Fame

by Meghan Quinn

**Landon**

  “Dude, please tell me you’re lying right now,” Landon asked, completely dumbfounded.

  “I swear, I’m not,” Kaid replied, as he took a long pull from the beer he was drinking. They were able to sneak some brews into the house, finally. “I saw Grey with his fucking pants around his ankles, lying butt ass naked on the island with his dick poking in the air and Willow with her top off and a satisfied look on her face.”

  Laughing, Landon shook his head and said, “Too bad the cameras aren’t in the house just yet…that would have made for an amazing TV moment.”

  “I washed my eyes for half an hour,” Kaid said absentmindedly, as he looked off into the distance.

  “Couldn’t have been that bad,” Landon tried to reassure his friend, who looked very disturbed.

  Kaid’s eyes glared at Landon as he said, “Willow is practically my sister, and no guy wants to see a dude lounging about on the kitchen counter with his bean pole reaching for the sky. That shit is just wrong.”

  Shaking his head, Landon still couldn’t believe what Kaid was telling him. “But, I thought she hated Grey.”

  “I thought so too, but looks like she couldn’t stay away. The worst part was…” Kaid leaned forward as he spoke to Landon. “When I looked at Willow, she fucking licked her lips.”

  Lifting his eyebrow at Kaid in question, Landon asked, “Why is that bad?”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously, did she need Chap stick?”

  Kaid choked on his beer and started coughing. Landon patted him on the back, wondering what the hell he was missing.

  “You okay, man?”

  Kaid looked up at Landon and said, “She didn’t need Chap stick, you idiot, she had dick juice to take care of that.”

  “Aw, fuck,” Landon said, while wincing. “Don’t call it dick juice.”

  “What about dick juice?” Rook asked, as he walked out into the living room where Kaid and Landon were hanging out. He had a water in his hand and looked almost like he had been crying, like he just had an extremely rough night.

  “Grey, Willow, boner, kitchen counter; need I say more?” Kaid asked, while finishing off his beer.

  Landon saw Rook eye Kaid’s beer bottle, and he could see the temptation in his eyes, the yearning. When Rook talked to the guys about his new life, the new chapter he wanted to live, he told them he was going to be completely clean, but Landon could tell, even with valiant efforts, Rook was still very much tempted, especially when it looked like he was just put through the wringer. Maybe they should have kept the beer out of the house.

  “That didn’t take very long,” Rook said, while taking a seat next to Landon and putting his feet up on the coffee table. He slouched and blew out a long, winded breath.

  “What’s up with you?” Landon asked. The defeated look in Rook’s eyes was upsetting to see, especially since he had been so optimistic lately.

  Running a hand over his face, Rook looked up at the ceiling and said, “I fucked things up badly with Maisy, and I’m starting to lose hope that she’ll give me a second chance. There’s a tiny piece of me that’s holding on to a couple of words she said, but it might just be me overthinking everything. I hurt her way too damn bad.”

  “That’s what cheating will do to ya,” Kaid said, while tossing around his beer bottle. Landon gave him a “shut the fuck up” look, which caused Kaid to shrug his shoulders. “What? I can’t be honest?” Kaid leaned forward and said, “You did what you had to do, Rook. I get that, and I honor your gallantry, but you can’t go and push her away like that and then expect everything to be alright. Give her time, man.”

  “I’m afraid time will push her away even more; I can’t have that.”

  “Well, you can’t push her, because the more you push, the more she will draw away from you. Be courteous and nice, but don’t come on too strong. The girl needs her space.”

  “This is so fucked up,” Rook huffed out, as he turned to Landon and nodded at him. “You propose yet? Seems like Grey may be getting over things, now that he’s fucking Willow in the kitchen.”

  Landon had wanted to propose for quite some time, but he hadn’t found the right time. Plus, with Grey still not speaking to him, Landon wasn’t quite ready. When he proposed, he wanted his brother by his side.

  “I have it all planned out, but I feel like I have to get things right with Grey first. I would want him involved; I would want his blessing.”

  “Blessing for what?” Grey asked, as he walked in and looked around. Landon instantly stiffened at hearing his brother’s voice. Last time he was near Grey was at the Grammys, where things were still awkward between them.

  “Well, if it isn’t good old Mr. Cock on the Counter,” Kaid said, while eyeing Grey.

  Grey grabbed the back of his neck as he looked at the three guys sitting in the living room. A small smirk played on his face while he said, “Yeah, sorry about that. I wasn’t even thinking about banging Willow in the kitchen, but she kind of didn’t give me an option.” He looked pained as he continued. “If only she would have stayed long enough to talk. She just ate my cock and left.”

  “Oh, you poor bastard,” Rook said, while shaking his head. “Go cry to someone else about getting head.”

  “I’m not saying it wasn’t nice. I’m just saying I wish she would have stayed to talk; it would have been nice to figure out our issues.”

  “Tell me about it,” Rook replied. “It’s like I can’t get one word through Maisy’s head.”

  “Do you want my opinion?” Kaid said as he sat up.

  “No,” both Grey and Rook said at the same time, making Landon laugh.

  “Well, you two can fuck off, because I’m going to give it to you anyway. I’ve known these girls ever since they were young. They don’t take kindly to people fucking with them, and they both can hold one damn good grudge, so my suggestion to you is to suck up your pride and fucking beg for forgiveness.”

  “That’s your advice?” Landon asked with a quizzical eyebrow. “Dude, that advice sucks.”

  Laughing, Grey said, “And what would you suggest?”

  Nearly falling out of his seat at Grey talking to him, Landon sat a little taller and said, “Take off your pants and give her a ride on the old bologna pony. Chicks dig that.”

  All three guys stared at him, just as a scream sounded off upstairs. Their heads shot off to the second floor where the noise was coming from. Once they heard Cruz grunt like a fucking ape, they all relaxed in their chairs.

  Landon pointed upstairs and said, “See, Cruz knows what I’m talking about. He’s taking that girl for a ride on his dick express, next stop, pussy town.”

  “What is wrong with you?” Kaid said, as he stood. “I leave you alone for a few months and you start mouthing off like Cruz. Do I need to babysit you from now on?”

  “You never know what’s going to happen when you leave me. I can’t be left alone; I lose all sight of my standards.”

  “Well, thanks to Rook, we’ll all be seeing quite a bit of each other,” Grey said.

  “You’re welcome,” Rook smirked, and did a little bow with his hand. “Anything else you fuckwhits need? I would be happy to assist.”

  “We don’t need any more of your assistance,” Grey responded. “Thanks to you, we’re now going to be filmed.”

  Rook waved his hand in dismissal. “Please, like we haven’t had a camera follow us around before. You’re just all butt hurt about it this time because you have to be all awkward in front of the cameras around Willow.”

  “And talking to Maisy won’t be awkward at all? Pretty sure everyone around you will be needing extra swabs of deodorant around you guys, because it will be so damn embarrassing to watch.”

  Rook looked off into the distance and mumbled, “Probably,” instantly shutting off.

  All the guys looked at each other and then back at Rook.

  “Hey, man, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Grey said apologetically.

  “No,
you’re right. It is fucking awkward.”

  Not wanting to talk anymore, apparently, Rook got out of his chair and went up to his room.

  Kaid gave both Landon and Grey a fist bump and said, “I’m going to go work on some things in my room. You two behave.”

  Once Kaid left the room, Landon gave Grey a small smile, trying to gauge his reaction. Grey stood still for a second, and then let out a long breath of air, and sunk down in his seat. His hand bounced on his knee while he turned to look at Landon.

  “Quinn talked to me.”

  “What?” That was news to Landon. He didn’t expect Quinn to talk to Grey; to try to fix their problems.

  “Yeah, she came to talk to me. She wanted closure, and to be honest, I needed it too.” Grey met Landon’s eyes and said, “What you did was fucked up.”

  “I know,” Landon relaxed, finally happy to be talking to his brother. “I should have talked to you first, told you about my feelings for Quinn before I took any action with her. That’s probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”

  Grey nodded his head as he looked down at his hands. “How come you never told me about your feelings for her, man?”

  “Because she was yours,” Landon answered honestly.

  “Mom showed me your diary.” Grey looked at Landon and said, “You loved her, Landon. More than I probably ever did, but you sat back and let me have her.”

  Landon shrugged his shoulders. “You’re my brother; of course I let you have her. She was yours.”

  Shaking his head, Grey got up from his seat and stood in front of Landon. He held his hand out and Landon took it tentatively. Grey pulled him up and then wrapped Landon in a hug.

  The ten pound weight that had been hanging on Landon’s shoulders for the past few moments was lifted when Grey pulled him into his chest. The feel of his brother wrapped around him pushed a huge wave of relief through Landon. He couldn’t have asked for anything more than the moment he was in right now.

  “Thank you for letting me have a piece of Quinn,” Grey said. “But now, she’s all yours man. You two deserve each other; it’s so clear, now that I see it.”

  Trying not to be an emotional vagina, Landon squeezed tighter around Grey. “Thanks, man. I can’t tell you how much that means to me, to have your blessing.”

  Grey pulled away and poked Landon’s chest. “Now, don’t fuck it up. She’s a good girl, and she’s been through a lot. She needs a break, something great to happen to her.”

  Nodding, Landon said, “She’ll get her happily ever after, I promise.”

  “Good, now what did you want my blessing for?” Grey asked, referring back to the conversation he walked in on.

  Landon smiled brightly and said, “Let me show you a little something I purchased from a jewelry store.”

  Like old times, Landon walked next to his brother, feeling relieved and comforted in the fact that he would have his brother next to him again, helping him along his journey and, hopefully, one day, standing next to him at the altar while Landon watched the most beautiful girl he had ever met walk down the aisle.

  **Rook**

  Journal Entry #201

  Words don’t seem to be penetrating the wall I put up involuntarily between Maisy and me. I thought that maybe, if she read the note I wrote to Rob, she would give me a chance, at least to talk, but she wants nothing to do with me.

  I didn’t mean for her to read the note, but after it was tossed in her direction, I just hoped that maybe it would favor in my side, but I was wrong; she seemed even more upset than before.

  I’m at a loss. I feel like I’m living in some kind of fucked-up and twisted world where God dangles things in front of me only to make me want them, and then he takes them away. I know I’m not the kindest of all bastards in the world, but I haven’t murdered anyone. I haven’t done anything too terrible in this world, besides trying to survive on a day-to-day basis, so I wonder why the fuck I keep drawing a bad hand. When will I catch my fucking break?

  The song I’ve bene working on for a while is almost done. It’s the only thing that continues to give me hope. I just don’t know how I will play it for her when she barely wants to stay in the same room with me for longer than ten seconds.

  Whenever I’m around her, there’s this look she gives me. It’s a mixture of hatred, confusion, and what I think is a touch of lust. I can see that she still finds me attractive, and not just from her eyes, but by the way her body reacts toward me. There is something still there, but the girl is so stubborn, I don’t think she will ever explore those feelings.

  Not that I blame her. I fucked up, I’m washed up, and at the moment, I’m dried up. There is no hope for me.

  **Willow**

  “Amazing!” Steve, the radio host said, just as Twisted Perfection finished up their impromptu performance.

  They’d known they might be asked to sing, so they’d prepared a little something a Capella. Kaid used a box for a beat and Willow and Maisy sang together in harmony. They sounded pretty bad ass.

  “They’ve been practicing all week, don’t let them fool ya,” Cruz said into the microphone, and winked at Willow. She flipped him off, which only made him laugh.

  “Even if they did practice, that was tight. Kaid, you have to tell me, how is it being in a band with these two amazingly hot chicks?”

  It was the one question Kaid always got during interviews. It wasn’t very often that you saw two girls and a guy in a band, not very common at all, so, of course, whenever they got a chance, people just had to know how Kaid was living it up. If they only knew.

  “Being in a band with Willow and Maisy is a dream come true. When they get their periods at the same time, I’m just head over heels excited to be playing right next to them.”

  The DJ busted out with laughter, as Willow and Maisy both hit Kaid on the shoulder.

  “What is wrong with you?” Maisy asked with a smile.

  “Don’t let Kaid fool you,” Cruz cut in. “When Landon and him get on the same cycle, you can bet your nut sac there isn’t a sweet on the bus they don’t eat. Fucking meriods.”

  “Meriods?” Steve asked, looking confused, but also laughing.

  “Man periods. Try being on a bus with these moody bastards. I swear, we go through a box of Midol every week,” Cruz joked. “So many ups and downs with these douchebags.”

  “Don’t knock my Midol; it helps with my bloating,” Landon said, while rubbing his stomach.

  Laughing some more, Steve wiped his eyes and looked over at Rook, who was in the corner. Willow knew exactly why too. Even though the jackass set their whole situation up, he wanted to stay out of the limelight as much as possible, which didn’t bother Willow, because the more Rook stepped out of it, the more she could step in.

  She had been feeling a bit neglected lately with her publicity, thanks to Rook’s idea of living in the house together. After a week, they had already started to get on each other’s nerves. She stayed away from Grey, even though he eyed her constantly. She hadn’t spoken to Cruz either, which was fine with her, because after the little romp she heard between him and who she could only assume was Maelani, she was done. He was good while it lasted.

  The need to be in the public eye was starting to claw at her, but the label kept such a close eye on what they were doing that it was hard for her to get away with anything. She needed to see Declan, bad, because she was about out of her stock, and she needed some more to get through the next couple of weeks.

  The only good thing about her set up was the camera crew. She made it her mission to walk around the house as naked as possible. The camera guys loved it; the label didn’t, but she didn’t care too much. They couldn’t control everything about her life, and if she wanted to walk around naked, she would. Kaid pleaded with her to put some clothes on, which she did on occasion, but when she knew he wasn’t around, she would put on a little show for the camera men. She loved the attention, craved it.

 
Steve cut through her thoughts when he asked Rook, “So, you’ve been quiet over there, Mr. Tyler. Tell me, what’s been on your mind recently. Any new songs in the mix?”

  Rook sat up in his chair, eyed Maisy, and spoke into the microphone.

  “I’ve been working on a new song that is just about ready. It’s near and dear to my heart, so I’m really trying to fine tune it before I let anyone hear it. I want to make sure it’s perfect…just like the person it’s about.”

  “Oooh, who’s it about?” Steve asked, sounding more like a teenage girl than a syndicated radio DJ.

  A small smile passed Rook’s face. “That’s for me to know.”

  “Oh, come on now. Don’t pull a Taylor Swift on us.”

  Laughing, Rook said, “Sorry, Steve. My lips are sealed.”

  While Steve continued to talk about the new album Shattered Souls was working on, Willow looked around the room and examined everyone. Landon and Grey were on speaking terms again, yay fucking hooray for them; Cruz was his smarmy self; Maisy was avoiding any kind of eye contact with Rook, smart girl; Kaid was being Kaid, attentive and professional; and Rook was trying to help the DJ avoid the giant elephant in the room.

  Willow wanted to scream at the top of her lungs that no one was talking about the fall out between the two bands at the end of their tour. Or the fact that Rook cheated on Maisy. Or why Landon was now seen with Quinn, rather than Grey. There had to be questions about that, because Quinn and Grey were well known as a couple; everyone knew they were together. Was no one curious?

  Looking around, Maisy spotted Derek from the label hovering over the producers of the show, and that was when it clued in to her. Derek must have given Steve a strict list of topics not to talk about. If Willow wasn’t too nervous that the label would kick her off her contract for speaking out of turn, she would have blown up everyone’s spots, not because she didn’t like anyone; it was because she wanted to see all the drama unfold right in front of her.

  “Willow, are you going to answer the question?” Maisy said, poking her.