Nothing to Lose

Seventeen

I suddenly awoke, but kept my eyes shut. I was tired, but at the same time, I felt fully refreshed. That day was my seventeenth birthday. I didn't feel any different. Birthdays had never really meant much to me.

I opened my eyes, which were met by Keaton's. He smiled a bit. "Happy birthday," he breathed.

I buried my face in his chest. "Thanks."

He wrapped his arm around me, placing a kiss on my forehead. We sat in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's presence. I decided to break the silence. "What time is your show tonight?"

"Seven, I think," he replied. "I wish we didn't have one tonight. We don't get as much time to spend with you today."

"Keats, it's absolutely fine. Besides, being here with you guys is the best birthday present anyone could give me," I said.

"We'll see about that. My gift is pretty awesome," he joked.

I chuckled. "What time is it?"

He picked up his phone from the bedside table, turning on the display. "Eight."

"We should probably get up, then."

I got out of bed, getting my clothes out of my suitcase. I went into one of the two bathrooms and got changed. I was wearing cut-off shorts and a grey muscle tank that said "City of Angels." After brushing my hair and doing my makeup, I went back into the bedroom. Keaton was standing by the bed, putting on his snapback.

He pulled an envelope out of his pocket, handing it to me. "I hope you'll like these, but I'm not really worried, knowing you," he said, chuckling at the last part.

I opened up the envelope and took out what was inside. In my hands were two concert tickets, one for Ed Sheeran and one for The 1975. I grinned, hugging him. "Thank you so much, Keats!"

"I'm glad you like them," he said, a smile on his face. "Kaylee, Wes, and Drew are coming to The 1975, but Ed Sheeran is just you and me. Oh, and check the fine print."

I looked at the tickets again, reading the bottoms. I was even more excited. We were in the third row for both shows. "I don't understand how you got third row tickets. You're, like, magical," I laughed.

"I am pretty awesome," he joked.

 There was a knock at the door. I went over and opened it up, revealing Kaylee. "Happy birthday!" she exclaimed, hugging me.

"Can't breathe," I joked.

She chuckled. "You ready to go?" 

"Well, I have no idea where we're going, since you guys won't tell me, but sure," I replied, chuckling. I turned around. "Keaton, we're leaving."

I grabbed a room key as Keaton walked over. The three of us went to Wes and Drew's room, who both gave me huge hugs.

"Happy birthday you idiot," Wes joked.

"Wes, she's clearly a fool, not an idiot," Drew retored.

"I'm pretty sure I'm swag," I added.

"Whatever. Let's go," Kaylee said.

The five of us left the room, leaving the hotel through the back stairs. We walked over to the same car that Christina had used when picking Kaylee and I up from the airport. As usual, Wes drove, Drew was in the passenger seat, and Keaton, Kaylee, and I were in the back.

"So now will you tell me where we're going?" I asked, as Wes pulled out of the hotel parking lot.

"You'll find out in five minutes," Drew replied.

"You guys are so difficult," I joked.

For the next few minutes, the car was silent. When we reached our destination, it was so hard for me to hold in my excitement. We were at Jack, Ted, and Ryan's personal skate park. They had gotten enough money from their snowboarding careers to build a park in Indianapolis, a place they visited a lot.

We got out of the car. "We always talk about coming, and now we finally get to go!" Wes said.

I smiled. "This is awesome. Thank you so much, guys. But I don't have a board." I laughed a little at the last part.

Drew opened the back of the car, taking out a blue Sunset Skateboard. "But now you do."

My smile became even bigger. "This is gonna be the best birthday ever."

+ + + + +

 What I had said earlier that day was true. I had an awesome time at the skate park. After that, Keaton had taken me out for lunch, since the show prevented us from going out for dinner. At the show, the guys brought Kaylee and I onstage for  "Chloe" and had the crowd wish me a happy birthday. 

At that moment, we were about to start a Nerf war in the back hall of the venue. There were two teams: Team Swag and Team Boss. Team Swag consisted of me, Keaton, Tony, and Breezie, who had joined us on the tour a few hours before the show. Team Boss was Kaylee, Wes, Malcolm, and Drew.

"Alright, here are the rules. If you get shot, drop your gun and sit down. You're out. No shooting above the neck. If you shoot someone above the neck, you're out as well. Oh, and don't go easy on Chloe because it's her birthday," Wes explained.

"Oh, wow, thanks Wes," I laughed.

We went to our sides of the hall. I loaded my gun.

"3, 2, 1, GO!" Drew yelled.

I ran to the middle of the hallway. Wes was running towards me. I quickly shot him. "Aw, shit," he muttered, sitting down. 

I aimed for Kaylee, but Wes called her name before I could shoot. She shot at me, but I ducked before the bullet hit me. I looked around. No one was coming towards me. Breezie was about to shoot Malcolm. Keaton and Tony were about to be shot by Kaylee.

"Keaton, Tony!" I yelled. They turned around, Keaton quickly shooting Kaylee.

Drew shot at Keaton and Tony before I could even blink. Now it was just him, me, and Breezie. I held up my gun to shoot at him, but Breezie had beat me to it.

"YEAH, WE WIN!" she yelled.

"SUCK IT BITCHES," I added.

Christina came in. "We have to get on the buses so that we can get to Michigan by the morning," she said.

We collected our bullets and went outside to the bus. "Let's chill in the back," Wes suggested.

We all went to the back of the bus. I realized how thirsty I was. "I'm gonna get a water, anyone else want one?" I asked.

"Me," Breezie said.

"Get me one," Kaylee added.

I went to the front of the bus, grabbing three waters out of the fridge. When I turned around, Keaton was standing there. He wrapped his arm around my waist. "Did you have a good day?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was awesome. I don't think I can ever thank you guys enough," I replied.

"You've thanked us more than enough by being our best friend, and my girlfriend."

I smiled. I was so lucky to have Keaton.

+ + + + +

I'm so sorry for not updating in almost 3 weeks! I've had writer's block and I'm a very big procrastinator. 

I CAN'T BELIEVE MY BABY IS 18 LIKE UM CAN YOU PLEASE BE 15 AGAIN

okay idk what else to say

i learned how to make punk edits today

yep i'm done now

ily

-kate