Spinning.

“Who's phone is ringing?”

Our tour stop in Los Angeles meant that we were hanging out in my apartment when Ian posed the question, playing Smash Bros. with my bandmates while I was reading on the couch. Everyone stopped what they were doing to check their phones, realizing that it wasn't theirs before returning to the game. After a little digging I found my phone, realizing that it was me that missed a call.

“Sorry, that was me guys.”

“Who was it?” Dave asked, not looking away from the screen.

“It was Carolyn.” I shrugged, tapping on the voice mail so I could listen to the message she left.

”Hey Beret, it's Carolyn. I have some exciting news for you! Give me a call when you get this. Talk to you soon!”

I wasted no time calling her back, impatiently waiting through the three rings before Carolyn answered.

“Beret!” She answered, sounding excited. “I have news!”

“So you said in the voice mail. What's up?”

“You've been nominated for twelve Billboard awards!”

It took a moment for the news to sink in, my eyes suddenly widening as my jaw hit the floor.

“What?” I practically yelled, causing everyone else to jump, all eyes on me. “Twelve?!”

“Yes! Twelve! They released the nominations this morning-- you've got more nominations than Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift!”

“Holy shit. You're kidding me.” I shook my head, not believing the words I was hearing.

“No! I'm not! Go online and look!”

“Who has a computer?!” I pressed the phone to my chest as my eyes wildly darted between the guys, all too startled to say anything. After a second, Ryan scrambled up and brought me his computer, logging in and handing it to me. I wasted no time looking up the nominations, gasping as my eyes scanned the screen.

“What's going on?” Ian finally asked, finding the ability to talk.

“Holy. Shit. Fuck. We've been nominated for TWELVE BILLBOARD AWARDS!” I yelled, too excited to even think straight.

“No way!” Alex snatched the computer from me, his eyes rapidly scanning the screen. “Holy shit!”

The rest of the guys were suddenly craning around the computer to see the screen, cheering as they saw “The Lady Says” repeated across the screen.

“Beret, you're leading the nominations!” Mason exclaimed, looking up at me. I was too astounded to speak, simply nodding at him with wide eyes.

“Beret?” I heard Carolyn's muffled voice through the phone.

“Uh, yeah, holy shit Carolyn.” I finally pulled the phone back up to my ear, words stumbling out of my mouth.

“I know! Congratulations! You'll probably be asked to perform at the ceremony, and you'll definitely be attending, so if you want to bring John you better make sure his schedule is clear now. Anyways, I've gotta go! Being in Los Angeles means that I've been at the office and it's pretty busy in here with the news! I'll see you tomorrow night at the show!” She hung up, leaving us all surprised in a good way.

“Wow, Beret that's crazy! Look at you!” Mason laughed, patting me on the back.

“Carolyn said there's a pretty good chance we'll be performing, holy shit I can't believe this is happening!” I shook my head, my cheeks hurting from smiling so much.

“Wait, so we all may be going to the Billboard awards?” Ryan's grin grew.

“Yeah, we're a band. Why wouldn't we all go anyways?” It didn't occur to me that there was a reason that they wouldn't come with me. They were my bandmates after all, even if I initially wrote the album on my own. Truth was that that I wouldn't be able to do this without them, which alone was enough reason to bring them with.

“We... we're not just your backing band?” Alex looked like he was so happy he could cry.

“No, we're bandmates.” I clarified, confused by Alex's reaction. “Am I missing something here?”

“We're a band! It's like we're family!” The twins both tackled me, laughter pouring out as they wrapped their arms around me, clinging for dear life.

“Air!” I gasped, my lungs being crushed by the pair. When they finally released their death grip on me, I caught my breath again. “Since when were we not a band?”

“Well, to be fair, when we did the auditions, they specified as a backing band. Not as band mates.” Mason pointed out.

“Really? I've never seen you guys that way. I think they missed the memo that I wasn't looking for just a backing band.” I shrugged, standing up to get myself a cup of coffee.

“So... we're a band?” Ian clarified, his grin matching the grins of the others.

“I, uh, yeah? I mean, as long as you guys want to be a band. This does involve you guys too.”

“What kind of question is that?” Dave snorted. “Hell yeah we do, and I'm pretty sure I'm speaking for everyone here.”

The others nodded their heads in agreement, faces glowing.

“Well then, I suppose the Lady Says is officially a six-member band!” I grinned, sipping my coffee.

“We're celebrating!” Alex and Ryan jumped up, grinning as they ran to put on shoes. “Like, now!”

“What are we doing?” Mason looked between the two of them, interested for an answer.

“Who gives a shit! We're a band, we're nominated for twelve billboard awards, and we're in Los Angeles, we can find something to do to celebrate!”

I shrugged at the other three, following the twins and slipping on my shoes. “Well then, I suppose we're celebrating!”

After heading down to the lobby, my phone buzzed with a message from John.

“Party tonight? I hear you've got big news to celebrate :)”

“I do! Currently I'm celebrating with the guys, depending on when we finish I'll let you know. Apparently we weren't officially a normal band until today? Ha”

“Wait what?”

“Well apparently until now they were my 'backing band?' I didn't know that, haha I just thought they were my band mates. So now they actually are.”

“Oh. ha. Well let me know. :)”

“Guys the Maine wants to party tonight!” I announced, earning cheers from the others.

“Who would we be to pass up a party?” Alex pointed out.

“That's true, I'll tell them to bring drinks. No hookers though.” I laughed, getting a playful shove from Ryan. “What? I'm the girl, and I'm hosting!”

“You better at least invite some chicks!”

“If you guys know some girls, you're welcome to invite them. No one too sketchy though.” I grinned as they all pulled out their phones. Meanwhile, I called Ava.

“Sup?” She answered after a couple rings, sounding casual as ever.

“What are you up to right now?” I asked her casually, trying not to give away my excitement.

“Um, actually I am in Los Angeles!”

“Wait, why are you in LA?”

“I got called back for an audition for a television show! I just got out of the callback.”

“Well shit! Get your ass over to my apartment!”

“I thought you were on the road?” Ava sounded confused on the other end of the line.

“We're in LA right now!”

I thought I was going to go deaf from the squeal. “I'll be there in ten minutes!”

“Guys we have to wait like ten minutes, my friend Ava is coming over.”

“Is she hot?” Ryan cheekily asked, causing the others to laugh and me to roll my eyes.

“You've met her before. And she's my best friend. Don't get any ideas.”

“Well fine, what are we going to do?” Alex pretended to whine, making me giggle.

“Well, we are officially a band now... don't we need like, a picture of all of us?” Dave pointed out.

“Are you suggesting an impromptu photo shoot?” Ian asked, catching Dave's drift.

“Let's get pretty! We're gonna be models!” The twins exclaimed at the same time, the rest of us bursting into laughter.

“I think you guys look fine just the way you are.” I chuckled. “We'll see if Ava's got her camera, if not we'll go get mine.”

We hung out in the lobby for a couple more minutes before Ava flew through the doors, completely out of breath.

“Beret!” She squealed, dropping her stuff and running towards me.

“Ava!” I embraced her, trying not to cause a scene.

“So what are we doing?” She asked, moving back to pick up her things.

“Well, first we'd like you to play photographer, because we don't have a band picture. But then we're partying like there's no tomorrow!” I explained, walking to the elevator.

“Hi guys!” She waved to the others as we met with them at the elevator doors. “Why don't you have a good band picture?”

“Because I guess we weren't officially a band until today.” I laughed, entering the elevator.

“Wait what?”

“It was her and the backing band, at least that's what we were told when we auditioned.” Mason explained. “So we changed that today, because Beret just realized it today and said it wasn't acceptable. We're a band now.”

“Oh! Well congratulations!”

“Also we were nominated for twelve billboard awards today. No big deal.” I nonchalantly added, grinning.

“Wait what?” Ava squeaked.

“Yeah, so that's the other reason we're celebrating.” Dave chuckled, seeing Ava's face.

“Holy shit!” She squealed, deafening the elevator. “Congratulations you guys!”

“Thanks,” I pretended to clean out my ears, earning a playful slap from Ava.

“I wasn't that loud.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

We made it back to my apartment, Ava dropping her stuff before I grabbed my camera bag and delivered it to her.

“You break it, you die.” I mockingly informed her.

“Oh please, I have the same one.” She took the bag from me, opening the top and pulling out the body. “What lenses do you have?”

“Telephoto, fisheye, macro, tilt/shift, zoom, pretty much any kind of effect you want with a lens, it's there.” I shrugged, moving with the group as we went back downstairs and exited the building. “So, where to?”

We spent the next two hours aimlessly wandering Los Angeles, dodging paparazzi and sneaking into run-down buildings while Ava worked behind the lens, the clicking sound of the camera almost becoming second nature as she moved about.

“If you guys don't have a good shot from this, you can do whatever you want to me.” She chuckled, handing my camera bag back to me as we returned to my apartment.

“Let's find out, shall we?” I popped the memory card out of my camera and pulled it up on my desktop, opening all of the picture files.

“You know, if your acting thing doesn't work out, you could just become our photographer. These are great.” Alex teased, hitting on Ava.

“Down boy, down.” She laughed, catching his drift. “That would be fun though. Better than being your merch bitch.”

“Oh man, I feel like we don't pay poor Max enough.” I chuckled. “He puts up with some crazy people.”

“Oh whatever, he gets lots of other perks.” Ryan smirked, causing the others to snicker.

“I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that.”

“That one!” Mason exclaimed, pointing at the screen. I stopped scrolling, studying the picture. “That's the shot!”

“Alright, are we all agreed on this?” I asked, looking at the others. They agreed, so I opened the image in photoshop and began touching up the image, erasing flyaway hairs and other minor imperfections before fiddling with the curves and levels, changing colors and lighting subtly while the guys (and Ava) would chip in with recommendations.

“How does it look?” I sat back from the screen, taking in the image.

“Perfect.” Ian spoke up, the others nodding in agreement.

“Alright!” I saved the image to my computer, flipping open our website and logging in. “Should I just type out a quick note?”

“Sounds as good as anything.” Dave shrugged.

“Hey guys!

We've got some big news for you! And it's not just that we've got a shit ton of billboard nominations (we'll get to that in a minute)!

As you know, the Lady Says started off as a side project for me, just something that I was doing for fun while I worked more seriously on other things. However, over the span of the last couple months it has definitely evolved from a project into a full-fledge band, no longer my own project but also influenced by the wonderful musicians and friends I've had the opportunity to work and play shows with. Today we've made it official-- the Lady Says is no longer simply myself: I'd like to welcome Alex, Ryan, Ian, Mason, and Dave (if you've been to a show, you've seen them on stage with me) into the Lady Says! We're looking forward to the group's future adventures and seeing you on the road! (And other shenanigans. Because that's how we roll.)

-Beret (and the rest of The Lady Says)

P.S. HOLY SHIT TWELVE BILLBOARD NOMINATIONS. WE LOVE YOU GUYS.”

Underneath I attached the picture, smiling at the sight of all six of us. I sat back, letting the others read the message.

“Clever, I like the P.S.” Ava giggled, her eyes reaching the bottom.

“It is law!” Alex chuckled, hitting his hand on the desk like a gavel.

“Done!” Ryan added, grinning.

“We're definitely celebrating tonight!” Mason cheered, giving me the cue to publish the post.

I turned to the rest of the group, matching their grins. “Alright, we've got a party to throw!”



Celebrating in my apartment was a good choice.

It was the perfect size for the number of people who were there, Mason's playlist floating through the speakers as we all laughed, drank, danced, and generally had a really good time.

“Hey! I want to make a toast!” John jumped up on a chair, waving his drink in the air. I couldn't help but laugh at him, his lanky frame appearing even lankier when he was on the chair. Everyone quieted down, turning to look at him.

“First off, congratulations to the kickass members of The Lady Says for their twelve billboard nominations! That's fucking nuts! You totally deserve the nominations, having been on the road with you for pretty much the last two and a half months I can totally see that you guys are awesomely talented motherfuckers and why you guys have so many nominations!”

“I'll drink to that!” Andrew shouted, everyone else cheering as we all raised our glasses.

“But second of all, if you guys didn't know, The Lady Says set their line-up today!”

The cheers grew even louder, and as I looked around my bandmates all had grins plastered on their faces.

“Hey! Quiet down, I'm not fucking done yet!” John yelled, causing everyone to laugh. “Speaking from experience, your band mates become your best friends-- they see you at your best and your worst. They make you laugh, they inspire you, sometimes they drive you absolutely fuckin' nuts. But in the end, they come to know you better than you know yourself. Billboard awards are exciting, but they don't last like your band mates. So I want to toast, to the members of the Lady Says-- may you all have the time of your lives together!”

I couldn't help but chuckle at “they drive you fuckin' nuts,” cheering as everyone toasted to the six of us. We all had giant grins on our faces as everyone pushed us together for a group picture, cameras flashing while none of us had any clue where to look. When everyone was finally done, I felt John's arms snake around me from behind, John resting his chin on top of my head.

“Nice toast,” I giggled, turning around and kissing him.

“I try.” He smirked, shrugging. “I might also be practicing for the day that Jared and Tessa get married, because I can count on being their best man.”

“Yeah, they're definitely getting married.” I agreed with him. “But how are you so sure you'll be his best man?”

“I don't have to fight any brothers for it-- he doesn't have any.” John smirked. “Besides, I've been his best friend since sixth grade.”

“For some reason, I think I knew the second part. Probably because you mention it like every other day.”

“Hey,” he feigned hurt. “I don't mention it every other day. More like every day.”

“Actually, you're right. You do mention it every day.” I laughed, ruffling his hair. “Want to go outside?”

Taking his hand, I navigated my way through the people in the apartment, noticing Ava and Kennedy chatting away as we stepped out onto the balcony.

“How did I get so lucky with you?” His green eyes caught the lights of the city around us, the shy smile on his face creating its own light.

“What are you talking about?” The heat was rising off my cheeks, my face giving away the surprise in my voice.

“You. You're hilarious, you're talented, you're beautiful, you're successful, you're genuine, you're sweet--”

“Oh John, stop.” My face was bright red, embarrassment taking over.

“What? You are. I wake up every morning and can't believe that a loser like me got so lucky with you.”

“You're not a loser.” I brushed off his statement, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Think about it. I didn't finish college because I partied too much. It was pure luck that our band got a break, Beret. But you-- you graduated from college, and then you got your chance without even trying, simply because you're so talented. Everything you touch turns to gold-- that might sound cliché, but it's true.”

“I went to art school, John. It wasn't like I was becoming a surgeon or something.”

“But still, you did it.”

“Yeah, but you got to where you are because you worked hard and had the talent to take you there. College isn't right for everyone, trust me. It's not an indicator of success. You still went after what you wanted and it paid off.” I reassured him. “You have ambition, you work hard. You've got a heart of gold. You're intellectual. You know that there's more in life than what's just handed to you and you go for it. I don't know why you don't see what everyone else sees in you.”

He sighed, pulling me close. “I really am the luckiest guy.”

“I think I'm a pretty lucky girl too.” I smiled up at him, stepping up on my toes so I could rub noses with him.

“Hey!” Suddenly Kelly poked her head out onto the balcony, looking between the two of us. “Not to ruin your romantic moment or anything, but you guys should come see this. The twins are doing a dance-off.”

John and I both chuckled, linking fingers. “We're coming. Hang on.”

“And also, want to do a lunch date with Andy and I tomorrow?”

“I'm always down.” I smiled, looking up at John.

“Sounds good to me,” he agreed.

“Perfect! Hopefully my husband won't be too hungover.” she chuckled.

“I thought he didn't drink that much anymore.”

“Most of the time he doesn't, but he's sure having a fun time tonight!” She winked, leaving the two of us to ourselves again.

“How do you know them again?” John asked, slightly confused.

“I was on tour with Andy, her husband, when Wordplay went viral. Kelly came on the road with us. We bonded.” I shrugged, pulling him inside with me.

“So he's a musician too?”

“Yup. He's behind two of my favorite bands.”

“That's cool.” He nodded, scanning the crowd for the twins. It wasn't hard to find them, drunkenly trying to out-dance each other to The Beatles. The people watching were either cheering or laughing, John and I joining the latter group as they flailed their way through the song.

Once the song ended, the mood shifted as a slower tune came on. Almost instinctively I wrapped my arms around John's neck, letting him pull me close to him so we could share a slow dance together.

“I don't want tour to end,” he sighed, leaning down to look at me as we moved.

“I don't either.” I looked up at him sadly, knowing that we were a week away from the end of this tour.

“I'm going to miss you so much.”

“I'll miss you too.” I agreed, trying not to get too emotional. “But I have some down time after this tour, I can hang out in Phoenix for a while. And we'll find other ways to stay in touch.”

“I suppose. At least we don't have to wait for letters...” He tried to lighten the mood, kissing the top of my head.

“That's true.” I simply replied, not looking up at him.

“Hey,” John tilted my chin up, looking me in the eye. “I didn't mean to make you sad. I'm sorry.”

I weakly smiled at him. “It's okay. I think I'm just tired.”

It was a legitimate reason-- it was almost 2:30 in the morning. And while a lot of people were still having fun, the crowd was definitely starting to thin out.

“Hey, look over at Kennedy.” I changed the subject, pointing over to where Kennedy was dancing with Ava.

“Future couple?” John suggested, his eyes focused in on the couple as they moved.

“I don't know, Ava gets really weird about relationships.”

“Fuck buddies?” He smirked, changing his prior statement.

I giggled. “That's more like it.”



The next day we met Kelly and Andrew for Italian food at a local favorite, the airy atmosphere making it a great lunch venue. We ended up sitting on the patio, Andrew and Kelly bringing their dog Doris with since they had just been walking her.

“So, how's wedding planning for millionaires?” I asked Kelly as she took a bite of pasta, Andy laughing at his wife as she failed to neatly wrap the noodles around her fork.

“Ugh, they're insane!” She playfully groaned, trying not to talk with a full mouth. “Like, they have the craziest set of demands, I have no idea how they're expecting me to pull this off.”

“Aren't you always up for a challenge?” I stabbed a piece of chicken with my fork, less focused on eating and more focused on her anecdotes.

“Well yeah, but jesus these people are out of their minds. They want two receptions. Two!” She exclaimed, throwing her hands up for emphasis.

“How does two receptions work?” John cautiously eyed the energetic blond, slightly thrown off by her attitude.

“I don't know! That's the crazy part! What the hell do you do with two receptions!?”

Andy and I couldn't help but laugh at Kelly's reactions. She was always so animated, everything becoming magnified in her presence. Sometimes I was sure that the only reason she could handle the bridezillas she worked with was because she could out-freak them all.

“Hey, so we've got big news.” Andrew cut in, a grin creeping up on his face.

“Oh?” I asked, curious as to what could be going on in their lives.

“I thought we were waiting until the end.” Kelly looked over at Andrew, confused.

“I can't wait.” Andy admitted, shrugging.

“Wait, what's going on?” I looked between them, running through the possibilities in my head. They were already married, and it didn't seem like they were getting divorced... maybe they were moving? A new music project? New business venture?

“We're having a baby!” Kelly exclaimed, her entire face lit up.

I just about choked.

“What?” I squealed, not believing my ears. “You're having--”

“Yup!” Andrew grinned, matching Kelly's glow. “We found out last week. Due November 8th.”

“Congratulations!” John grinned at them, trying not to laugh at me as I freaked out beside him.

“There's going to be a baby McMahon in the world! Oh my god that baby is going to be so spoiled!” Kelly we can go baby shopping!” My eyes were almost bulging out of my head, my pitch getting higher as I let the realization hit me.

“Beret we're going to have such a blast decorating the baby's room! Oh my god just imagine when we go shopping for onesies! And the baby shower!” Kelly was almost screaming, her excitement riling me up even more.

“ Oh my god I'm going to be the coolest un-official aunt ever to that little kid! I love babies!” The words were flying out of my mouth as I was practically bouncing in my seat, too excited to even care.

“Oh god, if that's now, I don't want to see once this baby is born.” Andrew started laughing, matching John's shocked face as Kelly and I were on a planet of our own.

“No kidding.” John agreed, a chuckle passing through his lips. “Deep breaths there, Beret.”

I inhaled deeply, trying to settle down. “Holy shit, you're having a baby.” I repeated, still letting the news sink in.

“Holy shit, I know.” Kelly grinned, settling down herself.

“That explains why you were sober last night.” I laughed.

“Hell yeah, but when that baby is born we're celebrating.”

“Wait you were going to wait until the end of lunch to tell me this?” I cocked an eyebrow at Andrew, who chuckled and shrugged.

“Sounded like a good plan in theory.”

“Obviously that didn't work out too well.” Kelly smirked, looking over at him. “I wanted to tell you the second we met up with you but that plan was axed.”

“Andy, you're withholding precious information from me? For shame.” I scolded.

John sat quietly snickering, watching the conversation play out in front of him. He slung his arm around my shoulder, resting it on the back of my chair. Andrew looked over at him, giving him a nod before responding.

“Some day Beret, you're going to be announcing the same thing. You reserve the right to make me wait an extra thirty minutes!” Andrew dramatically sighed at the end, causing John to start laughing.

“Beret when that day comes I have a feeling you'll be a lot louder about the announcement,” John chuckled, pulling me close and kissing my temple. I felt the heat rising off my cheeks-- we'd only been dating for a month, and we'd never really talked about kids and marriage and all of that stuff. It was too soon, wasn't it?

“If you're implying that we're going to be making that announcement anytime soon, down boy down.” I laughed, recovering from my momentary panic.

Kelly and Andrew busted out laughing, John chuckling along as he shook his head.

“Not for a few years, that one can wait. We're not in a hurry.” He grinned.

I tried to bite back my grin as a thought crossed my mind: any child of John O'Callaghan's that inherited his grin was destined to be a heartbreaker. Just one look at it and anyone could melt, even the most coldhearted person couldn't resist. Maybe that was something dangerous to unleash on the world: a baby O'Callaghan.

But then again, we'd cross that bridge when we got to it.