It was Saturday, the day of my date with Alonso. I was nervous, of course, because it was--embarrassingly so--my first date.

Sure I'd gone to the diner with Team Stallyns, and to Milo's last night with Nathan Sheppard and the boys, but I'd never actually been out, alone, with a guy who was interested in me.

How sad, I couldn't help but think with a little smile. Better late than never.

Even still, I was going to Ted's house today to discuss some of the things we never got around to addressing last night. I wanted all of Team Stallyns there, but I wasn't sure if River or Scar could make it. It mostly concerned just Bill and Ted anyway.

I knocked on the door casually, hood up against the wind and portfolio tucked under my arm.

After several minutes, I went to knock again, and Bill opened the door.

"Hey dude, sorry for making you wait, but Ted's arguing with his dad...," he whispered.

He ushered me in, and as quietly as we could, we started creeping up to Ted's room.

I could hear Ted and his dad in the kitchen, shouting at one another.

We slipped by unnoticed by the two.

"Ted knows I'm here. I've been in his room the past ten minutes. His dad called him down and flipped his lid because Ted signed the contract with Electro Records." Bill looked so dejected. We got to the bottom of the stairs and I could still hear Ted shouting.

It sounded almost like he was on the verge of tears.

"...If you put in enough time studying as you did into that stupid band--"

"But dad, you don't understand! We actually have a chance now!"

"I understand just fine! This is why you're failing your classes! You get too carried away by dreams that will never work out! Why don't you ever focus on something normal?!"

There was silence between them for a moment. Ted commented, and I barely heard it. Bill and I were frozen in place, like watching a car accident unfold. We didn't want to hear it, but we listened all the same.

"Mom always supported me when I said I wanted to be in a band."

"Well mom isn't here, is she?!" Ted's dad practically exploded.

Ted and his dad swore at each other back and forth, Ted arguing that his dad never once supported his dreams, and his dad countering that Ted's goals were unrealistic.

I could feel my heart breaking for my best friend, and finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I squeezed Bill's hand once, aching for someone by my side as I did the one of bravest things I've ever done.

Bill timidly came with me to the kitchen. My face burned and I felt a massive lump in my throat, but I grabbed Ted unexpectedly by the hand.

"Excuse me. Captain Logan, if I may...," I began. My voice trembled like an earthquake. "I'm Lucky, I manage the band Bill and Ted are in."

"This is kind of personal, Lucky," Captain Logan almost growled.

"I'm know it is," I stated, "I've heard the whole thing, and I really can't believe it. Ted is a wonderful, amazing, sweet guy, and I don't know the whole story, but I wanted to say that, if anyone would become famous, it would definitely be Ted."

Captain Logan squared his shoulders to the stranger in his kitchen, and Ted ducked away in embarrassment. For the first time, I saw a red mark on his cheek, and it looked like he'd been hit.

"Parents need to support their childrens' goals, no matter how insane they are. If you constantly tear them down, they're going to go nowhere in life and end up hating what they do. Ted has his heart and soul set on being famous, and whether it works out or not, you should help and support him instead of yelling at him for wanting to be great.

"Of all the kids I've seen at my school, Ted definitely has the most heart. I always wondered where he got it, because I can tell immediately that he loves everyone he comes across. He's so genuine, all the time.

"It's not every day you get to talk to someone about their dreams, but when I talk about Wyld Stallyns to Ted, his face lights up so bright he could outshine the sun. He's so passionate and intrigued by the thought of fame and changing the world, I wonder how you can't see it. How can you look into the light in his eyes and want to put it out?"

I looked at Ted, focused on him, because Captain Logan was far too intimidating. I couldn't believe half of what I was saying, but then again, maybe it was because I was saying it to Ted, not to his father.

My knees were buckling with every passing second, and I could feel Captain Logan's gaze burning holes in my head. I squeezed Ted's hand for all it was worth, and Bill was behind me, holding onto mine for support. We were a chain, Team Stallyns, unbreakable, the only reason I could ever stand my ground like this.

I never would've done this for any other friends aside from my own team.

"Together, Bill and Ted are helping me live my dream, and I'll go through Hell to help them reach theirs. Opportunity is staring all of us right in the face thanks to Electro Records, and it's the closest we're ever going to get. It's not impossible. It's right within our grip. Captain Logan, please, please don't take this away from us. Support is all we want. It's what Ted needs. Stuff like this doesn't just happen. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for Wyld Stallyns, and clearly someone likes us enough to give us that boost.

"Ted's dream is more probable than most. He doesn't want the Military, though. He's a free spirit, with such a creative mind and loving heart. Military School would take that away from him. It would take away the very thing that makes him Ted.

"Have you ever even heard what he can write? He's amazing!"

"I haven't heard what he can write, because he shouldn't be writing it! Normal boys don't write songs...,"

"Are you unfamiliar with bands like Metallica, Poison, Van Halen, Journey--" He cut me off.

"I don't need to be lectured by my son's punk friends!" He shouted.

"I'm not lecturing you. I'm defending my friend, who I care about,"

Captain Logan and I stared at each other. I felt my face reddening and found I couldn't match his gaze for any longer. I shifted my weight until I was pressed against Ted, a way to hug without letting go of his or Bill's hand.

"You need to learn how to show adults respect, young lady!" Captain Logan said in a better-than-you voice.

"Maybe you should respect your son more, sir," I said quietly.

I pulled Ted out of the room almost immediately, hurrying up the stairs to his room.

Ted was crying, but smiling a little at the same time. His hand cupped his cheek.

"Thank you," he mumbled.

"Did your dad hit you?"

Ted didn't respond at first, and he stared down at his feet. Slowly, he nodded, and my heart shattered.

He was facing away from me, so I wrapped my arms around his thin frame from behind, slipping underneath his forearms and resting my head on his back. We stayed there, not moving, hardly breathing, and then Ted let out a hard sigh that signified that he was crying.

Bill scooted up close and threw an arm around the two of us. Ted leaned his head on his best friend, and while I couldn't see his face, I knew just how he looked: eyes squeezed shut tight, mouth turned down as he tried to hold it back.

I'd been there before, in school, even. I knew the face, the burning in the throat...

"Why did you stand up for me?" He asked weakly, "My dad's right..."

"No, he's not, dude. He's wrong. I don't know why he needs to tear you down, but he's wrong," Bill said seriously.

"Wyld Stallyns is going to be great, and you're going to be great, and we're gonna show him one day," I assured him.

Ted buried his face, covering the red mark like he didn't want us to see.

I sat back on his bed, pulling away from his body heat, and tugged him toward me.

He and Bill leaned back together. Ted's head was in my lap, Bill's was on a pillow next to me. I stroked through their hair gently as I let Ted get his footing again.

One hand was gently entangled in Ted's long mop of hair, the other twisting through Bill's tight blond curls.

Black and blond. Day and night. They evened each other out. Bill had a bit more brains, Ted had a bit more heart. They fit together, just like that.

"I can't believe he said that about my mom," Ted muttered after several minutes of silence.

"It's a low blow," Bill agreed. "Most heinous."

"What happened to your mom, Ted?"

He looked like I struck a sore spot with that question. I regretted saying it.

"She... she died, dude...," he admitted. "Two years ago. She used to support me with my dream of being famous. She bought me my first guitar. Then... then she got sick, real sick, real fast. Next thing I knew, she was gone.... Deacon didn't take it as bad as I did because he was so young. For a while, all I had was Bill."

"I'm so sorry," I said, not knowing what else to say.

"Me too. Wyld Stallyns is really all I have anymore."

"And you're always gonna have us, dude!" Bill piped up. "We can do this. We're gonna prove your dad wrong and make your mom proud."

We layed there for who knows how long, and I stroked their hair. We just sat in comfortable silence, and finally, I began to hum. I wasn't much of a singer, but I sang something my mom always used to sing for me. The hum grew just a little bit and transformed into mumbled singing.

It was for Ted, something that always calmed me down a bit when I was a kid. It wasn't to show off as a singer, because I was pretty off key, it was just for him. Because he needed to hear it.

"Somewhere, beyond the sea
Somewhere waiting for me
My lover stands on golden sands
And watches the ships that go sailin'...."

This is friendship. This is love. I know I wouldn't have done this for anyone else aside from Team Stallyns. This was what a mother would have done when her boy was sad.

I touched the red slap mark on his face gently as Ted shut his eyes. Bill soon followed, eyes fluttering closed.

"Somewhere, beyond the sea
She's there watching for me
If I could fly like birds on high
Then straight to her arms
I'd go sailing........"