The summer is a time for catching up on sleep, seeing as school completely ruins your sleep schedule nine out of the twelve months. It's like being pregnant without getting fat, but it's a lot more crying, especially when you're writing a paper at three in the morning.
But now it's summer, so it's all good! I can sleep all day, and no one will bother me. Something starts poking my butt, and I have no idea what it is. I attempt to hit it away, but I hit nothing, the poking ceasing for a moment. I burrow back into my pillows until the poking begins again, this time more frequent. "Go away," I mumble into my pillow, unable to lift my head. I don't know who is there, and frankly, I could care less about who it was. The poking continues, a laugh coming from the culprit. Male.
"Zach, Austin, whoever you are, leave me alone!" I grumble, squeezing my eyes shut in hopes of more sleep. Apparently, that's not on today's schedule. I finally grab the wrist, lifting my head slowly and glaring at Blake. Wait, what? "Blake?" I ask, confusion lacing my voice. "Surprise!" He smiles, taking a seat beside me on my bed. "What are you doing here?" I ask, letting out a wide yawn. I grab my glasses off the dresser, hugging a pillow to my chest.
"You'll find out soon! How are you? I haven't seen you in forever!" "I'm tired, I just had three days of stressful finals, and you woke me up a lot earlier than planned." I accuse, frowning at him. He pokes his fingers into my cheeks, moving them up. "Smile." He orders, giving me a look. "Don't tell me what to do." I scold. "Also, happy birthday! Will you buy me alcohol?" He laughs, shaking his head. "Maybe later." I fist pump, grinning. "I sent your present to your house down in LA, if I had known you were coming back to New York I would have waited." "It was a last-minute plan, don't worry about it." He shakes his head, putting up a hand.
"Come downstairs, I want to introduce you to some people!" He grins, becoming very excited. "Let me change, and I'll be down. I'll meet you down there." I tell him, pushing him out of my room. I go into my closet, putting on a pair of black shorts with an older All Time Low tank I had. I brushed out my long hair and put in contacts, sliding on my teal converse. I hurried downstairs, taking the corner fast and almost running into my mom.
"Dylan Elizabeth Ryan! What have I told you about running in the house?" She demands but I stand there unmoving. "Dylan?" She repeats my name, waving a hand in front of my face. Blake appears behind her, smiling at me. I don't smile back but instead go back upstairs, slamming my bedroom door shut.
He has no right to bring her into this apartment! And to not even tell me she was here? I pace back and forth, biting my lip when my door opens partly, Blake sticking his head in. "You alright?" "Of course not! I hate that woman! Damn it! You can't just drop something like that on me, Blake! You knew how bad we were when you left! Why would you think after a year of not talking things would be fine? We never talked which also means we never apolo- well, she never apologized because I did nothing wrong and-" "Dylan, I'm sorry, I forgot about your fight, but can you please come downstairs and meet everyone?" He pleads, stepping into my room and closing the door.
"Give me a few minutes to calm down." "How 'bout I play you a new song?" He offers, grabbing the guitar off the stand. I snatch it out of his grasp, narrowing my eyes. "Right, forgot, again..." I nod, carefully putting it back. He grabs my other one from its case, tuning the guitar quickly before thinking for a moment.
"It's called Runnin', and it's one of my new favorites right now." He smiles, fingering the frets and getting a feel for the guitar before starting.
Pack your bags and let's go
First thing tomorrow morning
Say goodbye to all that we know
Leave a note in your room as a warning
That you took a lifelong vacation
And you probably won't return home
Don't care about the destination as long as we are alone
When sun comes up let's roll grab your stuff let's go
We on cruise control
(yeah we on cruise control)
Top back with the windows down
Yeah girl let's teach this town
Start a new chapter
Write a new story baby let's hit the ground
[Chorus:]
Running [x3]
Pack your bags baby let's go
Stop at nothing, nothing, nothing
Flying down the open road
Yeah
Let's keep on runnin baby,
Let's keep on runnin
We'll leave it all behind,
We won't stop at nothing
Just keep on running baby
Just keep on running [repeat]
Hit the ground runnin
Uh, yeah
Let's start this journey
We could wake up extra early
And leave all the world still sleepin
Just follow me and don't worry
Yeah
Your heart's my compass
I could take you wherever you please
I'll even let you drive, baby girl
Just take my keys
When the sun comes up
Let's roll grab your stuff
Let's go we on cruise control
(yeah we on cruise control)
Top back with the windows down
Yeah girl let's teach this town
Start a new chapter
Write a new story
Baby let's hit the ground
[Back To Chorus]
Yeah we be rockin and rollin
There ain't no stopping or slowin
Yeah we be comin and goin
Leavin town with no warnin
Woah
[x2]
[Back To Chorus]
I smile listening to him sing, watching him. He seems so in his element when he sings, it's amazing. I remember when he'd perform at little hole-in-the-wall places around New York and would bring me up to sing with him. "Remember when the songs you wrote actually sucked? You've come a long way." I laugh, watching him put my guitar away. "Thanks." He smiles, standing. He helps me up, giving me a hug. "You're going to be okay, just ignore mom, all right?" I nod, hugging him tightly. "Now, come on." I follow him back downstairs, following him to the kitchen.
Everyone is snacking on something, ranging from chips and salsa to MnM's, it is quite the bright kitchen. "Guys, this is Dylan, Dylan, this is Luke, Ashton, Calum, and Michael." I give them all a smile, Ashton actually turning away from his food to give me a smile back. His smile immediately disappears, and he turns to Blake, frowning. "You said nothing about a sister! You should have specified that Dylan is a girl!" He says, making me smile. This is typical. Subs are the best, they aren't expecting a girl to respond, and when I do, they end up having to look it up.
"Because boys are as obsessed with bands as girls. Seriously?" Blake asks, rolling his eyes. "Don't worry about it, I get it all the time when I meet new people. Yes, I'm a girl, yes I have a boy's name, discuss that with my parents because to this day I have no idea why I'm named Dylan." I shrug, making them laugh. "Also, are you Australian?" I ask Ashton, seeing him nod. "Born and raised." He says, grinning.
I saw my mom nudge Blake out of the corner of my eye, making me turn. They seem to be having a silent conversation, making me wonder what was up. Austin pulls them from the room, and I can hear quiet bickering, my dad soon going in after them, followed by Zach. They just left me alone with strange Australian boys! What the heck!
"So how old are you?" Calum asks, turning to me. "Sixteen, seventeen in July." "Sweet. I'm eighteen, so is Michael, Ashton is nineteen, twenty in July, like you, Luke is seventeen, eighteen in July." "Cool. How'd you guys get into music?" I ask, sitting on a stool and eating some chips.
"I started a YouTube channel a couple of years ago and posted covers then Calum joined me, and Michael not too late after, then Ashton drummed for us at our first performance and Five Seconds Of Summer was born," Luke explains. "Five Seconds Of Summer? Is that your band name?" Michael nods. "Don't ask why it's five, it just is." He says before I can ask, making me laugh.
My family comes back in, Blake, Austin, and Zach glaring at mom. That can't be good, that means she got her way in the living room, and that's never good. "Dylan, you're joining us on tour." My mom says, making my freeze, my chip halfway to my mouth. "I'm what?" I ask, staring at her. "Joining us on tour until it's over then you'll live with us in California." "Why?" "Because your brothers need to go to college and it is illegal for you to live here alone." She sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose like this is a stressful thing for her! Stressful my ass! I'm the one who will have to pack up and leave right before my senior year! Who does that?
"Then let me live with family! I don't want to be a roadie! What about school during the tour?" "Online school is perfect for a senior year." My jaw drops and I stare at her. She couldn't be serious!
"Go pack a suitcase, for now, we can clean out the apartment after the tour." I open my mouth to object, but my mom puts a hand up, giving me a look. I snap my mouth shut, biting my tongue. Don't snap, don't snap.
I go upstairs into my room, Blake following. "It wasn't my decision, I told her you'd be better off with a family member until after the tour then you're off to college yourself." He says, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I shake my head, rolling my eyes. "She's more of a diva than Kim Kardashian. My God." I mutter. Blake bites back a laugh, four boys suddenly appearing behind us.
"Your mom scares us," Michael says, trying to walk up the stairs casually like he didn't just tell me my mom scares him. So manly. "She scares me too." Blake nods, opening my door to my bedroom. "Pack summer clothes and some leggings and some jackets, other than that you should be okay. If you need anything else, I can go shopping with you or something." Blake tells me, taking a seat in my beanbag.
"Do you play?" Michael asks, opening my guitar case. "Yeah, a bit." I nod. Blake let out something between a snort and a laugh, all of us turning to him. "She's a better writer than me, and she has an amazing voice." "I'm not a better writer than you, you were just having difficulties with Puppet." "You made it amazing, hush." I roll my eyes, pulling my suitcase out from under my bed. I put it on top of my bed, going into my closet.
"I also do not have the voice of an angel, that's a load of crap he's cooking you." "Sing for us, and we'll be the judge of your voice," Ashton says, the squeak of my desk chair alerting me someone sat in it. I peek out, looking at everyone. "Fine." I sigh, grabbing my guitar, sitting down on the corner of my bed.
"Um, this is Counting Stars by OneRepublic," I say awkwardly, warming up quickly, strumming a few chords before beginning.
[Chorus]
Lately I been, I been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars
Yeah, we'll be counting stars
[Verse 1]
I see this life
Like a swinging vine
Swing my heart across the line
In my face is flashing signs
Seek it out and ye shall find
Old, but I'm not that old
Young, but I'm not that bold
And I don't think the world is sold
I'm just doing what we're told
I feel something so right
By doing the wrong thing
And I feel something so wrong
By doing the right thing
I couldn't lie, couldn't lie, couldn't lie
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive
[Chorus]
Lately I been, I been losing sleep (hey!)
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard (hey!)
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars
Lately I been, I been losing sleep (hey!)
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard (hey!)
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be, we'll be counting stars
[Verse 2]
I feel the love
And I feel it burn
Down this river every turn
Hope is our four letter word
Make that money
Watch it burn
Old, but I'm not that old
Young, but I'm not that bold
And I don't think the world is sold
I'm just doing what we're told
And I feel something so wrong
By doing the right thing
I couldn't lie, couldn't lie, couldn't lie
Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly
[Chorus]
Lately I been, I been losing sleep (hey!)
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars
Lately I been, I been losing sleep (hey!)
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard (hey!)
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be, we'll be counting stars
Oh, oh, oh.
[Bridge 4x:]
Take that money
Watch it burn
Sing in the river
The lessons I learned
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive
[Chorus]
Lately I been, I been losing sleep (hey!)
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard (hey!)
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars
Lately I been, I been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be, we'll be counting stars
[Outro 4x:]
Take that money
Watch it burn
Sing in the river
The lessons I learned
They all clap when I am finished. "Damn! You can sing!" Michael says. "Um, thanks?" I say awkwardly, smiling softly. "Told you," Blake smirks triumphantly. "Shut up," I mutter. Blake turns to me, still smirking. "Go pack, we leave tomorrow." My smile falls, and I let out a sigh, not wanting to do this. I don't want to sit backstage for the next year with no one around.