"Are you prepared to have your mind just totally blown?" AJ, a member of Carter's band, says to me and strums crazily on his electric guitar. He acts as if they're a metal band, but they're pop with a bit of rock. So, I don't know what's up with this guy. I just laugh.
"I don't want to be disappointed," I tease Carter. He smirks and gently elbows me in the side.
"Silence, we're preparing," he says, amusement dancing in his eyes. I pretend to zip my lips, lock them, and throw away the key. The boys chuckle and start to rehearse their song.
"Annie, Austin." Mrs. Emerson says, walking over to us with Mr. Emerson.
"Yeah?" Austin asks, looking up from the iPad he's borrowing from one of the boys. He's using some drawing app, since he's always loved to draw. He's really good at it, too.
"Don't forget our flight is at nine," she reminds us. I nod, feeling a lump in my throat. Austin stays silent, looking at the floor.
"And don't worry about anything, we have it all covered. Clothes packed, tickets, a rented car for when you guys get to Indiana, it's all done," Mr. Emerson says.
"Thank you guys, so much. This honestly means a lot to me." They both pull us into a tight hug, making me laugh softly.
"What's the group hug for?" Tyler asks. I look up to see all of the boys watching us.
"Annie, Austin and I are going on a small trip," Mrs. Emerson says.
"So, why were you giving them a hug?" Ryder asks, amusement in his eyes. Mrs. Emerson smirks.
"I was hugging my husband, is that okay?" she teases. He chuckles and nods.
"I suppose so," he says and walks up to me. He gives me a hug, then does the brother handshake hug thing with Austin. "Have fun, guys."
"Oh, I'll try." It will be totally impossible to have any fun this weekend.
"When are you guys leaving and coming back?" Tyler asks, also giving me a hug.
"We're leaving after the show, and coming back Tuesday morning," Mrs. Emerson says.
"You better call and tell me what you thought of our band," Carter says, pulling me into a hug.
"If I can find a phone, I will," I say with a laugh.
"Speaking of that," Mr. Emerson says. I look over at him with an eyebrow raised. "Nick told us you guys didn't have phones and every teenager should have a phone, especially if you're out of the state."
"So, we got you phones," Mrs. Emerson finishes, pulling two iPhone boxes out of her purse. My jaw drops and I stare at the box in awe.
"Is she frozen?" Bradley whispers to Randy. Randy shrugs and taps my shoulder. I give him a smile and they both let out a sigh, like they really thought I froze.
"You guys didn't have to do that, and I can't accept this," Austin says, shaking his head and handing it back to them.
"You can and you will," Mr. Emerson says with a smile. Mrs. Emerson places the box in his hands, and I continue to stare in awe at mine.
"Thank you so much." I look up at them with tears welling up in my eyes. Mrs. Emerson gives me a hug and discretely wipes my tears away.
"Not a problem, sweetheart. And there's a light blue case that goes with that. And an orange one for you, Austin," she says, pulling two plastic boxes out of her purse. I smile and take a box from her hands. Austin takes the other.
"Here, let me help you set it up," Nick says, leading us over to a couch behind the stage. He takes the phones out of the boxes and starts to set them up for us, then he puts the cases on them and turns them on. "And I will do you the honor of adding my number."
"Oh my gosh, like, thank you," I say with an overly ecstatic tone in my voice. He chuckles as he adds his number in my phone, then into Austin's.
"My turn!" Carter says, stealing my phone.
They pass our phones around for the next few minutes, until all of their numbers are in the phones, and Carter's band has to perform. I finally learned that their band's name is called 'Against All Odds'. We all go into the crowd and wait for them to start playing. Apparently, it's like a battle of the bands type thing, and they tell the winners right before I have to leave.
"Alright!" the announcer says, stepping onto the stage. "Give a warm welcome to our next act, 'Against All Odds'!" The crowd erupts in cheers, including me. The boys take the stage and Carter smiles at the audience.
"This song is called 'Boyfriend'. I think you might have heard of it," he says with a laugh. The crowd cheers and the band starts to play.
Usually, I can't stand Justin Bieber, but they made this song sound better than the original. They sounded amazing when I was watching them rehearse the other day in the music room, but they sound so much better on stage. I don't even know how or if that makes any sense at all.
"Give it up one more time for 'Against All Odds'!" the announcer says when the guys finish playing. The crowd applauds them as they walk off stage. "Alright, we're going to have a five minute break, and then we'll be back to tell you the winner!"
"You guys were so good!" I exclaim, running up and hugging Carter.
"Can I get one of those hugs?" AJ teases. I laugh and give him a hug. "Oh, yeah." He winks.
"You're our number one groupie, it's official," Dylan, another guy in the band, says with a laugh. I roll my eyes and look around for Mrs. Emerson.
"Where's your mom?" Carter shrugs and looks around with me.
"Oh, there she is," he says. I turn around and see Mrs. Emerson walking towards us.
"Ready to go, guys?" she asks us. I nod and grab my purse from the lounge area behind the stage. Austin grabs his things and follows me.
"Don't forget your phone," Tyler says, handing me my phone. I already forgot about that.
"Oh, right. Thanks." He nods and gives me a hug. "See you guys Tuesday."
"Bye Annie and Austin!" they chorus as me, Austin and Mrs. Emerson walk away.
"Yeah, bye to you too." Mrs. Emerson teases, looking over her shoulder to stick her tongue out at her family.
——
"Flight 153 to Indianapolis International Airport is now boarding," a woman says over the intercom. We grab our carry-ons and make our way over to the woman who takes the tickets.
Once we board the plane and get comfortable, I remember something. I don't have a black dress to wear for the funeral or a nice outfit for the viewing on Sunday. I guess we could go shopping when we land.
"What's wrong?" Mrs. Emerson asks. I look up at her.
"I don't have a nice outfit for the viewing tomorrow, or a black dress for the funeral."
"Honey, I'm a fashion designer, I've got you covered. Did you really think I would forget about that?" she asks with a small smile.
"I didn't even think about that." She rolls her eyes and smiles at me.
"It's covered, sweetie," she says.
I nod and give her a thankful smile. She wasn't kidding when she said that we were going to fill up my closet the other day. It's almost overflowing now. There isn't a single free space in that closet that isn't covered with clothes, accessories, or shoes. The boys took Austin shopping and did the same with his closet.
"You know, I think a few of my boys have a bit of a crush on you," she teases.
"Well, they're wasting their time. I'm not here to date. Just to finish high school, then go off to college, and start over."
"You do know that you guys are family now, right? You don't have to disappear once you're done with school," she retorts.
"I'm just trying to get used to all of this, you know? I went from one family I was so used to, and now I'm with this other family that is crazy but amazing. It's just a lot to adjust to."
"I know, sweetheart. It's a big thing to get used to," she says, giving me a side hug. "Get some rest, we have a long weekend ahead of us."
——
"Annie, wake up, sweetheart." Mrs. Emerson says, shaking me lightly. I blink a few times, then focus on my surroundings. I look over at Austin who's just waking up too.
"Are we there yet?" he asks, and she nods, a smile on her face.
"We're about to land," she says. There's a bing sound, and a woman starts to speak over the intercom.
"Flight 153 to Indianapolis International Airport is now landing. Please fasten your seat belts, put your trays and chairs in their upright positions. We hope you enjoyed your flight!" There's another bing sound when she finishes. I put my tray up and put on my seat belt. Austin does the same and holds onto my hand.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and see that it's 7:45 in the morning. Pretty sure I'm supposed to call the guys when we land, so I'll have to call them in the airport or something. I look out my window to see us touch ground.
"Ready to go?" Mrs. Emerson asks us, unbuckling herself. We nod and we grab our carry-ons from the overhead compartment.
The journey through the airport was pretty quick, now I just need to find my bags. Since I don't know what they look like, since I didn't pack them, that might be a little bit of a problem for me. But hopefully Mrs. Emerson remembers.
"They're the light blue ones, right there," she says behind me, pointing to three suitcases of mine and two for Austin that are plain black. Three? Really? We're here for three days. I quickly grab them from the conveyor belt, and we make our way out of the airport.
"Hang on, I gotta call the guys." She nods and gets into our rented car with Austin in the passenger seat. I dial each of their numbers, getting voicemail each time. I sigh and decide to start from the top again. Carter.
"Hello?" he answers, sounding sleepy.
"Oops! Didn't mean to wake you."
"Who is this?" he asks. I laugh cause he said that while yawning.
"This is Annie," I hear him mumble something and hear some shuffling.
"Annie! You guys land okay?" he asks. Now he sounds more alive.
"Yep. We just landed a few minutes ago."
"Good. Where are you guys anyways?" he asks. I freeze, not sure what to say.
"New York?" Shit, that came out sounding like a question.
"Sweet! Bring me back a souvenir?" he asks. His voice is almost giddy, making me laugh.
"We'll see. I've got to go, but I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, bye Annie," he says and then I remember something.
"Wait!"
"What?" he asks, sounding amused.
"Who won the band thing?"
"Us, of course," he says laughing. I fist pump the air and let out a 'whoop!'.
"Awesome! Okay, bye!" We both hang up, and I slide into the back seat of the rental car.
"If anyone asks, we're in New York," I tell Mrs. Emerson. She chuckles but nods.
"Got it," she says, mock saluting me. I roll my eyes but smile at her.