That Thing You Do! (Multiband Fan Fic)

Chapter 3 - An Idea

Katie's P.O.V

Stevie was a bit of a handful on first impressions, but we've talked a lot, in the three hours I have been here, and he's great. I called home, an hour ago, and Joe was glad I was having fun.
Stevie has grown up an outcast. He loves learning, so his school grades were A's and A+'s, but the kids thought he was a nerd, so didn't talk to him. He tried to fit in, picking up weed, but it didn't work. He liked how weed made him feel, so he's kept it up, making him talk slower and look tired all the time, but he's perfectly fine, other than that.
He doesn't have any friends, so he stays home all day, every day, playing music, learning, educating himself, reading, and playing instruments.

I almost feel bad, but Stevie is very happy. He's an only child and his parents love him. They bought him the minibus, two years ago, on his birthday. The neighbours don't really like Stevie, but he's very happy with who he is. The world needs people like him.

Vivian got home half an hour ago, so I've been catching up with her, in the kitchen, but Stevie stayed upstairs, wanting to finish listening to Queen. They were his favourite band, T. Rex only ranking #2 on his list.
I think he's agreed to start a band with me, but I want to talk to him more, plus I've got all week here, so there's time. 

Gabriel came home, just in time for dinner. I never asked what it was they did for a living, but everyone seemed happy, so I just ignored it.
Stevie came down for dinner, where we all ate together, catching up on the old days. It was actually Viv and Gabriel telling me stories about my dad, which I loved to hear!

After dinner, Stevie took me into the garage, where a proper drumkit lay waiting. There were amps around the room, with a keyboard in the back. Concert posters littered the walls, and Stevie told me this was his personal room. Vivian and Gabriel never entered, allowing Stevie to do what he wanted with the space. It was perfect. All the posters were of the bands he had seen live. He even had old ticket stubs hanging around.

"I have an idea. I want to start a band and try make it." I started, as we sat on some camping chairs Stevie had temporarily, wanting to have a small couch. "I want to play guitar, and I want you to be in the band, with me. You can play whatever you want! We'll write our own songs, even though I'm shit at it, we'll be payed equally, credits to the band, not an individual, like Queen, and we'll never play a bad note."
"Whoa... That soun's fun. So, you can really play, huh?" Stevie asked me, thinking about it.
"Yeah. I've played 'Dream On', with Aerosmith live, before." I smiled.
Stevie nodded. "What would we do, though? We can't just be a duo..." Stevie shrugged, not liking the idea of us being some duo. "Look wha' happened to Wham..."
"Nah, man. We'll find people, like you said. Boston is an amazing place, full of talented people. We can look there and you can stay at my house, for as long as it takes." I smiled.
"Thanks, buh... Won't Joe and Billie be... I don' know. Would they be OK with it?" Stevie ruffled his hair up.
"They'll be fine with it. They're really chill about everything! Only a couple of house rules. Stevie, I know you don't want to be living here, for the rest of your life. We have an opportunity to do something incredible and I want to take it." I smiled. "And I know you do to..."

Stevie looked at his drumkit, thinking. 
Suddenly, the sound of Aerosmith's 'Dream On' came from the living room. It sounded live, so maybe there was a concert on TV, or something? It was on the second chorus and Stevie was listening.
"Think we stand a chance?" He asked, quietly.
"Yeah, I do. I have all faith you know how to play. I have all faith in you." I smiled.
Stevie smiled, as Steven Tyler was heard building up to the scream.
"We could do that..." Stevie whispered. "I'm in!" He looked at me.
"Perfect! This week we'll work on some stuff, names, our sound, what we want in musicians. We'll go through our image, and we'll head to Boston on the weekend." I smiled.
"I can drive us! We can make a road trip out of it!" Stevie smiled.
"YES!" I cheered.

. . .

That week flew by. Viv and Gabe were happy for us to go. We packed the minibus, with my guitar, my cassettes, Stevie's favourite vinyl records, our suitcases, Stevie's drumkit. We even placed a spare double mattress on the floor, in the back, so our valuables wouldn't get damaged. 
I rung Joe, before we left, telling him we were on our way home.

We said 'bye' to Viv and Gabe, and we set off. I couldn't drive, but Stevie loved driving, so I left it to him. He wasn't high, and he never smoked, when he knew he was going to drive, so our trip was looking pretty straight forward.

"Wan' t' do somethin' fun?" Stevie asked, as we stopped to fill up his van with petrol. We were both British, so we used the British terms. You can't spell 'colour' without the 'U'. It wasn't right!
I climbed out the van with him, asking what he had in mind.
"We could take a road trip. Sleep in the van, go to yours at a later date." Stevie shrugged, grabbing the pump.
"Maybe... Where you wanna go?" I asked, leaning back on the minibus.
"I dunno... Jus' drive and see where we end up!" Stevie cheered.
"OK.... We can take a week, don't see why not. I'll ring Joe." I smiled, walking over to a pay phone. My phone was in my suitcase front pocket, and I couldn't be bothered getting it. I didn't care, as mentally I was living in the 80s. I never had a phone, until after mum died. It was all based on trust, but then suddenly I was in a city, with no friends, and only Joe, so it was better to be safe, than sorry.

I rung Joe and told him the plan, he was reluctant, but I convinced him Stevie knew where we were headed, he just wanted to surprise me. I think he bought it.
I climbed back in the van, as Stevie paid and bought snacks and sandwiches. I put a cassette in the player, as this van was so old, and we were off, jamming to Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'.