Make believe

Chapter 22

Ashton's drumsticks bounced against the skin of his drums with force, starting off the song, creating a fast tempo. His arms tensed and untensed with every pound to the drums as his hands worked together to create a rhythmic beat. We were back at the apartment, in a room I had never been in before. It was big and spacious, and had great, wide windows which let in tons of natural light. The hardwood floors looked perfectly clean and scratch-free; the white walls were littered with various concert/band posters. Michael had informed us that the room was soundproof, which struck me as odd. What apartment just randomly has a sound-proof room? I began wondering if they knew they were going to be staying there a while, they had maybe gotten it custom-made.

Thick black cords streamed through the room, connecting to guitars and amps. I wondered how we had managed to not trip over a single one entering. Surprisingly, the room held no couch. No chair. No nothing to sit on. Luke pulled two large speakers across from the room and set them directly from where their instruments were set up. As he pulled mine to its place, I hovered near by, feeling helpless as he made me a place to sit. I watched him settle it down to the floor, careful not to scratch the wood. He leaned down, bent over, checking and making sure the speakers were switched off. With careful hands, his fingers twisted a nob and pressed a few buttons then waited for the green light to go off.

His thin shirt clung to his back, then fell loosely over his stomach as he was bend over; his hair falling lightly over his eyes. Out of the corner of his eyes, I saw he had caught me staring. He swallowed and stood to his full height, seizing to break eye-contact. Luke smiled and I felt myself relax.

"This alright?"

"Yeah, of course." I grinned. "It's fine."

He nodded slightly then proceeded to switch Aubree's speaker off as the boys tuned their instruments in the background. He finished, then walked over to retrieve his guitar to begin tuning it. His slender fingers gently plucked at the strings, random ones at random times, checking to see if they were correct. Though it wasn't any sort of melody, it was still almost pretty- the mixture of chords. The boys took a few more minutes to perfect their instruments. Aubree sat to my left and silently admired them and their instruments, a look of amazement and pure respect written across her face. Even from an early age, she had taken a sort of fascination to music, or more specifically- making it.

She had been to more concerts than I could count, and was the reason I even went to my first one, thus getting me hooked. Aubree had always wanted to learn guitar. Or violin. Or piano. Anything really, though she never got around to it. I watched her watching then with wonder in her grey eyes, and couldn't help but think she'd be amazing at guitar. Or piano. Or anything she tried, really.

I gazed out the massive window to our left and saw a beautifully simple view. It was no New York City landscape, but there was something comforting in the simplicity of seeing the the great big, blue sky hovering over our tiny, little town. Seeing the houses I walked by everyday and seeing the yards I played in as a child. The busy streets and the elementary school I went to, and finally, the rolling hills in the distance.

As Ashton began beating his drums, my attention was torn from the view and focused on the four boys in front of us. He played a little while on his own, and soon, Calum's bass added to the melody Ashton had created. As Ashton played, he let his head bob up and down with the beat, smiling widely and every now and then, making eye contact with me. Calum, on the other hand had gotten completely lost in the music. I had never seen the boy look so serious before. His eyes were cast down at his instrument as he plucked softly, his expression calm and almost a little sad. He played so intensely, you could hear it in his music.

The fast tempo slowly died down as Michael and Luke joined in, adding to the sound. The lilac-haired boy jokingly struck the guitar, his body moving out of rhythm with the song and he looked happy. A silly smile danced on his dark lips as he opened them and began singing.