messages from her.

01.

OMNISCIENT.

"Austin Porter?" The mail carrier asked as Nick opened the door for him. "Um no, but I can get him real quick." The second eldest boy of the house said as he stepped back and summoned Austin.

The cheery foe blond came into view a few seconds later smiling at the mail man. "For me? Thank you." He smiled and signed which sent the carrier back on his way. He set the package down beside the door and sighed.

"Aren't you gonna open it, fool?" Nick asked but Austin shook his head.

"I'm gonna wait, I'm in the middle of painting and I'm going to lose focus over that mysterious package." He said going back to his hallway set us as seen in the band stories.

"Is this the one that's going up in my room?" Nick asked. "The one with the big dragon?" He inquired further. "Yeah, it should be dry by tomorrow, is that good?"

"Yeah it's whatever." Nick played Chiquita through the house speakers causing Austin and himself to break into dance as they worked on the pieces of artwork.

•••

For the remainder of the night the two, with a couple appearances from the other three boys and a few members of 360, the boys started a live while they added a few things to their paintings individually. Once they finished they showed the fans as they were proud of their work, Austin because he was progressing in an area he was fond of and Nick simply because he did something with his hands that appeared to be beautiful.

"Thank you, Kaedance, I worked hard." He said thanking a random fan complementing his work as his smile beamed. "Nick, you fool, put it down before it drips, it's not dry."

"Well oops, let me live out my happiness." He rolled his eyes as they set the fresh work aside leaving them with nothing to do. "Okay bro I'm bored."

"Me too what should we do, we started this live five minutes ago and we can't just end it." Nick complained.

"Why don't I open my package?"

"If you want, it's your business, not mine." Nick replied scratching the back of his neck as Austin got up and went to go retrieve it while Nick explained what was happening.

"Earlier a package came for Austin and he didn't know where it came from." With that Austin's lanky body found its way back to the chair it was perched in before.

"Hand me that knife." He instructed as he placed the medium sized box on the table. Nick did as told holding the knife down because he cares about his peers. "Safety first kids, we prevent accidents here- well most of them."

"Get out." Austin shoo'd in no need of this slander as he stabbed the small slit inbetween the flaps of the box held together by tape. He slid the knife from the farthest end to him and opened the box discarding of the knife on another counter.

When he pulled back the flaps he was shocked as to see a hoodie at first, it was one of his own old ones. The forest green thrasher hoodie he lost after he moved from North Carolina permanently. After the disappearance of his girlfriend he didn't want to be reminded of the place they shared; it was the home of them both and he didn't want to make it with anyone else so he chose to escape.

A pain stricken look etched over Austin's face as he subconsciously placed the hoodie on the counter and moved to the next item. It was a necklace with the promise ring Austin got the same girlfriend for their four year anniversary. It symbolized the love he'd had for her since the sixth grade and even though she may never get to live the rest of his life with her he was happy he got to live a big piece of her own with him.

A tear fell down his cheek as he picked up the stack of polaroids and photo booth card pictures and he was met with her beautiful tanned skin and wavy curly fro he fell so deeply in love with. He sniffled as he let himself remember her while rummaging through the box filled with every documented memory they had together.

He pulled out a dog tag with his and her initials carved into the metal handing onto a chain making him completely break down. "Her empty casket was buried with every other piece of jewelry she had except for this one." He whispered to himself forgetting he was even in the presence of a couple thousand people and he didn't care quite frankly. He was more curious than ever to how it ended up in his hands if she was supposedly dead, according to the state of North Carolina.

"She told me she'd never take it off after she put it on in the seventh grade when we made them together and she didn't; and I did." He became angry at himself for doing so but once he couldn't find her and found out no one else could either he became worried. After a straight year of not being able to find her he lost hope and took it off for the simple fact that he was under the impression she wasn't coming back. He didn't have the heart to remember her if he wasn't even she was alive to remember at all. In every way, shape, and form he belonged to her as she did him and the main cause was that tag he could no longer hold onto.

"I left it that day and I'm sorry." He said as his thumb caressed over her poor lettering causing him to slightly chuckle. By this time nick had ended the live for the sake of Austin and his privacy. He patted Austin on the back bringing him back from his trance, "I'm sorry man." He sympathized.

"I'm fine." He wiped at his eyes as the other boys came downstairs about to head out but stopped once the six eyes landed upon him.

"Bro what's wrong with Austin?" Zion asked as he was the closest to him and was the one to overreact and overprotective the group alongside Nick.

"He's going through something I can't explain but give him some time before you ask him about it." Nick said as the four went back up the stairs.

Austin was zoned back in and way more interested with the treasures of his past then the concern of his housemates. Once he reached the end of the many contents of the box he found a stack of letters all addressed to him with no stamps or return address, all tied by two thin leather scraps.

He searched through them and seen the oldest one was made in 2016, the day she disappeared and the latest was Easter of 2019, just a week before he received the letters. He knew that by opening them he would be opening years worth of pain back up for himself yet he still unraveled the letters and let them fall as they pleased across the counter before embarking on the oldest.

•••

AALIYAH.
I cried a little bit so ig it's time to update the only two books that aren't flopping and my Edwin one ig.
This is unedited at the moment.