Jake was alone as he moved through Rose Meadow High School's corridors. The club had just ejected him the day before because of his comments. Jake was summoned over by Drew when he saw him, but he chose to ignore him and continue walking. Given that Jake had never done that before, Drew found this strange.

Drew made an effort to speak to Jake throughout every lesson, but he refused to listen and continued to write what appeared to be an apology letter or work on his assignments. Drew was growing more and more irritated by this. Why was Jake oblivious to him? The breaking point for him came during lunch.

Jake chose to take a seat facing the gardening club outside. He was spotted by Milly's crush, Elliot, who was also a gardening club member. He approached Jake and took a seat next to him. He greeted him by saying, "Hello, you're Jake Sterling, right?" Elliot didn't mind that Jake merely gave a nod in response to his question. He didn't anticipate Jake to start shaking and crying when he inquired, "Are you OK?" Elliot was able to console him with an embrace after he muttered a "no." He told him, "Come on Jake, my friends and I will help you with whatever is going on.

Jake agreed and followed Elliot to a vacant classroom while nodding. Daisy, Sadie, Stacy, as well as Ms. Jones, were together in this empty classroom. "What are they all doing here?" Jake had thought to himself.

Ms. Jones saw the tear stains and smack mark on his face after Elliott set him down in an empty seat. "Hello, Jake. What's wrong? These women, along with myself, have observed your condition today and are deeply concerned for you "Everyone was giving him a worried expression on their faces as they all heard what she said to the boy. Looking down, as if to cover his tears, he told them everything that had happened: about how Drew continued pressing him, about what Jake said, about what the club said, about making him listen to the recording of what he had said the day before that had been made without his knowledge, and just how horrible he had felt because he truly did not intend any of the things that he had said. They were taken by surprise. They were aware of Drew's power but to that extent? The whole thing was unacceptable!

Ms. Jones sighed as she gave Jake a bear embrace and assured him that everything would be alright and that they would all assist him in making amends to them for everything. The three girls, as well as Elliot, nodded in accord. Jake said "thanks" and the bell rang after he had given a tiny smile. He stood up and started to leave when something dropped from his backpack. Jake had already left Sadie's line of sight when she picked it up and was about to inform him and give it back to him.

"Whatcha got there, Sadie?" Daisy questioned. Sadie made the decision to present Stacy, Elliot, and her. Sadie said, "It seems to appear to be some sort of apology letter that's...addressed to the Music Club. Daisy nodded and asked if she could keep it since she wanted to present it to one of the group members, Sean, who she would be seeing after school. Daisy deposited it in her backpack after Sadie handed it to her.

Drew grabbed Jake's arm and pulled him back as they were walking to class. Jake was perplexed by Drew's abrupt actions, which caught him off guard. "In light of what you and the boys did, Drew, I don't feel like speaking to you right now. The music club banned me!" Jake screamed. "You need to calm down, man. It doesn't really matter, "Drew told him. Jake was in a state of disbelief. "Not a huge deal, Drew?" Almost snapping at him, Jake said. Drew nodded in response, and that is when Jake lost his cool. He screamed, "I lost EVERYTHING because of you, Drew! Are you happy? ". Drew refused to respond to the query despite being stunned and angered. Jake answered, hurried off to class, "I thought so."

Luke had his arm around Zander's shoulders as they made their way down the hallway, and Zander had his arm around Luke's waist. They could hear a disturbance as they were moving along. The voices were so familiar to them that they exchanged confused glances with one another. They hid and peeked around the hallway corner to see Jake screaming at Drew. Zander and Luke exchanged startled glances with one another. Jake explained everything, but was he just being honest? They strolled to class while shrugging.

Sean heard a recognizable knock on the door while he was cleaning the club room after school as usual. When he turned around, he grinned to see Daisy. Despite the fact that he was in love with her, he never told her or asked her out on a date because he knew Jake was also smitten with her. He grinned and asked, "Hey Daisy, what's up?" She informed him that she was there to support him and that she had something for him to offer the club. Sean gave her a broom while nodding and turned on some music. Daisy finished and gave Sean a kiss on the cheek before handing him Jake's note. Sean blushed and said her go as she had dancing rehearsals.

The club came over as soon as she departed and noticed Sean holding the note. Being the little sneak that she was, Milly hid behind Sean. She questioned, "Is it a love note you have there?" Sean was startled, but he quickly responded, "No, I didn't. I simply got this from Daisy, with no explanation." Sean's note was grabbed from his grasp, and she immediately started reading it. She handed it to Hailey slowly within about 5 seconds. In order to read it, Hailey entered the club room. The club around her as she set the note down and began to read it. Absolute shock overpowered them.

Hey guys,

I hope you are doing well when you read this. I want to apologize for how I acted yesterday. Everything I mentioned about you guys was untrue and completely dishonest. Even with her stage fright, Hailey can succeed since she can sing without me, has a beautiful voice on her own, and can sing without accompaniment. The fact that I was in the club shouldn't make you guys happy. After what I did to all of you with Drew, I ought to be the one who is appreciative of being allowed into the club. I apologize for taking this long to recognize how toxic and controlling he is. He is not my friend, and you were correct, Hailey, he does not encourage me to pursue my interests. You guys are my real best friends. Without you all, I feel so empty.

I regret throwing away all of the memories we have made together, including time spent together, practicing, hanging out with you, and writing songs since they mean so a lot to me. The things I said broke the special link we had, which was important to me. When I was with you guys, I felt so free.

I don't expect you to give me any more opportunities, I don't expect you to forget what I said, and I certainly don't expect you to accept me back into the club. I merely wanted to write this to let you know how deeply I regret what I said and how much it upset you.

I'll be truthful; I'd much rather be a music freak.

Ciao,

Jake Sterling

The group repeatedly read the note while they sat there in silence. Does Jake really mean what he says? Zander suddenly broke the stillness by saying, "Well, he did tell Drew earlier, that he lost everything because of him." Hailey blinked sporadically while maintaining an apprehensive stare at her brother. As they were making their way to class after lunch, Luke nodded and described what they had seen.

Hailey reread the note, still in disbelief, and began to tear up. Jake appeared to have written those sentences from the heart when he actually did. She swiftly rushed out of the club room after dropping the letter in hopes of finding the boy with the peach hair.

She spotted him in just under five minutes, although he was not alone. Drew and Zoey were screaming at him as he sat on the ground, hood up. Hailey decided to approach and questioned what was happening and why Jake was on the ground. "Well, he appeared to desire to be friends with you freaks!" Drew screamed. Halley stood undisturbed by everything that had been revealed. "Why are you making such a big deal based on nothing? It is not a major concern "She remarked, not losing her composure. "Yes, Little Miss Uptight, it's a major problem," Drew growled in Hailey's face. It was so confusing to Hailey to see Drew making such a big deal out of a decision Jake had made for himself. He kept going on and on about Jake should have chosen him over the club since he knew Drew and them longer than he was friends with the music club. Jake hid deeper into his jacket shaking, wanting Drew to stop yelling at her. 

Sighing, Hailey walked over to a now terrified Jake, bent down, and looked at him.  He looked at her, into her captivating charcoal grey eyes in fear and confusion. "Come on Jake, the club and I want to talk," she said in consolation, putting her hand out. Smiling negligibly, Jake took her hand and walked to the club room. He was very perplexed about why she was being nice to him. 

As soon as he walked into the clubroom, he almost fell onto the floor cause of how fast she ran to hug him. Apologies were falling out of her mouth, from slapping him, for accusing him of being a fake friend, to not letting him explain. He hugged back, forgiving her. "It's ok Milly, if I was in your guy's shoes, I would have acted the same way," he told Milly as she cried into his shirt. 

Everyone soon apologized to Jake for what they did, to his reply he forgave them saying he would have done the same if he was put in their shoes. But this whole time, he was confused, he asked what made them want to apologize, what changed their minds so fast. Sean walks up with the note that Jake wrote. His eyes widened seeing his note, he was looking for it since lunch! He asked Sean where did he get the note. He told him that Daisy gave it to him. Sighing, Jake realized she got the note from him when it fell from his backpack. 

Zander walks to him and punches Jake's arm. "Come on you nimrod, grab a microphone, we got a competition to practice for," he said. 

Smiling, Jake walks over to the microphones, grabs one, and hands it to Hailey. "We're in this together," he tells her. Smiling and lightly blushing, she grabs the microphone. Sean starts the music as Zander, Luke, and Milly all start to play. As soon as that happens, Hailey and Jake start to sing. 

They were happy. Practicing together, they were not just a band or a group of friends.

They were a family.

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(This was meant to be published before Ep 10 Pt 1, but didn't get the chance!)