The Mess We Made (C.H) [ON HOLD]

Chapter 1 - Mia

Running my hand over the soft wood of my guitar, I felt a small smile creep onto my face for the first time since Ben died. The familiar weight of it sat on my lap gave me comfort and made me feel a little bit more normal.

But nothing was really normal anymore, especially since my parents had sent me to live with my brother Alex in Australia.

I missed a lot of things about home, like the constant rain, but it's better for me to be somewhere new - somewhere I can start again and not be reminded about Ben at every moment.

As I slid my fingers along the fretboard and onto the strings, I started to pick out the notes for the introduction to Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. The song held so many memories of sitting in the floor singing to anything with my best friends Lily and Emma as we fangirled about Lawson and All Time Low.

They are the people I miss the most - I have known Lily since I was ten and we were always cracking jokes and laughing at each other. Emma was the newest addition to our little group, but she fitted in perfectly. She was the exact representation of the saying 'Don't judge a book by its cover', as she looked all innocent and girly, but spent all her time listening to Bring Me The Horizon and Of Mice & Men.

A knock on my bedroom door pulled me out of my memories, and Alex poked his head around the door.

"Hey Mia!" He grinned. "Hey Lex what's up?" I questioned.

Alex and I get on really well - probably because we hardly ever got the chance to chat. It was kinda hard keeping in touch with someone who lived on the other side of the planet, but Skype and Facebook helped. He was the type of guy who could charm anyone in a matter of minutes - he was everyone's friend and a grin was always plastered to his face. He had the coolest taste in music - it was scarily similar to my own, just with a bit less All Time Low and more of The Summer Set. Appart from our music tastes though, we couldn't look less like siblings. He is 22 and has been living in Australia ever since he finished school, so he is really tanned. His blonde hair and tall, muscular frame fitted the sufer dude steriotype perfectly and his thick accent always makes me smile. On the other hand, I am an average height, have dark brown hair that hangs straight to the bottom of my ribcage and am always pale.

"Sounds good Mia! Anyway I just wanted to warn you that a couple of the lads are coming over in a bit so it might get loud!" He laughed.

Fake groaning, I squealed "Eewwww yucky boys with germs and stuff!"

Giggling at his mock glare, I propped my guitar against my wardrobe and grabbed my phone from my bed

"Are you sure you're 17 Mia?" Alex joked, "You should come down and say hey - they haven't stopped bugging me about meeting you!" He winked.

"Oh god Alex what have you been saying about me?"

"Oh you know just that you have the mental age of a four years old and that you fangirl way too much about every band you hear." He murmured.

"ALEXANDER CHRISTOPHER LEWIS PLEASE TELL ME YOU ARE JOKING!" I yelled across the room, reaching over to mess up his floppy blonde hair.

"Noooo not my hair not my hair I was joking I promise!" He squealed, knocking my hands away and running down the stairs.

Laughing at his childish behavior, I turned to my bed, grabbing the book that I was half way through. As I settled down to continue reading, I grabbed my phone and pushed my headphones into my ears, blocking out the sound of Alex downstairs and filling my ears with Crash by You Me At Six.

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About an hour later, I finally finished the last page of my book. Hearing voices from downstairs, I realised that the guys that Alex told me about must have arrived whilst I was stuck in my book. Deciding that I probably should go down and meet them, I pushed myself up from the floor and made my way downstairs. Pausing to glance in the mirror hanging in the hallway, I adjusted my green beanie and carried on towards the male laughter and something that sounded like the giggle of a school girl coming from the living room.

Following the noise, I stopped for a second outside the door. I could hear Alex and what seemed like four other guys, but they sound weirdly familiar to me. Shaking off the feeling of recognition, I pushed open the door and stepped inside the room.

Oh.

My.

God.

The four boys sat on the couches and each other all turned to stare at me, confirming my suspicions.

My brother's best friends were really, really hot.