My Imagine

Chapter 18

Not a second after you walk in, an airborne breakfast sausage whizzes by you and hits Sawyer in the eye. You double over laughing as your best friend winces and rubs his eye. "Hey!" he says to Aric and Skylar, who are both wrestling on the ground. "I'll teach you to throw a sausage at me!"
Within seconds, the three boys become a blur of white shirts and red pants. You're laughing so hard that you're gasping for air when Mr. Fredericks finally breaks them up. "Who threw that sausage?" he demands sternly. Skylar and Sawyer both shuffle away from Aric. All three are looking at the floor a little guiltily. Aric gulps as his father steps towards him. His dad frowns, them smiles and gives him a fist bump. "Nice shot," he laughs.
Mrs. Fredericks walks in carrying a stack of pancakes. "Now, really dear, you shouldn't be encouraging them!" she scolds, but her husband chuckles and waves her off. "Relax honey. Boys will be boys."
"I know that, but they also don't need to be mannerless baboons!"
"It might be too late for that."
"Really? I couldn't tell!"
In hysterics, you and the boys sit down and dig in to the pancakes. Sawyer's fiddling with a knot in his hair from the brawl. Your fingers move with his, and you gently coax out the snag. He blushes. "Thanks," he says. You giggle at him. "No problem."
You run your fingers one more time through his long silky hair, then you pull the ends teasingly. "Hey," he complains smiling. You giggle and start twisting it into a braid, but every time you almost finish, he pulls it out and makes you start all over again. After the third time he swats your hands away and undoes your work, you give up and just tie it into a ponytail, which he takes out. Sighing in defeat, you help yourself to some pancakes.
Once you finish eating your breakfast, you help Sawyer's mother clean up, then Sawyer calls you into his room. On your way up there you look out a window, and the view is shocking. You didn't notice this morning, but the sky is full of clouds so gray they almost look black. "Woah..." you mutter.
"Yeah." replies Sawyer, sneaking up behind you and whispering in your ear.
Startled, you jump and turn around to see him laughing. You pull your best pouty face. "Hey, that wasn't nice!" you whine. He somehow manages to stifle more laughter. "I know," he says smiling cheekily. "That's why I did it."
"I hate you sometimes. It's scary how much you and I have in common."
"Hate you too. C'mon, lets go."
"Your room?"
"Yeah. We have a few calls to make."
Sawyer excitedly runs to his room with you in tow. He shuts the door and digs out a laptop from under his bed. "I got it for work." he explains. "I need to sort out a few things for the trip, so I figured you might want to know what's going on." The two of you sit down on his bed.
"Really? Cool!" you say happily. "Who're you- WE going to be talking to?" you question curiously. He's already opening the laptop and starting up video chat. "First some people from the studio, then my publicist, then just a friend."
You give him a look. "Which friend?"
"You'll see." is his only answer. A little mystery, huh? He knows you love those too.
The laptop beeps, then the chat begins. It opens to show a middle aged man sitting at a desk in a recording studio. You can tell from a logo behind him he's at the Republic Records studio. He waves at you through the camera, and you return the gesture cheerfully. "Hey kids." he says. "No need to introduce yourself sweetheart, I've already heard a lot about you. As for myself, just call me Mick."
You gape at Sawyer. "He's your manager!" you hiss at him. He giggles. "I think I know who my own manager is." he teases. Mick chuckles from the screen. "I can still hear you."
You recompose yourself quickly. "Sorry sir. I'm just a bit surprised." You elbow Sawyer under the screen. He frowns and looks at you. "That hurt!" he whispers. You give him a guilty stare. "Sorry!"
Mick finds your little jab enjoyable, luckily for all of you. "Relax there kids. It's just me. No one special. No cause for panic. And don't call me sir or Mister. I don't want formalities here."
Surprised by his relaxed personality, you say, "Right. Um, sorry."
He just laughs you off. "It's fine. Sawyer did say you're always polite."
"Oh, did he now?"
"Yes, he did. He also said you're his best friend and that you seem to be addicted to crackers."
You glare at Sawyer murderously. "Hmm. Anything else?" He looks away blushing. "No..." he says guiltily. Mick laughs even harder. "Easy there girl. There was more," (your glare intensifies and Sawyer's face gets redder) "but they were all good things."
"Thanks for that Mick," Sawyer mutters. "What'd you want to tell me?"
"Oh yeah, that. We made a communications error. You won't be staying necessarily that long. Just about a month. I know how much you love your farm, so I arranged for you to skip your little release party. You're welcome. Instead, you'll be video chatting the parties and meetings."
Your best friend breathes a huge sigh of relief. "Thanks Mick." he says, his (and your) embarrassment forgotten. "See ya Monday."
He laughs. "You can't get rid of me that easy. I have one more thing to say to your friend here."
You nervously slide into the frame. Sawyer gives you an encouraging look. "Okay, what do you need?"
"I want you to meet someone. Deedee, get in here a sec!"
A girl runs in the room, her curly black hair flowing down to her waist. Her doe-colored eyes stare intently at you through the screen, and her already-pale face goes white when she sees Sawyer next to you. She almost drops the papers she's holding. "S...s...Sawyer!" she gasps. You giggle as he blushes and waves. "Hey DeeDee." he says warmly. "Can I ask you something?"
She looks like she's about to faint. "Uh, yeah, sure, I mean yes totally, whatever you need, I mean-"
"My friend here is coming with me when I come to LA to record some music, and she needs someone to show her around the studio. Can you do that for me?" He doesn't normally interrupt people, but you can tell he did it with good intentions. Despite being ghostly pale, she keeps her cool for the camera. "S-sure thing," she stammers.
Sawyer smiles at her, says his thanks and goodbyes, then closes the computer. He looks a bit flustered. "I'll never get used to the fangirls," he mutters. You laugh at him. "You already have, silly."
"Oh yeah? Who!"
"Me."

(A/N: Sorry it took me so long with this chapter. It was due to a camping trip and a serious case of writer's block, but don't worry, I have fresh ideas in store!)