Sooner or Later (Feat. 1D and 5SOS)

10. Backseat Driver

Emma glanced at the wall clock for the tenth time. Ashton said they would pick her up at one thirty, and it was already two o'clock. What was talking them so long? Of course, Emma expected no less from them, especially when Michael Clifford was involved. That boy always took forever to get ready. Years ago, when their families were getting ready to go to the waterpark, the Cliffords were two hours late because Michael refused to get out of bed. His mother had to drag him out of the house in his pajamas, and then he spent the day complaining about how tired he was.

Growing impatient, Emma checked the window again. This time, she saw the Irwins' blue van pulling into the driveway.

"Mom, Dad, I'm heading out!" she shouted, and then she ran out the door to meet her friends.

As soon as her feet hit the last porch step, she skidded to a stop. Before her was the single most frightening sight she'd ever seen: Ashton Irwin was behind the wheel.

"Uhh, I think I'll walk," Emma said as she hesitantly approached the van.

Ashton was smiling and waving from the driver's seat, smiling with those dimples that constantly got him out of trouble when they were younger. Now, he used them to get girls to like him. One after another, they fell victim to that boyish grin. It was unstoppable.

When Emma got close enough, Ashton rolled down the window and proudly announced, "I got my learner's permit. You jealous?"

"Your learner's permit? But how?"

"What do you mean, how? I took the test and passed. Now, hop in."

Reluctantly, Emma slid open the van door and climbed into the back seat. Calum and Luke were already sitting in the third row, and Ashton's mother was sitting beside her son, ready to instruct him.

"Hi, Emma," she said with a smile.

"Hi, Aunt Anne Marie," Emma replied, and then she turned toward Luke and Calum and gave a friendly wave.

"Hey, Emma," the boys said. Calum maintained solid eye-contact the whole time, but Luke quickly broke away and diverted his gaze to the blue window sticker at his right.

"Okay, Ashton," his mother said. "You're pulling out of the driveway. What do you do?"

"I check all my mirrors. Make sure nobody's behind me ..."

"Make sure the car's actually in Reverse," muttered Calum with a smirk.

"Hey, that was one time!" Ashton defended. "And I only dinged the door a little."

"A little? You put a huge dent in it!"

Ashton's mother quickly intervened. "Okay, Ashton, you need to pay attention. Calum, stop distracting him."

"Sorry, Mrs. Irwin."

Despite Calum's snickering, Ashton was able to successfully pull out of the driveway without killing everyone or wrecking his mother's van. Of course, that didn't stop Calum from taunting and teasing him: "We're all gonna die," he kept saying. "We're all gonna die today. The end is near!"

"Stop it, Calum. You're making him nervous."

"I'm not nervous, Mom. I'm a good driver."

"Honey, you forgot to use your turn signal."

"What?" When he realized his mistake, Ashton banged his fist against the steering wheel. "Dammit!"

"Hey, language!"

"Sorry, Mom."

Mrs. Irwin shook her head in disapproval. Then she turned toward Emma and said with a smile, "You know, your mother sent me that picture of you and Liddy on the first day of school. You were standing on the porch in your matching t-shirts. 'I'm purrrfect.' Oh, it was the cutest thing!"