I raised both eyebrows.
I looked over my shoulder and thought, Yep, Modern Family again. Just a few feet away were three very familiar faces—Jay, Gloria, and Manny.
I lingered a second longer on Gloria. Wow, she really is stunning.
Then I turned back to face forward.
The timeline is a mess again
"Someone stole that little guy's heart," I said jokingly.
Cher and Regina rolled their eyes, while Laura looked a little amused.
Then the waiter came by to take our orders. Each of us picked something from the menu, and I went with my favorite—Kobe beef.
"Anyone gonna travel in August?" Regina asked.
"...besides Laura," she added a little awkwardly, as if suddenly remembering that Laura would be going back in August.
"You don't need to be awkward, we're all good," I said, and Laura nodded beside me.
"I'm going to Europe. This time Portugal and Spain," Cher said.
"I so envy you, Cher," Regina replied. "My dad wants me to go with him to China on some business trip."
"And I envy both of you," Laura said jokingly. "I'll be working for part of August."
"I might go to Japan," I added. "But I'm not so sure."
Pepper told me there's going to be a party there for Lost in Translation. She asked if I want to go. I might, because Japan is definitely a country I want to visit.
"That little creepy is still staring at us," Regina whispered.
"He's like nine or ten. What is wrong with him?" Cher added.
I lightly smacked the table, startling all three of them just a bit.
"That's it," I said seriously, turning around.
"Hey, boy," I called out to Manny with a straight face, making him flinch.
Then I broke into a mischievous grin. "Which one of the three did you like?"
"Ouch, ouch, ouch," I muttered as both Cher and Regina kicked me under the table and Laura pinched my arm.
I looked innocently at the three of them. "What? I was curious."
They ruffed and laughed afterward.
With a playful smirk, Cher said, "What if he said he liked Laura?"
"I'd say, welcome to the team," I replied. "She'll be back to Canada soon. She'll break our little hearts...ouch"
Laura pinched my arm again.
I turned to Regina with a humorous smile. "You say 'little creepy,' but he could turn into a hunk in ten years."
Look to his mother
Regina gave Manny another brief glance. "I highly doubt it," she said afterward.
I leaned back a bit and grinned. "You say that now, but this morning I saw a perfect example of transformation. My dad's old friend Jamie came over. Back in the day, she was, let's say... not exactly prom queen material. But now? A stunner. Even Uncle Charlie couldn't hide the surprise on his face."
We kept talking about it for a while.
Then Cher said, "Your Uncle Charlie was a menace to her. But from that brief moment you saw this morning, you think she wants him?"
"Yeah, she had that look," I said.
The three of them exchanged glances, and finally Regina said, "If I were in her place, I'd tease your uncle until he admitted he wanted me—then I'd dump him in that moment."
"Wow, that's quite the revenge for him," I murmured, not questioning Regina's wisdom.
We spent the rest of the day walking around and talking, just enjoying each other's company.
---
As night fell, I headed back to Uncle Charlie's house.
Just as I stepped into the entryway, I walked into the middle of a heated scene.
"Will you both just shut up?" Jamie snapped. "You're ruining everything."
"Nice going," Alan said.
"Nice going," Charlie echoed.
"Say it, Charlie," Jamie demanded.
"Say what?" Charlie asked.
"Say that slick, cool Charlie Harper finally wants Eckelberry Hound."
"You knew about that name?" Charlie blinked.
"That name scarred me for life," Jamie shot back. "It's the reason I haven't eaten a carbohydrate since college."
"Well, you do look good," Charlie offered.
"You're damn right I look good... you smug, shallow son of a b*tch. I have spent years working and sweating and dreaming... about the day that I would be able to rub your smarmy nose in it."
"Okay, I'm getting mixed signals here," Charlie muttered.
"This is the signal, Charlie: You can't have this. Not now, not ever. Never, never, never!" Jamie screamed.
"You know, I didn't make up the Eckelberry Hound thing," Charlie defended.
"But he did spread it around," Alan chimed in. "I was always your friend."
"Oh, please. I spent years throwing myself at you, friend. Playing stupid nerd games on my bed with my shirt open, buddy. Hoping that you would kiss me or touch me... or at least notice me as a woman, pal!"
"You knew your shirt was open?" Alan asked.
"Who do you think opened it?" Jamie snapped.
"But I wasn't pretty enough for you. You wanted Donna DeMarco... or Maxine Chernikoff, just because they had big boobs... and no excess facial hair."
Alan stepped forward, looking regretful. "Jamie, I had no idea. I am so sorry. I was a stupid teenager. I guess I just didn't appreciate you then."
"I guess not," Jamie replied coldly.
"But that was a long time ago. I'm not a stupid teenager anymore. Do you think maybe you could forgive me, and maybe we could try again?"
Jamie raised her chin. "Is that what you really want, Alan?"
"Very much."
"Well, eat your heart out. You can never have this. Never, never, never!" she screamed again and stormed off. I took a step aside.
Charlie looked to the side and muttered, "Well, I guess we know why she's still single."
Then he noticed me standing there.
"Oh look who's back," Charlie said, nodding toward me.
"Well," I said, stepping in, "Regina was totally right. But it didn't go as planned..."
It had been two days since Marshmello's album dropped. The morning sun was coming in through the windows, casting a soft light over everything.
That morning, I was at Carly's house. The four of us—me, Laura, Carly, and Sam—were sprawled out in the living room watching TV. Bella, Carly's dog, was resting her head in my lap.
On the TV, a street reporter was speaking with a bright smile: "Marshmello's album, Joytime, has already sold over 2.5 million copies, breaking several records and turning into a Multi-Platinum album in just two days"
The shot switched to a reporter standing next to a long line of buyers outside a music store.
"As you can see," she said, holding her mic and gesturing behind her, "even after two days, there are still lines forming to buy his album."
The camera then cut back to the studio, where the anchor turned to a seated commentator.
"It's clearly an immense phenomenon," the anchor said. "Tell us a bit more about the album, would you?"
The commentator nodded. "The Joytime album has 18 tracks, more than usual, including Friendzone and Titanium featuring Sia, I Need Your Love, Burn and Outside featuring Ellie Goulding, and On the Floor featuring J.Lo."
And he finished, "Happier, Alone, Faded, Hear Me Now, Waiting for Love, Summer, Blame, Wake me Up, The Nights, My Way, Fast Cars, and Are You with Me."
I thought to myself, The Nights (Avicii), My Way (Calvin Harris), Fast Car (Jonas Blue), and Are You with Me (Lost Frequencies)—those last four were used to promote the album.
The anchor then asked, "And are we still no closer to knowing who Marshmello really is?"
The commentator replied, "Yes. Months ago, every week a new name would pop up. Now, it's daily. So even if the real Marshmello came forward, would we actually believe it?"
The anchor followed up, "Would we need an official statement from the company that manages him?"
"Even that might not be enough," the commentator answered. "The company has already made statements like 'might be this one,' 'maybe this one is,' or 'no, no, no, this time this one can possibly be...' They would need to launch a major campaign, clearly revealing the name, to make everyone believe it."
I chuckled. Yeah, Susie—my PR commander—is a troll (she will probably hit me if I said this to her). Well, she said that in this scenario, the best thing is to just play dumb.
Besides, Regina's dad is friends with Rupert Murdoch, and Pepper has other powerful connections. That kind of strategy hasn't caused any major backlash for Marshmello.
The anchor leaned in slightly. "What about the premium version of the CD? Any updates on that?"
The commentator smiled. "The release is scheduled for mid-August, and we've got some hot news about one of the tracks—it will feature Christina Aguilera."
The recording with Christina Aguilera was done yesterday, with the song 'Feel This Moment'(Pitbull). Pepper purposely leaked this info.
"Still makes me numb sometimes, that it's you," Laura said, looking at me.
"Yes," Carly agreed. "So many people trying to figure it out, and he's right here..."
"...with my dog in his lap," she added.
"Nah, I think it's okay," Sam said, completely unfazed, by my side.
Laura turned to her. "So, Sam, what's going on with you, want to talk about it?"
Sam had been acting a little different this morning.
She ruffed a little and said, "My sister's comin' home for a few days and I'm peeved off about it, okay?"
"It's just three days. You can deal with it," Carly chimed in.
"Wait, you have a sister?" I asked, surprised, turning my head to her.
"Yeah, Melanie," Sam replied.
"This isn't one of your pranks, like the ones you pulled on Freddie, is it?" I asked.
Freddie is very gullible, so Sam pranked him a few times this vacation (all harmless).
"No, she really has a sister," Carly said. "But Sam hates to talk about her."
Laura and I gave her the same exact look—an unspoken 'why?'
"My twin goes to a fancy boarding school, on a scholarship, she gets perfect grades, never gets in trouble, always has clean hair. She makes me sick," Sam explained.
"Oh, come on, she's sweet," Carly argued.
"Wait, wait," I said, raising a hand. "There's a twin of Sam, and we got the bad one?"
Sam gave me a few light punches.
"I'm joking, I'm joking," I added quickly, pulling her into an embrace.
After I let her go, I said, "I don't know if I want to meet her. A nerdy goody two-shoes Sam? Eww, gives me the creeps."
"Right?!" Sam agreed enthusiastically.
We bumped fists and followed it up with a high-five.
"You two... what am I gonna do with you two..." Carly murmured, shaking her head.
Just then, my phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen and saw Pepper's name.
"Sorry, guys," I said, standing up. "I gotta take this."
I stepped out of the room to answer the call.
"Hi, Pepper."
"Hello, Jake. I'm calling to talk about the deal with Britney. There are two things. First—she liked both songs we offered, the feature on 'Symphony' (Clean Bandit) and 'Toxic'. But she wants to keep 'Toxic' as her own and have you feature in it instead."
"I'm okay with that," I said.
Toxic was probably Britney's most famous song, and it didn't blend that well with Marshmello's sound—not that I was trying too hard to make everything fit. 'Burn' and 'On the Floor' didn't either.
"And the second?" I asked.
"That's more of a personal request," Pepper replied. "She wants to meet you—without the helmet. She's even willing to sign NDAs with very specific clauses."
"Huh." That caught me off guard. "I don't really know what to think about it... I'm not against it. What's your opinion, Pepper?"
"I talked to Susie," she said. "We think it could be a good move to build a relationship with her. And if she does something stupid, we already have countermeasures ready to diffuse the situation. It's your call..."
"But you don't need to decide now. The first point was the main one to close the deal. That part we can sign. If you're not comfortable with the meeting later, we can cancel it."
"Okay. That went faster than I expected." I said
"Jake, you sold 2.5 million copies in two days. Even she can't do that. And her plan is to release her album later this year, after finishing recording in August. Her agent was the one who encouraged her to accept the deal."
After the call with Pepper ended, I stood still for a moment in the hallway.
I pocketed my phone and walked back into Carly's living room. The girls were still lounging, Bella quietly resting in her spot.
"Good news!" I said, while patting Bella's head.
But the reaction wasn't what I expected. They just looked at me briefly, then went back to what they were doing.
After a moment, I raised an eyebrow and said, a little indignant, "No one's going to ask?"
The three of them laughed.
"We already know you, suspense boy," Sam said, mocking.
"And if I said it's about Britney singing, what're you gonna do?" I shot back, grinning.
"What?!" they all screamed at once.
Laura immediately scooted closer to me, eyes wide.
Sam leaned in too, nearly shoulder to shoulder.
Carly stood up and walked over, positioning herself right in front of me.
"We closed the deal. It will be two songs," I said.
"We're gonna meet Britney?" Laura asked excitedly.
"Yes, pretty cool, huh?!" I replied with a smile.
The four of us kept chatting about it—and other random things—until eventually Laura and I got up.
"See you later at the smoothie store?" I asked.
"Yes," Carly said.
"Where are you going?" Sam asked.
"We're gonna enjoy our last days," I said, then made some obnoxious kissing noises.
Sam kicked me, Carly booed, and even Bella barked in protest.
I gasped in mock betrayal. "Even you, Bella...?"
"Come on," Laura said, laughing as she pulled me by the arm
---
After a while, Laura and I made our way to the smoothie store. Just as we were approaching, we saw Sam walking out with a large smoothie in hand.
She raised an eyebrow at us. "Took you long enough."
We exchanged quick goodbyes, then headed inside.
Freddie and Carly were already there, sitting at one of the corner tables. As soon as they saw us, Carly waved us over.
We walked up and sat down with them and ordered two smoothies.
Just moments later, a girl who looked exactly like Sam walked out from the bathroom
"Hey, Freddie," she said with a bright smile.
"You must be Melanie. I'm Jake," I said, offering a friendly smile.
Laura followed up, giving a small wave. "Hi, I'm Laura."
"Oh, not you two too," Freddie muttered, shaking his head.
"Where's Sam?" Melanie asked.
"Oh, she had to go back," Carly replied.
"Yes. And isn't it interesting how Sam had to leave right before you showed up here?" Freddie added, narrowing his eyes to Melanie.
"Is he still on this?" Melanie sighed.
"Uh-huh," Carly said, nodding.
"I will say it's impressive that you changed your clothes and hair so fast," Freddie continued.
"Freddie, I'm really Melanie. I'm really Sam's sister," she said.
"Oh, are you?" Freddie challenged.
"I am," Melanie insisted. "Anyway, I gotta go meet my mom at the clinic," she added as she stood up
"Wait," he said. "Since you're Melanie, how would you like to go on a date with me this Saturday night?"
"Oh," Melanie blinked. "Well, that'd be really cool. I'd love to."
"Oh, you—really?" Freddie asked, surprised.
"Sure," Melanie replied.
"Okay then."
"Okay. Bye," she said with a smile.
And the two of them walked out together (Freddie needed to go too), making the moment a little more awkward
"What just happened?" Laura asked, intrigued.
"My boy's all grown up," I said with a proud smile. "He has a date tomorrow."
Carly finally snapped out of her daze. "Wow, that came out of nowhere."
"Carly, explain please," I asked, turning to her.
"Freddie thinks we're pranking him, and Melanie is fake—like it's Sam in disguise," Carly explained.
"Yeah, that's what I was guessing…" I said, nodding.
"And you didn't think of warning him?" Laura asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't see the harm in it," I shrugged. "He even got a date."
We all laughed.
---
On Saturday night, Laura and I went to a teen-friendly party—no alcohol was being served. Cher and Regina couldn't come because they had to travel with their families.
Laura was sitting beside me at a large table filled with members of the football team. Terrance was right next to us, still wearing his letterman jacket. The party was in celebration of the football team's big win earlier that afternoon—they had just clinched the regional championship.
I leaned back and waved at a passing waitress. "Come on, bring more food, please," I said, even though the table already looked like a medieval tavern banquet.
"Don't we have enough food?" Laura asked, surprised.
"Are you not seeing these orcs?" I laughed, glancing at Terrance and the rest of the team.
"Come on, guys, let's eat! There's more to come!" I shouted.
That earned a round of cheers and a few loud whoops from around the table.
"Now you're like a shaman orc," Laura said playfully.
"When did you become a nerdy?" I asked, surprised.
"I know a thing or two," Laura replied with a wink.
Then Terrance leaned toward me and pointed across the room. "Isn't that Freddie and Sam?" he asked, nodding toward a distant spot near the long couches.
From where we were—far from the dance floor and lounging areas—I could see two familiar figures sitting together in conversation.
"Not really, that's Melanie—Sam's twin sister," I replied casually.
Then I added, "Hey, Terrance, do me a favor. Tell the boys if some idiot tries to interrupt those two, to kick his ass."
"You betcha," Terrance said, cracking his knuckles with both fists.
After a good while of eating, most of the guys now had a girl sitting beside them. Terrance was with a really tall girl—though she still looked small next to him.
Then, a slow song started playing. Laura stood up and gently pulled me with her toward the dance floor.
While we danced, she leaned in and whispered, "You're dancing well."
"It's not just Regina and Cher who've been taking secret lessons," I replied with a chuckle.
Dancing isn't just useful for a singer like me—it's also for moments like this.
As we swayed, I glanced across the room and spotted Freddie and Melanie sharing a kiss.
"And heee scooores," I muttered with a grin.
Laura laughed softly and leaned closer. "You'd rather watch your friend kiss someone... or kiss me?"
I didn't say a word—I just kissed her.
The next day, Laura, Carly, and I were at my place in Santa Monica.
"I can't believe you didn't go, Carly," I said, referring to the party last night.
"I was with Sam..." Carly replied with a shrug. "And Sam didn't want to go to the same place that Melanie was."
She murmured, "...and see her dating Freddie."
"About that," I said, "they kissed."
There were a lot of people at the party—Carly and the rest would hear about it sooner or later. It's not like they were being discreet about it, especially kissing right in the middle of the dance floor.
"They did?" Carly said, astonished.
Just then, the doorbell rang. A moment later, Freddie appeared at the door.
"Look who's here," I said with a grin.
Freddie stepped in and greeted everyone with a wave.
Noticing he looked a little awkward, I asked, "What is it, Freddie?"
"I can't believe I kissed Sam for the second time," he replied.
"You kissed Sam?" Laura asked, trying to sound surprised.
We all looked at her, and she quickly added, "Yeah, Jake is better at this—even though I'm the actress..."
"Now you're slandering me," I said. "And no, Freddie. You kissed Melanie."
"Can we stop this?" Freddie said, clearly still thinking it was a prank.
"Freddie, Melanie is real," I said. "They'll be here soon."
Freddie looked a bit skeptical, but we kept chatting casually until the doorbell rang again.
Moments later, Sam and Melanie appeared. Melanie greeted everyone with a cheerful "hi," while Sam gave a more subdued "hello".
"There are two of them?" Freddie said, astonished.
"Yeah, and you kissed both," I murmured close to him.
Carly, who was beside me, jabbed me in the ribs.
Freddie glared at me but then gave a small smile and murmured, "Yeah, I did."
The six of us sat down, gathering around the table. Sam immediately began attacking the food that was laid out, wasting no time at all.
"How could you make out with Freddie, Melanie?" she said through a mouthful.
Freddie choked on his drink.
"What? He's adorable," Melanie replied, glancing at him with a playful smile.
He coughed a bit and turned red with embarrassment.
"I can't believe you two are sisters," Carly said.
"Me neither," they both responded in unison.
"You know, one time she tried to convince me I was adopted?" Melanie added afterward.
We all laughed about that.
"So are there any more secrets we need to know about your family, Sam?" I asked.
"Not that I can remember," Sam replied, though her tone didn't exactly convince anyone.
Melanie chimed in, "I don't know what you already know about our family, but here's a fun fact: our mom also has an identical twin."
"Huh, it is a fun fact..." I repeated absentmindedly.
The six of us ended up talking the whole afternoon away.
---
In the blink of an eye, the end of July arrived—and with it, the recording with Britney.
Pepper and I were gathered in one of the many recording studios at the facility.
This particular studio belonged to one of our subsidiaries—JDS, a joint venture between JD Company and Sony Music. We held 51% of the shares. As Pepper always said, we didn't need to compete on every front. Sometimes, it was smarter to partner with a giant.
And with our ten-year agreement in place, I wasn't worried about being swallowed later. Ten years from now, forget about a subsidiary like Sony Music, I could probably buy Sony entirely.
We've already signed with Evanescence, Justin Timberlake—who, until recently, was part of the boy band 'N Sync—and Maroon 5, which regrouped and added James Valentine to their lineup.
Also, Avril Lavigne, who fired Cliff Fabri and signed with us instead.
Thus, no famous artists yet. But out of all of them, the most debatable would be Maroon 5 (considering, cough, I'll be singing their songs before they even release them. It's not stealing if they never had it).
"So, My Big Fat Greek Wedding passed $330 million worldwide?" I asked Pepper.
"Yes. Brokeback Mountain is nearing $90 million worldwide," she replied.
"It's because of prejudice. Why can't everyone be like me? I don't care what people do with their own holes at home—I just want to take their money. I mean, cough, sell something, and then take their money," I added with a smirk.
Pepper just rolled her eyes but added, "But Brokeback Mountain was very well received by the critics. We might ever win an Oscar…"
---
I went to get dressed in the Marshmello outfit. A few minutes later, I came back fully suited.
"Jake, have you decided?" Pepper asked.
"Yes, I'm going to introduce myself to her," I said. "But it needs to be done with a proper ta-da—pulling off the helmet."
At that moment, more people entered the studio—Cher, Regina, Laura, Carly, Sam, and Freddie. Right behind them came the adults: Charlie, Alan, Judith, and Evelyn.
I walked over to Cher and Regina. "You two are incredibly calm," I said, surprised.
"We're tired," Cher corrected. "Pepper introduced us to your personal trainer and said we could only come if we worked out with her this morning."
"Wow, you met that demon," I said with pity.
Yeah, I had a personal trainer. She is a demon. But the results are excellent, I glanced down at myself
"She made us run 10 laps," Regina said with fake teary eyes.
Then the moment everyone had been waiting for finally arrived—Britney walked into the room alone.
Before Cher and Regina could scream, I quickly covered their mouths with my hands.
But then, everyone heard a high-pitched, girly scream of "It's Britney!"
My eyes twitched.
Everyone turned toward the source of the shout.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Alan said, noticeably embarrassed.
I facepalmed (in my helmet)
Everyone turned back toward Britney, who paused for a second, slightly amused by the awkward silence that followed Alan's outburst.
"It's okay," she said with a polite smile. "I'm used to... enthusiastic welcomes."
Alan nodded nervously, Judith gave him a sideways glare, and Charlie muttered, "That's going in the family history."
I took a step forward. "Hi," I said. "I'm Marshmello."
"Britney Spears," she replied, shaking my hand. Her eyes lingered on the Marshmello helmet for a moment, then she hesitated. "Can you take the helmet off?"
"I can, but please don't share it," I said.
"I wouldn't. I gain nothing from it. On the contrary, the fine and those clauses are kind of... Spartan," she replied with a mildly offended tone.
I slowly lifted the helmet, revealing my face.
Britney's eyes widened in surprise. She blinked, then narrowed her gaze with a puzzled expression. Tilting her head slightly, she said, "I'm sorry... but who are you?"
I gasped. A few muffled laughs were heard around the room. Cher and Regina couldn't hold back and burst into soft giggles.
"I'm Jake Harper," I said. "And you're totally right. I'm not someone famous. And I don't want to be anytime soon—that's why the mask."
"Damn it, I thought you were someone I would know," Britney replied a little frustrated.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," she added quickly.
"Nah, it's okay. I'd feel the same if I were in your shoes," I said.
"I know this has already been discussed, but are you comfortable interacting with everyone here? If you're feeling uneasy..."
"It's fine. I'm already used to it," Britney said with a smile.
"Because I'm the one starting to feel uncomfortable. Feels like there are hungry eyes staring at my back..." I joked, making Britney laugh a little.
"Come on, let me introduce everyone," I said. "That's Cher and Regina," I pointed, as they barely held back their excitement. "Over there are Carly, Freddie, Sam, and Laura."
Then I turned slightly and gestured toward the others. "And those are my family—Alan, Charlie, Judith, and Evelyn."
Pepper spoke up, "Let the two of them go into the booth. Later, if there's time and Britney agrees, we can all talk more."
I nodded, and the two of us entered the booth.
"You're different from what I expected," Britney said as she settled into her spot. "I thought you were older. Are you like sixteen or seventeen?" she asked, eyeing me curiously.
"I'm thirteen, but my birthday is this weekend," I replied.
"What?? You're thirteen??" Britney said, visibly shocked.
"So where is all this music coming from?" she asked, still trying to process it.
"I'm a genius," I said, without blinking.
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "But some of them... like 'Toxic,' for example, are..."
"Whoa, whoa, let's not talk about difficult things," I interrupted quickly.
Why couldn't she just be clueless about this like everyone else? (where is the sitcom logic in her?)
"Okay," she said, nodding slowly. "But can we start with 'Toxic'?" she asked. "I really liked that song."
I nodded, and we stepped into place. Then Britney began to sing:
♪ Baby, can't you see I'm calling?
A guy like you should wear a warning
It's dangerous, I'm falling ♪
Unlike the original, 'Toxic' now carried a more electronic beat—an unmistakable Marshmello touch pulsing beneath Britney's vocals.
After that, we moved on to 'Symphony.'
---
Later that evening, everyone was back at the house in Malibu.
I was watching Cher and Regina with a look of pure satisfaction on their faces. "These two..." I murmured while I was resting my head in Laura's lap
"And what about Jake's birthday party this Sunday?" Sam asked, snapping them both out of their daydream.
"It will be incredible," said Cher. "The best party anyone in our school has ever seen."
"Yes, we already hired everything, and we have a backup too," said Regina.
"How many people are actually coming in the end?" I asked.
"You don't know?" Freddie said, astonished.
"Four hundred people," Cher answered.
Regina added, "Most of them are from our school, but there will be plenty of people from other schools too."
"Only the popular ones," she added with a smirk.
---
The day before my birthday, I was at the Santa Monica house with Laura. The sun had already begun to set. We were lying on the couch
I grabbed the DVD.
"Hey, come on, let's watch it on the TV," I said, getting up and walking over to connect it.
The screen lit up, and the video started with last year's clip—Alan, Charlie, and me singing ♪ Men men men men, manly men ♪.
Right after that, the second video began. It had the same theme song, but it was clear I had grown since the first. This time, the three of us were each holding a top hat, passing it from one to another in a kind of choreographed goofiness. The background was a bright blue sky.
"Cool, right?" I said, glancing at Laura with a grin. "This is a family men tradition now. Days before my birthday, I record with my dad and my uncle."
"That is... actually nice," Laura said, surprised. "I thought it was a little lame at first, but it's actually pretty cute."
"Cute??" I gasped dramatically. "Didn't you hear the song? It's manly men."
We both laughed, teasing each other playfully.
Then my phone buzzed with a message. I reached over, picked it up, and checked the screen.
"Hey Laura, can you help me with something?" I asked.
"Sure," she said.
I handed her my phone and pointed to the screen. Her eyes widened as she read.
"You're texting with Britney??" she said, shocked.
"Yeah, we exchanged numbers... check the other messages," I said casually.