The boys, plus Feister and Brooklyn were all gathered on the couch. Some of the boys were scattered across the floor since they couldn't all exactly fit on the couch. The one thing they all had in common was they were all wearing their pjs. Which was mostly sweat pants, over sized t-shirts and or hoodies for the boys. Feister wore something similar only she preferred shorts and Mush's hoodie that practically drowned her body. However, in Brooklyn's case it was a cute set of pale blue shorts and a matching shirt with butterflies. At the moment, Albert was up at the mic. The lyrics played on the laptop that stood on one of the kitchen stools. But the redhead didn't bother giving it one look, for he already knew the whole song by heart. Though nobody could tell if he was actually on key or not. Well, Finch might've known if he wasn't busy pushing two pillows between his head. Which was a clear sign that Albert was indeed off key. At least he was having a good time.

"WE'RE GOIN' DOWN DOWN IN AN EARLIER ROUND AND SUGAR WE'RE GOIN' DOWN SWINGIN'!" Albert screamed sang into the mic, channeling his middle school self. He was one of those kids who were a little on the emo side of the tracks. The cherry on top, however, nobody knew what in the world he was trying to sing. Well, they knew what the song was, but the way Albert was pronouncing was hard to understand. When the redhead hit the last note, he screamed out of pure adrenaline for good measure. "Oh don't look at me like that," Albert grumbled once he saw several of the boys still had their ears covered. He walked back to his spot on the couch, plopping next to his sleepy girlfriend who oddly enough, snuggled into his chest the moment he let his arm lay around her. "You liked it, right sweetheart?"

"Hmmm yeah," Brooklyn mumbled, her voice masked with tiredness.

Quietly, Albert chuckled to himself as he pulled her closer. He let the tips of his fingers play with her hair gently, causing her to snuggle closer. Which was a rare thing for her to do. They were still testing out the waters of their new found relationship. But with each and every passing day, another baby step was taken.

"I'll go next," Mush said.

"There goes my hearin'," Feister groaned as Mush got up. She flopped down on her back and pulled the hood up and over her head.

Mush roll his eyes with the softest head shake as he started to scroll through the endless options of music. Eventually, he found one and proceeded to set it up before grabbing the mic. It went quiet for a moment as the song loaded. First the music came, then without missing a single beat, Mush started to sing, "I like this right here......this girl she came round the corner, looking like a model, magazine figure, she was shaped like a bottle." he started to dance around, smirking a little as he did and sent a wink to Feister, who groaned more, grabbed the nearest pillow and screamed into it. "Felt so right, just couldn't be wrong, love at first sight, if that exists at all, I couldn't move, felt like I was stuck-" he started jumping up and down, "-and then baby girl looked up and I said HEY THERE PRETTY BROWN EYES, WHATCHA DOIN' LATER TONIGHT? DO YOU MIND IF I SPEND TIME WITH YOU!"

"I never hated you more," Feister said. But Mush was already too lost in his own world to hear that. Then again, has he ever listened to what she said? Maybe once or twice, but in a time like this his sense of hearing seemed to have disappeared along with the rest of his brain cells. Oh wait, Mush didn't have any. Though it was only a few minutes of him singing, it felt like a lifetime in her mind before it was finally over. When it was, Mush happily sat down again and wrapped his arm around her as he planted a kiss to the top of her head. She gave him an annoyed look, to which Mush replied with, "You know you love me."

"Shut up," was all Feister had to say.

Mush only smiled. He knew that was her special way of saying, "I love you too." she wasn't exactly the typical affection type. She showed it in other ways. With little punches to the shoulder and teasing him about every little thing. If it weren't for the glimmer in her fiery eyes, and knowing her for as long as he has, he would've taken it as her actually being serious.

After that, Mike and Ike did a little performance of Stuck Like Glue. Was it surprising they had done that? No, not at all. But it was entertaining. Then it was Romeo's turn. He decided on Hey Juliet of course. Though he did debated long and hard between that, Check Yes Juliet. Either way, Race and Albert jammed out to their younger brother's singing, so it wasn't terrible to say the least. When it was Finch's turn he did Put Your Records On. Being the song bird that he is, Finch was just about the only one out of the entire group who actually managed to stay on key, have no voice cracks or suddenly forget the words. Around and around the boys took turns stepping up to the mic and sing something. Whether it was a current popular song, or a hit from their childhood, they all had a good time. 

A few rounds or so later, Jojo said, "I think the girls should go next. We haven't heard from 'em yet." which was followed by several of the boys agreeing. The girls hadn't gone up yet. They all knew from that one time a year ago that Feister could indeed sing, but she denied she had a good voice. Brooklyn was just outright shy. None of them ever heard the freckled girl's singing voice before. But now was a good time as ever.

"Yeah!" Race agreed. "The girls should go next."

"Nope. Not happenin'."

"Aw c'mon Feisty, we all went. It's your turn now," Mush encouraged.

"Get that stupid look off your face Meyers!"

"I'm awake!" Brooklyn said as she popped up in her seat. Clearly she was so out of it she couldn't register the fact she wasn't the one being referred too. But in her sleepy defence, she was technically a Meyers.

"Good," Albert said. "Cause it's your turn to sing."

"It is?" she asked with a half sleepy, have confused expression.

"No it isn't Freckles. He's tryin' the mess with you," Feister replied as she sent a glare at Albert for trying to pull such a thing.

"Nah it's fine-" Brooklyn started, but was cut off by a little yawn. "-it's like you always say...get it over with and the bummers will leave us alone, right?"

"But I also say ignore and insult."

Instead of replying Brooklyn got up and walked over to the laptop. On the way there however, she nearly tripped over a few of the boys since she wasn't exactly paying attention. Though she had woken up a little bit after the first two almost trips. Just enough to get herself to where the laptop was and start looking for something that was short and simple.

"Feisty-"

"No!"

"Brooklyn is doin' it!" Mush pointed out.

"Yeah. And she's also clueless when she's ready to pass out," Feister stated. After yet another debate, she ended up getting dragged up against her will despite every protest and elbow jab that was made. And for the first time ever, Feister relented, seeing as there was no possible way out of this one. The sooner this was over with, the sooner she could yell at Mush for making her do this.

"How about this one?" Brooklyn asked, feeling more awake than she had five minutes ago. She started to wonder how in the world did she end up with a mic in her hand and a fuming Feister beside her. Or why she had even suggested that song, but honestly, this was one of those cases where she assumed it was all best left a mystery.

"Whatever," Feister replied. "You go first, I'll follow," she added without thinking very much.

"Yeah sure, hit it."

With that being said and another click, the music started. The boys all suddenly were on the edge of their seats ready for a good show. To say the least they were all excited to see what was in store. Especially for Mush and Albert. After all, those were their girlfriends standing up there.

"Your friend told me you're cool being a thing or whatever," Brooklyn started.

"Yeah I did!" Race shouted while punching Albert repeatedly.

"But baby you are gonna have to do much better. Cause I'm not like those other girls that you won't remember, I'm not gonna wait here forever."

"Wait what?" Albert thought to himself. He noticed the way Brooklyn was avoiding eye contact, and while she does tend to do that a lot, he couldn't help but think it was for some other reason. One that twisted in his stomach repeatedly.

"OH!" Feister shouted. Then she started to stare directly at Mush with the most innocent face she could muster.

"Whatever's goin' on with that girl, it can't be that bad," Mush thought to himself while ignoring the chills he was getting down his spine.

"Cause I aim for the bullseye and I don't miss!" Brooklyn started back up again. "I blew out the candles and I got my wish, but I....I didn't think you'd turn out like this!"

In a split of a second, it didn't take Albert very long to put two and two together. His anger started to bubble up at just the mere thought of how that jerk treated a girl like Brooklyn. How could anyone in their right mind want to do that in the first place. She's the sweetest, most innocent person he knows. Now, Albert didn't know many details about Brooklyn's past love life (if it can even be called that) but what he did know made him want to punch the wall as many times as he could. He didn't even notice that his fists were starting to clench until Race pointed it out.

"Hey Al, why do ya look so ready to soak a bummer?" Race asked quietly.

"Yeah man," Jojo added. "Least she actually sounds good. Unlike you."

"Shut it," Albert snapped at them under his breath. He didn't care if Race or Jojo were making fun of him...neither of them knew what Brooklyn had gone through. All the little reasons why she's so stand-offish. But he did. And sometimes, he wished it was purely from her shyness.

Across the couch, something seemed to snap in Mush when he noticed just how genuinely his sister was singing those words. How angry she sounded with each and every sentence. He couldn't help but think that Albert must of done something to hurt her and he didn't know about it. It didn't matter how little or big it must've of been.

"-like WHAT KIND OF GIRL DO YOU TAKE ME FOR?!" she screamed so loud and so full of emotion that the boys all started to wonder that maybe she had been spending a little too much time with Feister.

"Note to self, soak Al in his sleep," Mush thought. Or better yet, he can do it right now. But....unfortunately for him, he started to hear a familiar voice start up.

"I've been wanting you since way before this summer-"

"EY! She finally admits it!" Kid Blink shouted with pure happiness.

"Let's get this straight I'm not a game-" while Feister was singing she stared right into Mush's soul. "I'm NOT a number!" as she said this, she held up five fingers to signify that she was the fifth girlfriend he has ever had. Though it was sad, it weirdly worked out in the moment. "And if you can't step up, you can't get yourself together....then you can find yourself a different lover!"

"OH!" this time, it was Brooklyn who shouted.

At that moment, Mush's need to soak Albert seemed to have disappeared and instead was replaced with nothing but pure fear. His girlfriend's anger alone was enough to make him fear for his life, it was another when it came to the romance side of it. Slowly, Mush sunk down into the couch, pulled the hood of his hoodie over his head and pulled the strings shut as he flopped down to the side. He wanted nothing more than for the couch to eat him up alive right then and there. To say the least, most the boys were a little concerned and maybe scared of just how much emotion both girls had put into this little performance. They didn't think it'd be this bad seeing as one was tired and the other was dragged up there against her will. At least it wasn't their lives on the lines for either of the girls wrath. That was all Mush and Albert's problem.

"That's your girl Mush brains!" Kid Blink hollered as he slapped Mush's back and shook him a bit. He couldn't stop laughing even if he tried. "You sing you're heart out Feisty!" he encouraged. Though the younger girl didn't need it, it was more of another jab to Mush than anything else.

"And here I was thinkin' Freckles was innocent," Race laughed with a bright smile as he ruffled Albert's hair. "You're one lucky dude Albie, that's for sure."

"If you want me, show me, love me, know me, don't just think I'll keep this going, I'm sweet like sugar but I'm cold as ice, I'll be gone like the summertime, you better think twice!" Brooklyn sang as she danced to the up beat music and vibed a little to the words. Then Feister came in, singing the exact same words as Brooklyn just did. The only other difference between that? She seemed to have a little too much fun with sending the meaning over to Mush, who she knew was secretly peaking out from under the hoodie.

"Oh my gosh, are you serious?" Brooklyn asked.

"I'm dead serious," Feister quickly replied. For a split second there was a silent pause, then they started to sing the course part one last time before screaming, "LIKE WHAT KIND OF GIRL DO YOU TAKE ME FOR?!" together as loud as they could. The music came to a stop, the girls looked rather pleased with their performance. Mush was currently in fear for his life. Albert looked ready to punch a hole through the wall. And the rest of the boys, were of course, confused as to why. It made sense for Feister to listen to something like that, but Brooklyn? None of them could wrap their minds around that. Or at the very least come up with an explanation.

"Well. I think it's time to call it a night," Jack said, breaking the silence.

Without another word, one by one the boys all slowly started to get up and head upstairs. Though Feister walked up to where Mush laid like a lump, grabbed the nearest pillow and whacked him with it until he sat up. When he did, she yanked the hood down, his hair was all messy, sticking up at odd angles while he gave her his best smile. "Time for bed, idiot."

"You're not gonna use me as a punchin' dummy, right?"

"Not now at least," Feister shrugged in reply. She held her hand out to Mush, who sheepishly took it in his and she helped pull him up on his feet with all the strength she had in her arm. Of course, he didn't exactly make it easy on her. Instead of getting up right away, he sat there for a few seconds before he actually did stand up.

They headed toward and up the stairs hand in hand. The trip was a silent one, but they were both content as can be. Upon making it up to the floor, Mush walked Feister to her bedroom like he always did, but before letting her go inside, he slipped his hand around her waist and spun her around. She caught herself by letting her hands crash against his chest, while her eyes rolled for the millionth time in her life. "Aww, c'mon Feisty, don't give me that look," he teased. Pulling her as close as he possibly could. Then he lightly placed a gentle kiss against her soft lips. Naturally, she melted right into his arms before pulling away.

"Yeah, yeah, I love you, or whatever."

"Love ya too, Feisty," Mush quietly replied. He kissed her one last time, then dropped his hands from her waist and watched her walk into her bedroom. He waited until the door fully closed before walking away, but before that happened, Feister turned around and smiled at him. One that told him after the events of that night, he was in the clear. As he started to head back to his own room, he spotted Albert across the hallway. Suddenly he remembered the anger he was feeling before he went into turtle mode, walked right up to the redhead and said, "You've got five seconds to explain why my sister looked like she was about to break down."

"What're you talkin' about?" Albert asked, clearly confused as to what was happening.

"Don't act stupid. You did somethin' to her. And yeah I know she was just singin' a song, but even Specs without his glasses would be able to tell she related a little too much to that."

Albert stared at Mush for a moment or so. His face twisted into nothing but pure confusion. Mush didn't know? He would've thought that Brooklyn would've told her own brother the whole story by now. But in the same breath, it sort of made sense why she didn't. He wouldn't want Race or even Feister knowing if he had gone through something like that. "Whatever it is you're thinkin' it wasn't me. Feisty would've soaked me by now if it was."

"But somethin' did happen, didn't it?" Mush asked.

"It ain't my place to tell."

"Why not? Make it easier on yourself and spill the beans fore I give ya another black eye."

Albert heavily sighed. "Feisty's right. Ya do have mush in your head. Do you really believe I'd do anythin' to hurt her?"

───── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────

For the entire night, Mush couldn't stop tossing or turning. His mind was stuck on just what was going on with Brooklyn. No matter how many times he asked Albert, the redhead said it wasn't his place to tell, confirming his own suspicions that something had happened with Brooklyn. Something she obviously hadn't told him. Really, he shouldn't be thinking about this. It was just a stupid song that both girls had sung with a little too much emotion for his liking. Now, with Feister it made sense. Though she never showed it, Mush knew she had many insecurities. Which in his mind was a dumb thing. But....he also knew where she was coming from, after all, he's partly the reason why she feels that way in the first place. Back before he realized his own feelings for his best friend, he used to go from girl to girl. Most of the time in between, it was just him rebounding. That was no excuse. He knew it too. Knew that no matter what he did, he'd never be able to live that down. All he really knew was that he loves Feister.

It felt like a lifetime before the sun started to rise. And after a few more hours of listening to Henry's sleep talking and Finch's fidgeting from across the room, and let's not forget Jojo's obnoxious snoring, Mush finally had enough. Quietly he climbed down the bunk, making sure he didn't wake the other three boys before slipping out of the bedroom. When the door closed, he headed down the steps and towards the kitchen where he met with an interesting surprise. His sister was sitting at the island with her nose in a book and a cup of yogurt with fruit and granola off to the side. "Hey."

Brooklyn looked over her shoulder. "Hey," she replied, smiling a little. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Yeah," Mush nodded. He walked over and around the island, planting himself in front of his sister and asked, "Anythin' good you're readin'?" he rested his arms on the island top.

"Just a summer romance," Brooklyn replied, shrugging it off. "My twin sense is telling me something's on your mind," she added as she placed the bookmark between the pages.

"Did somethin' happen between you and Albert?" Mush asked, not bothering to beat around the bush. When he noticed the confusion wash across her face, he added, "You got a little too into karaoke for somethin' not to have happened."

Brooklyn froze as soon as he finished speaking. "Al would never do anything to hurt me," she finally said after a few moments of silence.

"That's what he said last night," Mush mumbled underneath his breath.

"You asked him about it?" Brooklyn asked. Worry suddenly filled her. She knew some tension had been put between her brother and Albert when she started dating the redhead. She knew it was her fault that it happened. The two boys were good friends before she came along, and she hated that a part of that was now ruined because of her.

"Don't worry, his face is intact," Mush replied. "For now at least." he thought. "Said it wasn't his place to tell me...so I'm askin' ya what happened?"

"Nothing." though her voice was quiet, it was full of sureness. "He wouldn't hurt me, or lead me on. He wouldn't play an endless mind game, fight with me then come crawling back a few days later saying things are going to be different only to have things remain the same." her voice was starting the break with every word to the point it was getting hard to hold herself together. "He doesn't make fun of me for reading too much or say that I should wear more makeup to cover up my freckles or-" now she was really starting to break down. "He- he doesn't touch me when I don't want to be touched......put his hands on me even after I try pushing him away or pin me to a wall and keep kissing me making everything feel numb and dead inside and -"

"Ok where is this comin' from?" Mush asked. It hurt him from the inside out to see Brooklyn like this. To know that she wasn't just giving him reasons why Albert treats her right, it was coming from a place where she experienced it. "Who hurt you? Give me a name and I'll -"

"It's not worth it," Brooklyn cut off, yelling a little as she did. "He isn't worth it."

"Who?"

"Colton," she sniffed as tears started to slip out of her eyes. "Colton Walters."

Mush would be lying to himself if he said he didn't know that name. The name of the Brooklyn Bobcats star baseball player. The rival team to their school. His sister dated a kid who treated her that badly? Just hearing about it made his stomach turn into knots. And maybe a small part of him understood why Albert said he needed to hear it from her. But in the same breath, Albert knew about this, before he did? "Brook...I'm - I'm sorry that-"

"I was the one who was stupid enough to keep going back to him."

"You're not stupid....anyone who's gone through somethin' like that knows that."

Before Brooklyn could say anything, a few of the boys, plus Feister came trickling into the kitchen one by one. Naturally, Feister - though still in a sleepy daze - walked right up to Mush and nudged her head under his arm until he pulled her close while she wrapped her own arms around his stomach, clinging to him like a koala bear. He kissed the top of her head and smiled.

Meanwhile, Albert stood behind Brooklyn, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She jumped up a bit at the sudden touch. But when she realized it was him, she instantly relaxed, reached for both his hands and pulled them around her waist. "Hey sleepin' beauty," he mumbled against her temple.

"Hi," Brooklyn replied with another sniff.

"You alright, sweetheart?" the redhead asked as he moved beside her. He moved one hand up to her cheek, lifting her head up to see her face was streaked with a few tears. The look in her eyes was a familiar one....it was the same look she had on their first date, when she ended up breaking down and told him what happened with her so called ex. "I love you,"

"I know," she replied quietly.

"Hey," Feister piped up sleepily, lifting her head up a bit. "Wrong line Skyguy. You're supposed to tell her you don't like sand."

"I have better pickup lines than that, Snips," Albert shot back at the younger girl.

As that was happening, Mush had watched his sister and Albert's interaction....he noticed how gentle the redhead was with her, seeming to know exactly what was up without her saying a single word. Noticed how even though Brooklyn was tense for a brief moment, how she took Albert's hands and wrapped them around her own waist and seemed to have relaxed within a few seconds. The reassurance Albert gave her when he said those three simple, but powerful words. It was nearly an identical exchange he has when Feister gets emotional. The only difference was Brooklyn was more accepting of the comfort while Feister needs some persuasion thanks to her stubbornness "Hey Al," Mush said. "You're alright."

"I'm not alright, I'm amazin' ya idiot," Albert shot back. But inside, he knew what Mush was trying to get at. Though he didn't know what caused the sudden change, he was happy nonetheless.

"Oh shut up," Mush groaned. But it was all in good fun.

───── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────

Author's note

First off I must say I don't own any of the songs that were used, TCW or Newsies, just OCs. Now, I've been dying to do a karaoke night one shot for years now, and thanks to a conversation with a someone on here (I'll shout her out in just a sec cause I've got a special message for her) that finally happened, so this one really goes out to her for giving me ideas on how to go about it. If anyone wants to know what the girls were singing, go listen to What Kind of Girl by Cimorelli. Besides all that, so more Meister moments, yay. But the twin moment at the end with Mush and Brooklyn. Having her tell him about Colton was something that needed to happen and now was a good a time as ever. Though what I loved most was how Mush sort of accepted his sister and friend are dating. Lastly just for the record, I would like to point out I die a little inside whenever I have Feister call Albert "Skyguy" (if you know you know) yes this is in fact their canon nicknames for the other in modern AU. That had been Crystal's Crisis (not really tho) Corner ;).

Ok, so nutcracker645 ended giving me ideas for this. Anything I wanted to do was meh, but after that conversation I knew this was the only way to go about it. I know we haven't known each other for long, but I'm glad to have met you/another cim fam. Thank you for stirring my creativity not once, but twice already, helping me figure out Feister's personality and enneagram, and always commenting on whatever it is I post. Don't stop writing, don't stop being you, or random. You've become another close peep of mine. Also...umm....Finch count: 97 and 98 (97 for one shots and 98 for every other book combined). Final Finch count for now: 195 - technically 197 if you count this A/N. (before you ask, I used google docs).

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!