Just The Same

Chapter Twenty Three.

I wanna be involved in your game..

I was sat on the bean bags watching the guys rehearse, this had become a regular thing, I felt like I lived here in the corner, just watching them do what they love to do, a lot like they come to support me, that's how this business worked, you had to support people to be successful. "Whatcha doing" Sam voice calls, as he plonks himself down next to me, his hair stuck around his face from sweat. "Watching you work a sweat up" I chuckle, as he takes a towel from the towel rack and wipes his face, letting the towel fall in his lap. "What was that? You want a hug? Oh of course" he chuckles, as he wraps his bare arms around me and pulls me into him as I laugh loud and try to crawl out of his grip "Sam come on, let me go" I scream, as he picks me up and swings me around, us both laughing to ourselves, looking at the others watching us with amused smirks, everyone apart from Perri that was.

Perri's stare was cold, it was an emotion I hadn't seen him have in the time of knowing him, in the time of being around him. "There you go princess" Sam chuckles as he puts me back on the ground and I wipe my arms from the sweaty feeling. "You my friend, you are disgusting" I chuckle, as he bows his head smiling at me. I shake my head and sit back down on the beanbag, pulling the notebook I had been writing in previously back to my lap and scanning over the new song I had been working on.

"What you been working on then?" Sam asks sitting back down next to me as Jordan and Warren join us. "Just some random lines that have come to me over the last few days, I just can't get it to fit" I whisper, as Sams eyes scan over my book, the book no one ever got to read. "Erase the picture, there's a smudge in the frame?" He questions, as I look across at him smiling. "I'm intrigued" Warren smiles, his smile wide. "Sing it" he states, his eyes not leaving Jordan's who is also smiling ear to ear. "Yo Ash were having a break, Ava's gonna show is what she's been working on" Jordan shouts across the room, as the room falls silent and one by one they all come and sit across from me or around me and I instantly feel the pressure. "It's nothing special, just some words on a page" I mumble, as Perri's sits behind me, putting his arms around me and pulling me close, making me relax. "Anything you do is amazing babe" he whispers, placing a kiss to the top of my head, making the group around us 'awe'.

I nod my head, and open the page before, seeing the verse I had began to write.

"Erase the picture, there's a smudge in the frame" I sing, my eyes firmly placed on the page in front of me, not wanting to look around the room. "Ignore the demons, when they're calling your name. With all the questions, that spin in your head, it's best to leave them, the answers instead" I sing, and then hum the melody that i has started in my head, every pair of eyes firmly placed on me, all of them watching me with intent, much like how I watched them rehearse, how I watched them interact with each other. I stop making a noise, and look over the scribbles on the page, nothing was set in stone.

"You amaze me with the talent you have" Sam smiles at me, his smile beaming towards me as I feel Perri's arms tighten around my waist. "I could say the same with all of you guys, you never fail to amaze me" I smile, as the group laugh and talk amongst themselves. "I was thinking we could have a film night at mine? I've got a lot of snacks that need eating before Ash puts us all on some weird vegan diet" Sam chuckles, his eyes not leaving mine. I feel Perri place another kiss to my temple, his grip still tight around my waist, but it wasn't an uncomfortable grip, it felt like a 'she's mine back off' grip. "Wait, when did this happen?" Ashley asks, smiling in the direction of me and Perri. "It's been a while but it was official last night" he smiles, his voice vibrating down my ear making me shiver which made Perri chuckle, as I hide my face in his chest. "Well, I don't think I've ever seen you this happy" Ashley smiles, making me smile, I had seen a difference in Perri, and it was nice to know that I was apart of that, that I was apart of this moment in time. "So, film night at Sams who is down?" Warren asks the group as majority nod their head. I look up to Perri who's brown eyes are fixed on mine, his small smile on his face. "I'm busy, but you can go if you like" he whispers, as my eyebrows knit together, what plans did he have?

I shrug it off, and the boys go back to rehearsal. I stand up, stretching my legs and Sam pulls me into a hug, making me laugh. "I just want to say I'm glad we got to know you, I'm incredibly proud of how far you've come and what you're going to achieve, I'm glad to be apart of this" he whispers, not letting me go from the hug just yet. I feel the tears lace my eyes, the emotion of someone being proud making me want to cry, making me feel like I could get through anything. But as I pull away from the hug and thank him I see the cold brown eyes staring at me from across the room, his face hard, his jaw clenched.

Was Perri Kiely really jealous, or was this all part of the act?