"Stuck In The Friend-Zone Again and Again"

"So I Played Along"

After breakfast, I went upstairs and showered, needing to feel clean after being on a plane for so long and then staying up all night.

It also offered a nice opportunity to cry without being heard.

I had brought my clothes into the bathroom with me, so after I brushed my wet hair and pulled it into a tight top knot, I changed into my chosen outfit.

I had picked out a light/dark thin striped grey flowy tank top with light blue denim shorts. I paired it with a blue and white cotton flannel since it was too hot for a sweater.
(I guess you could say it wasn't Sweater Weather. No? Okay.)

By the time I was done, Jack was hammering at the door, going on about needing to pee or something.
I rolled my eyes, knowing full well there were two other bathrooms in the house.
I unlocked and opened the door, Luke's shirt and shorts in hand.
"Finally," he sighed.
"There are other bathrooms in this house jackass," I mumbled, not intending him to hear it.
"Well that's not nice," Jack said, obviously hearing me, amusement in his tone.
Gaining confidence, I feigned innocence. "What? I thought that's what Jack was short for?"
Jack snorted, shutting the door as I turned away from him and went back to my room.

I folded all of my clothes and put them into drawers or hung them up, not wanting to live out of suitcases for a month; I would be doing that the whole time we were on tour.

A showered and dressed Luke appeared at my door just as I was stowing the suitcases away in the closet.
"You've been busy," Luke smiled at me.
I smiled back, shrugging. "I like keeping myself busy. It helps distract me, remember?"
He nodded, coming into my room and sitting on my bed beside me.
"What do you want to do today?" He asked me.
"I'm not sure," I said. "What do you usually do?"
Luke shrugged his shoulders. "Jam with the guys. Go to the beach. Hang by the pool. Take a tour around Sydney."
I stifled a yawn. "Let's save the exciting stuff for when I'm not so tired, yeah?"
"So hanging out?" Luke asked.
I nodded, smiling. "Jamming sounds fun."
"You mean you'll sing?" Luke asked, like a small child on Christmas.
I blushed, looking at my blue painted toes. "Maybe a little. I'll play for sure."
Luke sprung up from the bed, grabbing my hand and yanking me up along with him.
"What are we waiting for?" Luke cried happily. "Let's call the boys!"
I laughed at his childishness, letting him pull me downstairs to his basement.
He tugged me down to sit on the couch with him, and texted each of the boys to come over.

There was a piano up against the wall, a drum set in the corner, a bunch of guitars scattered around, and I was itching to play every instrument in the room.
I looked at Luke. "Can I play something?"
Luke smiled. "Anything."
I jumped up and ran to the piano, lightly running my fingers over the keys affectionately.
I sat down on the bench, smiling, and began to play a tune that was familiar to only me.
I wrote it, before Jake... well... you know, when I first realized I was in love.
It was a good song, so even though I was in the depths of heartache, I was still going to play it.
Nonetheless, tears sprung up in my eyes.

Luke sat down beside me, watching my fingers.
"Does it have words?" Luke asked me.
I nodded.
"Sing them?" He begged.
I took a moment to gather my senses, then seamlessly started the song again.

"We were friends, but not that close, you made a move and I suppose that that was the beginning. Now you're my other half. 1+1, simple math. I love you, do you love me?
Oooooh babe, keep the lonely at bay. Make it okay. Tell me lies until they come true.
And I've never been good at saying what I feel, but I know I love you.
Darling you're perfect, darling you're great. You're all I need to keep me safe and out of harm's way.
And yeah I have walls but you're breaking them down. You keep the smile that could be a frown. The thing in this world that keeps me sound.
Oooooh babe, keep the lonely at bay. Make it okay. Tell me lies until they come true.
And I've never been good at saying what I feel, but I know I love you.
You're my knight in shining armour keeping the monsters away.
And you're dong a great job keeping the lonely at bay.
You're wonderful and right for me.
You're a promise that I would keep.
Talk until I fall asleep.
Baby.
Oooooh babe, keep the lonely at bay. Make it okay. Tell me lies until they come true.
And I've never been good at saying what I feel, but I know I love you."

I played out the song, looking at my hands with tears running down my face.
"That was amazing!" Luke exclaimed, looking at the piano in awe.
He turned to me, about to say something else, when his smile dropped.
"What's wrong?"
I sniffed, wiping my face. "Nothing."
"You're crying," he pointed out gently.
"It's just a meaningful song," I half-lied.
It was meaningful, but those weren't happy tears.
I turned to Luke, looking at him through my lashes, and saw he had a pained look on his face.
"Are you okay?" I asked, placing a hand on his arm.
The look disappeared.
"Fine. Why do you ask?" He replied quickly.
"I just..." I trailed off. I shook my head. "Never mind."
Luke put his hand on my shoulder. "That song was incredible."
I smiled. "The voice might be off, but the lyrics are solid."
"Everything about it was awesome," Luke insisted.
I smiled. "Thanks."

A sudden clatter came from the stairway, and Calum, Ashton, and Michael burst in.
"Sorry we're late," Calum apologized. "Ashton picked us up on his way."
Luke and I nodded, getting up from the piano bench.
"Are we jamming?" Michael asked.
"Yeah," Luke nodded.
"Awesome," Ashton said, heading back to the drums.
Michael and Luke both picked up a guitar, and I followed suit.
"What are we playing?" I asked, adjusting the strap on the guitar to fit me.
"You pick," Luke said.
"Teenage Dream," I decided.
The boys all nodded, preparing to play.
"You'll sing?" Luke said.
I sighed. "I guess so."
The boys cheered, and I rolled my eyes, laughing.

We started in on the song, and I began to sing.
"You think I'm pretty without any make up on, you think I'm funny, when I got the punchline wrong..."

We hit the chorus and I forgot that famous rock stars were watching me, I just let go.
"You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream. The way you turn me on, I can't sleep. Let's run away and don't ever look back, don't ever look back!"

We finished the song, and I laughed, totally energized.
"That was awesome!" I exclaimed. "I wish my friends all knew instruments."
"None of your friends play instruments while you're over here playing 3 like a pro?" Ashton chuckled.
"Well Alice plays guitar," I corrected myself. "So we sometimes do duets. But it's not the same as having guitar and bass and drums and vocals."
"Maybe you should join the band," Calum joked.
"Then maybe people would stop calling you guys a boyband," I rolled my eyes, smiling at the stupidness of people.
"Or the next One Direction," Michael added.
I groaned. "That takes the cake in dumbest things people say."
"Or when people say we're British," Luke laughed. "Like can you not tell the difference between an Australian accent and a British one?"
"Oh my god one time I literally had an argument about this with this girl," I laughed. "She said you guys were British and I was like okay no but she insisted. So I google it on my phone right? 5 Seconds of Summer, Australian band. And she insists that it's wrong."
The boys all burst out laughing.

Being with the boys and just having fun took my mind away from Jake, which thankfully aided me in my charade that I was perfectly okay.

They didn't need to know, as far as I was concerned.

A/N: credit to me for the song? Not that you would want to steal it cause it's AWFUL but I've got a much better one on the way which I recorded and put on YouTube if you guys want a sneak peak, Unhappy Endings-Original song by Mia The Future.
Thanksssss!