once before // ashton irwin

chapter one // no spare change.

and how long will it take
               before the mask falls of this face?
and how long will it take
              before my eyes speak out the truth?

                              - selah sue 'break'

nora's pov

"Nora!" A loud pounding on my bedroom door forces me awake, causing me to sit up in my unbearably soft bed, "Your ride is here!"

I hear Poppy's footsteps marching away from my closed door as I jump out of bed, letting out a frustrated grown. Why am I not surprised that I would sleep in late for my first day of college? It'll take some getting used to not having my mom nagging me to wake up.

My frantic fingers grab the first dress I can get my hands on; a black summer dress with sunflowers printed all over it. Taking a quick glance into the mirror, I let out a distressed moan as my eyes land on my mess of blonde hair. Knowing I don't have the time, I just starting fingering through it as I throw on a pair of black boots.

As I sprint out of my small bedroom, I grab my backpack, throwing it over my shoulder as I stomp down the stairs with a frantic pace. 

"See ya!" Poppy shouts as I sprint out the front door. 

I slam the door shut behind me unintentionally in my attempt of being quick. My black boots clomp on the concrete as I race into the parking lot of our apartment complex. 

My eyes land on my ride, Everett, parked in it's usual spot. He watches as I hurriedly run, my blonde wavy hair flying all over the place as I fight to keep my dress down and hold on to my back pack at the same time. Of course he doesn't help or anything, he only smirks. 

"Good morning, princess," He chuckles as I throw myself in the passenger seat, putting his car into drive and backing out of his parking spot.

I mumble something that could be considered a reply as I buckle myself in. It only makes him chuckle harder. I pull out my makeup case from my back pack and direct my attention on making myself look presentable before I step onto campus.

Everett and I have been friends for awhile now; I suppose we have to now that we're in a band together. We weren't the biggest fans of each other before, that's for sure. But that seems like such a long time ago. 

And things change...

 "I can't believe they let you into college," Everett pulls me from my thoughts as my mascara wand is frozen in mid-air as I zone out; something that happens to me often. 

I just turn to give him a cheesy grin, batting my eyelashes in an overdramatic manner. He lets out another laugh as he drives down the busy city streets. 

In the past three months, Everett went to being just a friend and band mate to being my rock; my other half; my complete best friend. I can't imagine where I would be at this moment if I hadn't had him at my side the entire summer. 

And now look at us, we're headed to our first college class together; Music Management 101. We're taking our small pipe-dream, home-town band and making it a reality. We aren't going to let one small set-back in our journey keep us down. 

I bite my bottom lip as painful memories resurface after months of pushing them far, far away. I knew this was going to happen. There really hasn't been a day that's gone by that I haven't thought about it.

Or rather not thought about him.

Obviously seeing my features cloud over - a characteristic that was very familiar on my face this summer - Everett reaches out to blast the song playing over the car speakers. I instantly recognize it as one of my absolute favorites.