Now or Never (An Austin Mahone and Crew Love Story)

Brilliant

      “What are you thinking?” Kylie asked me as I stared into nothing.

      Snapping back to reality I realized I was in the cafeteria, not Hollywood with Austin Mahone. I shook my head. “Nothing. Just daydreaming. Did you see the new story I emailed you last night?”

      She glanced up from her cafeteria processed slice of poo on a bun. “Yeah. I think that one‘s a better idea than the last one. It‘s more original. No one else would ever think of that. Where do you come up with all of this?” 

      “Come up with what?” I turned to watch my other best friend, Dillon, sit down with us. “What are you guys talking about?”

      Kylie shrugged. “Nothing.”

      Dillon’s a year younger than Kylie and I. He’s small and quiet, but some how the star of the ninth grade soccer team, even though he’s a seventh grader. Honestly, Dillon could be a lot more popular than he is. In fact he actually is more popular. He just doesn’t know it. Everyone talks about him and stares at him when he walks past, but they don’t talk to him because he always sits here. With us.

      I’m not saying I’m a loser or anything, but I’m not popular. Eighth grade girls who don’t really talk to many people tend not to get that popular. I’m a writer. I don’t need too many friends. 

      Dillon picks up his mystery meat. “Did you guys see the trailer for the new horror movie coming out next week?” I shook my head ‘No’ as he took a big bite. He’s always fearless of the cafeteria food. “We should all go after school. Larry said he‘d pick us up. He wants to see it too.”

      Larry was Dillon’s older brother. He was like my movie buddy. Whenever the three of us wanted to see a movie, he was the one to take us. 

      Kylie swallowed hard. “Horror?”

      Dillon shrugged. “Just some blood, death, and a few chainsaws. Nothing new.”

      Kylie’s face was priceless. “I don‘t know.”

      I laughed. “Well, I‘m in. I don‘t have anything better to do.”

      Kylie kicked me under the table. “I don‘t know.”

      “You can sleep over if you go,” I offered.

     She grinned. “Okay!” Kylie couldn’t resist a good sleepover at my house. Not only did she get a chance to check out all of the ideas in my writing journal, but she had a full day to sneak peeks at my older brother. I’m not going to lie. I’ve caught a pretty large amount of girls drooling after my nineteen year old brother passes by. I have no room to judge his appearance, but I don’t think he’s all that special. I look just like him. If he was so hot, guys would be chasing me with their tongues hanging out. 

      Dillon nudged me. “Are you forgetting someone sexy over here?”

      I laughed out loud. “Oh yeah. I need to invite Kyle!” His face fell. “I‘m kidding Dillon. I‘ll ask my mom tonight. You don‘t have free overnight rights like Kylie does.”

      The warning bell rang then and Dillon chugged his milk and stood up. “Away game today. I have to head out to the high school…”

      I smiled. “Good luck.”

      I watched him walk off as Kylie and I finished our own food. “He‘s a freak to think he can invite me to a horror movie,” Kylie said when he walked through the door. 

      “You‘ll live.”

      I watched her sigh as we dumped her tray. “Austin at my house tonight?”

    It was tradition that we watched Austin Mahone’s live Ustream every Friday. He’s our favorite singer on the internet. He’s not signed, but he’s hot and he has a good voice. As far as Kylie and I are concerned that means he’s worth the effort to get together and watch him every chance we get. 

      “That‘s the best offer I‘ve been given all day.”

     Kylie’s cousin picked us up after study hall and drove us to Kylie’s. No one was home, but we picked through her pantry until we found the good cookies, and pulled the gallon of lemonade from the fridge and sprawled out in her basement. She hooked her laptop up to their big screen and got online. We still had twenty minutes until Austin came on, so she traveled to my favorite writing website and found one of my stories featured on the home page.

      “Would you look at that?” Kylie exclaimed. “You‘re brilliant!”

      I shrugged. “You never noticed?”