You're Not Alone

Family's All That We Got

(Jen's POV)

I ran my tongue over my freshly bare teeth. The feeling of not having a metal fence in my mouth was one that would take a lot of getting used to. Austin and I drove home from the orthodontist, screaming the words to Anaconda and dancing as wildly as we could without wrecking the car. Despite all the drama with Mason, life was great. My teeth were straight, we were gonna be leaving for another tour soon, and Austin had begun writing music for a new album.

Austin pulled the car over and turned the music down a bit. I was still singing and didn't notice until it was silent.

"MY ANACONDA DON'T WANT NONE UNLESS YOU GOT..." I screamed before opened my eyes and found Austin laughing, "Buns, hun." I said in a small voice.

Austin shook his head. "Jesus Christ, Jen."

I slapped him playfully on the arm. "Why'd you pull over?"

"I was thinking. Your room...it's depressing. The walls are white and the bed is just black with white pillows. The only other piece of furniture you've got in there is a wooden chair." He shrugged. "So, would you wanna decorate it?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sure! When?"

"Now." And he stepped on the gas and turned the car around.

"Where are we going?"

"Home Depot." He said, keeping his eyes on the road. "First thing we need is paint."

I cranked the radio back up. Austin and I resumed dancing like idiots.

"Where my fat ass big bitches in the club?!" We both screamed in unison.
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"This is a nice color." Austin smiled, holding up a light blue paint swatch.

I shook my head. "I had something else in mind."

Austin put the paper card back. "Lay it on me, kid.

"Well, I was thinking that we could paint one wall black and leave the other walls white. On the black wall we could use it as a chalkboard. You know, invite people over to come doodle and write on it. And then get a bunch of cans of spray paint and use one of the white walls as a graffiti wall. The other two I can use for posters and little mementos from events."

Austin smiled broadly. "I love that. Nice job, kid."

He walked over to the paint desk to request the black while I walked over to the case of spray paint to weigh out my color choices.

"Excuse me, are you 21?" An old woman in an orange vest asked me.

I smiled at her. "No ma'am, I'm 15."

She didn't smile back. "Then get away. Minors can't buy spray paint."

I tried my best to maintain a pleasant tone. "I'm sorry ma'am, but this is a misunderstanding. My father is here too."

"Where is he then?"

"He's buying a can of paint at the desk."

At the sound of the commotion, Austin walked over, holding the can of black paint. "Can I help you, ma'am?"

"Tell your daughter that she can't be over here without a parent or legal guardian."

"But I'm right here. Everything is cool. This is for her room." Austin tried to reason.

The woman grunted. "Keep an eye on her and that paint. One minute she's fine and the next she's tagging a building or using it to get high. It's a slippery slope."

Austin looked like someone just punched him in the gut. But his hurt quickly turned to an expression of anger. "I'm sorry ma'am, but could you please do me a favor and shut the fuck up? Don't assume anything about anyone. It just makes you look like an idiot." He tugged on my arm gently. "Come on babe, let's go to Lowe's."
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"Ooh!!! Can I draw a cat?!" Alan exclaimed excitedly.

I giggled. "Whatever you want. Just no dicks or anything of that nature."

"Aww!" Jack sighed. "You're no fun."

After all the drama with the woman at Home Depot, Austin and I had found help elsewhere and gotten spray paint in every color available. In addition I got a bean bag chair, a comforter, a new mirror and posters to cover up the holes I'd punched in the wall. After returning home, he'd called up Vic, Jaime, Mike, Tony, Alex, Jack, Rian, Zach, Alan, Aaron, Tino and Phil to come help decorate my room. We'd laid out old bedsheets across the floor and hooked up a speaker. Right then, it was blasting Don't You by Simple Minds from the Breakfast Club. Myself, Alan, Alex, Vic, Jaime and Phil were drawing with chalk on the black wall while everyone else spray painted on the graffiti wall. Austin had recreated the famous graffiti in Austin, Texas. The wall's biggest message was "I love you so much" written in red, cursive letters." Alan dipped two fingers in the remaining black paint and smeared it on my cheek.

"Guys, come here." Aaron called. We all gathered where he was. "Everyone, choose your favorite color and spray paint your hand. When you've done that, go put your handprint under "I love you so much" and sign your name and the date underneath your handprint. We didn't graffiti around it much at all so there's room for all of you and others who want to leave their hand here."

We all marked up my wall, laughing and using whatever paint we had left on our hand to paint each other. After it was all said and done, Austin ordered pizza and we sat on the floor and ate. When the food was demolished, we just sat together, talked and told stories until we all eventually fell asleep.

I cuddled into Austin, my head nestled in his neck. His arms locked tightly around me and I could feel myself subconsciously drawing circles on his chest.

I felt his lips press against my forehead. The last thing I heard before I fell asleep was him humming.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

HEY GUYS. I'M NOT DEAD.

So sorry that I've been slacking with the updates! Life's gotten kinda crazy lately. But here I am!

I'm not sure how many of you saw the message I send out, but could you all please sign the petition to stop the Yulin Dog Meat Festival? A province in China is taking dogs from the streets (sometimes even from their own homes) and torturing, slaughtering and eating them. As someone with massive respect for China and Chinese culture, I feel that this festival is inhumane and barbaric. There are links to the petition on my Twitter (you may have to dig a bit through all my Tweets) and I believe I sent one out in the message. If you could please take just 2 minutes out of your day to sign this petition, I would greatly appreciate it. Our dogs sit and stay for us, and now it's our turn to stand up for them.

Chapter song- See You Again by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth. I'm not the biggest fan of Wiz or the Fast and Furious movie franchise, but this song has me in tears every time I hear it. Rest in power, Paul Walker.

Also attached is a photo of Jen without braces!

And last but not least, happy birthday to me!! I remember thinking that I'd never live to see the age of 15, but here I am. You guys make me so happy and thank you for being such a great part of my life.

Do not hesitate to leave a comment!!! They make my day so much better!

I love you all dearly!

-Gracie