all mine | ft. michael clifford

ten;

The first time I'd heard Michael sing, I knew he was good. Hell, I knew he was incredible. When I'd listened to those 5SOS songs in the car, I knew that they were incredible; all of them. What I wasn't prepared for though, was how good they would sound singing acoustic in their lounge at night with only lamps lighting the room.

Luke and Michael had acoustic guitars, Calum had set up and plugged in his bass and Ashton was sat on a cajon, smashing out the percussion. The music alone was great; they were all in time and the sound was full and complete. And then they started singing and I swear my mouth dropped somewhere throughout the song.

They'd sung a song of theirs that I hadn't heard before, "Voodoo Doll". Melissa and Olivia knew all the words and I wished that I did too. Most importantly, though, they all seemed to have a shit load of fun while singing. Luke's voice sounded autotuned – that was how good he was. Calum too. It became apparent pretty quickly that they could all sing, really well. I watched Ashton play, glancing at Olivia whose eyes were already on him. And Michael freaking Clifford. I could have watched him play, and sing, for forever. The whole time, it seemed like he was joking about something and the smile on my face only grew as they went on.

Talent. That was the only way to describe it. It was fun and effortless and they were all brilliant at what they did.

We clapped as they finished and I was completely blown away.

"Requests?" Calum asked dramatically, sweeping his hand out in a grand gesture.

"She Looks So Perfect," Olivia suggested.

"No, Beside You," Melissa argued.

They argued for a second before Luke looked to me. "Mali, which one?"

"Yeah, Mals," Ashton agreed. "Beside You or She Looks So Perfect?"

I looked to Liv and then Mel and then to the 5SOS boys. "Wrapped Around Your Finger?"

They seemed puzzled and laughter broke out.

"You said you'd never heard us?" Calum accused with a grin.

I shrugged. "I forgot that I knew about this one."

It was a lie. Since that time in the car, I'd gone home and listened to WAYF at least twenty more times. I knew all the words off by heart and felt kind of stalkerish to even admit to it.

They played it and it was even better hearing it in person than it would ever be on YouTube.

I didn't sing along. I didn't really want them to know that I'd been listening to them when they weren't around; that seemed a little crazy.

I liked the emotion on all of their faces as they sang and I liked the lovestruck look on Mel and Liv's faces while they watched. I liked the energy. I liked the whole situation, experience.

I didn't want them to stop. I felt comfortable, tucked up in Michael's shirt beside my two new girlfriends, watching my other new friends play music for us. I felt so real. I felt so me.

***

STEP FIVE: NAIL DOWN THAT JOB.

9am on the Monday of the following week approached quickly and before I knew it I was walking along Pepper Street towards Dough Boy's Doughnuts for my first, introductory shift.

It didn't feel like I'd been there a week. Time had flown and I'd never felt so comfortable living in a place before despite my little meltdown at the 5SOS apartment. I felt like I'd lived there since always. Living at the Hollowed-Inn had been a relaxing change and I found myself wanting to stay there forever. But, with this new week came a new challenge; racking up enough money to pay for another week's accommodation.