Let's Pretend (5sos Adoption Story)

0.1

I tugged at the end of my messy ponytail, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. I'd been sitting in the same spot for about ten minutes, waiting to be picked up. I blew a breath out through my nose, letting my head rest against the seat.

Two days ago, Lillian told me someone wanted to foster me in Australia. I don't know why, but that thought was ridiculous to me. First of all, why Australia? If this person lived in Australia, why travel half way around the world just to have a child with an American accent. What was the difference between me and every other girl and boy in Australia.

I closed my eyes, turning up the volume on my music. My toes tapped to the beat of If It Means a Lot to You by A Day to Remember. My fingers joined in, drumming lightly on the armrest of the cheap airport seat.

If you can wait til I get home,

then I swear to you that we can make this last.

If you can wait til I get home,

Then I swear come tomorrow, this will all be in our past.

I hummed along softly, biting my lip. And second of all, why me? This wasn't really an answerable question. It was rhetorical. It's not as if I was chosen specifically. The foster system worked like this, your social worker finds you a home. It's not like being adopted. When you're adopted, your new adopted parent or parents pick you. I used to think it was random, like a raffle. Sometimes you get the bad homes, sometimes you get the good ones. You just don't know until you get there.

I opened my eyes as someone tapped my shoulder, my tapping and humming coming to an abrupt stop. I yanked an earbud out, turning to see who had interrupted me just as I was really getting into my music.

A boy - well young man really was staring at me with these bright eyes that were something along the lines of hazel. "Hi," he said.

"Can I help you?"

He smiled, showing of a row of perfect white teeth. "So you are Allie."

I stared at him blankly. He must have been Ashton. He was the one who was fostering me. I watched curiously as he turned his head to call over his shoulder, "I told you so!"

Another boy appeared behind him, an asian boy with tanned skin and a goofy grin. He looked no older than seventeen, much younger than the boy who I assumed to be Ashton.(a/n I know he's not actually much younger but he seriously looks like he could be like 17.) He shrugged in Ashton's direction, "well she just didn't look American to me."

"Can you really look American?"

"Do I know you?" I asked suddenly, interrupting their banter.

"Nope," Ashton replied. "But we know you. You're Allie, right?"

I nodded slowly, eyeing the two suspiciously. Ashton grinned wider, if even possible and I suddenly found myself wishing I had sunglasses. (a/n I know, I'm hilarious, right?) "Great!" He said, "I'm Ashton, your new foster dad. You can call me Ash, I guess."

I nodded again, my eyes slid not so subtly towards the other boy in an unmasked suspicion. Ash followed my gaze. "Oh! That's Calum," he explained. "He's a friend. We're sort of in a band and you'll probably be seeing him and the other band members around a lot. They've taken a liking to my house and really barely ever leave." He moved closer, making me shift uncomfortably. "Prepare yourself," he whispered. "Between the three of them, it's amazing I don't have gray hair already."

"Hey!" Calum swatted Ashton sharply on the back.

I can tell he was trying to make me laugh, lighten the mood but I didn't really find Ashton's joke very funny. And in turn that made me feel bad. I offered him a small smile.