Having snuck out of drama class early, Keely was in the bathroom changing for her lunch meeting with Maureen.

She hadn't wanted to attend the meeting to start the rest of her life in a ruffled long sleeved red shirt and a blue checkered shirt with a plaid matching hairband. Though the designs were original - having come from the great mind of Haley Sawyer - she wanted to distinguish herself from any cliches about a private school girl. But she still ended up in an outfit Haley had made for her.

The outfit consisted of ultra skinny black jeans, a black and red flannel shirt that was fitted perfectly for her, a long black scarf and dark brown ankle boots.

Now she was just perfected her hair so that it curled artfully over her shoulders, although for makeup she just stared blankly at herself. In the end it was simply, just mascara. Satisfied, Keely took a step back, and observed her outfit. Haley had told her the outfit was young, but with a hint of rock chick. Keely didn't exactly know what that meant, but she thought it looked good.

Looking at her phone, Keely noticed it was five to one.

Still leisurely, she grabbed her shoulder bag and strolled to her locker. Where she just pulled her songbook out before walking to the front foyer.

But then stopped dead in her tracks.

Isn't a limo a bit too much for a ride in Bellingham for a lunch meeting? Even if you're meeting with the owner of one of the largest record labels in the world, it still seemed rather ostentatious. What happened to the car she was supposed to be sending over? Even that would be weird, but at least Keely wouldn't feel like some music cliche.

"Keely Staub?" the limo driver asked in a suit that matched his rather bored voice.

"Yes," she answered a bit nervously, chewing on her lip.

Without another word, he opened her door, gesturing her inside. Still a bit anxious, Keely did as she was told.

It wasn't long until she'd reached the restaurant, Keely could see the people in the town staring at the limousine as they drove past. And even though she knew that the windows were tinted, Keely pushed herself back against the seats, as if trying to disappear.

Great rock star you are, Keely criticized herself silently. How are you going to handle it if people want your autograph one day? Run and hide?

About an hour later, Keely was picking through her lunch.

They had gone over most things that Keely would have deemed important. Deciding that Keely should tell her dad she was accepting a record deal soon, and that Maureen would come to get his parental permission at the house, where he was most comfortable, that Maureen was already finding her someone to tour with and Keely had let Miss Jones look into her song book.

Her stomach had clenched awfully seeing someone flip through her songs. It was like showing someone her soul.

But taking from the sounds of pleasure Maureen made as she flipped through the pages, Keely had a feeling that her songs would do, even if they'd need a bit of tampering with later on.

But Keely had a feeling Miss Jones was holding out on some vital information.

"So," Maureen said, pushing away her salad and smiling kindly at Keely. "I have to ask you something, and please keep an open mind."

"These things never end well," Keely joked weakly, the nerves in her stomach jittering.

Maureen sent her a slightly amused smile before continuing, "I live in Bellingham with my daughter sometimes. The only reason I live part time here instead of New York is because I want to keep her a bit grounded. But Mitchie is going to be starting school soon, and I need to move her back to New York."

Keely nodded slowly, and they'd just been talking about Miss Jones was going to be her agent, how was this going to work while they were states apart?

"And I'd like you to come with me."

As a result, Keely dropped her fork.

"Just think about it," Maureen cautioned. "I'm going back to New York, and I already have an idea who you'll go on tour with and they'll be there as well. They'd be producing your first album as well, you'll be in photo shoots with them, practising with them for the two months before you go on tour and the two month during."

"It makes sense," Keely murmured still frozen. And the truth was that it did make sense, perfectly. But she still felt ambushed. "When would we be leaving?"

Miss Jones looked appraising at Keely, as if wondering if she could handle the news. "We'd be leaving in two weeks."

Now Keely just nodded meekly; two weeks left at home.

*

Feeling like the worst kind of person, Keely wandered out towards the barn.

She really had nothing left to do in there. When she had been procrastinating about telling her father she wanted to take the record deal, Keely had spent her time hiding out in the barn.

Every single one of the twenty six stalls were scrubbed clean and the same treatment for the two water buckets in every stall, Keely had picked the paddocks along with scrubbing the outdoor water buckets, she'd ridden four horses, cleaned her tack trunk, tidied the tack room, organized the feed room, picked up all the hay from the hay room, swept the barn hallway twice, scooped up the left over hay between the paddocks, watered the plants, washed her leather tack, cleaned her horses' boots and had a pile of saddle pads, coolers, polos and blankets that could be put into the washing machine.

Finally she had gone inside and broke the news to her father.

"Daddy?" Keely said hesitantly peeking her head around the corner to see her father lounging on the couch.

"Hey it's the neighbour's kid," Frank joked. "Hey little girl, how was school today? Oh, and the Vancouver Canucks are beating the Montreal Canadians five to one."

Sighing, Keely sat down beside him. What better way to ease him into the idea of me leaving to go to California in two weeks than to start the conversation with sports? "Thank god," Keely smiled. "Well, it looks like my team is winning? And who was it that said the Canadians were going to blow out the Canucks?"

Frank didn't even take his eyes off the screen, but muttered, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Still trying to avoid the subject that was making Keely squirm in her own skin, they talked about sports, stats and scores for the next half an hour.

The nasely sound of their cheap house phone echoed through the living room.

"I'll get it!" Keely called out loudly. Her voice was overly excited for a phone call, but her mind was working rather fast. Her school called home when she skipped a class and she'd skipped two today.

Giving her a strange look, Frank picked up the phone from beside him still on the first ring. "Why are you so agitated?" he enquired suspiciously.

"No reason," her voice was too high, Keely was a terrible liar.

"Is it Tony?" Frank's voice was getting angry now.

"No, of course not," she said quickly. Of course it wasn't Tony, her dad hated him, and he knew it. Even when they'd been going out Tony had only called Keely's cell phone because he was afraid of Frank. Except that could break apart on them as well, because a giant picture would cover Keely's entire phone screen, and even if Frank's eyesight wasn't the best, he could tell the difference between Tony and Joe.

But Frank had ignored Keely's denial, and was staring viciously at the phone during the second ring. "I thought you two were done, if it's him, I swear you'll be living without a father for the next twenty-five years to life."

"Daddy," she protested grabbing at the phone as the third strangled ring echoed.

"Listen," his voice was angry as he started talking to the phone. And Keely had the urge to smack herself in the head as his voice went into complete shock as he obviously was listening as the computer woman's voice as she recited, 'A child in your household - insert students name here - was absent for blocks C and D today. Thank you.'

As if on cue, Frank hung up the phone, and asked, "Why were you not at school for two blocks?"

Keely's first instinct was to recite how it must have been a mistake, that was her usual excuse, and Frank always believed her, or at least he pretended to. "I have to tell you something father," she said seriously.

Frank knew it was a sombre subject, because his face went carefully blank.

"Dad..."

Her father had been angry that Keely hadn't told him about the offer.

And she could tell that he was actually hurt that she felt she couldn't tell him, and that he hated the idea that she wanted to leave him. Actually Keely thought he was heart broken by the thought of her leaving. But now that she'd opened her heart to the idea, all Keely wanted was this chance.

It wasn't as if she wanted millions and to be on the number one hit on the paparazzi's list.

What Keely kept seeing in her head was her sitting in the middle of the stage. There were no instruments around her, just her, her guitar and the stool she was sitting on.

There was nothing but the sound of her voice and guitar.

But there was a crowd in this dream, and they weren't screaming and cheering for her. They were absolutely silent. And Keely could see the hope she felt every time she bought a new record. But they weren't hoping anymore, they had found that one amazing moment or song to get them through the next second, next minute, next day, next week, next year or the rest of their life.

So despite how reluctantly her father had agreed, she would never stay home, because she had become too outrageously selfish.

This was why she felt like the worst kind of person.

*

"Bye daddy," Keely said hopefully slipping out the door of their giant truck.

"See you when you get home," Frank said not looking at her, just waiting for Keely to shut the truck door.

Without anything else to say, Keely backed away from the truck. Sighing, she slammed the door and watched as her dad started driving the moment he heard the door close. Fixing her bag over her shoulder, she slipped on her large grey aviator sunglasses on her face.

There had been no need to where them when she'd been getting a ride to the school since it was a rainy grey day, typical of Washington, but Keely felt as if she needed them as she walked into the brightly lit school.

Apparently there had been invisible paparazzi taking photos of her when she went to meet with Maureen Jones. And though people in this school would usually have no idea who Miss Jones was, they had to find out once they saw Keely skipping classes to go meet with her. And someone - Keely had a feeling it was Haley, because she'd never been good at keeping secrets - had accidentally let it slip that Keely was the newest edition to the UAE Record's family.

People were already staring at her, some were in awe but most were now hating her.

Especially the singers in the choir, because in their freshmen year they had tried to get everyone to join. And being a terrible cheerleader, had made a joke at their expense. And now Keely had their dreams.

But at the moment, Keely wasn't thinking about that.

She was thinking about her father.

He had been on the verge of ignoring her ever since she broke the news that she wanted to go to New York City. Keely knew - or at least hoped - that he still loved her, but he'd distanced himself from her. And Keely still felt monumentally guilty, because her mother had died, and now Keely was leaving him as well.

Walking briskly past Taylor, she didn't even bother to retaliate at the smirk Taylor sent her.

Ever since Taylor had found out that Keely was getting a record deal, she had been spreading loudly that she was going to be cheer captain. And how Keely stayed being head cheerleader while she was around was beyond her.

At one point Keely had joked rather loudly - while behind Taylor as she was telling her opinion on the choice of captains - that two plus two was also beyond Taylor. But now Keely didn't even have the energy to care.

Because she wasn't only wearing the giant sunglasses to feel invisible, but also to hide the purple and black evidence of sleepless nights underneath her eyes.

Ever since Keely and her father had signed the deal, Keely would be up all night deciding what to pack and feeling how her stomach was just tittering with nerves. Or she would be lying curled in a ball on her bed as she cried about how her father was already distant and they were still living in the same house, how Joe wasn't talking to her and how she was going to be without Haley. Which also meant choosing her own clothes.

Today she was wearing an outfit that Haley had designed as well. Her habitual skirt, but with a pinstriped white button up shirt with a navy vest she left upon along with her navy tie, loosened with the shirt collar up. And she was wearing her hair in two loose braids and a red toque.

"Already got it," Haley called from where she was lounging.

"Oh, thanks anyways," Keely said to the coffee shop boy that was staring at her through awed eyes. "Thanks," she sighed, her voice more gracious as she sank down next to Haley and put her feet on the coffee table.

"I was thinking," she started.

Smiling slightly while she closed her eyes and leaned her head on the couch, Keely joked, "And that's never a good thing."

"Wake up," commanded Haley while snapping her fingers in front of Keely's face. "This is very important." In response, Keely sat up straight in her seat. "You're leaving this Sunday morning, and I think we should have a party on Saturday night in honour of your leaving."

"Very important," Keely agreed sarcastically grumpy.

"Just show up at the Jordan's property on Saturday night at seven."

- Well, there you go, it's her father's reaction... kind of, haha!

Hm... the song on the side is just for Keely, because she could use some Courage at this point. I feel awful for her at the moment.

Advice today is to not throw an egg at some guy in the parking lot of a Safeway. Because the people don't usually appreciate it. I was going crazy from lack of sleep, in my defence. And that guy, he will literally chase you until you hide behind your sexy neighbour. It was actually really scary for a moment, until Jared got the guy to leave and we got in his car, then we just started to laugh. Yes, we might be a little insane.

So how do you feel about Joe now? He's not even talking about her!!!

This is dedicated to sushiG3 because she just made me smile, even though she's going to bed and it's only noon where I'm at. Goodnight sister from another mister! -