Volume - a Cody Carson Fanfiction

0.5

We were both waiting for an Uber outside of the back of the venue. We would've used his car, but we were on tour, so that wasn't an option. Cody was looking cute in a plain white t-shirt and black skinny jeans. I can't understand how a human being could make that simple outfit look so good. While I was being amazing by Cody's ability to dress, a taller and darkly complected man walked up to us.

He and Cody shared a friendly hug and Cody introduced the two of us, "Karla, this is Dan. Dan, meet Karla. He's our lead guitarist."

I shared a friendly smile with him as I shook his hand. Thankfully, our Uber pulled up. It would've been extremely awkward if it hadn't. Cody, being the gentlemen he was, opened the door for me and went around to the other side. I folded my hands together on my lap and let my feet dangle above floor.

When Cody sat down, he told the driver the address and we took off towards our destination. There was music playing in the background as we passed through the busy streets of Tampa, so I placed my hand on the speaker closest to me so I could listen. After a few seconds, I could feel that Cody was staring at me. I looked over and passed him a small smile before asking, "What?"

He asked, "Can you tell what they're saying?"

I nodded and starting speaking the lyrics, "I have these thoughts so often I ought; To replace that slot with what I once bought; 'Cause somebody stole my car radio." He seemed surprised, so I asked, "Was that right? I know this beat is to a Twenty One Pilots song, and I think it's Car Radio . . ." He responded with a nod and a light smile.

After a few minutes of a comfortable lack of conversation, we came to a stop in front of a local coffee shop. There were a few hipster-looking people milling around in and outside of the place with their MacBooks and iPhones doing god knows what as the two of us paid. We split the payment and stepped out of the car and into the hot and sticky Florida air. We walked up to the front door, Cody holding the door for me, and stepped into the air conditioned and earthy smelling shop. The floors were a rustic and old looking wood, and the walls were a modern and sleek white with colourful paintings scattered here and their. We stepped up to the counter, ordered our drinks - a black coffee for me and some fancy thing for Cody - and sat down in the far corner of the lounge area. I took a sip of the hot drink in front of me and asked, "So, when did you start getting into music?"

A small smile spread across his face as he spoke, "I'd always been into music every since I was a little kid. But 2008 was when everything really took off. Dan, Austin, an old friend James and I all started set it off. Things were going great, but then James quite. We found a couple other people, but they didn't work out. In 2010, we came across Maxx. Everything's only been going up ever since. We have - at least in my opinion - one of the best fan bases in the industry," he took a sip of his drink, "What about you? What are your hobbies?"

I shrugged and responded, "This and that. One of my favorite things to do is write, but I haven't been able to do that ever since I published my first novel. Lately, I've been doing a lot of drawing and painting."

"You wrote a book?" he asked with slightly raised brows, "What's the title?"

I swallowed, nervous. I had written that book under a false name, and it had become a New York Times best seller. I had never gone to a book signing, or anything else that people seemed to want me to do. I was too afraid to show my face to so many people. "It's called It's Under the Ink. You probably haven't heard of it. It's some obscure fiction book that I whipped up in a year." I took a nervous drink of my coffee, burning my tongue slightly.

I ignored the slight pain in my mouth as he asked, "I thought Aubree Rodgers wrote that."

I nervously tapped my fingers on my thigh, "I used a false name. I didn't want anyone to know I wrote it."

He did the same with his hand on the table and asked, "Why? It's an amazing book. It has so much power and voice behind it, almost like I was there," after pausing, he continued, "Does Justin know about this?"

I nodded as I felt my phone vibrate. I took my phone out to turn it off, but Justin's name popped up on the screen. "It's Justin." I started to read the text, and a smile crept onto my face. I sighed, relieved, "He said they let him off with a warning." I turned off my phone and stuck it back on my pocket so our conversation could continue.

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We ended up staying at the shop for over four hours laughing and learning about each other. Eventually, we had to leave because the shop was closing. Stepping out into the slightly cooler air, Cody called up another Uber to take us back to the venue. As we waited the couple of minutes it would take the car to get to us, I could feel his eyes on me the entire time. I looked back at him a couple of times since the attention was new and foreign. When the car pulled up, he did his classic-gentlemen-move and opened my door for me.

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When we found ourselves at the doors of the Sleeping With Sirens bus, I found myself saying something I never had, "I had a great time. Really. It was nice talking to someone other than Sam or Justin for once in my life."

He smiled, "I had a nice time, too. You know, you're a pretty interesting person. You need to give yourself a little more credit," I rolled my eyes, but he persisted, "Karla, I'm serious. I want to hang out with you again. How does dinner tomorrow night sound?"

A light blush flushed across my face and I asked, "Great. Do you want my number then? Just so you can get in touch with me without having to run halfway across venues?" He nodded, pulled out his phone, and handed it to me. I typed my name and number in and handed it back to him. There was a few seconds of silence between the two of us. We were looking into each other's eyes, officially becoming involved in each other's lives in a single moment. Slowly, he bend down and I moved my head up to meet his. When our lips connected, I felt my senses come alive. It was like my entire body was vibrating with a newly discovered feeling all the way to my toes. I could feel everything - his hands on my hips, the air in my lungs, the blood coursing through my veins. In that moment, everything was perfect. But, as a wise person once said, all good things must come to an end. We both pulled away at the same time and looked at each other, as if we had just experienced the same sensations. Sadly, his hands were put in his front pockets as I wished him a good night and as he returned the same words. He watched me as I walked into the bus and closed the door behind me.

When I knew I was out of his sight, I let out a tiny noise of happiness. This was amazing. I stepped into the bathroom in case someone walked in, and I looked in the mirror. What I saw wasn't the same broken and defeated girl as this morning. No, this girl look like she was glowing and in the best mood she had ever been in. I noticed that the swelling on my cheek was almost entirely gone, and the bruises on my neck and arms seemed to be lighter. I changed the plaster on my face, and the cut already looks a hundred times better. After placing more Neosporin over the mark and a new plaster, I stepped back out of the bathroom. And boy, was I surprised.