CHAPTER SIX ~ First Visitor
Ashley looked at the clock, and figured that no matter what time it was, he needed to phone his sister, and find out exactly how bad things were going at home. Ikaika grabbed the handset just a moment before Ashley could reach it. "Ikaika, man, come on, I need to call my sister really quick. You can have the phone to call Malia in like 15 minutes, please."
"Sorry, man. First come, first use," Ikaika responded as he dialed Malia's number.
"Man, you're plain cold," Ashley said as he went to his room hoping that his cell phone battery was charged enough to let him talk to his sister for a little while anyway. "Darn it. Who disconnected my battery charger?" he asked only moments later as he came running out of his room after finding that the battery hadn't charged at all.
"Whoa, what's wrong, Ashley?" Rachel asked as she had been talking with Jacob and Trevor, wondering what exactly was going on with Ashley's family.
"I can't call my sister because some freak hogs the phone all the time, and now my cell phone won't work because someone disconnected the charger on me," he said, glaring at all the others in the room.
"Listen, I know it's kinda late, but come back over to my place with me, and you can use my phone. I'll bring ya back when you get done, alright?" Rachel said, sensing that Ashley, the one she saw as a shoe-in for making the group from the moment she saw him, may actually leave Orlando.
"Thanks, Rachel. I really appreciate it," Ashley replied slipping his shoes back on before following her out to her car.
"Hey, you've got some talent, and I could see you were kinda contemplating leaving O-town to be with your sister. I can't deny the world the voice of Ashley Parker Angel, if you are lucky enough to make the band," Rachel replied as they drove the distance to her house. You know where the phone is. I gotta go check on something. Just hollar when your done talking to Nicole, right?" Rachel said, making sure she knew what Ashley's sister's name was.
"Yeah...Thanks again," Ashley replied as he dialed the number to the line that rang into his and his sister's rooms. "Nicole?" he said when he heard the phone being picked up.
"Ashley?" Nicole whispered, not wanting their step-father to hear her.
"Yeah, what's wrong, sis? Why do you need to leave right away?"
"It's dad. He overheard part of our conversation earlier...and well, he basically forbid me to come and visit you, Ashley. I can't take not seeing you until you get your first break. I need my brother, you're a big part of me...and I need to be near you," Nicole said sobbing.
"Sweetie, you're coming out here. Is mom somewhere that I could talk to her? I need to let her know what's happening."
"Yeah, just a second. I'll go find her," Nicole said, gently placing the phone on her bedside table and going into the living room to find their mother. "Mom, Ash is on the phone in my room. He wants to talk with you," Nicole said quietly so as to not disturb her step-father.
Mrs. Angel, quietly walked upstairs to her daughter's room, and picked up the phone that had been left on the bedside table. "Ashley...how are things going for you?"
"For me their fine, what's going on with dad? What's he doing to Nikki?"
"He's still getting used to the idea of you not being here and being involved in the music industry. Right now, he just doesn't want us talking about you....or to you, either."
"What? I'm not going to quit calling you, mom. I need to hear your reassuring voice, so I know that what I'm doing isn't wrong."
"I know that sweetheart. I know he'll cool down soon. He doesn't want Nicole to come and visit you though. He doesn't want to risk her getting involved with someone in the music business," his mother explained.
"Yeah, well, I can take care of my sister. Mom, can she come out here now? I'll do better if I know that dad isn't taking his anger out on her. I know he doesn't ever hurt you, but..." Ashley said, not wanting to let his mom know what her husband had done to him and Nicole in the past when he was upset.
"I understand. I don't want to risk having him hurt Nicole either," his mom replied. When she heard the gasp of surprise coming from Ashley on the other end of the phone and from her daughter sitting on the side of the bed, she continued, "Come on, don't think I don't know what's happening in my own house, you two. I'll call and make the arrangements for Nicole tomorrow. Is there someone I can call during the day so you can get a message and make arrangements to pick her up at the airport tomorrow night?"
"Ummm...let me check with someone quick. Just a second," Ashley answered, hoping that Rachel would be willing to be an answering service for him. "Rachel...I need to ask you something," Ashley yelled.
"What do you need?" Rachel asked poking her head into the living room.
"Can my mom call you tomorrow while we're in rehearsals and leave a message for me?"
"Sure...here's my private number...407-585-9685. Then she won't have to go through the switchboard at Trans-Con," Rach answered.
"Mom, yeah...you can call Rachel Bukator. She's been working with us a bit. Here's her personal number at the studio. She'll make sure that I get the message," Ashley said when he picked up the phone receiver again before giving his mom the number that Rachel had just given him as her personal line. "Listen, I gotta go, I'm actually out past curfew to make this call. Tell Nic I love her, and I'll see her as soon as her plane gets in."
"I will. I love you, Ashley. Take care of your sister for me," his mom said before hanging up the phone.
"Alright, take me back," Ashley said to Rachel who was still standing in the door of the living room, trying to give Ashley his space.
"Ash, if you need to talk to someone, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?" Rachel asked once they were in the car. "I promise, it won't go any further than me," Rachel said, sensing a need by Ashley to let out some of his feelings. "Well, unless it's something illegal anyway," she added, hoping to lighten his mood.
"Thanks...I guess I'm just worried that when Nicole goes home, dad is gonna hurt her. He's not happy that I'm doing this, and well, he does have a small history of becoming violent with me and Nicole occassionally when he's upset," Ashley confided.
"Well, she'll be here for a while with you...so you can put your mind at ease," Rachel said as they pulled into the driveway. As Ashley got out of the car, Rachel heard something, like someone was fighting so she figured she better go and check it out. "Dang, what's going on now?" she said more to herself than to Ashley as they walked in the door to find Ikaika and Jacob in a face down.
"I won't take back what I said about Malia. She is much better looking that Ashley's sister," Ikaika was saying when the two got to the kitchen where the face down was occuring.
"My sister ISN'T a dog," Ashley said, jumping into the fray.
"Whoa...I want all of you to sit down, NOW!" Rachel said, raising her voice for the first time around the guys. After they all had been seated around the table, Rachel looked from Jacob to Ashley. "Ashely, I realize that your sister is the one the arguement was about, but I think you need to get to your room and get some sleep. You weren't involved in this arguement until right now, and you have nothing to do with this."
"But...it's my sister," Ashley said, protesting.
"Ashley, NOW! This fight was between Jacob and Ikaika. Back off."
"FINE!" Ashley said obviously upset as he stomped off towards his room.
"Alright, I wanna know what the hell caused this arguement," Rachel said glaring at the two boys left in the room.
"He called Nicole a dog," Jacob said.
"Well, she is," Ikaika countered.
"Whoa...this goes back to dinner at the club?" Rachel said, surprised that they were still carrying on that conversation. When neither of them answered her, she took that as a yes, this was just a continuation of what they had been talking about at Disney. "Listen, you've each got your opinions, and they are obviously different. Can't you just accept the fact that you don't agree on that particular topic?"
"NO!" they both said at the same time.
"Listen to me, and listen good. You are BOTH here to be part of a GROUP! As part of that group, there will be differences of opinion, but you CAN NOT be fighting like this. You need to accept the fact that you don't share an opinion, and leave it at that. What would happen if the cameras caught you two fighting like this?? You aren't big-shot popstars, YET, and if this kind of thing continues, you probably WON'T BE. You can all be replaced with people who are willing to set their differences of opinion aside for the good of the group. Right now, you are nothing but a bunch of lab rats that the world is going to be watching to see what exactly goes into making a band work. Don't forget those other 17 guys from the last call back or the other 1775 guys from the initial auditions. Any one of them would jump at the chance to be here, trying to make the final five, and let me tell you, I've got all their numbers in my office, and I will call them if Lou tells me to. You disagree on which girl is prettier, who cares, people have different preferences for what makes a person good looking. That is actually a good thing. It means that you won't be attracted to the same girls if for some reason you both end up in the group," Rachel said, trying to maintain her calm.
"I won't be looking for any other girl," Ikaika said still upset. "I've got Malia, and she's all I want or need."
"Listen, I know that you're together now, but you may eventually break up," Rachel said, trying to get through to him. "If that were to happen, and you were to become unattached, you would be looking, and it would be better since you wouldn't be looking at the same girls that Jacob was looking at. I want both of you to shake hands, and declare a truce. Then get to bed. You've both got a long day at the studio tomorrow," Rachel said as she watched them shake hands, but she could tell they didn't really mean it. "I'm gonna have to see if Mark can get through to them," she thought to herself as they walked down the hall to their respective rooms before she let herself out of the house.
Rachel got to her office at 9 am, and was surprised to find that the guys hadn't yet shown up for rehearsals so she called their house but didn't get an answer, so she waited out in the waiting room for them to get there, so she could talk to Mark about what she had walked in on the previous night. The guys all came rushing in, followed closely by Mark who went into the vocal studio to explain to M.G. that traffic had been worse than anticipated which is why they were late. "Mark, can I talk to you for a minute?" Rach asked as he left the vocal studio.
"Sure, let me get my coffee, and I'll meet you in your office, ok?"
"Alright," Rachel answered as she walked into her office to find her phone ringing. "Hello, Trans-Con studios, Rachel speaking," she answered.
"Rachel, this is Ashley's mom. He said I could call you and leave a message for him."
"Oh, yeah...what can I do for you, Mrs. Angel?"
"Well, he wants his sister to come out to Orlando to visit, and I said I'd call with her flight information for him, so that someone could meet her at the airport."
"Yeah, he told me that. What is the flight info?" Rachel said as Mark walked into the room.
"She's going to be coming in on American Airlines, flight 2349. They said she should be arriving around 8:00pm Orlando time," Mrs. Angel said.
"Alright, American flight 2349 at 8pm. I've got it. I'll let Ashley know as soon as he has a break. I know he'll be relieved to hear that. I'll arrange for his tutor to work with Nicole too, so she won't fall behind on her studies," Rachel added when she could tell that Mrs. Angel was hesitant to hang up the phone. "Mrs. Angel, is there anything else you want to know?"
"Umm...well, I guess I'm kinda concerned. How is Ashley doing? I know he tells me things are going alright, just so I won't worry."
"Honestly, Mrs. Angel. Ashley is doing just fine," Rachel said, reassuring his mother. "I've got some other things to work on right now, but if you ever want to call me again, keep my number and call me."
"Alright, thank you so much for taking care of my boy. I can tell you are like a mother figure to all of them."
"Well, maybe not all of them," Rachel thought to herself as she remember the call she had received from Erik after she got home the previous night. "Good-bye, Mrs. Angel. Call anytime," Rachel said before hanging up the phone. "Mark...I think there is some major trouble brewing at the house."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember that conversation the guys were having at the club about Ashley's sister and Ikaika's girlfriend?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Well, Jacob and Ikaika were nearly coming to blows over it when I got back with Ashley last night. I tried getting them to settle it, but I don't think it worked."
"Well, I'll keep my eyes on them," Mark said. "Thanks for the warning."
Eight o'clock couldn't come soon enough for Ashley once Rachel gave him the message from his mother during their lunch break. "Man, I can't believe my sister is gonna be here tonight," Ashley said to Jacob and Trevor as they all enjoyed a break from their dance rehearsal.
"Yeah. Now I get to meet my future girlfriend," Trevor said.
"Whoa, man. Back it up. My sister ain't dating any of y'all. I know what ya want from your girlfriends, and you aren't gonna be getting it from her," Ashley said.
"Come on, Ash. Your sister is gorgeous. How can you keep any of us away from her?"
"Very easily," Ashley answered, unsure himself of how he would do it, if she really wanted to date any of his potential bandmates as Rachel poked her head in the dance studio.
"Hey, Tyjuan, can I borrow Ashley for a few minutes?" she yelled at the choreographer who was working with them.
"Sure. I've got the other group actually dancing now. I'll need him back in about fifteen minutes though."
"Great. Get out here, Angel!" Rachel yelled as she backed out of the door. When Ashley came out, Rachel said. "Ashley, this is your tutor, Ethan," Rachel said as she introduced the two people standing in the hall with her.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you, Ashley," Ethan said, offering his hand to shake.
"Hi, nice meeting you too, I guess," Ashley responded as he shook hands with his new teacher. "Don't get me wrong...it's just that I don't really like school, and I'd rather not have to do this."
"I understand. I promise, I'll make it as painless as possible. We'll be starting on Monday, so you've got a small reprieve. It will take me that long to get ahold of all your teachers back in California," Ethan answered as Erik came out into the hall to get Ashley back for some more work in the studio.
At 7:30, Rachel parked her car in the short term lot at Orlando International Airport near the American terminal. "Let's go get that sister of yours, Angel," she said as she followed him towards the gate, stopping to look at a flight board to see if what gate they needed to be at and to see if there was a delay. "Come on, the flight is just about ready to land at Gate 8," Rachel said as she led the way to where Ashley's sister would be unloading. After a hearwarming greeting from Ashley, when she came out of the tunnel, Rachel introduced herself to this girl who she could tell was scared yet excited about being in this new situation. "It's so nice to meet you, Nicole," Rachel said as she hugged Ashley's sister. "Come on, let's go get your luggage."
"Hi," Nicole said wondering who this girl was that was there with her brother to pick her up.
"Whoa...how long are you planning on staying?" Rachel asked when she saw all of the luggage that Nicole had packed.
"Well, I wasn't sure how long I was staying, so I brought quite a bit of stuff," Nicole answered as they loaded the luggage into the trunk of Rachel's car.
"Hey, Ashley, where you been?" Jacob asked as he ran out to greet the car pulling into the driveway. He did know that Nicole was flying in that night, and he wanted to be the first of the group to meet this girl that he had been dreaming of since he had seen the picture that Ashley set on his bedside table.
"Hey, Jacob. This is my sister, Nicole. Nicole, this is Jacob Underwood, one of my potential bandmates," Ashley said, hoping that there wouldn't be any problems with his sister staying with them.
"Hi, Jacob," Nicole said, blushing slightly as she saw the way he was checking her out as the other finalists came outside to meet Ashley's sister.
"Hi, you must be Nicole. I'm Paul, and I've offered to let you use my bed while you're here," one of them said.
"Thanks for offering to sleep on the couch," Ashley said before anyone could say anything else.
"Who said I was sleeping on the couch," Paul muttered under his breath so only Erik heard him.
Erik elbowed him in the side before saying, "Come on man, that's Ashley's sister. Have some respect for her and for Carrah."
"Man, Carrah knows how I am. And what difference does it make that she's Ashley's sister?"
"I don't want you two fighting because you've hurt her," Erik said seriously. "It's just not right."
"Man, grow up. I thought you were one of the oldest ones here and you're acting like a freaking twelve year old."
"Hey, now. While Nicole is here, Ashley and Nicole are going to be switching rooms. Erik, you're moving into the room with Paul and Jacob. Mike, you're gonna be sharing with Bryan and Ikaika," Rachel said stopping any potential fight before it could start.
"That's not fair," Paul said.
"Yes, it is. Anytime one of you has a guest, room arrangements will be altered. When it's Ashley, Jacob, or Paul, they will be moved into one of the double rooms and that rooms normal occupants will be split between the other two rooms. Otherwise, the other occupant of the double room will move either to the couch or one of the other rooms, that person's choice," Rachel said as she layed out the plan that she had gone over with Mark and Lou earlier in the afternoon. When the plan was met with a large number of whines, she said, "Well, we could always use the alternate plan, which is that any member of the opposite sex stays at MY HOUSE," which brought a quick change in attitude from all the members of the group.
"I have a question. What if two or more of us have female visitors at the same time?" Paul asked.
"Well, in that case, we rearrange your sleeping arrangements and the girls involved will share a room while you guys bunk up more," Rachel said.