driver's license // r.h.

Chapter 5

Why couldn't I stop thinking about him? Jer just picked me up and we had to drive a little less than 20 minutes to get to the party. The whole way Jer was talking about his boyfriend and how they have been together for a few years. I was trying to listen to him talk, but I was so nervous to meet the label, I could not hear a word he was saying. I bounced my legs up and down as an image of Ryan's warm smile appeared in my head once again. I smiled softly to myself as we continued down the road. As we entered Beverly Hills, I glanced around at all the huge houses in awe. We come across a gorgeous house with a bunch of cars parked along the streets. "This must be it! I'll drop you off and call me when you want me to pick you up," he says glancing at me. His face changes when he sees how nervous I am. "Hey," his voice getting soft, "you will be fine, they already love you. The moment I saw you I liked you. So get out there girl, and go have fun!" I force a smile on my face and watch Jeremy drive away into the distance.

I stood there for a minute, debating whether or not I should go inside. The sunset looked super pretty from this view so I decided to distract myself by watching orange and pink paint the sky. I managed to find a little courage to start walking towards the door. All of a sudden I hear "Alexis?" from behind me. I turn to find a smiling Ryan jogging behind me. Once he caught up he gave me a big smile and said "I didn't know you were coming to the release party!"
I returned the smile "I didn't know you were coming either! You don't know how grateful I am to see a familiar face," I said walking through the door after Ryan.
"AYEEE GUYS MY LITTLE BROTHER IS HERE!" A guy dressed in all black with soft dark hair yells as he runs towards the door. Ryan and the guy embraced in a tight hug and stood there for a minute. "Bro you don't know how much I have missed you," Ryan says muffled into the guy's shoulder.
"I have missed you too Ry" He responds letting go. He glances over at me and his eyes light up with excitement. "Wait, Ryan didn't tell me he got a girlfriend!" I start to turn red and I look over to see Ryan's face turning redder than mine. "I'm Zach, his older brother," he says as he extends his hand for me to shake.
"I am Alexis, Ryans, um, friend," I said awkwardly, shaking his hand.
"Wait, did you say Alexis?" he asks.
"Um, yeah?" He smiles even bigger and turns his head.
"Hey Craig! Alexis is here!" I cringe and look away. I look at Ryan and he looks confused. I could see the gears turning in his brain as he put the puzzle pieces together.
"Hold on, are you the new artist that signed with Atlantic Records?" Ryan asked me.
"Yeah I am," I say, giving him a sheepish smile.
"No way, I am signed with them too!" Ryan says grinning. My smile grew, I am working with the same label as Ryan! I will definitely see him more! Wait, why does that make me so happy? Our celebration was cut short by a tall middle aged guy in a suit walking over to us.
"Ah, Ryan, I see you have already met our new artist."
"Yes I have, she is absolutely amazing" he says smiling at me. I blush and look back to the man. He nods pleased.
"You must be Alexis. I am Craig Kallman, CEO of Atlantic Records," he says shaking my hand firmly. "I wanted to introduce you to everyone once you got here. This, as you already know, is Ryan Herron. He signed with us a few months ago and is a solo artist, just like you. You two will be working together pretty often so I am glad to see that you two get along. Let me introduce you to the others," he says, turning to walk further into the house. I give Ryan a quick wave goodbye and follow him.

Mr. Kallman is a super social person, but always gets down to business. He introduced me to an entire team of people, most of them would work with me. There were a bunch of people that worked with the band that is releasing their album tonight but I was still introduced to all of them. I was surprised a lot of them saw my video. Everyone I would be working with had seen it and told me how excited they were to work with me. After a while Mr. Kallman turned to me and said "Alright Alexis, I have to go check on my boys, I will be right back." He starts to take a step but then pauses with a smile. "Actually, why don't I introduce you to them. They have been working together for 4 years now and have been super successful. They will be great mentors for you." I followed Mr. Kallman to the kitchen where five boys were stealing all the snacks. They all looked a bit older than me, and they were all wearing black. What was their band's name again? They all looked up to see Mr. Kallman chuckling at them.
"How did you know where to find us man?" The blonde one asked with a handful of crackers and cheese.
"Easily. You five are always eating." They all chuckle and continue to stuff their faces. "Boys, I would like you to meet our newest artist. This is Alexis," he says gesturing towards me. They all stop putting food in their mouths and leave their snacks behind.
"Hi, I'm Daniel," the blonde one says, his smile showing his tooth gap.
"Hey Alexis, I'm Corbyn," the tall brunette says with a wide smile
"I'm Jack," the shortest of all of them with noodle hair says smiling
"Hey, I'm Jonah," The tallest with curly hair says
"And I'm Zach, but you already knew that," Zach says with a wink.
"And we're Why Don't We" they all said together and then laughed.
"Nice to meet you guys! Are you the ones releasing an album tonight?"
"Yeah! Our album is called 'The Good Times and the Bad Ones'" Jonah said smiling.
"I'll leave you guys to talk," Mr. Kallman says, clearly pleased with himself as he walks away.
"So Alexis, where are you from?" Jack asks, grabbing a cracker.
" I live in the suburbs of Chicago," I said
"Aw man I love Chicago! How old are you?" Daniel asks.
"I recently turned 16, I am a sophomore in highschool."
"Nice! I remember what it was like to be in highschool. Hopefully you don't drop out like this one," Corbyn says pointing to Zach. He just rolls his eyes and laughs it off.
"Yeah yeah. So...what's going on between you and my brother?" He asks leaning in and lowering his voice slightly. I turn bright red and look away.
"Um, I just met him today. I went to a cafe by my hotel to get some work done after my flight and we met. We are just friends," I said.
"For now," Zach says with a smirk. I turn even more red as the other boys start laughing. "Speaking of my brother, there he is!" Zach says smiling. Ryan comes over and looks between Zach and me.
"Is he harassing you Alexis?"
"Nope," I l said with a laugh. We all decide to head out to the backyard. Me and Ryan helped take photos for their instagram to advertise their new album. After we took a few photos, we sat down to watch the sunset and talk. They told me all about their new album, and how they wrote and produced the whole thing by themselves! That is where I want to be in life one day. They did not seem upset that I have not heard of them before, and told me their whole backstory including how they started their careers. They told me and Ryan about all the challenges they have faced, the best moments to cherish as an artist, and most of all their greatest accomplishments. Quickly I begin to realize how much they love music and how hard they have worked to get this far. I am sure Ryan had heard a lot of this before, but we both listened to every word they had to say.

After a while, the sun had set and the five boys had to head inside to do some last minute preparations for their release. That left me, Ryan, and the night sky alone. I layed on my back staring at the stars glittering across the sky. Ryan laid down next to me, and I looked over at him. His dark eyes were glittering from the stars, and his fluffy hair fell off his face. His jawline was sharp and his whole face was at rest. I looked back at the stars before he could catch me staring. I looked up to see a shooting star fly across the night sky. I gasped and pointed, "Did you see that?" I whispered.
"Yeah," he nodded "It was absolutely beautiful."
"Make a wish," I said smiling and closing my eyes. When I opened them, I turned to look at Ryan. His face was only inches from mine. I could feel his breath lightly on my face. I looked into those beautiful dark eyes sparkling as they stared right back into mine. His gaze dropped to my lips, and I noticed we had almost no distance between us. All of a sudden, someone opened the back door and stepped out, causing me and Ryan to sit up. Because it was so dark, I couldn't see exactly who it was, but then they spoke and I knew exactly who it was.
"Hey lovebirds, come inside we are dropping the album in 20 minutes!" Zach said rushing back inside. I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks as we got up to walk back inside. Did me and Ryan almost kiss?