Battle Of The Bands

[03] Adventure of a Lifetime

Picture of Karen Gillan, who plays Piper on the top.

Turn your magic on,

To me she'd say

Everything you want's a dream away

Under this pressure, under this weight

We are diamonds.

~Adventure of a Lifetime, Coldplay

I sighed as I parked my car outside the cafe. I really did not want to go in. I could just sit here forever, I decided. No one would ever find me.

There was a knock on my window and I jumped a mile in the air. I turned to glare at Nate, who was grinning at me. 'Come on out, it's freezing' He mouthed before entering the cafe.

I heaved a sigh, I guess there was no point trying to run away now.

This morning, against my better judgement, I had decided to call Mary, Anna, Carlos and Pete to the cafe as well. We weren't best friends, but we sat at lunch together, and we hung out a lot. I didn't want them to hear from someone else  that I had left, it just wouldn't be fair.

I shoved an unruly piece of red hair behind my ear, and got out of my car.

This was it.

"Hey guys," I said with a forced grin as I approached them. Well it wasn't completely forced because I was always happy to see them.

"Hey girl," Macy greeted me, "We already ordered you a citrus tea and chocolate biscotti."

I grinned at her, "My saviour."

Nate rolled his eyes, "Forget about that. What did you want to tell us?"

I gulped, "Right."

I looked down at my shoes, "Something happened yesterday, and you guys aren't going to be happy about it."

All the friendly buzz and laughter among my friends had stopped and now their  sole focus was on me. I sighed and went on.

"You guys need to understand that this is a big deal for me, okay?"

"What the fuck is it?" Nate cut in, "Pipes, you're scaring me now."

I wordlessly handed him the letter and his eyes scanned the words, Macy reading it from behind his shoulder.

When he looked back at me his eyes were blazing, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

I felt tears starting to rise and I blinked them back, "Nate-" I started to say but he cut in again.

"You're leaving?" He said it like he couldn't believe I would ever even think about it. And he was right, if my parents hadn't done it themselves, I would never even have thought about it.

"My parents sent in the application without telling me," I told him, and everyone else, "I was mad too at first, but then I realised that this is what I really want."

"America?" Macy whispered, and I could she her eyes glistening with tears of her own. "But that's so far away..."

"Wait," Pete said, and my heart fell, "You're going to America? For how long?" I knew Pete had harboured a not so secret crush on me for a few years, and I gave him a small smile, "The entire year," I said, "And the one after that." I turned back to everyone, "But I'll be back for all the vacations, and we'll Skype all the time, okay?"

"This is not okay Piper. None of this is fucking okay." Nate bit out before storming out of the cafe.

I bit my lip as the tears started to fall.

"We'll miss you," Mary told me, grasping my arm softly. Her twin sister Anna nodded from where she was sitting beside her, "School just won't be the same without you."

Carlos just gave me a sad smile. "I'm happy if you're happy," Pete said, nodding at me with a small smile of his own.

I let out a pathetic whimper, "Thanks guys." I whispered.

"What will I do without you Pipey?" Macy said, as the tears started falling down her cheeks as well. "I'll miss you so much." She cried as she clung onto my shoulder, "But you deserve this," She told me honestly, "At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how I feel about it, this is your dream, and I'm so happy for you."

I hiccuped, "You're the best friend a girl could ask for Mace."

She rolled her eyes, which made her look really funny, considering the fact that she had been crying a moment ago. She said, "Of course I am. Now go, you know you want to."

I nodded and gave her a small smile, before I ran out the door. I knew Nate well enough to know where he went when he was angry, or wanted to be left alone.

The treehouse.

We built the treehouse back when we were in fifth grade. Our dads did most of the work, but Nate and I took most of the credit. It was our secret hiding place, and even Macy wasn't allowed up most of the time.

I took the shortcut to Nate's house and immediately saw two familiar legs hanging out from the base.

"Knock knock." I joked from below.

"Go away Piper, I don't want to talk to you." Came the reply from the top.

I rolled my eyes. Gosh, he could be such a kid sometimes.

"Too bad, I'm coming up anyway." I informed him before climbing up the rope ladder and swinging myself up next to him.

"Hey," I said before I came and sat next to him.

The stubborn brat ignored me.

"I'm going to go Natie," I whispered, using my childhood nickname for him, "I want to go. I wish you would understand that. I can't even believe I got in, the school is for the best of the best."

I looked at him. He didn't say anything but I could tell he was listening, so I continued.

"I want you to be happy for me," I admitted, "I won't be happy if I know you're angry with me."

He looked at me, and I almost took a double take when I saw tears in his eyes. I had known Nathaniel Graham Grey my entire life, and never, not even once, had I seen him cry.

"Don't tell me what to do," He grit out, but he gave me a small smile.

I let out a breath. I would miss him the most out of all my friends, that's for sure. I'd known him the longest, it's been just us for as long as I could remember. Our parents had been best friends before us, so really, we didn't have a choice. But I didn't mind. He had become as important to me as my  my guitar arm, I didn't know how to function without him.

But I would have to learn, and so would Nate.

I don't know how long I sat there, next to my best friend. We didn't say a word, but it was in these situations when our silence conveyed more than words ever would.

I didn't know how a lot of things were going to turn out. But here's what I knew for sure at the moment.

At the end of this week I would board a plane that would take me to America.

And it would be the start of a new chapter, a new adventure.

Lolz this update is early even for me. I guess I'm just excited. Enjoy, my little pumpkins.