"Why are we making her listen to this? Surely there's better music out there to influence a three year old than this" Matt asks as he flicks through the CD's Zacky offered to play Lisa to keep her entertained. Brian's already called through and said he's bringing Lacey back to the house, and Matt's under the pretence that the two of them met at the bar, and Brian was bringing her back to her brother.

He sounded quite shaken, which only worried his friends further.

"Because, to quote the Vengeance-man himself, he likes 'yay music'. It shall forever remain one of the world's greatest mysteries..." Jimmy replies wisely, slipping 'City Of Evil' into the stereo and picks Lisa up off of her feet, swaying her around to the rhythm of the opening bars of 'Beast and The Harlot'.
"I am personally offended by that" Zacky said, managing to detach himself from Lizzy for more than two seconds to flip Matt off.

Johnny was the only one missing- and Zacky suspected that he was at the actual bar, rather than the fake one that Brian had apparently met Lacey at.
"I'm not offended, because even though I'm the offendee's girlfriend, I agree his music taste is a little eccentric" Lizzy says, getting up when she hears her cellphone ring in the other room. Almost as soon as she walks out, Brian walks in with Lacey by his side, still looking a little pale.

"Lace- you didn't kick Brian in the balls did you? He looks like he's about to throw up" Matt asks with a chuckle, and Jimmy switches off the music as Brian takes Lisa from him, cradling her close to his chest like he's had separation issues with his little sister from the moment he met her. Jimmy knows Brian better than anyone else in the band- and he knows something is wrong, very wrong.
"It's worse than that, Mattie. A lot worse" Lacey mumbles, and sinks down onto the couch next to her brother, wearing a similar expression of worry.

"Spit it out Brian- we haven't got all fucking day" Zacky says, and Brian holds Lisa closer to him, feeling her little arms clutch around his neck. How could someone corrupt a young child's innocence so easily- by showing it off to the world.
"That girl- the one who got pictures of Zack and Lizzy, the one who got a picture of Lisa outside the hospital- was outside the bar. When she saw Lacey and I come out, she took a bunch of pictures and then ran away when I went after her. But a business card fell out of her pocket" he says, and withdraws the brown business card from his back pocket.

"She works for our PR Manager. And I think Larry is the one who's putting these pictures on the internet"

***

"Of course. I understand. I know that Massachusetts is a long way away, and it's going to be hard breaking it to my brother and my Dad but...I'll think about it" Lizzy says to the Dean on the other end of the line. No one, not even Brian or Zacky, knew that she was applying for college- or that she'd just been accepted into Harvard Law School on a full scholarship. Yeah, Harvard.
It was a big step- she was a smart person. She wanted to become a lawyer so she could help people like her little sister get a better life, let lots of people get better lives.

Saying her goodbyes to the lady on the other end of the line, she slowly sunk down to the bottom of the staircase, where she'd been hiding. How was she going to break it to Brian that she was going to be moving to the other side of the country for college- leaving him, a touring musician with a life and a career to get back to, with a small child?

How was she going to tell Zacky? He really cared about her, and she the same- and now she was packing up and leaving for somewhere far away. There were colleges in SoCal, she could to LA and find a college up there, she could even just stay near Huntington and go to Costa Mesa or Long Beach.
But it wasn't Harvard. And it wouldn't help her become a successful lawyer like Harvard would.

"Liz? You out here?" Jimmy's voice comes floating through the hallway, and he finds her on her stair. He's nicknamed it her stair, because whenever she was alone, that was where she could be found. She doesn't even realise she's crying until the smile falls from Jimmy's face and he shuffles onto the stair beside her, pulling her into a hug.
"Tell me what's wrong mini-me. I pinky promise I won't tell Brian if you don't want me to" he says softly, almost looking ready to cry himself.

Lizzy brushes away some escaping tears, and then looks up into the bright blue orbs of her best friends eyes. He always understands.
"I started applying for colleges a couple of months ago, before this whole thing with Lisa happened. And, um, I got rejected from a lot of places. But the dean of one just called..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say next.
"And? Which one was it?"
"Harvard. Harvard Law School"

Jimmy stares at her for a moment, before a huge smile breaks out on his face and he hugs her so tightly, she swears she can hear her ribs breaking through her skin.
"Mini-me, that's huge! You're gonna be a big shot lawyer- you were always the smartest one of the Haners!" he announces and she manages to smile, even though she's dreading the next part.
"It means I have to move to Massachusetts, Jim. For eight years"

Jimmy's smile fades once again, and he whistles.
"That's a long time to be away, mini-me. But if it's your dream, then you go right out and chase it down. We'll survive here- plus you can see us whenever we tour in Massachusetts, right? And you can always come home for vacations" he assures her, and she smiles, letting Jimmy hug her tightly again.
"You can do it, Lizzy. I know you can. I believe in you"

Her phone begins to vibrate in her hands and she answers the call, still wrapped up in Jimmy's bear hug.
"Hello?"
"Is this Elizabeth Haner, daughter of Brian Haner Sr?"
"Yes that's me. Is something wrong- is he OK?"
"Miss Haner, your father has just had a heart attack. Were he not in the middle of a supermarket when it happened, he could be dead by now. I suggest that you and any other immediate family members come down to the hospital as soon as possible"

Lizzy hangs up numbly, suddenly terrified for her fathers life. She jumps out of Jimmy's arms and runs into the living room, earning stares from everyone else in the room. She's full on sobbing now, and seeing as Brian was now free-handed, he runs over and pulls her into a tight hug, worried at why she's so over emotional.
"Liz, tell me what's wrong. What happened?" he asks softly, but she just cries harder, staring up at her older brother with wide, tear-filled eyes.

"Daddy had a heart attack"