Deception (Michael Clifford)

Four

I'm crouched in a corner, back pressed against the brick wall, cowering in a shadow. The cold starts to seep into my body from the stone floor beneath me as cries ring out into the night. Then silence. I dare not to look up straight away for fear of what I'll see. I feel piercing eyes boring into me from across the alley, intently watching my every move, every shaky breath that draws into my lungs. I look up slowly. That's when I see him, slumped against the cold, hostile bricks, a man cloaked in shadow. The ground sways beneath me. I ignore the lump sprawled out a few feet from me, all I focus on is the pair of piercing green eyes now locked with mine. I feel myself being drawn into his gaze, immersed in the shades of emerald glistening through the darkness. I feel a breeze tickle my ear "Stay away."

I sit bolt up right in my bed, breathing heavily and shaking from my dream, heart still racing in my chest. This is not the first time I've had dreams like this. Flashbacks of that dreaded night in the alley, the screams echoing against the walls and the shadows that hung from them, hiding secrets in their depths. I shiver at the memory, that feeling of being watched still haunting my mind. Who was he? Who saved me? I close my eyes in frustration. The image of his crystal green gaze threatening to consume me once more. I crave him, I crave his safety, his presence. I need to know who he is. Yet the only image I have of him is the dark shadow that loomed over me protectively in the alley, why can't I get him out of my mind?

I bring a hand up to push the hair out of my face and let it rest on my forehead, still sweating from my dream. The room is pitch black, and the silence unsettles me. I would normally wake up to the bustling sounds of the city but right now, I hear nothing. I tilt my head, confused. I decide its probably just due to the time, reaching over I quickly touch my phone to bring up the display and the bright light blinds me for a few seconds. I let my eyes focus then look at the time. 2:57am. I sigh, I've only been asleep for about 2 hours. I rub my eyes sleepily then collapse back onto my pillow and lay there for a few minutes, not really feeling like going back to sleep.

Suddenly I hear a soft but familiar 'ding' and a faint glow fills the room. I slowly roll over onto my right to stretch across and snatch my phone from the bedside table. A message from Kellin, holding it up to my face I open it to see a group photo pop up of him and the band. Obviously on the tour bus, Kellin is in the front pulling a confused face whilst Gabe is wearing a bright blue dress, I laugh to myself. Jesse has got 5 pairs of sunglasses stacked on his face whilst Justin tries to fit on one more, and Jack is pulling a surprised face at the camera to the right of Kellin.
I grin as I look at the group of them, not really knowing what to make of it. Yet I feel a slight pang of loneliness, travelling like this has taken its toll on my friends list I guess. I mean, I'm by myself most of the time, mum is always out at work, and the only connection I've got to my friends is my phone and the Internet.

Kellin knows this, so he often sends me photos, as well as regular messages to keep me somewhat sane. He's like a brother to me, I've known him since I was at least 13, back when dad used to be the sound manager. He used to take me to work with him when I was on school break, we would fly to all these amazing countries and I would help the band out backstage. I would run around helping all the guys to arrange furniture, I learnt how to control some of the lights, and sometimes helping to put together the drum kit! It wasn't long before every school break was spent with dad, traveling across America, hanging out with Kellin and the band, learning all these knew things about what it meant to be in the music industry. I loved it! I would look forward to every term holiday like it was christmas, and that year at school was probably the quickest I've ever had.

But it didn't last long. Sighing, I lock my phone and place it gently back on the table. I tried so hard to block out those dreaded years after dad died, living off the happiness of earlier memories. I took his death really hard. Endless nights spent crying myself to sleep and hiding from everyone who I didn't realise at the time, just wanted to help. Kellin was the only one that could get through to me, he kept me just above the raging waves of depression and sadness, like a life buoy. He was there whenever I needed him, and he was the only one I would talk to. As hard as my mum tried, Kellin was the only one I felt I could open those cracks to, and I'll forever be grateful to him for that support. I put those feelings to the back of my mind, and close my eyes. I think of the years before that, the days spent in the dressing room with Sleeping With Sirens, running around trying to hide from Gabe when I stole his hat, quickly throwing it to Kellin before he had the chance to grab it. A smile spreads across my face and slowly, I begin to drift off to sleep... Images of happier memories filling my mind, and I feel like I'm 13 years old again, travelling America with dad and the band, and everything was perfect.

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DOUBLE UPDATE WOOOOO!!!
This one is short but bare with me I work really hard on these things!! Its all building up now haha ENJOY