Sequel: Wrists Intact ›
Hearts Intact
And I Just Want To Be A Part Of This
Authors Note: Sorry the punctuation is bad in this one, Im at school and the computer apparently doesn’t like some types of punctuation! It also wont be coloured, which upsets me
“I propose a toast, to us!” Jimmy said, raising his beer can. Devin, Skylar, Sheila and I all raised our cans.
“This is only the start to one long, rocking chapter of our lives!” Jimmy said. Cheering we clashed our cans together and then we all took a good long drink.
“And now I think is the perfect time to say our big news!” Jimmy said, glancing at Devin and Skylar. They nodded and all three of them left the room, leaving Sheila and I staring at each other in confusion.
“Do you have any clue what this is about?” I asked. Sheila shrugged and took another drink from her can. Sheila and Jimmy are like Skylar and I, they used to look a lot alike but then one day that all changed. Well, sort of. Jimmy has really really dark brown hair, almost black, and his eyes are the same colour. Sheila was the same except she died her hair a caramel brown colour and started wearing green contacts after she was raped. We re not sure why, but hey, whatever floats your boat, right? “”
“Okay we re back, did you miss me?” Devin asked, coming back into the room. I shook my head and he gasped.
“What! How could you not miss me?” He cried. I just shrugged, smiling as he preteneded to cry. Skylar and Jimmy walked into the room, gave Devin a word look and then turned to Sheila and I.
“Okay, so do you guys remember how we entered that contest a few months ago?” Jimmy asked. Sheila and I both nodded. Id totally forgotten about the contest. Bands were supposed to enter it, send a demo tape, song lyrics and a video of us playing. The band that won would be opening for Fall Out Boy on a big tour! We didn’t expect to win, but wed decided to enter anyway because we figured that some big important people would be listening to the demo tapes and might decide they like us. Might as well eh, its not like we have anything to lose.
“Well, we got a letter back from them!” Skylar said, holding a ripped envelope in front of my face. I was speechless but Sheila made up for it by schreeching so loud it hurt my ears.
“Oh my God! What did it say?” She cried. Skylar and Devin were grinning at each other while I still couldn’t move. Jimmy put his arm around me and squeezed reassuringly. Skylar cleared his throat as he read the letter out loud.
“Dear Hearts Intact. After listening to your demo tape and watching your video closely we have noticed several things about you. We like the energy you deliver while playing onstage and the passion you clearly have. Your music flows nicely and we like the harmony you’ve produced. The guitar solos are powerful and it is apparent by your video that the audience loves it. Your vocals are well delivered and we like how your two lead singers compliment each others voice nicely.” Skylar paused to look up at Sheila and I. My mouth was open and I couldn’t care less. Sheila was squealing and jumping up and down. Grinning Skylar continued reading.
“So after very carefully anaylizing everything and showing your music to the members of Fall Out Boy…” Skylar read but he was interrupted by Sheila who screeched loudly. Devin, Skylar, Jimmy and I all jumped and turned to stare at her with wide eyes.
“Oh my God you guys, Fall Out Boy has heard your music! Do you know how freaking amazing that is?” She cried. Without any command from me,my hand flew to my mouth as it finally sank in.
“Oh Lord, I never ever, ever, ever!” I said, not bothering to finish my sentence. They all knew what I was trying to say.
“We are pleased to announce that you are the winners!” This time Sheila wasn’t the only one schreeching. I was too and soon we were all cheering and hugging.
“Hey listen up, theres more!” Skylar yelled. Immediately we all fell silent. It didn’t even bother me all that much that the guys hadnt told me about this right away, only a little bit.
“On April 30th please meet us at blah blah blah boring address and more blah blah blah things. Congradulations again! Sincerely, Howard Simpson P.S AWESOME hair! We LOVE the streaks! Fall Out Boy.” Skylar finished reading. I was blushing, I couldn’t help it. Fall Out Boy had just complimented me on my hair. I couldn’t believe it.
“Isnt this great?” Jimmy whispered as he hugged me. I nodded, I was too shocked to speak. I didn’t know what to say!
“We did it, we finally did it!” Skylar called, lifting me up as soon as Jimmy let go of me. All I could do was nod as I hugged him.
“Congradulations you guys!” Sheila said, giving Devin a hug. He lifted her right off of her feet.
“I cant believe it, we actually won!” I managed to say finally. Devin nodded as he let go of Sheila and pulled me into a hug. He kissed my cheek quickly.
“You better believe it, we were better than at least fifteen hundred other bands!” He said. I nodded and before I knew it I was crying because I was so happy.
“This calls for more beer!” Skylar said grabbing a few cans out of the fridge. We all laughed, leave it to Skylar to hand out the beer.
“Quiet, I want to say something!” Sheila said, scrambling to her feet. We all fell silent as she cleared her throat loudly.
“Ive known all of you for a really long time now. Jimmy Id like to say that youre the best baby brother ive ever had! Youre always there for me no matter what happens. Devin, you are one crazy son of a bitch but we love you for it! Skylar, you’ve always been sort of the consience for the band and me as well. Thanks for everything! And Izzye, ive never told you this, but I think of you as my little sister! Im so proud of all of you guys, and I know that you guys will be able to make it big! And remember that no matter what anyone ever says, I am defiantly your biggest fan!” She said. All of us jumped up and hugged her.
“Thanks Sheila, youre the best!” I said,trying to hold back my tears. I was unsucessful though. At least I wasnèt the only one crying, Sheila had tears in her eyes as did Devin, Jimmy and Skylar.
“We have to thank you Sheila! You’ve helped this band through some pretty tough times. Without you I doubt that we would have ever gotten this far. After all, if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have gotten our first gig!” Skylar said. I nodded quickly. It was true. A friend of Sheilas owns a club and she convinced him to let us play.
“Thanks guys! Just, promise me one thing!” Sheila said, wiping away her tears.
“Sure, anything!” Devin, Jimmy, Skylar and I all said at the same time. I was alarmed by how serious Sheilas face grew.
“Promise me that you wont let this change who you are. You guys are the best people I know, I don’t want the music industry to change that!” She said. Jimmy hugged her.
“Don’t worry, we promise we wont change. We re who we are and no industry is going to change that!” Jimmy said. Skylar, Devin and I nodded in agreement. I hope that this is one promise we ll be able to keep.
*******
“Mom, Dad! Guess what!” Skylar and I yelled in unison as we ran into our house. It was nine the next morning, wed spent the night at Jimmys, celebrating.
“Oh dear, what is it? Is there a fire or something? ” Mom asked, coming out of the kitchen with Dad and Alexia right behind her. Both Skylar and I were grinning, shaking our heads.
“Oh no, its even better than a fire! Do you remember that contest we entered a few months ago, the one where the winning band would open for Fall Out Boy? Well we won!” I cried. Now I know that my parents don’t approve of Skylar and I playing in a band but id been expecting at least a tiny smile. No, what I got was my mom bursting into tears and leaving the room. My dad looked like his world had come crashing down around him while Alexia looked horrified. Nice, glad to know they love me.
“Whats her problem? Aren’t you guys supposed to be happy for us?” Skylar asked. My dad was shaking his head, kneading his forehead with his hands.
“This is terrible! Well, write them back and tell them that you cant accept!” He said.
“What! No way!” Skylar and I both yelled. My father glared at us.
“Theres no life, playing in a band. Youll have your fifteen minutes of fame and then what? Your mother and I sure as hell wont support you then!” He said. Skylar and I stared at him, our mouths slightly open. We couldn’t believe that he, our own father, was saying this to us.
“Do you know what then Dad? You and Mom will never have to support me anymore, because im moving out!” I yelled. I stormed past him and ran up the stairs and into my room. I heard Skylar come up behind me and go into his room. I was pretty sure that he was grabbing his belongings too. Fine, if our parents didn’t want us to be in a band while living under their roof than wed move out. Im sure Jimmy and Sheila would let us stay with them for a while.
I filled my suitcase and two other bags, stuffing in as much things as I could. I was just about to leave when I suddenly remembered the scarf. Im not sure why, but I grabbed it and stuffed it into one of my bags. I still hadnt gotten a good chance to look at it closely.
“Skyla Conner you put those bags down right now! You are not leaving this house!” My dad bellowed. I ignored him and ran out the front door. Skylar was already at the car.
“Get in, hes coming after us!” Skylar hissed. I glanced over my shoulder to see my dad running out of the house. I jumped in the car and it only took Skylar less than five seconds to be speeding down the streets. He didn’t even bother to put his seatbelt on!
“I hate them! I hate them so much!” I cried, tears streaming down my face. Skylar nodded and put his hand on my shoulder reassuringly.
“I know, so do I. But lets forget about them. Come on, we have a road trip coming up!” He said. I nodded and smiled slightly. It was hard to stay upset when so many good things were happening!
“I propose a toast, to us!” Jimmy said, raising his beer can. Devin, Skylar, Sheila and I all raised our cans.
“This is only the start to one long, rocking chapter of our lives!” Jimmy said. Cheering we clashed our cans together and then we all took a good long drink.
“And now I think is the perfect time to say our big news!” Jimmy said, glancing at Devin and Skylar. They nodded and all three of them left the room, leaving Sheila and I staring at each other in confusion.
“Do you have any clue what this is about?” I asked. Sheila shrugged and took another drink from her can. Sheila and Jimmy are like Skylar and I, they used to look a lot alike but then one day that all changed. Well, sort of. Jimmy has really really dark brown hair, almost black, and his eyes are the same colour. Sheila was the same except she died her hair a caramel brown colour and started wearing green contacts after she was raped. We re not sure why, but hey, whatever floats your boat, right? “”
“Okay we re back, did you miss me?” Devin asked, coming back into the room. I shook my head and he gasped.
“What! How could you not miss me?” He cried. I just shrugged, smiling as he preteneded to cry. Skylar and Jimmy walked into the room, gave Devin a word look and then turned to Sheila and I.
“Okay, so do you guys remember how we entered that contest a few months ago?” Jimmy asked. Sheila and I both nodded. Id totally forgotten about the contest. Bands were supposed to enter it, send a demo tape, song lyrics and a video of us playing. The band that won would be opening for Fall Out Boy on a big tour! We didn’t expect to win, but wed decided to enter anyway because we figured that some big important people would be listening to the demo tapes and might decide they like us. Might as well eh, its not like we have anything to lose.
“Well, we got a letter back from them!” Skylar said, holding a ripped envelope in front of my face. I was speechless but Sheila made up for it by schreeching so loud it hurt my ears.
“Oh my God! What did it say?” She cried. Skylar and Devin were grinning at each other while I still couldn’t move. Jimmy put his arm around me and squeezed reassuringly. Skylar cleared his throat as he read the letter out loud.
“Dear Hearts Intact. After listening to your demo tape and watching your video closely we have noticed several things about you. We like the energy you deliver while playing onstage and the passion you clearly have. Your music flows nicely and we like the harmony you’ve produced. The guitar solos are powerful and it is apparent by your video that the audience loves it. Your vocals are well delivered and we like how your two lead singers compliment each others voice nicely.” Skylar paused to look up at Sheila and I. My mouth was open and I couldn’t care less. Sheila was squealing and jumping up and down. Grinning Skylar continued reading.
“So after very carefully anaylizing everything and showing your music to the members of Fall Out Boy…” Skylar read but he was interrupted by Sheila who screeched loudly. Devin, Skylar, Jimmy and I all jumped and turned to stare at her with wide eyes.
“Oh my God you guys, Fall Out Boy has heard your music! Do you know how freaking amazing that is?” She cried. Without any command from me,my hand flew to my mouth as it finally sank in.
“Oh Lord, I never ever, ever, ever!” I said, not bothering to finish my sentence. They all knew what I was trying to say.
“We are pleased to announce that you are the winners!” This time Sheila wasn’t the only one schreeching. I was too and soon we were all cheering and hugging.
“Hey listen up, theres more!” Skylar yelled. Immediately we all fell silent. It didn’t even bother me all that much that the guys hadnt told me about this right away, only a little bit.
“On April 30th please meet us at blah blah blah boring address and more blah blah blah things. Congradulations again! Sincerely, Howard Simpson P.S AWESOME hair! We LOVE the streaks! Fall Out Boy.” Skylar finished reading. I was blushing, I couldn’t help it. Fall Out Boy had just complimented me on my hair. I couldn’t believe it.
“Isnt this great?” Jimmy whispered as he hugged me. I nodded, I was too shocked to speak. I didn’t know what to say!
“We did it, we finally did it!” Skylar called, lifting me up as soon as Jimmy let go of me. All I could do was nod as I hugged him.
“Congradulations you guys!” Sheila said, giving Devin a hug. He lifted her right off of her feet.
“I cant believe it, we actually won!” I managed to say finally. Devin nodded as he let go of Sheila and pulled me into a hug. He kissed my cheek quickly.
“You better believe it, we were better than at least fifteen hundred other bands!” He said. I nodded and before I knew it I was crying because I was so happy.
“This calls for more beer!” Skylar said grabbing a few cans out of the fridge. We all laughed, leave it to Skylar to hand out the beer.
“Quiet, I want to say something!” Sheila said, scrambling to her feet. We all fell silent as she cleared her throat loudly.
“Ive known all of you for a really long time now. Jimmy Id like to say that youre the best baby brother ive ever had! Youre always there for me no matter what happens. Devin, you are one crazy son of a bitch but we love you for it! Skylar, you’ve always been sort of the consience for the band and me as well. Thanks for everything! And Izzye, ive never told you this, but I think of you as my little sister! Im so proud of all of you guys, and I know that you guys will be able to make it big! And remember that no matter what anyone ever says, I am defiantly your biggest fan!” She said. All of us jumped up and hugged her.
“Thanks Sheila, youre the best!” I said,trying to hold back my tears. I was unsucessful though. At least I wasnèt the only one crying, Sheila had tears in her eyes as did Devin, Jimmy and Skylar.
“We have to thank you Sheila! You’ve helped this band through some pretty tough times. Without you I doubt that we would have ever gotten this far. After all, if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have gotten our first gig!” Skylar said. I nodded quickly. It was true. A friend of Sheilas owns a club and she convinced him to let us play.
“Thanks guys! Just, promise me one thing!” Sheila said, wiping away her tears.
“Sure, anything!” Devin, Jimmy, Skylar and I all said at the same time. I was alarmed by how serious Sheilas face grew.
“Promise me that you wont let this change who you are. You guys are the best people I know, I don’t want the music industry to change that!” She said. Jimmy hugged her.
“Don’t worry, we promise we wont change. We re who we are and no industry is going to change that!” Jimmy said. Skylar, Devin and I nodded in agreement. I hope that this is one promise we ll be able to keep.
*******
“Mom, Dad! Guess what!” Skylar and I yelled in unison as we ran into our house. It was nine the next morning, wed spent the night at Jimmys, celebrating.
“Oh dear, what is it? Is there a fire or something? ” Mom asked, coming out of the kitchen with Dad and Alexia right behind her. Both Skylar and I were grinning, shaking our heads.
“Oh no, its even better than a fire! Do you remember that contest we entered a few months ago, the one where the winning band would open for Fall Out Boy? Well we won!” I cried. Now I know that my parents don’t approve of Skylar and I playing in a band but id been expecting at least a tiny smile. No, what I got was my mom bursting into tears and leaving the room. My dad looked like his world had come crashing down around him while Alexia looked horrified. Nice, glad to know they love me.
“Whats her problem? Aren’t you guys supposed to be happy for us?” Skylar asked. My dad was shaking his head, kneading his forehead with his hands.
“This is terrible! Well, write them back and tell them that you cant accept!” He said.
“What! No way!” Skylar and I both yelled. My father glared at us.
“Theres no life, playing in a band. Youll have your fifteen minutes of fame and then what? Your mother and I sure as hell wont support you then!” He said. Skylar and I stared at him, our mouths slightly open. We couldn’t believe that he, our own father, was saying this to us.
“Do you know what then Dad? You and Mom will never have to support me anymore, because im moving out!” I yelled. I stormed past him and ran up the stairs and into my room. I heard Skylar come up behind me and go into his room. I was pretty sure that he was grabbing his belongings too. Fine, if our parents didn’t want us to be in a band while living under their roof than wed move out. Im sure Jimmy and Sheila would let us stay with them for a while.
I filled my suitcase and two other bags, stuffing in as much things as I could. I was just about to leave when I suddenly remembered the scarf. Im not sure why, but I grabbed it and stuffed it into one of my bags. I still hadnt gotten a good chance to look at it closely.
“Skyla Conner you put those bags down right now! You are not leaving this house!” My dad bellowed. I ignored him and ran out the front door. Skylar was already at the car.
“Get in, hes coming after us!” Skylar hissed. I glanced over my shoulder to see my dad running out of the house. I jumped in the car and it only took Skylar less than five seconds to be speeding down the streets. He didn’t even bother to put his seatbelt on!
“I hate them! I hate them so much!” I cried, tears streaming down my face. Skylar nodded and put his hand on my shoulder reassuringly.
“I know, so do I. But lets forget about them. Come on, we have a road trip coming up!” He said. I nodded and smiled slightly. It was hard to stay upset when so many good things were happening!