Fic: Search Everywhere (For A Happy Ending) 1 of 3

[pandorablu]

Title: Search Everywhere (For A Happy Ending)
Author: pandorablu
Fandom: American Idol RPF (predominantly S7)
Pairing(s): David Cook/David Archuleta, Carly Smithson/Michael Johns, David Archuleta/Allison Iraheta (friendship), David Cook/Carrie Underwood (past) and so many other pairings I lost count?
Rating: Teen?
Warning: It does get progressively more violent later in the story, with one memorable scene involving Elliot Yamin and some broken fingers
Word Count: 24,000+
Summary: David thought his biggest worry was figuring out if he was going to be the first member of his family to go to college. Little did he know that when David Cook and Michael Johns crashed through the door of his father's store his life would change forever. (Otherwise known as 1920's gangster!AU)

If you want to read it in one looong page, it's at AO3 here



The gun was heavy in David's hand, his fingers clumsily gripping the handle.

"Go ahead Arch." Cook was smiling, the bastard, as he held his hands out, giving David the clear shot. The gun started to shake in his hands. "Shoot me if you think it'll bring your family back. I'm the one who brought you into this life, brought this down on you. I wasn't the one to pull the trigger, but it might as well have been me. So go ahead… SHOOT ME!" Cook screamed, stepping closer to David, getting rid of the distance between the two of them and letting the muzzle of the gun rest on his suit clad chest.

David blinked the tears out of his eyes, staring straight into Cook's eyes instead of the carnage around him. His sisters, their throats slit and gaping open wide like crude second smiles; his brother, brown eyes bright with life no more, instead gorged out and staring sightless towards the heavens; his parents shot in the back, laying in cooling pools of their own blood. "I… I can't… I…"

"Let me help you." Cook whispered, his too warm hands encircling David's shaking ones and steadying the gun in his hands. "It's okay Archie, I understand."

"Cook-"

"I've got this Mike. Why don't you go get Luke, I think we'll need more hands on deck. Get Carly too." It wasn't a request. David heard more than saw Mike holster his gun and walk out of the room, closing the door behind him. "There you go Arch, nobody around to see you do it. If you're going to do it now would be the best time, don't you think?" The corners of Cook's mouth were upturned slightly.

There was a long silence between the two men, the gun still held aloft by their intertwined hands. Tears continued to leak out of the corners of David's eyes, "I don't know what to do. I…"

"It's okay babe." Moisture started gathering in Cook's own eyes. "That's what I'm here for." David let the gun go slack. Cook took the gun and put it back into his holster, seconds before David collapsed against him. Cook put his arm around David and kissed the top of his head. "Young and Daughtry will pay for what they've done. I swear it." Cook muttered into David's hair.

At that particular moment, the only thought David had was that he hoped Cook let him watch.

****

Three Months Earlier…

David hated minding the store. Well, he didn't hate it, it just wasn't any fun; he pouted to himself as he sucked on one of the rock candies they sold at his family's store.

But his mama was doing lessons with Jazzy and Amber, and papa needed two people to help him with the biyearly stock that came in from the docks. Since David had the better head for numbers and was nicer than Claudia and Daniel with the customers, he was stuck while the other two were able to help load the cart.

David twirled the rock candy stick in his mouth, trying to get the last bits of sugar off the stick before he had to toss it. I had been slow all day. In fact the only customer David had all day was Mr. McCoy coming in for his weekly purchase of sugar and butter for his bakery around the block.

It didn't take long before David was bored again, sacrificing one of his quarters from delivering Ms. Mallory's groceries earlier in the week so he could suck on another rock candy while he waited. He also started tapping out the arpeggios Ms. Brooke had taught him last week, trying see if he could still remember them.

He was on his tenth arpeggio when the door to the store crashed open. David watched, his mouth agape, as two men in suits ran to the front and literally jumped over the counter, ducking behind it. David looked down and saw both of them put their fingers over their lips, indicating David's need to be quiet. David saw the mirth in the eyes of the shorter of the two men at the same time he saw the guns in their holsters underneath their jackets. His eyes widened, still a little slack jawed, when he heard the front door to the shop open again.

Another man walked in, his dark eyes quickly surveying the shop. "Can I help you sir?" David asked, hoping his nerves over the two men hiding behind the counter wouldn't come through.

The man straightened out his suit jacket, where David could see another gun in a holster, and pulled at the tie in his hair. "I was just looking for my two friends. I thought I saw them run in here… but I guess they didn't…" The man trailed off, walking through the isles towards the counter.

"I saw two guys run past the window? They were headed towards McKinney's I think?" David asked, nodding his head at the large plate glass window that had a view right out to the street.

"McKinney's?" The man raised his eyebrow.

"Maybe?" David raised the glass jar that held the rock candy. "Want a rock candy mister?" He cracked off one of the last pieces on his latest stick.

The man backed up, going back towards the shop's front door. "I need to… find my friends." He said awkwardly before he rushed out the door. The bell on the door let out a weak jingle as he stepped out and walked swiftly in the direction David had indicated.

The two men stood up.

"I can't believe that actually worked." The taller of the two men exclaimed. David heard some kind of accent, but he couldn't place it.

"Who wouldn't trust a face like that?" The shorter of the two men had a smirk on his face as he fished out the last of the blue rock candy sticks from the glass bowl. David tried, and failed, to hide his pout. The blue ones were his favorite after all. The shorter man's grin grew a little bit when he saw it. "How much?"

"Quarter." David paused as the man gave him the silver coin. "He was… that guy was going to shoot you wasn't he? You guys are all in the mob aren't you?"

The shorter man ruffled David's hair. "And he's smart too." He said as the two walked around back to the other side of the counter. "We'll see ya around kid." The shorter man, who David guessed was probably the leader of the two, gave David a short wave before reaching the front of the store where the taller man with the weird accent already had the door to the store open and had briefly looked up and down the street. "What's your name anyway?" He asked before popping the candy in his mouth.

"David. David Archuleta."

The man's laugh puzzled David since he had no idea why his name could be so funny. "Well David, if you or your parents ever feel like making your way down to the Idol, just let them know the drinks are on me."

"What's your name?" David asked.

The smirk was back on the man's face. "Cook." He said simply, as the pair walked out the door and were quickly out of sight, walking swiftly in the exact opposite direction David had indicated earlier.

David's jaw hung open as the door swished closed, unable to move.

After all, it wasn't every day that the head of the local crime family and his first lieutenant hid behind your dad's front counter.

*****

It wasn't that David didn't know who David Cook was before he ran into his family's store. If you lived in Hell's Kitchen you knew about David Cook and his Musketeers; the lieutenants and their girls who'd been protecting the neighborhood ever since Cook's stepfather had taken over five years ago and left his stepson in charge. Everyone thought the neighborhood would get worse, leaving it in the hands of a guy no older than 23. But Cook had gained the respect of everyone in the neighborhood with a hard but seemingly fair hand. The streets had become a little bit less of a place you had to fear and more of a place where you could enjoy the neighborhood, talk to your neighbors and ave fun on the stoops again.

The speakeasy Cook owned, the Idol, quickly became the hub of everything that happened in the neighborhood. Anything you needed, someone at the Idol could probably get it for you, from easy things like the best whiskey in the city to the retribution for the deaths on the streets that had nothing to do with anything related to Cook and his seemingly endless war with the Guarini family.

The Idol also offered the best entertainment in downtown Manhattan, some of Cook's own lieutenants being the most requested singers and piano players. There was a rumor that Cook himself was better than anyone who took the stage at the Idol, but the only people who could have ever heard him sing weren't going to talk.

It was what made them so good.

Cook's feud with the Guarini family was a constant source of gossip neighborhood. Who started it, why it started… everything was rumor and no one who knew the truth would talk about it.
When Cook had risen to power he was dating a girl named Carrie. Everyone thought they were going to get married and hold one of the most lavish celebrations Hell's Kitchen had seen in years.
At the same time, the Guarini family was trying to take over Hell's Kitchen, hoping to take over the area before Cook had a chance to fully establish himself.

Tensions were getting high, and while the threats and sabotage had become common place, but there had been little violence on both sides. Everyone in the Kitchen knew that a day without some kind of violence was a rarity.

Everything changed one morning.

Carrie's body was found inside of the abandoned building that became the Idol, stabbed in the chest with a long serrated knife, the favored weapon of Guarini's oldest son Justin. Ever since, the bad blood between the two families was never ending, with very few days going by where someone didn't turn up dead; either from being caught in the crossfire, or members of either family catching a bullet.

*****

"Were you alright taking care of the store this afternoon David?" His mama asked him that night as David helped her prepare dinner. His brother and sisters made fun of him constantly for it, but David found a strange kind of peace helping his mom prepare dinner on the days when he could.

Jazzy was setting the table, Amber was still in the sitting room finishing her lessons, Daniel had been allowed to spend the night with his friend Sam after coming back from the docks and helping unload, and Claudia was helping papa with the last parts of the inventory.

"Mmhm." David made an agreeable noise as he chopped up the herbs for the pasta sauce, his mind still distracted by the run-in from earlier.

"So Mrs. Clearey really came into the middle of the store and danced an Irish jig before taking all the potatoes and running out the door huh?" Lupe was no slouch when it came to realizing when her son had his head in the clouds.

David stopped chopping up the oregano. "That obvious huh?"

"Only to a mother who knows." Lupe smiled softly. "So what happened hijo? Was it that Allison girl? I know you fancy her. She's not that bad, maybe you want to bring her over to the house some time."

The tips of David's ears turned pink. He liked Allison sure, but… "It isn't that mama."

"So?"

"Promise you won't tell papa?"

Lupe turned to look at her son. David towed the line more than any of her other children, so if he didn't want her to tell Jeff something, it had to be something serious to him. "Of course not. What is it?"

"Two men came into the store today… well more like raced in? And um, they hid behind the counter and then this other guy came in, and they all had guns and I thought they were going to start shooting up the store and I didn't know what I was going to do if they did, but then nothing…"

"David, breathe hijo." Lupe gently gripped David's bicep, David looking down and seeing her lightly callused hand from working all day in the house and the kitchen, and the flour that always seemed to be under her nails from baking all day.

"Mama, what do you think about David Cook? Really? I know dad doesn't like him, wishes he didn't exist at all in fact. But…" David bit his lip.

Lupe smiled softly. "I don't like what he does, but I do think he's a good boy. Has to be something good in him to have so many people genuinely like him and respect him the way they do I think. But your father has never liked… those kinds of people. And doesn't see much past that. Which you have to respect. He is the head of this household." Lupe finished sternly.

David nodded his head. "I know that mama."

"Was David Cook one of the men that came into the store today?" Lupe let up on her son a little bit.

David nodded again, a small smile curling up the corners of his mouth. "He hid behind the counter mama. The most terrifying guy around here and he was hiding. And he had a smile on his face as he was doing it. He took a rock candy and actually paid for it too." For some reason David didn't want to tell his mama about the invitation that Cook gave him to the Idol before he left. It felt private. Something for David alone.

"But no one got hurt right? You didn't get hurt?"

David shook his head. "Almost like it never happened."

"Then let's keep it that way." Lupe said as she patted David on the shoulder. "Pass me the rosemary hijo."

Moment later both of them heard the front door open and the clomp of David's father and sister as their boots came up the stairs into the kitchen.

"That smells wonderful mama." Claudia said, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek as she took off the work boots that were caked with mud from last night's rain and the walk to and from the docks.

"It sure does Lupe." Jeff said as he kissed his wife's other cheek.

Lupe batted at his shoulder. "Go sit down, you've done enough today." David smiled as he ducked his head lower and concentrated on chopping up the last of the thyme, his father's laugh echoing down the hall.

*****

"Earth to Archuleta." Danny Noriega was snapping his fingers in front of his friend, trying to get his attention.

David blinked. "Yeah?"

"Nice to see you're with us now David." Danny said as he sat back down on the wooden bench across from David. "You want to tell me what's up?"

"What's up?" David parroted.

"You're spacey a lot of the time… but never this bad." Danny said as he took a bite of the apple he had been munching on for the last few minutes.

"Oh."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you have to say? Oh?"

David shrugged. "Got things on my mind."

"When did you become so monotone?"

David shrugged again and Danny sighed. "Sooner or later you have to actually commit to one of them David. Miss Brooke wouldn't have put your name in if she didn't think you had a chance. And you'd be set for life if you got in to Julliard." Everyone had been shocked when Miss Brooke had put David's name in for the prestigious scholarship that gave students a full scholarship to the best music school in America. Especially David's father. Jeff expected David to make something of the family name and go to NYU. David had a head for numbers, and Jeff expected David to go to the college for something serious that could actually benefit the family. Not something "useless" like music.

Right now both colleges were a little more than a dream, but David had to pick one of them, and he was running out of time.

"Oh just leave him be Danny." The redhead bunching up her skirt so she could sit down on the bench next to David never failed to make him smile.

"Hey Alli." David smiled softly. "Thanks."

Allison rested her head on David's shoulder. "No problem."

Danny let out a sigh. "It's your life. But I would figure it out soon."

*****

David took a breath before knocking on the nondescript wooden door. He wasn't supposed to be there, in fact everyone else in the house had gone to bed hours before, but he hadn't been able to get David Cook out of his head. For a whole week, David resisted the temptation to walk to the building that was the home of the Idol, but the allure to go to the speakeasy and visit Cook had just gotten to be too much.

He'd never slipped out of the house late at night before, or done anything against his parents' wishes. There was something forbidden about what he was doing now though, an energy that was thrumming through his veins as he raised his fist and knocked on the door.

A slit in the door slid open. "Yeah? Who is it?" A gruff voice asked.

"David Archuleta?"

The voice on the other end scoffed. "Go home kid. I think you got lost."

David looked straight at the pair of eyes he saw. "Cook said the drinks were on him." He hoped he sounded more convincing than he felt.

That must have been a keyword, because David heard the locks on the other side of the door disengage and the groan as the heavy wooden door opened. The man on the other side of the door was a bear of a man, towering over David with broad shoulders and a body that looked like it could crush David if he put his mind to it. His eyes were kind though, now that David had said the magic words. "Just walk right on through, Mr. Cook said someone might come by saying he owed them a drink."

"Um, okay." David said, giving the man a tight smile before slipping past him and going down a short hallway that lead down to a staircase. The hall was lined with dark tapestries and framed black and whites of the city, and David took a moment to take a look at them. Whoever took the photos was good, and each photo was unique and showed the neighborhood in a way David hadn't seen it before.

David pulled his eyes away from the photos on the wall and walked down the short flight of stairs to a second door. He could hear the music pouring through the door, the blues notes bringing a smile to his face.

David pushed the door open, and stepped into a whole different world.

There was color and activity everywhere. And that wasn't just from the speakeasy itself. The people there were laughing, smiling, moving… David felt like he had already fallen in love with the Idol and he hadn't even been there more than a minute.

There was a small half round stage tucked in the corner where right now a man in a fedora was playing the player piano and singing the latest song by Duke Ellington with an enthusiasm David had never seen before. The bar was on the side farthest away from the door David had entered, where he knew alcohol was getting served even though it wasn't supposed to be, being tended to by a black man that always had a smile on his face for the people walking up to the bar. The tables were all packed, people laughing and enjoying the entertainment and the atmosphere.

"Oh aren't you the cutest thing ever." A voice said, snapping David out of his trance.

"Excuse me?" David turned to the woman, taking in her brunette hair, the flapper dress that she was wearing, the tattoo she had on her arm and the smile on her face as she waited for David to respond.

"Can I help you out sweetie? You look kind of lost." She smiled.

"I just… um Cook said I could come down?"

"Are you… " The woman laughed. "Mike and Dave hid behind your counter didn't they?"

"Yes?" David said, unsure if that was the right answer.

The woman put her arm around his shoulders, smile still on her face. "Come with me honey, we'll get you a coke and you can tell me all about those two goofballs hiding behind the counter like scaredy cats." She said as she led him to one of the booths in the back that was set aside for 'Reserved'. "My name is Carly. It's nice to meet you… David right?"

David nodded his head. "How… how'd you know my name?"

"Cook likes to at least know everybody in the neighborhood, even if he doesn't know them personally." Carly shrugged, waving over one of the waitress girls. "Your dad owns the general goods store on 56th right?" David nodded his head again. Carly ordered a coke for David and a whiskey for herself before turning her attention back to David. "So tell me all about your adventure."

"There isn't really much to tell? I mean, they just kinda came in? And then that other guy was there." David was nervously taping out scales on the edge of the table.

Carly put her manicured hand over David's nervous twitching fingers. "It's alright David. Nothing's going to happen here." She quirked her lips. "You could almost say this is one of the safest places in Hell's Kitchen."

"It's not that." David's eyes flitted over the club. "It's just, I'm not supposed to be here? I've never done this before and…"

"First time, huh?" David nodded and gripped the coke bottle in both hands after the waitress set down their drinks. "You'll be fine. The world doesn't end because your parents don't know where you are all hours of the day." Carly took a sip of her whiskey. "Can you tell me about the other man that walked in?"

"You don't know about him?" David took a sip of his coke.

"Mike and Cook don't always… tell me everything. I've known Cook since he got lost that first time trying to get to the docks. Mike and I have known each other since before I could remember." Carly rolled her eyes. "Idiots."

"Well, the guy had a ponytail? And um, he was kinda tallish. And maybe thin?" David said, a bit of trepidation in his voice.

"That ass." Carly cursed.

"Is he… someone I have to worry about? Someone my family has to worry about?" David asked.

"Don't worry, it'll be handled." Carly said, and David tried to pretend he didn't hear the ominous tone in her voice. Carly turned towards the stage. "Ooo, you're gonna want to hear this."

David turned and saw a woman sitting on a stool, watching as a microphone was set in front of her. David saw her take a deep breath and smile towards the bartender before the lights dimmed, obscuring her in shadow.

A single spotlight turned on to the left of the stage. A man smiled towards the club's patrons as he stepped into the light. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, we have a hell of a show planned for you tonight. You're not gonna want to miss it. So take a seat, grab a glass of our famous whiskey, and prepare to be amazed." He gripped the microphone and turned to the side. "First up is someone we know and love. Singing Bessie Smith's classic 'Downhearted Blues', this is Syesha Mercado." He started clapping as his light dimmed and the spotlight moved to the woman David had spotted earlier.

"Gee, it's hard to love someone…. When that someone doesn't love you…" David couldn't help but watch avidly as Syesha began singing, her voice practically soaring over the club as she sang the soulful tune.

"Told you you'd want to hear it." Carly whispered in David's ear.

"She's… she's amazing." David said, amazed as he turned to Carly. "I could never…"

"You sing?" Carly seemed to perk up at that.

"A little? I mean, I'm not that good? But I like playing piano more." David had gone back to tapping out arpeggios on the tabletop as his nerves got the best of him again.

"Is that what you're doing with your fingers? Something with the piano?" Carly smiled softly.

"Yeah, um, I do it when I'm nervous?" David let out a small laugh. "Miss Brooke taught them to me and tapping out the rhythms calms me down."

"Well we'll have to get you up there and playing that piano then." Carly said confidently.

"Oh my gosh, no!" David exclaimed. "I'd be terrible."

"Now that can't be true. You're too cute to be terrible." Carly laughed.

David felt the tips of his ears getting red in embarrassment. "I just…" He took a sip of his coke, hoping the obvious sign of his embarrassment would fade. "Maybe?"

"I'm going to hold you to that." Carly pointed her finger at him.

"Uh oh, Carly's making demands again." David heard over his shoulder. Turning around, he saw the same guy who was with Cook the last time… and Cook standing right next to him. David felt himself go flush with embarrassment again.

"Shut it. We were doing just fine without you poking your big fat nose into it, weren't we Dave?" Carly said, turning to the younger David.

David boggled a little at the sense of familiarity Carly already felt with him. He nodded his head dumbly. "See! So you can just scuttle off." Carly said confidently.

David couldn't believe the pout he saw on both faces. David Cook, the head of the Cook crime family, the meanest guy on the streets if you believed all the rumors, was acting like a five year old in front of him and Carly.

"Ya mind if we sit and enjoy Sy's set with you though?" The other man said. Carly shook her head.

"So who told you we were over here?" She asked as the two slipped into the booth, David and Carly moving over to give them room.

"Kristy Lee saw you two sit down before she went to the back to prep for her set." The other man said as he gave Carly a kiss on the cheek. "Hey… name's David Archuleta right?" He asked, indicating David.

David nodded his head. "Yeah, um… but I don't know yours, so um, hi?"

"Dave, this goof is Michael Johns." Carly said as Michael slung his arm over her bare shoulders. Carly settled into his side. "You know who that other goof is." Carly rolled her eyes.

"I get no respect." Cook sighed.

"You get plenty of respect. You get even more respect for carrying that gun." Carly smirked. "You just won't get any from me until you can get to Hallman's wharf without getting turned around."

"You get lost one time and a dame never lets you forget it." Cook sighed.

David couldn't help but smile. "You got lost trying to find Hallman's? But that's… down the street?"

Cook hid his face in his hands. "And there goes all the mystery surrounding me. Thanks Carls."

"I aim to please." Carly smiled.

"I don't know, you're still kinda mysterious to me." David said softly.

The corners of Cook's lips curled up in a smile. "Thanks."

David tired to ignore the flutter in his chest when he saw Cook turn that smile on him.

A man with short dark hair, wearing a button up shirt and slacks, and not bothering to hide the gun in his holster, approached the table. "We found Maroulis boss."

David didn't think he'd ever see someone's face change so quickly. One moment Cook was smiling and the next his face was so blank David couldn't tell what was going on in his head. "And I wanted to hear Kristy's set."

"I'm sure Kristy will understand." Carly said, lifting up out of her prone position to allow Mike to untangle himself from her side.

"You need me to go with you?" Mike asked, ready to go where Cook asked.

Cook got up out of the booth. "This won't take long. Luke and I can take care of it." He smiled a crooked smile. "Might even make it back in time."

"Don't rush on our account." Carly said spitefully.

"Don't plan on it." Cook said easily. The shiver that went up David's spine at the ease they talked about probably killing someone made him remember where he was and who he was sitting with. Carly had been unbelievably nice to a kid who had basically stumbled into a speakeasy not having any idea what he was doing there. But they were still gangsters, people who were not afraid to use guns and violence to get what they wanted.

So why was there a part of David that didn't care?

*****

It had been dark for a few hours by the time David left the speakeasy. He never did see Cook again, but he had a nice enough time enjoying the stage show that he didn't mind. The singers that were brought on the stage continued to blow David away. Carly and Michael introduced him to everyone that stopped by their table too, which ended up being almost everyone in the staff and a few of the patrons themselves. Michael made a joke early on that it was because David was sitting at the table everyone wanted to be at, but by the end of the night David couldn't really disagree.

He met the emcee, Ryan, who always made sure the patrons were having a good time. Matt, who was the piano player David had seen when he first walked in, shared a drink with them between sets and then said good night before going home, glad he was able to have an early night for once. Syesha came over and had a drink with them before giving a rather heated kiss to the bartender and going to one of the back rooms. He had even met the fiery Kristy Lee who, after singing her set and saying hi to the three of them, had spent the rest of the night with a table of rowdy college boys and had still gone home at the end of the night by herself.

David didn't understand why he felt like he belonged at the speakeasy, sitting with Michael and Carly, but it wasn't something he wanted to think about too much. For most of his life he had been sharing things with his family, with his brother and sisters, and this was the first thing… ever… that was all his own.

He didn't know what time it was when he crawled through the window that lead into his bedroom. He was quieter than a church mouse as he undressed and slipped into bed, being completely grateful that his brother was such a heavy sleeper.

David pushed the sheets back down and started at the ceiling, his thoughts running in circles. The rays of the sun started tracking along the ceiling before David was able to close his eyes and really get some sleep.

*****

"David, can you stay after?" Miss Brooke said as David's class went on break for lunch.

David warily approached Miss Brooke's desk. Miss Brooke was the nicest teacher he'd had in a long time. She didn't mind when he occasionally got distracted in class, or when he tripped over his own words, and had been the one to even give him the idea that he could do more with his piano playing that just hiding out in the dusty auditorium playing random chords and snippets of songs he made up on the fly.

David had found the old piano two weeks after joining high school. He'd been wandering around the school during lunch, trying to find somewhere to eat without being around anyone else, when he'd found it. The room was perfect, not being too overcrowded with sheet covered objects, but still being out of the way that no one really came down that wing. There was even a desk and couple chairs that were relatively dust free and perfect for David to set down his things. As he'd been eating his ham sandwich, he spotted the ivory keys half hidden under the dust cloth. The piano was a little beat up, but when he'd pressed the keys they hadn't seemed that out of tune.

A few minutes later he'd heard the squeak of the door opening. Quickly turning around, David was prepared to get in trouble for playing when he wasn't supposed to. But instead it was the new teacher that had just started. "Um… Miss Brooke?"

"Keep playing." She smiled softly, pushing back one of her bouncy blonde curls.

David bit his lip. "I'm not very good. I think… I think I'll just go." David watched Miss Brooke sit down on the other half of the piano bench, placing her hands above David's on the ivory keys.

"Nonsense. Don't do that though, try this."

That had been four years ago. Ever since, his relationship with Miss Brooke was one of the things he cherished the most. "Miss Brooke?" David asked, biting his lower lip in nervousness.

"David, is everything alright? You've seemed extra flighty over the last week or so. And normally I wouldn't say anything, but there's your normal flighty and then there's how you've been acting. Are you okay?"

"I'm just… I've got alot on my mind."

Miss Brooke brought over one of the chairs in the front row. "Tell me what's up."

David curled onto the chair. "You ever… feel like maybe you always thought you were supposed to be doing something and then all of a sudden it seems wrong? Like it's not what you're supposed to be doing?"

"Is this about that scholarship I told you about with Juliard?" David bit his lip again. Everyone, from his family to his friends thought it was the scary prospect of college that was making David so distracted, but he hadn't really thought about Juliard ever since he'd first seen Cook. And that just made him feel even more guilty and confused. Here he was getting all wrapped up over something that probably wasn't going to go anywhere and he had his future to think about. "Maybe?" David said softly.

Miss Brooke put her hand on David's shoulder. "Don't think about it for a little while. Focus on something easy. Something that doesn't make you feel like the world under your feet doesn't exist anymore." She smiled softly. "Everything will work itself out the way it's supposed to. But for now, don't worry about things that aren't in your control, all right?" She poked him in the shoulder. "You live in the clouds enough as it is."

David smiled softly. "Okay Miss Brooke. I'll try."

*****

But for all he tried to focus on something other than the Idol and that one night where everything felt oddly right, David just couldn't.

Which was how David found himself yet again at the Idol long after the sun had set.

Knocking on the door, he had an easy smile for the guard on the other side. "Michael right?" David asked, trying to see if he remembered some of the names Carly and Mike introduced him to last time.

The burly man nodded. "Go on ahead. Carly was starting to wonder if you were ever going to come back down again."

"Really?"

"You made an impression little man." Michael ruffled David's hair. "Go say hello."

David straightened out the hair Michael mussed, running his hand though it. He opened the second door to the actual speakeasy and made his way towards the bar. The bartender, same one from the previous night, had an easy smile for him as he approached. "Coke?" He asked.

"Thanks… Chikeze." David's smile widened at the slight nod Chikeze gave him for remembering the name.

Chikeze placed the glass bottle down on the bar top and a manicured hand grabbed it before David could. "Hey there." A blonde girl winked as she took a sip of the coke.

"Hi? Can I have that back now?"

The blonde smiled. "Sure can." She placed the bottle back on the bar top.

David took one of the napkins and wiped off the lipstick smear left behind. "Um, Kristy right?"

Kristy Lee nodded, her blond ringlets bouncing up and down. "Yeah?"

"Don't steal my coke again." David smiled cheekily before taking a sip.

"Oo. I see what Carly likes about you." Kristy Lee smirked.

"Where is Carly?" David asked as Kristy Lee put her arm around his shoulders and lead him towards one of the booths with a direct line of sight to the stage.

Sliding into the booth after David, she said, "She's up first tonight."

"Really?" David asked as Kristy Lee nodded.

"You got here just in time… again."

David shrugged. "I guess I have good timing?"

"You could call it that." Kristy Lee ruffled David's hair. David had to figure out who told everyone it was okay to ruffle his hair and tell them off. David paused when he realized it was probably Mike though. He didn't want to get on the other man's bad side.

The lights dimmed and suddenly the only thing David saw was Matt with his hands poised above the ivories, and Carly sitting on the side of the piano bench closest to the stage, facing out. She was wearing a gold flapper dress, with a frilly gold headband in her hair and black eyeshade around her eyes.

Carly waited until the crowd noise died down a little, which didn't take long considering she was the only thing you could see. "I'm writing you dear, just to tell you/
In September, you remember…" She paused when she heard the wolf whistles in the crowd, a smile gracing her cherry red lips. David could tell that the song Carly was singing was not only a personal favorite for her but a favorite of the crowd as well. "'neath the old apple tree, you whispered to me…"

"She really is something isn't she? Little minx." Michael said as he leaned over the booth back between David and Kristy Lee. He gave Kristy Lee a kiss on the cheek. "Hello there lovely."

"Why hello to you too." Kristy Lee gave Michael a sly smile. "Is Cook coming out? I know he always likes to watch Carls."

"He'll be out in a minute." Mike said as he slipped into the booth. "Hey David."

"Hey Mike." David smiled. Taking a sip he turned back to watch Carly sing and tuned out whatever Mike was whispering to Kristy Lee. Maybe if he got confident enough, he'd go on stage… but probably not.

Carly was about to start her second song when David felt someone else lean over the booth. "Hey." David felt the tips of his ears go hot. "Can I sit next to you?"

David turned his head, giving Cook a smile. "Maybe? I don't know. There's this guy who's supposed to come out? I thought I'd let him sit here."

Cook's smirk could have lit up the room. "I guess I'll have to duke it out with him then." He said as he came around and sat down next to David.

"I think you'd win." David said as Cook sat down. A waitress came over with drinks for both Cook and Mike. Cook took a sip of his before saying, "So I wasn't too sure if you were ever going to show up again. You seemed kind of scared of this place last time."

David ducked his head. "I was."

"But you got over it." Cook raised his eyebrow.

"But I got over it." David repeated with a smile.

"Glad you did." Cook took another sip of his drink. "So Carly tells me you play?" Cook inclined his head to where Matt was accompanying Carly as she sultry walked across the stage, taunting one of the tables.

"Oh geez, she did?" David bit his lip. "I mean, yeah? I guess I'm good, since Miss Brooke thought I was good enough to get into Julliard, but I don't really like playing for other people? I, um, get really nervous and stuff?"

"Hey Mike, Archie over here might be going to Julliard, what do you think about that?"

"Julliard?" Mike and Kristy Lee echoed, but David was concentrating on something else.

"Archie? What?" David felt himself getting hot under the collar again.

Cook smiled. "Well we can't call you David, otherwise you'd get confused for me, which we can't have. And Archuleta's a mouthful. Sorry to say." Cook didn't appear the least bit contrite. "So Archie. Fits you too." He nudged David's shoulder.

"It's just… no one's ever given me a nickname before." David said nervously as he took a sip of his coke for distraction.

"You're kidding." Mike raised an eyebrow.

"No? It's always been David, or Dave?" David said, ducking his head. "I like it though. Archie." David said, trying to get his mouth around the word.

"Archie." Cook smiled. "But back to this Julliard thing."

"It's not really a thing. I mean Miss Brooke just pushed my application through, but I don't know. My dad wants me to try and go to NYU for math though. Thinks I can do more with that."

"Now that's just crap Archie." Kristy Lee exclaimed. "Julliard ain't nothing. Which one do you want?"

David paused. "Um, I can't decide?"

Mike stared at David, "You've got to know. That's just stupid otherwise."

"Piano? But I'm good at math!"

Cook touched David's shoulder and he turned to look at the other man. "Archie, it's been my experience that if you have to convince yourself about something then it's not something you really want."

David bit his lip. It was something to think about… but he didn't want to go against what his papa wanted. He didn't think he was even capable of it. But in that very moment he was doing something he knew papa didn't want him doing… so maybe he could. "I'll think about it?"

"That's more like it." Cook smiled brightly as Carly finished her first set of the night.

All four of them clapped and both Mike and Cook whistled like mad as Carly descended from the stage. Seeing them, Carly walked over to their table skillfully, avoiding the men in the club with the more grabbier hands.

"Hey sweetheart." Mike said as Carly gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Wonderful as always."

"Still nice to hear you say it every time." Carly smiled wistfully. "David!" She exclaimed as she reached across the table and pulled David up so she could give him a proper hug.

"Oh my gosh Carly, you were so amazing." David gushed.

Carly slipped into the booth, taking a sip of the whiskey that had just been placed on the table for her. "I don't know. Old Apple Tree sounded off to me tonight."

"That's just crazy. There was nothing wrong with that." David said.

"Archie speaks the truth Carls. That was amazing." Cook said.

"Archie? You're okay with that?" Carly raised her eyebrow.

David blushed. "I… like it. No one's given me a nickname before." He ducked his head.

"You're kidding me." Carly exclaimed.

"Um, no?"

"See, it was a good thing we came into that store. We're broadening Archie's horizons as we speak." Cook leaned in. "Next we're going to get him on that stage playing piano with you." He whispered with a smile.

"Coooook." David whined. He ineffectually pushed Cook's shoulder.

Cook took a sip of his drink. "No, no, no. I'm not having any of that. We are going to get you on that stage, come hell or high water."

David shook his head, but deep down he knew it was useless. Cook was almost a force of nature, there was little denying him. Or at least David thought so.

"But that's for another day." Cook said. "Baby steps."

"Even if they're huge." David muttered.

A sudden commotion over at the main entrance pulled the entire tables' attention towards whatever was going on. The same guy who David saw come over the previous time was coming over again. "What's up Luke?" Cook said as he stood up. He wasn't about to let any unrest in his speakeasy go without action.

"You're not going to like it boss." Luke said.

Cook was already out of the booth though. "Who is it?"

"Kim."

"Oh for christ's sake. Will a dame not get a hint?" Mike sighed loudly.

"Who's Kim?" David whispered to Kristy Lee.

"Cook's latest ex. Hasn't seemed to get the hint that Cook dumped her though. She keeps trying to come back in, trying to convince him that he was wrong. I honestly don't know how you didn't see her last time you were here." She whispered back.

"Luck of the draw." Michael said sarcastically.

They all watched as Cook tried talking to a woman with short blonde hair who seemed to wear entirely too much make up in David's opinion. Krsty Lee, Carly and Michael all winced when the blonde woman slapped Cook across the face, his head lolling to the side.

"Get out!" Cook roared, loud enough to be heard over the din of the club. All activity stopped for the moment. "If I ever see you in here again, I won't be responsible for what happens." David heard Carly tisk.

"I can see why Kelly left you, you bastard." Kim gave as a parting shot before turning on her heel and walking right back out the door. The music started back up again in earnest, and everyone eventually turned back to whatever conversation they were having.

Cook waked back over to the table, Michael trailing after him. "I'm sorry boss. Miss Kim just stormed in and I couldn't get her to leave."

Cook slid back into the booth on David's side. Taking a sip of his drink he said, "Don't worry about it Michael. I shouldn't have started anything with her to begin with. But if you see her around here again, you can shoot her."

Michael nodded and disappeared into the crowd, going back to man the front door.

"Why does that woman… Kim… hate you so much?" David asked.

"She was a bad decision and can't seem to let it go." Cook sighed.

"I told you that one when you started seeing her Dave." Carly said with a smirk.

"I know. You like to rub it in my face every so often." Cook rolled his eyes. "It took me a little while to realize Kim was more into what I was, not who I was."

"Really?" David asked.

"Really." Cook nodded.

David understood how some people probably liked the allure of Cook more than anything, but after meeting Cook for all of two minutes in his papa's store he knew that whatever you thought about him, it wasn't even close to who he was.

And that was something that made David smile.

*****

Kim couldn't believe Dave had just… thrown her out like that. No one threw Kimberly Caldwell out. Not even David Cook.

And those… people he considered his friends. There was nothing special about Carly Smithson, some street rat who had just lucked out by becoming friends with Dave when she did. If she had known David before he took over the neighborhood, it would probably be her and not that hussy. Although she doesn't think she'd be able to stand Michael Johns. He was an annoyance of the highest sort. And that woman Kristy Lee… she had absolutely no manners at all. Playing around with all those college boys and stringing them along like some girl on the street.

She didn't know who that new kid was that had been sitting at what was supposed to be her table, but she bet he was just another charity case. Carly liked to take them in every so often, Kim didn't know why.

"So you're the latest Cook castoff aren't you?" Kim had been fuming to herself as she'd walked down the street and had been completely surprised when the other man approached her.

Kim eyed the man warily. He was definitely connected, that much was sure from his crisply tailored suit. But the bald head… there was something dangerous about the man. Something that Kim liked.

"And what's it to you?" Kim said haughtily.

"Name is Chris Daughtry. And I think you and I have something in common." The man smiled, his sharp teeth reminding Kim of a shark. He held out his arm in invitation.

"I'm listening." Kim said, taking his arm and seeing where Chris would lead her.

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