You stared at your phone screen as it lit up several times with Twitter notifications. You smiled as you sat in the middle of Lauren's piano recital. Ashton hadn't been able to make it, due to band stuff, so you had promised to cover for him.
Lauren was satisfied. The notifications were popping, making you aware of the fact that Luke, Ashton, Calum, and Michael had just been televised for the first time. You looked up at Lauren, after she had hit the last note of Canon in D.
You clapped softly, and she smiled and curtsied. She hurried to sit back beside you and you slid her your phone, and she squealed at the sight of her brother on television. You snapped a picture of Luke in mid performance and sent him the photo, with a message that said, "you're giving girls everywhere heart attacks!"
He quickly responded, "including you?" You turn beet red as the next kid begins Beethoven's Fifth. You respond, "uh,no." Your stomach regains the nervous butterflies that appeared when Luke saw you first at the airport.
Your phone lights up again and you read, "oh, come on, admit it, you think I'm hot." Maybe it was the fact that you and Luke were both almost 18, and practically legal for marriage, (even though that was totally irrelevant) or the fact that you had feelings for Michael...at least, you thought you had feelings for Michael.
Maybe it was just the awkwardness. But you felt flustered. Extremely flustered. You text back, "no, that's weird, you're my best friend." You see Luke texting back, and his first text comes through. "It's not weird." His second text came through and your breath catches in your throat, "I think you're hot."
"Who's that?" Lauren whispers, leaning in. You quickly lock your phone. "No one little Miss Nosy," you tease, and she giggles. You put up a finger to your mouth to shush her. You slyly shoot back, "well then in that case, yes, I think you're pretty hot," and smiled.
That made everything less tension-filled. Lauren pulled you out of the recital as it came to a close. You unlocked your car door, and backed out of the church parking lot. "So, is it Baskin Robbins or Braum's today, kiddo?" you ask her. "Let's go to KFC!" She responds and you smile. "Since its your special day, alright."
You make your way down the interstate and turn at the signs indicating the south side of Sydney. Pulling into the parking lot of KFC, you park and Lauren drags you through the front doors. You feel out of place, in a KFC with a sundress on.
"So, why did we come to KFC?" you ask her, and she turns back to you with a wrinkled forehead. "I don't know, it's the only restaurant that reminds me of Ashton. And I miss him." You feel a pang in your chest and smile at the love for Ashton radiating off of Lauren's little face. She loved her older brother so much.
He was like a father figure to her. It honestly was the sweetest thing you had ever seen. After grabbing a bucket of chicken, and some mac-n-cheese, you head back to the car and eat whilst you drive Lauren back to the Irwin's house. "What are you doing tonight, Chandler? Are you going to be home alone?" Lauren asks suddenly, and you turn to look at her.
"Nope, I'm going to go greet the boys at the airport." You purposefully didn't mention that you were also driving Michael home and spending the evening with him playing Monopoly. "Oh. Could I come with you?" she asks, looking at you pleadingly.
"Oh, Lauren, I wish you could. But security won't let you in without one of these," you say, holding up your clear hand clutch to reveal a license and verified terminal pass.
"Damn it," she muttered.
"Lauren!" you exclaim, giving her hand a little slap. "Where did you learn that language from?" Lauren's face turns red and she looks down. "Calum," she mutters. You roll your eyes, looking heavenward for a moment, offering up Calum's mouth to the Lord.
"Lauren, you know Ashton would be super disappointed to hear you say something like that," you admonish. She nods and looks up at you dejectedly. "You gonna tell him?" You sigh. "No, but try to keep it PG, ok? And don't listen to Cal. He needs to work on that."
"Yeah, he does. I'm sorry, Chandler."
"I forgive you, Lauren. Now, we should get you inside the house before Anne wonders where you've gone." you joked, dropping Lauren off. You made a quick jet to your house where you slipped out of the sundress.
You changed into the third pair of jeans Calum had convinced you to buy this week. They were light denim, with splotches of acid wash and were destroyed in the knees and the thigh. You were getting used to these pants, they were beginning to get really comfortable, actually.
You slipped on a Mayday Parade sleeveless shirt over your bandeau. It wasn't yours, it must've been Cal's or Luke's. Most likely Cal's. You gather your hair into a fishtail and stick a bandana on. Jumping back into the car, you drive to the airport, ready to meet your "hot," best friend.
*that last part was really lame but I didn't know how to finish the chapter sorry guys*