Rock Starz

11| Lake house

"So if I understand correctly, you four were a band called Funkey Monkeyz before he joined." The five band members were all sitting on fancy chairs in front of Mr. Blackwood's desk. Nathan nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah, and then we became Rock Starz." Blackwood laughed."Well, not quite yet. Not until I sign a record deal with you." Nathan's smile dropped a bit. He cleared his throat and nodded again.
"Yes, of course." Nathan then said a little softer and more subdued.
"Mr. Blackwood, as the lead singer I hope you will give me and my band members a chance. I have the desire to play in a band with my friends, not with colleagues. These guys deserve a record label like no other." Nathan looked at James in shock. He knew he was a prince but he had not expected him to actually know anything about business.
"You're not begging, are you James?" Blackwood asked amusingly.
"No, sir. I'm just asking you nicely." Blackwood grinned and leaned forward in his chair. He folded his hands together on his desk and looked at each band member one by one.
"Let's make this a deal. You'll have two months to write an album. The songs I Wanna F You and Rock Star (through it) included. At least twelve songs in total." Nathan was overwhelmed by the opportunity he had been given.Isaiah's eyes widened.
"Twelve songs? In two months?!" he shouted indignantly. Blackwood looked at Isaiah with a smile.
"Too much time for you?" Isaiah leaned forward and opened his mouth but Devon pushed him back into his chair.
"Just enough, thank you." Blackwood nodded with satisfaction and Devon looked at Isaiah intently.
"Leave it." He said through his teeth.
"Okay, I'll see you guys in two months with demos, and if that sounds okay then you can record them in a studio and then we'll see." He stood up and the Rock Starz did the same.

"Twelve songs in two months?! Do you have any idea how impossible that is? To write twelve, decent songs." Isaiah yelled in frustration.
"Wow relax, buddy. We're all helping. It's as easy as that." Devon said, putting his arm around Isaiah.
"My parents have a lake house, and we can stay there for two months." James said nonchalantly. Nathan looked at him in shock.
"You can stay there for two whole months? Just like that?" Devon asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I mean, it's a good place to make music without being interrupted and to get to know each other better." James said simply. Nathan sighed.
"You expect me to take two months off? Off of, like, everything?!" He asked and James remained silent for a moment.
"Well I've had nothing to do since I moved in with Isaiah, so I'm fine with it." Devon said. Isaiah looked from Devon to James.
"Yeah, fine. Why not? It will be like a vacation right?" He said then, trying to leave his familiar little apartment behind.
"Is that lake house close to town?" Lynx asked then.
"No, it's kind of in the middle of nowhere by a lake, in nature." Lynx nodded in satisfaction.
"That sounds like a good place to switch off our thoughts and focus on our inner feelings and struggles." Devon nodded soberly.
"A bit like where Hitler wrote Mein Kampf?" He asked with a grin on his face, trying to change Lynx's view of the destination.
"You can say whatever you want about Hitler, but he was passionate." Nathan laughed uncomfortably.
"Okay, great that you're all free to go whereabouts you like, but I really don't want to lose my job." James put his arm around Nathan.
"Nathan, if this works out, this is your new job." Nathan thought about the situation for a moment. And James was right.
"Okay, so I'll quit then." Nathan said with a heavy heart even though he hated his job. He had been saving up for that new guitar for so long...

"Wow," Nathan said as he stared at the huge house in front of him.
"Tell me why I forgot that your parents are the king and queen?" James laughed as he waved at the fancy black car as it drove away.
"I don't know, maybe I'm just getting really good at being normal." He winked at Nathan and Nathan chuckled as he walked towards the door with his guitar case and amplifier.
"Looks like we're going to have to walk a few times." After about three times of walking up and down with all their stuff, James and Nathan stood in the foyer of the huge lake house. Nathan looked up at the high ceiling with his mouth open.
"It's cold in here." He mumbled.
"There's no heat in here either." Nathan's eyes flew open.
"What?! It's February and you thought it would be a good idea to just be here for two months?!" James laughed as he walked down the hall.
"There's just a fireplace." They arrived in the living room where the fireplace was located near a couple of couches.
"No telly?" James shook his head. As Nathan walked through the living room, James looked at the food in the kitchen.
"James?"
"Yeah?" Nathan saw a picture frame on the fireplace mantle and grabbed it with a small smile on his face. It was a picture of James with his brother and father. They were laughing on a beautiful green lawn.
"What's up?" Nathan showed the picture to James.
"Oh, right." James took the picture from Nathan.
"Do you think they would notice?" Nathan shrugged.
"You can never be too careful, right?" James nodded and the two walked around the house looking for more clues that might blow James's cover.
Eventually, Nathan found himself in a bedroom that might have belonged to James. He was stunned for a moment by how beautiful and fancy the room was. The curtains were dark blue velvet. And there were stars painted all over the ceiling.
"Nathan?" Nathan jumped when he heard his name.
"Nathan?" James opened the door and saw his bandmate standing in his old room.
"Do you sleep here?" Nathan nodded slowly.
"Yeah, I mean, if you're okay with that." James grinned.
"Fine by me, I'll sleep in the master bedroom." Nathan laughed.
"Of course you do." Nathan followed James into his parents' enormous bedroom. James took a running start and then jumped into the giant bed.
"You know what they say, right? A king-size bed isn't a king-size bed until a king has slept in it." Nathan chuckled as he stood still in the doorway.
"Who even says that?" James looked at Nathan from the bed and thought for a moment.
"Nobody. Well, me. And now it's a prince-size bed." Nathan laughed.
"Hello?! James?! Nathan?!?" Voices came shouting from downstairs and Nathan walked towards James's bed.
"Looks like our friends are already lost in this place. You coming?" James stayed down and threw his arm up. Nathan grabbed him and tried to pull him up. James had other plans and he pulled Nathan hard so that he landed on top of him. Nathan surrendered and laid down next to James.
"I have to say, this bed feels amazing." James lay down on his side and looked deeply into Nathan's eyes.
"Now we're the king and queen." Nathan laughed, then his gaze turned serious.
"Do you think your parents fucked in this?" He asked with a frown. James thought about it.
"No doubt." Nathan's eyes widened.
"Just kidding, those two had a bad marriage before they were even married." Nathan thought about it for a moment.
"Oi! Nathan?!?" Came from downstairs again. Nathan stood up from the bed and turned to James.
"Are you coming?" James looked at Nathan with a smile from his position in the enormous bed.
"Yes." Nathan held out his hand with which James pulled himself up this time.The two boys came downstairs laughing where they saw the rest of the band standing. They all looked around the living room in amazement.
"Wow, this house has a grand piano." Lynx ran his fingers over the hood of.
"So, look, when you said you had a lake house, we didn't really expect this." Isaiah said, indicating how big the house was.
"What did you expect?" James asked quietly. Nathan nudged him.
"That it would be a whole lot smaller.' Devon said matter-of-factually. James nodded when he realised that it wasn't so normal for everyone to have such a huge house to go to whenever they'd like.
"Oh, right." James laughed uncomfortably.
"We didn't know your parents were like, rich, or something." Isaiah explained further.
Suddenly, a note sounded on the piano. The whole group turned around when they heard the sound. They saw Lynx sitting behind the piano with his hands on the keys. He looked at the boys in shock.
"Oh sorry, is it just for show?" James smiled at Lynx.
"No, you can play if you want to play. That old thing won't get used anyway." Lynx smiled broadly and started on a tune he had once composed himself. Nathan bobbed his head calmly to the melody.
"You know, that sounds like the right rhythm I have for a certain lyric." Nathan came to stand by Lynx while James turned to Isaiah and Devon.
"You can go pick a room." He said with a welcoming smile. Isaiah walked towards the stairs with his suitcase and backpack.
"Come on Dev, let's go test some beds."