Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Starkids.
The smell of bacon drifted upstairs, and into the guest room. I yawned, and grabbed my suitcase. Pulling out a pair of jeans and a Batman t-shirt, I slipped into them. I heard a shout, and then an alarm went off. I rolled my eyes. Boys…I wonder how many times they'd burnt the bacon. I headed downstairs, and into the kitchen. Nick, Matt, and Joe were all running around the kitchen trying to get rid of the smoke. Brian was sitting at dining room table, laughing at the others, and Jim was leaning against the counter eating an apple.
"Need any help?" I asked them, grinning.
The smoke cleared, and Matt finally got the alarm to turn off.
"Sorry, Paige," Nick apologized, "We wanted to make a welcome breakfast."
"It's fine, Nick," I replied, and turned to Brian, "Can any of you cook?"
Brian shrugged. "Not really."
Joe walked over to me. "Morning," he said, kissing me on the cheek, "We didn't burn the pancakes." He pointed to six plates, all with three steaming pancakes.
We all grabbed a plate and sat down. I took a bite of pancake and looked around at the others. Eating breakfast with the Starkid guys, I was never going to get used to this.
"So, Paige," Brian said, "What do you feel like doing today?"
"I think I'll go over to Lauren and Julia's," I responded, "Joe said Lauren could probably help me find a good apartment."
"You're moving here?" Jim questioned me, biting into his apple.
"If I can find an apartment before September, then yup," I said happily.
"Shouldn't be that hard," Brian stated, "You can stay here until you do, though."
"Want me to drive you over to Lo's?" Joe asked me, standing up.
"Sure," I replied, following him to the door, "See you guys later."
I rang the doorbell, and about a minute later Lauren answered. "Hey, come on in," she said.
I followed her into the apartment and to island in the kitchen. "I need help finding an apartment," I stated, sitting down.
"Yea, I know," Lauren said excitedly, "Joe told me. You're going to live here!"
I nodded.
"Julia and I were looking around at apartments last night," Lauren said.
She stood up, and opened one of the kitchen drawers, pulling out the stack of papers inside. Lauren set the stack down, and spread them out on the island.
"You could always live here you know," Lauren said, as I picked through the papers, "it's better if you live with someone, share the costs."
I shrugged. "I wouldn't want to-"
"Please," Lauren said with puppy dog eyes, "It gets lonely with just Julia and me. We split the costs and everything."
I pondered the idea. "Only if Julia says it's ok."
Lauren smiled happily. "Awesome. I asked her last night."
I shook my head, laughing.
"So, then," Lauren said, "Joe said you're going with him to L. A."
"Yea," I said, "He asked me if I wanted to come."
"Cool," Lauren said, picking up all the papers and sticking them back in the drawer.
"This is going to sound metal," I started, "But thanks for locking me in a basement, Lo."
"You're welcome," Lauren said.
"But, please never do it again."
"Deal," Lauren said, pulling open the fridge, "Do you want something to drink?"
"Just water, thanks," I answered.
Lauren pulled out a water bottle and handed it to me. "Here you go. So, Brian was talking about needing some extra hands for 1Night2Last4Ever, and I thought you might like to help with it."
"Great," I responded excitedly, "I'd love to." I took a sip of the water and smiled. Living in Chicago was going to be great.