Saving the Reject | Michael Clifford | Editing

s e v e n t e e n ;

Charli

I woke up on the left side of Scarlett's king bed, in a pair of grey sweats and a tank top she always let me borrow. The countless nights I'd spent here have been enough for her home to turn into something of a second home for me. She and Evie were the perfect best friends, always being there for me in times of need.

It was nearly midnight by the time Michael had dropped me back off here, and I was surprised to see that Mr. and Mrs. Jensen had still been awake, catching up with a small group of old friends. They welcomed me in, not even questioning where Scarlett was. I assumed she had informed them, then. I had proceeded to go to the dimly lit backyard and clean up. When Mrs. Jensen came out to get me at a quarter to one, the yard was practically back to how it was the day before. I was proud of my work.

I look now at the clock, seeing it was nearly nine o'clock. I've made a habit of getting up no later than seven, so this shocked me. I guess yesterday had really tired me out.

Of course, Scarlett was passed out on the other side of the bed, still in her clothes from last night. I don't even remember her coming home last night, but I'm just glad that Calum and Luke had gotten her home safely.

As I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I noticed the untouched gift still perfectly place on her desk. She hadn't even noticed it.

I understood why the second she woke up. "I feel dizzy," she said, sitting up quickly. Her face was flushed, and her breath was disgustingly reminiscent. She had gotten drunk last night.

"Lie down," I instructed, pulling her down slowly, lifting her pillow so she was slightly elevated. "I'll go get you some water."

"Can you get my mum too?" she asked, her eyes dilated. "My stomach hurts."

Please don't throw up, I thought as I left her room. I hurriedly made my way down stairs into her kitchen, grabbing some aspirin and a cup of water. I met Mrs. Jensen in the hallway, seemingly just woken up.

"Hey sweetie," she greeted with a smile. "I just want to thank you again for everything you've done for Scarlett and us. We're all so lucky to have you in our lives."

This warmed my heart immensely. "And I am lucky to have you all in my life." The beautiful moment was ruined by the sound of Scarlett vomiting upstairs.

* * * * * *

"So how was the party?"

Scarlett lazily glared at me, hearing the laugh in my question. We sat on the porch swing in her backyard, gently rocking back and forth.

Her parents took it surprisingly well, finding out their daughter - or step daughter - was hung-over. I know for a fact that if I came home drunk, Dawson would have my throat, but we were raised a bit differently.

Scar's mum had had her at nineteen, being a party girl herself, and actually was her father's groupie for a while, then they got married. Scar's dad was in a hot-tempered rock band in the eighties, who were their town's hotshots, but never made it big. After the divorced, Scar's mum married a salesman from Brisbane, but that didn't even last a year. Then she met the legendary Hank Jensen, the modest guitarist and lead singer of an American band that were a big hit in Australia. She met him just as his career was coming to a close, and they settled down to raise Scarlett and later had Vincent. Honestly, Maria - Scar's mum - lived the life every girl in her time wanted. The next step up would have been Michael Jackson.

Meanwhile, my parents were a bunch of nobodies.

"It was fun," Scarlett said, running her hands over her face. "Until I woke up this morning."

I laughed at that. "Well, that's a hangover for you."

"So what did you and Michael do?" she asked suddenly, taking me slightly off guard.

I paused, not exactly sure how to put it. Taking him to a place so important to me that I haven't even told you about it doesn't sound quite right, but then again, I know she wouldn't buy nothing. "We just hung out for a little bit, drove around town," I lied. She seemed to buy it.

But then, she added, "Are you sure you're not dating him?"

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "How many times do I have to tell you? We're just friends."

"I thought you were just his tutor?" she pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

Attempting to hide the blush on my face, I asked her, "And what about you and Luke, huh?"

"Me and Luke?" she questioned. When I raised my eyebrows, she turned away from me. "Nothing's going on between me and Luke; I'm not my mother."

"Hey, dating a rock star did your mum well!" I defended.

"Yeah, the second time," she said. "The first one was a complete asshole." Dang, what did her dad do? I've never heard her talk about him this harshly before.

"As far as I know, Luke isn't an asshole, though," I brought up.

"Okay," she laughed. "Can we just agree that you're not dating Michael, and I'm not dating Luke?"

"All right, but we can both agree that Evie and Ashton will be a thing."

"Avie for life!" she yelled out, raising her hands. This caused us both to crack up.

It's moments like these I'm really gonna miss.