Too Late? (5SOS)

Chapter 1

TWO YEARS BEFORE PRESENT DAY

My alarm clock finally rang, still scaring the shit out of me. Oh Lord, I've slept at three thirty in the morning and was obliged to wake up two hours later. Now, I literally feel like a zombie.

I grabbed my phone from my dresser, and immediately called Luke. After about what seemed to be eternities, I finally heard his pre-puberty croak call out to me. "Yes, yes! I'm getting up, Tiana. I'm not going to miss the second to the last day of school, okay, bye."

I walked out of my room, and into my kitchen where my older sister Kenzie was waiting for me. "Good morning, sunshine! Wow, don't you look like a breath of fresh air?" she said sarcastically, preparing a bowl of cereal for me.

"Ugh, how can you be so peppy and cheery this time in the morning?" I asked her, annoyed, dragging my feet to my dining chair.

"Well, maybe it's because MY BOSS FREAKING PROMOTED ME, AND WANTS ME TO WORK IN DISNEYLAND, ANAHEIM?" she shouts at the top of her lungs. You see, Kenzie works in Vanguard Tours. Her job is to work eight hours a day doing weird shit such as touring people around the Sydney Opera House and the Koala Sanctuary. She had already mentioned the possibility of us moving to another place soon, but this was the first time it actually happened.

I flash her a sleepy smile. "Good for you, Kenz. I wish I could show you how proud I am, but I can't really open my eyes just yet."

Her jaw drops open flabbergasted. "Is that all you can say, Tatiana?" she exclaims. "'Good for you, Kenz'?" she says, mocking my bedhead voice. "Well, what time did you sleep anyway?"

"Uhm, I don't know... ten o'clock?" I lied. Yeah, I know that Kenzie is only three years older than me, but she is scarier than your average forty something-year old mother.

"WRONG!" she yells, my cellphone in her hand. Shit, why didn't I see that coming? I run up to her and try to snatch my phone from her hands, but I fail to jump to her six-foot reach. "You've been texting Luke again, Tiana. How am I not surprised?"

I sort of redden, and she tosses the phone back to me whilst rolling her eyes. "Okay, okay! You caught me. So what if I was texting Luke until three in the morning?" I say, slumping back into my chair, taking a bite of my Granola Flakes.

Kenzie blows a stray strand of hair away from her face. "So what? So WHAT, Tatiana Deverae Knowles? Do you know that if Mom and Dad were here, they'd totally be against all of this you're doing? We've been warning you that this boy is using you, twisting you around his finger! He's gonna hurt you!

And, I'm sorry to say this but... I'm not sure he treats you more than a friend. Or if he does, I'm not sure he's one to make the first move. Especially now that we're due to leave this Saturday." Kenzie finishes, crossing her arms.

I look up from my bowl of cereal, and I almost choke on my breakfast. "What the fuck, Kenz! We're leaving in two days, and you only tell me NOW?!"

She wags her finger at me, and nags, "Watch your words, young lady. I'm not really supposed to allow profanity, being your guardian and all. But, anyway, I'm sorry! My boss only told me last night as well. But, at least we're leaving just in time for summer, right?"

I don't reply to that, and drink the excess milk left in my bowl. "Which is why, I'm a hundred percent sure that if that Hemmings boy even DID like you, he wouldn't be able to tell you that. Have I made my point clear?" Kenzie told me.

I eye her weirdly before going to the fridge to fetch myself a glass of water. "Oh really? Well, let me propose a bet, dear sister. I'm going to tell Luke I like him TOMORROW, on the last day of school. If he likes me back, you owe me thirty bucks!"

Kenzie was quick to pick up, and replied, "But, if he doesn't like you back, well I'll let you sob your heart out for a while, and then you'll be doing my and your chores for two weeks. Or for short, you'll pretty much be running the whole house."

I smirk, and reach out my hand.

Kenzie offered hers, and I quickly shook it.

"It is on."

-•-•-•-•-

Later on, I found myself in the living hell I was to experience every day for the rest of the year: school. When it came to the popularity game, I was part of the in-between artsy kids. We weren't particularly popular, but we also weren't the ones being beaten up and stuffed into lockers. (Well, except for Luke. But, that was only one occasion.)

I was walking down the hallway, and I was "accidentally" being bumped and shoved by a few members of the A-Team, or the obnoxious, fake popular people. I hissed at them in disgust, and a push came so hard my glasses clattered to the floor. I was about to pick them up to see if the lenses had been damaged, when suddenly I saw a familiar figure pick it up for me.

"You are so accident prone." The comforting voice rang in my ears. Luke. I tried to keep myself from blushing, my eyes darting at his figure. He was wearing his All Time Low band shirt, a pair of what seemed to be shrunken pants and somewhat beat up Vans.

"Like what you see?" he said, winking. He was chewing gum AGAIN, which really meant that he didn't brush his teeth that morning. There were a lot of things to loathe about the guy, but I saw past all those. And I sorta loved him.

I slapped the back of his head. "You are so full of yourself, Lucas!" I said, with a slight smile spreading across my face. "And by the way, mind if I come over to your house tomorrow? I'll need to tell you something really important."

He suddenly stops in the middle of the hallway, and holds me by the shoulders. For a second there I thought he was going to kiss me, but he just asks in this serious tone: "Are you pregnant?"

I erupt into laughter like a maniac, and shout in his face, "NO, it's something else. I just can't tell you here!", I shout with my eyes closed. But, when I blink my eyes open, Luke's talking to two other people to my right.

The first one's wearing a beanie, but I can tell his hair's black. He sort of looks like a koala, in a cute way, and he laughed at every single word Luke said. The other one though looked like an emo punk, with his blond hair swept to the side.

Once Luke notices that he's left me standing there for about ten minutes, he finally calls me over to introduce me to them. "Oh wait, and I almost forgot. Tatiana, these are my soon-to-be bandmates, Calum Hood and Michael Clifford. Cal, Mike, this is Tiana, my best friend."

"Hey," they say in unison. I flash them a toothy grin, and ask, "Wow, soon-to-be bandmates? When were you going to tell me about this, Hemmings?" I ask, punching his arm playfully.

He shoots me a weird glance. "Do I have to, T? It's not like you're my girlfriend or anything," he replies. All the boys laugh heartily, while I'm stuck there thinking, Oh fuck. Do I have to start practicing house chores?

Suddenly, I hear the deafening bell ring. I glance at my watch, and realize I'm running five minutes late for Science period. I scoff, and bolt past the three without saying goodbye.

-•-•-•-•-

Hey, guys! How are you liking all this so far? :) This chapter and the next will be purely based on flashbacks. The fourth one will finally be set in the present day.

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- AussieFreaks