Adrenaline

47 | the most wonderful time of the year

"Maybe we should redo it. I think I messed up during the second verse."

I laugh and pull my legs over while tucking myself under his arm. "We can if you want but I don't think we need to. You sounded great."

"Yeah, but MARS is, like, legit. Don't need them to think I'm shit."

"They won't." I roll my eyes. "Pretty sure they like you more than me sometimes."

"No, they don't."

"They won't stop asking me for tickets to another race. The next season doesn't even start for three months."

"Can never be too prepared."

Deciding this is as good a time as any to bring up a discussion between everyone in MARS a few days ago, I take the remote from his hands and lower the volume on the TV.

"What's wrong?" he asks after recognizing the look on my face.

"So, all of us talked the other day," I reply, looking down at my hands. Carefully, wordlessly, he unfolds my tangled fingers and smooths his thumb across my palm. "We think it might be time to move out of the house."

Brendon's eyebrows shoot up. "Really? What prompted that?"

I roll my shoulders. "I guess we all feel like, with the tour coming up and everything and all of the success of Escape Velocity, we're ready to jump into the next stage of things. Everything is picking up and if all continues to go well, it won't be slowing down anytime soon. We need more space for ourselves, to be ourselves. Seems like the best time as ever to do it. We can't spend our entire lives living in the same house together."

"If anyone could do it, it'd be you guys," he laughs.

I smile at the thought. Forever wrapped around MARS' finger isn't a bad place to be. "True. We work well together in a house. Not all friend groups can say that. But we have things we want to do outside of the band. I'm sure in time, there will be other....adult things everyone will want to do."

"Are you suggesting Lauren and Jun might have crotch goblins one day?"

"I just know Everleigh is so proud of us."

Brendon's laugh is sweet to my ears as he tightens his arms around my waist. "So, you need to look for a place then?"

"Well, all of us do." I nod. "But yes."

"Anywhere in particular?"

I shrug. It's only been a few days so I haven't had much time to think about it, aside from thinking Moxie lives in a nice area that would probably be nice if I wanted to tour a few places. But it's also a good drive away from here, and the idea of not being able to walk across the yard to see Brendon anymore makes me sad.

"No idea. Should probably call dibs on enlisting Jenny's help before the rest of the gang gets to her."

"I'm sure Jenny could handle all of you in her sleep."

I scoff. "Assuming she doesn't hop to another continent just to avoid us."

Avoiding things is becoming a running theme in MARS; a chief example being what I'm not discussing with Brendon even as I discuss this with him. Luckily, he picks up on it and initiates the dialogue.

"You spend a lot of time here," he finally says. "Probably more at your own house."

"You're on winter break," I point out.