My Knight in Shining Armor

Chapter 1: Amie

"Hey Amie!" A voice yelled as I heard my front door slam. I groaned before reluctantly rolling out of bed.

"What?" I yelled back, starting down the stairs. I'd been in my room sleeping until someone started yelling.

"We—did you just get up?" Four people stood at the bottom of the stairs. My cousin, William Andrews and boy who'd spoken, was of average height and slightly stocky with short, chestnut hair and brown eyes. He was also the drummer of the popular English group, Edited. The two other boys and the girl who were gathered next to him were his bandmates and my friends.

The tall, lanky boy with midnight hair that brushed his ears was Christian Cowden, the bassist of Edited. The remaining boy and girl only vaguely looked related despite the fact that they were actually twins. Dylan Kipling, the only female in the group, was practically jumping up and down where she stood causing her long blonde hair to bounce around and get in the way of her hazel eyes. She was the lead singer of Edited and one reason why the band had so many male fans. Her twin brother Alexander Kipling, guitarist of Edited, stood just behind his sister. The tallest of his bandmates at 182cm (6'0), Alexander was toned and liked to keep his messy dirty blond hair short on the sides and long on top. Like his sister, Alexander also sported hazel eyes, ones that were currently twinkling in amusement and aimed up the stairs at me. I grinned at him.

"Yes, William, that's what normal people do at nine in the morning during the summer," I said, looking back at the boy in question as I reached the bottom step. I laughed when I saw him grimace. My cousin hated his full name.

"Man, who cares if we woke her up? We're going on tour!" Dylan yelled excitedly. That took a second to process.

"Wait, what? Tour? That's brilliant!" I said tackling Will in a hug. It was no surprise really, as the band's popularity had only continued to skyrocket after the release of their second album, Masquerade. I let go of Will so I could hug Christian and then Dylan.

"What, no hug for me?" Alexander pretended to pout.

"Oh, get over here you lug," I laughed. I was closer to Alexander than I was with the others except maybe Will, making him my best friend.

He pulled back. "Nice outfit." I looked down, blushing a little as I realized I was still dressed in my pyjamas which, since it was summer, consisted sleep shorts and a tank top. Alexander laughed as I swatted his arm.

"Come on, get dressed. We're going to celebrate." Christian told me.

"Alright." I turned and started heading back up the stairs.

"Hey Ams, wait a moment." I heard Will say behind me. I stopped once I reached the top of the stairs and turned around. "Where are your parents? I thought they were supposed to be home this week and next."

I didn't say anything as I avoided eye contact. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "They're gone again aren't they? They left early?"

I snorted. "No, they didn't even come home. I got an email from my mum saying that they were offered some business deal in Mexico that they just couldn't pass up." I changed my voice toward the end to emulate that of a high-pitched, simpering woman before abruptly switching back to my own. "So yes, they're gone. Again. Or is it since they didn't actually come home this time?"

"Come here, love," Will said, pulling me into a hug. He knew how I felt about my parents' constant absence growing up.

I'd never had a good relationship with my parents mainly because they loved their work and traveling the globe more than their daughter. Usually they would be gone for a few weeks at a time and then would be home for a week or so before leaving again. Sometimes they were gone for months. Even when they were home though, it seemed as if they were still gone because I rarely saw them. If they weren't working, they were taking extravagant vacations. I'd sometimes wondered if the only reason they had me was because they were against abortion. Of course, this was just a guess as I'd never been around them enough to know their favourite food let alone their political views. Honestly, I couldn't really even tell anyone what they did other than that they were businessmen. I'd been raised by nannies until I reached secondary school. Despite that, their obvious disinterest in their only child bothered me. Will pulled away, pulling my thoughts back to the present.