Kings and Queens of Promise

“Rise and shine, pumpkin pie!” shouted a loud voice above me.

“Alex, I’m gonna kill you!” I exclaimed, blindly swinging my pillow at his voice.

“Wake up, we’re going out!”

“Alex, that’s incest and you know it.”

“Come on, Em!”

“No, Alex, it’s illegal!”

“No, I mean get up! I wanna take you somewhere so we can do the brother-sister bonding thing.” I peeked at his hopeful face from under the covers.

“What’s your angle?”

“No angle,” he swore. “I just want to have a close relationship with my sister.”

“You mean like-”

“Not incest!”

“That’s not what I was gonna say, you just assumed!” I shouted, sitting up. “You do have incest on the brain!”

“Just shut the fuck up and get dressed,” Alex huffed.

“Fine,” I pouted, shoving Alex off the bed.

“Ouch,” he grumbled from his place on the floor.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“You have to get out if I’m gonna change, stupid.”

“Fine, fine. Sheesh! Women!” Once he left, I grabbed my clothes and stepped into the shower, where I began my usual ‘make myself feel better ritual’: I sang, loudly.

“You were talking to her
But messing with me
It’s finally clear
You’re blurring the lines
Are you disturbed?
Oh, now you care
Why do you race through my red lights?

Can’t understand
I’ll slow it down for you

Tell me how can you sleep?
How can you breathe?
Baby tell me how
How you love me now
Tell me how can you sleep?
How can you breathe?
I hate when you say
How you love me now

Save
Save it for her
I’m not gonna hear
Your reasons and “please-just-take-me-backs”
We never were right
Don’t waste your breath
You crashed and you’re on your own tonight

Can’t understand
I’ll slow it down for you

Tell me how can you sleep?
How can you breathe?
Baby tell me how
How you love me now
Tell me how can you sleep?
How can you breathe?
I hate when you say
How you love me now

Lights out
I found out
My falling star
Goodbye
The sun rises here
There’s no more you and I

Tell me how can you sleep?
How can you breathe?
Baby tell me how
How you love me now
Tell me how can you sleep?
How can you breathe?
I hate when you say
How you love me now
How you love me now
How you love me now”

Once I finished in the shower, I hopped out and got dressed, determined to have a positive attitude and a good day. I nearly had a heart attack as I left my room to find Jared leaning against the opposite wall.

“Hey, Em,” he said. “I just wanted to check up on you, tell you some interesting news, and to deliver a message.”

“A message?”

“Yeah. Syn says he wants you to call him.”

“Yeah, right. And the news?”

“Pierre moved out of the mansion.” I dropped my purse in shock.

“Wait, what?”

“He packed up his shit and left last night. Him and Syn had a huge fight about what he did to you -about time, right?- and this has to do with what he needs to talk to you about, but he told Pierre he’d let him rent his beach house about 45 minutes away. He said he didn’t want Pierre in the mansion.”

“Well, dang,” I said, scratching my head. I wasn’t quite sure what to say, so I just shuffled my feet and looked at the floor.

“Anyways, how are you feeling today?”

“I’m fine.”

“Feeling okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Did you drink last night?”

“No. Jared, why the interrogation?”

“Just concerned with your health,” he said casually. “I was gonna ask if you wanted to hang out, but Alex beat me to it.”

“Sure, if ‘asked’ is even the right word,” I grumped.

“Just have fun. You’re gonna love what he’s got planned,” Jared chuckled, hugging me. Someone cleared their throat and I pulled away, seeing Jack standing in the doorway of his room. He came to my side, glaring at Jared. I pushed him away as he tried to kiss me.

“Jack, don’t be the jealous boyfriend,” I said angrily. He looked at me with hurt eyes. “I’m sorry, but seriously. Am I still allowed to have friends, or what?”

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I didn’t realize it bothered you.”

“It’s okay,” I said, gripping the front of his shirt and pulling his lips down to mine in a brief kiss. “Now, I have to go find my stinkin’ twin.”

“No need to find me. Lord Alex awaits you,” Alex said loudly.

“You’re such a retard.”

“I know. I learned it from my sister.”

“Hey! I’ll get you for that!” I chased him downstairs and out to the car, where he locked me out.

“I won’t let you in unless you promise not to hurt me!”

“I’ll just go back to bed,” I shrugged.

“But then you’ll miss out on the amazing surprise!” I sighed dramatically.

“Fine, I promise not to hurt you.”

“Scouts honor?”

“Yeah, whatever,” I said, climbing into the car.

“Hey, um, Em...”

“Yes?”

“Can we take the motorcycle?” he asked hopefully. I laughed before getting out of the car.

“You could have asked before we got in the car,” I pointed out as I straddled my bike.

“It slipped my mind,” he shrugged.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“The Coliseum.” I shot him an inquiring look, but was ignored. Alex spent the majority of the ride ‘whoo-hoo!’ing as we sped down the road, which was fairly entertaining. When we reached the Coliseum, I saw the parking lot crowded and we had to circle around for half an hour before we found a spot. As we approached the doors, I saw the sign that said

Tonight: Bowling For Soup live!

“Bowling for Soup?!” I squealed, looking at Alex. He laughed.

“That’s not the whole surprise.”

“Ohboy,ohboy,ohboy,” I chanted excitedly as we went inside. Instead of joining the crowd, Alex took me over to a security guard.

“Alex and Emerson Gaskarth,” he told the man. “Jaret told you about us?”

“Right this way,” the security guard said, taking us to a place up front, just between the stage and the barrier that kept the fans from stealing the band members’ shirts.

“I love you!” I told Alex, hugging him tightly.

“You better start showing it,” he joked. “Sorry we missed the first band. We wouldn’t have if you hadn’t slept until noon!” I ignored this.

“Ohmigod!” I shouted as the lights went down and the band came on.

“What’s up, Huntington?!” Jaret screamed to the crowd. “So, I know you guys have been looking forward to this show, but I’ve got some bad news. As you can see, our guitarist is missing. He had a minor family emergency, so he won’t be with us for a couple of weeks. However, we have someone to fill in. We’ve never played with her before, but we’ve seen what she can do and we’ve very impressed. She’s right here in the pit. Everyone, say hi to Emerson Gaskarth!”

“Wh-what?” I shouted at Alex, but he just laughed as a security guard picked me up and threw me at the stage. Jaret caught my hand and dragged me to his side.

“How’s it going?” he grinned.

“F-F-fine,” I stuttered. “I’m a bit shocked.”

“Your brother said you might be. Are you ready to rock?” I nodded dumbly as the bassist handed me a guitar.

“‘Almost’,” he said just loud enough for me to hear him.

“Alright, let’s see how she does!” Jaret shouted to the crowd. He nodded at me and I began to play the intro, like I had so many times in my bedroom. Then, when the other guitar started, I jumped up and began to really rock.

“I almost got drunk at school at 14
Where I almost made out with the homecoming queen
Who almost went on to be Miss Texas
But lost to a slut with much bigger breastes
I almost dropped out to move to LA
Where I was almost famous for almost a day”

I almost hadn’t noticed the microphone in front of me, but I saw it just in time to harmonize on the chorus, earning an approving look from Jaret.

“And I almost had you
But I guess that doesn’t cut it
Almost loved you
I almost wished u would’ve loved me too

I almost held up a grocery store
Where I almost did 5 years and then 7 more
Cuz I almost got popped for a fight with a thug
Cuz he almost made off with a bunch of the drugs
That I almost got hooked on cuz you ran away
And I wish I woulda had the nerve to ask you to stay

And I almost had you
But I guess that doesn’t cut it
Almost had you
And I didn’t even know it

You kept me guessing and now I’m destined
To spend my time missing you
I almost wish you would’ve loved me too

Here I go thinking about all the things I could’ve done
I’m gonna need a forklift ‘cuz all the baggage weighs a ton
I know we’ve had our problems, I can’t remember one

I almost forgot to say something else
And if I cant fit it in I’ll keep it all to myself
I almost wrote a song about you today
But I tore it all up and then I threw it away

And I almost had you
But I guess that doesn’t cut it
Almost had you
And I didn’t even know it

You kept me guessing and now I’m destined
To spend my time missing you
And I almost had you

I almost wish you would’ve loved me too”

I rocked out through the entire show and we played almost all my favorite songs. Finally, Jaret announced that we only had time for one more song and finally acknowledged my playing skills.

“Whoa, Emerson gots game!” he exclaimed.

“It’s just Em!” I shouted at him.

“Well, Em, what’s your favorite BFS song?” I grinned at him and began to play the intro. “Oh, hell yes!” he shouted, beginning to sing,

“We grew up in the suburbs
Got guitars for Christmas
And started a punk rock band
Then we travelled the nation
Became a sensation
In our ’82 dodge van

Now we’re getting older and much more sober
And we’ve got some big ass payments to make
The wife wants a handbag
The kids need some college
And we just need one hit single to break
Get ready here it comes

This song sounds like a dance song
Cuz dance songs are cool now
So get up and shake what your momma gave ya
It’s our attempt at a dance song
A really cool dance song
It’s gonna be a great big hit!

And now the label is so stoked
They don’t get the damn joke
The downloads are off the charts
Like those bands on the TV
In the frilly tuxedos
The ones that break the young girls’ hearts
And now we can too

This song sounds like a dance song
Cuz dance songs are cool now
So get up and shake what your momma gave ya
It’s our attempt at a dance song
A really cool dance song
I can’t wait to hear the remix!

This song sounds like a dance song
Cuz dance songs are cool now
So get up and shake what your momma gave ya
It’s our attempt at a dance song
A really cool dance song
It’s gonna be a great big hit!

Who the hell are we foolin’?
This isn’t really what we do
We had to borrow this keyboard
We only listen to Motley Crue
But it’s gonna be really funny
Cuz this song will be number one

This song sounds like a dance song
Cuz dance songs are cool now
So get up and shake what your momma gave ya

This song sounds like a dance song
Cuz dance songs are cool now
So get up and shake what your momma gave ya
It’s our attempt at a dance song
A really cool dance song
I can’t wait to hear the remix!

This song sounds like a dance song
Cuz dance songs are cool now
So get up and shake what your momma gave ya
It’s our attempt at a dance song
A really cool dance song
It’s gonna be a great big hit!

It’s our new sound!
We’re gonna...take it to the next level
You’re gonna hear us in all the clubs”

The drums dropped out and Jaret began calling all the techies and roadies onto the stage. Alex got dragged up and was dancing next to me, laughing and sing.

“ALRIGHT! We’re back!
We are dancing this is awesome!
We are dancing
Dancing, dancing, dancing
And we’re dancing, dancing, dancing
WOO!”

“Thank you guys so much,” Jaret shouted to the crowd. Once we were all offstage, he clapped me on the back.

“You were really awesome. Would you be interested in filling in for our guitarist for just two weeks?” I pretended to think about it before I said,

“No hablo Ingles.”

“Aw, you little shit.”

“Kidding,” I said, offering him a cheesy grin. “I’d love to. That is, if you guys have room.”

“Sure we do.”

“Well, when are you leaving Huntington?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Okay. Should I meet you...?”

“Here is fine,” he said.

“Okay, well, I probably need to find my brother and give him a huge, sweaty hug,” I smiled.

“We’ll see ya tomorrow!” Jaret called as I left.

“Alex!” I shouted as I spotted my brother. I ran to him, tackling him in a hug. “I freaking love you!”

“I know,” he gasped. “Can’t breathe.”

“Sorry,” I said, letting go of him. “Did you know they’d invite me on tour?”

“Yes, I arranged it with them.”

“Did I mention I love you?”

“Once or twice.”

“Cuz you know I do!” I exclaimed, hugging him tightly.

“Alright, so, are you ready for it?”

“Ready for what?”

“The rest of your surprise?”

“Sure,” I said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a CD.

“This is from me and all the guys. That’s Syn, Zacky and Frank, Jack, P, and Jared. All the info is inside. I figured that, while you’re on tour, you can listen to these and get some thinking done about your whole romantic situation.”

“Right,” I said, coming down from my high.

“Are you sure you wanna leave me for two whole weeks?” he asked, making puppy dog eyes at me.

“Alex, you can survive two weeks.” I began to smile and skip outside as I sang,

“Sail around the world,
And tell em all to keep singing
La la la la-la
All we need’s a harmony
And we’ll convince the world to sing
La la la la-la
Throw your arms around someone”
-here I threw my arms around Alex-
“Maybe spread a little love
I know it sounds a little dumb
Or maybe I’m a little drunk
But all we need’s some ice cream and a hug”

“You’re happy,” Alex grinned. “I’m glad.”

“Hi, Glad,” I grinned. “I’m in the mood for ice cream and a hug.”

“Done,” Alex smiled, pointing to a nearby ice cream parlor. I hugged him again as he led me to the ice cream.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

“You’re the best brother ever,” I said as Alex and I trooped upstairs. He bid me goodnight and I headed for my room, stopping at Jack’s door. I knocked lightly before going in. I had decided that I should break up with him now, before I left for two weeks (but Jaret had said it could be longer). I entered his room to find him laying on the bed, looking at me. “Jack? What are you doing?”

“Waiting for you,” he said, reaching to me. I slowly approached him and allowed him to pull me into his arms. “Did you have fun at the concert?”

“Yes.”

“What did you guys do after that?”

“Got ice cream and stood in front of Walmart with a ‘free hugs’ sign for three hours. Then we had dinner and watched the sunset at the beach.”

“Wow, you must be tired. Before you go to bed, I just want to say one thing.”

“Me, too,” I said quickly.

“Alright, well, I just wanted to say...I love you, Em, and I’m sorry I haven’t been the best boyfriend. You deserve someone better than me, so I’m gonna try my best to be worthy of you.” I bit my lip, looking up into his face.

How could I break up with him now?

“What did you want to say?”

“Oh,” I hesitated.

What to say?

“Nothing.”