The Tree House - August 15, 2010

 This is not where he wanted to be. Not again. Ian looks out the window of his suburban house. He sees the bright daylight. He sees the house directly across the street. He thinks about who lives there – Noah Walker. Ian and Noah had been best friends since the 5th grade. They had met at school and quickly found out they lived on the same street. Ian walks away from the window and sits down on his bed. He turns on the television, and starts to watch some program. When the program went on a commercial break, Ian got up and walked over to his desk. He sits down and moves the mouse around. He maneuvers the cursor to the “Internet Explorer” icon. He double clicks and waits for the normal “Google” homepage to load. He types “www.facebook.com” into the address bar. He waits for the page to load. The first thing he sees is “Noah Walker: Sitting around, looking for something to do. Any takers? Posted 4 minutes ago.” Ian's eyes widened. He thought “I have nothing to do today. And he wants to hang out... My day is booked.” His face instantly turned into that of a child in a candy store. Ian runs downstairs and tells his parents he is going out to hang with Noah. So Ian runs across the street, knocks on Noah's door, and is greeted by Mrs. Walker. Ian looks and smiles while saying “Hi, Mrs. Walker. Is Noah home? I was hoping to hang out.” Mrs. Walker looks at Ian and smiles back replying “Yes, hun, he's up in his room. Go on up.” Ian runs up the stairs and knocks on the bedroom door a couple times before just barging in. Noah looks at Ian and says “Oh, hey dude, what's up?” Ian sits down and says “Not much, I saw your status and thought that we could hang.” Noah smiles and says “Yea, sure. Just hold on a sec'. I'm chatting with Brittany. And its actually a really good conversation.” Ian looks at him with a questioning face and asks “Good like y'all like each other, or Good like nice and friendly conversation?” Noah chuckles a little before replying with “Well both, but mainly the first one.” Ian looks at him and says “Oh, well nice. You got her number?” Noah smiles and says “Yea, just now. She told me to text her since we're leaving.” The boys get up, run downstairs, and run out the door.

The boys walk around the lazy town. They continuously ask one another what to do, but always conclude with nothing. As they walk, Noah keeps receiving texts, and sending texts out, to Brittany. After a good twenty texts or so, Noah shouts “oh my gosh!” Ian looks and asks “What are you screaming about?” Noah smiles and says “Brittany just asked if I wanted to go out with her sometime, and if I wanted to take her to the Fall dance that's coming up!” Ian exclaims “Well did you tell her yes?!” Noah looks at Ian with a look of stupidity and says “Well duh. Of course I said yes.” Noah gets on Facebook from his phone and updates his status to “<3” and his relationship status to “In a Relationship.” After that, Noah gets an idea. He tells Ian to follow him and takes off running. They run into a park and see a large tablet with flowers around it, and goblets of fire. Ian walks over to it and reads what is inscribed on the tablet:

The Viewpoint Massacre
In August of 2005, there was a horrific tragedy. This tragedy involved Four kids. This tragedy occurred because of the social rejection of a child. Rejection is a serious problem in society, but this is a problem that cannot be helped. This memorial is cast in order to remember the Four kids, and to raise awareness of social rejection, and attempt to help the problem.

Taylor Stewart: September 18, 1990 – September 1, 2005
Tyler Coleman: June 22, 1990 – September 8, 2005
Aaron Grey: January 4, 1991 – September 8, 2005
Ryan Grey: December 11, 1996 – September 8, 2005

You all will be dearly missed. May you Rest in Peace. We Love You.

Ian looks at Noah and says “Wow, I've heard of this. It's hard to believe something like this could happen here.” Noah sits and ponders for a while and replies “Yea, I know right.” So they move on, and keep running to their intended destination. They continue walking and eventually get to a small mountainous area. Ian yells “Hey lets climb up this mountainside! It's straight up and it looks like it would be really easy!” Noah steps back and says “I don't know Ian. I want to show you this spot. Come on!” Ian says “Fine” and runs along with Noah. They start running down a hill and jump over fallen trees and duck under broken branches. Eventually they make it down to a river bank. As the sun began to set the water glistened like a million diamonds. Ian looks at the time and says “It's only six. I don't have to be back until ten. What now?” Noah says “Yea, ten for me too. Well in the mean time.” Noah stops and takes his shirt off and dives off a rock into the diamond water. Ian laughs and say “Okay, not a bad idea.” He throws his shirt off and jumps in the water, too. They start swimming and just hanging out. As they swim, Noah noticed a path on the other side of the river. Ian looked and spotted it, too. Noah says “Okay, I'm going to try and swim across, and if it's not too hard you come too, and we'll explore the path.” Ian nods and Noah starts swimming. He gets out in the middle of the river and sporadically goes underwater in a panicked fashion. Ian jumps and starts swimming out to help. Then Noah resurfaces and laughs hysterically saying “Gotcha!” Ian shakes his head and just keeps swimming. Finally they both make it to the other side. They walk the path. At the end they find a tree house. The ladder had vines and foliage all over it, making it obvious that it hadn't been used in a while. The boys pull off the foliage and start ascending the ladder. Ian gets to the top and pushes the tree house door open. Noah follows shortly behind. They see drawings of the river, the forest, the mountains, and even the city. All of them amazing. Ian finds a book on a table and opens it. He reads:

September 8, 2005
Today the kid from the news killed himself and two others, after killing a girl a week or two before. I can't believe all that started at my school. Anyway, today I finished my drawing of the river. It gave me thoughts of my past and how I've flown along. Nothing holding me back. Everything just keeps on going. Just like a River.

Ian closes the book and puts it down. Then Noah finds a guitar in the corner with all kinds of papers scattered around it. He picks up a couple of the papers and sees songs written on them. He asks Ian “Did you know I can play guitar?” Ian turns around and looks at him and replies with a simple “No.” Noah picks up the guitar and starts to play. After he plays a couple of riffs, he picks up a paper with music on it and starts to play the song. Once he got a feel for the beat and the rhythmic pattern of the song he began to sing the words accompanied. Ian was blown away. Not only did Noah have guitar skills, but he also had a spectacular voice. Noah puts the guitar down and continues to search the tree house. The boys find nothing interesting. They check the time and realize they'd burnt two hours. It was 8, so they began to go back.

They get back home and go their separate ways. Noah goes inside and takes a nice shower. Ian goes inside and logs onto Facebook to update his status. After a little while, they both lay down in their beds and go to sleep.

The next morning, Ian wakes up at noon. He sits up and wipes his eyes. He logs onto his computer and checks his Facebook. He notices he had a message. It was from Noah, and it was sent at around 10 a.m. He opened it and reads: “Hey Ian. You'll never believe what happened. Last night when I got home, I broke out the old guitar. After playing that one in the tree house, I decided to see how good I could still play. Well, I played a cover of Bleed by Hot Chelle Rae, recorded it with my camera, uploaded it to YouTube, and when I checked it this morning: the video had 350,000 views. There were hundreds upon hundreds of comments saying how good I was and all that. Then at around 9:30 this morning, I got a phone call from a recording studio downtown, and they offered me a single label, and a local concert. Plus they said if the concert turns out good and the single sells good, then we will find a band and get an album recorded! So, I have to go to the studio at 4, if you want to come along mom said it was okay! So yea just come over some time, call, or tell me on here. Anything is fine.” Ian gets dressed and wanders downstairs and sees his dad sitting on the couch. He looks at Ian and says “Hey bud, your mom went into town for a day out, she said she would be back around 8. Do you have any plans for today?” Ian responds “Yea, at 4 I was going to go in town with Noah, if that's okay with you.” Ian's dad nods and says “Yea sure. Just make sure you got your phone.” Ian wanders along. He gets breakfast and then runs back upstairs. He hangs out in his room for a while. At 2, Noah walks into his bedroom door. Ian greets his friend and continues to watch his television show. After the show goes off, Noah gets phone call; it's his mom. He answers and talks for a moment. Then he hangs up and tells Ian “Hey, Ian, mom just called and said that we're leaving a little bit earlier. We're going out to eat and stuff. So let's go!” The kids run down the stairs, Ian shouts “Hey dad! We're leaving now! I'll be back later! Call if you need me!” And they run out the door. The run across the street and pile up in Mrs. Walker's car.

They drive into the city. And Mrs. Walker asks “Hey boys where do you want to eat?” Noah steps up and shouts “Texas Steak House, baby!” Ian laughs and says “That doesn't sound bad.” Mrs. Walker smiles at the boys that she'd grown to love so much. Ian had become pretty much a part of their family. Ever since fifth grade Ian had been coming over and staying. Sometimes Mrs. Walker thinks that she knows Ian better than his own parents. Mrs. Walker wakes up from her thoughts and says “Okay, Texas Steak House it is.” They pull into the parking lot, get out of the car, and head for the entrance. As they're walking, Noah's phone rings. He answers it. He hears: “Hey Noah. It's almost four, are you ready for this? Oh, of course you are. Anyways. I was calling to check about another offer. Instead of just doing a single. We want you to do an EP. Which is three songs. So we want you to do your cover of Bleed, and two other songs of your choice. Well see you at the Studio at four.” The man hangs up the phone. Noah stands there rather dazed for a moment and then exclaims “Wow! They want me to do a full EP! Which is three songs and I still get the concert!” Mrs. Walker smiles from ear to ear and says “That's great sweetie. I'm very proud of you.” Ian holds out his fist waiting for a knuckle touch and says “Nice. You better rock this, or I will just leave you.” The boys start laughing and continue on inside. After they eat they come back outside and pile back in the car, They drive along until they reach the studio. When they pull up, Mrs. Walker checks the time: “3:48. Right on time.” They all get out of the car and Noah grabs his guitar. When they walk inside they see a long hallway. On the walls are platinum and gold albums from all kinds of top names. They finally make it to the end of the hallway and walk into a tiny waiting room-looking area. They see a lady sitting at a desk and she motions them to go on inside. So, they walk in and see a recording studio setup: Sound boards, microphones, guitars, drums, keyboards, everything. Then they meet the man from the phone. He walks up to Noah and says “Hey, you're the lucky guy, huh? Well I'm John and I'm going to be “directing” you're EP.” They shakes hands, and he continues to Mrs. Walker: “Hi, I'm John, and you must be Noah's mother?” Mrs. Walker replies “Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you.” They shake hands as well, and John moves on to Ian: “And who is this? Noah's brother I presume?” Ian and Noah chuckle and Ian says “No, we're best friends. But I'm Ian. Nice to meet you.” They shake hands, too. Then John says “Okay, let's get started.”

Noah gets set up inside the recording room, and John says “Okay, lets start with Bleed, and we'll do this first one as a practice take.” So Noah stars playing. He starts singing the first verse and progresses into the chorus. Noah starts singing “I bleed my heart out on this paper, so you can see what I can't say.” Then Ian starts singing along: “I'm dying hear cause I can't say what I want to.” Then, John walks out of the Sound room and says “Hey, you have an awesome voice. How would you like to do this EP with him?” Ian's face lights up. He's says “Okay sure!”So they stop Noah, and set Ian up in the Recording Room. They go through a practice run and then start recording the real thing. After they finish the song, John stands up and says great guys. Now listen to the playback. They listen and think its amazing. So, before they decide what's next, Ian and Noah meet the rest of the band they're playing with. They meet the drummer, Rick, the bassist, Mark, and the pianist, Kelly. Then John steps in and says “Okay guys, what's next?” The band just look at each other in confusion. Then Kelly speaks up and says “Boys, how about a Hinder – “Lips of an Angel” cover? They both smile and agree. So they all take their places, John goes back into the recording room, and they start playing the song.

They finish the song and listen to the playback. They decide to play it one more time, and listen to the playback. The second time was a keeper. Then John asked again “What's next?” Everyone, again, looked at one another. Then Ian steps up and says “Well, I've had these lyrics swirling around in my head for a while. Do you think you want to hear it?” John nods and says “Well we don't have anything else to do.” Ian tells Kelly and Noah “Feel free to fill in some music. Anything is good. And Rick, a soft beat wouldn't be bad. Then Mark can jump in. Let's try to make this something.” Ian stands in front of the microphone and starts singing:

“You're here for now,
But when you're gone,
What happens then,
Where do I go?”

The band starts filling in some music. It's a slow, meaningful song. More like its being sung to somebody specific instead of an audience. Kind of like a ballad. He keeps singing, harmonizing with the subtle music:

“In the blink of an eye,
Everything can change,
Mountains can move,
Seas can disappear.
People can leave,
All in the blink of an eye”

The band keeps playing, and then Noah jumps in on lyrics and sings:

“Imagine a life without you,
I wouldn't be who I am, anymore
I never want you to leave me,
I want you to stay here,
And never go”

Ian smiles and motions Noah to keep going, with the Chorus. Then the band stumbles. There were no lyrics after that. Ian thinks on his toes and blurts out lyrics without really thinking about what's coming next:

“Years like minutes,”

Noah catches on and sings:

“Days like seconds,”

Ian gets an idea and quickly writes it down and signals for him and Noah to sing that part at the same time:

“Passing by us,
In the blink of an eye
In the blink of an eye”

They both continue to sing:

“In the blink of an eye,
Everything can change,
Mountains can move,
Seas can disappear.
People can leave,
All in the blink of an eye”

After the two finish the chorus, everyone stops playing except Kelly. She keeps playing and then fills in some lyrics:

“All,
All in the Blink of an Eye”

She plays and comes to a soft, subtle ending.

John stands up and claps. He steps into the band room and says “Wow, guys, that was amazing. So it's set. We'll have these three songs on an EP, which will be released next week, and then there will be a concert. Depending on the sales of the EP and ticket sales, there may be a full record label coming your way.” Noah and Ian both thank John and the band. They finish everything up, get their stuff, and leave.

They pile up in the car, again. Noah checks the time and says “Wow it's already 6!” Mrs. Walker looks at Ian and asks “What time do you have to be home sweetie?” Ian replies with a smile “Dad didn't say. He just said make sure I have my phone, so as late as I want. As long as he can call, and he knows I'm with you.” Mrs. Walker chuckles and says “Okay then, how about we go get some ice cream?” Noah shouts “Alright!” and sits back in his seat. They start driving along. They come across some very slow moving traffic. It's backed up for what seems like miles. After about five minutes of slightly rolling forward, the traffic starts flowing. They drive past what looks like a very large accident. The only thing they see is a coal truck rolled over the hill. There were two firetrucks, four police cars, and a wrecker on the scene. As they continued down the road, they saw EMS trucks and ambulances heading to the crash site. Then only moments behind, were news crews. They counted at least six news vans speeding toward the scene. So, they continue on. They make it to the quaint ice cream parlor. Sitting inside slowly eating their ice cream having a good time. Then Ian gets a text. He looks at it, it's from one of his friends from school; and it said: “Hey, have you seen the news?” Ian simply replies “Are you talking about the wreck, because if so, I saw the it in person. We drove past it just a little bit ago. It looked bad.” Ian put his phone back into his pocket and continued to make small talk with Noah and Mrs. Walker. Then a few minutes later Ian's phone rang again. He checked it, expecting a text message, but instead it was a phone call from his dad. Ian quickly answered the phone: “Hello?” His dad replied “Son! Where are you right now?!” Ian gets confused: “I'm with Noah and Mrs. Walker. We're having ice cream.” His dad shouts “Well, ask her to take you to Viewpoint Medical Center! Your mother was in an accident! I'm going in now. I got to go. I love you son.” The phone call is ended. Ian puts up his phone and sits silently for a moment in total shock. He starts to say, stuttering, “I... I... My... My mom was... was in that acci-... accident. Dad wants me at Viewpoint Medical Center.. Ca- can you take me there?” Mrs. Walker stands up vigorously and yells “Let's go!”

They get to Viewpoint Medical Center. Ian runs inside and asks the receptionist where his mom is. He gives her details about his mom. The receptionist directs him to his mom's room. Ian runs down the hall and takes a left, then a right as the receptionist instructed. Noah and Mrs. Walker are close behind. Ian runs into the room where his mom is. He sees her laying the bed. The doctor is talking to Ian's dad. After a couple of minutes, Ian's dad walks over. He tells Ian “Your mom has several broken bones. There is a metal rod pierced into her leg. She's suffered blunt force trauma to the head. She's hemorrhaging in multiple areas. They're taking her into surgery in about five minutes. They... they don't know if she will come back out.” Ian breaks down and falls to the floor, crying. Ian's dad walks out of the room and down the hall. They all knew he just needed some time to himself. So in the meantime Noah walks over and hugs Ian. They stand there, Ian's head buried into Noah's shoulder as he sobs. After a couple of minutes, Ian hears the doctors say “Three minutes 'til surgery. Prep for transport to OR.” Ian shouts “Wait!” He walks over to his mother's bedside. He sees his beautiful mother. Laying there so helplessly. He grabs her hand and begins to sob some more. Then his mother slowly opens her eyes. She says “Ian, sweetie, don't cry. Honey I love you. Don't ever forget that.” Ian looks into her bright blue eyes and says “Mom, I love you too. I'll miss you so much. I don't want you to leave us. Mommy, please.” Ian's mom softly says “Ian hush. It's in Jesus' hands now. Just always remember Mommy loves you. No matter where I am.” Just then the nurses walk over and say “It's time to start surgery. I'm sorry.” They wheel Ian's mother out of the hospital room and down the hall. Seconds later they're out of sight, and Ian breaks down again. Noah, again, is there to comfort him.

They all sit down on a bench, and after about twenty minutes Ian falls asleep. Ian's body shut down. After being in shock for around an hour, his body couldn't take the stress. An hour later, Ian is awakened by a nurse. The nurse tells him that his mother hadn't made it. She was very sorry.

A week passes. For Ian, everything had settled down. And things had become normal. At least as normal as loosing a parent can get. It was the day before his and Noah's EP release. Ian checked the mailbox out front and noticed he had a small package. Inside was a letter and a CD. The letter read:

Ian,
Contained in this package is a CD. That is you're copy of the EP you and Noah recorded. Remember tomorrow you're EP is released on iTunes and in five stores locally that sell CDs. The EP's name is “The Tree House Cover” After a day of the release, we will mail you a copy of the financial reports for the EP. The report will show which business has sold how many copies, and, also, the total amount the EP has made. You and Noah will be receiving 25% of the profit each. Also, the concert is set to Saturday at the Viewpoint Arena. This package contains, also, two complimentary tickets to the concert. The day after the concert, we will mail out financial statistics for it. Which will show the amount of tickets sold, and the amount of money made. You and Noah will receive 35% of the profit each from ticket sales. Lastly, no later than two weeks after the concert, our studio – Viewpoint Hits – will contact you both in order to approve or reject the offer of a full record label. There is also one more thing. If sales go well, and the concert attracts a modest crowd. Well will discuss producing a music video for Bleed.

Thanks,
John – Producer.
Viewpoint Hits

Ian runs back inside and runs to his room. He pulls out his laptop, logs on, and puts the EP CD in the CD port. He loads the music and starts to play it. He smiles from ear to ear and thinks “Wow this is amazing.” He gets on Facebook and posts on Noah's wall “Noah, go check your mailbox!” A couple of minutes later Ian has a notification: “Noah Walker commented on his wall post.” Ian clicks the notification bubble and sees the comment: “I did, and I got it! Isn't it amazing?!” Ian smiles and goes back to his homepage. He posts his status as: “Hey everyone! Me and Noah got an EP record deal with Viewpoint Hits. We have an EP releasing tomorrow on iTunes and in five stores that sell CDs. Go check it out! If you like it we have a concert this Saturday @ Viewpoint Arena!”

The day passes, and the next day as well. Ian stayed over at Noah's house that night. In the morning they both wake up around the same time. The first thing they do is run downstairs and go check the mailbox. There's a Financial Statement enclosed in a letter. They run back inside and rip it open. They see the financial rap sheet:

BusinessProductCopies SoldPrice Sold AtTax (6%)Total SalesProduct-ion CostTotal ProfitStudio ShareYour Share
iTunesThe Tree House Cover62$2.99$0.18 e.$197.16$65.00$132.16(50%)
66.08(25%)
33.04
Best
BuyThe Tree House Cover37$2.00$0.12 e.$78.44$65.00$13.44(50%)
$6.72(25%)
$3.36
FYEThe Tree House Cover95$2.99$0.18 e.$302.10$65.00$237.10(50%)
$118.55(25%)
$59.27
TargetThe Tree House Cover22$2.99$0.18 e.$69.96$65.00$4.96(50%)
$2.48(25%)
$1.24
Viewpo-int
RecordsThe Tree House Cover20$4.00$0.24 e.$84.80$65.00$19.80(50%)
$9.90(25%)
$4.95
Wal-MartThe Tree House Cover34$2.00$0.12 e.$72.08$65.00$7.08(50%)
$3.54(25%)
$1.77
Totals:
270

$804.54$390.00$414.54$207.27$103.63

Ian and Noah looks at each other in total awe. Ian says “Wow, I never thought we'd sale that many that fast.” Noah shakes his head and says “Yea, I know right? But then again 350,000 people did like my YouTube video. And I posted a comment on it that we were releasing an EP. So that's probably where a lot of sales came from.” Ian nods and says “Hey I'm going to check my Facebook.” He gets up and grabs the laptop. He logs on and signs into Facebook. He notices he has 13 notifications. They were all of people commenting on his status. He looks at them. Thirteen of his friends had bought the EP and commented on the status that they loved it, and they would definitely be at the concert. Ian closes the internet and then the laptop. Noah puts the package on the desk and says “Hey, we should go down to the river and hang out. Maybe think about what we're going to do at the concert.” So the boys pack up a few things and head out. Then Noah thinks and says “Oh! Wait!” He runs back inside and comes back out with his guitar. He says “We can practice some songs while we're out here.”

The boys traverse the path, and make it to the river bank. The sit in the sand relax. It's dead quite. Both boys obviously have a lot on their minds. Then Ian gets up and say “Hey. Come here.” They start walking back up the path from the riverbank. They get to the cliff they saw the first time they'd came down there. Ian looks at Noah and says “We're going up today.” So, Ian starts. He begins climbing the cliff with ease. It was as if the wall was carefully manufactured to be scaled. Noah starts climbing, nervously. After a few minutes both boys have reached the top. They sit on the cliff peering out at the river. The sun was making the water glisten like a thousand diamonds. Ian looks at Noah and thinks “Now would be a good time.” He asks Noah to give him the guitar. Ian takes it from Noah's hands and begins to play. He starts singing the lyrics to his newly written song:

“I look at you,
And feel things,
That I've never felt before.
I look at you,
and ask myself,
What makes you special?”

After a short musical interlude he starts singing again:

“I look,
Into those beautiful eyes,
And see,
The one I seek.
The one I've been waiting for.
The one I love.”

Noah sits in confusion. Pondering the same question over and over again: “Who is this song about?” All whilst Ian continues to sing:

“But even with,
Such strong feelings,
I know,
That we can never be.
So I just want You to see,”

“I look,
Into those beautiful eyes,
And see,
The one I seek.
The one I've been waiting for.
The one I love.”
Noah cycles through a list of people in his mind. Trying to figure out who this song is for.

“From Your,
Gorgeous Smile,
To Your
Beautiful Eyes
I love you.
I love you.”

Noah sees a small tear stream from Ian's left eye, but he plays it off like he hadn't seen it.

“I look,
I see,
My true Love.”

Ian plays a short outro and ends the song. He looks at Noah; waiting for a response to the song. Noah says “I really, really liked it. But who was it about?” Ian chuckles slightly and says “No one, It was just lyrics floating around that came together.” Noah replies with a simple “Oh.” Because he knew that wasn't true, but didn't want to press the matter. Ian smiles and says “Even if it were about someone, I wouldn't trade anything for this.” Noah looks at Ian, confused, and asks “Anything for what?” Ian smiles and says “This time with you. My best friend.” Noah smiles from ear to ear and says “Me neither.” They sit at the edge of the cliff and watch the sun set softly along the mountains. There is a storm moving in from the west, which intercepted the sunset. Causing a wonderful visual effect. There were streams of light spewing through the dark clouds. Whilst a rainbow formed from the very slight rain. All while lightning struck in a awesome fashion and thunder rolled. It was like a symphony. Perfectly harmonized. And then, suddenly, within a beam of light that shined onto the boys, the two kiss. They both pull back at the same time and look at one another, both in shock. Noah says, stuttering severely: “I... I did-, didn't mean t- t- t- to do that. I- I- I'm sorry.” Ian says “Yea, me either. What just happened?” Noah responds: “I have no idea. I have a girlfriend, too. Wow. I can't believe that just happened.” Ian says “Yea, really. But since we're dealing with the unexpected now, I just want you to know something. That song, it was about somebody. But I really didn't want to tell you who. I was afraid of what you would think.” Noah tells Ian “Dude, you can tell me anything. We're best friends.” Ian nods and says “Okay. You're right. I'm sorry. It was about Brittany.” Noah's face turns into a look of dismay “Like Brittany my girlfriend, Brittany?” Ian nods and says “I've always liked her. But I'm glad she's with you. Just promise me one thing.” Noah asks “What's that?” Ian replies “Don't hurt her.” Noah smiles and says “I can easily keep that promise.”

The boys pack up and head home. They both make it home just before the storm hits. The rest of the week passes and Saturday comes. Mrs. Walker takes the boys to the Arena for their concert. They get everything set up and wait as the people, to their amazement, flood in. The boys walk out into the crowd to see everything. They see a large projector screen with an image projected upon it. Which said

The Tree
House Cover
John walks up behind them and says “Oh, yea boys. We've officially named the band “The Tree House Cover.” The boys nod and show acceptance to the name. Fifteen minutes later, the band gets on stage. They all take their places. They start playing. They play the first two songs from their EP. Then Ian stops the band. He starts to speak to the crowd: “Everyone. Just a few short weeks ago I lost my mother in a fatal car wreck. I never really thought about time as an object until then. And even though I wrote this song before the crash, I feel like I've re-written it. Listen to this song. It tells you just what can happen if you don't look at time as an object. This song is dedicated to my mother. I know she's looking down upon me with love as I sing this song. I love you Mom.” Ian steps back from the microphone for a moment as the band plays the intro to the song. They play “Blink of an Eye” all the way through. And after it, Noah starts speaking: “My best friend, Ian over here, wrote this next song. He shared it with me earlier this week. It's a very emotional song. It's amazing.” The band plays “Look.” That ends the concert.

One week after the concert, Noah and Ian get a phone call. It was from Viewpoint Hits. The Tree House Cover was offered a full record deal. It would contain eight songs. Some of which had already been written, and some of which that were still to be written. That was the day that their new lives started.

Five years later, the boys lived great lives. Noah was engaged to Brittany. And Ian was in a long term relationship. Everything was going good. Their first record had just hit platinum status. The boys were awarded a plaque of the platinum album. They both knew exactly what they wanted to do with it. The two boys went back to their old neighborhood. They walked down that old path they'd walked down as teenagers. Then passes the cliff. And swam across the river. They walked the short path on the other river bank. Then they saw it. The Tree House. They walked inside found a spot on the wall. They hung up the platinum record. They write down their top two singles: “Blink of an Eye” and “Look” on paper and throw then with the rest of the papers around that old guitar that started it all. They picked up the journal and wrote:

August 15, 2015
Today, The Tree House Cover hung their platinum album upon the walls of the tree house. It was here that everything started, so it is only fair that this is where it shall always be remembered. Anybody who reads this journal entry has stumbled upon a very inspiring place. Never give up your dreams. 'Cause one day something unexpected may happen.

Noah Walker
Ian Johnson

The boys put everything back just the way they found it. The closed up the tree house. Their legacy. They stood outside and took in one last breath of reality. As they walked away, Noah says “Hey Ian, I told you I'd keep my promise. I want to take this time to tell you that Brittany is pregnant.” Ian looks at Noah, shocked, and says “Wow, that's awesome. Congratulations. When Ie i-” He is interrupted by kids. Kids about fifteen or so. The same age they were when they first came down to the tree house. The kids were running along the path down to the river bank. Noah and Ian both smile, and Noah says “I bet that tree house is going to start yet another legacy soon.”

-Nick Alexander