“Where are we?” Kevin asked as we stepped off the tour bus in the parking lot of the next arena we were at for the newest stop on the Burnin’ Up tour.

“Wait - don’t tell me. I know this.” Joe said, tapping his chin and looking around.

“Hartford, Connecticut.” I said before he could answer. He threw me a look and I just smiled.

“You never let me have anything.” He grinned, putting his arm around my neck and pulling me down.

“Ah, Joe!” I laughed. “Stop!”

“Alright guys, let’s go. We have a lot to do so we better get started.” Mr. Jonas said, pulling on his sunglasses against the bright glare from the sun blazing down on us.

We had only been walking for about ten seconds, and then Joe spoke. “I smell food.” He said, his eyes darting over to a small barbeque with about thirty people hanging around over next to the arena in the parking lot.

“Oh yeah, some radio station contest winners are hanging out there before the show.” Kevin chimed in. “We were invited, and I thought we would try to stop by if we had time.”

Joe looked down at his watch. “I’m doing nothing better, I say we head over.” He said, taking off towards the group of people. I laughed and followed. There was a small booth set up where 96.5 TIC was broadcasting live, playing Control by Metro Station as people sat around eating, talking and dancing. Off to the side I saw two girls sitting with a bag of chips in front of them as they talked among themselves.

“Hey, that’s Liz and Mae!” I said excitedly.

“Who?” Nick asked, looking over at me.

“The two girls that saved my life the other night.” I smiled. “Come on, we have to go over and say hi!” I said, stepping under the rope that was blocking off the area of people and picnic tables. Hurrying over I slid down into the seat beside Liz. “Hey!” I said brightly. She turned and looked at me.

“Lyric? Wow, hey!” She laughed.

“Liz. Oh my goodness.” Mae choked out, looking over her friend’s shoulder.

“What?” Liz asked, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. Joe suddenly slid into the seat beside Mae, Kevin beside him and Nick sat down on the other side of Liz.

“Hi.” Joe smiled, reaching into the bag of chips and taking a few out before popping them in his mouth.

“You’re joking.” Liz said, looking at Nick and smiling - her eyes wide. “Lyric I love you.”

“I don’t.” Joe said, making a face at me. I threw him a look and he just cracked a smile.

“I figured I could pay you guys back somehow, but I’m not sure how yet. So I figured meeting the guys would have to do for now.” I shrugged.

“Uh, yeah. I think we’re good.” Mae said with a shaky laugh.

“Come on,” I laughed, standing up. “Nobody’s dancing, I think we should change that.”

“Woah, I feel just like we’re taking control of the night, of the night. Yeah, yeah whoa I feel like we’re losing control of the night. If you let go, I’ll let go tonight.” Trace Cyrus’s voice blared over the speakers as we all started dancing.

“I’ll need everyone to take their seats please,” The radio station DJ said after the song had ended. The boys were slowly starting to be swarmed by the other fans that had seen them - but slowly made their way to a seat. “Thanks. Now’s the time to draw our winner’s for the front row seats to tonight’s show.” He said, sticking in his hand in a small bucket full of small slips of paper.

“Ugh, we’re not gonna win.” Liz said, making a frown as she covered her eyes - afraid to look.

“Awh who says?” Nick said, elbowing her side and grinning.

“We already won tickets to this thing, never mind being two for two-” Mae started, but she was interrupted by the man’s voice.

“Donna!” He shouted.

“Donna? Oh my - that’s my mom’s name. Wait - that means - we won! We won!” She said, her face going pale as she slapped her hands to her forehead.

I laughed, pulling her arms. “Come on, you have to go get the tickets!” I said, shaking my head. Mae grinned at us and jogged up, taking them from the DJ.

“Congrats.” He said with a smile. She just shakily nodded before walking back over to us. Liz jumped up and they both squealed, their hands over their mouths in disbelief.

“Boys - we need to get going!” Mrs. Jonas said, waving us over. They all stood up, taking a few pictures with Liz and Mae and then headed over towards the small entrance on their way out.

“You coming, Ly?” Joe asked, turning around to look at me. I nodded, but then looked back over at Liz and Mae.

“You guys want to hang for sound check?” I offered.

“Do we even need to respond!” Mae shouted. Liz laughed and put her finger to her lips, showing her to quiet down so nobody else heard.

“Cool, come on.” I smiled, gesturing for them to follow us. “So, can I do sound check again today?” I asked hopefully, jumping on Joe’s back as he gave me a piggy back to the arena as we all walked.

“I don’t see why not.” He smiled at me. “Dad?”

“Sure thing, I’d love to hear that song again too.” Mr. Jonas said with a smile and a nod.

“What song?” Liz asked excitedly. “Are you performing tonight too?”

I laughed, sliding off Joe’s back. “I wish. No, I usually do sound check for Demi when she’s off at meet and greets or whatever. So I do my new song called I’m gone, I’m going.” I shrugged.

“Ah! I wanna hear!” Mae said as we walked down the lawn and into the aisles of the arena.

“I’m pretty sure you’ll get the chance.” I grinned.

“Dude, can you believe that we went for those seats right there -” Liz said, pointing to one of the last rows in the arena then swung her hand towards the front of the stage. “To the front of the whole place?”

“It’s so crazy.” Mae said, running her hand through her chestnut brown hair. “And here we are, walking into sound check with Lyric Carrington and the Jonas Brothers themselves.”

“Life is good, girl. Life is good.” Liz grinned at her friend. I couldn’t help but smile. I wished I knew what it was like to have a good friend like that. But after hanging around with them for the past few hours, I think I was starting to learn.

- about twenty minutes later -

“So here I go. I’m gone. I’m going…” I sang into the microphone to the nonexistent audience as the strobe lights flashed all over. It was such a rush, even though there were only eight people watching. The Jonas family, Liz and Mae. Joe had helped me write this song, and I had taken a strong liking to it. Once I was finished, I got a small round of applause from my mini audience.

“Thank you, thank you.” I laughed, hopping down off the stage. “It’s all yours.” I said, clapping Joe on the back. He just smiled and rolled his eyes, hoisting himself up onto the small catwalk.

“Most people use stairs.” Kevin said, walking from the left hand side of the stage over to where the guitars were to grab his white les Paul.

“Yeah, cause Joe’s just like most people.” Nick grinned. Joe threw him a look.

“Do you guys want to hang around and watch the whole thing? Or we could head backstage and look for Demi.” I suggested.

“Let’s go find Demi,” Mae said excitedly. “I mean, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah,” I laughed. “It’s totally fine. Come on.” I smiled, quietly walking up the side of the stage so I didn’t distract the guys even though it was near impossible with all the loud noise they were creating.

“So this is backstage…” Mae said, looking around.

“It’s not as glamorous as you would think.” I laughed, looking around at the craft tables, random microphone stands, clothing racks, crates and lighting and sound booths. “Let’s head back to the dressing rooms.” I said as we turned a corner and walked down a long hallway of doors. I stopped at room 12 and knocked on the door twice.

“Who is it?” Came Demi’s voice from inside.

“Lyric.” I said, waiting.

There was a sound of feet moving and a loud crash, and Demi appeared at the door. “Oh, hey!” She laughed, brushing the hair out of her eyes. “What’s up?” She asked, seeing the two unfamiliar faces behind me.

“Oh, this is Mae and Liz.” I said with a smile and a nod. “They’re the ones that helped me out a few days back and they kind of wanted to meet you.”

“Seriously? That’s so awesome.” Demi smiled, letting them in. “Be warned, it’s not very clean.” She laughed. It was the truth, there were clothes scattered everywhere and a few sugar free red bulls sitting on the counter of the vanity - which was loaded with makeup, hairbrushes and a hot pink hair straightener.

“Wow, Dem.” I said with a small laugh. “So do you know if the guys are playing wiffle ball before the show?” I asked, plopping down on her couch.

“Woah, wait. You mean they really do play wiffle ball from the stage?” Liz asked with a smile. “I thought that was a rumor.”

“Oh no,” Demi said with a laugh. “We usually have fans coming up to us after the shows with numerous wiffle balls that they found in their seats. It’s kind of funny, actually.”

Suddenly there was the sound of yelling and all three Jonas boys burst into the room all at once. I rolled my eyes as they fell over each other squeezing through the doorway and landed in a pile on the floor.

“Can we help you?” I asked, lifting my foot so I wasn’t stepping on Nick’s tie.

“Wiffle ball!” Kevin said simply, diving over Demi’s couch that I had been sitting on a few moments before and pulling a yellow bat out from underneath. He sprang out and ran back out the door without another word.

“What did I say about giving caffeine before a show?” I asked, looking over at Joe. He gave an innocent smile and looked towards the door and then back at me - his eyes hopeful. I sighed.

“Go.” I said simply.

“Thank you!” Joe said, running over and kissing my cheek before sprinting out the door with his brother. Nick just stood there, looking at the empty doorway.

“Wow.” He said. “We’re never going to Starbucks again.”

Liz laughed. Nick looked over at her and smiled, and she blushed - her gaze casting downward. “Well are we going to hang around here and do nothing or are we gonna play?” Demi asked excitedly. I smiled and rolled my eyes.

“Last one there has the broken bunk on the bus!” I shouted. Nick was out the door within seconds, and I quickly followed. But Demi had beaten me.

“Haha!” She shouted over her shoulder as he took off towards the stage.

“Come on,” I laughed, bending down and picking up the small bag we had that was loaded with brightly colored wiffle balls.

“Are you sure we can do this?” Mae laughed as we closed Demi’s dressing room door and headed towards the stage. I looked down at my watch and nodded.

“Don’t worry.” I smiled. “You guys head out, I’m gonna find Garbo and John and see if they wanna play.”

They nodded and hurried out to the stage, where there was a crack and Joe cheering. “Grand slam, touchdown, goal, hole in one…” He shouted all at once. I just laughed and rolled my eyes before heading to the craft tables in search of the rest of the band. Sometimes having some downtime in the middle of an insanely hectic schedule can be loads more fun then you’d expect. But it’s all in the life of living on the road with the biggest teen sensation in the country.

- Joe’s POV -

“Nick, could you, please?” I asked from my position on the top of the stairs of the stage that was all set up for the concert that night. Nick was sitting at the piano, practicing a little bit longer and humming along.

“Sorry.” He said with a sad nod, standing up and grabbing his guitar before walking off stage. I watched him walk away, and then looked out at all the empty seats in front of me. Performing tonight? Just the thought of it made me sick. Why was all of this happening? Everything was James’s fault. Lyric had just gotten her memory back and now she’s… I couldn’t even think the word anymore.

That interview today had been hell on earth, and I begged God forgiveness for even thinking that. But I was just asking him every second why he had taken her from me. What had I done wrong to lose her?

“You ready for sound check?” Demi asked, walking slowly out onto stage. I looked up at her, my eyes solemn. I said nothing and hopped down off the platform and brushed past her and off the stage. “Joe wait.” She sighed, turning around and following me.

“What.” I said, my voice quiet.

“I really am sorry about Lyric. I didn’t know her long, but me and her started hanging out a lot before-” Her voice stopped short. “Just know that I’m here for you okay?” She said, wrapping her arms around my waist. I hugged her back, closing my eyes and trying to imagine she was Lyric. My eyes grew blurry, and I couldn’t help it and let a tear fall. Demi was crying too, and we just stood there holding each other to let the emotion out.

“We better go.” Demi choked out, letting go of me. “We have still have a show to do tonight.” I nodded and sighed, following her back to the dressing rooms.

- Lyric’s POV -

It’s amazing how fast my story got out within eighteen hours. Walking alone in the mall, newspaper stands were covered with my picture and radios talking about the story. I got a ton of funny looks and people pointing and saying how I ‘looked just like that dead girl’ and all that. It made my stomach sink, but I tried to ignore it.

My hair was returned to normal, as I had all the black hair dye stripped out and the extensions taken off. It was its usual dirty blonde color and shoulder length, just like before. I was wearing black skinny jeans, a long yellow tee shirt and a bright blue cardigan with one button in the middle with three quarter length sleeves. I had some long silver loop around necklaces on, courtesy of Tiffany’s and blue converse.

With my look back to the way it used to be, I was near unrecognizable. I had never really liked how James had taken control of the way I looked, and I knew I shouldn’t be spending all this money. But if he was gone then I wanted to start my career over - the right way. Plus, Joe would know it was me if he saw me. Joe. I sighed. He, like everyone else, thought I was dead. But how in the world was I going to get to Detroit when the concert was almost two hours away? I pulled the silver piece of plastic out of my pocket and smiled. These last few dollars on here might do it. If James was going to take me away from Joe, then his money would have to bring me back. Deep down I was hoping he had died, even though I knew it was a horrible thing to think.

I hurried out the door of the mall and into the parking lot, squinting against the bright sunlight. I opened my new cell phone and dialed for a cab again - and entered Liz and Mae’s numbers while I waited. I knew I had to thank them somehow, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to do quite yet. Honking snapped me out of my daydream - and a yellow cab was pulling in. “Detroit please - and step on it!” I said, slamming the car door as I got in. I had a pretty long car ride ahead of me, but if things worked out right I should be able to make it with twenty minutes left in the concert. I crossed my fingers and closed my eyes, afraid to watch the trees flying by on the highway. I was worrying about Joe, my parents, everyone. Time was moving too fast and I had to do something to stop it. With every passing second I was losing Joe more and more.

- Joe’s POV -

“Ready?” Nick said, clapping my shoulder as we stepped onto the long metal beam that was part of our entrance. I slipped on my sunglasses and grabbed my microphone, taking a shaky breath. Demi had just finished and the whole arena was dark, the screams echoing all around us.

“Yeah, let’s go.” I said, watching as the flames started shooting up around the stage and the opening chords to that’s just the way we roll began playing. I closed my eyes and opened them again as the crowd started to appear in front of us - last night all over again. Letting the energy and adrenaline take over, I opened my mouth and let the words flow out - the music taking over. It amazed me how I could be in a room surrounded by people, but yet still felt totally alone.

- Lyric’s POV -

I ran to the front gate of the arena, seeing tons of people crowding the lawn. I could hear Play My Music loud and clear, and Joe’s voice was filling the air around us. I smiled as I tried to walk in, but I was stopped. “Uhm excuse me, but do you have a ticket?” The security guard said, his eyes stern.

“Oh, uhm..” I said, fumbling through my pockets. “Shoot.” I mumbled. I had my tour ID in my pocket when I left with James, but I must have lost it when I fell into the river. “I had a tour ID, and you see, I’m Lyric Carrington and-”

“Lyric Carrington? Funny kid. She was murdered this morning, I’m not stupid.” He hissed. “Now get out of here.”

I groaned and walked away, throwing half my hair into a messy bun to get it out of my face. I knew some of the traveling security guards fairly well, maybe if I snuck around back I could find a way to get in. I quickly ran to the back of the arena where all the tour buses and equipment trucks were parked. That’s when I saw a girl with long brown hair and a shiny gold vest on standing out in the parking lot talking to someone as she came off one of the tour buses. I gasped. “Demi!” I shouted. She heard her name and turned around, looking to see where the voice was coming from. I jogged closer, waving. “Over here!” I shouted, as I couldn’t pass the small metal gate surrounding the large area she was in. I saw her squint in my direction, then her expression turned to shock.

“Lyric?” Demi said, looking around her and then back at me - blinking once. “Oh my god.” She quickly ran over to me, just to be sure. “Look at you, you’re hair! Wait, my god, you’re alive!” She screamed, throwing her arms around my neck. I laughed, happy to see someone was glad to see my face today. She waved me in and I hopped the gate into the blocked off area and walked with her. “This is insane,” She said, looking at me every ten seconds. “Joe’s going to be - oh my god. Joe!” She yelled, slapping her hand on her forehead.

“What about him?” I asked, running my hand through my hair. I wasn’t used to it being so short - but it felt good to have those awful extensions out.

“He thinks you’ve kicked the bucket.” She said as we walked through an emergency exit and into the arena. The music was now twenty times louder and we had to scream just to hear each other. BB Good was now playing and the shrieks of the crowd just seemed to get impossibly louder. Demi waved for me to follow her and we walked back to the dressing room area away from all the noise.

“Makes you wonder how we can do it almost every night of the week.” She laughed as we passed the numerous rooms. You could tell which one the boys had been in, since there were clothes scattered everywhere and empty red bull cans tossed about the floor.

“If Be Be Good is playing now, that means…” I said, the thought slowly registering. “A little bit longer is next.” I said, my voice sounding empty. Demi slowly nodded. Suddenly there was a sound of a door opening and both of us whirled around to see who it was. Denise Jonas was coming out of one of the rooms, a denim jacket in her hand.

“Oh hello Demi,” She smiled warmly as she walked towards us. “I just left my jacket in your room and went to go get it. Who’s your friend?” She asked.

“It’s me, Lyric.” I said, biting my lip and grinning nervously. Her eyes widened.

“Wh-oh my- Lyric!” She sobbed, throwing her arms around me just as Demi had earlier. I had a feeling that I was going to be hugged a lot tonight. “We thought we lost you!”

“I’m just glad to be back.” I smiled, hugging her back. She was like a mom to me, and we had always been really close ever since we met. Seeing her again made me feel better about the whole situation.

“The boys are on stage now but I can’t wait to tell Joe. Oh my goodness Lyric, he will be so happy to see you. He’s been in a mood ever since last night.” She said, shaking her head. “Poor boy.”

“Come on,” Demi said, listening as the noise from the arena behind us slowly died down. “They’re about to start a little bit longer, we have to get over there. Bye Denise!” She said, grabbing my arm and pulling me along with her. Once we got to the side of the stage, I could see Nick sitting at the big grand piano on the opposite side, and Joe and Kevin were standing in front of two microphones.

Joe looked like a deer in headlights, his usual bright and happy expression vacant on his features. “We’d uh, like to dedicate this song tonight to a very special girl named Lyric Carrington.” Nick said, the whole arena slowly growing quieter to listen to his words. “As most of you may know, Lyric was going to be on tour with us this fall - but an unfortunate string of events has caused her to not be with us tonight. So when you hear this song, when you sing - I want you to think of her, or anyone else you know who couldn’t be here tonight. We love you Lyric, and we know you’re in heaven with god now, smiling down on us. God bless.” Nick said, slowly starting to play. My eyes started to tear at his words, and I just wanted to cry and run the other way. Who knew it was going to be this painful? I couldn’t even watch anymore, seeing Joe in all this pain. I had to do something…but what?

- Joe’s POV -

I stood in front of the microphone, feeling like a house of cards in a hurricane. I was losing it big time. Every last word that came out of Nick’s mouth made my heart shatter into even more pieces then I thought possible. The opening chords were haunting, and I could feel all eyes on the room burning into me. I just wanted to fall to my knees and break down, I couldn’t do this.

“Got the news today, but they said I had to stay a little bit longer and I’ll be fine…” Nick sang, everyone around us growing teary eyed. My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt my head swell. I couldn’t follow through with this, the tears were coming way too fast. I turned and walked off the stage, blowing by everyone and back towards the dressing rooms. I heard someone call my name, but I ignored them. Once I got into the room I slammed the door behind me, giving in to the mental breakdown that I knew was coming. She was dead. Lyric, my Lyric - was dead.

There was a soft knock on the door. “Go away.” I hissed, falling backwards onto the couch and covering my face with a pillow. I knew it was unprofessional to walk off during a show like that, but it was Nick’s song anyways. The people in the crowd would live. The door clicked opened and somebody walked in. “Joe.” They said softly. I lifted the pillow slightly off my face to look and see who it was.

“Not now, Lyric.” I huffed, covering my face again. But then I felt myself freeze. I sat up and dropped the pillow, seeing her standing in the doorway. “Lyric?” I choked. She nodded, silent tears streaming down her face. “Oh my god.” I said, standing up and walking over to her. I touched the side of her face gently, brushing away the tear. I was crying too - but I couldn’t even feel it anymore.

“Yeah Joe,” She said. “It’s me.”

“Lyric.” I said, hugging her tightly. “I thought I lost you.”

“I’m always here Joe.” She choked. “Always have been, always will be.”

I slowly let go, not letting her get away from me completely. I just looked at her. Her black hair was gone, and was back to its old shoulder length dirty blonde color. Her green eyes sparkled as she smiled, biting her lip as she looked at me. I put both hands on the side of her face and leaned in, kissing her deeply through the tears. “I love you.” I whispered once we pulled away.

“I love you too Joe.” She cried, hugging me again. It’s amazing how perfect life can be when your whole world fits right into your arms.

- Joe’s POV -

“Joe, sweetie, are you sure you want to leave? I mean…there’s still a chance.” My mom said to me as we finished packing our things onto the bus to get ready for the next stop on the tour.

“No Mom - there’s not. I just want to get out of here as quick as possible.” I said quietly, brushing past her. It was near ten in the morning - almost twelve hours since Lyric had disappeared. I couldn’t even stand to think about her anymore without my heart breaking. Nick and Kevin walked onto the bus, Kevin with a newspaper in is hands. The headline was haunting me every time I closed my eyes. ‘Up and Coming Pop Sensation murdered’ it read, her picture with us from a few weeks back gracing the front page. Sliding into a chair at the small booth in the bus kitchen, my expression was blank and my eyes empty. I looked away and put my head in my hands. The bus slowly grumbled to life and we made our way out onto the highway and away from the city - passing Rockwell bridge on the way.

- Lyric’s POV -

“My life sucks, everyone think’s I’m dead…” I sing-songed to myself as I wandered through the thick amounts of trees. I had been walking for a few hours, completely lost. Suddenly the amounts of forest started to lessen - a patch of grass appearing in the distance. I blinked, thinking I was imagining things. An above ground pool came into view, a house shortly after. “There’s no way…” I said to myself, walking quicker. Sure enough I had somehow stumbled into a nearby neighborhood. I walked closer, hearing loud music and the sound of voices from the pool.

I wanted to just run right over and beg for help, but I worried I would freak someone out. After all, my face was all scratched up from rocks and tree branches, my clothes were filthy and my hair was thrown up messily on top of my head. Maybe it wasn’t too bad. I took a deep breath and the two voices came in clearer from inside the pool.

“…I know, I feel so bad. I wish we could have gone to the concert - but we have the one in Connecticut in a few weeks so it’s not like we’re totally missing out.” One of them said.

“I still can’t believe it. Lyric Carrington…dead! I was watching some of her videos on Youtube and she was really good! I was looking forward to seeing her on tour with the Jonas Brothers in the fall.” The second replied. My heart stopped. Everyone did think I was dead. Oh this sucked - majorly.

“Well - whatever. I mean, what can you do? I just feel bad for the guys - they must be taking it pretty hard.” The first continued. “It’s too bad they left so fast.”

My shoulders sank. So that was it, they just left without me. I sighed and walked up to the side of the pool to see one girl sitting on the pool deck and another on a float in the water. “Uh - excuse me?” I asked, biting my lip. The girl with the blonde hair looked over at me and her eyes widened.

“Oh my god-” She said, falling off the raft and into the pool water. The one sitting on the deck just kind of stared at me, not knowing what to say.

“Sorry, sorry.” I said, backing away slightly. “I just - I was wondering if you guys could help me? I could kind of use a change of clothes and maybe a few band aids…”

“You’re Lyric Carrington!” The blonde girl shouted suddenly after surfacing from underwater.

“Well - yeah but-” I started to say, but they seemed all too overwhelmed to let me talk.

“But - you’re and you - bridge and…” The brown haired girl on the deck said, standing up and pulling on a pair of soccer shorts. “Of course we’ll help you-”

“You’re supposed to be dead!” The blonde girl interrupted.

“Liz!” The other girl said, glaring at her friend. The girl who I now knew as Liz slowly climbed out of the pool and wrapped a towel around her waist.

“I’m sorry I just. Wow.” She said, brushing the hair out of her eyes. I just kind of stood there and shrugged.

“So can you guys uh - help me out?” I asked.

“Oh my god yeah, Mae can you go open the gate? I’m gonna run inside real quick.” Liz said, hurrying across her deck over to the sliding glass door. I walked up onto the deck and sat down at one of the chairs around a long glass table.

“I hate to bother you guys…” I said, pulling a leaf out of my hair and frowning as I let it fall to the ground.

“No, no don’t even think that! It’s not a problem at all - really.” Mae said, smiling at me. “It’s just uh...well..” She walked over to the stack of papers that was lying on an end table near a long chase lounge on the deck and brought over the front page. She handed it to me and I scanned the headline, seeing my picture right there underneath it.

“Oh no.” I said sadly, slowly opening the pages to read the cover story. “Oh no this is bad, so, so bad.” I said, shaking my head and folding it back up and handing it to her. Liz suddenly came outside with a woman I was expecting to be her Mom.

“See? Isn’t it crazy? She’s not dead!” Liz said, smiling and jumping up and down.

“Oh my god hunny, you better come inside. Liz will have a change of clothes for you. And you must be starving…” She said, one hand on the side of her face as she looked at me. “Are you alright? Should we get you to a hospital?”

“No, it’s fine.” I smiled, standing up. “Just a little shaken is all. Thank you so much for helping me out.” I said genuinely.

“Not a problem.” Liz’s mom smiled as we walked inside the house.

- Joe’s POV -

“Joe, come on. We’ve got a radio interview in ten minutes.” Nick said, banging on the bathroom door of the hotel we were now in. We had made it to Detroit and were preparing for the next stop on the tour. I on the other hand was not ready to perform at all. Not with Lyric dying only the night before. But I knew I had to suck it up for my fans.

“Coming, coming.” I mumbled, splashing some water on my face and looking in the mirror. I had dark circles under my eyes from not sleeping at all and my hair was a mess. I shook it out, running my hand through it a few times until I looked somewhat presentable. I walked out of the bathroom and spotted Kevin, Nick and my parents with Frankie getting ready to leave.

Nick was standing in front of a mirror, adjusting his tie. Kevin was lying on one of the beds with a guitar, humming along to the chords of love bug. My mom looked over at me, her eyes to hurt to see I was so upset. “You ready?” She asked softly. I just nodded. I hadn’t said much of anything since the previous night. We all made our way out to the limo waiting for us as quickly as possible, trying to make our way through the attacking crowd that was waiting. They screamed my name, cried once they saw me and held their cameras high just wishing to get a glimpse of my face. But I kept my sunglasses on and my eyes cast downward - not ready for them to see me.

The ride to the radio station was silent. Kevin texting and Nick just looking out the window. My stomach was growling - but I couldn’t find it in me to even touch anything. We pulled into the gates and into the parking lot, slowly making our way inside. There was screaming in the distance - and I knew we could only expect yet another mob of fans waiting for us.

We were introduced to the morning DJ named Robin and settled into our sets for the interview. I pulled on my headset and leaned back in my chair, tapping my foot boredly while looking down at my hands that were permanently curled into fists.

“We’re live in 5, 4,3,…” Robin said, the last two numbers inaudible as she held up her fingers. “Hey there teenage Detroit, Michigan! We’ve got your favorite boys here in the studio this morning Nick, Kevin and Joe Jonas. Hey guys!”

“Hey!” Kevin said into the mic.

“So your latest tour has just started - the burnin’ up tour. How’s that been going?” She asked.

“Awesome, you know it’s so good to see all the fans out on the road and to have a chance to play all our new songs for them. We played our first show last night and we’re already pumped for the next.” Nick said with a smile and a nod.

“Good, good. I know I’ll be there. My daughter and I have tickets and are very excited to see you play.” She smiled. “Now down to business - I couldn’t help but catch you guys on the front of the paper this morning with another up and coming pop sensation. The murder of Lyric Carrington has been all over the news, how are you guys taking it?”

I felt myself freeze. I wasn’t ready for a question like this, but I knew it was my turn to answer. That’s how all our interviews usually went. But I didn’t know how to respond. Pity flashed on Kevin’s face as we all fumbled with words to say.

“Well, you know…” I said, my voice cracking slightly. “It’s been hard on all of us, but you’re going to have to move on and continue the tour even when these kind of things happen.”

“…Our deepest sympathies go out to Lyric’s family and we’re very disappointed that we won’t be able to tour with her this fall.” Kevin chimed in. I gave him a look of thanks and he nodded.

Robin nodded. “We’re going to take a quick break, so don’t go anywhere!” She said, pushing a few buttons so burnin’ up started playing on the radio and the small light above us that said ‘on air’ flipped off. I stood up as quickly as possible.

“I need to get some air.” I mumbled, walking out of the room and away from everyone. This was getting harder by the second.

- Lyric’s POV -

“Oh uhm…wow?” I said as I walked upstairs to Liz’s room, better known as Jonas Headquarters. Her walls were plastered with posters from floor to ceiling of the boys, and it kind of creeped me out. But I thought it was cute at the same time, even though Mae and Liz were the same age as me.

Liz walked in and laughed, handing me a brush since I had just gotten out of the shower. “Yeah, Mae and I kind of have OJD.”

“You’re so lucky that you’re going to tour with them this fall…” Mae sighed, collapsing down onto Liz’s bed. “What’re they like?”

“Oh they’re a handful.” I smiled, pulling out all the knots in my hair and then throwing it back up into a messy bun on top of my head. “But they’re sweet guys, I love them to death. It just sucks cause they all think I’m dead and left for Detroit without me.”

“Here - how’s this? It’s not much, but it’s all I have right now.” Liz said, tossing me a pair of lacrosse shorts and a red sox jersey.

“It’ll be fine.” I smiled. “Do you have a phone I can borrow? I should try to call Kevin.” I said simply. Their faces broke into wide grins.

“You’re going to call Kevin Jonas? Right now? In my room on my phone?!” Liz shrieked.

“Uh, yeah?” I asked with a small laugh. “Thanks.” I said as she handed her phone to me. I dialed in Kevin’s number, since I couldn’t think of Joe’s off the top of my head. It rang once then went straight to voicemail. “Ugh.” I said, hanging it back to her. “Thanks anyways.”

“So what are you going to do now? Since they left and all?” Mae asked, studying me. I shrugged.

“I don’t really know.” I said, biting my lip. Liz went over to her computer, scanning the headlines on the yahoo! Homepage.

“Hey, check this out!” She said, waving us over. “New leads found in Carrington murder case.” She read aloud. It was still creeping me out to see that half the world thought I was dead. “A body was found in the Moose River earlier this morning and is believed to be that of James Murray, former manager and alleged killer of pop sensation Lyric Carrington. Witnesses say that Carrington, 15, was kidnapped from an arena where she was seen with the superstar band known as the Jonas Brothers. Murray, 42, was said to have taken Carrington against her will and driven her away from the building. It is unknown what happened to her between the hours following, but it was reported that Carrington was thrown from the bridge and is suspected to be dead of drowning. No new leads have yet to be found.”

“Eerie.” Mae said, shaking slightly. “You were pushed off a bridge?” She asked, looking at me. I nodded. “Wow, that sucks!”

“A little.” I laughed nervously.

“Oh wait there’s more!” Liz said, scrolling down. “No comments have been made directly by the Jonas Brothers, who were set to tour with Lyric in the fall, but a source said that one of the brothers is very upset by the incident as he had close personal relations with her. The source will not inform us on who, but it is heard that the song ‘A little bit longer’ will be dedicated in Lyric’s memory at tonight concert in Detroit.’ Awh!” Liz said.

“Close relations? With who?” Mae asked eagerly.

“I can’t tell!” I laughed. “Plus, it’s nothing like that. They’re like my brothers - seriously.” I said, repeating the line I was told to give whenever I was asked if I was dating one of the boys.

“Liar.” Liz grinned. “We have to get you to that show tonight.” She said.

“Are you crazy?!” Mae said. “We can’t go to another Jonas Brothers concert! We’re only allowed to go to one this whole year. And plus, our parents aren’t going to drive us all the way out there!”

“Hm.” Liz said, clicking off the internet and spinning around in her chair. “Well we have to do something to get Lyric back. I mean hello? It’s Lyric Carrington!” She shrieked slightly. I winced. “Sorry.” She laughed. “A little star struck.”

I nodded. “Thanks for your guy’s help, but I think I might be able to get this fixed.” I smiled, picking up her cell phone and making a few phone calls. Luckily I still had my credit card, so there was a chance that a potential disaster could be averted. We all made our way downstairs as I waited for the cab I called to come.

“Awh. Leaving so soon?” Liz asked. “I never even got your autograph!”

“Know what?” I said, smiling. “Give me your guy’s phone numbers. I’ll call you once I get a new cell and I’ll figure something out so I can thank you for all of this.”

They exchanged glances and smiled, writing their numbers down and handing them to me. “Thanks. I’ll talk to you guys later?” I grinned, walking down the front steps out to the bright yellow cab that was waiting for me. They waved as they watched me drive off, and I waved back. It was good to know that there was still good people out there these days.

“Where to, Miss?” The cab driver asked, looking at me through the rearview mirror.

“The closest mall please.” I smiled, pulling a silver piece of plastic out of my pocket. If James was dead, then I had free will to spend all the money he left me. Who said payback is a bad thing?