I stared horrified at the little girl who had her eyes bugged out, watching the both of us like a hawk. I spring away from Austin to the end of the couch, clearing my throat. Austin sits up and glares at Layla. She smiles at him and sits down on her tiny chair like a princess. She crosses her legs and stares at the TV, humming under her breath.
I look at Austin and find him staring at me with an amused smile on his face, I blush and look at the TV, slapping myself mentally as his soft deep chuckles cut the awkwardness.
I turn and glare at him, folding my arms and focusing on the TV.
But it's kinda hard to focus on something in front of you that doesn't take as much attention as the thing that's beside you.
Like you're made to eat a whole plate of cold hard oats, while there are a whole cookie jar and a cake beside you, but if you're caught looking at the sweet heavenly blessings, you'll be so dealt with.
So yes.
After a while, Layla's yawns start getting louder and longer until she stands up, rubbing her eyes.
"Goodnight April, I'd have stayed till you left but it's way past my bedtime, and mom's gonna kill me if I'm still asleep by twelve tomorrow." She murmurs and I smile at her, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Goodnight sweetie." She smiles tiredly and staggers away. I stand and start to follow her but Austin tugs the sleeve of my jacket.
"No, she doesn't let anyone in her room except my mom, I was only allowed because it's my house. And she hates bedtime stories, she'd get bored and pull out a box of nail polish and start painting her nails." He says and my brows shoot up.
Savagery.
I slowly sit down and pull out my phone, checking to see if I got any message from anyone at home.
"Hey, you hungry?" He asks and I look at him, shrugging. He stands up and holds his hand out for me.
You know that moment when you're already in a comfortable position on the couch and someone tells you to stand up and you start pushing yourself into the couch even though you know you can't get any further into it?
Yeah.
The look on Austin's face says it all, I'm not going anywhere.
I sigh in defeat and hold my hand out. He stiffens and throws a pillow at my head softly.
"Hey!" I yell and hear his laughter.
Now I lost my comfy spot.
Ugh!
I stand up and follow him into the kitchen, biting my lip from yelling at him. I don't think I want to know what will happen if Layla wakes up from her sleep.
That girl could be Temi's replacement and you wouldn't even be able to tell the difference... well except the height.
I see him digging his fridge for something and I'm tempted to drop-kick him into the fridge. Talk about coming up next on WWE, am I right?
He pulls out a fruit cup and I immediately melt, my lower lip quivering.
These things are heaven.
He hands it to me and I pout, collecting it from him and I sit down.
"Thanks." I whisper and he does a shoulder shrug, grabbing his cereal box. We stay in silence, enjoying our snack until his phone starts ringing. He looks at it and a bright smile stretches across his lips.
"Hey," he starts as he answers the call. I tune out of his conversation, looking around.
I pull out the pencil I always keep in the jacket and grab the napkin, drawing lines against the surface.
Temi and Lola and May will soon be leaving for their dance tour and June will be leaving for her next show in China. I'll be left with Chase for two weeks until he has to leave for college again, or he might not go back until the end of this year, who knows?
I'm practically going to be the only person in the whole condo.
I'll just move back to our house down in England, with mom and dad.
Or I could stay in our house right here and still be lonely.
I hate being alone.
High school was never this hard, although I'm way past it, I still miss those days. Where there wasn't too much worry about trying to prove yourself, and everything, it's a lot of stress.
I miss those days where I didn't have to choose between photography and being a sketch and portrait artist.
Sigh.
I wish I could just eat all the fruit cups I can in this world and no one will criticize me.
"Hey, April?" I hear Austin call and I look up, removed completely from my thoughts. His blue eyes are fixed onto mine and his hands are half raised, his brows up like in surprise.
I bite my lip and blink slowly at him, tapping the pencil against the table, like a drop of water falling from a leaking tap.
"What are you doing?" He asks and I look down at what I was drawing, pushing my lip out to the side. My eyes widen in surprise as I look at what I have been drawing.
It's a little creature, tiptoeing on water, at night, with a boy hanging from the moon upside down, his legs providing support for him.
It's something I didn't even see but had seen.
How confusing is that?
I slowly pick it up, staring at it and a smile makes its way to my face.
I have exactly what I'm going to submit to the art gallery.
°>°>°>°
I sit down on the stool, wiping off the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. I lick my lips, closing my eyes, careful not to get paint onto my face and hair. After I had left Austin's place that night, I got everything I needed out.
Chase was kinda freaked out when he saw me running around the house at four a.m, and everyone else was asleep.
He had to lock me up in my room and play some love song for me. I cried and went to bed.
I told you all I am emotional sometimes.
After I pleaded with him for nearly three hours, he let me leave the house to get more paint, glow in the dark paints. I started working on the painting two days ago and I'm not nearly finished. I have to submit the work next tomorrow or else I'm going to have my head chopped off by my dearest sister, June.
I mentioned it to Austin and he said he might be there. I guess he has an interview around that day or something.
"April?" I hear a familiar voice ask and I look up.
My eyes widen and I spring up, running to tackle her. She tried to run away but I get to her before and tackle her to the floor, crushing her with my weight.
"Ugh, April get off me!" She yells and I smile and kiss her cheeks before I stand up. I immediately get angry again and glare at her as she starts dusting herself off.
"You Macy Anderson have not been answering my calls and texts! And then you dare to come here and call my name! Explain yourself, a married woman!" I accuse and she rolls her eyes, jerking her head a little to the door. She starts walking out and I follow happily behind.
When we get to the living room, I see Adam playing with Chase like they used to do, good old times.
"Hey, Adam!"
He pauses the game and turns to me, pulling me to hip bump with him, he side hugs me, making sure not to touch my skin too much. I laugh and tap his shoulder lightly. Once I'm able to detach myself from him, I realize that I still have paint on my body.
Eh, who cares?
"I know you guys said you were coming over but then that got postponed, so what happened?" I ask and a smile spreads on both of their faces.
Adam sits down on the loveseat and I stare at Temi and Lola. They just shrug, also looking at them questioningly.
I stand beside the couch that May and June were seated, my brows furrowing with every second of silence.
Macy pulls out a box and gives it to me, I open it and look inside, seeing the baby socks that I always used to make fun of her when we were kids.
I have one like this but mine's with ducks, hers is cows. And at five, she thought ducks moo.
Exactly.
I laugh at the memory and look at her, but still not having any idea why she'd give me the socks.
"You know my birthday is not this year right?" I ask her and she rolls her eyes.
"Yes I know, gosh can you be any dumber?" She asks and I gasp.
"Hey! Now you know-"
"I'm pregnant!"
"-that I... What?" I blink at her. Everyone else is shocked, quiet, and gaping with their jaws slack. Even Chase!
"I'm pregnant." She laughs and Adam smiles, kissing her temple.
"Ew!" June suddenly shrieks. We all turn to her and she looks red.
"Why is that disgusting?" May asks, her perfect brows furrowing.
"I just thought how could she be pregnant and I saw Adam kiss her temple and well, I pieced two and two together." She mutters and I furrow my brows.
What is she-
Oh!
I turn red immediately and Chase starts laughing before he narrows his eyes at May. I look at her and find her red, looking down.
Le gasp!
"Why are you red?" He asks and we all move closer, even Macy. She doesn't seem to be upset that the attention has been taken away from her. She knows she'll grab it soon enough, and for the whole night.
"What?" May's tiny voice asks and she shrinks into the couch.
"Why are you red?"
"Maybe it's because I understand what June is talking about, I'm older than you for Cheetos' sake!" She says and Temi starts crying hysterically, yelling something like 'Omo mi o!'
I roll my eyes at her and Lola starts rubbing her back, murmuring soft words to her.
"Hey, congrats big guy," Chase says and slaps Adam on the back. He nods to him and grabs the game controller from the couch, taking place to continue his game.
Macy stands up and walks to me and I pull her into a bone-crushing hug.
"Ap, I can't breathe." She manages to say and I release her, laughing softly.
"Congrats, how long are you?" I ask as we walk up the stairs, Lola yelling that they'd come upstairs when they can calm Temi down.
She overdoes it sometimes.
"Five weeks, Adam passed out." She says and I laugh.
"Wouldn't put it past the chicken."
We reach my room and I kick the door open.
"I guess some things never change even after highschool." She says as she studies my room.
"Pfft, come on, I've practically been living in that room for two days, just painting! And I'm not halfway done." I complain and fall back on my bed. She laughs and slaps my thigh.
"Same old you."
"Same old me. But enough about me, I like talking about me, but we're not gonna talk about me."
"Isn't that what you're doing?"
"That's not the point. Now you, we," I said clapping my hands together loudly, "Are going to celebrate with the girls, Capri-Sonne like highschool graduation?" I ask and a sly smirk covers Macy's face.
"Like high school graduation!"
°>°>°>°
Adam, Storm, and Chase got tons of Capri-Sonne's for us and left for some football match or something, with the instructions 'Knock yourselves out'
That is not what you tell girls who are about to get high on Capri-Sonne's, especially violent girls like my sisters and best friends, one of who is also pregnant.
No matter how innocent May looks, sometimes she gets more violent than June.
So as the adult here, I'm cleaning up the mess I wasn't able to stop them from making while they're passed out from too much drinking on the couches.
Yes, from Capri-Sonne's.
When I'm done, I walk up the stairs to my room and take a quick shower, drying my hair. I tie my hair up once I'm done and walk out, I can hear Temi's loud snores battling with Macy's.
It's a war to the death.
Or to the awakening...
My phone starts vibrating and I grab it from the table, rubbing my eyes.
"Yeah?" I say as I answer it.
"Hey, my fav Ap!"
"What?"
"It's Austin, I just thought that'd be cool to say, it sounded better in my head though, anyways, is water wet?" He asks and I pause.
"What?"
"Is water wet?" He asks again and I start blinking slowly.
"Yes?"
"Oh, but how?" He asks and I can almost see him folding his hands.
"Because it's water, I don't know!" I say frustrated and lie flat on the bed, feeling the coolness of the sheets on my skin.
"But if you pour water on something, it gets wet, but when you pour water on water, it's the same!" He exclaims and I roll my eyes.
"Alright, whatever you say Austin." I sigh, looking at the ceiling.
"You're tired huh?" He asks, his voice low and serious. I nod but remember that he can't see me.
"Yeah." I yawn and he chuckles. A smile comes onto my lips and I lick them.
"But you don't wanna sleep right now?" He asks, a little unsure.
"Yeah, I still have to wait for the guys to be back," I respond and I hear him humming before he crashes into something.
A small chuckle escapes my lips and I rub my eyes.
"Why don't we FaceTime while you wait for the guys?" He asks and I shrug.
"Sure."
The call ends and some seconds later, I pick up the FaceTime, and Austin's face comes into view.
"So, where are your family?" He asks, chewing on a piece of breadsticks.
"Downstairs, passed out from too much Capri-Sonne, if you listen hard, you'll hear Temi's snores," I say and he smiles.
This is better.
This is nice.
As long as I don't think about my painting that's to be done, everything is better.
I look at the time, 3:26 a.m.
Yeah, everything is better at 3:26 a.m.
"Like high passed out?" He asks. I look back at him and now, he's in his room, changing his shirt.
And damn, he has a fine body.
"Like what you see?" He asks, noticing I haven't answered his question.
"Oh whatever, yes I was staring at you, sue me okay, I have eyes too you know, and I can appreciate a fine body if I see one!" I rush out and he raises his brows.
"You think my body is fine?"
Well, shoot.