***Michael's POV***
The mates and I were getting ready for band rehearsal in Ashton's garage. Luke and I were tuning our guitars, Calum was tuning his bass, and Ashton was tightening the final screws on his drum set.
"So my mum told me the new neighbors were moving in today." Ashton said interrupting the silence and concentration of focusing on our instruments.
"They're not "new neighbors" Ashton; they're just Mr. and Mrs. Court's nieces and nephew." Luke corrected him.
"Oh same thing, they're new that's the point." Ashton laughed.
"Alright well I'm all set, you guys ready to get started?" I asked.
"Yep" they all agreed.
"Alright then" Ash said and started counting down so we could all start playing at the same time.
"1. 2. 3-"
"Ashton!" Ashton's little brother, Harry, called for him walking through the open garage door.
"What bud?" Ashton asked.
"The new neighbors are here!" he said and we walked over to him and saw the Courts pull up in front of their house.
We set down our guitars and walked outside and joined our families to greet out new neighbors. As we walked closer two kids got out of the back seat. They had to have been the same age as Harry. Harry stopped dead in his tracks looking at the girl.
"What's the matter Harry? It's like you've never seen a girl before." I said patting his back and the four of us chuckled.
That's when I noticed the girl who was much other than the two younger kids get out of the other side of the car. Her beautiful dyed aqua hair was tied back in a messy bun and she wore a Blink 182 band t-shirt, ripped skinny jeans that were tucked into combat boots. She had a lip, nose and industrial piercing.
"What's the matter Michael it's like you've never seen a girl before?" Calum mockingly laughed.
"Oh shut up." And I lightly punched his shoulder.
"Hi Sue. Tom." Luke's mum, Liz, welcomed them.
"Hi everyone." Mrs. Court greeted us back.
"We're all excited to meet your nieces and nephew." My mum said.
"Well let me introduce you." Mrs. Court said gesturing the three kids over.
"These are my sister's kids. This is Emily and Andrew and this is Lauren. They're going to be living with us."
So her name was Lauren. She walked over to her aunt and uncle. I saw she had bruising on her arms, I think she noticed me staring and she folded her arms trying to cover them.
"Well it's very nice to meet you. I'm Liz; this is my husband Andrew, and my sons Ben, Jack and Luke." Mrs. Hemmings introduced them.
"Hi. I'm Anne and this is my oldest son, Ashton, my daughter, Lauren, and youngest, Harry." Mrs. Irwin presented them.
"Hi I'm Joy and this is my daughter, Mali-Koa, and my son Calum." Mrs. Hood introduced them.
"And I'm Karenand this is my son, Michael." My mum introduced us. They said hello back and shook our hands.
"Lauren, his hairs dyed like yours." Emily said.
"I know Emm, but his is orange and mine is blue." She laughed and she shook my hand.
"Good day." I said.
"Hi." She smiled. God her smile could brighten up any room. I was snapped out of my thoughts by Liz talking.
"Well we're having a grill later if you would like to join us?"
"We would love to thank you." Mrs. Court said.
"What's a grill?" I overheard Lauren whispered to her aunt.
"A barbeque." Her aunt told her.
"Oh." She nodded in understanding and walked to the trunk of the car and started pulling out suit cases and boxes. My mom nudged me and the mates.
"Go help her." And we all walked over to help. Harry was already in full conversation with Emily and Andrew, the three of them are the same age, and Emily and Andrew are twins, well paternal twins.
"Here let me help you with that." I said taking the box from Lauren.
"Oh thanks." She said and Calum, Luke, and Ashton grabbed a box as well.
"Aunt Sue, where's my room so I can put the rest of these boxes down." Lauren asked her aunt.
"Up stairs to the right and the last door on the right." Mrs. Court told her.
"Thanks." Lauren responded and we walked up to the front door.
"So you're Lauren." Ashton said.
"Yep" Lauren responded.
"How old are you?" Calum asked her.
"17"
"Cool, so you're going to be in year 11?" Luke asked.
"Year 11?" she questioned confused.
"Yeah year 11, 11th grade, what do they call it in America? Junior year?" Luke said.
"Oh yeah, I'll be starting at Norwest Christian College."
"Oh that's where we go or went." Calum corrected himself. "Michael and I dropped out so Luke is the only one who still goes there and Ashton's the oldest and already graduated, but from a different high school." He explained to her.
We walked up the stairs and followed Lauren down the hall to her room. She hesitated for a minute at the doorway.
"Are you ok?" Luke asked, and she was snapped out of her thoughts.
"Oh yeah it's just... I've never had my own room before." She said.
"Why is that?" Ashton asked.
"Um . . . it's a long story." She said brushing over the subject and opened the door. I could tell something was up; she was hiding something. We entered her room and Lauren became speechless. Against the back wall there was a cast-iron canopy bed, on either side of the bed were bedside tables, in the corner there was a tall, narrow dresser, and across from the bed was a desk. There was a window bench right under the tall picture window and the walls were painted a deep purple.
"Wow." Was all Lauren was able to manage and we all started placing boxes down. I watched Lauren walk around her room remaining speechless.
"So you want us to get the rest of your stuff?" Calum offered.
"Um sure that would be awesome, thanks." She said and Luke, Calum, and Ash left while I stayed behind to help Lauren unpack.
"So Lauren where are you from?" I asked her.
"Boston, but I lived most of my life in Washington D. C." She explained.
"Why's that?" I asked her.
"My mom was in the military, but then I had to move back to Boston." She said.
"Which reminds me." She said and stared digging through the boxes like she was looking for something important.
"Oh thank god it didn't get lost." She sighed as she pulled a triangular frame out of one of the boxes and placed it on her bedside table. Inside the frame was an American flag, I recognized the way it was folded up. It was folded up the way the military would fold the flag that was on a coffin of a fallen soldier in combat.
"What's that for?" I asked her. She paused for a minute, she really didn't want to tell me and right when she was about to responded the mates walked back into the room with some suit cases.
"Her you go Lauren this is the last of it." Luke said.
"Thanks guys." Lauren said walking over and pulled one of the suit cases over and threw it on her bed so she could unpack it.
"Oh and your aunt and uncle want you to come down stairs, they have a surprise for you." Ashton told Lauren.
"Um ok." Lauren said puzzled to what they could have possibly have gotten her.
"There you are." Mr. Court said to Lauren as the five of us walked down stairs into the living room where all the adults and our siblings were sitting, talking. "We have a surprise for you."
"And what's that?" she asked.
"Follow me." He said and we all followed him to their garage. Inside, the back wall was covered with mirrors and the floor was done with hardwood. To the left there were mats rolled up and on the right there was a speaker system.
"Oh my god, no you didn't." Lauren said shocked and ran into the garage.
"Yes we did." Her aunt smiled. Lauren started looking through stacks of CD's.
"There's one more thing." Mr. Court added and pulled open the garage door. Sitting in the grass was a giant rectangular trampoline.
"Is that Olympic size?" she asked, jaw dropped.
"Yep." Mr. Court said Lauren ran to them wrapping her arms around them.
"Thank you so much! You did not have to do this!" she said. Mrs. Court pulled away and took Lauren's face in her hands.
"We just want you to have a better life that's all." Mrs. Court said and pulled her back into a hug.
"Well Lauren why don't you show us a routine?" My mum asked like she knew exactly what was going on.
I didn't know what the hell was going on? First off her and her younger siblings move here from America to live with their aunt and uncle. When I meet her she has bruising on her arm and has an appearance I would have never expected. She's never had her own room before, and cherishes a folded up American flag. Now she has a dance studio and her guardians, I guess you could call them, what her to have a better life? What was her old life like? I've only know this girl for a half hour and she has more secrets than anyone I've ever meet.
"I'm confused." I whispered.
"See Lauren is really into gymnastics." Andrew started to explain.
"She loves it." Emily interjected. "She's been doing it for years."
"And she does dance to help with her floor routines." Andrew added. "She practices every day."
"Why?" Ashton asked.
"I want to go to the Olympics." Lauren calmly answered not even looking up from the stacks of CD's picking a song.
"Isn't that a little ambiguous?" I asked. My mum was about to say something when Lauren beat her to it.
"Oh and what do you want to do?" she asked looking up at me clearly pissed off at my comment.
"Become a rock star. Play music and perform." I responded.
"Isn't that a little ambiguous?" she mocked me using the same words I said to her.
"Well I have a better chance than you." I said.
"Oh yeah let's just see about that." She argued and walked over to the stereo and put a CD in the sound system and we all stepped back, give her all the room she needed to "prove her point" I guess you could say.
Lauren stood in the middle of the floor waiting for the music to start.
"Any day now sweetheart." I said and my mum slapped the side of my head.
"Michael Clifford don't be rude." My mum scolded me.
With that music started playing, it was Bad by David Guetta; I recognized it from parties, defiantly not my preferred music, but whatever. She started dancing doing different steps and spines and twirls and whatever, but it was good. Her aqua hair flipped around to the dance moves as she made her way around the floor using up every available space. I felt my confidence fade away as I watched her. I was memorized. We all were. When the music ended she finished back where she started, in a frozen position to finish the song, at a loss of breath from all the moving around she just did.
I was astonished. She was really good. Don't underestimate this girl. She is sneaky and misleading; it only made me like her more. I want to know more about her. Have her answer some of my questions. She has a lot of secrets and I'm determined to find out what they are.