Balance | Daniel Seavey AU

E I G H T | why don't we

"Where are you?"

"At Starbucks," Zach calmly responded through the phone and I could hear he slurp of his drink. "We've been here for the past ten minutes."

"Why didn't you call?"

"I tried, you were busy," he said and I let out an 'ah' in realization.

"Yeah, my mom called, uh... Where's the Starbucks?" He proceeded to tell me that it was across the gate he was in, and Daniel and I walked towards them. It was a bit farther from where I originally was, but I spotted the mess of his hair and my uncle sitting across from him.

"Hey kiddo, how've you been?" Uncle J greeted.

"Good, thank you for coming, it means a lot," I told them honestly, catching a glimpse of Daniel standing awkwardly. "This is, uh... My roommate, Daniel." They exchanged brief greetings, shaking hands before Zach grinned.

"Why don't we get some food?" We all agreed, hailing a cab to drive us to the nearest restaurant to where they are going to stay. It was a quaint place, serving basic fast food meals like burgers and such. We booked a table and sat around it, ordering our food.

Conversation was smooth, mostly asking about how college has been, how everyone is and if I missed home. It was hard to answer since I wasn't sure which home they were referring to exactly—I, myself, didn't know which place I considered home. But I answered that I did, hoping it would suffice. They both had also been asking Daniel about his history and such, some things I already knew.

Uncle J was the first to finish his meal, with me following behind, and Zach stared at me like how he'd usually do when I ate faster than him. "You've got a small mouth, shorty."

"I'm three inches to beating you," he exclaimed and I threw my head back in laughter. "And how are able to fit so much in such a tiny body?"

"I'll take that as a compliment I guess," I chuckled. I taunted Zach for how long he was taking to eat his food, to which he responded saying that he was savouring the taste.

"Is it okay if I check Mason's campus out?" The twerp asked his dad, and he nodded, saying that he wants to catch some sleep in the hotel. We went our separate ways; the three of us calling another über back to campus.

"What major are you?" Zach asked Daniel.

"Music."

"Ah dope, man." I internally cringed at how my cousin used the word. "What instrument?"

"A lot," Daniel and I both answered, but mine was less enthusiastic. "I play guitar mostly."

"Me too, maybe we should jam some time," Zach suggested, to which my roommate looked more than happy to. We arrived at the campus soon enough, and I had received a text from both Jonah and Corbyn, asking me to meet them at Hotshot.

"Wayho– oh crap," Jack suddenly burst through the doors, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "I didn't know there were other people."

"Jack, this is my cousin, Zach. Zach, meet Jack, also a music major," I introduced the two to each other. The three had begun talking about music as I stared at them in confusion.

"Knock knock," the door was pushed open, revealing Corbyn's blonde head, Jonah following behind. The small dorm room was now filled with five boys that couldn't help but bond over music, and I watched from above my bed, all five of them talking as if they've been best friends for life, despite the minor age difference.

What Corbyn and Jonah wanted to talk about with me was long forgotten once Daniel grabbed his guitar.

"Are you fucking serious?" I couldn't help but mumble under my breath, watching them sit in a circle on the floor, Daniel strumming a few chords.

And somehow, they mashed three songs together. It started with all of them singing in harmony, and I recognized it as Unsteady by X Ambassador. "Hold, hold on, hold onto me... Cuz I'm a little unsteady, a little unsteady."

Jonah's voice surprised since I've never heard him sing, "Tension, between us just like picket fences. You got issues that I won't mention for now, cuz we're falling apart... Falling apart."

"Oh no." They sang in sync.

"You needed me," Jack sang this verse, and his voice genuinely gave me chills as the others sang harmonies in the background. "You... You needed me."

"Feel a little more!" They ended together, and I could imagine girls screaming right after.

"Wow, you guys sound great together," I compliment.

"Why don't we make a band?" Jack suggested, all of them sharing a large grin. "Just kidding, I have classes."

"Me too." Daniel pipes in.

"Still need to finish college," Corbyn says.

"Me too," Jonah adds.

"I've got high school to finish," Zach mutters.

"I forgot you're the baby of the group," I snickered, earning a glare from him. "So what are we going to do now?"

"We—" Corbyn gestured to the both of us "—need to help with decorating."

"Can I join?" My cousin asks and I nodded. "I can't believe you were able to ditch school."

"My dad's awesome, I know."

—

The carnival was tomorrow afternoon, and the art majors were almost done with our house of aesthetics. Corbyn and I had to deal with "Blue Galaxy" room, which was cooler name for the mirror and string lights room. Zach helped with taping the crap out of the lights so none will fall, as Corb and I put up mirrors all around the room. It was hard because- well, they're mirrors. There a few times when we almost broke the glass, but luckily we were careful people.

At least Corbyn and I were, Zach dropped a lot of string lights.

"We're almost done, all we have to do is connect the thingies to the thingies, bada-bing-bada-boom we are done," Corbyn explained, eye bags prominent under his blue eyes as a sign of how tired he was with placing the mirrors. Thankfully, we got one of the smaller rooms.

"I have to get back to my dad," Zach informs, and we bid goodbye to Corbyn as I walked him out. "You know that Daniel dude?"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"You should totally date him," he says, causing me to choke on my own breath. "What? You guys are cute together."

"How? You've only seen him and I together today," I retorted. "And he's my roommate, friend sure, but that's kind of it."

"So?"

"You have a lot to learn, shorty." He looked offended again, glancing at the top of my head.

"We're the same height!"

"Keep telling yourself that, blush boy," I teased, as his über arrived. "Be careful, I'll see you tomorrow with Uncle J."

"Yeah yeah, see you and seriously, Daniel's a cool guy," he informs and I nod, rolling my eyes. I know that, but even if, I'd never be good for him.

—🌹—

so i decided to have the boys meet up and do one of my favorite mashups that they've done so far, but yeah, i found it funny how they're conversation about becoming a band came up. comment which mashup is your favorite, im curious honestly

anyways, BALANCE REACHED 100+ reads in legit a week i think, and i never thought that would happen so quick and i'd like to thank everyone that's reading because knowing that most of you enjoy what im writing keeps me motivated to write :) i love you all so much and thank you for taking your time to read this, its not the best but i hope you genuinely enjoy it :)x