Diary of a Rocker's Kid (D.O.R.K. Book 1)

by Haley Despard

  “You went through my stuff?”

  “Just the yearbook,” I’m quick to say. “I had never seen a modern one before, and I was curious.”

  He gives me that OMG-you’re-such-a-pitiful-homeschooler look for a second. “Oh… okay.”

  “Anyway, we… Raven and I look exactly alike. Exactly. I think we might be related or something.”

  “I dunno if you are or not,” Gio says, “but you might not want to find out. She’s a world-class bitch. If you are related, pray you never meet her.”

  “What does she do that’s so horrible?”

  “She uses people for publicity and popularity,” Gio explains. “She will do anything to get her name in the news, and she tramples anyone in her path. I think she may have had something to do with the pool incident, but so far I haven’t been able to find any proof. She has allies all over the city, and you never know who might be working for her.”

  “Good God…” I say in horrified awe. “No wonder people were freaking out that I might be her.” A few things are starting to make sense, as others are starting to confuse me even more. “Why do you think she would target me like that?”

  Gio shrugs. “You’re the new girl in town. Any time she has the chance to humiliate someone who might take the limelight away, she does it. Raven thinks she’s an ‘it girl’… or something like that. Anyway, if I find any proof that she or one of her minions did it, you’ll be the first one I come to with it.”

  “Thanks, bae,” I say, still feeling a tornado of different emotions.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  June 17, 2015 1:21 AM

  Tomorrow’s the day, the JM day, and there ain’t no sleep for the insomniacs…

  It really doesn’t help that Dad and Cass are also awake… or so I gather, since I’m pretty sure I know what that thumping noise is. Gross. In the morning, we’re having a little friendly chat about bedtime etiquette. I know, they’re making up for lost time, but… jeez, there are minors in this house.

  I feel like such a hypocrite for even thinking that. Maybe I should just put in some earplugs and deal.

  Poor Ana is the only one in this house not getting laid… Miss Billionaire does not seem to have much time for a social life. I know she likes Ana a lot, I saw it in her eyes when she picked her up for their first date, but it seems like Ana and J might have a bad case of star-crossed love going on. I mean, after all, Ana actually does have to return in August.

  That’s one thing I didn’t think about when I started all this scheming. Things are looking up for me moving to LA, but what about Ana? She’s had a taste of this amazing life, and she’s going to have to go back home to… well, being stuck-y in Kentucky for at least one more year while I’m over here partying it up. Also, her parents are going to be livid if they find out what we’ve really been doing over here…

  I hope I didn’t just screw my BFF over big time.

  At any rate, I guess I’d better stop worrying and get some sleep. I have a sixteen-years-in-the-making reunion to pull off tomorrow.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  We’re waiting on the set of Johnny McIntyre, and “nervous” does not even begin to describe my feelings about this whole thing. I’m standing on the sidelines in flawless makeup and my purple cap-sleeved dress. My palms are sweating bullets and my left eye has developed a twitch. Not only am I responsible for pulling off an extremely long-awaited reunion today, but I also have to answer for the pool pictures that everyone in the country saw of me a week and a half ago. Everyone in this room has likely seen me topless already, which isn’t helping at all with my rampant insecurity.

  Before going into makeup, Cass and I secretly met with Dad’s other bandmates, who are hiding out in a room backstage where Dad is not likely to find them. Their names are Carl Wright and James Corsetti, bassist and drummer respectively, and they go by the stage names Kite and Squillo. This is the explanation I got for those:

  “So, explain those stage names to me,” I said.

  James had to explain both of them, since Carl was literally high as a kite. “I think Carl’s is pretty obvious,” he said, grinning, “but mine is a little less straightforward. It’s an Italian word for a blast, or a flourish. I can be a bit of a showoff on stage.”

  “Nice!” I said. “I seem to be surrounded by Italian people lately.”

  “Consider yourself lucky,” James said with a wink.

  Currently, Johnny McIntyre himself—a handsome, dark-haired, middle-aged man—is reading off an intro he wrote for us, and he’s sitting at a desk in front of an image of the Los Angeles skyline. He’s on a raised platform in the middle of a black stage-like set, and there are two chairs next to him ready for Dad and me. We met him behind the scenes before he went on set, and he was so excited to meet Dad face-to-face that he almost couldn’t contain himself. Dad gave him an autograph, and promised to give one to everyone in the audience who wanted one.

  We got seats in the audience for Ana and Tanner, the guy whose idea this was in the first place. I can see them from where I’m standing, and Ana looks like she’s sweating almost as hard as I am. I swear we have feeling-telepathy… Anything I feel, she feels too, and vice-versa. No matter where we are or what we’re doing, it has always been that way.

  “And now,” Johnny says, finally wrapping up his intro, “it is my honor to present to the nation, for the very first time in sixteen years, Michael Andrew Daley of W3 and his daughter, Madison!” Ear-shattering cheers and clapping result, and I shakily follow my father onto the set of Johnny McIntyre.

  As soon as I turn my head and see the audience, I start to feel like a badass walking onto that set. Everyone is chanting, “M.A.D.,” and there are even a few young, attractive women in the front who are acting like crazy fangirls. Yeah, this is my dad, bitches. I am awesome by association. We carefully step up on the platform and take our seats, but it takes a minute for the cheering to die down. Finally, Johnny is able to be heard over the din. “Wow, right?” he says to my dad, and they chuckle over the response from the crowd.

  “I know, thank you everyone,” Dad says, waving and eliciting yet another roar of applause. “It’s overwhelming. It really is.”

  “Thank you so much for joining us, M.A.D., I know it took some convincing from your daughter here. Hi, Madison!”

  “Hi,” I say, giggling nervously.

  “Everyone, in case you didn’t know, this—“ he gestures to me, “—is the girl you have to thank for M.A.D.’s return to Los Angeles.” Everyone cheers, and I start blushing hard. “Our Basket Baby here jumped through so many hoops to get her dad here and make it as special as possible, so thank you, Madison.”

  “It was nothing,” I say, still laughing. God, how embarrassing… And cool… And embarrassing…

  “Well, Mike, tell us a little bit about what you all have been doing here in LA for the past couple of weeks.”

  “Truthfully,” Dad says, “we’ve been pretty decadent and lazy. Mostly, we’ve been shopping, eating and hanging out at the mansion. 16 years away from home makes you want to stay close for a while.” OMG… He just said “home”…

  “Well, not to be inappropriate, but I know Madison here has been having some fun,” Johnny says, making the audience laugh. Instant buzzkill for me. Now it’s time for my moment of truth.

  “Um… yeah, about that,” I say, plunging right into the explanation that I have scripted in my head, “I’d like to explain, if you don’t mind.”

  “Sure, go ahead,” Johnny says.

  “What happened at that party was not what everyone thinks it is.” Johnny gives me a look like, “Oh really now?” I go on to explain that I fell in and my swimsuit top came down, and that someone snapped a picture without my knowledge or permission.

  “Oh, my God,” Johnny says, looking a little apologetic, “that is quite a different story from what we were all told.”

  “Yeah, all those magazines calling me a party girl are completely wrong,” I tell
him. “I am not a party girl. I’m just a dork who fell in a pool.” The audience chuckles.

  “Did you ever find out who snapped the picture and posted it?” Johnny asks.

  “No, but we’re looking into it,” I say. Then I go on to add something that Dad coached me to say. “If anyone has any information, we would really appreciate them coming forward. Repercussions will be a lot less severe for anyone who comes to us with any information they may have.”

  After that, Johnny asks Dad questions about his music career and whether or not he has any plans, and Dad is pretty vague about the latter. I happen to know that Johnny is totally BSing with these questions right now so that Cass and the others can get ready on the sidelines. After a five-minute conversation, Johnny finally announces that that’s all the time he has for today.

  “However,” he continues, “we have some other guests waiting backstage that I think you’re going to want to see.” Dad squints at him in confusion, and Johnny smiles. “W3, come on out!” he yells, and Dad gasps as our heads whip around to see Cass, Carl, and James coming out on the stage with the guitars. The roar that results from the audience is beyond deafening. Johnny’s crew drops a curtain on the side to reveal James’s drum set and the mics that have been set up, and the bandmates walk right on over to the staging area and start getting ready to rock. Dad is practically having a panic attack next to me… a good one. “M.A.D., would you do us the honor of performing a song?” Johnny asks.

  Dad looks around at the crowd, at the band, and then his head comes around to me with a flabbergasted expression. “Go on!” I yell excitedly, and Dad starts laughing.

  “Alright!” he yells, and the audience roars again. He stands up and moves in the direction of the stage, and then he runs up to Carl and James and gives them both gigantic hugs before they start, laughing and crying at the sight of them. The cheers do not stop. I feel tears of my own coming on as I sit next to Johnny in the chair and we exchange a we-did-it look and a fist bump. I JUST FIST BUMPED JOHNNY MCINTYRE. WHAT?!?!

  The band takes a minute to conference together and warm up, and then Dad announces, “We’re going to play an old favorite, Tearing Into Silence.” More cheers. Some people in the audience, including Tanner, are sobbing. This reunion means so much, to so many people… I had no idea when I planned this just how awesome it was going to be.

  The band starts playing, and people quiet their cheers down to hear them. Smoke rises up on the stage, and the main lights go dim on the set. Multi-colored lights flash over the band and a white backlight comes up behind them. As soon as Dad opens his mouth to sing, another surge of suppressed cheers comes from the audience. Dad and Cass exchange glances as they perform, and I finally see why Cass called him her “stage soulmate.” They feed off of each other and fuel each other’s music, and together, they’re unstoppable. This particular song involves an impressive guitar solo by Cass, and her face gets lost in her mass of blonde hair as she leans down and shreds her heart out. Dad smiles adoringly as he watches her, and James blasts out a powerful, thundering drum beat at the end of her solo, which leads them directly into the last portion of the song. It’s a flawless performance, and after the last chord of the song is played, Dad steps over and gives Cass a passionate kiss, which makes everyone go absolutely nuts.

  “Are they together?” Johnny mouths to me. I nod, he gives me a huge grin.

  Johnny wraps up the segment after the song amidst more thunderous applause. People don’t stop cheering even after the cameras have stopped rolling. The bandmates talk amongst themselves for a few minutes, catching up, and Johnny turns to have his first one-on-one conversation with me. “Madison Daley, thank you so much for what you did here today.”

  “Oh, no, thank you for having us,” I protest.

  “No really, do you know how high the ratings for this show are going to be?” he asks, and both of us laugh. “This was a fantastic idea.”

  “Well, I’m happy to help,” I say.

  He leans in a little. “Listen, I’m sorry about what I said about the pool—“

  “Oh please, don’t apologize,” I say, impressed that he even thought to say that. “What you said was nowhere near the worst thing I’ve heard.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” he says compassionately. A crew member comes up to stand behind him, signaling that he’s needed elsewhere. “Well, I have to go, but I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate this.”

  “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. McIntyre.”

  “Likewise, and call me Johnny,” he says, extending his hand to me.

  I shake his hand. “Well then, you should call me Mads.”

  Chapter 9

  The residents of our mansion and the one next door plus Dalton all come together in our living room that night to watch the show. Gio has his arm around me and we’re cuddling together, and Ana is holding my free hand. Dad and Cass are whispering to each other and the other three people in the room are glued to the TV, waiting for our segment to come up.

  When Dad and I step onto the set, the cheers on the TV are joined by cheers in the room. “Damn, my girl is a stunner,” Gio says, not taking his eyes off me on the screen.

  “Thanks,” I say, giggling a little.

  Things get a little awkward when my explanation comes up, but then Stephan says, “Honey, you did the right thing there. I’m glad you were able to set the record straight.” Everyone else agrees except Dalton.

  “I think you should have left it alone,” Dalton says. “Everybody thought you were a badass party girl, and now—” Dad glares at him, and Dalton quickly changes his tune. “Uhh, never mind. Great job there, kiddo.” I snicker at him. At least he’s honest.

  For the next five minutes, things get a little boring, but then Johnny announces the reunion on the screen, and Stephan and Dalton go insane. Dad yells to Carl and James, who are waiting in the office, “You can come out now!” and they come and join us in the living room. Stephan and Dalton continue to freak out as the song is played and they greet the other two members of the band.

  “This is epic,” Gio says to me, and I smile. “You arranged all this?”

  “Well not by myself, obviously,” I say. “Cass got the bandmates here, and Johnny’s people took care of a lot of it. I was just the one with the original idea.”

  “Still, it’s pretty damn impressive,” he tells me.

  “The Internet is blowing up,” Ana says excitedly, scrolling through a news feed on her phone. “So many people are watching this right now, it’s crazy.”

  Cass moves from her place by Dad over to Ana. “Let me see!”

  They whisper to each other about the number of tweets and comments for the rest of the song, and then the part with Dad and Cass kissing comes up and everybody says “Awwww!”

  “Ah, true love,” Stephan says, pressing his hands together under his chin and tipping his head to the left. He’s looking at Cass. “It’s about time, girl.” They grin at each other.

  I lean over to Ana, who’s still looking at her phone. “What’s everybody saying?”

  “They’re begging for W3 to come back,” she says quietly. “I mean, really begging. If you keep this movement going, I think your dad is going to have to agree.”

  “Hmm… I’ve got an idea.” I take out my phone and go to my own Twitter account. I’ve barely looked at it since I created it four years ago, so I update my info with my identity and then I follow Johnny and the Late at Night show. I upload a selfie I got with the host, and then, with Ana’s help, I post it with this caption:

  “Mission W3 Reunion completed and archived! Thanks Johnny! @Johnny_McIntyre @Johnny_McIntyre_Show #thereturnofMAD #comebackW3”

  Johnny retweets me and so does the show, and in no time at all, my hashtags start trending.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  June 20, 2015 10:29 PM

  I have to hand it to Gio… His nickname for me could not be any more spot on. This life I’m living now is sheer madness.

/>   My hashtags took off and became a top trend on Twitter. One of my first posts ever, and it’s a TOP TREND. I got more than 70K follows in the space of two days. Now, when people search my name on Twitter, it has the little white check mark inside a blue circle that indicates I’m legit. Gio followed me and shared me, and he has over two million followers, so the number just keeps growing and growing.

  People are still begging for more W3… but honestly, things aren’t looking too great. I’ve shown the posts to Dad, but he still hasn’t chosen one way or the other. Cass and I came clean last night about our plotting to get him back on stage, and his reaction was, once again, quite heartbreaking.

  He looked into my eyes with a sad expression and said, “But you’re not grown up yet.”

  I said, “Daddy, I’m close enough. Sixteen is pretty damn near grown up.”

  Tears came into his eyes, and he whispered, “I don’t know what to do,” and turned and walked away.

  I cried through all of last night about it. All this work, and still the only thing holding him back, holding that entire band back, is me. Carl and James are all for the return, but Dad is just so attached to me that he can’t let me go. They all tried to comfort me last night by telling me it’s not my fault, but I don’t believe them, and I feel extremely guilty about it.

  For once in my life, I’m running out of ideas.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  “Is this guy really my boyfriend?” I ask Ana the next morning as I’m scrolling through Gio’s profile on Twitter. He has so many crazy-hot shirtless pics on here, some of which look like they’re from a professional modeling shoot and were posted really recently. The number of favorites and replies by horny fangirls is a little intimidating. I now understand why Cass was so afraid to approach Dad all those years. I didn’t realize how insanely popular Gio really is until right now, and I’m in grave danger of devolving even further into my inferiority complex.

  “He is, indeed,” Ana says, grinning. We’re sitting at the breakfast bar inside the house, and she just got done telling me about her overnight date last night with Jerica. J had to leave for work early this morning, so Ana got back before I woke up, but from what I hear, last night went extremely well. “We’re both so lucky, it’s just unreal.”