dedicated to zoe for all her support xo
Four days passed and on the Wednesday before Olivia had planned to take Ashton away, we all met up at the 5SOS apartment. Melissa had given me a lift in her old hatchback and I was grateful that I hadn't had to take yet another cab. I wasn't a fan of the LA cabbies; many, but not all, of them seemed a little creepy. That might have just been my paranoia.
The plan for the night was to eat pizza at the apartment and then head to the pier. The past week or so had been busy for everyone and they all wanted to go and exist for a while. I, of course, was absolutely thrilled.
Also, tonight was the night the Liv was going to surprise Ashton. She was excited and I was glad that she'd taken the step to do something for Ash and herself. I'd miss her over the weekend though; I'd grown a lot closer to Liv than I had Mel and I guess that was just because I saw Olivia more than I ever saw Melissa. Still, I adored them both; they'd both made me feel completely at home since I'd come to LA.
"I'm starving," Melissa called as we both entered through the front door.
I could already hear laughing coming from the lounge room and that made me smile.
"Hello starving, I'm Luke." Arms were around Melissa before she could say anything else and she was lifted off the ground and carried down the hall.
A whole bunch of screams and 'put-me-downs' left her mouth. Luke, and admittedly I, just laughed. She was being dramatic even though we all knew she loved the attention.
He dumped her on the couch beside Calum who was also laughing.
"Hey, long time no see," Ashton asserted, coming down the hall and wrapping me in a hug.
I grinned. "It's been ages, how've you guys been?"
He pulled away and led me to the couch with an arm around my shoulders. I sat beside Mel while Ash wandered back to the kitchen. "We've been good, really busy though."
"We're swamped with meetings and shit," Calum agreed. "Only a week left of them though."
They then leapt into a heap of questions about my new hair colour; I told them Olivia had done it and Ashton said he'd known it would have been her and that he was proud.
"Yoo-hoo!" A female voice shrilled. I didn't recognise it at all and knew for sure that it wasn't Olivia.
I watched as a real-life Barbie doll walked down the hall. She was wearing stilettos, a tight black skirt and a cropped white tank that showed way too much skin and boob. Don't get me wrong, she had a really nice, toned body and I could understand why she was confident enough to wear something like that. But she seemed way, way, way too overdressed for being in the 5SOS boys' apartment. Ashton was only wearing trackpants and a grey singlet and here she was dressed ready for a night out clubbing. Not to mention her hair was the most bleached shade of blonde I'd ever seen and probably ever would see, and she wore more make up than she probably needed to.
"Hey, Veronica," Ashton greeted and I wasn't sure if I was the only one picking up on the forced enthusiasm in his voice.
Still, he smiled at her and hugged her when she went in for it.
Calum stood and walked towards her, smile on his face. "Better late than never, Ron."
She laughed and the sound was high pitched and scratchy. "My nails weren't quite dry, what was I supposed to do?"
Melissa murmured something under her breath and I turned to see the look of distaste on her face.
"Your hair's different," a more familiar voice said.
I turned in time to see Michael fall into the recliner beside the sofa. The first thing I noticed was intense red.
"Your hair's different too," I commented.
He smiled and ran a hand roughly through his bright hair. It was a big change from the black but it suited him perfectly.
"I like yours," he told me, propping his feet up on the foot rest.
"Yours isn't so bad either," I said with a grin.
"What's the plan for tonight, babes?" This new girl, Veronica, chirped. She walked rather unsteadily around to stand in front of us. Her eyes zoomed in on me. "And who are you?"
The way she asked wasn't super friendly and I wanted to shoot back the same question. But instead, I gathered myself and smiled at her. "I'm Mali, nice to meet you."
She just raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows and pushed her hair over her shoulder. "Nice. So plan for tonight?" She asked, looking away from me.
"Don't know yet," Mel spoke up.
That was a lie. In the car on the way over she'd told me the plan about dinner and the pier. I was beginning to suspect that nobody was really a fan of Veronica. The kiss she'd shared with Calum upon arriving told me that she was his lady-friend or girlfriend. I guessed that was why everyone sort of tolerated her.
"Party's here!" Olivia hollered.
I craned my head around in time to see Liv walking into the kitchen, instantly wrapping her arms around Ashton's neck. They were both smiling and I found it hard to believe that this was the same couple that was apparently having problems recently. I admired the way they looked at each other – as though the other was the most important person in the world.
That was what I wanted some day.
"Livvy!" Veronica squealed, half-running over to her and pretty much ripping her away from Ashton to force her into her own hug.
"I didn't know you were coming tonight, Veronica," Olivia said, sounding surprised.
"Cal invited me last minute."
"Yay, Calum," I heard Luke say quietly. I looked over at him in time to catch the amused grin on his face. He shot me a wink and I laughed.
"I already ordered the pizza," Ashton announced, pulling sodas from the fridge and throwing them to people.
I caught mine and popped the cap, taking a mouthful.
"Hey, wanna see something cool?"
I looked up and Michael was staring at me. I nodded eagerly. "Yes."
He stood and bent his fingers forward in a 'come' type gesture so I got up and followed him down the hallway.
"What if I don't think whatever this is, is cool?" I teased.
"Then you've got zero cool-taste."
I laughed. "Cool-taste?"
He stopped at the door to his bedroom and rolled his eyes at me. "I don't know if you deserve to see now."
I grinned. "Okay, I'm sorry."
He pushed open his door and gestured for me to go inside. "Ta-da."
White. The walls were all white. Not the dark maroon-red that I'd seen before. He'd completely repainted it. The feel was entirely different now.
My eyes wandered along his set of drawers, over the crinkled duvet that covered his bed, along the bare, tidy carpet. Two guitars were leaned against one wall, one looking worn and well-used while the other looked more new. Beside them were a few pairs of shoes and a wastepaper bin.
I turned around to look back at Michael. "How come?"
I liked the change. I liked the new choice. I liked the new feel. But I didn't know why or when he'd been inspired to completely alter the energy of his space. Not only that, but he'd dyed his hair too within the short amount of time that I hadn't seen any of them. Was he revamping himself for a reason in particular or had he just gotten bored?
He shrugged. "I didn't like the red," he told me, just like he'd done so before.
I smirked. "So you put it in your hair?"
He sighed and rolled his eyes again but I caught the smile that he was trying to contain. "I'm never showing you anything ever again."
I walked back towards him, stepping around until I was standing in the hallway. "I like it. It's cool."
He closed his door and slung his arm around my shoulders, steering me back down to the lounge room. "See, I told you."
I grinned and twisted out of his embrace. "Why white?"
He dropped down into his usual recliner seat and I sat on the edge of the lounge beside Luke.
"White's a starting over type of colour," he replied.
"White's a shade, not a colour," Luke interrupted.
Michael picked up a cushion that was wedged behind him and threw it at Luke, who caught it easily and laughed.
"So you were after a starting over colour?" I asked.
Michael nodded and shrugged, seeming sort of embarrassed. "Don't you ever get like that?"
I grinned. "I'm here in LA, aren't I?"
"So LA's your starting over colour?"
I just shrugged.
We drank soda and ate pizza together like a bunch of teenage friends on a night in. The boys made jokes and I laughed until my sides hurt. Melissa was in a good mood which was nice and Olivia seemed a hell of a lot happier now that she was planning something for Ashton. The only person there that I thought wasn't really having a good time was Veronica. I wasn't quite sure why Calum liked her but he did. She was gorgeous to look at even though she was overdone. Despite that, though, she was as 2D as a square; there was no depth to her. Everything she said felt like plastic against my ears. Forced and fake and unnatural.
"I just don't see why you had to dye it red again," she was saying to Michael.
He leant back in his recliner and shrugged at her, his face the definition of unimpressed. "Because I wanted to."
"Yeah, but there are other colours out there and you've already done red," she insisted. She hadn't had any pizza since apparently she was watching her weight. I was surprised by this considering she was all skin and bone.
"I liked it red before and I like it red now," Michael answered.
I grinned into my soda as I took another sip.
Luke poked my side and I turned my head to see he was just as amused by this as I was.
"No offence but red's probably not your best hair colour," Veronica went on to say. "I mean, why not a normal brown or something?"
Michael sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. "Jesus Christ, it's red, okay? Can you move on?"
Veronica exhaled noisily and raised her hands in an apparent act of surrender. "Jeez, I said no offence, God."
"Okay, how about we head out?" Calum suggested, already standing up.
Luke started laughing and I held back.
Michael stood up and headed off down the hallway towards his bedroom. Ashton and Olivia had been wrapped up in each other all through dinner and I wondered whether or not she'd told him about their weekend away yet.
"I'm taking a car," Ash informed us all, swinging his keys around his fingers.
Mel, Calum, Veronica and obviously Olivia followed him down to the garage while Luke and I waited for Michael.
I got on well with Luke. I liked his quiet persona and the fact that he found humour in everything. He was a lot like me and a lot like how I wanted to be.
"Mikey, she's gone!" He shouted down the hallway.
Out emerged a now grinning red-haired boy, now wearing a denim jacket. "I've never been so happy to hear a certain sentence in my life."
"She's definitely something," I said, pulling my hair up into a ponytail.
Luke took advantage of the fact that my hands were busy and pinched my cheeks. "You're too polite, you can admit that she's a bitch."
I poked my tongue out at him. "I don't know her well enough."
"You don't want to, gorgeous," Michael told me, hand on my back, steering me towards the door.
I snapped my hairband into place and walked with them down to their garage where a black utility truck was parked. Michael got into the driver's side and Luke into the backseat, leaving me the front passengers'.
The LA streets at night were lit up and beautiful. Drunk couples wandered, hand in hand, down the footpaths after dinner and drinks while cab drivers zoomed about trying to take advantage of those who weren't able to drive. Neon club signs lit up my face in different colours; a lot of pinks, yellows and blues. I had my window down, appreciating the cool wind that brushed my cheek like a cold satin blanket on bare skin. I felt young and invincible – something I'd always wanted to feel back home in Australia but rarely ever did. This was how it felt to be alive, to be living. This was a mix of night air and pre-pier excitement and I couldn't have been happier.
Michael and Luke were singing to some old song in the car, both content with not talking and I liked that about them. About all of them. They didn't have to talk all the time.
The air began to taste and smell salty and I knew we were almost there. I could hear the ocean.
We swung into a parking space, Michael refusing to straighten up and instead parking us sideways across two spaces.
"Don't be an asshole," I laughed when he cut the engine.
He looked at me and smiled. "I need two spaces."
"What for?!"
"Because I'm famous," he announced, his voice loud and posh.
I rolled my eyes and jumped out of the car, slamming my door and pushed my hands into the back pockets of my black skinny jeans. "No one is famous enough to park like that."
We walked towards the pier, already spotting everyone else at the end.
A hand slid into mine and I immediately snatched it away. "Hey-"
"I'll hold your hand, Michael," Luke laughed.
"Yours is sweaty and gross," Michael complained.
I laughed and held mine back out to him. It was just a hand, nothing more.
He took it, threading his fingers in between mine while shooting Luke a triumphant smirk.
I held my other one out to him and soon enough all three of us were walking hand in hand toward the pier.
Luke sang 'we're the three best friends' quietly like a moron and I smiled the whole way down the landing. We were about halfway along when I noticed something was off, something awful had happened or was in the process of happening. Our friends were arguing – no, Ashton and Olivia were arguing. You could hear their shouts loud and clear, Ashton's voice sounding annoyed and abrupt and Olivia sounding like she was about to cry. Maybe she already was.
"Shit, should we turn around?" Michael asked, tugging me, and in turn Luke, to a stop.
"I don't know," I said quietly.
"One time, Ashton!" Olivia was screaming. "One fucking time!"
"That's not fair and you know it!" Ashton shouted back, arms spread out like he couldn't believe what she was saying. "We're in the middle of something right now, I've told you this!"
"It's three days! I wanted you to choose me over your band for three fucking days!"
"And I can't," he replied, folding his arms. "Don't make it sound like I choose them over you!"
Olivia was openly crying now, tears streaming and I could see the discomfort on Calum and Veronica's faces from where I stood. The atmosphere was dark and tense, the lights of the pier conveying just enough light to see things comfortably. Aside from that, there was nothing at all comfortable about that moment.
"I just wanted to do something nice!" Olivia tried to yell but her voice was all over the place. "Everything I try to do is wasted on you."
"Liv, I have responsibilities," Ashton tried to comfort her, walking towards her. He reached out to her but she took a step back, shaking her head.
"Yeah, you're right," she said, now staring directly at him. "You've got a lot going on."
"I do and I swear, we'll find time-"
"No, Ash," Olivia cut him off. "I can't keep waiting around for you to have spare time anymore."
There was finality to her voice that made me hold my breath. My heart was beating so hard in my chest that I could hear it pounding in my ears. Luke's hand had grown clammy and Michael's had tightened drastically around mine.
They were silent for a few seconds and so were the rest of us.
"What are you talking about?" Ashton asked and his eyes were wide and uncertain.
Olivia took a step towards him and reached up to kiss his cheek. "I love you, Ash, but this isn't working anymore."
It was now Ashton who took a step back. "Olivia, what are you talking about?"
"I'm done," she said, her words hitching as though saying them caused her tongue to burn. "We're done."
a/n: hey! hope you enjoyed, please leave heaps of comments and votes if you liked it and if you didn't, please leave some suggestions :) things are just getting going now eeeeeep xo