Craziest

Kyle gives a little chuckle, amused with the spark in Alice's eye and her comment about it sounding as if he'd just woken up. "You caught me."

Moving forward, he falls in step beside her, his thumbs hooked in his jeans pocket, leaving his denim jacket open, despite a cool breeze. He listens to her questions, digesting them for a moment.

A grin emerges. This was something new. Something out of the ordinary. So much had been so full of stress lately, but for some reason... right now, walking along with someone he didn't even know, it was surprisingly peaceful. He'd expected to be on edge around Alice - anyone who was curious enough to ask all the questions no one else would was enough to turn anybody off. But despite her questions, she had something about her... something that was... different... different enough that Kyle could feel it.

"Well, I don't know why you're so interested in me. I'm certainly not the most important part in either band, but... I'll bite."

He thinks for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "I'm the craziest of the bunch - anybody will tell you that. Always been that way and yes... I grew up here, and have lived here all my life. It's where my family is. You know Phil - JetStream's bass player - he's my brother. And Jen - the woman who run sounds - she's my twin sister."

All of a sudden, a frisbee comes flying out of nowhere, aiming at their heads. Reflexes cause Kyle to lash out and catch it with speed. Looking around, he sees a group of kids nearby, and rolls his eyes. Good-natured though, he throws it back to them with accuracy. Shaking his head, he starts walking again.

"My family has always been very musical, so I've been into music since I was a little kid. I started piano lessons when I was about five and fell in love with the keyboard. By junior high, me and Phil were already trying to come up with some of our own stuff to play - he liked the bass. We met Mike in school and he was already into the drums, so... we kinda had a garage band going for a while. Just kid stuff, ya know?"

It had been a long time since Kyle had thought about some of these things. There was happiness there... and a little bit of pain too. He looks down for a moment, watching his tennis shoes cover the distance of the sidewalk that wound around the park.

"Well, we wound up getting a singer off and on. Sometimes they played guitar, sometimes they didn't. But we just fooled around for a while, played in school a few times. We, um..."

Kyle's mind drifts to the hard times they had gone through. Phil's rough bout... their dad dying... Mike's wife and child dying... He shakes his head a little, trying to stay on track.

"There were downs," he admitted. "A few times we quit playing just because life got in the way. At some point we took on the name JetStream and Jen learned about running sound. We... started getting a few local gigs and... took it from there."

He shrugs, not knowing what else to say there. "Last year, Jason joined us. We had a fundraiser to play at, but we lost our lead singer. We just about canceled, but he came along and I guess the rest is history as far as that's concerned. Ever since he walked out on stage with us, the band hasn't been the same, and I mean in a good way. The audience loves him and he's added so much."

Kyle didn't mind singing Jason's praises. As far as he was concerned, Jason really had been the glue to hold the band together lately. "If anybody should be interviewed, it's him," he comments. "He's probably had the most interesting life, not to mention, he's probably the most talented of all of us. If you really want a good story, you should call him up, not me."

He pauses, making sure he gets everything. "Katie came along right after Jason, since he was in law enforcement and so is she, so she took up the role of watching our backs. We decided as a band that it was worth the risk. So far we haven't had any incidents to speak of."

Stepping off the path, Kyle leans back against a tree so he can face Alice, and for a moment, he just studies her face before getting back on track.

"We were friends with the guys and girl in Cryptic from school. We hung out, did some music events together, but we just naturally split up into our two groups. Difference of music tastes, and different friendships. I really don't know the ins and outs of their band, but they started in a similar way to JetStream. A while back though, they were doing well enough to get a contract and travel. They hit the road and they'd have to tell you about their adventures there. I guess they picked up their sound guy, Axel only about a year ago, but otherwise they're all the original group still together."

He pauses again and finally just shrugs. "Logan, their lead singer, was sick the other night, so I just filled in for him. That's the only reason I wound up on stage with them, if that's what you noticed."

A dog barking is a distraction and Kyle's eyes roam the park for a moment. Time was passing quickly, even though he was really summarizing everything. There were so many details he'd left out... he'd left almost all emotion out of everything he'd said, never talking about how he felt. It was just facts. But he knew Alice wouldn't want to be here all day.

His hands in his pockets, he shakes his head a little. "I don't know what you want the conclusion of this one story to be, but I don't know what the future looks like, Alice. You may think my transition between bands was fascinating, but not everybody shares that interest."

Though he tries to hide it, it's obvious by his eyes that there had been a lot more downs than ups lately, whether in the band, or just for him personally. He can feel his tone getting sharp, and makes an effort to soften it out again. His growling stomach gives him the humorous outlet he needs, and he gives a little laugh.

"Guess my stomach doesn't share much interest either." He cocks his head. "Did I answer all your questions?"


Axel's eyes narrow, though there is a humorous glint as he stares at Jess after her statement that she didn't remember where they'd been. "Liar," he accuses. But a knowing grin breaks through. He would respect any time that Jess withdrew. His was not to push, but to wait and watch the bloom.

"Thanks for ordering." He nods. "I like just about anything, so that's great."


"How we doing back there?"

Luke looks up the aisle to where Gunner was looking back from the pilot's cabin. "We're alright."

Jeff glances to his friend who was trying to stretch out in the small plane. "What's it looking like, Gunner?"

"Making good time. We'll get ya there, don't worry."