Ashley's POV: When we get back to the studio, I can tell Katie's still not all there. I also know that she hates causing pain, so that's probably what is bothering her. I wait for her to take her helmet off, then I pick her up bridal style, and carry her into the studio.
"Is she okay?" Andy asked, when he sees her latched onto me, and me carrying her.
I nod, then say, "Just a little shaken up from what happened."
He nods, as I set her on the couch next to Andy, and sit on her other side.
"Oh, is this the girl you guys told me so much about?" John asked, walking into the studio.
"Yeah. This is Katie," I say.
"What's gotten into her?" CC asked, walking in next, and pointing to Katie.
"Rough day at school. I'll explain later," I say, and he shrugs, then heads inside the booth to finish the drums we need to still record.
When I look back to Katie, I'm floored to see her glaring at me. Like shooting daggers at me with her eyes, glaring. What did I do?
She rolls her eyes at me, then stands up, walks over to the board, and looks at the controls.
Katie's POV: When I walk over to the soundboard, I hear John ask, "Does she know how to use that?"
"Yeah. I've dicked around with the one at school and I used to go to work with my dad, who did the same thing you do now," I answer, not looking at him, but at the board. When I find the button I was looking for, I press it down, and say into the microphone, "CC, I almost blew my shot at school today. I know you are the only reason I got in on such short notice, and I thank you a thousand times over for that, but there's a girl at my school named Clover, who cornered me today, and gave me this," I point to my eye, "Needless to say, I lost my cool then, and if my friend Rocket hadn't been there, I'm pretty sure she would have been road kill."
He sits there in shock for a moment, knowing I'm more of a lover, rather than a fighter, and when the shock subsides, he stands up, and walks out of the booth, over to me. He hugs me tight, and says, "Man, I'm sorry, Katie."
"Don't be. It's not your fault. I know I'm a freak to most people," I say, miserably.
He pulls away, holding me at arms length, and looks me in the eye as he says, "You. Are. Not. A. Freak. You are Katie Monroe-Vanity. A beautiful, talented young woman, who has had to deal with a lot of bullshit, that no one should ever have to go through. I bet if that broad knew what you've been through-"
"She would just be all that much worse to me," I interrupt him.
"No one's that cold hearted," he offers.
"She's an heiress to a huge fortune. She doesn't give two shits who she hurts," I say, looking down at my shoes.
"Katie, she may be an heiress, but I bet you anything she's miserable, and that's why she has to make everyone feel worse than her," Andy says, walking over to CC and me.
"He's right, sweetheart," Jinxx adds, "Her parents might not even pay that much attention to her, or something along those lines. You at least have us, Asking, and your brothers, who love you more than anything. She might not have anywhere close to that."
Hmm...He does have a point there. By the way her mother was acting today, it seemed she only cared to clear her daughters name, then be through with it. Who's to say she's really happy with her life?
"Maybe you're right," I murmur.
"All the signs are there, from what I could tell," Ashley says.
I nod, then hug all the guys, and we start to work. Juliet walks in a short time later, with lunches for everyone. Or are they dinners?
I look at the clock, and my jaw drops to see it's a quarter till 5. Wow. Where has the day gone?
"Hey, girly," Juliet says, sitting next to me, and passing me a paper bag from Wendy's. I thank her, then she asked, "So, how was school?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the guys all stiffen up at her question, but choose to ignore them. I say, "It was great for the most part."
"For the most part?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at me.
"Yeah," I say, swallowing a bite of my burger, "Rocket showed me the whole campus during lunch, but as we were heading to our last class, this girl and I got into a fight. She said some really harsh things, then smacked me, but it's no big deal."
"What did she say?" Jake asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
I shrug and say, "Not much of importance. Just that I was talentless, and that I needed to kill myself."
"That bitch!" Juliet says, outrage filling her.
"That was my initial thought too, but I actually pity her. It's obvious she doesn't have a close relationship to her parents, and she probably just said those things because she's miserable. At least that's the way I see it now, since the guys explained that little fact to me," I say.
"Well, that could be it," Juliet says, taking another bite of her fries.
When we're all done eating, Andy asked if Juliet and I were ready to do Lost It All, and we both nod.
The three of us head into the booth, Andy in the middle, Juliet and I on either side, and she tells me to follow her lead. I nod, and stand back, keeping quiet as Andy sings the song. I watch Juliet and when Jinxx's violin fills my ears through the headphones I'm wearing, Juliet silently counts to three on her hand, and we step forward. I let her sing the first part, so I know what to do, and when I join in, I can hear our voices merge through that part perfectly.
Juliet does something odd, then points to me, and I belt out, "Yeah we all fall down!" and she and Andy give me a quick thumbs up, and continue on until it ends with Andy singing alone.
"And that's a wrap ladies and gentleman," I hear John say, and we high five each other.
I take my headphones off, then Andy say, "Katie, I want your honest opinion on the next two tracks we lay out, so stay in here, and listen. I also want you to do backing for the chorus with Ashley this time."
I nod, and put the headphones back on, then, while Ashley comes in and joins us, and the rest of the guys join in towards the back. What does he have planned?
He points to John and says, "Play it."
John nods through the glass, and messes around with some of the controls. A few moments pass, and then something new comes in through my ears. I close my eyes as I listen to the song, then I hear Andy singing, "I am the innocent. I am what could have been. The dreams you talk about, now left on broken skin. Here lies hysteria. A land where chaos reigns. Global disturbia, bows down to twisted ways."
Andy points to me, and I sing with them, "A world of hate awaits, we are the wild ones. They all look the same, our time has come!"
Andy sings, "I am the chosen!" and I sing with him on, "The Wretched and Divine!"
He sings, "I am the unspoken!"
"The one they left behind!" we sing.
"Fearless!" Andy sings, then points to me.
"Fight until we die!" we sing together, and then he sings, "I am broken. The Wretched and Divine."
He sings the next part, that he wrote on his own as, "I am the Devil's smile. The one caught everyday. A hopeful hero's speech, won't stop the years you bleed! I am a hurricane!"
"Hurricane!" the guys shout together.
"An army strong as one!" Andy sings, followed by the guys shouting, "Strong as one!" and Andy finishing that part with, "As they sit back and laugh, the one you left has just begun," and then points to me, and we do the chorus again. After the chorus, Andy screams, "Di-Di-Di-Divine!" causing me to jump half out of my skin. I was wondering when that was going to happen...
He then sings, "We live for the broken hearts. Won't watch them fall apart. We live for the ones who don't know they exist. We die for the endless winter. Beginner and the sinner. We die for the ones who raise their hands to resist!" then Jake's guitar solo fills my ears, and Andy points to me again, and we do the chorus one more time, before he ends the song by repeating the last line twice.
"That was amazing guys!" John says and Andy says, "So, what did you think?"
"Amazing!" I shout, with a huge smile playing on my face.
"Glad you liked it," he says, "Saw you jump when I did the scream though."
"So? If someone's not expecting it, it does startle them," I counter, "Hell, every time I have my MP3 on shuffle and Perfect Weapon comes on, I always jump half out of my skin."
They all laugh, then walk out of the booth. We sit on the sofa, chairs, and floor, resting a bit before doing the next song.