shy ; l.hemmings

quatre

"are you sure you and lucas are just doing your assignment? or are you doing... more?" my mother asks me, driving to luke's house. she wiggles her eyebrows at me.

"yea, mom. we're also gonna bake cookies and give them to the needy!" i exclaim, fake happily. my mom turns to me again and gives me a, "what the fuck is wrong with you?" look. i laugh at her reaction and she shakes her head laughing a little.

"that's not what i meant and you know that. you're just trying to ignore it." she says. i roll my eyes.

"mom, i've never talked to this kid. ever. we just started talking 2 days ago and you actually expect me to hook up with him already? no way." i tell her, looking out the window. i hear her laugh.

"he's a handsome boy. what should i expect? if i wear you i would-"

"MOM, PLEASE." i say loudly. she starts laughing. i groan and sink down in my seat.

this is what i have to live with. my dad is worse though. he likes to act "hip" and cool around my friends. heres a hint: he doesn't act "hip" around my friends.

we pull up in front of luke's house. he gave his address after school. his house is an average one. it wasn't too big or too small. it made me smile a little how cute the house is. there are flowers planted along the sides of the house. the house is colored light gray. the house gave me a warm feeling.

"okay, ill pick you up in about 2 hours. i'll see you then." my mom tells me. i nod and get out of the car. she waves goodbye to me before driving away. i sigh and start to walk up the steps. i've never actually been to a guy's house before. well, i've never had any guy friends in general.

i knock on the door a few times. no one answers. i knock again louder this time, still no one answers. i sigh in frustration. i then start to hear sounds coming from inside the house. well, not really sounds... but music.

i press my ear against the front door to see if the music is coming from there. it isnt.

i try to follow the music, and i go down the steps and to the side of the house, where the garage is. i realize that the garage isn't entirely closed, but kind of open.

"no no no, michael. those arent the right lyrics! read the paper!" i hear someone say. i raise my eyebrow and go closer to the garage.

"alright, i got it. lets take it from the top." someone else says. i hear the sounds of squeaking chairs and then i hear someone counting off.

"one two, one two three four," someone boldly says. i then hear it again, music.

i hear guitars, drums, and soon a very beautiful voice.

"even when the sky is falling down,

even when the earth is crumbling 'round my feet" someone sings. i gasp, but then cover my mouth. it sounded so great. was it luke singing this?

"even when we try to say goodbye,

you can cut the tension with a knife, in here" i hear another voice sing, and someone else harmonizes.

and they continue to sing all the way to the chorus. i manage to squeeze through the gap of the garage's big door and the ground. i lay on my stomach and slide inside the garage. when i stand, i see a couch facing forward, a huge blue carpet that surrounds the whole garage floor, some random posters of music artists on the walls, and 4 boys either holding their guitar or sitting on an acoustic drum box.

they dont notice me as they keep performing, they lay their heads low, obviously into the music they are currently playing. i sit on the couch and watch as they sing and play. it's so cool to see ashton, michael, calum, and luke sing and play their hearts out. it's like they're meant to be doing this. what surprised me is how luke never stuttered as he sang. it's like he never in his life did stutter.

"we just gotta get out

we just gotta get out" luke sings. they all strum their last few chords and they all sigh in relief. they look up and their mouths drop open.

i dont know how, but i realize that i am clapping really hard and fast. i give them a smile and i stand up.

"you all are brilliant! that was amazing!" i praise them. they look at each other and their faces turn red. luke puts his guitar down and walks up to me.

"w-what are you d-doing here?" luke stutters. i frown once he started to stutter again. i guess he couldn't talk without stuttering.

"our project? remember? oh lord, im so sorry for interrupting your practice or.. yea!" i awkwardly tell them. i wasn't sure if this was a practice or not. i wasn't sure what this is.

the other guys walk towards me and they give me smiles.

"oh no its fine, we were just leaving." ashton says.

"do you really mean it? are we really good?" calum asks me, his eyes are full of hope. i smile at him.

" you guys arent just good... you guys are.. are super GREAT. i didn't know you guys are in a band." i say, laughing a little. michael, calum, and ashton laugh. luke frowns at me.

"we're not a b-band." luke tells me. ashton puts his arm around luke.

"ah, lucas. lighten up! you dont have to keep it a secret anymore." ashton jokes. he pinches luke's cheeks and luke shoves him away laughing.

"we even have a band name! it's called 5 seconds of summer!" calum excitedly says.

"i came up with it! dont take all the credit, cal pal." micahel says, grinning. calum's face turns red and he faces michael.

"YOU KNOW I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE CALL ME CAL PAL, YOU DICK." calum loudly says. michael shrugs and suddenly calum jumps on michael and they both land on the floor. they both start to playfully punch each other. i take a step back and shake my head.

"alright guys, l-leave." luke tells the others. they all look at luke and groan.

"COULD WE PLEASE STAY? WE COULD HELP YOU WITH YOUR PROJECT!" ashton suggests, whining a bit. luke rolls his eyes.

"n-no." luke says. the boys groan and one by one they wave goodbye to me and exits the garage. i sit on the couch again, and i open my backpack, trying to find the paper we used earlier.

"you didn't have to be rude to them you know. if you want your band to be a secret, i wont tell anyone." i tell luke as i find the paper and grab a pen. luke sits next to me.

"i wasn't r-rude." he quietly says. i look at him and look back at the paper.

"whatever you say." i casually say. he shrugs and grabs the paper and pen from me and starts writing stuff down.

i look up and still see the instruments leaving against the walls.

"luke, i heard you sing... and you sound so great! i realized you didn't stutter. did you-"

"l-look, i dont want to talk about me and m-my stuttering. i-it wont go away." luke says, looking right in my eyes. i look down. i never meet my eyes with people. i dont like it at all.

"luke, i could help you..." i tell him. i hear him sigh. when i look up again, he is looking down at the paper.

"n-no one wants to h-help me." luke softly says. i lean closer to him and take a deep breath.

i know luke is my friend, and i would want the best for him. but really, i want to be someone who helps others when i grow up. i love helping people and their problems. seeing them finally see the brightness out of their darkness gives me a warm feeling. i can tell myself that i helped that person. it makes me feel good about myself.

i look at luke this time, he looks in my eyes. and this time, i didnt turn away or look down.

"but i'm not just anyone, luke."