Car Crash

Chapter 8 : Interview and bass

Chapter 8

The next day...

Rocky POV   

I could tell Riker was super nervous for the interview. I don't know why though. We were going to tell the interviewer that he was sick and couldn't talk much. So it doesn't matter if he knows the answers or not.

The whole car ride there, I was sitting next to him and I could literally feel his whole body get more and more tense the closer we got to the interview.

When we got there, someone showed us to our dressing room so we could get ready.

"Rocky," Riker whimpered next to me.

"What?"

"I can't do this," he said, breaking into tears.

"Hey. Take some deep breaths, Riker. Yes, you can. You'll be fine."

I pulled him into a hug. He was trembling in my arms.

"Calm down, Rik. It's ok. Dad, come here!" I called.

Dad came over.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Riker's just really nervous for the interview."

"Riker, don't be nervous. Your siblings can answer for you. It'll be fine," dad said, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"But I'm scared."

"I know, Riker. But you'll be fine. I promise," dad said.

"R5! We need you in 5 minutes!" Someone called.

"Come on. Wipe your tears," I said, pulling away from Riker.

"Will you sit next to me at the interview?" He asked.

"Sure. Would that make you feel better?"

He nodded.

I wiped the tears off his cheeks.

"Come on. Let's go out there and take our seats," I said, putting my arm around him.

We walked out and sat down on a couch. The rest of our band joined us a minute later, and the interview started.

Riker POV

"So Ross, how are things going with Austin and Ally?"

I started zoning out. My heart is racing in my chest, and I feel hot and sweaty.

I think Rocky could sense me freaking out because he put his arm behind me and started rubbing my back.

The interview only lasted about 15 minutes. It felt like hours to me though.

When it was over, we all went back to our dressing room.

"See? Told you it'd be fine," Rocky said, nudging me.

"I feel sick."

"You'll feel better once you calm down a bit. It's probably just nerves."

"Can we go home now?"

"Yeah."

We packed up and then got in the car to go home. I sat in the back with Rocky again and fell asleep.

Later...

Rocky POV

After we got home and had dinner, dad talked to Riker about the whole bathroom situation. I know Riker is mortified about the whole thing, but he's bounced back quickly with everything else, so I'm guessing this will be easy too.

The baseline is that Riker is in charge of himself now and stuff. It'll give him more responsibility and I think he's less embarrassed if he's in charge of all that.

Dad also said he's going to schedule some concerts soon, so he needs us to help Riker learn to play bass again. Ross said he'd help Riker out with that.

Riker POV

I hate this so much. Why does he have to go and schedule concerts when I'm not ready for them!? I don't know the songs or how to play or even how to use the bathroom yet! This is all going way too quick! And my head is pounding now too.

I went upstairs to take some medicine. I keep getting these awful headaches, which mom said was normal. But they make it hard to concentrate and everything is stressing me out!

"Hey, Rik. How did things go with dad?" Rocky asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said, starting to cry.

"Hey."

Rocky stopped me in my tracks and put his hands on my shoulders.

"You've done so well so far, bro. Don't cry."

I wrapped my arms around him tight and broke down completely.

"I'm just so stressed out!" I cried.

"I know, Riker. Just relax, ok? You're learning everything very quickly, so I'm sure you'll be ready for the concert, ok? How about we go see if Ross can start working on the songs with you tonight, ok?"

I nodded.

"Alright, let's go."

Rocky put his arm around me and led me downstairs. Ross was playing video games with Ryland.

"Hey, can you guys pause it for a second?" Rocky asked.

"Sure," Ryland said, grabbing the remote.

"What's up?" Ross asked.

"Riker is super stressed out. I was wondering if maybe you could work on helping him learn the songs a little bit tonight."

"Sure."

Ross handed Rocky his controller, and then led me down to the basement.

"Are you ok, Riker?" Ross asked.

I nodded, trying to hold in my tears.

"Sit down. I'll grab us some instruments and a notebook."

I sat down on the couch. Ross handed me a white bass, and he had a red one.

"Remember your bass? You got this white one because it's almost identical to the one that the bassist in McFly has."

I nodded, smiling a little.

"So, let's start with some of our more popular songs. A lot of them have the same chords and notes, so once you learn those, you just need to learn the different orders for the songs. And you might have muscle memory in your fingers."

He started writing down some things in a notebook and showing me where to put my fingers.

Later...

Riker POV

My fingers were starting to hurt, which Ross said was normal, but I was exhausted now. So Ross said we could work on the songs more tomorrow. I learned a ton of stuff tonight, and I was feeling a lot less stressed out. I just have to work on using the bathroom, which I'm starting tomorrow.

I got changed for bed and then got in Rocky's bed. He was on his phone, but he moved over so I had more room.

"How'd it go?" Rocky asked.

"Good. But my head hurts."

"Still? I thought you took medicine."

"I did. But it still hurts. I think it's because of so much learning and remembering."

"Probably. I'm sure you'll feel better tomorrow."

I laid down beside Rocky and shut my eyes. I'm scared for tomorrow.