Our Song

Two Teen Agers

A/N: Paul's thoughts are bold.
Art's thoughts are italic.

High school, it sure does feel like time flies. Paul and Art were great friends now, they are borderline outcasts, but they had each other, and that counted the most. They were at the top of their classes.

Paul picked up playing the guitar. At thirteen the two began singing together. Art got a little recorder as a gift from his father. They used the recorder to record the songs they would write. They would go down in Art's basement with his brothers and just have fun. They even copyrighted their first song, "The girl for me."

They developed a way they would harmonize. They would sit down on the floor, their faces only inches apart. They would study each other's words carefully, watching how they say certain words or letters. It worked.

They created a doo-wop group with their three other friends called the Peptones. They performed at school dances. Let's just say it didn't work out too well, and the two were back to harmonizing together, alone.

Now, they were trying at a chance to become famous. They wanted everyone to hear their voices. They really thought they had a chance.

"I'm so excited!" Paul said getting into the car.

"You think we can make it, I mean we are just teenagers," Art shrugged.

"Well, it depends, and it is a plus that we are teenagers. You know, with the ladies," Paul uttered.

Art just laughed, "You think we will be hot with the ladies?"

"Yeah," Paul laughed along with him.

They arrived with their parents at Big Records. It was really happening, they were going to be signed to a record company.

"We need a catchy name, nobody wants to listen to a couple of guys named Paul and Artie," Paul suggested.

"Good idea...Hey, I've got an idea. How about Tom and Jerry?" The man at Big Records said.

"Like the cartoon characters-"

"Sounds great!" Paul interrupted Art mid-sentence. Art sent him a quick glare.

"How about surnames?" He asked.

"Hmm," Paul thought for a moment. "Hey, I think Landis would be cool. It's after my girlfriend."

Art thought a little longer about it, "How about Graph since I love graphs and all that."

"Sounds great, now I just need to talk with your parents, and we will get you signed.

It was set in stone, they were gonna become stars. Well, they hoped to. They thought their song, "Hey Schoolgirl," would be a big hit, which it was. It sold 100,000 copies and hit 49 on the charts.

No surprise, Paul, and Art were ecstatic. They even appeared on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. They performed at sock hops and school dances.

Sadly, their luck ran out. Paul and Art attempted to create another song that would blow up like "Hey Schoolgirl," but that song never flourished.

College was inching near anyway. If they couldn't be famous, then they could be smart at least that is how Art took it. Paul interpreted it as a minor setback.

Then there was something that had begun to follow Paul. He never caught sight of it, he never even really knew. He could feel the weight of the past falling on his shoulders, but he never quite understood what the feeling was.

Anyway, Art felt betrayed. Not because he did not succeed, no it was because Paul made an album without his knowledge under the name True Taylor.

It took a real blow to my heart.

They would play together from time to time, sometimes at a small sock hop or some kind of small venues. They still had fun. They were always smiling on stage.

There was still the friction that Art accidentally created. Paul had no idea, he thought it was something else. He didn't want to upset Art, so he just pushed it aside.

"This is our last hoorah Artie, or should I say, Tom," Paul joked around to lighten the mood.

Art cracked a little smile," Yep, Jerry."

Paul grabbed his guitar off of its stand in the back of the room. They adjusted their red suits before making it on stage.

Of course, they had to play their hit, well their only hit "Hey Schoolgirl," that's what they were most known for anyway.

Let's do this.

The last hoorah...

The curtains fell and there the two, now seventeen-year-olds were standing there. Paul started the first chord, and they were getting in the grove.

As a kid, I knew I could sing. When I met Paul, I knew I could groove.

Art smiled the whole way through, this really was it.

They played some of their songs like "Our Song," and "Dancing Wild." They also played some of their favorite Everly Brothers hits.

The crowd was small, lots of teenage girls. What did they expect, they thought they had reached the top of the world. It fell so quickly, their names were now obscure. The record company didn't want to deal with it anymore.

Why didn't we make it?

Questions flew through both of their minds. It all came down to one thing, they were one-hit wonders and Art thought it would stay that way, but Paul never gave up.

He remained as Jerry Landis, he couldn't find the courage to use his real name ever. He bounced on different names from time to time.

Paul tried to become a pop mastermind, he really did, but his love songs were starting to feel tired and worn. It was the same thing over and over with no change.

That's how it stayed through college. Art and Paul kept in touch from time to time, but neither of them really tried that hard to retain a relationship.

They went to two different colleges. Art went to Columbia College where he was going to study Architecture and Paul went to Queen's college to study English.

It was sad. Paul and Art had one huge fight, and that was it; they stopped talking to each other entirely. No word was spoken.

Art went back to just studying, he shut down like he did in high school.

Maybe it was just by default.

Paul still hung around, did his studies, and strummed his guitar. He would go to parties, he was an outgoing guy. He shared his humor with his friends.

They were two totally different people, but that brought them together. It also pulled them apart.