Hey guys! I hope you'll like this fanfic and i would really appreciate it if you could vote, and comment what you think.
By the way, I live in AUSTRALIA, and this is set in America. Seeing as i don't know anything about American terms and ways, i may sound very stupid to a lot of you ahah. Just tell me if i've got something wrong. And as for the setting being in Lockeland Springs, i have no idea what this suburb is like so i'm basing it on my imagination. THIS IS PURE FICTION. I would reeeeally aprecciate it if you guys could comment, even if it's just a simple 'update soon!' it shows me that you're reading, because if your not commenting or voting then i don't think people are reading through D:
Remember, vote and comment, and hope you'll like it! ♥
I was in the midst of singing, mid verse of Eyes Open by Taylor Swift, when my mum burst in the door. My singing teacher and I looked towards the commotion with silence falling over all three of us. The sight of my mum made me disgusted. Her hair was a mess, her small dress that barely covered anything was covering less than usual, and she looked drunk as hell. Typical. It was 9:40am and my singing teacher, Eric, came over at 9:30 to start the lesson. In the 10 minutes he's been here I've started on Taylor Swift. Usually we'd start with a certain artist and perfect my singing of them, then I'd sing him my homework -- a song I learned by myself after the last lesson on Monday. We'd changed the lesson from Saturday to Monday because of the school holidays. Usually I'd be excited about 6 weeks off of school, but knowing I'd have to be around my mum for most of it made me sick to my stomach.
"What are you looking at?" My mother snapped at us both. "Never seen skin before?" And with that, she stormed to her room and slammed the door. I'd hoped she was going to sleep and couldn't hear my voice as I begun to sing again with Eric's eyes focused on me.
When I'd finished and opened my eyes, I stared into Eric's which were full of wonder and pride. "It's good," he said slowly. "I think we need to focus on the low parts, which you seem to be struggling with."
It was true, I had talent when I was singing in a high tone, it was just the low tones that really struck me down. "Okay," I said enthusiastically.
"Well let me hear your homework, what are you going to sing?"
"Come Back To California, by Hot Chelle Rae," I answered. Hot Chelle Rae was the best band in the world in my eyes. I was completely addicted to their music, and of course, them. They were amazing, and I really admired Ryan's voice. It was heaven to my ears, it was also my inspiration to take up my dream of singing.
I pressed play on the iPod dock and heard the music begin to play. There was the small fraction of talking at the beginning, which I always loved, and I cleared my throat ready to sing. "Well the beach is empty, and the skies are grey. It's getting cold out on the pier. Ever since you left me, there hasn't been a sunny day. I gotta say it's getting weird..." I let the melody envelope me and sung my hardest, as if Ryan, Ian, Jamie and Nash were in front of me and I was going to make them proud. The chorus passed and the second verse, but I secretly wished the song would never end. I was in my own little world here and I didn't want out. The music faded a little and my favourite part was here. This was where I could really show off my voice without it competing with the music.
"Come back to California, it sucks without you here. It's like the sun stops shining, the palm tree's disappeared." The music kicked in again. "Come back to California, don't leave me all alone. I'll call up Schwarzenegger tell him you're coming home. Come back to California, it sucks without you here. It's like the sun stops shining, the palm trees disappeared. Come back to California, life sucks since you've been gone. So I'll pour you a mojito. I'll play your favourite song. I'm just trying to say I miss you..." I looked up from the leather upholstered couch and turned the music off. My teacher gave a slow applause and nodded his head.
"You've improved so much since our first lesson a few months ago. I'm so proud of you Blair! That was perfect; I couldn't pick anything wrong with it, great job girlfriend!" Oh, that's another thing. Eric was gay, and I loved him for it. He was so understanding and caring, which made everything better when my mum comment on how retched my singing was.
"Thank you," I replied feeling blush rise to my cheeks.
"Well, that should wrap things up. I'll be back next Monday okay?" He got up from the couch and gathered his things from the jarrah-stained coffee table. After he'd stepped out of the door I closed it and turned so I could rest my back against its supportive wooden frame. What now? I thought. I couldn't make too much noise unless I wanted to spend the night in the street, so I decided to go for a walk to the park down the road. It was usually overflowing with kids and dogs playing Frisbee. It was such a happy environment, which was better than being stuck at my house. I tiptoed into my room which was directly next to my mums. I gave a quick scan of my room to find my phone but it wasn't anywhere. I usually left it on my purple-flower quilt, which was always perfectly made every morning. Exhaling deeply, I walked out of the room and slowly opened the door to my mum's bedroom. She was snoring loudly on the bed. I stopped and stared for a moment, my eyes wide at the position she was in. It looked like she'd walked through the door and fell on the bed. Half of her body was on the floor and her arms were spread out to her sides, with her head resting awkwardly on the mattress. I was surprised at how someone could sleep like that. I spotted my iPhone on the bedside table, which never really matched the room. The table was white, with the rest of the furniture being brown and mahogany. I picked up my phone and flipped the cover open. The cover was white and flipped over from the side. On the front and back was a piano in the corner and musical notes spread throughout. It was covered in diamantes, which I adored. A cover was boring to me if it was without diamantes. (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Musical-Diamond-Rhinestone-Wallet-Leather-Case-Cover-iPod-touch-4-4G-4th-Gen /180824939606?pt=AU_Electronics_Portable_Audio_Accessories&hash=item2a1a019c56) I had a message from Laura, my sister who was 22 years old. It read:
Hey, sweets!
I'm coming down next Tuesday to see you, make sure you're there! I've got some news (;
Hopefully mum won't be there xx love you!
I smiled. I hadn't seen Laura in a few months ever since she went to the University of Tulsa to study architecture. My mum and I live in Lockeland Springs -- Nashville, Tennessee. Laura had bought an apartment in Tulsa with her boyfriend, Nathan. I loved them both so much, Laura especially. She felt so guilt-stricken when she had to leave me here in Nashville with mum, but I'd told her I would be okay. If only I could go back in time and tell her to take me with them. Nathan was like my 'big ol' brother' as he liked to be called. I walked down the hall and out of the front door while texting Laura back.
Laura! I can't wait; I'll see you very soon! Love you too xx
I hit send and put the phone away in my ripped, light blue jeans. They were limited edition bought from Australia and I wore them almost all of the time. After all, they were one of the three pairs of pants that I actually own. The walk to the park was surprisingly quick, and before I knew it I could smell freshly cut grass and the scent of summer. I worked my way through the people everywhere and dodged a few dogs running all over the place. I was walking peacefully over the green grass when a Frisbee suddenly landed near my feet. I jumped and looked up, expecting to see a big running dog coming straight towards me and bowling me over. Instead I saw a few familiar faces looking at me expectantly.
"Blair! Throw it back, yeah?" A boy called. I looked over to see Adrian, a boy in my classes who had only ever been nice to me. He was the same age as me, 16, and was also in year 10. I picked up the yellow and orange Frisbee covered in dirt and threw it in his direction. It sailed through the air and straight into his open hand.
"Blair! Come over here!" another voice called. As I looked over, I saw this one belonged to my best friend, Cassandra. Cass, for short. I grinned broadly and skipped over to where Cass was laying on the grass with a sleepy-looking dog next to her. As I got closer I lowered myself and held my hand out, clicking my fingers.
"Hey Pal. Hey boy!" The average sized golden retriever looked up at me before slumping his head back down on his paws.
Cass laughed. "Pal's been playing Frisbee all day, he's a little tired."
I laughed in return as I sat down in front of Cass, and stretched my hand out to rub Pal's ears. He made a noise of delight which earned a giggle from me.
"So," Cass said quickly, turning towards me eagerly as if she had something life-changingly happy to tell me. "I have something for you, and you can't give me money. It's my treat." I already knew what she was talking about, and I widened my eyes in excitement.
"Do not mess with me about these things, Cass," I threatened jokingly. She was talking about tickets to Hot Chelle Rae's concert right here in Nashville. I'd asked mum to buy them for me --with my own money, might I add -- but she'd refused. I was so depressed throughout the week that I didn't bother coming to school, and Cass knew what was up. The last 2 weeks of school were better for me, but whenever I heard someone mention the concert I would go back to my depressive state. Cass hated seeing me like that, which is why I was expecting what she did next.
She opened her designer beige handbag and pulled out two tickets. I held them up and I read the first words I could see. 'HOT CHELLE RAE'. I squealed in excitement and threw my arms around Cass. She hugged me back tightly which caused the tickets to crumple a bit. I pulled back and smiled, I felt as if my smiled stretched to the edges of my face.
"Cass! I love you!" I said in a high pitched tone. Words were beyond me, I was too excited to speak much. "But.."
Her smile faded. "But what, Blair?"
"It feels wrong to just take a ticket when I have the money to pay you."
She raised her eyebrows and leaned forward to punch me in the arm. The impact was hard and I cringed.
"Hey!" I laughed, while clutching my left arm tightly.
"I told you, don't mention the money. Just be prepared to have the time of your life!'
We giggled and imagined crazy scenarios that could happen at the concert, such as Ryan slipping off stage and landing on us both. Maybe he'd even land his lips on me, Cass mentioned once or twice. The one thing she couldn't stop talking about was Jamie. Cass was in love with Jamie, and looking at photos of him I couldn't blame her. She would swoon every time he was brought up in conversation. This was the best part about having a best friend interested in the same band as you, endless conversations and gossip, gossip, gossip!
As we were chatting away, I could feel the Tennessee sun start to burn my shoulders. I rested my hand upon one of them and rubbed it slowly. They were warm and starting to get red, so I decided it was time to head back home. I checked my phone before I got up, and there were no calls from mum. The time was 4:30, which meant I'd been here for well over 5 hours. Hopefully if I made it back by 5 mum wouldn't even know I'd been gone. Not like she pays attention as such.
I said my goodbyes to the boys with Adrian, Cass and Pal. Cass thought it was time to head off too, and we both walked in opposite directions towards our homes. The park had 4 entryways all from different roads. Cass lived right across the park from my road, her house view being the knee-height brick park fence. I looked back as I walked out onto the footpath leading to my house and saw her just walking into her house and closing the screen door behind her. I took long strides back home to cut time and passed many people on the way. One was my other friend, Layla. We'd been friends for a long time and I stopped to chat to her for a little while. I knew I was going to gain back the minutes I lost, but if mum had passed out cold then she wouldn't wake up until late tonight sometime.
"Blair!" Layla greeted me happily. She was always peppy, and always up for a chat.
"Hey, Layla," I hugged her and stepped back to see her ocean-blue eyes staring at me.
"Are you just heading back? Did you hear about the party at the park tonight?"
"Yeah, but I won't be going," I sighed unhappily. "Gotta get back home to mum, make sure she's alright tonight."
She gave me a sympathetic look. "Blair... if you ever need time away from home... You know, away from all the drama then you are so welcome to stay at mine for as long as you want."
I smiled back at her. She was always caring no matter what the circumstances. I wasn't surprised at how she knew about my mum's reputation either. Almost everyone in Lockeland Springs knew my mum was... let's say negligent. I wasn't ashamed of calling my mum things like that. "Thanks, Layla. I'm just not sure if she could live without me. But if things get worse, you'll be the first I come to."
"Okay. Well we'll catch up soon okay. I'm so pumped for the holidays!" She shook me eagerly and did a little excited dance move. I laughed and joined in.
"See you soon!"
"Bye babe!" I heard her yell back as I had already turned and started walking back home. I checked the time again and saw it was 5:00. I was 3 houses away from home and started up a quick jog to reach the door. As I opened the screen door, I turned the knob of the wooden door and found it locked. Confused, I knocked and heard footsteps coming towards me. My phone buzzed and I flipped the case open to look at the message.
Can you wait for Saturday night, Blair?! So excited!
I felt butterflies in my stomach as I thought about the Hot Chelle Rae concert. My heart thumped in my chest, suddenly longing to see the boys in the flesh. The door abruptly opened, making me jump, and I looked up to see my mum staring me down with her brown eyes, which I'd unfortunately inherited. I'd inherited her blonde hair too, but you couldn't tell with all the bleach blonde dyes she'd been through.
"Blair, did I say you could go out?" mum asked angrily. The tone in her voice scared me, it was as if she was going to reach out and grab me by the throat. "You're grounded until Sunday!"
My eyes widened and I could feel my mouth drop open. Sunday. The word echoed in my mind. The concert was on Saturday, and I knew mum was very serious about groundings. Crap.