Family

Kyle's face turns beat red as Misty turns the questioning over to him. "Wha...well...I...." He looks back to Jason and Katie, an embarrassed but cheesy grin forming. "I....it, um...well..."

"Well come on, Kyle." Jason takes a sip of his pop, leaning back casually, his arm still around Katie. His own smile spreads. Whooo, boy is he squirming. This is fun.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Um...er..." Kyle looks to Misty then Wyatt, receiving no help. He swallows hard. "We just..." He stutters some more. "You two..."

Jason's grin just widens. I've never seen him so red. I should really pull him out of this...but I'm just enjoying this too much.

"Us two, what, Kyle? For pete's sake, spit it out. Or did you eat something that prevents you from speaking?"

Kyle looks down to sip on his straw, then stirs his ice around, clearing his throat. "Hotshot, is your arm enjoying that as a friend, or more than that?"

Jason tries to keep from laughing, but it just won't work as it finally spills out. "Nicely put, Kyle. Nicely put."

Kyle can feel the heat in his own face, and tries to let humor rule. "Yeah, well, how else's I s'posed to put it?"

"I don't know. You wanna try it again?"

"You dweeb!" Kyle throws a napkin at Jason. He looks to Wyatt. "The answer is yes. Or can't you tell?"

Wyatt is simply grinning from ear to ear, and throws Katie a wink. Yes, he could tell.


Dani chews her pizza slowly, just listening to the chatter around her. She felt a little funny...but not so much out of place...and not so much nervous either. It was different here... She had friends back in California, but it was nice to be in a different atmosphere... And these people treated her just like she belonged.

She looks over to the back of the room to see Carson on the phone. Who had he needed to call so urgently? Had she interfered with any of his plans? Or ruined anything?

Letting her gaze wander, she realizes for a moment that Dalton is looking at her. Catching his eye, she offers a little smile. He seemed nice. Something about him seemed different than the others... Dani couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something... Yet there was softness there somewhere...

Dani suddenly realizes she's staring, and looks away, brought back into the conversations by Laura asking her a question.


Carson shakes his head. "Naw, don't bring anything unless you haven't eaten either. I, uh... I don't think I want much tonight. Just bring yourself on over in a while and we'll talk more then."

Wrapping up the call, he finally hangs up, and goes back to the table, joining in on the outskirts until the gang starts to filter out...


Con leans back in his chair and yawns, running a hand through his hair. "Well...." He slings his arm around Jamie to give her a squeeze. "I'm afraid your man is getting tuckered. You ready to head on home?"

"I know I am." Laura nuzzles into Nate. "And since you're my ride...you wouldn't be so nice as to take me home, would you?


"...yeah, I got the music, thanks." Axel sits on the floor of Mike's basement, leaning back against the wall. He was alone...the guys and Taylor were out for the night, but he'd opted to stay behind. He nods. "Yep. Oh, Logan kinda tore it to shreds until I made him slow down. Sweet Sorrow was my favorite. Yeah." He laughs a little. "Naw, we're still playing. Just taking it easy for a while. Feels good to not have a gig every few nights. Settling down a little.... No, no place yet. We're staying at a friend's house... Mmhmm... Hooked up with the band down here, JetStream.... Yeah..."

He stretches out his legs, crossing his ankles. "Yeah, they're good. Nice guys. Hmm? Oh, four-piece. Yeah..." He thinks for a moment. "The, uh... lead vocalist reminds me of you. Well, a younger you.... yeah... Funny thing, his name's Stevenson too."

Axel lifts an eyebrow, and picks at a loose thread on his jeans. "Uh-huh...Jason... I, uh...found out a bit about his family..."