All the blood rushed to Nick Collins' head as he lounged upside down on the sofa, pounding an imaginary drum with his sticks. He worked out a beat in his head and closed his eyes, visioning a filled to capacity crowd at a big city venue, chanting his name. He wasn't aware of the grin that spread across his face as his fantasy brightened and he could almost see the girls in the front row, hopping up and down, anxious for a glimpse of him. He trotted on stage, twirling the drumsticks in his hand, as his best friends Jake Johnson and Ronnie Stone followed closely behind, guitars strapped around their necks. He started pounding out a beat, winking at one of the hot girls and causing her to swoon. Jake and Ronnie lit it up with their rips and chords and the place went wild. Pyrotechnics exploded behind him and jolted his arms to bang louder and harder. The girls in the front screamed and did their best to climb on stage, wanting only to touch the guys.

"Nick," a voice called out, prying into his fantasy. "Did you take the trash out?"

He sighed as the images of his fans faded slowly away. "Not yet, Mom," he shouted back.

"Could you please? The garbage men come today!"

"Sure," he muttered as he rolled off the sofa and to the floor.

He shoved his drumsticks in his back pocket and slowly ambled to the kitchen. He pulled the heaping bag out of the can and tied it securely. He eyed the kitchen clock warily, hoping it would be 3:00 so Jake could come over. He hated not hanging out with him in school anymore but he didn't have much of a choice. He sighed again and hauled the garbage bag out the back door and to the alley where their trashcans were located.

"Hello, Nicholas," Mrs. Lindenmeyer called from her back porch. Nick waved, hoping to deter her from her usual lecture. "Still not back in school?"

"No, ma'am," he said politely. "My mother is home schooling me."

"That's no way for a young man to get a quality education," she said. It was a speech he'd heard millions of times before.

"I had some problems at school," he tried to explain, knowing the older lady wouldn't understand. "I'm doing much better here at home."

"They never had this home schooling nonsense in my day," she said in disgust. "Kids obeyed and respected their teachers and did as they were told."

"Yes, ma'am," he repeated, not bothering to explain exactly what his problems were. He listened as she ranted about the education system these days and hoped his mother would notice his absence and call him to the house. "I have some chores to finish so I'll talk to you later."

"Yes, help that mother of yours," Mrs. Lindenmeyer ordered. "She's a good woman and has had things pretty rough."

He nodded and hurried back to the small house. He yanked the door open and washed his hands under the kitchen tap.

Peggy Collins placed a kiss on his cheek and squeezed his shoulder. "Mrs. Lindenmeyer stopped you, huh?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "She lectured me on not going to school."

"Well she doesn't understand your circumstances," his mother sympathized. "Besides, you're grades are much better now."

"I know. Oh, I finished that math stuff if you want to send it."

"I will," she said. She kissed his cheek again. "Why don't you go practice for awhile? I'm sure Jake and Ronnie will head straight here after school."

He nodded and rushed off to his bedroom. He closed his door tightly but he knew his mother would still hear every beat through the paper thin walls. He began working on a cover song Jake suggested they try and allowed his mind to wander.

For as long as he could remember it had always just been him and his mother. His father left when he was just a baby and his mother did the best she could. But she was smart and a hard worker and had risen rapidly from a cashier at the bank to one of the loan officers. He knew she often wished she made more money but he never went without. The little house they rented wasn't nearly as big as the house Jake lived in with his father and sister, but it was neat and warm and in a decent neighborhood. He always had good food to eat and she'd recently splurged and upgraded his drum kit for his birthday. He loved her as much as a boy could love his mother and held her in the highest regard. He offered to get a job to help take some of the strain off of her but she wouldn't allow it. She wanted him to finish his schooling first.

He'd been messing around for nearly an hour when his bedroom door flew open, admitting Jake Johnson and Ronnie Stone, his two best friends.

Ronnie shoved a chocolate chip cookie in his mouth and grinned, allowing an avalanche of crumbs to fall down his shirt. "Dude, your mom is so cool."

Jake smacked the back of his head. "Don't be a slob."

"Hey, how was school?" Nick asked.

Ronnie groaned and flopped on Nick's bed. "It sucks, man. I wish you'd come back."

"Why the hell would he do that?" Jake asked absently as he sat at Nick's desk and flipped through his history book. "He can sit here all day and watch soap operas while eating bon-bons."

Nick snorted and threw a carefully aimed drumstick at Jake's head. "My mom makes sure I have plenty of stuff to do while she's working."

Ronnie shoved Jake excitedly and laughed when he tumbled to the floor. "Tell him our news, man!"

Jake stood and brushed himself off. "Chill out, man. Geez." He sat backwards on Nick's desk chair and grinned. "We found a couple people who might be interested in playing bass."

Nick's jaw fell. "Really? That'd be great because my mom said her boss's husband owns a bar and he'd let us play…"

Jake held up a hand. "I know. That's why I thought we'd have these guys come over to my place tomorrow and play for us."

"Who are they?" Nick asked warily. "Please tell me it's not any of Martin's gang."

"Hell no," Jake said, horrified Nick would even ask. "I don't think any of those idiots could pluck an eyebrow let alone a decent chord."

Nick shrugged and walked around his drum set to retrieve his thrown drumstick. "I just hate to have another confrontation."

Ronnie laughed. "Dude, you could so take all of them." He pointed to the meager weight set in the corner of the room. "Hell, you could take all of us."

Nick flipped the stick in the air and caught it. "Whatever you say. Are we gonna head over to Jake's now?"

"Yeah," Jake said, getting to his feet. "I told my dad I'd be home early."

"Hi Nick," Greta Johnson greeted. "How are you?"

"Fine, thanks," he smiled.

"Go away, Greta," Jake barked at his sister. "We have stuff to do."

"Please," she huffed. "You guys suck without a bassist."

"That's why we need to practice," Jake stressed.

"Hey, Greta, got anything to eat?" Ronnie asked as he headed to the kitchen. "I'm starved."

"Geez, Ronnie, is that all you do is eat?" Greta asked as she stalked after him.

Nick couldn't help but smile. He loved coming to Jake's house and not because it was huge. He always wished he'd had a sibling and even though Jake and Greta bickered constantly, he knew Jake was very protective of his little sister. And Greta hero-worshiped him in return.

Jake's dad, James, was great, too. He was a single father raising two children while holding a lucrative position at the Chicago Board of Trade. No matter how busy or stressed he got, he always made time for his kids and supported them in whatever they did. He toted Greta around every weekend to her gymnastics meets and walled off a room in the basement for Jake to practice his music. The only thing missing from this idyllic life was Jake's mother. She, just like Nick's dad, disappeared soon after Greta was born. Nick knew it tore Jake up sometimes but he loved his dad dearly. Jake and Nick had spent many nights talking about their missing parents and sharing things only the closest of friends would share. Nick considered Jake the brother he never had and even admitted it to him on occasion.

"You with me, man?" Jake asked, startling Nick from his thoughts.

"Yeah. Let's get to work."

They finally made it to the basement and started setting up. Nick and Jake had hauled his old drum set over after he received the new set for his birthday and they all were grateful. They all used to pitch in to lug his set to Jake's when they wanted to practice and by the time they got everything put together, it didn't leave much time for rehearsal.

"So when are you going to get a bassist?" Greta asked from her perch near the door.

"Yeah," Nick agreed. "You didn't tell me who you guys have coming over tomorrow."

"Oh yeah," Jake grinned sheepishly, his blue eyes sparkling mischievously. "A couple guys from school. Do you remember Dan Victore and Rodney Spencer?" Nick nodded. "They're coming over in the morning and remember Matt Wenslow? He'll be here in the afternoon."

"Matt Wenslow?" Nick asked with raised brow. "Isn't he like the valedictorian or something?"

"Yeah," Ronnie chortled. "He's also president of the chess club. He has a meeting in the morning."

"Oh," Nick said slowly. "And he plays bass?"

"Yeah," Jake said. "I heard he's not half bad, either."

Greta giggled uncontrollably. "You could name your band 'The Rocking Nerds'."

"Greta," Jake warned, smile flirting with his lips. "I will kick you out of here."

She slapped both hands over her mouth. "Ok," she peeped.

They perfected a few cover songs they'd been working on, Jake trying his hand at bass. He did a passable job but they all knew he preferred playing lead guitar. They stopped only when James Johnson interrupted them two hours later, tempting them with the steaming pizzas he brought home with him. As they gathered around the dining room table, James quizzed them on their progress. Jake happily shared their latest ups and downs, excitement building in his voice as he described the guys coming over to play for them tomorrow.

"Sounds good," James said. "You'll be touring the country before we know it."

Nick smiled at James' genuine optimism. He remembered when he was much younger and he secretly wished Jake's dad would marry his mom but that dreamed faded only to be replaced with one filled with music and fame; that dream remained to this day.

"So are you boys planning on staying up all night?" James asked.

"Yeah, they're staying over, if that's ok," Jake said beseechingly. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Nah," James said. "Me and Greta have a meet tomorrow anyway."

"So don't keep me up all night," she ordered, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "I need my sleep."

"Beauty sleep," Jake muttered. He ducked as Greta threw her napkin at him.

"That's enough," James said as he cleared the table. "Nick and Ronnie, you two better call home and make sure your mothers know you're staying here."

Jake tossed a couple sleeping bags to the floor as Nick admired the latest posters tacked to the walls. Jake had subscriptions to several music magazines and often plastered his favorite bands on any available space. Above his bed on the ceiling, however, was reserved for a huge poster of Monique DuVois, a hot, French actress who recently burst on the Hollywood scene.

As his eyes fell on a poster of Rhetorical Outlook, he remembered something he'd heard on the music video station earlier that day. "Hey, did you guys know that Rob Black and Chad Michaels signed a new band from the Chicago area recently?"

"Too bad it wasn't us," Ronnie moaned. "I wish we knew when they were going to be around here."

"We're not ready, anyway," Jake sighed. He fell back on his bed and stared up at Monique. "I hope one of these guys tomorrow is good and wants to play with us. I'm tired of playing in my basement."

"Well," Ronnie said, eyes sparkling. "If we do get a bassist and get our shit together, maybe we'll be able to play at the Winter Ball."

Nick cringed as he spread his sleeping bag out on the plush carpet. "I doubt Principal Wolters will allow me back in the school."

Ronnie sat up and pointed a finger at Nick. "That wasn't your fault. You did what you had to do."

"He'll let you in," Jake swore. "I'll make sure of it."

"Jake," Nick sighed. "Not that I don't appreciate it, man, but I think it's about time I started standing up for myself."

"Ok, man," Jake relented. "I got ya." He walked across the room and flipped the light switch. "Let's just get some sleep."

A/N: I know, I know, what the hell am I thinking starting this story when I haven't finished "Of Apples and Trees." Well, I don't really know the hell I'm thinking except this idea came to me last night and I really wanted to try it. This is just a little experiment and I'm not totally sure of the storyline so if it doesn't work out, I may have to nix it. But I wanted to do a story about Nick and then I thought about what they all were like before they became big. Here is the result.

So, tell me what you think.

Thanks!

XxX FYI: I posted this before I edited which was stupid. I found a few mistakes I fixed but I may have missed more. So sorry!