In the Clouds

Ch. 1

        "Jade, pass the popcorn," I whispered. She didn't reply. I took a closer look at her, noticing that she had a headphone in one of her ears. She was also on twitter checking 5sos's account for the umpteenth time today. I sighed. I'll just get it myself. I stumbled off from the couch and took the bowl of popcorn from next to her. Same pink bowl, same living room, same type of popcorn, too. It was just like our typical sleepover, except it wasn't. I couldn't help but miss they way we used to laugh at corny jokes in movies, the way we used to share our deepest secrets about boys and all the girl-drama at school, the way we used to talk to each other. Just talk. Talk about something other than 5 Seconds of Summer. They have become her life. They're like an infectious disease that has taken over her body. She can't control it, and she doesn't want to.

"Look at this, Lexi!" Jade cheerfully held her iphone up to my face. It was a picture of her favorite- Ashton.

"Cool," I replied, being unenthusiastic.

"Come on!" she rolled her eyes, smiling, "How can you not love that face?" she pointed to the phone.

"I just don't like him the way you do, to be honest I don't like any of them," I lied.

"Whatever, they are adorable, and you know it!" she chirped. I have to admit that they were pretty cute, but I could never give in to Jade like that. If I did, she would annoy me about them a lot more than she already does, thinking that I might become a fan or something. The thing about me is that I'm not a fan. I think wasting as much time as Jade does on a band every single day is beyond ridiculous. Their music was pretty good, I liked the rock vibe to it. But that's only because I've always liked rock music. I like some Green Day, some All Time Low, some Three Days Grace, and a whole bunch of other bands. I wouldn't consider myself a huge fan of anyone or anything. I'm not obsessive like her, a fangirl like her, or crazy like her. It's too bad all the other girls at our school, including me, grew out of the fangirl phase back in 8th grade. Jade really has no one to talk to about 5sos. Except her best friend. Lucky me.

        I've always hated Mondays, and today was no exception. While in English class, everyone was listening in to a conversation between Jade and our teacher, Mr. Martin.

        "This is not the first time I've had to mark an assignment as 'incomplete' for you, Jade," Mr. Martin pointed out.

        "I know, I know, I've just been umm..." Jade bit her lip, "busy lately" she complained.

        "Well, I better have that essay in by tomorrow!" Mr. Martin demanded.

        "Yes, Mr. Martin," Jade whined as she slipped back in to her seat. She pulled at her blue shirt, which brought out the color of her ocean-like eyes. I, and only I, know why she was written as incomplete. She was more than just busy. She was hypnotized by 5sos. I know that not all fangirls let their fangirling get in the way of their grades, but Jade does. No matter how much I helped her and studied with her, it was no use. I'm a parrot to her, repeating how much she let them take over her life. It always ended the same, she'd accuse me of acting like her parents and promising to calm down about it a little bit. She never did.

"Ugh, here he goes again," Jade mouthed to me from her seat, rolling her eyes. I smiled back to her. I honestly liked Mr. Martin, he was one of those teachers that didn't take everything too seriously and sometimes joked around. Just like every teacher, though, he did have a strict face that he used from time to time. Boy, did Jade know that face all too well! I really did feel bad for her when he ordered her to do things, although she rightfully deserved it. She slacked off on her work all the time.

        Things used to be the other way around. I used to be the day-dreaming one while she maintained the best average grades all year long. Just like everything else in our relationship, that has obviously changed. Again, because of 5sos. That band has literally made her have a different life. To her, everything revolves around them. Everything. Here her and I were, juniors in high school. Her head was in the clouds, just as mine was a few years back. Other things, besides our ability to focus, have changed as well. She was always a pretty girl, to me at least, but ever since 5sos became the spotlight in her life she's begun to replicate a model. She has straight, silky blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her hair was long, in fact it went all the way down to her tiny waist. I never thought of myself as ugly but never as pretty either. People have told me I'm beautiful, but people have also told me to not care about what others thought about me. I had brown hair that reached past my shoulders a little. My eyes were a warm hazel. When I was younger they used to be a brigher shade of green, they are much darker now. They almost look brown. People would only know that they were hazel if they got *thisclose* to me. Now that we were in May, my eyes were a bit brighter than they were in winter time, but nothing can compare to they way they shined when I was a young child.

       Jade took a bit longer than usual to drop me off at my house that day after school, as it became evident that I was forgetting that the best day of her life was approaching.

        "You don't remember at all?" she questioned, placing her hands on her hips while holding back a smile "I've only been talking about it for a year!" she finished. She suddenly looked upset, hurt even, that I could forget such a thing. She was still, though, trying to hold back a smile. To be honest, I kind of zoned out a bit when she started to talk about 5sos, if I didn't zone out then I would know more about them then they knew about themselves. This was why I usually didn't remember important things.

        "I'm sorry," I began, knowing I should prepare myself for a least three days of her being upset at me, "just tell me what's so important," I urged. Whatever was coming up probably was as big of a deal as she said it was. In times like these, she would be very upset at me for forgetting something, but today she couldn't stop smiling even when tried to be mad. She was very dramatic about everything, but whatever was coming had to be big if she could not stay mad.

        "I can't hold it in any longer! That 5sos concert! It's next week!" she blurted out, her smile going from ear to ear. She seemed so happy. She then started crying, which would make most people concerned and maybe even confused. But having been a fan-girl's best friend for years, I knew this was a good sign. "I have meet and greet tickets," she sobbed, "we have meet and greet tickets," she then corrected. She looked as if she was about to faint, and all I could wonder was- why was she making such a big deal about meeting them?  Doesn't she know that they are just regular people too? I, apparantly, had to go to this concert and meet and greet with her. She had no one else to go with, as none of our friends liked them the way she did. After taking about ten minutes to calm her down so that she became stable enough to drive home, I opened the door and walked up the driveway to my house. This week was going to be a roller coaster of emotions for Jade, and I was stuck on the ride.