Contagious

Martin looked down at the off-white sheet of paper, where his signature and those of his band mates graced the solid black lines at the bottom of the contract. He smiled. It was official. They had been signed with Colombia Records—at least one album and two tours; one of which was already being set up. They'd have a summer tour, record in the fall, then tour again to promote after the album was finished.

With high-fives and smiles all around, the boys exited the building and made their way to the busy streets of Boston. Martin dug his phone out of his pocket and dialed Parker's number—she was the first person he wanted to tell.

+

Parker glanced up from her Mac as her cell phone rang. She glanced around the crowded diner and answered quietly. “Hey, how was the meeting?”

”Amazing! Where are you? I gotta tell you this in person.”

She smiled, she could already tell what the news was but she wanted to hear it from him. “The same diner I was at before you left for the meeting, love,” she told him.

”I'll be there in ten minutes. Do not move a muscle!”

“Can I breathe or is that bad, too?” she joked.

”Good point. I do want you to be alive for the good news. So... I guess breathing is okay.”

“For now?”

”For now. See you soon, boo.”

Parker laughed as she hung up her phone, setting it down next to her. She finished emailing Sylvia about her request—she knew Martin was going to get signed and was trying to pull some strings to get him and the guys on tour with her and her band. She didn't know if it would work out but she wanted to try. First tours were nerve-wracking and she hoped that touring with someone they knew would make it easier.

She hadn't yet had the chance to talk to her band mates about it—she knew Ross wouldn't be thrilled but, unfortunately, that's just how it went sometimes. She quickly responded to a text from Orion, something about the talent show that was in a few weeks, and looked up as the bell of the diner door rang. A smile spread across her face as Martin walked in, running over to her. She stood up just in time as his arms wrapped around her waist, hugging her tightly and swinging her around.

“We did it! We got the deal, Parks!”

Parker laughed, her arms around his neck. “I knew you could do it.”

“This is incredible!” Martin declared, setting her down on the ground. “Is this how you felt when you got signed?”

She nodded. “Yeah, it's. It's one of the best feelings in the world.”

Martin couldn't stop smiling. “Thank you. This is all because of you.”

She sent him a confused look. “How? I didn't do anything?”

“You believed in me,” he told her, leaning in to kiss her deeply. When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers. “When my own family doubted me—when fucking Dallas didn't believe in me—you did. You're so amazing. I don't deserve you in my life, not after everything I've done to you.”

Parker shook her head. “Don't be an idiot. You did this on your own, because you're talented, because your band is talented,” she told him. “None of this is me. It's all you.”

Martin smiled and kissed her again. “Can we get desert to celebrate?”

“Of course we can,” she told him, sitting back down in front of her computer.

Martin sat in the booth next to her, eyes falling on the homepage. “What's that?” he asked, pointing to a headline with her name in it.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, clicking the link to pull up the article about her and the boy sitting next to her. In the article he remained unnamed and simply showed a picture of them kissing at the club, captions about 'her new man' and her 'helping him get a record deal.' “Fun stuff you get to look forward to,” she told him.

Martin frowned, angling the laptop towards himself as he read the article. “This is all junk.”

“Yeah, well,” she mumbled, shrugging. “You ready for it?”

“Ready for what?”

She nodded towards the laptop. “When you make it, people are going to make assumptions about your life. Suddenly every girl you hug, every girl you smile at, every girl you talk to—that's going to be your new girlfriend. Everyone will assume they know everything about your life, think they have some sort of claim over you because they think they know what a song is about,” she said, shrugging again.

Martin sighed, re-reading the article. “So...the people who wrote this think that you got the record exec there for your little un-named boyfriend?” he asked, blue eyes scanning over the words.

She nodded. “I don't want to make this job seem horrible because it's not. I love it and I wouldn't change it for the world. But...there are some aspects that make me wonder if it's worth it sometimes.”

“Is it? Worth it, I mean?” Martin asked.

“When I read things like this, I don't think it is. But then...” she shook her head slowly, smiling gradually. “But when I get up on stage and see those kids screaming along and having the time of their lives, I know it is.”

Martin smiled. “I can't believe they referred to me as your 'un-named boyfriend.' I have a name! How preposterous,” he joked, rolling his eyes.

Parker laughed. “So, uh. You would...consider yourself my boyfriend, then?” she asked, avoiding his eyes and choosing to look at her laptop instead.

Martin reached forward and closed her laptop slowly. “I would. You, uh, wanna look at me now?”

“Maybe,” Parker mumbled but met his gaze anyway. “Boyfriend?”

He leaned forward and kissed her slowly. “It feels right, calling you my girlfriend.”

“You, too, huh?”

“Yeah, me, too,” he whispered against her lips.

Parker smiled and kissed him again. She didn't need to hear anything else.

+

Hesitantly, Parker knocked on Orion's door. Normally, she would walk in but she knew Ross was visiting and, well, she didn't want to interrupt anything. She waited until Orion slammed open the front door, a smile on her face, before she sucked in a deep breath.

“Hey, Parks. What's up?”

“Is Ross still here?” she asked.

“Yeah, I'll get him. You okay?” Orion asked.

Parker nodded. “Yeah. It's just time for he and I to talk.”

Orion smiled. “That's a relief to hear. All he talks about is how you two are fighting,” she said.

“Yeah, he does talk a lot, doesn't he?”

Orion laughed. “Gimme a sec.”

Parker nodded and watched as her friend bounced down the hallway, shouting Ross' name. Even though she knew it was foolish, she was actually nervous when she saw Ross walking towards her. “Hey.”

Ross ran a hand over his hair, shifting from foot to foot. “Hey.”

“So. This is stupid. You're my best friend and we're going to fight over a guy?”

Ross shrugged.

“Are you mad at me or something?” Parker asked.

“No, I just,” Ross trailed off, shrugging. “I just don't want to see him hurt you again.”

Parker nodded. “I understand. But Ross, it's worked out really well for the past month. And I want your support on this one,” she told him. “Hell, I need your support. And I need to not fight with you anymore.”

Ross leaned in and wrapped his arms around his best friend, hugging her tightly. “You're right,” he said quietly.

Parker pulled away, smiling slightly. “Wait, I'm what, Ross?”

Ross rolled his eyes. “You know what I said.”

“I think I need to hear it again. I'm not sure if I heard you correctly,” she joked.

“I said you were right,” he said, laughing.

“Good,” Parker said, smiling. “I'll, uh. Let you get back to your girlfriend now,” she told him, raising her eyebrows.

“I'll talk to you later,” Ross said.

“Wait, pause!” Orion yelled, running down the hallway.

Parker froze in her spot. “Can I not move?”

Orion rolled her eyes and slipped a piece of paper into her friend's hand.

Parker unfolded the slip of paper, reading over the words. “What is this?”

“Martin's song for the talent show.”

“Why do I need this?” Parker asked.

Orion sighed. “He doesn't have anyone else to sing with.”

Parker shook her head. “That's not my place, Orion. He's got it figured out.”

“How is it not your place? You're his girlfriend,” Orion said.

“He's got it figured out,” Parker told her. “I'm not going to ruin his moment.”

Orion frowned. “How is it ruining his moment? Without someone stepping in, it will be ruined all on its own.”

“He's got it figured out,” she repeated. “If he wanted me to do it, he'd ask me.” And she was sure of that. Since he hadn't asked, she assumed he had worked it out within the band. It just didn't feel right to her, stepping in to save him when he didn't ask.

“Whatever, Parker,” Orion muttered, shrugging. “If you want to see him humiliated, go right ahead.”

Parker sighed. “Orion—“

“No, it's cool,” she said, faking a smile. “Ross and I are gonna go make dinner. I'll see you later.”

Before Parker could say another word, Orion slammed the door in her face.

+

Parker re-read the lyrics on the slip of paper clutched tightly in her hands. She glanced up at the school in front of her—one place she really never wanted to go again. But it was for Martin, not herself, so she dealt with it. She walked into the school and followed the loud sounds—no one was even in the hallways. She found herself standing in the very back of the auditorium, watching a group of girls, that included Dallas, dancing on the stage. It was tacky and class-less in Parker's opinion and she rolled her eyes.

When the music ended, the girls bowed and walked off stage, smiles on their faces. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw Martin walk out onto the stage. He looked nervous, uncomfortable, eyes shifting between his band mates as if he didn't know what was going to happen next. She folded the slip of paper and stuffed it back into her pocket.

“Hi, everyone, I'm—“ Martin paused as some girls in the crowd screamed his name. He smiled and laughed awkwardly before continuing. “And, uh, this song...is for someone very special to me. I couldn't have done any of this without her. So. Here it goes. It's called, uh, Two is Better Than One.” He looked towards his band mates, sharing a nod with Paul, before plucking the opening chords on his guitar.

I remember what you wore on the first day,
You came into my life and I thought,
Hey, you know, this could be something.

Parker smiled without realizing it. Simply the way Martin looked on stage, eyes closed as he sang, and he left the auditorium, running back down the hallway to the green room. She busted through the doors, almost running into a couple people standing there, and grabbed another microphone, flipping it on.

`Cause everything you do and words you say,
You know that it all takes my breath away,
And now I'm left with nothing.

She sucked in a deep breath, running a hand through her hair as she joined him on stage.

So maybe it's true, I can't live without you.
And maybe two is better than one.
There's so much time to figure out the rest of my life.
And you've already got me coming undone.
And I'm thinking two is better than one.

Martin's eyes opened and widened in shock as he saw Parker standing on the stage next to him, looking awkward and adorable in her too-old, too-tight, too-worn jeans, white cami, black vest, and her worn Chucks. Martin's smiled, fingers faltering on the chords just barely but he recovered quickly.

I remember every look upon your face.
The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste,
You make it hard for breathing.
`Cause when I close my eyes and drift away,
I think of you and everything's okay,
I'm finally now believing.

So maybe it's true, I can't live without you.
And maybe two is better than one.
There's so much time to figure out the rest of my life.
And you've already got me coming undone.
And I'm thinking two is better than one.

Parker walked over to Martin, running her fingers through his hair. In that moment, she forgot about the people sitting in the crowd, the glares she was receiving from Dallas; she just thought about the moment.

I remember what you wore on the first day,
You came into my life and I thought hey...

So maybe it's true, I can't live without you.
And maybe two is better than one.
There's so much time to figure out the rest of my life.
And you've already got me coming undone.
And I'm thinking two is better than one.

Ooh I can't live without you.
`Cause baby two is better than one.
There's so much time to figure out the rest of my life,
And I've figured out when all is said and done,
Two is better than one.

Two is better than one...

As Martin finished the last chords of the song, Parker dropped the microphone and pressed their lips together. She felt him smile just as clearly as she heard girls screaming in the audience. Martin shifted his guitar and wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him. He didn't care about the the lights, the screams, the cheers, the noise—any of it.

“I love you,” Martin whispered.

Parker smiled. “I love you, too. And guess what?”

“What?” Martin asked, a hand running over her hair as the curtains closed in front of them, shielding them from the view of everyone else besides his band.

“You're coming on tour with us.”

Martin smiled. “Are you—“

“Talking serious?” she finished.

He nodded.

“Very serious.”

Martin laughed and kissed her again.

Words weren't necessary.