"Sam! Could you stop stealing my boots?!"

"What's going on?" Asked Mad confused "is this like an intervention or something?" After she said that her sister threw a magazine at her, she opened it and couldn't believe her eyes, a picture of her and Nick on the pier, it looked very intimate and the title read 'Nick Carter and music prodigy Madeline Johnson jam intimately'. She looked up excited. "I'm in the cover of a magazine!"   She said and then the smile disappeared when she saw her mom's face, "oh you don't believe that..." She said half laughing "come on mom!"

"See I knew it, why would Nick Carter pay any attention to someone like her!" Said Sam matterfactely.

"So he didn't touch you honey?" Asked her mom concerned.

"What? Mom! No! Ew!" Mad answered insulted.

"See honey I told you..." Said her dad

"I could call Georgia and talk to her" said her mom

"No! Mom! Please!" With this Mad took her boots off her sister feet and left the house as fast as she could.

----

...Things weren't much different at school everyone was looking at her funny and her locker had been redecorated with the magazine article and pictures. Seeing Kayla was a welcome sight and she hoped she wouldn't bring up the subject.

"So, Nick Carter huh?" Kayla was not going to be of any help.

"Oh come on K! Nothing happened!" Said Mad with a loud sigh.

"Too bad because you and Nick look so cute together"

"Do you think so?"

"Oh my God"

"Oh shut up!" Said Mad wanting the earth to swallow her

"Oh.my.God!"

"Shut up! K I can't like this guy, he's from a 90's boy band!"

"The man is like an Ian Somerhalder sundae smother in Ryan Gosling sauce!"

"Yeah I know but it’s more than that he teaches me stuff; I make great music with him and at the pier... Oh K, the pier. There was this moment" said Mad and then loudly closed her locker "I probably imagined it" she said while she banged her head against her locker

"But what if you didn't?" Was all Kayla was able to say before Mattie interrupted their girl talk.

"Um... Mad can we talk?" Said Mattie nervous and then added "alone!" Giving Kayla a pointed look.

"Sure" replied Mad and they walked throughout the school hallways.

 "Famous for a few days and already in the tabloids tsk tsk tsk Ms. Johnson... Wow" said Mattie

"Oh by the way before I forget I have something for you" she said while she pulled out at ticket for her gig that night "is a ticket for tonight I'm playing at Zero Gravity"

"Wow!" Was all Mattie could say, this fame thing was moving quickly "Is little Nicky-pooh coming?"

"Yeah" said Mad, like it was an obvious answer

"Mad?" Said Mattie with a stern look

"What?" Answered Mad confused

"Don't tell me you rewrote the lyrics?" He said with a hint of annoyance "not with lil Nicky-pooh"

"Mattie, he's grown as an artist" said Mad, smiling just thinking about him.

"He drives a Porsche" said Mattie like it was a bad thing

"Right! I know" replied Mad smiling even more "but he's my producer, what can I do?"

"Whatever" said Mattie trying not to get in an argument and changing the mood "I got ya something" he said pulling a guitar pick on a little chain from his pocket "I bought it off of eBay it said it was Eddie Van Halen's guitar pick"

"This was Eddie Van Halen's?" Replied Mad excited "are you serious?!" She said while giving him a hug "that's awesome! Thank you! I love it"

"Mad..." He said as he put her back on the ground after the hug

"Yeah?"

"We've been friends a long time, but I, I wanted to talk about a transition into something more." Mad couldn't believe her ears, she knew things were about to get awkward, she didn't want something more, she didn't want to lose her friend, she tried to keep her face from showing but it was too late, Mattie had noticed and he knew she didn't feel the same way, and there was an awkward silence broken by Mattie " but you don't!" He said trying to save face "obviously..."

"Don't be mad Mattie" Mad pleaded

"I'm not; I just can't believe you're letting that hack change our song!"

"It's my song" she said softly

"The lyrics are about us!" Yelled Mattie, hurt.

"Right, and they don't work anymore, they have to go"

"You're right, just like me" said Mattie, gave her his back and walked away.

Mad couldn't wrap her mind around what just happened, her best friend had just walked away from her, which was a first for them, then again, him confessing his feelings for her like that was a first too.

----

Nick hadn't been this excited in a while, his artist was about to perform a pretty cool gig with a song that hopefully, with the changes they made will be awesome too. He was so happy he felt like skipping down the hall, then he saw it, Mad's dressing room door it wasn't anything fancy, he knew fancy dressing rooms, but it was alright for her first gig, it had her name on the door, it was a big deal. But then he saw her, sitting there on the couch, crying, he couldn't imagine what could have made her cry on a big day like today, but that didn't matter it was his job to get her ready to perform.

"Knock knock" he said taping the door where her name was written lightly, the door was open so there really wasn't a need to knock, and he just didn't want to be rude "can I have your autograph?" He said joking.

"Hey" she said drying her tears she hopped he hadn't seem her crying "I fixed the lyrics, there's a new hook and everything so... Yeah..." She said as she put the piece of paper with the lyrics on the little coffee table.

"So you took my advice huh?" Nick said while grabbing the paper and reading through it.

"Yeah" she turned around and saw him read the lyrics, nod his head and smile

 "This... This is really good Mad" he said while nodding his head, she didn't seemed happy about how the lyrics turned out, he had to do something to make it better, he never knew what to do when girls were crying "you know you should be happy about this"

"I am" she said shrugging her shoulders

"What's going on?"

"It's Mattie he's not coming tonight" she answered

"For what is worth, back in the day I went through the same with my best friend, it was brutal" he lied

"Yeah" she didn't know what else to say

"Listen, if you ever need to talk, anytime, about anything, I'm here for you okay? It's part of the job" he said and winked at her.

"You know when I met you I thought you were gonna suck huge" said Mad with what appear to be a hint of flirt on her voice. Nick only smiled at her, that smile that had melted thousands of girls.

Suddenly everything slowed down for Mad she didn't know what took over her but next thing she knew she was launching herself to Nick's face with her lips puckered and kissed him.

Nick closed his eyes and stepped back a little "Mad..." He said with his eyes still closed "you're fifteen!" He said, his anger showing.

Mad couldn't believe what she had just done, her mouth was wide open, she had never been so ashamed in her life, tears started rolling down her eyes, and she stepped back.

"I'm such and idiot" she said, she was mad, at him at his stupid smile! But more at herself.

"Mad come on it's almost time" said EJ peeking her head through the door and walking back out.

Nick was just looking at Mad, waging her reaction, she was losing it, half laughing, half crying.

"I can't believe... How did I even begin to like someone like you" she said full on crying now and pointing at him like he was the biggest scum of the earth "you're everything I hate about music!"

"Easy!" Said Nick, there wasn't really much else he could say

"You made me change my song!" She said throwing a punch to his chest

"Don't give me that!" That, he couldn't stand, she could mess with him but not with the music they made "because your song is a thousand times better since we worked on it!" He said with anger "and you know it"

"Mad! They need you!" Said EJ from outside the dressing room

"...Kay!" Was all she said before grabbing her guitar giving a last glance and going to the stage.

I've been sitting in the dirt (for 24 hours)

I've forgotten what I'm worth (for 24 hours)

Said that you'd be here last night

I'm trying to shake you from my skin (for 48 hours)

Clean up this mess I’ve been put in (for 48 hours)

I'm guessing you can't always win

I'm guessing you can't always win

I can't have anything I want

They say I'm just too young

But it's not my fault

I'll find my own way home if I gotta

I'll make it all alone if I gotta

 Mad was giving it her all and she was making her mind up, she couldn't face Nick again, not after what just happened. He probably wouldn't want to be her producer anymore anyway. She felt so stupid, even more because she didn't even have Mattie now or so she thought until she raised her head and in the middle of the crowd there he was, her best friend nodding away to their song, her song.

I'm not so trustful with my friends

I'm on the road alone again

I guess I'm tired of giving in

Nick was walking around the place, enjoying seeing all those bodies soaking in Mad's first song, his girl was rocking, their song rocked and she was really going to be the next big thing, he was feeling glad he said yes to Georgia, then he saw him, Mattie was here, of course he was, who could stay away from that...

I'm sick of wishing you were near

You've gone your way, you've made it clear

Why do I feel you everywhere?

Why do I feel this everywhere?

"Couldn't stay away, could you?" Nick said to Mattie "I mean look at her man!" He said pointing at Mad on stage ‘she was born for this"

Mattie couldn't stand this douche talking to him like he knew Mad better "back in the day when you were shaking your butt in you little boy band Mad and I were locked in my bedroom writing songs that would change the world" Mattie said pointing a finger to Nicks shoulder "so save it!"

"Does that look like your bedroom out there?" Nick said driving his point home 

Don't wanna spend my time

Watching the world go by

I think I'd rather die

And I don't got a plan

Don't wanna justify

To stay where I stand

Something I won't deny

The crowd loved it, she climbed down the stage looking for only one person, she wanted to find Nick, after a couple of seconds she saw him in the back part of the club.

"Mad! It was awesome! You tore the roof off" said Nick very excited; the song had been a success!

"Thanks but I quit" she said handing him the guitar and walking out.

"Mad!"