close as strangers | calum hood

fifteen

Jaden

As soon as 14 hit, the doors opened and the venue quickly reached maximum capacity. The doors were quickly closed again. Having known that the 5 Seconds of Summer boys helped promote the event, I was surprised to see many older guests, not just teenage girls. The atmosphere was quiet, aside from soft conversations around the room. Everyone was observing and appreciating the art.

It made me so happy.

"So you're Jaden," A kind middle aged woman walked up to me as I stood in a corner, observing everyone.

"I am." I replied with a smile.

"Your work is fantastic. Are they for sale?" She asked.

I shook my head no, "Unfortunately all the pieces are just for viewing." I mentioned.

"About that!" I heard Matthew call from the snacks table. His voice easily roared over the quiet crowd.

"Many of these pieces will be up for auction at 20! Auction tickets are limited, so grab your ticket while you can!" Matt said, motioning to the basket labelled auction tickets from beside him.

The lady smiled at me before walking off to grab an auction ticket from Matthew. I stood there, in shock.

People want to buy my art?

Holy.

Throughout the day, people came and went. I had the chance to meet a ton of people who appreciated my art, as well as converse with the other artists and talk about our passions. It truly was an amazing day. To top it off, the auction tickets went by pretty quickly. A lot of people wanted to buy my art.

Around 19, I ventured off into the closed kitchen doors, where I saw the 5 Seconds of Summer boys waiting it out. They all looked up at me from their seats when I walked in.

"Hey! How's it going out there, Picasso?" Ashton asked.

I giggled, "Amazing. Thank you so much guys."

With my gratitude, the boys all looked at each other, sharing glances, then turned their attention back at me.

"Are we forgiven?" Luke asked.

The question made my eyes burn with tears. They really wanted me to forgive them? These boys went above and beyond to get me to forgive them?

Lingering on the right way to answer the question, I finally spoke. "I love you guys."

All the boys stood with soft smiles on their faces.

"Lukey, of course you're all forgiven."

With my statement, they all drowned me in a giant hug. Their tall bodies covered me from all angles, and I was trapped in their embrace. It reminded me of all the love I felt from them before they started leaving me. It was pure.

-

Once 20 hit, everyone began leaving. With the building empty, the boys quickly collected all the artwork and displayed the ones that were being auctioned. The empty floor was filled with the same amount of seats there were tickets. With the setup complete, they began testing the mic system.

"Is this loud enough?" Matthew asked as he spoke into the microphone.

"All good!" Mikey gave a thumbs up from the back of the room.

"So we're good to go!" Calum gave the clear. The 5 Seconds of Summer boys retreated back into the kitchen as the doors were opened. Everyone was checked for their tickets and let into the small venue. Quickly, each seat was taken. Guests were whispering to each other, I can assume about which pieces they'd like to buy.