Crash

Chapter 15

"So your name is actually Aodhan?" I was genuinely shocked by the revelation.

"Yup." Danny responded, with an amused look on his face. He continued to eat his taco, while I stared at him absolutely blown away.

"That's so cool! Why'd you shorten it to Danny? Aodhan is much better in my opinion." I couldn't understand it. Danny was such a dated name. Fit for a 30 something, not a teenager.

"Because, Annabelle, not everyone is Scottish or Irish." He spoke as though that answered my question. When he saw my continued confusion, he elaborated.

"People can't comprehend that 'A-O-D-H-A-N' is pronounced 'Aidan', so I made it easier." Once again, he returned to his taco. 

I had found myself getting used to Crash and Burn constantly being around me and my friends. I wouldn't go so far as to say I was friends with them, however, I didn't mind them.

With the exception of Kyle of course.

Following the little "incident" in our music class, Scott had made the executive decision of placing Kyle in a group with James and I. Of course I argued for goodness knows how long, but I think Scott just wanted to see me suffer.

Kyle smirked the entire time, then when it was all said and done, he messed with James' hair and hung his arms around both of our shoulders, bringing our new "group" into a tight embrace. 

What a pest.

The bell rang a little while later and we all made our way to the food trucks. Somehow we ended up smack bang in the middle of a conversation about Danny's real name.

"So from now on, can I call you Aodhan then?" I looked up at the boy. And when I say looked up, I mean I really strained my neck to meet his eyes. 

I'm pretty average in terms of my height, so I had gotten used to being around people that were taller than me. Crash and Burn were all at least 6 feet, but Danny was on a level of his own. He looked 6'5 to me, but that was just a guess. I would have to give it a Google later.

"I actually prefer Aodhan." He smiled shyly.

Then, of course, during this moment between us, the pest had to make his presence know. It was like Kyle wasn't content with being a background character in anyone's life. He always had to be the centre of attention.

"I think Danny boy suits you more, though." He said, stepping right between the two of us. I instinctually rolled my eyes. 

"I think being far away from Aodhan and I suits you more." I retorted, tilting my head to the side and squinting a little. My tone was extremely patronising and the tall boy beside me let out a loud laugh.

Kyle, however, was not impressed by my comment. But to my surprise, he bit his tongue and went to take a seat beside Jay. 

Danny and waited for me to finish grabbing my serviettes (I use a lot) and we made our way to the table. By the time we had reached it, he was already done with his first taco. 

I made my way to the empty seat beside James, and he looked up at me with the softest smile that somehow managed to reach his eyes. I smiled back at him and sat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You look nice." I could hear the smile on my mom's face before I even turned around to face her. I muttered a thanks as nonchalantly as possible, but I remained facing away from her.

I poured milk into my bowl, then followed that up with cereal. Yes, milk before the cereal, don't fight me.

"Any particular reason you've decided not to dress like the son I never had?" She sounded smug. I couldn't take it anymore. I turned around to face her.

She raised an eyebrow. 

We both burst out laughing. 

Mom had long accepted the fact that I was an enigma when it came to the way I dressed. In fact she would say I was "complex" or "multi-layered". I could go for months exclusively wearing plaid, then all of a sudden, I would wear nothing but yellow.

This morning I had settled on a pastel pink sweater, black skinny jeans and black boots. 

My mom and I spoke animatedly, while we ate our breakfast. I really enjoyed the time I had alone with her. My older brother had received a scholarship to study something fancy at the University of British Columbia, and my little sister started school at an earlier time than me, so Dad took her to school because it was near his office. Mom started work at 10, so we always had time together.

I said bye to her, then made my way over to my car. As promised, James had helped me with getting the rear of my car fixed, so my parents had been oblivious to what had conspired.

As soon as I turned the car on, I was met with the sound of Frank Ocean's voice. My sister had left her iPod in my car. I am glad to say that she had never fallen into the world of boybands (well, aside for Brockhampton, but they were acceptable). I didn't mind her music, so it accompanied me on my way to school.

~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as I stepped out of my car, I felt my arm being yanked. 

"Tash, could you at least let me lock my door before manhandling me." I lightly pushed her. She, in turn, rolled her eyes and said something about me being too slow.

"I have some exciting news." She practically shrieked, bobbing up and down in a way that effectively communicated to me that she was bursting to tell me the news.

"Well?" Her excitement level immediately passed on to me. We had been friends for so long, that it felt like any good thing that happened to her, was a good thing happening to me and vice versa. 

"We have to find Jay first." 

I gasped. It must have been huge news, if she had to tell Jay and I at the same time. We immediately bolted to his locker - and luckily, we found Jay there.

"Natasha has news." I practically ran into the unsuspecting boy. He immediately caught on to how frantically excited we were.

"Woah, woah, woah, breathe," we did as we were told, "now talk."

"I have an audition!" She squealed.

We waited expectantly.

"Julliard!"

Immediately I let out a god awful scream and pulled her into a tight embrace. We both started jumping up and down. This was her dream. It was within reach. This was huge.

Shit.

College.

~~~~

A/N

HELLO! IT HAS BEEN WHAT? 2 YEARS??? 

I am so sorry that this is such a filler chapter, but I just wanted y'all to know I am still alive

ALSO I am so very sorry for the lack of updating. A lot has happened since the last update. But I'm back!!!!! COVID-19 has really cleared up my schedule lol.

Also also, please teach me how to use wattpad again. It looks completely different to what I remember? Maybe I'm just getting old.

But anyway, do feel free to comment, vote, whatever else you do on wattpad. Lemme know what you think! ALSO THANKS FOR ALL THE READS THIS IS INSANE