Chapter Two

Maera was snapped out of thought as a car pulled up in the driveway. Two teenage boys stepped out. One was taller than the other. The taller one had long, shaggy beach blond hair, and piercing blue eyes. His deep California tan and muscles suggested that he was a surfer. He wore a white tank and surf shorts. His face was angelic and beautiful. He was the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen. He smiled, revealing straight, perfect white teeth. The other boy was slightly shorter and had long, shaggy black hair falling in his eyes, longer than the blonde boys locks. He was cute, but nowhere near as good looking as the blonde boy. She frowned as she watched the blonde boy push the raven haired teen. They walked over to Maera.

“Hi.” The taller one said. “My name is Jayden Tyler. This is my brother Maxwell. We’re looking for Vincent or Maerabella James. Do you know where they are?”

“Yea. Vinny is inside. I’m Maerabella.” Maera said, smiling. “C’mon inside, you can meet uncle Vinny. Do you guys need some help with your stuff?”

“Yea, kind of.” Jayden said sheepishly.

Maera grinned. “No problem. Hey, Ry!” she called.

Ryan walked out front from around back.

“What do you need, Mel Bel?” Ryan asked.

“Ryan, meet Maxwell and Jayden. Guys, this is Ryan.”

“Hey.” Ryan and Jayden said as they shook hands. Max just shook hands and smiled.

“Ry, can u help with their bags?” Maera asked sweetly.

“Only for you, princess.” Ryan teased.

Max and Jay exchanged a look. Maera punched Ryan lightly on the arm, and the four of them walked over to the car. Maera saw two electric guitars and one acoustic sitting in cases on the seat.

“You guys are musicians?” she asked.

“Yea.” Maxwell said. It was the first thing he had said to her the whole time. They each grabbed something, then the four of them went inside.

“Hey Mae, I got to go finish setting up the stage. Be back later, k?” Ryan said. “

“C ya.” Maera replied. “Hey Vinny!” she called. “They guys are here.”

Vinny came out of the kitchen and into the front hall.

“Hey guys, you must be Max and Jayden. I’m Vincent James, Vince to you guys. Anyway, welcome to Firestone Manor. If you don’t know, this place is a cross between a bed and breakfast and a boarding house. So we have some borders and some people who just stay for a few days. It’s crazy around here sometimes, but never boring. Just have fun. You guys are going to be here for a while, so I hope this will be like home to you. If you need anything, just let one of us know.” Vincent said.

“Thanks.” Jayden replied.

“Maera, why don’t you show them to their rooms?” Vinny said.

“Sure. Follow me.” Maera replied.

Maera led Max and Jayden upstairs to the 3rd floor.

“You guys can share a room or have separate rooms. Whichever you want...which would you like?” Maera asked.

“Separate.” Jayden said immediately.

Maera grinned. “K.”

She led them to two rooms next door to each other.

“Max, you’re on the left and Jayden, you’re on the right. The rooms are adjourning, just so you know.” She said.

“So, how old are you guys?” She asked.

“I’m 15, and Max is 14.” Jayden replied. “How old are you, Maerabella?”

“I’m 14. And by the way, the only person who calls me Maerabella is Vinny, and that is only when I’m in trouble. It’s Maera to most people. Everyone else has different nicknames for me.” Maera laughed. “So...you guys play guitar...anything else?”

“Jay plays drums and guitar. I play keys, bass and guitar.” Max replied.

“What about you?” Jayden added.

“I play guitar, keys, bass, and drums. My brothers taught me.” Maera replied.

“Hey, what is going on with this concert thing? I saw signs outside?” Jay asked.

Maera’s eyes lit up as soon as the topic came up. She grinned. “Concert for a Change benefits Huntington’s Disease. The HD gene is hereditary in our family. My brother Jesse started the concet 6 years ago. We held it every summer. Jesse, Nick and I used to play every year, along with some other local bands. But its just me this year. Hey, would you guys be interested in playing?” Maera asked.

Max and Jay looked at each other and shrugged. “Sure, it would be fun.”

Maera grinned. “Great! Well, I have to go help finish setting up. Why don’t you guys unpack and then come out back?”

“Sure.” Jay said.

“Great. Just follow the hallway to the stairs.” Maera said. Then she was gone.

Both boys walked into their rooms to unpack. Max threw his suitcase on the floor and took out his acoustic and electric guitars and his base, setting them in their stands and plugging his amp in next to them. He had hated to leave his drum set and keyboard behind, but it had been hard enough to convince his mom to let him bring his precious guitars and his base. Jay walked into his room and laughed when he saw Max taking out the instruments.

“Gosh, Max, you’re such a nerd. Do you even think about anything except music?” Jayden sneered at him.

Max looked at him in disdain. “And what would you have me spend all my time doing, picking up as many girls as I can?”

Jayden grinned. “Hell yeah. I bet I can have Maera in a week. And I mean as a serious date, not just a fling or a one night stand. She is hot, and I need sometime to keep me company for the next two years. I’ll have her wrapped around my finger in a day. She is perfect, and so am I, so we belong together.”

Max looked at him. “Somehow, I get the feeling she isn’t stupid enough to fall for your dumbass fliring.” Max said cynically.

“Says the guy who has never had a date.” Jay retorted. Max just rolled his eyes and let the conversation drop. They walked outside and over to the stage where Maerabella was. They walked onto the stage. Maera was tuning a guitar using a piano.

Max smiled and said, “Play something. Please.”

Jayden grinned. “yea.” He agreed. “play something that you wrote.”

Maera grinned and nodded. She began to play guitar as she sang:

“Drew looks at me, I fake a smile so he won't see
That I want and I'm needing everything that we should be
I'll bet she's beautiful, that girl he talks about
And she's got everything that I have to live without

Drew talks to me, I laugh cause it's just so funny
That I can't even see anyone when he's with me
He says he's so in love, he's finally got it right,
I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night

Chorus:

He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do

Drew walks by me, can he tell that I can't breathe?
And there he goes, so perfectly,
The kind of flawless I wish I could be
She'd better hold him tight, give him all her love
Look in those beautiful eyes and know she's lucky cause

Repeat Chorus

So I drive home alone, as I turn out the light
I'll put his picture down and maybe
Get some sleep tonight

He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only one who's got enough of me to break my heart
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do
He's the time taken up, but there's never enough
And he's all that I need to fall into..

Drew looks at me, I fake a smile so he won't see”

When she was finished singing, Max and Jay just stared at her for a minute. Everyone helping set up had stopped to listen. They applauded tremendously, shocked by her voice, which rang out clear hitting every note. Her guitar playing was just as good. Her fingers effortlessly moved as she played. Maera blushed as everyone applauded, though she was slightly pleased.

When the applause died down, Jay said, “Oh, my gosh. You are so good. You could get a record deal or something.”

Maera shook her head. “No way, I’m not that good. Besides, to me, it isn’t about being the best in the world. It’s just about being able to play. That’s all I need.” She smiled softly, and then said, “So, do you guys need to practice or something? Do you know what you are gonna sing tonight?”

Jayden and Max looked at each other. “I’m not sure what we are gonna play. Can we steal you for the evening? Cuz we can’t play just us two and like we used to have a band back home.”

Maera shrugged. “Yeah, sure, whatever you need.”

“Thanks. Hey, if you don’t mind, we’d like to unpack and look around for a while.” Jayden said.

Maera grinned. “Yeah that is cool. Hey, tonight after the concert, we are having a bonfire down on the beach. You can check out the boardwalk and stuff then, and I can show you around town, if you want. Here in Santa Monica, nighttime is just as busy as daytime.”

“That sounds great.” Jayden and Max exclaimed at the same time.

Maera raised her eyebrows, then smiled and walked away. “I’ll see you later.” She called over her shoulder.

Max and Jayden walked around the house. The backyard, if you could call it that, was huge, at least 10 acres. There was a humongous swimming pool, a hot tub, a tennis court and a basketball court. Not to mention the huge stage in the middle of it all, though the stage was pretty close to the house and looked temporary.

“Wow, this place is amazing.” Jay said in awe.

“Yeah tell me about it.” Max said with a distant look on his face.

“Hey, what’s going on in that big brain of yours, geek?” Jayden asked.

Max frowned and shook his head. “I’m not sure. But I’m beginning to think you are right. Something about this house, Maera, her brothers, everything, something just seems off about it.” He said thoughtfully.

“Look.” Jay said. “We have only been here a few hours. We don’t have to solve the mysteries of this place in the first five minutes, you know.”

Max grinned. “Yea I guess you are right. Come on; let’s figure out what songs we are going to play. The concert is in like 3 hours but we need a lot of practice with Maera to make sure we sound okay.”