Hold Fast

The weeks that followed the concert couldn’t even be compared. To begin with, we had to go back to school. Although it wasn’t as bad as it had been in the past, it was still school and who really wants to be there? Second, that meant that Valentine’s Day was right around the corner. I had had enough trouble finding a gift for Kellin for Christmas. How was I going to top that?
After school had ended, Mike and I were walking home. This was one of the few times that Kellin wasn’t with me. His mom had picked him up for some sort of appointment. This was fine with me because now I had the opportunity to think about it and go over ideas with Mike without worrying about him possibly overhearing me.
“Hey Mike, what are you and Tony doing for Valentine’s Day?” I asked randomly as we walked into our home.
“Huh?” he turned around to face me. “Sorry I was spacing out.”
“It’s cool. I just asked if you and Tony had plans for V Day.” I asked again.
“Oh… um I think we’re having dinner at his house while his parents are out. Other than that I’m not sure.” The blush on his cheeks said otherwise, but I knew that that was a detail that I wasn’t exactly dying to hear about. “Why?”
“Just trying to decide what I wanna do with Kellin.” I asked as I walked into the kitchen. Our mom wasn’t home which was odd, and the mail was sitting on the kitchen table. I picked up the pile and flipped through it. It was mainly bills and a few things for my mom’s craft hobbies. The one at the back, however, was addressed to Mike and me. “Hey Mikey, we got mail.” I called to him.
“Who’s it from?” he asked, walking up behind me. I opened it up and unfolded the letter.
“Some place called Fearless Records.” My eyes widened as I read further. “They want us to come out to California to speak with agents.” I was really excited and I turned and wrapped my brother in a hug. “They’re going to pay for the five of us to fly out there.”
“Five?” He questioned.
“I’m guessing either an adult or Kellin.” I placed the letter down on the table and got my phone out from my pocket. I sent a group message telling Jaime, Tony, and Kellin to meet up at our house tonight at 8 pm.
“Well we’re all old enough to travel alone. You think our parents would let Kellin be the fifth person?” Mike asked as we headed into our living room.
“I don’t see why not. I mean I’m going to be eighteen next month and you and the guys aren’t that far behind me.” I answered, taking the seat next to him. As if on cue, our mother walked into the house, a handful of groceries.
“Oh hello boys. Would you guys go grab the rest of the things from the car for me?” we obeyed and walked outside, grabbing the remainder of her shopping. We joined her in the kitchen, setting the bags down on the table.
“Mom, did you take a look at the letter Mike and I got in the mail today?” I asked as I handed her items from the bag.
“Not really. I was in a hurry when I set them down. Who was it from?”
“Fearless records.” Mike replied. Our mom stopped putting things away and turned to us.
“A record company? Really?” She had a bright smile on her face. Mike and I both nodded excitedly. “Well don’t make me beg, what did it say?”
“They want us to fly out there to talk with an agent.” I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face. Her eyes widened and she set down the canned food that had been in her hands, engulfing Mike and I into a hug.
“That’s fantastic boys!” She squeezed us both, almost cutting off our air supply. “Have you told your father?”
“No not yet. We’ll probably tell him when he gets home and the guys are over.” She squealed and hugged us again.
“I’m going to call Kellin’s mom and tell her to come over with him tonight. I’m sure she’d be really excited for you guys.”

Eight finally rolled around and we were all sitting around my living room. I could tell that everyone was rather antsy and wanted us to talk about our news. It wasn’t until my dad sat down that Mike and I began.
“So the reason we wanted you all here was due to this.” Mike held up the letter that we got.
“What’s that?” Jaime went to reach for it but Mike held it out of his reach.
“It’s a letter.” I explained.
“From who?” Kellin asked.
“Yeah guys, stop beating around the bush.” Tony added. Our parents laughed at their impatience.
“It’s from Fearless Records.” Mike had a cheesy grin on his face. Jaime, Tony, and Kellin’s mouths all were hanging open in surprise.
“What did they want?” Kellin’s mom asked excitedly.
“They want us to fly out there and meet with some agents this next month.” I said proudly. “They’re flying five of us out there to meet with them.”
“Five?” Jaime asked.
“That’s what I said.” Mike commented. “We think they either want a parent or Kellin to come with us.” Kellin looked to his mom.
“Mom can i?” He asked. He gave her his best puppy dog eyes.
“If it’s okay with the company and with everyone else’s parents.” She smiled.
“We don’t have a problem with it.” My dad added. “Vic will be eighteen this next week so he can be the legal guardian for the boys.” I totally forgot that my birthday was around the corner. Fearless wanted us to come out the weekend of the 14th. I would turn eighteen just a few days before that.
“That would mean that you have to actually read the contract Vic.” My mother gave me a stern look. I nodded. I knew that if I was going to be the only legal adult then I would have to be extra careful. A lot could go wrong with five teenagers by themselves in Hollywood.

Kellin and I were sitting in my room after we had all figured out the details of our trip. It was going to be nice spending Valentine’s Day away from home. And Kellin would be with me, it was perfect.
“Babe, can we go out to a nice restaurant on Valentine’s Day?” Kellin asked as he played with my hair. I was sitting with him against my chest, my arms wrapped around him snuggly.
“Sure. Where do you wanna go?” I rubbed his arm.
“I don’t know. We’ll figure it out in time.”
“Alright.” I chuckled.
“I can’t believe how quickly this is happening.” He looked up at me.
“Right.” I agreed. “I mean we’ve only done one live show, and I didn’t even know that there were agents there.”
“Well, just be happy.” He snuggled against me. “Now let’s go to bed. The quicker we fall asleep, the less days we have to wait.” I chuckled and reached over, turning off my light.
“Goodnight Kellin.” I kissed his head.
“Night Vic.”