In Drummer Heaven

Music Video Part 6: Chicago

"I thought you were from Alabama." Tommy says as we step into the elevator with Dani.

"I am." She says kinda confused.

"Not according to your shirt." My boyfriend motions to her Georgia Bulldogs shirt.

"We like Georgia." She says simply. "It's Darcy's sport teams that confuse me."

"How so?" I wonder and she laughs.

"Yankees baseball cap, Blackhawks sweater, what's your football team?" Dani asks with a laugh and I shrug.

"I like the Giants and the Bears." I say and she rolls her eyes.

"Basketball?" She asks.

"Bulls and Knicks." I answer and she looks at me. "What? I've lived in both places, you've only lived in Alabama and you like Georgia Bulldogs."

"Oh, fight me." She grumbles.

"Maybe I will." I grumble back and she laughs.

"You're such an asshole." Dani laughs and I grin.

"Damn proud of it too." I say and Tommy laughs.

"You have an odd friendship." He comments.

"Yours and Nikki's is any better?" She wonders.

"Nikki and I have a great friendship." Tommy states.

"Oh whatever." Dani laughs as we make it to the lobby.

Rose and Jadie are sitting with the director. The only reason we're filming in Chicago is because there's no part filmed of me with my family. I have my cousin Amy here and she agreed to film this and I know she won't back out.

Amy is the realist person I've ever met. She is the closest thing I've ever had to a family and she's like the cool family that people only have in movies. Amy is ten years older than me and the coolest person I've ever met. She's zany and rebellious, she's the reason I started dying my hair bright red and the reason I moved to Los Angeles.

"Promise me you'll finish high school?" She had asked me.

"I swear to you, Am." I told me.

"Promise me that you'll take care of yourself?" Amy asked me.

"I've been cooking and working since I was fourteen." I said and she glared at me. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Promise me that you'll come back here big, famous, and successful?" Amy smirked and I laugh.

"Oh honey, you know I can promise that!" I assured her and she laughed.

"This is an early sweet sixteen present." Amy said and handed me the one way bus ticket to Los Angeles. "Good luck, girlie."

I left everything in Chicago, I had a good life. I was off any drugs I was on from New York, for once in my life I was getting good grades, I had friends, hell, I had a boyfriend (that took the break up great by the way [note the sarcasm]). I left it all to chase my dreams and it worked out.

I guess I'm lucky.

We drive over to my cousin's house that's right in the heart of Chicago. I walk up the stairs to the front door with Tommy and the band in toe. I ring the doorbell and within a minute the door gets opened.

A small girl with red hair open the door. She looks absolutely six and she studies all of us. Amy didn't move because her shitty old VW van is sitting in the driveway. Her eyes grow and she stumbles back.

"Mommy!" She yells and slams the door.

The door opens again and my ginger cousin open the door. She looks at me and her grin crosses her face. Amy nearly jumps out the door and hugs me tightly.

"You kept your promise." She says in my ear.

"I told you I would, dumbass." I say and she pulls back. "Seems like you've been spending some time on your back. I mean you got a kid."

"I got two." Amy says and I laugh.

"Whore." I laugh and she looks at who I'm with.

"Look come in." She says and pull me inside.

We all walk into the kitchen and sit down around the kitchen table. Amy walks downstairs with the girl that's about five or six and another little girl with red hair who looks about four. They both have red hair like Amy but brown eyes.

"This is your Aunt Darcy." Amy tells the girls.

"I'd be their second cousin, Am." I say.

"Shut up, these are your nieces." She tells me. "Jenny is the older old, Marley is the younger one. They're six and four."

"Well, this is my boyfriend Tommy and my band. The blonde is Rose, the brunette is Dani, and the one with black hair is Jadie." I introduce.

Tommy

For the finish time I get to see Darcy interact with her blood family. They all have red hair and now I notice that my girlfriend turns into an overgrown child when she's around kids. It's really cute to watch actually.

While they film I look around at the pictures hanging on the walls. One stands out in particular. Darcy looks about fifteen and she's standing behind the boards at a hockey arena. She wears a Blackhawks jersey and her red hair is the same colour as the jersey. My girlfriend looks hot but there's something wrong....the hockey player she's making out with.I look around at other pictures and see Darcy with the hockey player she's kissing and two other guys.

It looks like they were best friends, all four of them. Like I get it, it's impossible for me to be Darcy's only boyfriend but why did Amy keep these pictures up? Maybe they were the most resent pictures that Amy had of Darcy? Yeah, that's it.

Darcy's arms coming around my shoulder pulled me away from my thoughts. She kisses my cheek and I smile. I love this girl so very much.

"You know I love you, right?" She asks and my smile broadens.

"Yeah, I did." I promise her.

"Do you think we have to go straight to sound check? Do you think they'd care if we were a little late?" Darcy wonders.

"Why?" I wonder.

"There's something I want to show you." She admits.

"Yeah, I don't think they'll care." I tell her and she smiles.

"Great." Darcy says and kisses my cheek again.

I'm curious and scared but I trust Darcy.