The Music to His Lyrics

“Are you sure I can’t change your mind?” Jared asked as he propped his sunglasses on top of his head, and planted a long kiss on Emma’s lips.

That morning, Jared had stopped by the Sinclair household to take Emma out on a two hour drive to have breakfast by the beach. Little did he know that Joanna had banned her from leaving the house that weekend except for when it came to running errands.

“I told you, I can’t,” Emma said in a soft voice.

She smiled as Jared’s lips found their way across her jaw and onto her neck. “Stop,” she laughed as he wound his hands around her waist and continued brushing his lips against her soft skin until he reached down to her collarbone. Emma hit Jared’s arm playfully, but with some force, and he took a step back.

“Ah, come on Parker!” Jared pleaded. “Just picture it: you, me, the waves,”

“That sounds relaxing,“ Emma smiled, picturing the warmth of the sun on her shoulders as she and a shirtless Jared Arrington shared cocktail shrimp as they lounged on the beach together without a care in the world. “What more could we possibly need to spend a perfect day?”

“A couple of drinks,” Jared winked. He took her hand in his own, and they intertwined fingers.

Emma shook her head; Jared always had a smart-aleck answer for everything. She wrapped her arms around Jared’s broad shoulders, and squinting, glanced upward at his green eyes, which seemed to sparkle in the light of the sun. “I could use a getaway,“ she sighed, “But I’ve already told you I’m being forced to stay here all weekend.“

Jared’s positive expression faded. “You’re not going to be able to see us perform at Night of Dreams? I finally found an opening time and rescheduled with the head lady there. I’ve even got tickets and backstage passes saved for you and your friend Vicky.“

Emma paused and thought for a moment. She would be there if Travis and Vicky helped her sneak out to perform with Bobby’s band at Night of Dreams when they opened up for Downhill Mystery.

Of course, Emma had forgotten that Jared didn’t know that she could sing. He wouldn't know whether or not she would be at the performance. Even if saw her that night, he would think she was attending to see his band perform.

That was only one of the many reasons why Emma decided to attend Night of Dreams. Jared didn’t need to know the other reason, because she had never sent in her demo CD. She just couldn’t tell him the truth. It would complicate their relationship.

Emma’s worst worry was that Jared would feel as though she was using him to find connections to the music industry if she shared her secret talent with him. What if he saw her performing with Bobby’s band, and not his own? How could she explain everything without admitting that she had been hoping for Downhill Mystery to help her find an opportunity to accomplish her dream in the past? The whole situation would become strenuous and dramatic beyond belief, and while Emma didn’t want to become a compulsive liar, she decided she’d rather keep quiet and prevent the dramatic tension she neither wanted nor needed.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it,” Emma mumbled. “Maybe I’ll find a way to sneak out in time for your performance.”

“That’s my girl,” Jared said, kissing Emma on the forehead. “Want me to send a car?” he asked.

“I’ll manage,” Emma smiled.

Great, she secretly thought to herself. Now she had to be in two places at once on the very same night.

Leaning her head against Jared’s chest, Emma took a deep breath in and sighed. His leather jacket smelled of a strange fruity scent. It was as if he was wearing a fragrance that Barbie would choose to spray on herself as opposed to Axe, the usual men’s cologne he wore with class.

Emma’s nose wrinkled in confusion, and she took a step back. She hadn’t been with him last night, and even if she had, she didn’t own a perfume with that particular smell. Most of hers were natural scents, like warm vanilla and cinnamon. He almost reeked with the smell of tangy citrus.

Emma quickly shoved her hands in her pockets. She was about to ask Jared about what she had noticed, when Joanna’s voice came booming through the house from where she was yelling upstairs.

“Emma! You were supposed to bring the breakfast you made up here on a tray about ten minutes ago. What the hell is taking so long?” she yelled.

“Can you say high-maintenance?” Travis said under his breath as he walked past where Emma and Jared were standing in the doorway, dressed in a pair of dark blue sweat pants with a grey shirt hanging over his shoulder. He was carrying a nearly empty quart of orange juice and pressed the jug to his lips to take a large gulp.

Emma‘s eyes shot towards the jug of orange juice Travis was carrying in his hand. The first thoughts that came to her mind were: Jared’s jacket, and the smell of citrus, like oranges. She scowled.

Wiping his forearm across his mouth, Travis nodded towards Jared. “Who’s he?”

Emma rolled her eyes, and then glanced towards Jared. “This is Travis, my stepbrother.”

Jared outstretched an arm towards Travis, and nodded, “Jared. I was actually about to take Emma out for breakfast by the water. Nice to meet you.”

“Same,” Travis said, and glanced towards his stepsister, “Didn’t Jo-anal place you under house arrest this weekend?”

“Yes,” Emma muttered through gritted teeth. Just then, her eyes widened. She glanced over her shoulder to see her stepmother descending the third flight of rounded stairs, dressed in her hot pink robe with curlers in her hair, and cotton balls between her matching pink toenails that Emma had painted earlier.

Without thinking, Emma turned towards Jared and said in a hushed whisper, “Hide! If she finds out you’re here, she’ll never let you leave.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Jared asked just before Emma shoved him out the doorway and onto the front doorstep. She quickly shut the door behind him and leaned her back against it.

“I could’ve helped you sneak out,” Travis mentioned, taking another sip of orange juice.

Emma ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. “I didn’t know he was going to show up here today! Besides, I‘m going to need your help when I have to find a way to make it to Night of-”

Just then, Joanna’s voice rattled in Emma’s ears. “Emma, you brat! Stop looking in the mirror and feeling sorry for yourself because you don’t have a penny to your name. How difficult is it to do what I asked? You’re young! And you have legs, don’t you?”

Travis yelled, “This is coming from the plastic gold-digger who made a hell of a lot of money with the death of all three men she married for their checkbooks!“

Emma placed a hand over her face to hide her embarrassment. She had just slammed the door on Jared Arrington’s face. To make matters worse, he probably heard every word being yelled across the house.

“You, I’m ignoring!” Joanna snapped at Travis, and simply turned her sharp gaze towards Emma to unleash her wrath upon her.

“Who was at the door?” Joanna demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

“A little girl was trying to sell us chocolates,“ Emma lied.

“But we told her we couldn’t buy any because the lady of the house was on a diet,” Travis added, giving Joanna the body-check and shaking his head with disproval.

An enraged Joanna was about to give Travis a piece of her mind when, suddenly, there a knock came at the door Emma was leaning her back against. Joanna rose an eyebrow, and Emma crossed her arms.

Suddenly, the twins walked into the living room as well, dressed to go out and saw everyone standing around the front doorway.

Claire frowned, a bit puzzled. “Why is everyone just standing around in this spot?”

Audrey, while pressing a series of buttons on her blackberry, also added, “We were kind of going to pick up some outfits up from Jenny’s house to wear to Night of Dreams on Saturday night.”

Joanna snapped, “Girls, I‘m in the middle of something.”

Claire glanced at Emma, who had squared her shoulders up against the front door. “What did you do now?”

“Oh, please!” Audrey said, practically snorting with laughter, “When is it not Emma’s fault? She always gives Mom a reason to be pissed about something.”

“Move,” Joanna ordered, staring down Emma with a cold glare.

Emma let out a deep breath, and reluctantly stepped aside. She would eventually have to deal with a situation like this sooner or later, seeing as she and Jared were dating. She would regret giving Joanna the satisfaction of carrying out one of her orders without objection later. However, it would also have its advantages.

Just as expected, Joanna let out a scream and nearly jumped out of her skin when she opened the front door to see Jared Arrington standing there with his hands in his pockets, with his shades reflecting the harsh rays of the sun.

The twins’ jaws nearly dropped in awe. Clinging to her pink fuzzy robe and hugging it closer to her body, Joanna nearly tripped over one of her fat and fluffy slippers.

“You’re that, that boy from that band,” Joanna batted her eyelashes. “You’re the gorgeous one. We simply adore you and your work. Jared, right?”

Emma felt as though she was about to vomit. We? She didn’t know what bothered her more. The fact that Joanna had admitted to being a fan of Downhill Mystery along with her daughters, or the fact that a thirty year old woman was hitting on her boyfriend.

“Yes, and thank you for saying that. We really enjoy hearing from our fans.” Jared replied.

Claire and Audrey were in utter shock. They turned towards each other without a word, exchanging surprised looks. All of a sudden, the two erupted into a series of screams and squeals as they jumped up and down with joy.

“Jared Arrington is on my front doorstep!” Audrey screeched.

“Could you sign my bra?” Claire asked with widened eyes as she approached Jared, staring at his green eyes.

Travis stared cracking up, but immediately stopped when Emma shot him a death look. She mouthed, ‘Do something!’

Travis grabbed Claire’s arm, and led her inside the house, saying, “As wonderful as that sounds, I’m sure this guy’s in a hurry and has to rush off to be somewhere.”

“I actually came to see Emma,” Jared said, winking at Emma.

Audrey and Claire’s eyes shot arrows towards her, and made Emma want to shrink away from their gaze. Feeling uneasy, she took a step back.

“Did you?” Joanna muttered vehemently.

“I do see that you guys are busy, though,” Jared said, glancing over Travis’ shoulder and at the set dining table. “So, I guess I’ll just pass by another time.”

“Nonsense! Jared, don’t you dare be shy. Why don’t you have breakfast with us? Come inside and make yourself at home.” Joanna insisted, grabbing Jared by the wrist and pulling him inside through the doorway and shutting the door behind her.

“Emma, set an extra place setting at the table for yourself and serve all of the breakfast on separate plates.“ Emma felt as though a wave of anger swept over her. She was about to explode. Travis shook his head, and went into the kitchen to help Emma serve.

Joanna excused herself to 'go powder her nose' as if she was in the '50s', and returned five minutes later dressed in a sundress and wearing heels, with her hair in a flurry of curls. She sat Jared down at the head of the table and took a seat in the chair to his right, followed by her daughters who took a seat to his left. “Now, Jared. Tell us about yourself. The fame, the fortune. How wealthy is your group, exactly? Did the last album you released together do well?”

Joanna babbled on as Jared glanced towards Emma who was scooping scrambled eggs onto six separate plates that Travis handed to her while Lulu barked and begged for scraps at her heels. Jared shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, 'What do you want me to do?'

Emma frowned, bit her lip before she yelled out something to Joanna she would later regret, and carried the serving plates to the dining table.