1000 Stars Are Passing By

Will's POV

I sat quietly on the plane, trying to pay attention as Sophie rambled on about something. She was talking about Lady Gaga, and how amazing her style had been back in 2009. She wanted to dress like her, she said.

I really didn't care who she wanted to dress like, but if I didn't pretend I was at least a little interested, she'd know and she'd yell at me.

I think the reason I don't hear too well is because of her. I'm not joking.

"Will?" she elbowed me.

"Yes, Sophie?" I sighed.

"Have you been listening to me?" she asked and glared at me with her big, fake green eyes.

"Yes. You just said you wanted to go to Japan because you don't have enough Japanese clothes," I explained, unenthused, and ran a hand through my messy hair. We basically just woke up and got on the plane. But of course, Sophie looked perfect. She always looked perfect. She had to or she would go insane.

"Hmm.." she muttered. "You were listening."

She started picking at her nailpolish, a dirty, nervous habit. Dad did it too. He was always nervous or anxious or something like that.

I looked over at him. Him and Uncle Tom were two rows up and seated in the center aisle of seats.

I wondered why they were so far away but then I remembered how Sophie hated being with dad in public. She said it was dumb and she didn't need a babysitter and people would think she was unresponsible if she had an adult with her. Puhlease, that's not why anyone thinks she's unresponsible.

Anyway, dad and Uncle Tom were talking, but they were almost whispering so I couldn't hear them too well. I really wanted to know what they were talking about. Uncle Tom was the only one to get dad to actually have a lengthy conversation.

It was kind of sad if you ask me. Dad just needed some help. And I wish he would have let me help him. I was his son after all and he barely talked to me..

"Sophie.." I poked her. She was playing with her phone.

"What? Oh you'll go to Japan with me, right?" she gave me a cute little pleading look. That look got her anything she wanted.

"Uh.. when?" I really wasn't in the mood to just hop on a plane again. I had motion sickness, and sadly I lived on a plane. I wasn't going to get in one voluntarily. Besides, we'd been on Asian tours before. Nothing I haven't seen.

"Two days. I'm sure dad won't mind."

Well she got that right. "Well I don't really want to go.. And Adelaide is coming home in two days."

She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you two are like in some sort of incestrious relationship. You're coming to Japan with me."

"No, Soph, I'm not." I had to be rather brave to backtalk her.

She glared at me. "Excuse me?"

"I'm staying in New York. I'm tired of traveling for now," I glared right back.

"If you're so tired of traveling then maybe you shouldn't be in a band. I could easily find someone to replace you."

I laughed. "You wouldn't."

Her piercing eyes burning holes in me. "You wanna see me try?"

I gave in, like I always do. "No."

"Good. We're going to Japan."

Hell I wasn't. She couldn't drag my ass there. I was staying home in my pajamas and strumming on my guitar and eating junk food and playing video games with Adelaide.

Bill's POV

"Your kids were just arguing a second ago," Tom said, tapping his fingers on his leg. He'd done that consistantly since we were fiteen years old.

I shrugged and stared straight ahead.

"Bill, stop doing this to yourself. It's been what, a decade? You can't ignore them..."

"I don't ignore them. Don't give me this talk, Tom."

"I'm not going to stop saying this to you until you actually take my advice," he switched to German. "They're you're children. Just because they remind you of her doesn't mean you can ignore them. You're lucky Will is friends with Adelaide and is always over at our house. But he knows what a family is supposed to be like. He knows things aren't right."

"How can we be a family without her?" I muttered.

"You need to stop thinking 'poor me' and you need to be a man and raise your fucking kids. Your daughter is around whoring herself out to men. She can get an STD or she can get pregnant. Would you care? I doubt it. You can't even look at her."

"She is a mistake."

"Oh mistake, my ass," he seemed pretty pissed now. "You loved Tara and she loved you and you made kids. That's the end of it."

"Don't say her name," my eyes burned with tears. I looked at the ground.

"Tara left because she knew if she didn't raise at least one of them right, she was going to regret ever being a parent and ever being with you," he explained. "She never hated you, you need to get that thought out of your head."

"She screwed me over. She left me with two brats."

I felt the sting of a slap across my face. "You were not the father that you were supposed to be. That is why they grew up at that way. Will has common sense. He knows what is good and what is bad, but Sophie needs guidance. She always needed guidance. And even Bea and I couldn't help her understand. Look at me."

I reluctantly looked at him.

"She needs her father. If you showed her at least a little compassion and fatherly guidance, she would change her ways," he said. And I knew he was right. But I was weak and I was afraid. I couldn't be a dad. I'd already failed.

"One more thing," he said.

"What?"

"They need to know who their mother is.."

I cut him off and grimaced. "No."

"You don't have to find her, you don't have to see her, you don't have to let them see her. But they need to know that they actually have a mother. They know nothing about her, not even her name. I'm fairly certain Will thinks she died in some terrible accident when he was baby."

"No they know she's alive," I reassured.

"How do you know? Everytime they mention the word 'mom' you just cringe and hide."

I didn't say anything because I knew it was true.

"Please tell them something. A name, a picture. You don't have to give them the whole story. Listen, Will wants to know at least something, and soon he will come to me with questions, and I will give him answers if you don't soon. And I assure you that if Sophie knows about her mother, she will change. It might take a time, but she will come to understand that she's throwing her life away."

A single tear rolled down my cheek.

"Don't cry," it sounded more like a demand.

"She looks so much like her. With the makeup and the hair dye and the extensions and contacts gone, she is so beautiful, and the spitting image of her mother. Why does she trash up her face like that? She's naturally pretty."

"I'm sorry Bill, but it's the way she was raised."

I knew he was right. I wiped a tear away. I would change.. or at least try to. I would.