Saving Us || l.h

T W E N T Y F I V E

I sat on the end of the stage, staring out at the empty arena. One more show. That was it. "Guys, we need to add on more shows!" I call, standing up and walking back to the main stage. Zach looks up from his phone to me with an amused look on his face. "Dylan, take some time off, you were just complaining about wanting a year off. "But what am I supposed to do when the tours over?" "Spend some time with Luke on his tour, I bet he will let you sing at least once."

I shake my head, grabbing a water bottle. "When does everyone get back?" "Soon hopefully, and hopefully they are bringing food." "We could have gotten some on our way back." "I wasn't hungry then." "That was fifteen minutes ago!" "And now I'm hungry! It only takes a second to become hungry!" I sigh, rolling my eyes. "You also could have gone with them, this is your family, I didn't need your help." "Yes you did, you had no idea what you were doing." He laughs.

"Like you had any idea either! We had to ask the lady then she got really confused! She thought we were together and it took me fifteen minutes to explain to her that we weren't!" "Well that's not my fault." "It's not mine either! But I could have done it on my own!" "Well now I'm keeping it safe for you so it's a good thing I went with you, the paps would have gotten interested." "I bought a necklace for Taylor's birthday, hush." "They didn't know that." "I could have told them then told them to shut up about it." He shrugs, checking his phone.

"Oh my god, they have literally been in the same spot for fifteen minutes!" He groans, showing me the phone. I zoom in on the map, letting out another sigh. "That's dominos pizza smartass." He quickly looks at his phone, his mouth forming an O. "And I think they are leaving." "Finally!" He runs backstage, leaving me alone. I slowly head for my dressing room, grabbing my notebook. I have about three songs written that I like, but I'm going to take my time on this album. My second one sold well, but definitely not as well as my first one. I definitely think I can do better.

I decide to call Peter, wanting to discuss the album. "Good morning, Dylan." "It's afternoon, Peter, where you at?" "I'm about to the airport in Los Angeles." "Okie dokie. It's like six there, right?" "Yes, what do you need Dylan?" "I want to talk a little about the next album." "I'm going to let you work on it more instead of moving you from one tour to another with a month of breathing, I'm going to see how you do with nothing planned at the end of your tour and then begin planning albums then get to tours." "Thanks, Peter. So I could take a year to release the next album?" "If you'd like, yes."

I stand there and think for a minute, leaning against the counter. "I only have about three songs done that I like, so it could be a year until we complete the album." "Then so be it, your second album didn't sell as well as we'd hoped but from the few songs I've read that you've sent me, this is getting a little more personal." "Yeah, I'm definitely digging deeper into my emotions with these songs and I think I'm feeling more comfortable sharing them with the world."

"So, we just got to September about a week ago, should we aim for next September or October as the latest for getting out your album?" "Maybe even August, it just depends on how much I'm willing to and able to write. I think because I was so rushed with my second album it didn't go exactly the way we wanted it to." "I'm thinking that as well. When you get back to Los Angeles would you want a week off then get going on recording any songs you know for sure you'd want on the album?" "Give me two weeks off because of the wedding and you've got yourself a deal." "Sounds good, see you in about a day." "Bye Peter, have a good flight." I hang up, putting my phone on the counter and following the voices.

The first thing I see is Zach eating pizza and holding the box under, a bunch of family around him. I steal a bite from his, smiling at the families. "Alright, everyone, this is Dylan." Brad announces. I wave, giving them a smile. "Dylan this is my mom, Miranda, my dad Scott, and my sister, Mandy." Brad introduces. "Nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you guys, all of you."