hard | daniel seavey

chapter forty

The songs on the album played as background music of their release party. Their record label had cleared an entire floor for the occasion and their team decorated it black and white to match the album cover. Everyone was here, celebrating the boys and their success. It was less than an hour till midnight, less than an hour until their first album would drop.

Daniel and I stood with Jack, Gabbie, and one of their crew members, talking about their upcoming tour when Kay walked over to me. She pulled me aside and looked at me worriedly.

"I hate to pull you away, but I'm worried about Zach. It could be just me, but he just isn't acting like himself tonight." Kay sighed, trying to look for Zach in the crowd. I saw him almost immediately, sliding open the glass door and stepping outside. "I've tried talking to him myself, but he just kind of shrugged it off. I figured since you're his best friend, maybe you can talk to him?"

"Yea, of course. Just tell Daniel where I am for me?" I squeezed her hand reassuringly before following Zach onto the patio.

He stood with his arms crossed, looking over the now dark sky. He looked over at me, slightly smiling before looking back up at the sky.

"Everything okay?" I asked, leaning against the railing. Zach sighed heavily and sat down in one of the chairs.

"I'm just a little overwhelmed. It's all hitting me now. It feels like yesterday when my friends posted that video of me singing in the hallway. Now here I am, at my band's first album release party. Sometimes I think about what my life would be like if that video was never posted." Zach's voice trailed as he rambled on.

"Well," I sat in the chair beside him. He looked over at me, waiting for me to finish. "I think that every one has a purpose in life. And clearly, music is yours. There's really no doubt in that. But I think if that video was never posted, you'd still be where you are right now. I believe that regardless of how you would've gotten here, we'd still be having this conversation."

"And to think, if I wasn't a musician, I'd probably sent off to medical school or something." He joked, laughing lightly and kicking a rock on the ground.

"I almost did," I confessed, remember the day I told Daniel the same story. I told Zach the story, how my parents supported by writing but didn't believe it would take off, how I still went and applied for UCLA anyways and it became the greatest decision of my life. "It's weird how life works. It seems that no matter what, you'll eventually end up where you need to be, with who you're meant to be with, and doing what you should be doing."

Zach was about to say something, but the door slid open and Jonah's head peeked through.

"3 minutes guys!" He called out to us. We both stood, about to go inside, but Zach grabbed my wrist gently.

"Thank you for coming out here and talking to me. I'm sure you would've rather been inside with Daniel, but I really appreciate you being here for me." Zach said, pulling me into a hug.

"You're my best friend, of course I'm going to be here for you." I looked through the glass doors, my eyes landing on Kay. She was talking to Tate, but it was clear her mind was elsewhere. "Now I think you need to go and talk to Kay. She was really worried about you."

Zach nodded and we walked back inside. He made a beeline straight to Kay, whispering something in her ear that made her face light up. I smiled at them before walking around to find Daniel. He stood in the same spot from when I left, looking at his phone.

"Why aren't you socializing? This is your party after all, Dani." I wrapped my arms around his torso, resting my chin on his chest and looking up at him.

"I was actually," He playfully rolled his eyes and rested his hands on my lower back. "But Jonah went to bring everyone in for the countdown."

I looked at the clock on the wall. 11:59. Only one minute. Everyone crowded around a tv screen that was now counting down from 15. Daniel held me close to him with an excited grin on his face. I stood on my toes and kissed his cheek, causing his face to grow red.

"5...4...3...2...1!" Everyone yelled and cheered. It was midnight and Why Don't We's album was finally out. After months of them putting their all into their music, it's finally out for the world to listen to.

"It still blows my mind," Daniel said as we walked to his car. The party had died down around 12:30 and people started to make their way out, Daniel and I included. He turned around to face me, walking backwards. "We have an album."

"It's crazy," I took his hand and pulled him to me. Through the darkness, his eyes still were crystal clear blue. I wrapped my arms around his torso and smiled up at him. "I'm so proud of you, Dani."

"Thank you, Pretty Girl. I don't think I would've been able to do it without you." He leaned down and left a long, lingering kiss on my lips before pulling me to his car.