She's A Rebel.

I was having the craziest dream about smoking weed with Kurt Cobain in Heaven, when my alarm clock went off playing Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones. I groaned and threw one of my pillows at it. I had a killer headache. Last night was pretty awesome, but I think I had a few shots too many.

I rolled onto my side and grabbed my phone from my bedside table. I flipped it open and looked at the screen. Two new messages. One was from Mike and one was from Matt. I decided to read Mike's first. I assume it was a mass text since it said:

Hey, guys. The people over at Reprise want to meet with all of you to discuss your contract and the upcoming tour and all that shit at noon. They said to have you guys meet them at the label. Call one of us when you get up so we can give you directions.

Upon reading that text, my mood brightened. I was really excited to meet these people and get our music out to the world. But I was really nervous. We needed to make a good impression.

I got out of bed and walked over to my closet. After about 10 minutes of searching for something to wear, I picked out my outfit.

Then I remembered I still had a text from Matt that I didn't read yet. I reached for my phone and picked it up. I flipped it open and read the text. It said:

Heyyy, Erika. I really need to talk to someone. Do you think we can go back to your place after our meeting with Reprise?

Of course, babe. I'll see you in a few. I replied and left my apartment.

As I got into my car, I called Billie Joe. It rang twice before he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Billie. Can you give me directions to Reprise?"

"Oh, hey, Erika." He said and I could hear the smile in his voice. Yeah, sure.

Fifteen minutes later, I was at Reprise. I checked the time on my phone. 11:55. Right on time.

I walked inside the building and a receptionist greeted me.

"Ms. Marshall, right?" She asked me, smiling.

"Um, yeah." I said. How did this girl know my name?

"We've been expecting you. Go into the elevator and hit the button for the top floor. On your right, you'll see a conference room. Your friends Ms. Christiansen and both Mr. Hartley's are waiting for you there. I nodded my head.

"Thanks." I said and made my way over to the elevator. I did exactly what the receptionist said and when I entered the conference room, I saw Melanie, Jake and Matt sitting in chairs at a long wood table.

"Hey, guys." I said and took a seat next to Matt. They all greeted me back and I noticed that Jake was bouncing his knee up and down and biting his nails nervously. "Jake." I said to get his attention. He looked at me with his big brown eyes that he shared with his brother and I smiled. "Stop being so nervous. Everything's gonna be fine. Just calm down."

"I'll try." He said and closed his eyes.

About a minute later, the door opened and a man wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase entered the room. He smiled at us as he entered.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." He said.

"It's fine." Matt said.

"Yes, well, my name is Frank Roberts. I'm here to discuss the upcoming Green Day tour and your contract with you." He said as he took the seat across from us.

"Alright. But I have a question. Why exactly do you want to sign us? What makes us so special?" Matt said.

"You have potential. When we heard your demos, we loved them and we want to work with you. You're unique. And the fact that Green Day loved you and want to take you on tour. We trust their judgment with music. And you're an attractive group of musicians that can target a large range of people. Also, we love that you're a co-ed band. There aren't too many of those. Its new and we like it." Mr. Roberts said.

"Cool. So what exactly does our contract entail?"

"We'll pay for the production, promotion and everything for one album and the tour, just to start. If it does well, when the contract expires, we'll sign a new one with you, if you want."

"Okay, sounds good. What about the tour? How long is it?"

"Its a six month long tour with a few breaks for holidays and such scattered here and there. You'll be living on a tour bus but, occasionally you'll stay at hotels."

"You guys aren't gonna tell us what to wear or anything, right?"

"Oh, no, no, no. We like your style just the way it is. We don't want to change anything."

"Good."

"So, where do we sign?" I asked. Mr. Roberts chuckled slightly at my eagerness and opened his briefcase.

"Right here." He said, producing a white sheet of paper and a pen. "Just sign on the dotted line." I handed the paper to Matt, who read it. He would know if it was a good idea to sign the contract better than any of us. After he finished reading it, he signed his name at the bottom and passed it to me. I signed my name as well and smiled brightly. This was another dream come true. I passed the contract the Jake, who signed and then passed it to Melanie.

"It's been a pleasure, but I have a meeting to get to now, so I must leave." Mr. Roberts said after collecting the contract. "You can see yourselves out." He smiled and left us.

"Holy shit, did that really just happen?" I asked, excitedly.

"Yes!" Mel said and we all had a big group hug.

We left the building together and went to the parking lot where our cars were.

"Want to go out for drinks to celebrate?" Jake said.

"Um, maybe later tonight, I have stuff to do today." Matt said and lightly nudged me, but no one noticed.

"Yeah, me too. How about we meet up at Acme at around five?" I said.

"Sounds good." Melanie said and Jake nodded. They walked off to their cars, leaving me and Matt standing in the parking lot.

"Where's your car?" I asked.

"Next to yours." He said and pointed to it.

"Oh. I didn't notice that.." I said. "Well, meet me at my place so we can talk."

"Okay." He said and we got in our cars and drove to my apartment.

When we got there, we walked into the building and took the elevator to the 3rd floor. We got to my door and I opened it, letting him in first, before shutting and locking it behind me. Matt took it upon himself to raid my refrigerator. He pulled two beers out and handed one to me. I took it and we walked into my living room and sat on the couch.

"So.. What do you need to talk about?" I asked as I took a sip of my beer.

"I have a problem. A big problem. And I don't know where else to turn." He said.

"Babe, you're kinda scaring me over here. Tell me what's wrong."

"I..." He said and sighed. "I'm in love with Melanie."