Puzzle Piece // Colby Brock

four

colby's pov
Around 1 am, Sam comes home. I'm laying on the couch, scrolling through Instagram when he comes in the door. "Excuse me, Mr." I stand up, crossing my arms. "Do you know what time it is?" I ask, like a parent. "One?" Sam says, almost like a question. "Yes, and I have been worried sick! You said you would be home at eleven!" I shake my head at him.

I burst out laughing when I notice Sam's confused face. "I'm just messing with you," I say. "Oh.. Anyways, I met this girl and I invited her to come with us tomorrow night," Sam says. "What? What about Kat, Sam?" I ask. Kat would be mad that Sam is out talking to girls. "Not like that. You know those girls that you talked to last night over FaceTime while Corey and I were out getting food?" Sam asks.

Yeah, the girl with the awkward 'hi'. "Yeah, did you invite them?" I ask. "Well, I saw one of them at the party. Neither of us was having fun, so we just talked for a little outside. She's new to LA and she's our age, so I thought it would be cool," Sam says, completely ignoring my question.

"So you invited them?" I repeat. "Only one of them. Her name's Amelia. I mean, come on, more the merrier, right?" Sam suggests. "Alright, but she's your guest. If anything happens, she's in your hands," I warn. "Alright, well, I'm going to go to bed. Need my sleep for tomorrow," Sam says.

I follow Sam upstairs and we say our goodnights as we head into our separate rooms. I peel my shirt off as I hop onto my warm and welcoming bed.

***

Around 2 pm, I hear Sam in his bedroom on the phone. "Alright, so we're going to leave at 5, so we'll pick you up then and go to the grocery store for some snacks and drinks... Yeah, go ahead, we're all going to have cameras too... Alright, cool, I'll text you when we leave."

Sam comes into the room an hour later. "You ready for tonight?" He says. "Yeah, so ready. Let's hope Elton doesn't almost get shot again," I laugh. "Yeah, and that Corey can actually make it through the night," Sam says and we both laugh. I change into a grey sweatshirt with some black skinny jeans.

A quarter till 5, we head out to Amelia's apartment to pick her up. Elton wasn't big on the idea of her coming, but he didn't say no. Corey was all for it. Sam rushes up to Amelia's apartment, as it was his idea to invite her. I spot her walking towards the car and my first thought is wow.

Amelia looks stunning, her brown hair tied neatly into a ponytail and a navy green hoodie and black jeans. She opens the door and slides in, Sam following behind. "Hey guys, thanks for letting me come," she says as she takes her backpack off and sets it on the floor.

"No problem, as long as you don't chicken out and you're okay with almost getting arrested," Corey says as he turns his head and looks back.

"Yeah, or almost getting shot in the head," Elton adds. Amelia laughs, "Oh god, I saw that. I would've been peeing my pants, that's so scary." "It was horrible, so I have no idea why I'm going back, but it's too late now," Elton laughs and we start off to the grocery store.

We arrive at Walmart and we each go to pick out something to drink and some snacks. I head to the chip aisle, where Amelia is squatting on the ground, already focusing deeply on what chips to get. "Do I get Doritos or Lays?" she asks. I go to reply but she starts talking again.

"If you get Doritos then you're going to have cheesy fingers, but they're better than Lays." I realize she was just talking to herself, and I laugh. Her foot slips and she falls on the ground, surprised by my laugh. "Oh, shoot, I'm sorry," I apologize, still laughing. I reach my hand out and she grabs it. I help her up.