Four

I spotted Rick watching me through the window. As I stepped through the gate, he ran to open the front door for me. When Brody saw I was inside my house, he drove home.

Locking the door behind me, I spun around to face Rick. He was a few inches taller than me, about five-foot-ten. His arms were as thin as sticks, his waist thin, but his torso chubby. His hair was messy, most likely from constantly running his hands through them as he analyzed my sister's video footage from her latest gameplay. Life as her editor was a stressful one that he wouldn't trade for anything.

He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. I smirked right back. "Jeanie's recording?"

"Yup."

"Alright." I clapped my hands. "Interrogate me."

"Where were you?"

"At the Clubhouse."

"With who."

"My club mates."

He narrowed his eyes at me. I smiled innocently. "Who drove you home?"

"Brody."

"A boyfriend I don't know about?"

"I think you already know the answer."

He glared at me, and I glared right back until we were both smiling. "Alright. I think Jeanie will be happy with that," he stated, holding his hand up for a high five.

With Jeanie always recording or live streaming whenever I came home from the Clubhouse, or even school, Rick took on the role of the "Concerned Sibling." It worked since he was as much my honorary brother as I was his honorary sister.

Rick was over every day while Jeanie recorded. He was never allowed in her studio during sessions unless it was an emergency or she called him in. It allowed the recording sessions to run far smoother, and it helped keep the footage he'd edit fresher. He'd sit at the desk in the living room and edit until I came home. He'd take a break, and we'd talk while I'd cook dinner. Then Jeanie would come out, we'd all eat, he'd go home, and then I'd watch TV until I went to bed.

"How are your hands doing? Any better?"

"Still healing, but doesn't hurt as much."

I could instantly tell that Jeanie was standing behind me the moment Rick got that look in his eyes. He'd been in love with my sister ever since he met her sophomore year of college. Jeanie was in love with him too, but she'd never been the best at showcasing her feelings. At least not in the romantic sense. Each time Rick would flirt with her, she mistook it for friendly banter. He eventually assumed that she didn't want to take their relationship further, so he stopped flirting. Despite missing it, she never brought it up out of fear of making things awkward between them.

I stepped out of the way in case her camera was still recording, and she quickly shut the door behind her. I never wanted to risk being in one of her videos.

Jeanie was a famous gamer. She'd been making videos on YouTube for five years, having four million subscribers. And she'd been filming live streams since Twitch started, earning three million followers. No one knew I was related to her, not out of shame but peace of mind. There were a lot of people I went to school with whom watched her. If they knew we were related, they would constantly berate me for information on her and asking to come over and watch her work. I didn't need anyone breathing down my neck, so she never mentioned me by name, and I never talked about her.

Plus, with all the death threats she received for being a female gamer, it was safer to keep me out of her limelight.

"You know I am sorry about that," she mumbled as she grabbed my hand.

"Sorry," Rick whispered, inwardly panicking over what could have been overheard by the viewers. It was important that we were quiet while she was in the middle of filming. "Were we too loud?"

"No. I finished ten minutes ago. I sent you the footage." She kissed my knuckles and asked, "Feel any better?"

"Yes. Your kisses always make my boo-boo's feel better," I teased, adding a mock pout. Scratching the back of my ear, I sighed and asked, "Can we talk for a sec?"

"Yeah, what's up?" she questioned as she led me over to the small kitchen table.

"Well..." It was always hard to ask Jeanie for anything. It wasn't because she was difficult to talk to. Far from it, really. She made a lot of money from her gamer brand to support us, prompting any money mom sent over to be placed into my college fund in case I went off to music school. The only reason I wouldn't was if I had a band to tour with, which would then be used to pay for my future apartment.

Jeanie always did so much to provide for us that asking for anything remotely selfish made me feel guilty. She paid for all my drum lessons after mom left. Because of her, I called myself a drummer. I didn't want to bother her with unnecessary things.

Jeanie patted my hand and smiled encouragingly. "What's up?"

"October third... there's a concert for a band I like."

"You're allowed to go," she giggled.

"I was hoping you would come with me." There. I said it.

"Oh?" she beamed. "What band?"

"They're just a band that nobody really knows- You don't even have to go-"

"Mel, Mel," she cooed. "What band?"

"They're called The Struts."

"Is the drummer cute?"

"The cutest." I blushed. "So dreamy."

She laughed, and I could hear Rick snicker in the other room.

"Rick!" she sang.

"I've already written it down for you two."

Smiling at me, Jeanie stood up and ruffled my hair. "I'm looking forward to it. Anything else you want to tell me? Possibly involving your drumming?"

"I'm doing good at it?" I questioned. Typically she didn't have any questions regarding my drumming, unless it was her asking if I was any good at it. Personally, I found myself to be a good drummer, and I knew Brody did as well. So did Buddy. Jeanie'd only heard me a few times, but that was years ago, back before she blew up into sudden popularity. Since then, she didn't have as much time to hear me play. I didn't mind. I had my club mates who listened. They were the real taste in judgement I needed in order to be critiqued to a fine point.

"No," she said, rolling her eyes. "It involves a special show."

I stared at her. "You mean the variety show?"

"Yes," she whispered excitedly, dancing in place. "Are you going to audition?"

"No," I said, mimicking her dance.

She frowned, propping her hands on her hips. "Why not?"

"Because I don't want to."

She tsked.

"Besides, they only ever take singers and dancers."

"Well, it's not the singers and dancers show. It's the variety show. Rick, back me up," she called out.

Popping his head in the kitchen, Rick smiled and nodded at me. "You should go for it. It could be good for you. Give you some future credentials."

"Future credentials?"

"You know, for when you become a drummer," Jeanie agreed. "You need to show that you have performed in front of large groups- And your club members don't count. You need an actual performance in front of a group of people who could boo at you at any moment."

"Exactly why I don't want to," I sighed. "You know what people see when they look at me. I'm the quip under their breaths. If I go up there and make myself vulnerable in front of all my peers, they will make fun of me from every angle. They will turn the thing I love the most into the thing I will come to resent. If it's anyone but them, I can do it. Just can't bring myself to do it in front of them."

Drumming was one of the few things that made me happy. When I was angry, I would bang the hell out of my drums and play until my hands bled with my eyes. When I was happy, I'd express my excitement through my music. And when I was stressed, I took it out on the cymbals the most. I would not let anything ruin my hard work and love. I would not let anyone cause me to fail.

Jeanie knelt next to me, moving hair out of my face so I'd see her smile. "If you can't play in front of the people who you are most scared to play in front of, how will you ever be ready to play in a band?"

She always knew exactly what to say to get me on board.