The Boy Band Who Adopted Me!

Chapter 5: AWOL

AN: Ref photo for Jamie. Imagine the hair as dark red :)

Cody munched on his cookie while Will, Emmett, and Jamie discussed the day.

"Where's Gav?" Will asked. Gav?

"Haven't seen him all day," Jamie replied bluntly. His voice was low, but powerful, as if he could cause an earthquake by speaking too loud. He ran a hand through his cherry locks with deliberation. "He hasn't texted either of us. Cody?"

Cody quickly chewed his mouthful of cookie, one eyebrow raised. "Nope, not a hint."

"Well," Will said, "When was the last time you saw him?"

"It was at Friday's concert, at the end of the night," Cody replied. Worry began to etch itself onto his usually-bright face as he recalled the details. Concert? Just who were they talking about?

"He... got a text and reacted really badly to it. Then he just... disappeared."

Will winced, with an expression of confusion and concern. "That was three days ago. Didn't you guys go to check on him?"

"Of course," Emmett said softly, "but his sister answered instead and told us that he said he went on a 'road trip'. She said he'd be back soon and that he was fine, so we tried not to worry about it." 

Cody's jaw dropped, and then he promptly closed it, leaning in to listen intently.

I tried not to say anything; I felt like I was hearing a little too much for someone who had only just met these people. Was everything at Carroll this dramatic?

Everyone at the table was quiet for a moment. Then Will stood up, wiped his mouth, and emptied his tray before setting it down on top of the trash can. 

"We're going to go get him."

I looked on in disbelief. What was I supposed to say?

Jamie put his hands on the table and rose to his full posture. With his back straight, he seemed much larger. Necklaces jingled against his chest. "What? This can't be like last time."

Last time? Oh, boy. I nervously played with a lock of my hair, wondering who 'Gav' was, and why he was just missing.

"We can't be sure," Will said sternly. "We care about Gavin and we need to know where he's going. There's no way we're staying here, that's for sure." He paused for a moment, then added: "Lucy didn't say where exactly this 'road trip' was taking him?"

"No," Emmett admitted. "If she had, we would have gone after him."

"Will's right," Cody said, standing up to empty his tray. "The last time Gav went on a 'road trip', he ended up in the hospital."

Everyone looked at Cody, including me. "What?" Will uttered in disbelief. Had none of the guys heard this news? They all seemed dumbfounded.

 "Okay, we seriously have to go," Will said. "Right now. Come on, guys." He slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and looked at me.

"You too, Alex. You're part of the gang."

I was incredibly shocked, confused, and felt out-of-place. I had no business going around chasing missing best friends with boys I'd known for less than a lunch period. But then again, I was awfully lonely, and had nothing to do besides wait in my dorm for Maisy to come back.

Stunned into silence, I merely nodded. Will gave a small nod back, then turned on his heel and headed for the parking lot.

"Road trip!" Cody blurted out. Jamie looked at him sideways