Chapter 156 Actually Things 3

• “No, we all write the songs. We all put in our own parts. Take me, for example – none of those other fuckers could lay down a good backbeat to save their lives. That’s why we all share equal billing on the writing, and we all get 25% of the publishing royalties. So yeah, Derek writes the fuckin’ lyrics. And yeah, he’ll add stuff – I mean, he’s got to sing it, so he does his own thing to make it come out good. But he didn’t come up with the tune for ‘Girl, Please Stay.’ Or ‘Forgot You Were Gone.’ Or any of it. Ryan… he’s the one who comes up with the part that everybody fuckin’ remembers. Derek’s just the one who gets all the credit, cuz the frontman always gets the credit for everything.” She snorted derisively. “But try sayin’ that to Derek and he’ll flip the fuck out. The thing with Derek is, you gotta stroke his ego. And you gotta give him what he wants, or he’ll turn into a dick. That time on the bus when he chewed you out? He was being an asshole because he wasn’t getting what he wanted.”
• “What did he want?”
• “Here’s a hint: it’s in your pants.”