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| Velocity: a JB FF (3rd thread) |
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Alright, so the site is having problems AGAIN and I can't reach the old thread. So here's our NEW THREAD. I think I'll repost all the old chapters tonight cuz I'm going to be out of wifi range today. But I'll keep writing! I hope everyone who was reading before finds this...
Ciao 4 Now
-A
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| Re: Velocity: a JB FF (3rd thread) |
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Alright, I'm going to post the old ones five at a time.
Oh, and for anyone who is new to this story, the old threads got broken, and we're now on our third (and hopefully final) thread.
Velocity: Chapter 1
The Big Day
June 1, 2008
Amelia stared out the window of the van as they drove into the city. The other girls were chatting excitedly as they started heading into downtown. Believe it or not, she was actually the nervous one this time. Everything had just happened so fast for them, she’d never really thought about how much of an impact what was happening was having on her life and her future. She couldn’t help but reminisce on everything…
They had all met after the Jonas Brothers concert earlier that year, none of their best friends at the time were really into the band and the girls all sort of connected over their love of the boys. They were all also musically inclined and all the cards fell into place when they realized they played well together. So after Amelia had written a few songs, they’d practiced a couple of months, and they’d got discovered at the school’s talent show, they’d been flung into the music industry, the record contract, demo recordings, and club shows had all seemed like a blur.
Their lives had already changed enough; the girls had dropped pretty much all of their extra curriculars to make the band work. But today didn’t feel like just another day to her, their manager, Kelly, said they’d be having a very important audition today. She’d been through a couple auditions before, performing a couple tracks off the demo to “the next big top-40 band” and their managers, just new to touring themselves, hoping to somehow scrape their way to be an opening act. They’d never had enough luck to actually get the spot though. She had even greater doubts this time; Kelly was being ultra-secretive and wasn’t spilling any details on this big audition. She said that a spot here was much bigger than anything we’d ever done. She said we were lucky, we’d already sent in our demo CD for pre-selection and she noted were just lucky to get this far—being such a small, new act on such an underground label. Even though any hope seemed slim, under the information regarding the circumstances that Kelly HAD given Velocity, Amelia had a good feeling about today. Nevertheless, she was nervous. She tried to shake the feelings; she knew that no one played well with nerves. She took another swig of her iced tea and stared out the window.
The van pulled into the parking lot of a ritzy hotel downtown. ‘Must not be a cheep local band to be renting a place like this for auditions,’ Amelia thought to herself. All of her band mates were ecstatic. “So Kelly, when are you going to give us the complete set deets on this gig?” Becky asked as the band climbed out of the van and started unloading instruments.
“Now why would I want to spoil the surprise for you girls? It’s more if you just find out for yourselves,” she replied, slightly mockingly. “I can only honestly say, you’re going to love it.”
Amelia grabbed her electric guitar, her prized possession, out of the trunk of the van and followed Kelly into the Courtyard Marriot. Her friends followed behind her squealing ecstatically. Normally, she would have been right in the thick of it all, gabbing about who they thought these important people were that they were auditioning for. Kelly showed them the conference room they’d be playing in and opened the door, wishing the girls luck as they walked inside. Amelia instantly looked over to see who they were auditioning for and the second she saw them, she just about fainted.
They were auditioning for the Jonas Brothers.
Velocity Chapter 2:
The Audition
Kevin’s P.O.V.
I glanced over at Nick who was sitting to my right. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, and with good reason, we were all tired. The record label wanted us to come back in person to be there for the auditions for the band that would open for us during our summer tour. And to be able to do that, we had to fly over for a couple of days, right in the middle of our European tour. That’s one of the bad things about this whole Europe thing, we’re all still on jet lag, 9 hours behind. And to top it all off, we’d been sitting here, practically all day, listening to act after act of people who wanted to open for us. Don’t get me wrong, we’d seen some pretty good people, but then again, there were a lot of girls we’d seen sitting there, strumming acoustic guitars singing remakes of one of our old songs and staring at me and my brothers dreamily. For a while, Joe and Nick seemed to even play along, giving the girls smiles and false hopes. Too bad we’d probably never see any of them again. The truth is, we really weren’t looking for that type of act. We’d seen some good bands though, groups of guys around my age who could play pretty well. Something like that was probably what was going to be on tour with us this summer. Somebody kind of like Rooney.
Rooney was awesome, but we kind of thought it was time for a change, though. Nick, Joe, and I were talking on the plane ride last night what kind of act we thought we were looking for. Something rock was definitely on all of our minds, but then again, we thought it would be nice to have maybe a girl group on tour with us. We had fun touring with Miley, and Demi was a blast in Camp Rock, but none of us had had much time with any girls (other than the fans that followed us everywhere), especially being in Europe, where not a lot of girls speak fluent English. We were starting to get discouraged, there weren’t many names left on the list and we didn’t think we’d ever see a good girl group, for a change. I looked at Joe who gave me a glance that was a bit depressed and mouthed ‘Where are the ladies?’ I just shrugged what else could I do.
The door started to open again for another act. I put a smile on my face and decided to grin and bear it, hey, we had seen some pretty good acts, I guess. Then, I saw who was walking through the door, 5 girls, carrying guitars, drums, a keyboard, and a bass. Finally…I couldn’t help but grin, maybe this was who we were looking for, I just hope they played as well as they looked (Especially the girl carrying the bass).
Becky’s P.O.V.
The Jonas Brothers!!! I was so excited, I could’ve screamed! Then I remembered, I wasn’t just a fan here like I was at the concert. This was more serious. I had to be on my game here; this wasn’t about them, it was about us. I exhaled and I let my mind become focused. I started setting up the microphones for myself and the others as I did my voice exercises. I didn’t care if Alicia Keys herself came strutting in there that moment, I was going to sing like I’d never sang before and we were going to ace this audition, I was sure.
Joe’s P.O.V.
My eyes immediately shot the girl setting up the mics. She had a laughing smile on her face and her brown eyes twinkled. She was cute, but that didn’t really matter here. The girl who carried the keyboard in also caught my eye, she was a bit edgier than the others, died hair and all, but still cool. I’d seen plenty of cute girls that day, and I would probably never see any of them again. But who knows, I hadn’t seen a girl-rock group like this all day. I decided not to get my hopes up. They’d have to be able to sing and play well to impress me enough to get on my list, the list of people that I was writing (along with everyone else) of acts that deserved a second look. But, I secretly hope they had enough talent to make the list.
Katie’s P.O.V.
Oh my gosh. That was all that was running through my head. The Jonas Brothers!?! We were auditioning for the Jonas Brothers?!? That was just too big. I was a blend of emotions: anxiety and excitement, fear and joy. I was so shocked and overwhelmed; for a moment, I thought I might cry. I busied myself by setting up my drum set. I guess Amelia noticed I was nervous, and she came over.
“You’re going to do fine; this isn’t different from any other audition.”
“It is too different!” I scream-whispered, “This is the Jonas Brothers!!! This is the most difficult audition we’ve ever had and you’re telling me that there’s nothing different?!?” I would have started screaming at her if Kevin, Joe, and Nick weren’t waiting for us to perform. “One mess up and we look like fools in front of our idols, our boys, Kevin, Joe, and Nick! You know, the boys that brought our band together?! Everything could be ruined!”
“You know what, I realize how big these guys are, and how big of a deal this is, but look at it this way, we’re doing well to have it made it this far. Heck, do you know how many girls would dream to be able to perform in a rocking band for the Jonas Brothers?! We’ve done so well and have come so far already, the rest is icing on the cake. Besides, I’ve had a really good feeling about this all day. We can do it. Hug?”
I gave her a hug. I did feel better, I guess. It was great to have friends that just get me. I shook all the apprehension about the audition out of myself and finished setting up the drums. Today was going to be a good day, I hoped.
Nick’s P.O.V.
The cute girl setting up her drum-set caught my eye first; she looked to be about my age. She gave me a shy smile and sat down to do some warm up rolls.
The girl with the electric guitar seemed to know what she was doing. She had plugged in and tuned quickly, then she had proceeded to go around to everyone else and tell them something. Out of everyone, she seemed the calmest. I was curious to see how well these girls could play.
After they were all set up and tuned, my dad, who was sitting at the table with us along with some of our tour managers, looked at his list, and asked the girls, “So, you’re Velocity?”
“We are,” said the girl standing at the microphone, “you ready for us?”
“Yeah,” Kevin said, “What’re you going to play?”
The guitarist answered this time “This is a song we wrote, called One Glance.”
“Okay, let’s hear it,” one of the producers said, anxiously.
I leaned over to my right and whispered to Joe, “Finally, something that ISN’T a cover. I’ve been waiting for some songwriters all day.”
A 4-count on the sticks and they started. The guitarist leaped forward and started hammering an upbeat melody similar to a lot of 80s pop. Dang, I thought to myself, I never expected a power beat like this. I felt my eyebrows rise as I leaned into listen to their lead singer.
You passed me by, I met your eyes,
That was all it took.
Butterfly attack, you smiled back,
Just that one quick look…
I felt my foot tap and a small smile crossed my lips as the band roared into a chorus.
In that moment, all I knew,
Was that I was falling for you,
I barely even knew your name,
But how can you really blame…
Everything felt bright and new,
I sensed that you felt it too.
Baby you make my heart dance,
All it took was…one glance.
I could barely pay attention to the rest of the lyrics, they were really good. I didn’t care if no one else liked them, I’d have to remember their name, Velocity. It wasn’t just some girl band, because they could actually play their instruments, and it had some harmonies reminiscent of all the great soul groups of the sixties. That era was so inspirational musically; I couldn’t help but love it. When they ended their song, I looked at the others, to make sure I didn’t make a fool of myself by being the only one who clapped harder than we had for most of the acts we’d seen today. I saw my dad and my brothers had smiles of their faces. We all clapped enthusiastically and the girls came up and bowed. They were definitely going on my list.
Stephani’s P.O.V.
I knew we were good. I’d had my doubts before the audition, but when I looked up during the show, I saw all three of the boys smiling away. I was fighting back doing a little celebration dance at the end of the song. As we hurriedly packed up our stuff, to allow the next act to come in, I noticed some the boys whispering excitedly to each other. I guess Amelia’s good feeling was right. I just hoped they liked us as well as I thought they did. They all smiled and said thank you as we walked out. That was good, right?
Sam’s P.O.V.
I was still in a daze as we walked out of the audition room. I was still speechless from being that close to the boys. Naturally, Becky, Steph, and Amelia were dishing to Kelly about the performance and how great we were. I had to agree, that was one of the best runs of that song we’d ever done. As we walked out to the van, Kelly was telling us they’d call within a couple of days if we’d done well. The sun was setting over the tops of the skyscrapers around us. We got into the van and I cranked up my iPod, silently praying that that wouldn’t be the last time I was so close to the Jonas Brothers.
Chapter 3
Decision time
Nick’s P.O.V.
“You sure you want to make this decision tonight, I mean, you must still be on jet lag, and you all look exhausted, I know I am. Don’t you think this is a decision that’s better made when you’ve all had a good night’s rest?” my dad asked us. He and the people from the record label had obviously noticed how tired me and my brothers were, and trust me, we were. All day we’d listened to acts and finally it was over. Now, all we had to do was make a decision on who was going to be touring the country with us this summer.
As for me, my mind was pretty much made up. Out of the handful of rock bands I’d put on my list, my thoughts drifted back to Velocity, that girl-rock group that had auditioned only about half an hour ago. Even if they didn’t come on tour with us, they were someone I’d definitely have to watch out for. I admired not only their musical skill, but probably what impressed me the most was their song writing ability. Only a few acts had actually written their own song for the audition. I could definitely appreciate that.
As usual, Kevin spoke before I could say anything. “Well, I think I kind of know who I’d like, I’d prefer to choose tonight, if that’s okay with you guys,” he asked, turning to me and Joe.
“I think I’ve got it,” Joe said.
When everyone turned to me, I replied “I’ve made up my mind.”
Then it was silent, my dad and the folks from the label looked at me, Joe, and Kevin. I don’t think any of us wanted to speak first, but I decided to speak up, for once. “I only really liked a few acts, but I really liked that girl-rock group, Velocity, they were definitely top on my list.”
“Me too, they were my favorite,” Joe blurted out as soon as I had finished my sentence.
“I liked them a lot too,” said Kevin. “They had a lot of musical talent.”
“Who else did you like?” my dad asked. “What about that one group of guys who did that acoustic rendition of the Beatles Norwegian Wood? They were good too. Or how about that girl who sang ‘Walking on Sunshine’? She had some talent. Or-“
“They weren’t half as good!” Joe blurted out.
I spoke up again, “Those had good musicianship, but they didn’t write their own songs. You can’t do all covers if you’re going to get anywhere. That’s part of the reason why I really like Velocity, they can actually write their own songs, like us. That was a pretty impressive guitar melody, and they had the skills to be able to perform it. I know how hard it is to write a melody like that.”
“And they didn’t look bad either,” Joe muttered, barely audibly under his breath.
“I know this is your show,” one of the people from the record company said, “but there are a lot of other great acts we saw today. How about some of those girls with the acoustic guitars, they could sing pretty well, who was that one…Anna Miller?”
“She was alright, but all the girls like that don’t really fit the description of the kind of act we’re looking for.” Kevin told him, “All 3 of us have strong feelings about Velocity’s apparent skill.”
“We don’t doubt your feelings,” said another one of the guys from the label, “but we just don’t want you to hastily rush into a decision. There were a lot of good acts.”
“I don’t have any doubts,” I said. “My mind’s made up.”
“Same here,” agreed Kevin.
“Affirmative,” Joe said, trying to be funny (which he was, as usual).
“Well it’s your tour, and your decision,” said the first record label guy. Are you positive that these are the girls you want on the road with you for 3 months, opening for you, and spending time with you?”
Joe and Kevin smiled at me and we all nodded in agreement. “We’re sure,” Kevin told him.
“Alright,” said yet another one of the guys from the record label, “I’ll call them straightaway and tell them they’ve been hired. You boys could probably fly home tonight, if you want, there isn’t anything else left here for you to do. I’ll inform you about everything that will happen in the briefing tomorrow via phone. You guy can get back to your tour, and-“
“Actually, I’d kind of like to meet them at the briefing, what do you guys think?” I asked turning to my brothers.
“Good idea,” Joe said as he flashed me with a mischievous smile.
“Alright,” said the same record-label man, “I’ll inform the band that the Jonas Brothers would like to formally meet them tomorrow.”
I yawned again. “Unless there’s anything else we need to do, I think we’ll head up to bed.”
“Good idea. Boys, it’s bedtime,” Dad told us. “I’ll stay here a little bit longer. Kevin, here’s the room key.”
“Come on, Dad, how come I never get the key?” Joe whined.
Everyone laughed at him, “Son, do I really need to answer that question.”
And with that, Joe, Kevin, and I each said goodnight and went upstairs. And as soon as I hit the sheets, I was asleep.
Chapter 4
One Call, 5 Lives changed forever
Stephani’s P.O.V.
The sky was dark as we finally headed off to my house. I was always the last one to be dropped off, partly because I lived closest to Kelly, and farthest from the others, and partly because my parents always wanted a second person to attest to what I’d been doing; they needed Kelly to come in and report on all our band business every time we went somewhere as a band. Sometimes, I felt so trapped by my parents. They didn’t trust me, and thus, I often found it hard to trust them. They were so strict; I needed my friends and my music as an escape.
All was quiet in the van; I was too tired to carry on a conversation. The silence was broken when Kelly’s cell phone rang. She pulled off (on her contract, she couldn’t drive and talk at the same time with her clients in the car) and started talking to probably some guy from our record label wondering what time she’d be returning the van tomorrow. It was a really small label, so we didn’t have good sales coverage, but we were all treated like family, and everyone knew almost everyone. It was like an extended family reunion when we were in there. I looked at her and I suddenly saw her eyes widen and her jaw drop. A huge smile spread across her face as she said, “Really, that’s fabulous!” I couldn’t think of what it could be, a few ideas flashed in my head, a promotion, maybe the label got a chance to sell at a larger store, a new artist, something.
Then it hit me like a second atomic bomb, the audition. For a second, my thoughts flashed back to the awesome performance, and the smiles the Jonas Brothers gave us. Could it really be? “Thank you sir, I’ll let them know as soon as possible…no, thank you!” Kelly hung up the phone and said, with one of the biggest smile’s she’d probably ever had, “Steph-o, today, your life changes; you’re going on tour with the Jonas Brothers!” In that second, I felt the air in my throat catch, and my heart stop.
“Really?!?!” I screamed, “That’s….that’s….OMJ, that’s amazing!” I gave her the best hug I could from the passenger’s seat.
“And that’s not even the best part, there’s a briefing tomorrow and the Jonas Brothers want to meet you, and the others! Isn’t that fantastic?”
A few tears of pure joy rolled down my cheeks as I thought of what that phone call meant for us, for me. I’d get to leave home, and go and do my own thing for a few months on end with my best friends and the Jonas Brothers, doing what I loved. And, I was going to meet the Jonas Brothers, live, in the flesh tomorrow. Could this be real?
“I’m going to call the others right now, this can’t wait!” She started dialing on her Blackberry as I leaned back to let my thoughts drift into an extremely pleasant daydream about what life was going to be like on the road, and life after I got famous from this tour.
Amelia’s P.O.V.
“Hey, I’m home.” I said to my parents as I walked into the living room. They were sitting, watching Law and Order. I plopped down on the couch, just as the phone rang. I was closest to it, so I picked it up. My dad turned the TV off as a courtesy (plus a commercial break had just started). “Hello?” I said into the receiver.
The voice of an ecstatic Kelly came back, “Get ready for your life to change, Amelia, you’re going on tour with the Jonas Brothers!”
“OMJ, no way!!!!” I screamed into the phone, making my parents turn and look at me, “That’s spectacular!”
“Yeah, and clear your schedule for tomorrow too, there’s going to be a tour briefing, and, here’s the best part, Nick, Joe, and Kevin wanted to meet you guys in person there!”
“That’s phenomenal,” I said as my heart was pounding. This was everything I’d dreamed of since there’d even been the idea of starting a band. Even before Velocity, the Jonas Brothers had always been my favorite band. I’d had many nights where I thought of just getting the chance to play for them, and now we’d be touring with them!
“Why don’t you hand the phone to one of your parents, so I can give them the details I know at the moment?”
“Absolutely.”
I offered the phone to them, “Hey Mom, Dad? I’m going on a cross-country tour with the Jonas Brothers, I’m meeting them tomorrow, and Kelly wants to give you the details”
My dad gave a little chuckle and said “Who’s really on the phone, Amelia?”
“I’m dead serious.”
He gave me a look and took the phone, and said hello. He listened for a few moments then his eyes bugged and a huge grin spread across his face. He listened for a few more seconds then mouthed to my mother, who was listening in, ‘Katie wasn’t kidding.’ My mom’s jaw dropped and she quickly got up and embraced me in a huge hug. “I’m so proud of you kiddo! That’s amazing!” Then she sighed, and said, “I never thought you’d make it this big. I’m thrilled for you and the girls; you’re going to have a lot of fun on the road with them.
“So you’re totally cool with me going? You’re not going to miss me?”
“Of course I’m going to miss you, but the opportunities in front of you are going to shape your life more than you staying here with me and your father. I love you, and you’re such an incredible girl, and you have so many wonderful opportunities right in front of you; I’d be doing no good if I let them pass you by.”
“I love you Mom.”
“I love you too, sweetie.”
Becky’s P.O.V.
The phone rang, and my mom picked it up. I expected it to be one of her girlfriends, calling to find out if she wanted to go shopping tomorrow or something. I love my mom to death; she’s so cool and tries to stay youthful, without trying to be cool. She totally understands my social life, but doesn’t pry. My dad isn’t in the picture anymore, but that’s okay, because my mom’s awesomeness makes up for it.
“Really? That’s fabulous!” she said, enthusiastically. “I’ll put her on the phone right away.” That surprised me; I hadn’t expected it to be for me.
“Hello?” I said, taking the phone.
“Hey, it’s Kelly, you’re going to flip out but, you and Velocity are going on tour with the Jonas Brothers!”
“No way, that’s…wow, OMJ…that’s flipping fantastic!”
“And as if that weren’t good enough, there’s a briefing tomorrow, and the Jonas Brothers want to meet you guys there!”
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
“I’m not, isn’t it just too perfect?!”
“Completely!”
“Listen, let me give your mother all the details, and I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
“Alright…wow, again. Talk to you tomorrow.”
I handed the phone Mom and ran upstairs to my room. I then plopped down on her bed, and sat there for a moment, trying to take it all in. I was going to be singing in front of thousands of people, and traveling with the Jonas Brothers. Wow (again). I pinched myself (just to make sure), and then started jumping around, and squealing with delight. I know I must have looked like a retard, but I felt like I had just chugged about 10 Red Bulls. There was going to be a smile permanently plastered on my face that night, how could I frown when everything was so perfect?
Katie’s P.O.V.
I love the solitude of my room, it’s just big enough for me, and it has everything I need, a bed, a desk, a CD player, and my drum-set. I still play in my school band, and I used to have a snare, bass drum, bells, and some other small stuff up here. But when we formed Velocity, I bought myself a drum-set and moved that up here instead. When I sit behind it and just play around, I can just lose myself. Most people my age would just as well watch TV or go to parties, or whatever, but there isn’t much I like more than being able to come up here and bang around.
After coming off that stressful day of performing for the Jonas Brothers, I decided to just play some of the stuff I already had, instead of putting new beats to one of the new melodies Amelia had written, like she asked. The phone rang and I grabbed it because it was lying right there by my bed.
“Hello?”
“Katie, get ready to pack up your drums, because you’re going on tour with the Jonas Brothers!!!!”
I stood there with the phone pressed to my ear, trying to form words, but I was speechless. I couldn’t talk, or scream, or cry, or anything.
“Katie, honey, are you there still?”
“Yeah I’m…wow, that’s so…amazing!”
“In shock?”
“Yeah, that’s…OMJ, that’s…fantastic!!!”
“And guess what else, there’s a tour briefing tomorrow and the Jonas Brothers want to meet you there!”
“No way...that’s…wow, I’m speechless…but that’s awesome!”
“Isn’t it amazing? Hey, I need to talk to your parents too, are they home?”
“Yeah, just a second.”
I ran downstairs to my parents, who were sitting reading on the porch, I said it was important, and I handed the phone to my mom, she wasn’t going to be as apprehensive as my dad was. I ran over, to my dad, teary eyed and gave him a hug. I didn’t think my parents would NOT let me go on tour, but I wanted them to be happy with it and rejoicing as much as I was. I was so lucky I had such supportive parents. “Dad, I’m going on a cross-country tour with, the Jonas Brothers, isn’t that great?!”
“That’s great honey!” he said. I could tell he really meant it too. I hugged him even harder; it was so great to have my family behind me as I was leaving my life behind, and taking off on a new path, one that would hopefully bring me more opportunities than I could imagine.
Samantha’s P.O.V.
Everyone knows it’s meant to be
Falling in love just you and me
‘Til the end of time
‘Til I’m on your mind
It’ll happen
I’ve been making lots of plans
Like a picket fence and *Ring*
I instinctively put the music on pause and picked up the phone that was lying beside me on the bed. I hopped it was important enough that whomever it was had to interrupt the Jonas Brothers.
“Hello”
“Hey Sam, it’s Kelly. I just got a phone call and…Velocity is going on tour with the Jonas Brothers!!!!”
“No way!!!! That’s so…OMJ, it’s absolute perfection!!”
“It is pretty perfect, isn’t it? And guess what else, there’s a tour briefing tomorrow, and the Jonas Brothers specifically asked to meet the band there!”
“That’s amazingly fantastically awesome!!!! “ I screamed into the phone.
“I suppose I should talk to one of your parents they’ll want to hear the good news, and I have to give them the detail that I know.”
“Sure, I’ll let you talk to my dad. Just a minute.”
I ran down the hallway to my parent’s room. My mom was out of town on business so I had assumed that my dad would be in his room listening to music. I felt so close to my dad because we shared a common love of music—we were both always listening to something—and he’d been the one who’d taught me to play bass. We shared so much over that, and there isn’t really anyone I’m closer to.
I was right, he was listening to music. He paused the track he was on when I came in. I offered him the phone and said, “Dad, it’s my manager, Kelly. She has some important news.”
He took the phone and I sat on his bed while he talked to Kelly. Through the entire conversation, his smile just got bigger, and bigger. When he finally got off the phone, he immediately gave me a big hug.
“Sam, that’s so awesome!” He stopped the hug and gripped my shoulders, looked me in they eyes and said, “I’ve never been so proud of you in my entire life! I’m so lucky to have a daughter who shares my passion for music and is as talented as you are.”
“Thanks Dad, it means…so much to know that you’re 100% behind me on this.”
“How couldn’t I be, you’re rising up and pretty soon, I’ll be seeing you’re name on the billboard charts, you’re going to be the best bassist out there. I always expected you to follow my footsteps, and be in a band. But I never could have imagined, on that first day when my little girl picked up the bass I’d given her for her birthday, that she’d be one day touring the country, opening to thousands of people.” I could see his eyes getting a little wet, “Samantha, I’m so, so, proud.”
“I love you Dad.”
“I love you too, Sam.”
Stephani’s P.O.V.
I was jerked out of my wonderful dream when the van started moving again. I still had to get home and it was late. My parents…Oh gosh, what were they going to do? Out of everyone, my parents had been the least supportive when we started the band. They never really liked the fact that I quit soccer (which I’d been playing since I was 5) to go join a band. I guess they realized it was important to me, but they never really got how much. They only came to a couple of the club concerts we’d played and they were really apprehensive about signing the record deal. I was worried that I was going to ruin this for everyone; all the other’s parents had said yes to the tour, how were mine going to react?
“Um, Kelly? Maybe you’d better talk to my parents about this whole thing, and cast it in a really positive light. They’re probably going to be pretty apprehensive.”
“Oh, of course. I’ve met your parents before, and I’m going to make sure they realize how good this is for you. Don’t worry.”
I knew Kelly would try her best, but that didn’t stop me from worrying. My parents could be pretty stubborn, and I had no idea what they were going to do. The van turned the corner on to my street and pulled into my driveway. The clock said 9:30; there was no way they were going to be in a good mood at this hour. My heart was pounding as I got out of the car. What if they said no? The band would be ruined and everyone would be mad at me. This was our big break, and it was all depending on my parents consent. I could barely breathe as I opened the door. “Mom, Dad? Sorry I’m home so late, Kelly’s here and she has some really important news; can she come in?”
“Sure, sweetie. We’re in the living room,” my mom called.
I beckoned for Kelly to follow me, through the front hall and into the living room. Both of my parents were sitting there. “Hello, Kelly. So, what’s the important news?” my father asked.
“Well, as you know, the girls had a very important, very prestigious audition today, and they were selected, out of many very good groups to be able to do a summer tour across the country, opening for the Jonas Brothers.”
“I see,” my mom said, unemotionally. It was hard to read what she thought about it.
“This is a very coveted opening spot, one that will undoubtedly bring the band a great deal of fame, not to mention the enormous pay for being on tour. It’s also completely beneficial in the regards that the girls will gain an enormous amount of experience playing for large crowds, and it should be a lot of fun for them. It’s a lot better for them than opening for most other acts, they’ll not be exposed to the riff-raff of mosh pits and such found on the tours of bands that aren’t under the Disney name. This is an extremely exciting opportunity. I’ve already talked to the parents of the other girls, and they’re supportive, what do you say?” Kelly said, trying to be convincing.
“I’m not so sure this is really as beneficial as you say it is. Being on tour, there’s always the opportunity of kidnap, not to mention, your health will be jeopardized with so little sleep,” my mom said.
“Dear, we were wanting to talk to you about soccer camp, doesn’t that sound like fun, instead?” my dad asked.
“Don’t worry, she’d be completely safe and-“
I cut Kelly off, I needed to stand up for this, and fast, before my parents decided not to let me go, “Mom, Dad, I don’t know if you realize this, but there isn’t anything that’s more important to me than the band. If it wasn’t as important, I’d have never quit soccer. I gave up a part of the live I had been living to do this, and it’s been worth every minute of it. It may not be as predictable as staying here, going to soccer camp and staying home all summer, but it’s what I really want to do. It’s too big an opportunity and we’ve worked to hard as a band to let this pass us by. You’ve always told me to chase my dreams; no matter how far away the goal is, because you’ll get there eventually. Now, the goal is right in front of me, and all I can see, is going for it, and playing to those crowds, and doing what I love. Please, let me go, let me tour, let me play, and let me reach that goal.”
My parents looked at each other; I think my little speech had hit them pretty hard. I was holding my breath, hoping it would make a difference. At that moment, all I wanted was to be able to go on tour. I looked at Kelly, and she shrugged; neither one of us knew anything more we could say to convince my parents.
My mom broke the silence, “I suppose, if it means that much to you, and to the band, we have to support your wishes. You can go.”
I gave a squeal of delight and ran over to hug my parents. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, so much! You have no idea how much this means, and how awesome this is.”
“So, we have a tour briefing tomorrow morning, I will get more of the details for you at that time. I’ll pick Stephani up around 8 o’clock so we can head to the city. Thank you, this means a lot to the girls. I’ll see you in the morning, Steph.”
“Bye, thanks again for everything, Kelly!”
“Alright young lady,” my father said, “time for you to go to bed, I don’t want my little rock star to be staying up too late when she has an important meeting tomorrow.”
“Okay, thanks again. You’re sure you’re really cool with me going on tour, I mean, I don’t want you to be regretting it the entire time.”
My mom answered, “I don’t know what to think of it, but I know it’s my duty to support you. You’re on a good track, it’s not the one I would have originally thought you’d be on, but so long as you’re doing fine, and having fun, I’m happy.”
“Thanks, I’m going to make you proud. Love you, goodnight,” and with that, I ran upstairs and quickly got to bed, and fell swiftly into a night of dreams of my future, the Jonas Brothers, and what tomorrow would bring for us.
Chapter 5
Details, Details, Details
Kevin’s P.O.V.
I woke up a couple of hours before either of my brothers did. They needed their rest so I decided to walk a block to the Starbucks that was down the road. Big Rob decided to stay with the other two, so I went with one of the other bodyguards. I slipped on some jeans and a t-shirt, just to be inconspicuous. I put on a beanie to hide my hair, and my aviator shades and walked out. I walked pretty fast the entire way there, hoping the paparazzi still hadn’t discovered where we were, and hoping no fans would recognize me. I bought my coffee and walked back, thankful I wasn’t recognized.
By the time I got back, Joe had already headed out for a jog—he hadn’t gone out for one in a while, and I’d anticipated he’d try to get one in this morning—but Nick was just getting up. I was glad, because he was always good to talk to.
“Hey fro-bro, what’s happening?”
“Not much. That extra sleep was wonderful, wasn’t it?” he said, a little groggily.
“Really. So, you excited to meet the band today?”
“Yeah, they looked pretty nice; I hope they’re fun to tour with. I’m wondering so much about them, like what they are into, what kind of people they are. You know?”
“I know what you’re talking about, and I’m kind of wondering the same things.”
Just then, Joe lumbered in, a bit sweaty from his jog and said, “What are you wondering about, Kevin?”
“About Velocity, what they’re like and stuff. You know, we don’t even know their names,” I replied.
“You’re right, I hope they’re not, like, creepy, or mean or anything. At least they’re good looking,” Joe said, with a mischievous smile.
“Oooh, replacing Camille Belle already?” Nick taunted.
Joe sat down on the bed next to Nick and gave him a small shove, “No, but I’m just saying…”
“Dude, I get it. I agree, but I still think we need to see what they’re like, why do you think I said we should meet them today? I want to get to know them,” Nick countered.
“It was a really good idea,” I said, “So, what exactly are we going to ask, I mean, they’ll probably have a lot of questions too, do you have anything in mind?”
“Well, I want to know what they do, other than play music, and how they got started, and stuff,” Nick answered.
“I just want to know their names, and if they’re nice or not,” Joe said.
“And I want to know, like, who inspires them, and what kind of music they listen to.”
“So,” Joe said, “we’re just going to wing it when we meet them and just, you know, chill and chat, and stuff?”
“I guess that’s probably the best thing,” I replied, checking my watch, “We have an hour until the briefing, and we’re going to actually talk to them after that. I’m going to go get dressed in something other than my blending-in clothes.”
“Okay…I call fist shower!” Joe blurted out.
“Fine, but I get first tomorrow,” said Nick. They almost always shared a room, and occasionally squabbled over who got the first shower.
I left my brothers as I went off to my own room, still wondering about Velocity.
Amelia’s P.O.V.
Everyone was giddy and chatty as we approached the city once again. There was a lot of excitement about finally meeting the Jonas Brothers. I mean, we were all really big fans; that’s what had brought us together in the first place. We’d sort of all started talking after the Best of Both Worlds tour because we’d all gone to it and we were tired of our friends gushing about Hannah Montana and needed someone to rave about the Jonas Brothers with. So generally, we were a group of some of their biggest fans. I think the only reason we didn’t act insane at the audition was because it was supposed to be business like. So was this meeting, but the others were so hyped up about meeting the Jonas Brothers, I didn’t think they’d listen much. Don’t get me wrong, I was just as excited as everyone else, but I understood how important the content of the meeting was, and we’d have to pay attention to that before we could actually meet the boys. Sam was probably the only other one who’d listen. She was mature enough to know that this information was important.
Even though I knew it was my duty to listen to the meeting, on the way up, all I could do was be one of the girls and gab about the brothers. Who could resist?
“Do you think they’re going to be like they are in their YouTube videos?” Steph wondered.
“I hope so,” Becky quickly replied, “Joe is so funny.”
“How much time will we have to spend with them?” Samantha asked.
“Oooh, I think we need at least an hour,” Katie said, prayerfully.
“Girls, now one of the most important questions,” I said, “What are they going to be wearing?”
“Skinny jeans, scarves, and the world’s most awesome hair-dos!” Stephani blurted out.
“I don’t know,” Katie said, “but whatever it is, it’ll be hot.”
“Totally,” Sam added.
There was a bit of a silence for a few seconds, and no one knew what to say. Suddenly, Becky blurted out “Awkward!” in a completely Joe-Jonas-style and everyone laughed. That’s one thing she was good at, making us laugh.
“I don’t know, I just really hope they’re as awesome as they seem, and they don’t think we’re total creeps,” I said. “We’d better be on good terms because we’re going to be sharing the road with them for a few months. I hope both sides make a good, honest first impression.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Kelly said, “Okay girls, we’re here.”
The noisy chatter and excited squeals resumed as we all got out of the van and ran to the hotel. We waited at the door for Kelly, then she led us to the same conference room as before. “Alright, now, behave yourselves during the meeting, not only are the Jonas Brothers getting an impression of you, so are their record label and tour managers. It’s important that they know you’re not going to be getting into trouble, because they can kick you off the tour.”
“Kelly, you can trust us,” Sam said, convincingly, “we’ll do fine.”
“Alright, I know you girls will. Let’s go,” and with that, she opened the door and we walked into the conference room.
Nick’s P.O.V.
After waiting a couple of minutes, Velocity arrived. The girls and another woman in her thirties, presumably their manager, walked in and sat at the rectangular table across from us. Their drummer, lead singer, and keyboardist quickly hurried to sit across from Joe and me, at one end of the table and their guitar and bass players sat nearer to the other end with Kevin, my dad, and the other guys from the auditions. Pretty soon, I could see that Joe, the keyboardist with the black highlighted hair, and the singer with the sparkly brown eyes were quietly laughing about something. I wanted to listen to the briefing though, even I didn’t know all the details yet.
“Alright girls, welcome, I’m Mr. Jonas. Congratulations on your wonderful audition. We’re all so happy to be able to give you the opportunity to tour with us, and we’re all happy to have you coming with us. Today, we’re going to get a picture of when the tour is going to start and end, roughly, and what to expect. We’ll also give you the contracts to be signed. After that, the boys have requested some time with you, as you well know, so you can get to know each other a bit before we head back to Europe. Any questions right away?”
No one had any; a couple of them shook their heads, but I think a couple of them were only watching me and my brothers. At least it was obvious they liked us.
“Okay,” my dad started in again, “so first, we’ll talk about when all the magic will happen. The burning up tour kicks off in about a month. Until then, my sons and I will be in Europe, finishing up a tour over there with Avril, as you may know. We’ll arrive back and kick off the tour in Toronto and then go to all of the sights already announced; we’ll also add some more dates as the tour starts, so we’ll go probably into October. We’ll be on the road most of that time, but you may have the opportunity to return home for a few holidays. Do you have any questions so far?”
The guitarist with the curly blond hair, who looked to be about my age, let her hand rise a bit and asked, “If the tour goes into our school year, how are we going to make up for the lost school?”
“Don’t worry,” my dad replied, “you’ll have a tutor, but you may want to consider getting a tutor for the remainder of your school year at least, it’s hard to integrate back in after a couple of months out.” He paused for a few moments, and then said “Seeing no more questions, I’ll continue. While you’re on the road, you’ll be able to travel on one of the tour busses. There’s limited space and you’ll all have to share one bus, so pack as light as you can; keep it to about 2 suitcases. We’ll have long days, late nights, and early mornings, so prepare to drink a lot of coffee.”
Kevin interjected, “We all prefer Starbucks.”
“You’ll be expected to abide by the rules set by the tour company. You all look like pretty good girls, so I don’t expect you to have any trouble with illegal drugs, weapon possession or any of that. My own policy is that you don’t comment on the personal lives of the boys to the tabloids or interviewers or such. That won’t be much of a problem, will it?”
The girls all shook their heads. I’m glad they didn’t have any questions; as much as I enjoyed hearing abut our tour, I think we all wanted to get it over and get to know each other.
My dad babbled on a few more minutes about what our schedules would be, and the girls asked a few questions about what else should they bring besides the necessary stuff, and how large the busses were and all of that. The tour manager talked a little while and then, the bassist asked, “How much money should we bring with us?”
“Well, how much money you need is up to your families. The tour company will be paying you a certain amount of money monthly to tour with us, and your parents and manager can decide how much of that can be given to you as spending money. Speaking of payment, I think it’s about time we discuss how much your salaries will be. You kids can go talk; the conference room next door is open.”
Finally, I was about ready to fall asleep. The adults riffled through some papers, as we walked through the connecting door, and into the room. Finally, time to meet the girls we’d be stuck on the road with for the next 4 months or so. I only hoped that was a good thing.
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| Re: Velocity: a JB FF (3rd thread) |
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Chapters 6-10
Chapter 6:
6 minutes
Joe’s P.O.V.
Finally, that boring meeting was over. I knew in the back of my mind I really should be listening to what they were saying, because it was the first time we’d heard some of the information too, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about what I was going to say. I sat on the end of the table farthest from all the guys in suits and the lead singer and keyboardist sat across from me. They didn’t seem to really want to listen either, so we stole a few words when we could about how we just wish they would all shut up. I could tell the entire band was just as ecstatic to get out of that conference room as we (me and my brothers, that is) were. I think we all tried to be relatively quiet heading into the other room, because of all the managers and whatnot. Or, maybe it was a bit of an awkward silence too.
The other conference room looked to be a storage room of sorts. There were carts with folded up tables and stacks of chairs taking up about half the room. The other half had a larger, non folding table like the one in the other room, and some office chairs around it. When everyone had come in (I the first one in, seeing as I was on that end and that side of the table, plus I’d not hesitated to get out of the meeting), Kevin spoke first, as he usually does.
“Hey. So, congrats on your audition, you guys did an amazing job. We thought that we’d better take a little time to get to know you before we started our tour together, so, first of all, what are your names?”
The guitarist who sat across from Nick spoke first, “Hi, I’m Amelia,” she said, gracefully taking a chair across from Nick who was already sitting on my right, in the middle of the table.
“I’m Samantha, but everybody calls me Sam,” said the bassist, taking a seat across from where Kevin was sitting at the other end of the table.
“Hey, I’m Becky,” the singer said, giving a little wave as she plopped down next to me, spinning in her seat a bit.
“Whatsup? I’m Stephani,” the keyboardist said, giving a little smile, and sitting at the head of the table by me and Becky.
The drummer gave a quick glance around, as if there was anyone else who needed introducing, then said, while sitting between Amelia and Samantha, “And I’m Katie.”
“So,” I said, “I’m taking a stab here and guessing you know who we are already.”
“Yeah, we’re all huge fans,” replied Stephani, beaming.
“That’s cool,” Kevin said, grinning. “Before the last tour, Rooney had barely even heard of us, so it’s nice to know we’re already appreciated.”
“That’s actually kind of how our band got started,” Amelia replied, “We became friends after the Best of Both Worlds concert, we just kind of bonded over our common adoration of you guys. After becoming better friends, we formed a band, got discovered at our school’s talent show, and, well, the rest is history.”
“Wow,” Nick said, looking a little surprised, “So, you haven’t been together all that long.”
“Not really,” Samantha said, “We all had been playing for a while before the band, so it just seemed sort of natural and everything fell into place quickly. But, enough about us, we’re all kind of curious about you guys; all of us are big fans.”
“Yeah, I’m not going to lie, I was just a tad surprised that none of you have gone totally berserk…yet,” I noted.
Becky giggled, her brown eyes twinkling, “Well, actually, we all have gone berserk. We were all pretty hyped up after our manager called us to tell us we’d gotten the gig, and we were all going pretty crazy in the car.”
“I think I would have lost it at the audition, but I really didn’t want to make a fool of myself when there was so much at stake,” Stephani said, admitingly.
“Neither did I,” Katie piped up, “I was so nervous at the audition, I just about died. You really have no idea, I suppose it’d be like you Nick, auditioning to go on tour with Stevie Wonder. Is it still nerve-wracking for you guys, I mean, to perform in front of thousands?”
“I guess it’s a little overwhelming some nights,” Kevin answered, “but with such great fans, like you guys apparently are, supporting us, it’s all good. We’re really flattered and pleased that you guys are fans of our music.”
“You’re one of my main inspirations when I write music,” Amelia declared.
Nick gave her a smile, I could tell that got his attention. “I was wondering who wrote your music. That song was really good,” he said. I could almost see a blush creeping across his cheeks.
“Well we all work on it together, but Amelia’s written a lot by herself. She’s great,” Sam said, admiringly.
“I try,” said Amelia, obviously flattered, “glad you liked it Nick.”
He smiled obviously pleased, and being his brother, I could tell she was intriguing him. To save him from getting too red, Kevin interjected, “So, what do you guys do, other than your band, that is?”
“I’ve played a lot of soccer,” Stephani said, “and I take piano.”
“Playing bass has been my main thing for a long time,” Samantha said, “but I work at Starbucks too.”
“That’s awesome, I love Starbucks!” Kevin said a bit too enthusiastically.
“I’ve heard you can, like, sense a Starbucks from a mile,” Sam replied.
“Yes, he does, not completely literally, but you get the point. It’s kind of funny, really. Anyway, ladies, please continue,” said Nick, replying for Kevin.
“I ride horses,” Amelia said, “and in school I do speech team and…math league. I know that sounds totally nerdy, but it’s really good for college applications.”
“I get that,” Kevin replied, “I was kind of a nerd too, before the band.”
“It’s all good,” she returned, “I don’t honestly care too much about what most of the people I go to school with think so it’s cool.”
“I’ve done percussion in marching band for a long time,” Katie said.
“Umm, I have done some theatre, and musicals and stuff. I love to make people laugh, if you consider that a hobby,” Becky said, giving a cute little giggle.
I felt a small smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. I knew I’d get along well with this girl. Becky…even her name was seemed fun.
I was shaken out my temporary daze for a few seconds when Amelia suddenly asked “So, what do you guys do when you have free time.”
“We all like to play golf,” said Kevin.
“I write music almost all the time,” Nick added.
“You know, stuff,” I said, reviving one of my older jokes. They obviously had seen the videos and thought it was funny. I think most of the girls were cracking up, but all I heard was Becky. I glanced at her and heard her laugh, so beautiful and melodious…
After they’d stopped laughing, Katie asked, “What exactly is a ‘typical day’ for you guys when you’re on tour?”
“Well, our days aren’t usually typical,” Nick answered, “if we’re playing a venue, we get up around six, head to the venue, check it all out, do a sound check and meet and greet, then we prepare for the show, and perform, and then we head to bed. But if we’re just on the road, we sleep when we can, and on the tour bus we watch TV, play Guitar Hero, do radio interviews over the phone, listen to music, and just chill.”
“So, will we get to spend any time on the road with you?” Stephani asked.
“We’ll be sure to make time. It’ll be a lot of fun, and you’ll be welcome to hang on our bus,” Kevin responded.
The door from the other room opened and my dad startled us, “Alright guys, time to wrap it up.”
“Can’t we just have a few more minutes, dad?” I begged.
“We just don’t have time, son. We’re catching a plane back tonight, so you need to go pack.”
“Alright just let us take a couple minutes to say goodbye,” Nick told him.
Kevin, Nick and I went around and gave all the girls hugs. After choruses of ‘You’re awesome!’ ‘Can’t wait to see you again.’ ‘We can’t wait for the tour!’ and more, the girls started walking out of the conference room. All of a sudden, Amelia asked, “Wait! How long until we’ll see you again?”
Their manager was out there and answered the question, “You’ll see them July 1, when they come back for the tour.”
After many more goodbyes, and a few more hugs, my brothers and I headed back up to our room. And I, quieter than I normally am, was wondering how I was going to bear a month without getting to know Velocity better. This time, I needed more than 6 minutes.
Chapter 7
First Impressions
Becky’s P.O.V.
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