driver's license // r.h.

Chapter 12

"I missed you so much Geek!" Sarah said.
"I miss you too Sarebear!" I said back. We laid there on the floor and just hugged each other. We just stayed there for a few minutes before someone interrupted us.
"Hey I missed her too, I want a hug," someone complained. I looked up to see Max's charming smile.
"Max!" I yelled, leaving Sarah alone on the floor. I jumped up to wrap my arms around his neck. I wrapped my legs around his waist and buried my face into his neck. I couldn't help but smile, breathing in his cologne, I felt safe and at home. I could feel his face in my shoulder and his smile growing.
"I've missed you so much Lexi," he whispers, his warm breath tickling my ear.
"I've missed you too Max," I whisper back.
"Stop hogging her Max, I want my turn," Sarah complained. I laughed and Max put me back on the floor just as my Mom walked in.
"These two have missed you so much, they have been coming over here everyday just to talk to me," my Mom said laughing. I smiled, glad to know my best friends were taking care of my mom. "Why don't you guys go upstairs? I'll make some mac and cheese for you before I leave for work."
"Thank you Shannon, we would love that!" Sarah said. They both call my mom by her first name because she is like a second mother to both of them
"Thank you Shannon," Max said, giving her his charming smile.
"Thanks Mom!" I said as we started up the stairs.
"Of course!" she said. We bolted up the stairs to my room as fast as we could. I flew onto my bed and Sarah landed right beside me. Max took his signature spot in the corner of my room and sat in my chair.
"So, were there any cute guys in LA?" Sarah asked with a smirk.
"Sarah Helene! THAT'S the first thing you want to ask me?" I scolded her. She giggled and I whacked her with my pillow.
"Okay, but seriously, were there?" she asked again. I just rolled my eyes at her.
"So, how was LA?" Max asked, trying to change the subject.
"Ooh yeah, tell us all about it!" Sarah said. I put a pillow in my lap and told them what my trip to LA was like. I told them about Jeremy and Mr. Kallman as well as the Why Don't We boys. Sarah had already heard about some of this because we facetimed while I was there. I made sure to point out that I was not crushing on any of them and that they all were like older brothers to me. Sarah, who has never heard of Why Don't We, googled them to see if they were hot. "Woah," she said wide eyed, "they have a pretty good reputation. Their album is #1 on iTunes right now! How have I never heard of them?" she looks up at me. "That's going to be you someday. I just know you will be up on a stage, in a new city every night, going on tour!" she said excitedly. I smiled weakly, I still haven't told her I am going on tour. I need to tell her now.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you guys..." I started, but Sarah's gasp cut me off.
"HOLY CRAP! YOU WERE IN THE SAME ROOM AS THESE GUYS?" Sarah yelled, wide eyed at her screen.
"Yeah why?"
"This one is the hottest guy I have EVER SEEN!" she said, pointing to one of the five figures on her screen. I laughed when I saw which one she was pointing to.
"That one is Corbyn," I said smiling.
"Let me see," Max said, glaring at Sarah. She shows him her phone and points at him, her mouth still open.
"How old are they?" Max asks, still glaring.
"One of them is nineteen, two are twenty-one, and two are twenty-two," I said.
"How old is Corbyn?" Sarah asked excitedly.
"Twenty-two," I said and her face fell. Max starts to laugh but turns it into a cough.
"Fuck!" she says angrily.
"Watch your mouth!" Max teases her. She sticks her tongue out at him and slumps against the pillows with a scowl on her face. Me and Sarah rarely swear; mostly just when we are super mad or in a bad mood. She always tells Max to "watch his mouth" when he swears. It is only fair on the rare occasion she swears, he can say it right back to her.

Suddenly, my phone starts ringing, and I look down to see Ryan is trying to facetime me. I quickly put my phone back down on my bed, but Sarah noticed and picked my phone up. She squinted at the name on the screen in confusion. I bit the inside of my cheek out of nerves and looked at her. She searched my eyes for a second and then answered it. Within a second, Ryan's face filled my phone screen and she shoved the phone in my face. "Hey Lexi!" he says.
"Uh, hey Ry!" I said. Max looked up from his phone and gave me a confused look when he heard a male voice from my phone. Sarah gasped excitedly, quiet enough so Ryan couldn't hear her. Max turned to her with the same confused expression.
"I just wanted to make sure you got home safe," he said with a grin.
"Awww," Sarah said a little too loud. Ryan heard it and gave me a confused look, turning a little pink.
"Um, are you with someone right now?"
"Yeah," I said blushing slightly, "Ryan, this is my best friend Sarah. Sarah, this is Ryan," I said, trying to keep my cool as I handed Sarah my phone. Sarah took it and smiled big at Ryan.
"Hi, I'm Sarah," she said. Why am I so nervous oh my gosh. It's just Sarah meeting Ryan for the first time.
"Ohh, you are Alexis's best friend, aren't you?" Ryan asked, returning the big smile.
"The one and only!" Sarah says, her smile growing. She looked at me with her eyes sparkling. She approves of him! Thank the Lord!
"Awesome! I've heard so much about you! All good things I promise," he said grinning.
"Aww, you're too kind! I've heard a lot about you as well," she said, looking at me with a smile. She definitely approves of him!
"Who are you talking to?" Max asks annoyed as he walks over to Sarah. He sticks his face in the camera and makes a face. "Who's that?" he asked, disgusted.
"Max, be nice!" Sarah scolded him.
"Sorry," he mumbles. I am frozen, not sure how to react. Ryan looked a little offended but he hid it well.
"Well Max, this is Ryan, one of Alexis's new friends! He is very nice," Sarah says, ignoring the fact that Max looked like he wanted to kill Ryan. "and Ryan, this is Max. We are Alexis's two closest childhood friends."
"Nice to meet you," Ryan says, giving him a nod. Maxs gives an eye roll and walks over to me. Sarah scooted closer to me so now we were both in the camera and she handed me my phone back. Max sat on the other side of me and made sure he fit in the camera too.
"So, how did you two meet?" Max asked Ryan coldly, putting an arm around Alexis's shoulder. Before Ryan could answer, the front door opened and five annoying loud voices I have come to love started yelling. Ryan turned his head and smiled at them.
"Hey guys! Guess who I am on the phone with?" he asked grinning. Max and Sarah instantly scooted out of the screen uncomfortably, but kept watching.
"Is it Lexi?" a voice asked excitedly, grabbing the phone from Ryan. Zach's face filled the screen and his smile grew. "It is Lexi!"
"Hey Zach!" I said
"Hey Lexi! Are you back in Chicago?"
"Yep! Actually, I'm with two of my friends right now," I said pulling Sarah backwards into a hug where the camera could see her.
"Hi," she said, flashing Zach a smile.
"Damn! Who is that?' Zach asked. Before I could respond, Ryan took the phone back from Zach. I could still hear Zach protesting and yelling at Ryan to give him the phone back.
"Sorry Zach, everyone wants to say hi to Alexis," he says right before handing the phone off to Jack.
"Hey Lexi, how was the flight?" Jack asked.
"Pretty good, I got some song writing done," I said. "Oh wait ,Jack, this is Sarah. Sarah, this is Jack. Sarah is my best friend," I said.
"Nice to meet you," Jack said, giving Sarah a nod.
"You too," she said smiling.
"We already miss you Lexi, tonight is going to be so boring without you. Zach wants to watch '10 Things I Hate About You' again tonight" Jack says laughing. I laughed with him.
"Hey it's a good movie, I'll be back soon so try not to kill each other while I'm away," I said joking. Ryan grabbed the phone again and passed it to Daniel.
"Hey Lexi! What's up?" he asked with a smile showing his tooth gap.
"Not much, I've just been hanging out with Sarah. Sarah, this is Daniel. Daniel, this is Sarah, my best friend," I said introducing Sarah to the third member of Why Don't We.
"Nice to meet you Sarah," Daniel said, giving her a nod.
"Nice to meet you too Daniel, was Alexis causing trouble in LA?" she asked. I punched her arm and she laughed.
"Not at all," he laughed. "We all miss her so much."
"Aww thanks Dani! I miss you guys too!" I said right before Ryan handed the phone to Jonah.
"Hey Alexis, how are you?" he asked, smiling.
"I'm good, how are you?" I asked.
"I'm good, we miss you though. How's Chicago?"
"Good, I'm hanging out with my best friend Sarah right now. Sarah, this is Jonah, the oldest in the band. Jonah, this is Sarah," I said.
"Hi Sarah," he smiled.
"Hi Jonah, have you been watching Alexis?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am, she's not as much trouble as the rest of them are" he says, causing Sarah to laugh,
"That's good to hear," she said.
"I'll see you soon Jonah, watch the others for me! If Zach misbehaves, tell him no movie tonight" I said.
"I will, don't worry," he says laughing as Ryan hands the phone to the last band member, Corbyn. Sarah sat up out of the frame right to grab a pillow before Corbyn's face filled the screen.
"Hey Lexi!"
"Hey Corbyn! There is someone I want you to meet," I said pulling Sarah back into the screen. She laughed and looked at the camera with a big smile.
"Hi," she said blushing, once she saw who was on the screen.
"Hey," he said blushing back. Oh my gosh, Corbyn is blushing!
"I'm Sarah, Lexi's best friend." she says.
"I'm Corbyn, Lexi's, uh, friend?" he said. His questioning tone caused Sarah to laugh and he blushed even harder.
"Yes Corbyn, you are my friend. I would even consider you one of my best friends!" I said laughing.
"Aww thanks Lexi! I would have to say the same about you," he said.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Corbyn," Sarah said smiling.
"You too Sarah," he says, returning the smile. With that, Ryan took the phone back so I could now see him. In the background, I could hear Zach still complaining about wanting to see the phone.
"We are going to move to the living room really quick so you can see us all at the same time," Ryan said. He placed the phone down and all of them sat on the couch.
"So Lexi, what's your gorgeous friend's name?" Zach asked. Real smooth Zach!
"My name is Sarah," Sarah said laughing.
"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Zach said. At this point, all the other boys but Corbyn were laughing at him. "Are you single?" Zach asked. Dang Zach, that was way too fast!
"Maybe," Sarah said, still laughing at him.
"Leave the poor girl alone, she doesn't look interested," Corbyn said smiling at her. Sarah blushed instantly.
"Who wouldn't be interested in me?" Zach asked, pretending to be shocked and offended. Everyone just laughed at him. Max came into the camera's view and put his arm around me.
"Who are they?" he asked in a slightly rude tone. The boys heard him, and started introducing themselves.
"I'm Corbyn."
"I'm Daniel."
"I'm Jonah."
"I'm Zach."
"I'm Jack."
"And...were Why Don't We!" they all said together, as they have a million times before.
"And I'm Ryan," Ryan said awkwardly. Max just nodded, and looked unimpressed.
"Are you Lexi's boyfriend?" Daniel asked, curious.
"Yes..." Max said.
"No..." I said at the same time. I looked at him with confusion and he just looked at me with a blank expression. I turned back at my phone and Ryan was no longer smiling. The boys all just stared confused and looked uncomfortable. Even Sarah looked confused.
"So," Jonah said, trying to change the subject, "Max, do you do any sports?"
"Yeah, I am on the varsity football team," he said calmly.
"Oh that's cool, I used to play football," Corbyn said. I looked over at Sarah, and she was practically drooling over Corbyn. This girl sometimes! Max just nodded, and pulled me closer to him. What was wrong with him today?
"So, are you bringing them here on Tuesday to help you move in?" Zach asked. Damn it Zach! I quickly looked at Max and Sarah, hoping they didn't pick up on it, but it was too late. Looking at their confused faces, the damage was done.
"What do you mean 'move in'?" Sarah asked, confused. She looked at me and I looked down at my fingers, playing with my rings.
"Um...oops," Zach said, embarrassed. The other boys all glared at him.
"Lexi, what is he talking about?" Sarah asked, her voice cracking slightly.
"I'll call you guys back later," I said before I hung up.
"Are you moving to LA?" Max asked, angerly.
"And you didn't tell us?" Sarah asked, clearly hurt.
"I was trying to, do you know how hard it is to tell your best friends you are leaving in two days?" I said, my eyes starting to fill up with tears.
"So you are leaving us, just like that?" he asks, even more mad.
"Yes," I said, my voice cracking as I hung my head.
"Well, have fun living with your little boyfriends," Max yells before storming out of my room.
"Max! Wait!" I weakly call out, but it is no use. I can hear the door to my house slam and the tears start to come down my face. I look over at Sarah, and she won't even look at me.
"Sarebear," I started.
"Why? Why couldn't you have told me? I thought we told each other everything" she asks, looking up at me. I see another tear fall down her face and it pains me to see her this upset. "I thought I was your best friend Lexi."
"Sarah, you are my best friend! I waited to tell you because I didn't want to face the fact that I had to leave you behind, I am so sorry Sarebear." I said. She is quiet for a minute before embracing me into a big hug. We cried for a minute before she spoke.
"It's okay Lexi, I understand. You are leaving soon, and I want to spend as much time as I can with you while you are here," she says. I start to cry happy tears as I hug my best friend back even harder. We stay that way, just the two of us, for a few more minutes. After we stopped crying, we pulled away.
"Do you think Max will forgive me?' I asked nervously, thinking back to his hurt and angry face.
"Eventually he will. You know Max, he hates when people don't tell him stuff." she says. I nod, I know. "He may forgive you after you have already left, but you have two more days here and I don't want you to spend it worrying about him. You two are best friends, you will work it out." she says.
"You're right," I say, sighing.
"I know I am," she says with a giggle. "Since you are here for only two more days, I am going to spend every minute with you that I can!" she says, giving me a big smile.
"I can ask my mom if you can sleep over," I said laughing.
"Okay," she said smiling.

My mom had left for work before Max stormed off, so I gave her a call. After a few rings, she picks up. "Hey sweetie, what's up?" she asked
"Hey Mom, I was wondering if Sarah could sleep over since I won't be in Chicago much longer," I said
"What do you mean?" she asked. I took a deep breath, you can tell her Lexi.
"The label wants me to move to LA this Tuesday," I said.
"Sweetie, that's amazing!" she said, her voice cracking a little.
"Mom? Is something wrong?" I asked.
"I...I'm just going to miss you a lot. I am so happy for you though, and I knew this day was coming. I just didn't know it would be this soon," she said.
"Thanks Mom, I am going to miss you a lot too, but I will make sure to come back and visit!" I said.
"So are you going to finish the school year online?" she asked.
"Yeah, there are only a few months left and we leave for tour early April," I said.
"Tour already?" she asked, shocked.
"Yeah, I am going to open for this popular band called Why Don't We with another solo artist!"
"That sounds amazing honey! I have to go back to work but tell me more when you get home! I'll see you and Sarah later tonight, make sure her mom is okay with her sleeping over on a school night!" she said.
"Thanks Mom! I love you!" I squeal.
"I love you too honey," she says and hangs up. I ran back to my room to tell Sarah the good news.

For the rest of the night, me and Sarah had the best time ever. We drove to Target to grab stuff to make homemade pizzas and slutty brownies. We got sidetracked while we were there, and walked out of the store with a bunch other things we did not need. What else do you expect if you bring two teenage girls with shopping addictions to Target? Once we were done with our successful target run, we drove down the street to Seven Eleven. We bought a few snacks for the night, and made giant slushies. I made myself a blue one, and Sarah made herself a red one, agreeing to share her slushie with me. We paid for everything, and headed back to my house, blasting our long playlist we made a long time ago.

"You'll be the price and I'll be the princess," me and Sarah sang loudly to Taylor Swift's song, "Love Song". "It's a love story, baby, just say 'yes'" Sarah sprinkled the last of her cheese onto her pizza and started putting her pineapple on.
"I don't understand how you eat pineapple pizza," I said in disgust.
"Hey! It's so good, you just refuse to try it!" she protested.
"Whatever," I grinned, throwing our pizzas in the oven and setting a timer.
"So..." Sarah started, smirking and resting her elbows on the counter, "what's going on between you and Ryan?" I sighed, and sat on the counter.
"He has a girlfriend, remember?" I said
"Yeah, but you should see the way he looks at you!" Sarah said. "I wish someone looked at me like that!" she sighed, daydreaming.
"What about Corbyn?" I said, smirking. She blushes and throws the bag of cheese at me.
"Shut up! I've only met him over facetime. Plus, I am 16, and he is 22, it will never happen," she said.
"Well, when you come visit me in LA, I can introduce you to him!" I said.
"Moving on," Sarah said, rolling her eyes, trying to hide her smile, "Why don't we do a face mask while our pizza is cooking?"
"Sure!" I said, and we went to the bathroom to do a face mask.

I just finished putting mine on when my phone buzzed. I looked down to see Ryan had texted me:

Ry☺️
Ry☺️: hey, is everything okay?
Lexi💕: hey! yeah, sarah and i talked it out, but max is still really upset :(
Ry☺️: oh, i'm sorry to hear about max :(
Lexi💕: it's okay, i'm sure he will get over it soon
Ry☺️: okay good, have fun with sarah :)
Lexi💕: thanks ry :)

"How is he?" Sarah asked, applying her face mask to her cheek.
"How is who?" I asked.
"Ryan," she said in an obvious tone.
"How did you know it was him?" I asked shocked
"I saw the way your face lit up when he texted you, and you're still smiling!" she said. I blushed and looked in the mirror. I didn't even notice I was smiling! "I can see how much you like him," she says smirking.
"Oh shut up! Lets go check on the pizzas," I said, giving her an eye roll and walking out of the bathroom.

The rest of the night was full of laughter, eating lots of good food, dancing, singing, and movie watching. My mom was fast asleep by now, but I talked to her more about moving to LA when Sarah was showering, which is normal for her to do at my house since she is over often. It was past 2:00am now, and we had to wake up in four hours for school. We just finished watching "Captain America: Civil War" on Disney Plus. We packed up a lot of my stuff to bring to LA while we watched movies so we could spend more time together. I was freezing, so I threw on the hoodie Ryan gave me the other day. Sarah looked over at me, "Is that his hoodie?" she asked. It was so dark, but I could just tell she was smirking from the way her voice sounded.
"Yeah, he gave it to me yesterday when I had nothing to sleep in at the Why Don't We boy's house, I guess I forgot to give it back to him."
"That is so cute," Sarah said, yawning and falling asleep. I snuggled into Ryan's hoodie, smelling his cologne, and instantly fell asleep.