Final Bloom [A TMF FanFiction]

Chapter 9

[Quite Familiar]

Drew was standing behind Jake in an almost cowardly sort of way. It was uncharacteristic for him, but he was scared.

Last time he was here... Well, he died...multiple times, but he can put that past himself.

"Well, Jake... Who's your friend?"

Hailey looks curiously at the two, easily confirming once more that they in fact, didn't know of Drew's existence.

Luke eyes the two with a strange look, smiling softly afterwards. He has definitely caught onto something.

"This is Drew.."

Jake shoots Drew a slightly panicked look, clearly unsure of what to say next. Drew takes the hint and steps in.

".. I'm Jake's..best friend. Met during freshmen year."

Sean chimes in shortly after, a slight tinge of confusion in his voice.

"...That's odd. Never see you around."

"I had a temporary leave for personal reasons. Today is my first day back."

Drew answered with ease, a quite convincing story flowing out his mouth like second nature.

"Damn, really?! Do you know about the band competition next month? We're so gonna win it, so go see us there!"

Milly chips in, energetic as ever. Drew smiles at her enthusiasm.

"Yeah, of course I'll be there."

"Okayy..."

Hailey interrupts the conversation, having a small question on her mind.

"Well, are there any other reasons you're here? Do you want to watch us reherase, or..."

She continued listing a few potential reasons before Zander coughs softly, cutting her off.

"If you're here to audition, then go right ahead, though we might not be able to include you in the competition if you do get in. It'll be pretty rushed, but if not..."

Zander made the clarifying statement, slightly impatient as they still needed to reherase.

"Then we'll just start rehersals, and you can watch if you want to."

Jake looked at him with encouraging eyes, almost urging him to audition.

He stares back at those bright eyes. He wasn't too sure, but for Jake...

"I'll audition for the club."