Chapter Sixteen

Lucas dropped his drum sticks and chased after the girls, yelling to Hayden and Deryck to stay there. He caught Sonya's last words to Toni and froze. Glancing at Kyla, he knew she had Sonya taken care of; what he needed to do was get Toni taken care of. The girl, who looked like a bruised banana, stood there, stiff and confused. Lucas moved quickly and wrapped his arm around Toni, enveloping her petite frame. Gently, he turned his sister around and guided her away from Sonya.

"I swear Kyla, if she thinks she's taking any vocal solos in any songs, I'm gonna kill her!" Sonya fumed.

"I think you're being a tad bit overdramatic hun!" Sonya scolded, understanding Kyla's point; Toni was the manager she had no business singing in the band.

"And you don't think Toni and Deryck were being a 'tad' too friendly?" Sonya could see the jealousy and anger in Kyla's eyes; she could see the hurt too. Sonya shrugged and shook her head.

"That's none of my business," and before Kyla could get the words out, she continued, "And it's none of your business either." Sonya couldn't help but want to comfort and console Kyla, but she was directing her anger and the wrong person. She thought it best not to bring this up now.

"You know, I wasn't going to ask you because it's your life to live, but now there's tension in the band, my band, and that involved my life." Lucas directed Toni to sit and proceeded to sit across her. Instead of sitting, however, Toni moved across the kitchen and towards the fridge. Nonchalantly grabbing a beer she sat down across Lucas and took a swig from it.

"What is that?" Lucas yelled, pointing at Toni as she took another sip. "I've never known you to be a drinker and all of a sudden you're drinking thrice in one week. Toni what has happened to you? Are you going to be drunk everyday you go to school?" Toni swallowed hard and looked at the floor for a moment, thinking over his question. Her eyes then quickly darted up and looked directly at Lucas.

"No, I'm not going back to school. Besides, after your gig next week, you guys are going to be big."

There was a long, uninterrupted silence that sat between the two siblings. Toni continued o drink her beer as if what she said was said everyday. As if it was everyday that a member of the Dermel family dropped out of University. Not college, University. They were all smart and able enough to attend University, what they do once they've educated themselves is up to them. Lucas inhaled sharply and exhaled deeply, breaking the silence as he did.

"You're fired." He whispered sternly, enough to raise a rebellious side of Toni.

"I'm sorry, what?" Toni placed her bottle on the table and furrowed her brows, nesting her eyes into her face as she glared questioningly at Lucas.

"You're fired. You're no longer our manager and you are not affiliated with this band. I will not allow you to live off us." Lucas' voice seemed to get softer yet firmer as he continued.

"You're firing me? Are you aware of how hard it is to get a manager? Especially when you're not officially in the business yet. No venue is going to take you seriously if you don't have a manager." Toni jumped up, glowering at Lucas.

"I'll take that chance. I will not have you throw all your hard work away because you and Hunter are having a rocky moment; and trust me that's all it is, a rocky moment, I will not let you use this band as an easy way out. Pack up your stuff and find a place to live. You have till the end of the week." With that Lucas took Toni's beer and walked away calmly, drinking from it.

Toni's face was frozen. Her entire body tensed up as tears filled her eyes; her own brother had just fired her and kicker her out. Toni's shoulder shook lightly as a soft cry escaped her lips. Deryck strolled by the kitchen and saw Toni's slumped form sitting at the dining table. He did a double take when he heard a soft whimper come from her. Cautiously, he stepped into the kitchen and walked towards Toni, wondering if their kiss and hand holding put Deryck in the boyfriend position. He wondered if comforting Toni was now part of the criteria of being her 'boyfriend'.

"Toni?" There was a sniff as Toni furiously swiped at her tears.

"I'm fine." She blurted out, out of habit.

"I hardly doubt that. What happened?" Deryck pulled out the chair beside Toni and sat down.

"You guys no longer have a gig." She sniffed, staring at her hands that lay on the table. Deryck sat quietly, waiting for the next part, because he knew it would come.

"Andrew just fired me and I have to move out." There was a painfully long silence that nested itself between the couple. Deryck finally broke it with an option.

"You can come live in my room. Be my guest." Deryck then realized what kind of suggestion he was giving. "I'm not talking about having sex or anything. You can sleep on the bed, I'll get a couch and sleep on it." He blurted out.

Toni chuckled, sensing Deryck's discomfort.

"No, that might just end up in you getting kicked out, from the band, and this house. No I'll go live with my friend but Andrew is going to regret making this decision. Rip Cord is going to suffer." Toni stood abruptly, walked to the fridge, and grabbed another beer. With a slight sense of depression, she popped open the bottle and walked out of the kitchen leaving Deryck alone.

She got to thinking about Hunter again. His face was in her head and she began feeling guilty about kissing Deryck. And trying as hard as she could Toni could not get rid of Hunter's face with beer. When she got to her room she poured a little of Lucas' vodka into the beer and gulped it down with a squint. As it was the house was being packed up, but Toni's room consisted of boxes and tape. Taking another sip from her strange mixture, Toni got the phone and began dialling Samantha's number.

"I'm starting to feel like a hobo, moving from place to place." She muttered to herself as she bore the monotonous sounds of the line ringing.

Samantha just returned to her apartment after walking Hunter to the elevator, when she heard the phone ringing. It was pretty late in the evening and Samantha had spent the entire day talking to Hunter. She was worn out and needed more coffee than she thought.

"Hello?" her voice was scratchy from a mixture of talking all day, and a lack of sleep.

"Hey, Sam, it's Toni!" Samantha recognized the voice, but it seemed to be more sullen than usual.

"Toni, hey babe, what's up?" She flopped down onto the couch with a sigh, somehow knowing that this would be another long conversation.

"Um, well I was wondering, I know your wedding is in a week and that you're both going to Florida for your honeymoon and-"

"Toni, skip the crap please, I've had a long day. Just get to the point hun." Samantha laughed as she said it, knowing the girl's feelings were fragile after the whole ordeal with Hunter.

"Okay, basically Andrew fired me as his band manager and is kicking me out of the band's house." A long pause. Samantha blinked hard, trying to comprehend what happened. Andrew and Toni could've been nominated as best brother and sister of the year, century, ever… Now he's firing his own sister and evicting her?

"How long do you have?" Samantha finally asked her voice barely over a whisper.

"Until the end of the week. Dercyk said I could live with him but I'm not risking it and-"

"Who's Deryck?" There was a short moment while Samantha scanned her brain; then she almost jumped. "Deryck? The Bassist? Toni, tell me you're not…with him…but…?"

"Um, yeah kinda, not really, I don't know. Thing is I'm not risking getting him kicked out of the band. Andrew will hate me forever. I am angry at him, of course, but I don't want to ruin his band. They have potential."

"Okay, okay, Toni, calm down. Look, get your stuff over here as soon as possible. My honeymoon with Michael is two months, so you can stay here till we get back. In fact, if, after the two months, you want the apartment, I could sell it to you 'cause Michael and I are buying a house together." At the mention of his name, Samantha's voice perked up a little.

"Thanks Sam, I really appreciate it. I really do. I'll start looking for a job as soon as I'm settled into your place. I'm sorry to intrude."

"Toni, quit the formalities, you're like a sister to me. For God's sake, you're my maid of honour. Speaking of which, do you think you could doll yourself up and come with me? I have to pick out the dress style and get you fitted." Toni fidgeted, knowing that Sam would freak out when she saw her bruised face.

"Sure," her voice was unsteady, not completely sure whether she wanted to see Sam today. "I'll be there in half an hour." The two hung up and Sam collapsed onto the couch. Toni sounded bad, really bad. Her voice was cracking, and it sounded like she was struggling to talk through a bruised lip.

Without realizing that she was, she stretched herself out on the couch, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

Lucas stalked through the house, unsure whether he just made the biggest of his bands career or the best decision of his sister's life. He rounded up the band in the living room to break the news to them. Hayden was the last to swagger into the room, his clothes askew, and a red-head bombshell tucked under his arm. His smile, as usual, was something contagious that managed to cut through the awkwardness of the atmosphere.

"Make it quick bud, we've got a date and a club to hit." Hayden uttered, not entirely sure what the meeting was about, but not caring much either.

"I'll try," Lucas forced a smile, still fighting with himself on his decision. He glanced at Deryck who sat quietly, almost secluded from the band, in the corner. He was sulking, and the entire band knew it. Sonya sat on the complete opposite end of the room, positioning herself where she could watch Deryck but he couldn't see her. Tears were still pushing their way through her system, and she felt weak around him, even when she was furious with him. Kyla and Hayden must have been the only ones in the room who were smiling, if not out of happiness, at least out of ignorance.

"All right," Lucas stood up, sat down, stood up again, and sat back down. He was nervous. The band loved Toni and the way she took care of them. I'm a dead man, he thought to himself, fidgeting with his hands.

"Just sit down and spit it out!" Hayden's bombshell spoke. She had no name to them, and this was the first time the band had ever seen her, yet she was the only one who had the guts to tell Lucas what to do.

"All right, um, there's some bad news, and some more bad news." The atmosphere went ice cold. Lucas stumbled, certain he had made a mistake. "Well first off, our gig has been cancelled." Hayden and Kyla were the only responsive ones. Sonya and Deryck seemed to be off in a world of their own, yet somehow aware of the problem.

"What, cancelled? Why?" Hayden asked, suddenly aware that the red-head had stiffened under his arm. He was conscious of her presence and that she knew he'd be famous.

"Well the gig isn't cancelled just yet, but I'm going to be calling them in a few minutes and doing it myself. We're not playing, we're not ready." Lucas' voice was failing him, and he really wish he didn't have to do this.

"What do you mean we're not ready? And why isn't Toni here?" Kyla piped up, finally noticing that a member was missing. Lucas froze, wishing the question didn't come from her. If it had come from Hayden he could've said it with ease. If it had come from Sonya, he could've said it with spite. Even if it had come from Deryck he could've answered it while punching the bastard in the face, but from Kyla? Now he was stuck.

"That's the worse news…the reason we're cancelling the gig is because-"

"It's because our oh-so-great drummer decided to take that matter of the band into his own hands. He fired our only manager; his own sister." Deryck spat out, finally speaking, with venom dripping from his words. Lucas feared that he would know, worse, he feared this would affect the band's relationship.

Hayden's hand flew off his red-head faster than imaginable, and he pushed her off him.

"You fired Toni!" The words were more of an accusation then a question. His red-head bounced off the other side of the couch and sank into it, sulking. Lucas steadied himself in his seat. Kyla, who was leaning on him, had now inched off slowly. He stood up and paced across the room. Something had to be done. It became painfully obvious that Sonya had affection for Deryck and was hurt when he picked Toni. This couldn't continue, something had to be done.

"Yes, I fired Toni, my own sister because it needed to be done. She was fraternizing with a member of the band and it's unacceptable." Lucas stared hard at Deryck, making sure he shrunk under his glare. There was the coldest, most painful moment of silence as the entire band mulled over what Lucas was talking about. Sonya simply stared at Deryck, tears rolling down cheeks and down into her lap. She had denied the existence of the relationship between Toni and Deryck until now, but now she had to face it. Then bitterness sunk in, and for the first time in the meeting she opened her mouth to speak.

"Well good, I'm glad she's gone. She was holding us back anyway. Her personality is all wrong for the dynamic of the band." Soya stood up slowly, a little shaky on her feet. As she said this, she stared at Deryck, right into his soul. She accepted that he liked Toni, no, it was more than that; he was borderline in love with Toni, and Sonya wanted to hurt him more than anything right now.

"She can't sing and someone wanted to offer her a solo? No, not while I'm still part of this band. Just because she's related to a member of the band, doesn't make her talented." Sonya moved to the doorway to leave, resting her hands on the doorframe, "We don't need her, we can manage ourselves." With that she dropped her hands, turned on her heel, and walked out.

Hayden naturally assumed that he was allowed to leave as well, he grab his bombshell's hand, pulled her off the couch, and made his way out the door, once again tucking the girl under his arm. Deryck wasn't affected by Sonya's words, he simply didn't care. He pulled himself up off the couch, smoothed his clothes over, and calmly walked out of the room. Kyla was left with Lucas, unaware of what to do. He had just fired his own sister from the band, and angered the entire band. She made a split second decision as soon as the thought crossed her mind. Patting Lucas on the back comfortingly, she got up and left the room. On her way out the door, she grabbed her jean jacket, purse, and car keys, and slammed the front door behind her.

Lucas leaned back in the couch and gave up. Just kill me! Come on, let's get this over with! The next thing he realized was the front door opening and someone stumbling in, their words slurred and voice loud. He leapt up into a sitting position and looked around…

A/N: I'm back, well sort of. I've been working on this chapter for ages. Slowly mulling over it bit by bit and I'm sick of it lol. I have no idea what the next chapter of what story I'm doing next so yeah cause it's mid-terms and things are pretty insane. I've broken down three times in one day, kinda pathetic. But either, this chapter's done, and even though it's so short, or at least seems short because I don't have a song in it, it's a crucial chapter I feel. You guys are gonna kill me. Things are going to go up in one aspect and down in the other. Anyway, ENJOY. Leave me a review, I'm desperate for them lol no I'm kidding. But I'd love a couple ;), they'd help my write my next chapter lol hint hint Oh go away, I'm tired )

Reviewers, oh my darlings, what would I do without thee?

:::::Twizzlers:::::

Always the first to respond and I love you for it. I'm glad you like the Samantha cause there's going to be a lot more of her to come. And I think you'll enjoy the entire scene between Sonya and Deryck, I tried to make a real impact with that, also with the way Sonya regarded Toni. Things are getting pretty interesting, and as soon as I can, the next chapter will be up and CRAZY! And DAMMIT, you read my mind and you don't even know it!

:::::Tragedy Is Love:::::

Yeah, things with that Samantha are pretty weird, but it makes sense and fits in, hopefully lol. No, just keep reading, Things are going to get real weird between the people you'd least suspect. Wink lol. Thanks

:::::Alleyna:::::

Okay, there's two Samantha's in the story. Samantha the slut basically and Samantha the friend of Toni and Hunter. It's confusing I know, I don't exactly know why I did it, for effect I suppose, but there'll be something to it in the end I promise? Honestly I don't know how anyone could feel sorry for the bleeding Samantha lol, she just frustrates me. This is sad considering she is my character. But it'll all start tying together over the next couple of chapters. Thanks again hun, I can always count on you and Twizz for reviews P

:::::PhearsomePsycho:::::

I think everyone just wants Toni and Hunter back together except for me probably. Well the romantic side of me is saying put them back together, and the evil side is saying, let's see how long we can keep them apart. Hehe. I agree that the Samantha thing is confusing but I swear it'll make sense in due time. I agree, these people do have issues, and that's why we're so attracted to reading them. Heh, I'm a troubled child. Thanks for the review, I appreciate it oh so very much!

And that's that. I'm going to try to do my project now, because I'm in class but I really want to sleep.

Love always,

.soul

Enjoy!