' button.

"Caleb!" Pete drawled, probably wasted. Joy.

"Hey man," Caleb replied as he looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "You okay?"

"I messed up, man," Pete said, and he actually sounded like he was crying. "I messed up, real bad."

"Yeah, dude…you, uh…you did." Harsh. Caleb wanted to be sympathetic but what was he going to say? Offer up some sugar-coated bullshit like, No, buddy, it's gonna be all right…just give it some time, you'll see...?

"I lost it all," Pete continued. "I lost my band, my friends…I lost Belle."

Belle? Didn't he mean Wendy, or was the dumb ass that drunk?

"She was the one, Caleb," the man on the other line confessed. "And I let her go."

"What? What about Wen—?" But Caleb remembered that Belle was next to him. "You're drunk, bro. Call me back when you're sober, alright? You don't know what you're talking about…"

"No, Caleb!" Pete said, his voice serious and so loud that it'd be impossible for Belle not to hear him now. "For once in my damn life, I know what I'm talking about. All the parties and groupies. I'm done with it. I had all I needed. I had you guys." The next part killed Caleb. "I had Belle. I love her, Caleb, and deep down, I think she loves me too. She just wanted me to be a better man. And I'm gonna be that for her. I'm gonna end things with Wendy and I'm gonna try to get my best friend back. Will you help me?"

Problem was, Caleb didn't want to give her up. Not after all this waiting and pining, but he couldn't betray his best friend either. Pete may have hurt the band, but he also had been the first to believe in them, to help them make their dreams come true. Even if Belle did choose Caleb, he'd have the guilt to suffer.

"I gotta go," Caleb said, voice shaking. "We'll talk later." With the call ended, he waited for Belle to say something.


//

You'd have to be an idiot not to notice the competitive male energy in the room when Ben, Natalie's ex, arrived. Cody wasted no time in claiming Nat as his own, sealing it with a kiss. He gave the message loud and clear; but it made no difference, because when Ben wanted something, nobody could stop him from getting it. And this uneducated nineteen year old rocker was no threat. The thought alone was laughable. He had an ego that made Gaston look humble. "Actually, I'm looking for—why is that gorgeous young woman my Nat Nat?" Ben asked, feigning shock. He ignored Cody. For now.

Nat's family laughed, but she could only roll her eyes at the way he treated her like some little girl. "Don't call me that."

"Look who's home after all these years," Ben said, with a chuckle. "She's not too good for us after all, now that she's an American and all," he said, a big grin on his face but venom in his voice. Nat's ex greeted her with a hug, lifting her off the couch in the process. That was the thing about him. He was a snake—he'd destroy you but first he'd charm you and wrap himself around you and every part of your life before going in for the kill. Nat tried to wiggle herself out of his grasp, but Ben just laughed delightfully and squeezed her tighter. "Welcome home, Nat Nat!"

Everyone was pretty excited to see Ben. Natalie's family had always loved him and took it really hard when they broke up, especially after—

Natalie couldn't think about that.

So having Ben here was like having another relative over. Their would-have-been son in law had life ended up differently. Mum wasted no time in getting a plate for the man, and more food was passed around along with good conversation and laughter. "So is this what you eat in the States?" Ben asked, chewing on some Twinkies. "Didn't miss eating a perfectly good British meal, love?" He asked his ex.

"They're for my fiance, Cody," Nat replied, dryly. She poured yet another glass of champagne, needing it desperately if she was gonna survive this night. She was drunk and her ex was here. Not a good combination. Ben acknowledged Cody, as if he somehow forgot he was here. "Ah, yes," he said, and he added with a raise of his champagne, "May you give her everything I never could, mate."

Natalie stared Ben down, studying his grey eyes, his jet black hair, that white button down work shirt with the sleeves rolled up. That sexy lawyer she once loved.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natalie asked, her voice dropping low. She almost didn't recognize herself as she heard the venom in her own words.

Ben gave a confused, innocent look. "Well, I just know that I didn't have it in me to make you happy…I hope he has what I didn't."

"Bullshit!" Natalie hissed.

"Darling…" Mum said, concerned. "I think you may have had too much to drink."

"Your mother's right, sweetheart," Ben agreed, giving her pitying eyes. That just drove Natalie even more crazy.

"That's not true!" Natalie spit out, popping up out of her seat. "You know that's not true!" She banged her fists on the table, too drunk to care about scaring her relatives or the neighbors calling the cops. "I'm not the bad guy in this."

"Well, it's not my fault you chose to leave me at the altar and go off to America to pursue a career in music of all things especially after we lost Jamie."

Everything went silent, because for years nobody had spoken of the wedding that Natalie couldn't go through with and the child that they all missed dearly. But Cody. Cody had no clue. About the wedding. About Jamie. Natalie had never told him about any of it, not yet at least. But she had planned to….she just wasn't ready to share that part of her past.

"I suppose you found fulfilment in becoming a laughing stock in the tabloids," her ex continued, throwing the gossip magazine in her direction. In the front pages—the front!—was a photo of Cody and Natalie at the London airport along with the rest of their friends and the words, "OOH LALA, COUGAR ALERT!" in bold print. "Not to mention you might need yourself a lawyer soon, considering the press wants to know how long this little love affair has been going on for considering your age difference."

"Natty, what's this?" Daddy asked, looking through the magazine with confusion and horror.

"Why…why are people saying these things about you?" Mum asked, her voice cracking as she read the printed out social media comments where people called Natalie a "slut" and "crazy", among other things.

And just like that, the snake managed to turn her fiance and her family against her. Or at least that's what Natalie feared. She was exposed on both sides.

"It was a mistake coming here," Ben said, shaking his head. Playing the good guy as always. "I must go." And he left the house that he set on fire, with Natalie to put it out.

AnimeGenork

 

[AnimeGenork]

• Belle
• Cody

• 
  
  

  
  
  Belle’s eyes widened as Caleb kissed her back, but that was okay, because she found that kissing him was far more enjoyable her babbling. Then his hands were in her hair, and she was clutching his shirt, and she was starting to wonder if stuffed animals minded if you kissed in front of them. They had feelings too, right? She hoped they weren’t offending Fairy Gold and the other animals, especially since she hadn’t finished naming them yet…
  
  Caleb pulled away then, and he started to ask a question, possibly in response to her admitting she wouldn’t mind staying there, but he didn’t finish, because his phone rang. He quickly told her that he’d apparently missed a bunch of texts and calls from Pete. She folded her arms but didn’t say anything.
  
  The one end of the call she did hear was pretty standard. Seemed like Pete was drunk, judging from Caleb’s expression, but his responses cemented it. Pete was drunk enough to be self-deprecating, a phase of drunkenness Belle had experienced firsthand many times before.
  
  Then, suddenly, she could hear everything Pete was saying.
  
  He loved her. That jackass had the nerve to say he loved her. Belle sat there dumbly, listening as he talked about how he wanted to be a better man for her. What the hell? Where did he get off on saying all this shit? How long had she put up with his bullshit, knowing he would probably never feel the same way about her that she did him? And now he decided she was good enough for him? God, she didn’t need that prick in her life! Poor, poor Wendy. She really deserved much better than that mess of a man.
  
  Then he asked Caleb to help him.
  
  God, he was such a jackass.
  
  Caleb’s voice shook as he hung up. He seemed to be waiting for her to say something. Belle crawled over to him and hugged him from behind, her arms around his torso. “I see he wasted no time in getting wasted with us gone, huh?” she murmured. She wasn’t quite sure what to say to him, after hearing all that. What would he want to hear? Reassurance? Anger? A little of both?
  
  Wow, no wonder she couldn’t keep a man.
  
  Belle turned him around so he was facing her. “Hey… I know I only recently gave up on him… but I promise you I did give up on him. He had his chance, Caleb, and he blew it. In fact, unless I’m mistaken, he had about twenty chances, and he blew them all.” She looked down at her lap. “A few days ago, I would have loved to hear that from Pete, even if he was drunk. But now?” Raising her face to Caleb, she put her hand on his cheek. “Now I’m giving you a try. And even though it’s been all of a couple days, you’ve already made me happier than Pete ever could have. You actually give a damn about me, and that’s something I haven’t seen in a long, long time.” She took his hands in her own. “I don’t give a shit what Pete wants now. I’m over him. I’m with you, Caleb. And I don’t want to give that up.”
  
  She kissed him then, wrapping her arms around his neck. Hopefully, she had gotten her point across. Hopefully, he would stay with her. And hopefully, he’d completely damn Pete to hell if he ever asked for his help getting her back again.
  
  Pulling away, she murmured, “Now can we please get back to what we were doing before he called?”
  
  She paused. Oh, crap. His question. It just now occurred to her what he might’ve been asking. He had thought she meant that by “staying here all night,” she meant… Shit. That was not what she had meant at all.
  
  “Oh my gosh, Caleb! When I said I wouldn’t mind staying here all night, I didn’t mean… I mean, not that I wouldn’t… Gah! What I mean is, I just… I don’t think… I’m ready for… that.” For once in her life, Belle was utterly flustered. Wringing her hands, she stared hard at Caleb’s chest. “Um… I’m sorry…”
  
  Desperate to diffuse the tension, she pulled him into their pile of stuffed animals again. “We still have to name all these guys!” She picked up Caleb’s turtle and put it in his hands. “And that’s a lot more fun… right?”
  
  Yeah, okay. She was babbling again. Kissing him softly on the cheek, she said, “Sorry if I, um… made you think something different. Would you settle for cuddling in a sea of stuffed animals?”
  ​
• 
  
  

  
  
  Okay, so Cody’s power play had not gone as expected. That was an incredible bummer. Especially since he hadn’t actually helped Nat at all. Some fiancé he was. But he kept his mouth shut for now, though he narrowed his eyes at the guy when he lifted Nat off the couch.
  
  They all sat down at the table again, and while Nat’s family was still cheerful, Cody and Nat were anything but. She was pouring more champagne, which was not a good sign, and her ex was clearly making a jab at both of them in a sneaky way. Like a snake. Whatever had happened between them in the past, Nat hated him now. And if she didn’t like him, then neither did he.
  
  When Nat’s ex finally remembered his existence, he gave him a cold smile. “Oh, I’ll be sure to.” Apparently, his comment had set off Nat, which didn’t really make sense to him.
  
  Before he knew it, Nat was standing up, banging her fist on the table and calling her ex on some bullshit her family was convinced he didn’t have. He stood up, too, a steadying hand on her shoulder. While he half-agreed with her family—and even her jerk ex—that she was drunk, he was on her side through and through.
  
  Then he heard the word “altar.”
  
  He froze, so trapped by that word that he barely heard Nat’s ex insult her and throw a gossip magazine on the table, exposing the true circumstances of their visit to London to her entire family. And like that, he was gone, having successfully set fire to this evening. By the time Cody snapped out of it, her family was poring over the gossip magazine, horror-stricken. They were shooting him and Nat confused and disgusted glances, as if they no longer wanted to celebrate.
  
  Now Cody had had it.
  
  “You’re seriously going to believe this garbage?” Cody growled, shocking them all. “All of this is complete nonsense. My so-called best friend was mad that we were trying to stand up to him for being the bully he was, so he posted our private conversations online like a child. Nobody but our friends understand that this has all been blown completely out of proportion. What Nat and I have isn’t wrong; I love her, and she loves me, and that’s all that matters. But the world decided they get to have a say in all this, despite the fact that our relationship started a little over a year ago, and it really shouldn’t matter to them otherwise.”
  
  Grabbing his jacket off his chair, he glared at Nat’s family. “If you wanna believe the words of a snake and a bunch of people on the Internet with nothing else better to do, then go ahead. My family abandoned me once for following my dreams, and I’m not going to let that happen to Nat. So much for the loving and supportive family Nat always loved to tell me about.”
  
  With his arm around Nat, he got them out of there as fast as he could.
  
  ~ ~ ~
  
  Well, that had completely gone to shit. He’d lost his temper and yelled at his fiancée’s family. Great call, Cody.
  
  When they got back to their room, Cody threw his jacket off and sat down heavily on one of the beds. “I’m sorry, Nat. I… I don’t know what came over me.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I just couldn’t stand those looks on their faces. I’m sick and tired of people looking at you like that, acting like I’m not a part of our relationship. It’s a shit way of looking at it, and…” He sighed.
  
  Cody looked up at Nat. “What did your ex mean by all that altar talk? And… who’s Jamie?”
  
  Realizing how that sounded, he stood up and went over to Nat, wrapping her in his arms. “If you don’t want to tell me, or if it’s too painful, you don’t have to. I just want to know how that guy was able to get under your skin so easily. I hate seeing anybody do that to you.” He kissed the top of Nat’s head. “And you do know that I love you no matter what it is, right? Because I do. I don’t care what happened between you and him—I can handle it. And if it’s any consolation…” He pulled back to gave Nat one of his crooked grins. “That guy doesn’t deserve to even breathe the same air as you.”
  
  He took that as a chance to kiss her, if gently. Anything to help her feel better. Hopefully she wasn’t as drunk as she was back at her parents’ place… that might pose a problem to trying to get a straight answer out of her.
  
  Oh, yeah. This was a great night so far.
  ​

D DisneyGirl​

 

[DisneyGirl]

C a l e b

A hug from Belle would usually be the most comforting thing in the world, but right now it was nothing but heartbreaking and…something else. Wrong. It felt wrong, somehow. Like betrayal; like he was cheating, stealing another guy's girl. Caleb chuckled and shook his head. He wasn't doing anything wrong at all! And did that asshole ever feel horrible for how he played around with Lily's heart and how he was going to break Wendy's heart? If anyone was the bad guy here, it was Pete! Not Caleb.

But..

Judging from her response, Belle must have thought Caleb was afraid of losing her, and he was, but not because of anything she might do.

It was because of what he himself would do.

Pete may have blown his chance, but Caleb wasn't sure if he could live with himself if he did that to the guy who brought him and Belle together in the first place. As problematic as he was, Pete was still Caleb's best friend and he wasn't always this way. Somewhere along the way, he became like this. With the band's rising popularity, he changed; but if he could change for the worst then surely he could change again and this time for the better. Right? This couldn't be who he was…he had to see the light someday and hopefully someday soon…

Still, even if he did ever change, that wouldn't change what he'd done. There was forgiveness but there were also boundaries and Caleb wasn't so sure he'd want to go back—or even could go back to the way things used to be. If he gave up the girl of his dreams for his best friend, would it even be worth it in the end? Or would it be done in vain? Would Pete just destroy things all over again and then Caleb would end up losing both Pete and Belle? If this were Pete, he wouldn't give a shit but Caleb wasn't Pete nor did he want to be.

Why was he even thinking of Pete? What about Belle? She deserved so much better than Pete. She deserved someone who wasn't full of problems and drama; who could make her happy and give her some stability and love that was like magic, and safe space from all of…this. The Lost Boys.

And Pete could not give her that, but Caleb just wasn't sure he could either. Caleb sighed. In the wise words of Avril Lavigne, why do you have to go and make things so complicated? He and Pete were both such train wrecks, as far as Caleb saw it.

"You actually give a damn about me, and that’s something I haven’t seen in a long, long time.”

Caleb did give a damn about her and the fact that she hadn't had something like this before him broke his heart all over again.

"I’m with you, Caleb. And I don’t want to give that up.”

He couldn't do this to her. He couldn't break her heart…

But he'd do it if it was to give her something—someone—better...and to be a loyal friend to Pete even if Pete couldn't be one himself. Neither of them deserved her.

Yep, that was the plan.

Until she kissed him.

And he found himself kissing her back.

Pull away, he screamed at himself internally. Don't do this to Pete…to Belle…

What if they could make it work? What if they could actually be happy together despite the chaotic world they found themselves in?

Belle pulled away first, wanting to get back to what they were doing before Pete called.

"Oh, right…uh..." Caleb said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Her thoughts eventually caught up to his and it was so darn cute to see how embarrassed she got over his embarrassment. Caleb laughed, some of his old self back again after all that overthinking. His mind could be a scary place to live in but with Belle around to pull him out of it, things were…different. She was the light that lit up his darkness.

"No, don't be sorry," he said with a grin, after catching his breath from laughing so hard. "I wasn't sure I'd want to—I mean, I would have wanted to—maybe—if you had wanted to…but you don't and I'm glad! Uh, not because I don't want to but because I wouldn't want to get the wrong idea and then start doing something that you aren't sure you want to do and that I'm not sure I want to do yet…if we ever do...because we can take things slow…but not too slow…but slow enough..."

Shut up! He told himself. Shut up, shut up, shut up!

Good thing she wanted to name stuffed animals instead. Caleb wasn't sure he could agree that naming toys was more fun than sleeping with the girl of his dreams, but he smiled at the idea of doing something that would make her happy. Maybe, in this case, naming stuffed animals was more fun.

"I think I'll name this one Kermit," Caleb said, looking at the turtle. "You know, 'cause he's green. I know, I'm very original."

Her kiss was enough to send the demons away...for now. When she mentioned cuddling, he laughed again. "Oh, I think I'm down for that," he said before scooping her up and plopping down the bed with her. "But first, how about we wrestle? Winner gets to name the bear."

But the fun didn't last for long before Pete creeped back into their fairytale. "Pete's gonna break up with Wendy," Caleb sighed. "I can't decide if the alcohol is saying that or he really is gonna do it and we have to warn Wendy."

Honestly. Why couldn't Caleb enjoy the goodness in his own life and care less about others' problems just like Pete did? He just didn't have it in him.

"Where does that even leave her, Belle? What do we do?"

N a t a l i e

And just like that, the start of a perfect night had gone even more horribly wrong. "No, no, no," a very drunk Natalie said, placing her hands on her forehead as her relatives read the article that exposed her—or at least claimed to. "Don't read it, don't…" she whimpered, the room spinning all around her. "It's not true what they say about me…I'm not that kind of person…we're not hurting anyone…I don't understand why the world has to be so cruel. So cruel..."

She was drunk and rambling. Out of it. So completely out of it, yet she kept drinking more.

"Natalie please!" Her aunt yelled at her, yanking the alcohol out of Nat's hand. "Get a hold of yourself!" The glass spilled and shattered on the ground.

Cody was quick to the rescue, however, saving Natalie once again. "Cody," she moaned, not wanting this to end the way that she knew it was going to. "Cody…" she said once more, as her aunts and uncles gasped at the bravery he displayed despite how much they were judging him in this moment. And maybe even judging her. She could beg and plead all she wanted for him to stop but no matter what, Cody wouldn't stop defending and fighting for Natalie just like how she wouldn't stop doing so for him. The fact that this was her family though…why, it was enough to crush her spirits. She just wanted everyone to be happy. One big family, that's all she wanted. Was that really so hard to ask for?

She didn't remember much after that except for stumbling out of her childhood home, wasted and dizzy as hell, with Cody by her side as she swayed side to side and cried.

When they got back to their hotel room, Nat drank some tea and started to feel a little bit better enough not to have a pounding headache. She was still drunk, though.
She pulled her legs to her chest and smiled at his apology. "You meant well, darling," she said, trying not to cry again. "Of course people are gonna look at me that way. You're nineteen. I'm twenty nine. They expect you to be dating a cute and sweet college freshman, and for me to be engaged or married to a banker or a lawyer. I've read the comments about how I should grow up and stick to my own age group. There are already articles about who you should date after you dump me. Lots of eighteen year old supermodels on that list." Nat chuckled bitterly before sighing. The headache was back even though she just took an aspirin.

Then the subject changed to Ben. To Jamie.

Natalie looked down at her feet, wanting to tell him that she didn't want to speak to him about it; but he wrapped his arms around her talking about how she didn't have to talk about it if she didn't and that kiss on her forehead and the promise to love her no matter what and his humor and his dreamy grin—ugh, it was enough to make her want to spill everything.

When he kissed her, she kissed him back. Hard. Desperate. Then Nat just wanted to not tell him about it after all and continue this under the sheets. She took off the cardigan she wore and pulled him in closer, gently pushing him against the mattress and letting her lips, hands and the rest of her body do all the talking—but there was only so much she could hide before she'd break down and give in. She pulled away from his lips, shaking and gasping with tears in her eyes. So much for not crying again. "Jamie was our son," she blurted out. "I had always talked about moving to America and getting into the music business to manage bands once I turned eighteen. Ben didn't want to go to America, though. He hates Americans. He wanted to stay in London. Have me be a stay at home mum. But I told him I was going to follow my dreams whether he came with me or not. So he messed with my birth control and got me pregnant in order to get me to stay with him. My parents wanted us to get married and Ben knew I'd honor their wishes."

The next part was the hardest. "We argued a lot, and it used to make the baby so sick and so stressed out. Every time Ben yelled at me, Jamie would start kicking and moving around like crazy. I think he was scared. Then on the night before the wedding, three months before Jamie was supposed to be born, I called the whole thing off. Told him I had enough and would be raising Jamie on my own in The States. Ben was so furious, coming at me like a monster…and I…I backed away and I...I fell down the stairs…"

And the words she never spoke until now almost killed Natalie.

"And I lost Jamie," Nat confessed, sobbing in Cody's arms. "The wedding was rescheduled but I couldn't do it. I left him at the altar and shortly after I went to America."

When she'd calmed down a little, Nat continued. "Jamie would be turning ten in December and I'll never get to sing him happy birthday. I'm a mum, but I'm not." Drunk as ever, she added, "Oh God, Cody, I just want a baby again so badly…I want to start over…I want a baby and a family with you even more now than I want anything…I promise you, I'll be a great mum and our kids will always have a safe space where they'll never be judged, never have to be afraid. I promise."

Would Cody still even want her after this? After keeping such a huge secret from him?

AnimeGenork

 

[AnimeGenork]

• Belle
• Cody

• 
  
  

  
  
  Belle bit back a chuckle at Caleb stammering just as much as she was over their confusion. Then he turned to the task at hand: naming the rest of the stuffed animals. “Kermit? That’s not just unoriginal—that’s kinda lame.” She laughed. “But it suits him.”
  
  Then they were submerged in the mass of stuffed animals again, and Belle smiled. “I am not wrestling you. Besides, you’d let me win!” To prove her point, she tackled him in a hug, kissing him soundly on the lips. “The bear’s name is Bartholomew, and that’s that.” The bear had its arms up, almost over its eyes, as if it didn’t want to watch the cuddle fest anymore. She giggled and rested her head on Caleb’s chest, closing her eyes.
  
  But of course, he couldn’t let things go. She sighed, thinking for a moment before she responded. “After the way he treated her after he brought her home… I think she was expecting something like this, deep down. You can tell her, but it won’t make a difference. Even if it was just the alcohol and his delusions talking, there’s nothing we can really do about it.” Looking up at him, she said, “The best we can do for her right now? Be there to comfort and listen to her.”
  
  Lifting her head, she gave him a stern look. “Now can you please let me enjoy some cuddle time? I’d rather not think about anything depressing right now when I’m surrounded by so many cute stuffed animals.” She put her head back down and gathered Fairy Gold and Bartholomew toward her. “Much better.”
  
  Somehow, it was easier to fall asleep when worries about a certain jackass weren’t crowding your mind.
  
  ~ ~ ~
  
  The sound of a hotel curtain being thrown back woke Belle up. She lifted her head blearily, glancing over at Hunter, who was smirking as he met her gaze. “Have fun last night?” he simpered, turning to go to the bathroom.
  
  Belle grumbled to herself and put her head back down on Caleb’s chest. She didn’t want to wake up ever again, if only because had suddenly remembered Caleb’s phone call with Pete last night. Now she was pissed. And she’d had such a good dream about a rabbit named Fairy Gold and a turtle named Kermit.
  
  Then Hunter punched her shoulder. “Yo. Wake up. We got a thing to do today. Wake up your boyfriend, too.”
  
  Belle nearly protested, in a gut reaction, to say, “He’s not my boyfriend!” but that wasn’t quite true now, was it? Instead, she stuck her tongue out at Hunter and sat up, stretching her arms above her head. Then she shook Caleb’s shoulder. “Hey. Caleb. Wake up.” Hoping to get him up sooner (mostly so Hunter wouldn’t get on his case), she leaned down and kissed him, smiling to herself.
  
  Throwing her legs over the edge of the bed, she called out to Hunter. “Do I gotta come with you this time, or can Lily, Wendy, and I not face anymore sexist pigs this week?”
  
  The only response she got was a laugh.
  
  Dammit.
  ​
• 
  
  

  
  
  Cody looked away. “I don’t want any supermodel. I’m not better off just because people say similar ages are better.” I wish you wouldn’t get down because of the things people say. But he didn’t say that out loud. Even if he said it, it wouldn’t make her feel any better. And that killed him.
  
  She kissed him back hard, but Cody knew it was mostly out of pure desperation. He humored her, though, because he knew that in some strange way, she needed this. Her cardigan came off, and then they were laying down, and then… then she was crying.
  
  He wasn’t sure how it had happened, but suddenly the explanation came pouring out of her. How Ben hadn’t wanted Nat to come to America, how she’d gotten pregnant, how they were going to get married, and… the rest. Cody shut his eyes tight, but it didn’t stop the images that came into his mind. Images of Nat crying over the loss of her child, the face Ben had probably worn as he argued with Nat and stressed out their would-be son. He felt so heartbroken for his precious Natalie, for Jamie, who would never get to smile at his mother.
  
  Then the promises came. Cody couldn’t help the tiny smile that crept up his face. Even drunk, she was so cute. He sighed. “You are impossible, Nat.” Then he gave her the smile that had been building. “Nat, none of that was your fault, and you know it. You have every right to hate that guy, and because he did that to you, I hate him too. But I would never think any different of you because of everything someone else caused.”
  
  He rolled over so they were both laying on the bed. “Now, Nat, you need to get some sleep. You can worry about a family and babies when you have a little less alcohol running through your veins, okay?”
  
  It wasn’t too long before he didn’t have to worry anymore.
  
  ~ ~ ~
  
  Cody woke up on the floor. He was fairly sure he hadn’t gone to bed drunk, but maybe his memory was shot. Or… nope. There was the awful memory of Nat’s ex-fiancé, of Nat telling her what he’d done to make her cry… Annnnnd there was the anger, too.
  
  He sat up and reached for his phone on the nightstand. Hunter had texted him, telling him to meet everyone else down in the lobby in… half an hour? That was manageable. Without waking up Nat, he made his way to the bathroom so he could take a shower. The water was soothing, but it didn’t do well to help him forget about that good for nothing Ben.
  
  Stepping out of the bathroom with his hair still mostly wet, he gently tickled Nat’s feet to help wake her up. “Hey, Nat. The band’s got a thing, according to Hunter. You don’t have to come, if you don’t want to. We don’t need more people upsetting you.”
  
  Then he looked away. “Um… How are you feeling, Nat?”
  ​

D DisneyGirl
(Sorry it's not so long!)​

 

[DisneyGirl]

This sucked. Really sucked. As much as he hated to admit it, Belle was right. They’d just have to ride this one through with Wendy, and help her through her heart break. What else could be done? This wouldn’t be the first time Pete broke a girl’s heart or the first time Caleb would be stuck dealing with it. They’d seen it all, dealing with the consequences of Pete’s actions. There had been girls who’d thrown eggs at the house, hit his cars with baseball bats, and even one girl who broke into their home and graffitied the walls with threats. The band and their friends had dealt with way too much bullshit thanks to Pete being a shitty asshole and also because he had a thing for crazy women. Caleb didn’t expect—or at least hoped—Wendy would not go batshit nuts when she got the news but after living with Pete for this long, he was ready for anything.

Caleb honored Belle’s wishes, taking comfort in stuffed animals like they were kids again and feeling at peace with her next to him. Go to sleep, he told himself. You can worry about this tomorrow.

But the thoughts stayed with him for...how long? An hour? Two? He wasn’t sure. He might have been up longer or even the whole night, however, if it hadn’t been for Belle by his side.

—
“Wha...huh?” Caleb said, hearing Belle’s voice but he smiled and chuckled when he felt her soft lips on his. “Mmm,” he moaned, suddenly awake and leaning in for more. He grabbed her, and was pulling her closer and kissing her deeper when he opened his eyes and—“Holy fucking shit, what the hell!” Caleb cried out when he saw Hunter’s smug little face. Hunter just laughed and said, “Clean yourself up, dumbass. We got a meeting and you got drool all over your mouth, superstar.”

Was there no freaking privacy in this place? Is this how Cody felt?

“Belle,” Hunter barked, all business. “...be sure to look hot, okay? In fact, all the girls need to look like a million bucks. And try to loosen up, okay? No, don’t try. Do loosen up. And flirt. A lot. I’m not saying you have to sleep with anybody, but act like you totally would. The more hot girls you have, the easier it is to get what you want and therefore do business. Besides, the boss wasn’t too pleased with you and that could hurt us, my little fairy princess.”

“What the—? Hunter, you gotta be kidding me, man!” Caleb cried, still rubbing his eyes and wiping the drool away from his face.

“It’s just business, brother.” Hunter said with a a shrug, texting furiously on his phone like he had better conversations to be attending to than wasting his time with Caleb. Brother. They hadn’t been brothers since he betrayed the band. Who even was this guy?

“That’s not how business should be. Belle is not an object for us to profit from.”

“Why do you got a problem with it anyhow?” Hunter snapped at Caleb. “Is she your wittle girlfriend or something?”

Caleb was speechless. He would love for that to be the case, definitely; but what he and Belle had was so new that they hadn’t even discussed that yet and he didn’t want to put labels on anything without Belle putting her seal of approval on it.




“You are impossible, Nat.”

This was it, huh? It was over. They were done. He was done with her...too much baggage and could she blame him? But then the unexpected came, or should it really be that unexpected? This was Cody, after all. He offered her understanding, no judgement. Peace. So much peace that she wondered how she could ever think Cody could leave her because she had a miscarriage and an engagement she’d never told him about. He deserved to know. She wanted him to know but she didn’t like letting others take care of her. It make her feel like a burden and how could she help others when they were having to take care of her?

Somehow, with Cody it was easier to let herself be taken care of. Trying to be strong didn’t seem so appealing as just letting herself melt into his embrace and that’s exactly what she did. Letting go of the past and even the future and just enjoying this moment right here and now, just taking it all in. From the fresh smell of the hotel sheets to the cool pillow and the sound of the bustling city down below. Most of all, Cody next to her. Forever and always.

—

Hangovers had never done anyone any good, but Nat had a harder time than most dealing with them than most. She and alcohol just did not mix well when she was drunk but it was even worse the morning after. Her head spun, her muscles were so sore and she felt light and dizzy and something else. Nauseous. Very. The girl never wanted to leave this bed she found herself in, but business called.

Barely awake, Nat forced herself out of her safe and warm cocoon of blankets and stumbled out of bed still in the dress from the night before. Ugh. She felt like shit and she looked like shit, too. Wonderful. She could barely stand straight, but still she assured Cody, “No, I’m good. Just need some coffee or something but I’ll be fine. I want to be there.” Even though she wanted anything but to face those sharks in there. She didn’t know how the hell she made it to the bathtub but she did and hopped in to take a shower, falling asleep again moments after before snapping back awake again. Coffee, make-up and a good outfit. That’s what she needed. Then she’d be A-okay.

As if he could read her thoughts, Hunter texted her, telling her to look her best. Natalie had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Then added that she should try to look as young as possible. Okay, now that earned an eye roll from her. What did he take her for? Was she really that frumpy? And finally, he added that she “be nice” to the men in power and she knew what that meant.

If you think I’m going to use my body to get further up the ladder, you can go screw yourself Hunter! she texted him back.

Immediately, Hunter replied back to her message with, Jeez, calm the hell down, Nattie. Don’t worry. I’m not gonna make you do that. I’m just saying to use some of that girlish charm of yours...if you have any left. Bat your eyelashes or whatever women do to get what they want. You’re working in a man’s world and you gotta show ‘em who the real man is.

Nat almost threw her phone at the wall, but she took a deep breath instead because she couldn’t argue with him. The music industry was a sexist one, and she’d been used to the advances, the disrespect, and all of the other bull shit that came with being a woman in a male dominated field. She’d had plenty powerful men come onto her and when she rejected them, they’d call her names and a nothing and threaten to ruin her career. And many of them got in the way of her goals and moving further in her career because she didn’t play their game.

Then there was the fact that managers were men, and much preferred to work with other men than “deal with women” unless of course they took a liking to that particular woman. She didn’t have to and would not play the game they wanted to play, but...she supposed she could play her own. She’d done it before. Laugh at jokes she didn’t find funny or act like a damsel in distress so a guy could feel good when he helped her open a door without even realizing it. And she hated doing that, which is probably why she was managing what others would call a “C list” rock band rather than chart-topping A-listers with dozens of Grammys.

Nat downed a cold brew coffee and two Red Bulls for breakfast, assuring Cody that she did not and could not eat right now before throwing on a tight black suit with matching pumps and blood red lipstick. She wore her hair up before deciding better on leaving it down and extra wavy. She’d let those sexist pigs drool over her all they want if that’s what it took but she was running this show.

“Hunter wanted me to be more presentable,” Nat explained, handing Cody the phone to read the messages. “And charming.”

AnimeGenork

 

[AnimeGenork]

• Belle
• Cody

• 
  
  

  
  
  Caleb’s reaction to her wake-up call was stupendous. Even though she knew full well Hunter was still in the room, she let Caleb kiss her deeper and pull her closer. Then he pulled away when he realized they had an audience, and she couldn’t help but laugh and bury her face in a pillow. Her lips tingled from his kiss, and she couldn’t stop smiling.
  
  Hunter opened his mouth to answer her, but the answer he gave wasn’t the one she wanted. “Look hot? What am I, your whore? Are Lily and Wendy your whores, too? If the bigshot doucheface didn’t like me, don’t bring me back!” Even Caleb was pissed at Hunter’s change of pace. He tried defending her, but Hunter threw out the word “girlfriend” and he tensed up.
  
  Oh, geez. They hadn’t talked about that, had they? She supposed she could have pushed away the comment dismissively and walked away, only to tell the girls “screw him” and “forget it” so they could watch movies all day. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Caleb from behind, fluttering her eyelashes at Hunter. “Yes, I am his wittle girlfriend. You got a problem with that?” To prove her point, she planted a kiss on Caleb’s neck while slipping her hand under the collar of his shirt. Then she glared at her “friend.”
  
  “I’ll play the whore for you today, Hunter, but don’t expect this ever again. Ask me to do this again, I will shove my pudding down your goddamn throat.” She kissed Caleb’s cheek and stormed out of the room, back to the room she was supposed to be sharing with Lily and Wendy.
  
  Lily wasn’t any happier than she was. “Is he fucking serious right now?” she screeched at Belle as she rummaged through Lily’s clothes (all her clothes didn’t exactly fit what Hunter wanted). “Are we his bitches now?”
  
  “Let’s just humor him until they sign with the douchebags, Lil,” Belle sighed, choosing the shortest dress she could tolerate. “Then we can draw on his face with permanent marker and make him wet the bed all we want.”
  
  She disappeared into the bathroom and exited in a dark purple dress that barely reached her mid-thighs and heavily lined eyes. She tied on her combat boots and left the hotel room, followed by a reluctant Lily and nervous Wendy. They were dressed similarly to her, though while Lily seemed fine with it, Wendy was clearly uncomfortable. Finding Caleb and Hunter waiting in the hallway, she wrapped her arms around Caleb and said to Hunter, “Good enough for you, Doucheface Junior? I’ll let Lily do the flirting since I don’t really know how, but you better not be expecting much out of any of us.”
  
  “So? Are we going to whore ourselves out at Hunter’s command or not?” Lily sneered, setting off down the hallway.
  ​
• 
  
  

  
  
  Cody smiled sympathetically and kissed Nat’s cheek. “If you’re sure, darling.” She checked her phone, and he wrapped his arms around her waist to read Hunter’s texts over her shoulder. The roiling anger he’d felt last night when Ben had sauntered into their perfectly fine family dinner came back, but this time it had a new target: Hunter, his supposed friend who was now telling Nat to basically act like some whore to the bigshots who had offended all of the girls yesterday.
  
  He let go of her and set about getting dressed, yanking his pants up and nearly pulling his shirt apart at the seams. Hunter could go fuck himself if he thought the girls needed to do anything to impress this music execs—this business was shitty if it decided that girls who slowed a little more skin or batted their eyelashes were more worth it than those who didn’t.
  
  What a world he was living in, where he couldn’t freely be with the woman he loved and the that self-same woman had to do whatever Hunter, a Lost Boys has-been who had really only saved their asses from dealing with Pete, wanted, just to make some sexist pigs happy. Was this really the career he wanted? Was this really how he wanted the Lost Boys to take off and come back from the “scandal” that was his love with Nat?
  
  Was this who he really was now?
  
  Nat did what Hunter wished and put on a black suit and some hella sexy lipstick. She explained Hunter’s messages and handed him her phone, but he already knew. And even though he hated Hunter for being this way today, he liked Nat this way. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her. “He may be a jackass, but you are sure to make those jerks drool. I hope you’ll be sitting in my lap instead of theirs, though,” he said with a quick wink. “Let’s go join the rest of the band, huh?”
  
  He left the hotel room and joined Caleb, Hunter, Belle, and Wendy, who were watching Lily warily. Apparently she wasn’t too happy about all of this, either. “Hunter, man, you better be right about all this or I will pull all sorts of revenge plots on you like I’m sure the girls are planning right now.”
  ​

D DisneyGirl ​

 

[DisneyGirl]

- C A L E B -
Heart pumping wildly in his chest, Caleb tried to remain cool but Belle had him blushing like a little kid. How did this feisty little blonde woman have such an affect on him? She just had this spark and energy to her that made him feel like he could do anything and, oh yeah, she just so happened to be setting his skin on fire with her lips and hands right now. Dammit, Caleb, don’t be so stupid! Do not fall in love with the girl your best friend wants!

If he hadn’t known her sweet side, he’d probably be terrified of Belle because she didn’t take any bullshit even from Hunter; but it made her respect her so much and the fact that a woman like that would spend a second on a schmuck like him and—and actually let people think she was his girlfriend. Wait, where did that come from? Had she meant it or was she just messing with Hunter? Did she want him like that—the same way he wanted her—or was it pure sarcasm? Caleb could never be sure. Girls were so hard for him to read sometimes and made his head spin. He’d have to talk with her about it later on...if he had the courage to, that is.

Hunter raised his eyebrow. “So you and Belle, huh?” Raising his hands in defense before Caleb could throw something at him, Hunter added, “Pete ain’t gonna like that. Just saying. That’s kinda shady, man.”

“You’d be one to talk.” Caleb retorted.

Hunter shrugged and nodded; it was a fair point.

Caleb threw on a grey dress shirt, jeans and converse. All the while thinking about how unfair it was that women had to deal with double standards where “being attractive” was expected and they were considered unprofessional if they didn’t wear enough lipstick. But when he saw Belle, however, he couldn’t deny that he kinda liked that she was dressed up and in a way all her own too.

As they walked down the hallway, Caleb whispered in her ear, “You look beautiful,” and wanted so badly to take her hand just then but eyes would be watching and he didn’t want anything getting back to Pete so he simply rubbed and squeezed her shoulder before getting down to business and talking a game plan with Hunter.

“Wendy, you’re the boss of the girls today,” Hunter announced unexpectedly before telling Belle and Lily, “There’s a lot you two can learn from her.”

“R-really?” Wendy asked, surprised but delighted. “Me?”

“Sweet, innocent, and dumb enough to reassure a man that women are inferior and exist to make him feel better about himself.” Hunter added matter-of-factly.

“You think I’m dumb?” Wendy replied, all the joy and light leaving her eyes. Bastard.

Caleb was about to open his mouth to assure Wendy that wasn’t true, but surprisingly, Hunter responded, “No, that’s not what I said at all. Unless you think you’re dumb, Wendy.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You just gotta make them think that so they don’t realize you’re winning the game.”

“What game?”

Hunter burst out in laughter and lit a cigarette, asking the others, “Shit, you guys, where did Pete get this one from? I like her. I think we’re actually gonna get signed as long as none of the other girls mess this up.”


—

- N A T A L I E -

As long as she had Cody by her side, Nat felt like she could do anything and being so dressed up wasn’t that bad anymore. Those other guys could gawk at her all they wanted but this was for Cody’s eyes now. When they went to go meet up with the others, Nat heard some arguing and just as soon as her friends came into view she saw it was Lily and Hunter who were getting into it.

“Relax, Lily!” Hunter told her. “Sorry to rain on your little feminist women’s lib parade, but you’re not gonna get anywhere with your attitude. Sometimes you gotta learn to give up on how it should be and just accept how it is! You seemed to be so good at it before when you decided to get with Pete until he dumped your ass for Wendy!”

There were a few gasps and a long silence—Nat could even swear she saw some tears in Lily’s eyes but she would not let herself cower down to Hunter’s cruel words; but before Lily could change her mind and run away, Nat stepped in. The mother as always. “Hunter, I’m disappointed in you. That was uncalled for.” She said, gentle but full of authority.

“I’m sorry, Lil,” Hunter quickly responded, running his hands through his hair. And Nat smiled at him because she could tell that he meant it. Addressing the others, then—especially Lily—Nat said, “Now, I know this is bullshit but Hunter’s right. This isn’t how it should be, but it’s how it is, and we have to hold our tongues and not let it get to us. Don’t lose your dignity, but don’t make them mad either.” With a sadness in her eyes of memories from long ago, she added, “I’ve worked with enough of these guys to know that you can’t step on too many toes or else you won’t get anywhere. They can destroy your career in the snap of a finger, and we’re not gonna let them do that.”

Lily sighed, but nodded. Nat felt horrible about this—doubting her own words. Was this really worth it? Would this make them happy in the end? They could just go back to playing at local bars and pool parties with their fans in the underground music circles. They were successful enough. Why try to keep climbing it to the top?

Because she needed to save their careers before she ended up ruining it forever with her mistakes. It was their dream and they deserved to be selling out stadiums instead of working dead end jobs. These kids were her family and she and Hunter were going to do everything they could do help them make it.

“We’ve come to our decision, gentlemen,” Natalie explained in Billy and Bobby’s office an hour later. “And we would just looove to work with such fine men such as yourselves and begin on making the next Lost Boys album with Sunny and Jax.”

“How delightful,” Billy said with that huge creepy grin of his but he didn’t sign the contract just yet.

“Looks like we’re gonna have some more gorgeous ladies around. Lucky us.” His brother, Bobby, chuckled before winking at Belle. Nat tried not to cringe.

“Pleasure to be working with you, Natalie,” Billy said, reaching out for her hand. When she gave it to him, he kissed it for way too long. Was he actually smelling it? Ugh, what a weirdo, but Nat had to be careful in how she reacted so she only giggled and said, “Oh, Billy, please the pleasure is all mine. But let’s not forget, this is all about the Lost Boys. Now why don’t we have the boys meet up with Sunny and Jax and get this started—“

“Oh, that,” Billy said almost seeming disappointed at her for bringing up work so soon and he put away the unsigned contract. “Well, I was thinking we could celebrate first.”

She wanted to protest because—again, they had not even signed!—but she looked at Hunter and he nodded at her. They both knew this was a test.

Bobby brought out a bottle of champagne and poured some drinks for everyone, before getting cozy in between Lily and Belle.

“I’ve never had champagne before,” Wendy said, before taking a sip. She looked like she wanted to hurl it after that but didn’t. Billy and Bobby couldn’t stop grinning at her.

Didn’t take long for Billy and Bobby to get tipsy and as if the timing couldn’t be more awkward, a tall redhead with glasses wearing a tight blue dress came in to the office to let the brothers know that Sunny and Jax were here.

AnimeGenork

 

[AnimeGenork]

• Belle
• Cody

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  

  
  
  Lily had already taken the lead, so the rest of the group followed her down the hallway. Caleb whispered in her ear that she looked beautiful, and she smiled to herself. For some reason, he didn't take her hand when he said that, though, and she realized that perhaps he was still thinking about Pete's call last night. Dumbass. When would he realize that Pete wasn't worth anybody's time anymore?
  
  Hunter told her and Lily that Wendy was in charge of the girls, which made no sense. "I'm sorry, since when were we your coven of bitches?" She placed a hand on Wendy's shoulder and murmured to her, "Don't listen to him, he's a jackass." She considered telling her that Pete had called last night but decided against it. There was no way she was going to be the one to break the news about Pete's continuing infidelity.
  
  Belle had taken enough shit from Hunter over the past two days, so she finally flicked him on the forehead. "We don't need you in the Lost Boys again, dumb shit. Try treating us like the friends we are instead of the pawns in your game." Rolling her eyes, she went over to Lily and linked her arm with hers. It looked like they were together in their animosity toward Hunter today.
  
  Hunter made a dumbass comment about Pete to Lily before Nat made him apologize, and Belle bit her lip, a snarky comment rising. Still, it seemed Nat was okay with going along with Hunter's plan, so Belle would follow it, too. She could be dumb and flirty if she wanted to. Today would just have to be the day.
  
  ~~~~~
  
  An hour later, they were back in the music executive office, and Belle had her arm draped around Caleb while her feet were crossed on the table. Natalie told Billy and Bobby they'd be happy to work with Sunny and Jax, and Bobby sent a wink her way. Belle grinned back and fluttered her eyelashes, but on the inside, she was gagging. He was waaaaaaay too old for her, the prick. And besides, she didn't sleep with sexist pigs. Or with anyone, really.
  
  Instead of actually signing the contract, the executives decided to celebrate with alcohol. There was no pudding, which was upsetting, but that Bobby bastard decided to make himself right at home in between her and Lily. She forced herself to smile, waving her fingers at him as he handed her a glass of champagne she probably wouldn't drink.
  
  Barely any time passed before Billy and Bobby were tipsy and Bobby was trying to feel up Belle and Lily simultaneously. They glanced at each other before slithering out of his grasp, giggling and pretending that Bobby had just fallen over or something. After that, they stuck together, especially when an assistant let the brothers know that Sunny and Jax were waiting.
  
  It was time for some actual fun, apparently.​
• 
  
  
  

  
  

  

  
  
  Cody was trying to stay positive, even though Billy had just kissed his fiancée's hand like it okay to be so disgusting toward another man's girlfriend. Still, he took the champagne, even drank it, and kept both hands free in case he needed to "accidentally" shove one of these bastards away. Hunter, at the very least, seemed satisfied by Nat, Belle, and Lily's behavior, which was frankly disturbing. He was almost tempted to take them all to the doctor to make sure these were still his friends - that's how convincing they were.
  
  Considering this "celebration" was supposed to be a test of sorts, Cody didn't see how the "test-givers" getting drunk off their asses helped anyone. When their assistant came in, they barely noticed, but they did look up when Sunny and Jax walked in because they were arguing. Not a surprise, considering their reputation, but one would think they would try to act professionally in front of executives. Billy and Bobby didn't make any comments, though, so maybe Pete would've fit right in over here in London. That was a scary thought.
  
  When they noticed they had an audience, Sunny and Jax stopped arguing. Sunny started shaking hands emphatically, ending with Cody, whom she kissed on the cheek without a word. Cody raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes. What was that for? Then she perched on her lap and turned to the rest of the group. "So glad to be working with the Lost Boys. Feel free to ask me to change anything that doesn't sound 'lost' enough or 'cool' enough for you all - I'm here for you." She grinned, looping her arms around Cody's neck and making him feel incredibly uncomfortable. Help?
  
  Jax rolled his eyes and grabbed the entire bottle of champagne from Bobby. "As if she knows anything about writing for boys," he muttered, sitting next to Belle (who had since moved away from Bobby). "Am I right?" he added, looking at her. She shrugged, and he threw an arm around her. "See, Sunny? She gets it."
  
  "Oh, you're just butthurt because our fans always liked me more."
  
  "Only because you wore skimpy outfits and attracted a different crowd than we were aiming for!"
  
  "Not true! I didn't hide my assets."
  
  "What assets? I don't see any assets! Not any you ever used on me, in any case," Jax muttered, chugging the champagne. Cody was pretty sure that wasn't how champagne was meant to be consumed.
  
  Sunny narrowed her eyes. "Oh, but Cody here notices my assets, don't you, Cody?" And she proceeded to lean in until Cody's face was in her bosom. He found he couldn't breathe, and he dear God hoped that he would pass out so he wouldn't have to face any of the girls' wrath.
  
  What the hell had Hunter gotten them into??
  ​

D DisneyGirl ​

 

[DisneyGirl]

Natalie.

It was hard not to breathe a sigh of relief at the announcement of Sunny and Jax’s arrival. Finally, some real work to be done. This was Nat’s favorite part of the process. Though she herself technically wasn’t part of the magic, not in the creative sense, but still she enjoyed getting to watch it unfold. Hearing the boys throw ideas at each other and experiment with different melodies and lyrics as they wrote and sang and wrote some more. It was the juice that fueled her own creativity in the marketing department when it came time to promote the album. That’s why Natalie only took on artists she was passionate about. She needed that excitement in order to do her job right, otherwise trying to create buzz for something she didn’t love felt pointless. How could you expect others to be into something you weren’t? How could anyone be happy with a job like that? Money, she supposed. Maybe that’s why Nat never became rich. She just didn’t have it in her to go through the motions and put crap out there in order to put gold in her pockets.

Sunny and Jax, though way more mainstream than the Lost Boys, were still fantastic musicians who no doubt would be a good influence on the guys and help them create magic. What they had in artistry, however, they lacked in being decent human beings it seemed. They were one of those couples who argued in public. Not just in public, but while at work. How delightful. Though, Natalie reserved her judgement, because hey. She and Cody didn’t always get along either. True, they did their best to be professional and they never fought at this level while they were working but everybody’s relationship was different. And besides! It’d be nice to have another couple around. Perhaps she and Sunny could even become friends and—

Oh, hell no. Sunny did not just kiss Cody. On the cheek, true, but hey now. Not when he had a girlfriend. Not in front of said girlfriend. Maybe it was a friendly kiss of greeting and nothing more and Nat had nothing to worry about? Nope, now she was getting way too friendly with her hands and so was her boyfriend with Belle. Using Belle and Cody to make each other jealous. Ha. Not on Natalie’s watch. Not after Sunny decided to practically assault Cody with her assets.

But she had to stay professional.

Oh, but how she wished she could get her hands on—

“Hi! I don’t think we’ve met, but I’m Natalie.” Nat jumped up from her seat like toast out of a toaster to introduce herself before she shook Sunny’s hand a little too tightly and hard. “The Lost Boys’ manager and Cody’s girlfriend.”

Sunny offered a smug smile, not at all apologetic for her behavior. “What a shame,” she cooed. “I wish we could share him.” She joked, but something about the way Sunny said it didn’t sound like a joke at all. Because it wasn’t. Natalie had never doubted Cody’s love and faithfulness to her. He’d had plenty of girls all over him before; it wasn’t the first time Natalie had to witness another girl throw herself at Cody and he never gave in. So then why was Natalie so threatened now by the younger and prettier woman? What was it about Sunny that made Natalie doubt herself more than ever?


Caleb.

Caleb was jealous, but more than that, he was protective. Even if he and Belle had nothing between them, even if tomorrow she decided she didn’t want anything to do with him, he’d still do anything to protect her from any creeps. Caleb didn’t want to cause any trouble, but a drunk man with his hands all over Belle? He wasn’t going to let her be thrown to a lion like that. He’d known how quickly some men could turn dangerous if another man wasn’t there to keep them accountable for how they conducted themselves around women, especially some guys in bands. It was as if these guys thought that being a musician gave you special powers that made women unable to say no to you. As if they were Gods and women should be so lucky to have their attention. The perfect example of this? Pete.

Not only that, but now Jax’s little girlfriend was messing with Caleb’s brother. Enough was enough. They didn’t come all the way over here to deal with not only another Pete, but two.

“And I’m Caleb!” The young man volunteered, following Natalie’s lead. He then quickly introduced everyone in the room to each other, before saying, “Great, then. Now that we have all gotten to know each other, why don’t we get to work?”

Caleb wasted no time in taking away Jax’s drink, nor in getting his dirty hands off Belle, and if he didn’t know any better, Caleb would say he saw Jax pout like a baby getting his toys taken away from him. Good. Something in Sunny, on the other hand, seemed to respond right away and she was back in business. “Let’s do this gentleman!” she said with a wicked grin on her face.

The studio that had been provided to them was nothing like the ones they had back home. The room was massive; filled with state of the art technology, the best instruments money could buy, and—“

“Is that air conditioning?” Caleb asked, almost wanting to cry. This was nothing like the tiny and cramped basement studio they recorded (and would sweat) in. It was a completely different world.
“Anyone want sushi?” Sunny purred, as an assistant walked in with a rolling table full of food. “I thought you guys might like some lunch.” She added with a wink.

“Sushi?!” Lily and Wendy cried with delight before running towards the table and grabbing themselves as much of it as they could possibly get. Caleb couldn’t help but notice that Nat was keeping herself from eating and Sunny was definitely throwing her some dirty looks. Uh-oh.

“So we’ve brought you guys some demos,” Jax announced to the group once everyone was settled. “Just some instrumentals with a few lyrics,” Sunny said. “All of them sharing one common theme: the forbidden.”

Caleb nodded, liking their ideas already. Forbidden made a good album title, too. Simple, but it piqued interest. Jax continued, giving examples. “And so many things could be forbidden, like being yourself or not following the crowd or wanting someone you shouldn’t.”

“Definitely wanting someone you shouldn’t,” Sunny said, her eyes laser focused on Cody as she bit her lips. Yikes. Jax noticed it, too, because he had to shove her to get her attention back on music. “Anyways,” Jax said, “we’ll play you some samples and you tell us what you think.”

This wasn’t usually how they worked. Usually the boys brainstormed about what was going on in their own lives or things they wanted to write about and made their songs that way; but these were the professionals and this was new territory for them, so maybe it was best to just listen to the experts.

But the songs were...well, they weren’t that good. It was very auto tuned, very manufactured pop. Which was fine, except it wasn’t the Lost Boys. More like Britney Spears, actually. Caleb tried to open his mouth to speak, but Jax called on Belle instead. “Belle, baby, tell me what ya thinkin’. You likey?” He asked her, wiggling his eyebrows like a damn fool. Ugh, he was so Hollywood and everything else Caleb hated about L.A.

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[AnimeGenork]

• Belle
• Cody

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  

  
  
  Belle managed to not lose her shit, even though Jax was somehow more revolting than Billy and Bobby combined and he was far too close for comfort. How did Lily escape his notice? Shouldn’t she be suffering right along with her? But Lily was keeping Billy and Bobby in check, it seemed, making sure that Wendy was kept out of harm’s way. Well. That was a noble cause, she supposed. Lily was off the hook. So were Nat and Cody, because they were kinda trying to deal with Sunny. Hunter would probably be the target of her wrath later. If she survived.
  
  Caleb came to her rescue by reminding Sunny and Jax that they had to get to work, removing Jax’s hands from her in the process. She shot him a grateful look as the two musicians started leading them to the studio provided for them. Before they entered, she grabbed his hand and kissed his cheek, muttering a quick, “Thanks,” before following everyone else inside.
  
  This studio certainly was state-of-the-art, though she wasn’t expecting the sushi. She joined Lily and Wendy in eating it, but she wasn’t the biggest fan of sushi in general. Still, she didn’t miss the look Sunny was giving Nat, so she slipped a plate to her and muttered, “At least pretend you’re eating it.”
  
  Jax got down to business, laying out the idea for the album. Caleb seemed to be having a good time, but Sunny was focusing on Cody a little too much. The Lost Boys’ usual process was going over lyric ideas before laying down the music, but Sunny and Jax had some samples, which… weren’t all that great. Instead of asking the guys for their opinion, Jax turned to Belle. His calling her “baby” made her shudder inside, but on the outside, she smiled shyly. “Well, they’re not bad. But, um, they kinda sound like Britney Spears. Are you sure that’s alright for a boy band?” Of course, The Lost Boys weren’t exactly a boy band in the typical boy band sense, but perhaps this would subtly lead in the right direction.
  
  While Jax pondered her words, Belle tried to inch over to Caleb, in case the “professional” musician tried to cozy up to her again. But she was too late, because Jax threw his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek noisily. That was far too close to her lips. Ew. “Belle, baby, you’re a genius!”
  
  She was? Huh. Belle didn’t want to be flattered, but she sort of was.
  ​
• 
  
  
  

  
  

  

  
  
  Cody was still uncomfortable from the attack from Sunny. He was glad when Nat intervened, of course, but somehow it was worse getting caught between two women who were clearly trying to one up each other. Whatever happened to the guy’s point of view? So when Caleb interrupted everything to bring them all back to business, he was so relieved.
  
  As they went down to the studio, Cody laced his fingers through Nat’s and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Before he could give her a kiss, they had reached the studio, and Cody, wide-eyed, wandered over to the drum kit nearby. It was fantastic, to say the least, and he was stunned. Who knew drums could look so amazing? Maybe this was a lucky break after all.
  
  Cody noticed Sunny shooting Nat dirty looks, so he tried to distract her with some small talk about her time in London. Anything to keep Nat out of drama’s way. Not that that had been working for the past few days. Man, he was a failure. The thought made him frown the slightest bit.
  
  Jax and Caleb got down to business, talking about album ideas and demos. Then Jax played some samples for them, and Cody tried not to grimace. Was this seriously what was popular nowadays? It wasn’t even that… good? No wonder it had taken a while for The Lost Boys to take off—people were NUTS.
  
  Belle was smart to say that the samples should be more “boy band,” which of course Jax thought was genius. Sunny, however, clung to Cody’s side and said, “But you like ‘em, don’t you, Cody?” The way she was rubbing against him made his stomach coil, especially since he had no intention of doing anything with her…ever.
  
  “Uh… Well… They’re alright. But I think Belle’s got the right idea.” Hunter would be able to distract Sunny, right? RIGHT? The look she was giving him was scary… But at least Jax seemed to think he and Belle were in their right minds.
  
  ​

D DisneyGirl ​

 

[DisneyGirl]

Unclenching her fists at her side, Natalie let out a sigh of relief when Belle spoke. Nat had been nervous at first when the girl was asked her opinion on the music. Yes, it sucked, so much so that Natalie wasn’t even sure a group of cute boys could save these songs. However, for business reasons, none of them could actually say that out loud. At least, not without sugar-coating it. They had to play the game by the powerful people’s rules and fortunately Belle was a pro. Focusing on capturing the Lost Boys’ sound was the perfect way to reject this pile of dog crap without losing this battle.

“Excellent observation, Belle,” Natalie said, quickly jotting down some notes. “They’re good songs for perhaps another band or artist, but our boys’ sound is much more—”

But Natalie’s thoughts were interrupted by Jax, who, as it turned out, thought Belle was a genius. Natalie smiled, happy for that to be over, though he needed to keep his hands off Belle or she’d have to talk to somebody about that. The big sister in Nat was ready to protect everybody, no matter if it meant hurting her career. Her friends always came first to her.

But maybe working with Sunny and Jax would be easier than she originally thought.

“Great, so now we can discuss what kind of vibe we are going for here…”

Well, working with Jax might be doable. Sunny? Not so much.

If she kept trying to cast a spell over Cody, things were not going to be pretty.

Relax, Nat. Don’t let your anger get the best of you. Do not screw this up for everybody just because you can’t control your anger.

Luckily, Cody had it under control at least a little bit and Natalie—sending Sunny a message in the most friendly way possible—rubbed Cody’s leg before giving his hand a quick squeeze. Sunny raised an eyebrow, message received.

“A manager and client romance,” Sunny said, chuckling to herself before flipping her hair and adding, “How scandalous indeed. Too bad your romance will be short-lived.”

“What are you talking about?” Natalie asked slowly, not liking where this conversation was heading.

“Dude, you haven’t talked to them about this?” Jax said, turning to Hunter then. Hunter, who had been silent until then, sighed before saying, “They’re not used to all this yet, man.”

“Used to what?” Caleb piped up.

—

“Marketing,” Jax said with a shrug, like it was supposed to be obvious. “See, it’s not just about the music. It’s also about the image.”

“Right,” Caleb said, nodding as he tried to follow where Sunny, Jax and Hunter were leading. They had an image. The boys knew who they were and how they fit into the music world, but what did that have to do with Cody and Natalie? “We’re a band. That shouldn’t be too complicated for people to understand, would it?” He added, having a feeling judging by the guilty look on Hunter’s face that there was more to it than that.

Sunny and Jax gave Hunter a look, and Hunter closed his eyes and took a deep breath for a moment and then said, “Right, but we’re also a boy band and that means we have an audience to keep in mind.”

“Teenage girls,” Sunny said, simply. “If you want to hit the charts, you gotta get those girls to fall in love with you,” and she actually looked at Cody when she continued with, “and they won’t fall in love with you if they think you’re in love with somebody else.”

“The whole love story between Nat and Cody is damage control and an album concept,” Hunter explained, “The song about forbidden relationships and being in love with someone you shouldn’t be—the song about Natalie—is what’s gonna sell the first single and you guys as a mainstream band. It’s a starting point.”

“But after that, we need to make sure that the girls know they’ve got a chance,” Jax said, looking almost embarrassed to be having this conversation. “It kinda gets in the way of the fantasy if any of you have a long-term girlfriend.”

That’s where Caleb started to catch on, and Lily asked, “So they can’t date anyone?”

“Not publicly, no,” Hunter answered, shifting in his seat uncomfortably.

“But Sunny and Jax are dating,” Natalie pointed out, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“We’re not a boy band,” Sunny quickly reminded their manager. “*NSYNC, The Jonas Brothers, BTS. If any of those guys had a long-term relationship, do you think girls would collect their posters and go to their concerts? Do you think their careers would have gone anywhere?”

“Oh, I love those groups!” Wendy squeaked, not getting what was going on at all. Natalie couldn’t say anything to Sunny, which made the young woman tell Nat, “Come on, hun, you know how this goes.”

Caleb couldn’t help but wonder what this meant for him and Belle. Just when they were starting to get closer and becoming something more, it was being taken away from them. “What if we kept our relationships on the down low?” He suggested. Would Belle even be okay with that? She deserved better than to be a secret, didn’t she?

“Sure,” Jax said, laughing. “But just know, they’ll have to share you with your fake girlfriend.”

“Publicly stunt dating,” Hunter said, under his breath. “Super models, actresses, all that.”

“So you and Candice Parker were never dating?!” Caleb snapped, hating everything about this already.

“Hell no,” Hunter said, insulted. “But I needed her to promote my music and she needed me to help her get rid of her good girl image.”

“I can see it now,” Sunny cooed, moving closer to Cody again with a teasing grin. “Hunter, the bad boy. Caleb, the smart and sophisticated one. And Cody, the sweet and sensitive Prince Charming. What a perfect trio.”
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