We all are gonna leave here someday, so why fear it? Everyone will live their lives, and then everyone will pass away. I never thought is mattered how much you had, or how famous you were. I have come to peace, knowing that I won't be here forever. My brother, on the other hand, still has trouble accepting it. And I used to too, until I lost someone very close to me.

One year before

College is hard. Well, I would be saying that if I went to a traditional college, but I don't. This is my second year at Divergent School of the Arts, and I major in Visual Art. I've always had a talent for drawing. Every paper I had was bound to have something drawn on it.

So now, as I sit in the park, drawing a picture of what's in front of me—the cherry blossoms in full bloom—and listening to Summer by Imagine Dragons, I think about my life so far. I just turned 20 a month ago, and moved myself into a small apartment just outside of Chicago. I've met some amazing people, and I've had a good life. Loving parents, a brother, awesome friends, what more could I ask for?

But I do have one fear that I just can't shake. Death. I know I shouldn't fear it because it is inevitable and could happen at any moment. I just try not to think about it too much. I actually shouldn't even call it a fear, just something you can't avoid.

I get a text from my best friend, Christina.

Christina: where r u at?

Me: At the park, you know that.

Christina: I need u tho

I sigh and call her. "Where are you at?" I ask.

"At school," she says. "We're all here. Stop daydreaming and get over here now! You're missing an awesome jam session!"

Ever since we were little, Christina was always into music. She always wanted to grow up to be a singer. Sometimes, we'll all sneak into one of the unused music rooms on campus and have a jam session. A smile creeps onto my face. "Okay, give me fifteen minutes. I'll be there!"

I've always loved listening to music. Music inspires me to draw. And even though I don't play any instruments, and even though I can't sing, I still love music. I stand up, close my sketchbook, and walk to my car.

…

I can hear them before I even get to the third floor, they're just that loud. I make my way to the third floor, then to the unused music room. I open the door to see Uriah throwing marshmallows at his older brother, Zeke—I can't really explain those two, they're just…special—and Christina waves me over when I walk in. Everyone's here—Uriah, Zeke, Marlene, Shauna, and Christina. And another boy who I've never seen before, holding an electric guitar.

"Hey, I wanted you to meet someone," Christina says to me. "This is Zeke's numerically named friend, Four." He smiles at me.

"Forget how to talk buddy?" Zeke teases him. Four rolls his eyes and throws a pillow at him. "Ow! Dude, how do you make a pillow hurt? A pillow!" Four just shrugs in response. I sit on the couch next to him.

We always hang out here. It's just a room that's full of furniture no one ever uses. It never was a music room. We just call it that. Uriah walks over to us and sits on one of the arms of the couch. "You brought your sketchbook, Tris?" He asks. "Oh lemme see lemme see!"

I hit Uriah in the head with it. "No." He rubs his head and pouts. "So what where you guys playing before I got here?" I ask.

"We were singing about various Mexican foods," Shauna chuckles. "And then Uriah pulled some marshmallows out of his backpack."

Marlene smiles. "And things got a little out of hand."

Four finally speaks up. "A little? Uriah almost dumped the whole bag on his brother." He has a nice voice.

Zeke rolls his eyes. "Yeah and you guys thought it was funny to take pictures."

"Still not as funny as the time I gave you a makeover back in eighth grade," Christina smirks. Christina, Marlene, Uriah, and I were in eighth grade at the time, as Zeke and Shauna are both two years older than us. Zeke had lost a bet with Christina and she got to give him a makeover on picture day.

"I've burned most of those pics anyway," Zeke mumbles.

"Most," Uriah says. "Besides, that's still engraved in our memories anyway!"

"You know," Zeke begins, "I never wanted a little brother." He puts his guitar down and grabs the pillow Four threw at him.

"Well, I uh, never asked for a big brother!" Uriah pouts.

"What are you talking about, I was born first!"

"And I was born second!"

Zeke hits Uriah in the head with the pillow.

"Hey, don't hit him in the head," Shauna says. "He's already got enough problems as it is." She smirks.

Uriah shouts. "SHAUNA!"

"They're always like this," I say to Four, who had put his guitar down.

"Yeah, it's entertaining," he smiles. He has a nice smile.

My phone begins to ring. My brother, Caleb, is calling me. "Guys, I gotta take this, I'll be back."

…

I sit on the hood of my car. "Hello?" I say when I answer the phone.

"Hey Bea," Caleb says. "Um, where are you at?"

"At school," I say. "Why?"

"I need you. I'm at mom and dad's,"

"What happened?"

"Oh nothing bad, just get here," he hangs up.

"Okay," I mumble to myself.

"You alright?" Four. When did he get here?

"Dude you almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry," he sits next to me. We just sit next to each other in silence for a bit, probably because we don't know what to say to each other.

"I've never seen you around here before. What school do you go to?" I ask him and look into those eyes. I've never seen a shade of blue like that before.

"Oh, I'm not in college. I dropped out of some school out of state after the first semester. Wasn't really my thing. College isn't for everybody," he shrugs.

We sit in more silence, until eventually, I pull out my phone and stuff one of the earbuds into my ear and the other one into his.

"What bands do you like?" he asks.

"Well, my favorite is Imagine Dragons, but Fall Out Boy is a close second."

He smiles. "My favorite is also Imagine Dragons, but my close second is Panic! at the Disco." That smile.

I begin to play Summer. "Is this one your favorite?" he asks. I nod. "I actually can't decide which one is my favorite."

"I see you're a bit indecisive," I smile at him.

"Well, I've always been that way."

I hum the first line of the song quietly.

If only for a second

Let me have you

Tell me all your secrets

Let me know you

He's staring at me. Then, he looks away quickly and stares down at the ground.

Paint me all your pictures

Hang them on my wall

Show me all your colors

Show me all

I don't know why, but I feel comfortable being with him. I shouldn't feel this way, I barely even know him.

We finish the song. "I gotta go," I say, wrapping my earbuds around my phone.

"Well, I'll see you around, I guess," he turns around and walks towards the school. I get in my car. Time to go see what Caleb wants.

First chapter! Leave a review of what you thought!