The Boy Band Who Adopted Me!

Chapter 9: Musical Exchanges

AN: GIF is reference for Jamie :)

I woke up in a different position than the one I fell asleep in. My senses slowly came to me as I realized I was resting on something plush and soft, with the faintest smell of vanilla.

I surveyed my surroundings quickly and realized I'd fallen asleep on Emmett's shoulder.

"Oh, are you awake?" he said, a soft smile on his angel face.

"I'm sorry!" I exclaimed, sitting upright. There was the imprint of my cheek on the thick fabric of his dinosaur hoodie. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay," Emmett reassured me, speaking in his normal silken voice. "I didn't want to disturb you; you looked so peaceful." 

I didn't know what to say, so I repeated "Sorry..."

"It's okay! When we get back to school, we'll grab dinner and then you can sleep."

I smiled at his kindness and looked out the window. The sun was low; it was about 5:00. I was glad to not have any classes, because I missed the entire day. Cody was playing an adventure game on his phone; Jamie was looking out the window, listening to music. Will drove as peacefully as always, silent and pensive.

"Thanks, Emmett. So anyway, can you tell me more about your band?" I looked down at the Hearts for Sharks wristband on my wrist. "Who's in it, just you guys?"

"Well," Emmett began, "Cody plays drums, and like I said, Jamie is on bass. I play backup guitar for Gavin."

"What about Will?"

Emmett's gaze turned toward Will's headrest. "He has stage fright," Emmett whispered. Will didn't seem to be listening. "So he just helps us write songs and take care of appointments and whatnot."

"Like...some sort of songwriting manager?"

"Exactly. He's good with lyrics. And, as you already know, Gavin sings. He's also on lead guitar."

"Good stuff," I said thoughtfully. I craned my neck to look out the back window; Gavin was driving behind us, some distance away, in his car. We pulled into the parking lot with him following.

After Will and Gavin parked, and we were all out of the cars with our backpacks on, ready to go, we headed to dinner.

"What were you guys up to that whole time?" Gavin asked Emmett and Cody, one hand in his front pocket.

"Games," Cody grinned.

"Uh huh; well, Alex and I were talking about Hearts for Sharks," Emmett said.

"Oh, really?" Gavin inquired. "Did you listen to our stuff?"

"I really, really enjoyed it," I said. Gavin's smile seemed to soften in pride for his band.

"She gave us some great feedback," Emmett added. "I recommended she help us write songs."

"Don't take that request lightly," Gavin said teasingly, poking my shoulder. "I'm sure Emmett's serious."

"I am!"

"I told him I wasn't any good with that type of stuff," I said, shaking my hands in the air in front of me. It was taking me time to adjust to being so close to Gavin, or talking to him at all, but I was working on it.

"That can't be true." He looked me directly in the eye. "I can tell there's much more to you than just music appreciation." The corners of his mouth turned in a smile as he put his hands in his hoodie pockets. I felt flattered, but his smile looked all too similar to Matthew's. My mouth went dry at the comparison. I turned back to Emmett without saying anything to Gavin.