The Tuners

Chapter 8: Getting Closer (Part 2)

[This chapter includes some slight Carter angst.]
Just as Carter was staring at her, Maya's voice was then heard. "What are you guys doing?" she said scaring Carter and Sicily. "Maya, don't scare us like that!" Carter said as his face turned red in the face before turning to face Sicily, "Sorry about that Sicily." he said as he turned to face Sicily, who was also blushing a deep red. "It's alright." she said. "So what were you guys doing behind that sign?" Ryan asked. "Trying to hide from fans." Carter said. "I see. I thought you two were going to kiss or something." Maya said to Carter, "W-What?" he asked blushing even more red. "Y-Yeah. That's completely ridiculous." Sicily said embarrassed. "If you say so." Ryan said. "Hey Ryan, can you text the others to meet up at the fountain?" Carter asked his band mate, "Sure thing man." he said as he texted the others. A few minutes later, the four teenagers arrived at the fountain, where they saw Michael and Seth arguing. "I'm telling you Seth. You'll never get me to listen to that stupid dubstep music. It gives me a headache." Michael said as Carter, Sicily, Ryan, and Maya got closer to the group. "Stupid? It's not stupid!" Seth retaliated. "What's going on Sara?" Sicily asked the blonde, "Seth wanted to show Michael this dubstep song that he recently heard." she said. "Oh brother." Sicily said as she facepalmed before walking up to her brother before pulling on his ear, "Knock it off, Seth!" she said. "Ow! Geez Sici!" Seth said. "Both of you need to act your age." Sicily said scolding the two boys, "Yes Sicily." they said apologetically. "Now then. If all of us are here, what did you want to show us Carter?" Sara asked. "Oh yeah. So when Sicily and I were walking around, we saw this poster for a music competition." Carter said. "A music competition?" Henry asked. "Yeah. I was actually thinking that we do it. I mean, wouldn't it be cool to perform in front of the whole city?" Carter asked. "Well, it does sound like a good idea." Seth said before turning to his girlfriend, "What do you think Sara? Can we do it?" he asked her. "I don't know, Seth. I'm fine with singing in front of the whole school, but the whole city is completely different." Sara said. "Oh come on Sara, please?" Carter asked with a pleading face. "Not you too Carter." Sara said before she saw Maya doing the same thing, "*sigh* Fine. I suppose we could give it a try." she said feeling defeated. The rest of the music club then cheered. After another hour of shopping, the music club walk out of the mall. "So you guys want to head over to my house?" Carter asked. "Yeah sure. We can take my van." Ryan said. "Alright. So, where's your van?" Carter asked. "It's right over there." Ryan said as he pointed to a red van with a logo that says "Hunter's Den" written in black with a white outline. "Hunter's Den?" Carter asked Ryan. "Yeah. It was my dad's old work van before he got a new one." Ryan said. After loading into the van, the music club took off. About an hour later, they turn onto a street from the highway, "So you said your house is this way Carter?" Ryan asked his bandmate, "Yep. Then just turn right at Harriet Street and it's the first house on the left." Carter said. "Alright." Ryan said as he turned right and stopped at Carter's house. "So this is your place?" Henry asked as he and the others exited the van. "Yeah. Not what you expect, huh?" Carter said as he and the others walked up to the front door before Carter took out his key and unlocked it. "Mom, I'm home!" Carter said as he and the others walked into the house. "Hey kiddo. How was your time at the mall?" Carter's mom asked as she walked in from the kitchen. "It was amazing. Oh, these are my friends from the music club at school." Carter said before introducing the others, "This is Maya Calestro, Ryan Sirius, Michael Serci, Henry Forester, and-." he said before his mother cut him off at Sara and Seth. "Sara Mackenzie and Seth Farland? It's great to see you two again." she said. "Pleasure to see you again as well Amanda." Sara said. "Yeah I agree." Seth said shortly after. "And who is this lady?" Amanda asked as she looked at Sicily. "This is Seth's sister, Sicily." Carter said introducing Sicily to his mother. "Nice to meet you, Miss McAlister." Sicily said. "Oh please, call me Amanda." Amanda said. "Well, alright then." Sicily said. "Well, we'll be up in my room if you need us Mom." Carter said to his mom,"Alright. I'll be ordering pizza for dinner tonight if anyone is interested." she said in response. "Sweet! Thanks." Carter said as he and the others walked up the stairs to Carter's room. When they went into his room, they looked around for places to sit. As Sicily was looking around, she saw a photo of a younger version of Carter with a man with blonde hair, brown eyes, and wore a black leather jacket. "Hey Carter, who's this in the picture?" she asked. "Oh, that's a picture of me with my dad." Carter said after turning around to face Sicily. "Woah. You look kind of like him." Henry said. "Yeah. A lot of his friends say I do." Carter said as he sat down on his bed. "So, what's your dad like?" Ryan asked. "Well, he was a pretty laidback guy but cared so much about his family. He was actually the one who got me into music." Carter said in a sad tone. "Really? That's cool. Did he ever play in a band?" Henry asked. "No. He would play at family gatherings. He also used to help me with my vocal practices. In fact, he wasn't just my dad. He was my best friend." Carter said. "Carter, why do you keep saying past tense stuff?" Maya asked. "Ah, well. It's kind of personal." Carter said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, you can always tell us." Seth said. "...My dad died." Carter said shocking the others. "What? How'd he die?" Sicily asked. "He died in a car accident with a drunk driver. He was pronounced dead at the scene." Carter said as he started to shake, "That picture was taken the day before he died." he then said as a tear fell from his face. "Carter." Sicily said as her eyes became watery. "And you know what made it worse?" Carter asked as more tears fell from his eyes, "He died...on my 7th birthday." he then said, causing the others to gasp. "That day was honestly the worst day of my life. Because I not only lost my dad, I lost my best friend." Carter said before Sicily got up from her spot and hugged Carter. "S-Sicily?" Carter said. "Carter. I am so sorry for what you had to endure when your father died. If you ever need a shoulder to lean on, know that we will be there for you." Sicily said as Carter felt drops of water hit his shoulder. Carter then wrapped his arms around Sicily's waist as he began to cry harder into Sicily's shoulder. The rest of the music club then joined in the hug, including Michael. After a few minutes, Carter was able to calm down. "Are you feeling any better?" Sicily asked as she wiped a tear from Carter's eye. "Yeah. Thanks again guys. I'm really glad to be a part of this club." Carter said. "And we are very grateful for you to be part of this club as well Carter." Sara said. "Alright everyone! Pizza's here!" Carter's mom said from downstairs. "Coming Mom!" Carter said before turning to face the others, "You guys can go ahead. I just need to regain my composure for a bit." he said. "Okay bro. Take all the time you need." Henry said as he, Ryan, Seth, Maya, Sara, and Michael left the room. "But don't expect us to start eating without you." Seth teased. "Very funny." Carter said before turning to see Sicily was still in his room, "Sicily? Why didn't you go with the others?" he asked her. "I just thought that you would have wanted some company." Sicily said as she rubbed her arm. "Thanks. I really appreciate it." Carter said as Sicily joined him on his bed. "You know, I was in a similar situation when I was little." Sicily said. "Really?" Carter asked. "Yeah, except I lost my mom." Sicily said. "I see. How did you lose her?" Carter asked. "She died from cancer when I was six." Sicily responded. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Carter said to Sicily, "It's fine." she said. "So, how did you cope with your loss?" Carter asked. "Well, I I never really got over losing my mom. But I always told myself that she's always with me in my heart and my memories." Sicily said. "I see. I'll remember that when I think about my dad." Carter said. "So are you ready to head down?" Sicily asked as she got up from the bed. "Yeah." Carter said getting up. The two then left the bedroom to meet up with the others downstairs.