Youngblood

Chapter 1: Meet You There

Venus

Venus was very late for work.

Running downstairs to check her mail in the morning, she found the MEET YOU THERE tickets she had pre-ordered online. Finally... Something good happening in her life. She was quick to take out her phone and snap a picture of the tickets she bought for her and her best friend, and posting a tweet.

@Venus5SOS tweeted: So fucking stoked to see my boys in Sydney again!!!!!!! forever worshipping Youngblood 😍😍😍

Her eight hundred thousand something followers were quick to reply, saying how lucky she was and saying they would be happy to meet her there.

It was like this for every concert she went to. She couldn't remember the number of times she'd seen 5 Seconds of Summer live. If anyone was a dedicated fan, it was her. She was dedicated to the point that her job seemed to always come last in her list of priorities, to the point where she didn't even realize her shift had started, until Ro, her friend from work, flooded her with text messages.

She slid her bare feet into her favorite black vans, her eyes focused on the wide screen of her iPhone, responding to her followers and on texting Ro. She stepped out of her apartment without taking a jacket to wear over her plaid skirt and white shirt. Paula was going to fire her!

Empty Wallets played through the speakers as she slid out of her parking space smoothly and zoomed between cars to get to the breakfast bar in which she waited tables. The clock in her car blinked 10:57, making her two hours late. She drove at an illegal speed, dashing down the highway to get to Paula's on time.

She didn't. In fact, the moment she stepped in, she noticed the new girl wearing her uniform, putting her hair in a ponytail and running between tables. It was then that she saw Paula, glaring at her from her office. She motioned for her to follow her, and she wasn't looking happy. Venus hung her head in shame as she walked across the place she had been working at for two years.

Paula's greying head was dipped in disappointment as Venus took a seat facing her. "Two hours late. Three if you count pre-opening."

"I'm so sorry, Paula-"

"This has been going on for a whole month! You can't expect me to let you stay." The old lady shook her head firmly.

"Look, it's not that big of a deal, no one really comes here so early in the morning!" Venus knew her words insulted her by the way her manicured hand flew to her chest dramatically.

"You should be happy I knew your parents, young lady, or else I would've-"

"You would've what? Fired me? You've already found my replacement." She stood up harshly. "You didn't fire me. I quit. I. QUIT. I QUIT." And, for her signature dramatic effect, Venus flashed Paula her leopard print bra, before walking out of the office feeling proud.

She only realized she wasn't really jobless when she stepped out into the wind. "Fucking bitch." She let out an evil laugh, before walking two blocks to West Dance Studio, where the elitist of the elite were taught. She walked into the stone building as if she owned the place, her legs carrying her into the familiar corridors until she reached the class she knew so well. She opened the door without knocking, interrupting a very heated up dance routine between a thin blonde girl, and her ex-boyfriend, the owner of the studio, Weston.

"Westy!" She sang sarcastically, "You little slut."

"What are you doing here, Venus?" He asked, exasperated, stepping closer to the lanky blonde who hung to him like fungus.

"Accepting your offer of a job position." She locked her hands in front of her like an innocent nun.

"That was two years ago, and besides," he looked her up and down, "we're no longer dating."

"Don't mix business with sentiment, little Westy." She was getting on his nerves and she knew it. "You know I'm more competent than half the teachers in this lousy school."

"Can we get back to dancing, West?" The blonde girl squeaked, her spandex tights and fishnet shirt hiding little of her skin.

"Shut up, you bitch." Venus spat, and turned to her ex, a wide grin splitting her freckled face. "What do you say?"

Weston knew talent when he saw it, and looking a little defeated, he nodded his head, untying himself from the little devil.

Venus followed him to the main office and watched with admiration as he filled her forms and called her old students. He sure was a piece of eye-candy. Venus remembered how close the two of them were before the incident. Giving her a key to the lounge, he sighed loudly. "You know where everything is."

Venus went home after that, balancing all the money she made working at Paula's. It wasn't much, but it was more than what Jewel's paid. It was enough to cover her rent, but didn't cover any other payments. Not to mention she had a shitload of stuff to buy.

She binge-watched a show on Netflix, then had herself a five-hour bubble bath. She danced sexily to her idols' Valentine as she dressed herself for bed. She thought hazily of her days at school, of the boy she didn't know she loved. She was emotional to the point where she started crying. She played some music, but hearing his voice wasn't comforting as she dozed off into sleep.

She was 16 again. She was in her favorite navy-blue swimsuit, paddling in the neck-high water of a lake. She recognized these woods, it was where they shared their first kiss. As if she summoned him with her thoughts, he was right next to her.

"Oh, it's you." She laughed as he splashed her with water, his shirtless torso glistened with water and left her weak. She familiarly pressed her lips to his, tasting her own tears.

"I miss you, Venus." He kissed her forehead.

"Why didn't you say goodbye?" She asked, desperate to know why.

"I have to go..." He smiled, his eyes bright with happiness, but she was falling apart. Suddenly, he was on the banks of the lake. He turned his back to her, and walked awya, fully-dressed and dry.

"Where are you going? Don't leave me alone!" She panicked, "You can't leave without saying goodbye again!" She cried, "Calum!"

She woke up with a cold sweat, her dream flying out of her reach before she could remember what it was. When she pressed her hand to her face, it was wet with tears.