I'm Amazed That I Got This Far

Kalen's P.O.V.

"Are the guys on their way back?" I asked Britton, as we sat in her family room, watching re-runs of Criminal Minds.

"That's what Kennedy said." Britton shrugged, as she shut her cell phone. "He said they'll be here in, like, five minutes."

I nodded and rested my head on my hand, before she looked over at me. "Are you going to tell John that you went and saw your parents?"

"I mean, yeah." I sighed. "I'm not going to just act like it didn't happen. And if he finds out later, he'd probably be pissed that I never told him."

"That's true. I think that's the right thing to do." She nodded. "I wish you luck."

"Thanks." I chuckled.

"Where are you two staying tonight?" She wondered.

"I have no idea." I said, heaving a sigh. "Probably in his car."

"Do you guys want to stay here? I mean, my parents won't mind." She said.

"You guys have school tomorrow; we can't get in your guys' way." I said with a small smile. "Thanks, though."

"Well, if you change your mind, let me know." She smiled as there was a knock on the door. "That's them!"

Britton and I got off the couch and turned off the TV, before going into the foyer. Britton opened the door, and all of the guys were standing there with smiles on their faces. Britton let them all inside and John looked over at me and smiled, before giving me a hug.

"How was it?" I asked, as I wrapped my arms around his thin waist.

"It was awesome." John said, squeezing me tightly. "It was fun."

"Good. I'm glad." I smiled.

"How was it chillin' with Britton?" He asked, as we pulled away from each other.

"It was fun." I shrugged.

"Hey, Kalen." All of the guys smiled.

"Hi." I grinned.

"Are you up for tomorrow, then, John?" Garrett asked, as he looked over at us. "It's at Kennedy's house at 6:30."

"Yeah. That's fine." John nodded.

"You can come, too, if you want, Kalen." He smiled.

"Oh...okay?" I said slowly. "What are you even talking about?"

"I'll tell you in the car." John said, a big smile on his face. "Bye, guys. Bye, Britton."

"Bye, John." All of the guys and Britton said, before Britton gave me a hug. "Bye, Kalen! I'll talk to you later!"

"Bye, Britton. Tell your parents thanks for everything." I said, as we let go of each other.

"Will do." She nodded.

I sent her a smile and grabbed John's hand, before we both walked out Britton's front door, and shut it behind us. John and I walked down the porch stairs and to John's car. We both climbed in and John started his car, and pulled out of the driveway, before taking off down the street. I looked over at him and he still had a smile on his face.

"Did you get laid or something?" I asked John, with a smile.

"No." John laughed. "Even better! Okay, well not better, but it was still awesome."

"What is it?" I chuckled.

"Okay, well, the guys and I were singing around the campfire. It sounds kind of lame, but anyway." John rambled. "We were singing and everything and then they asked me to be in their band."

"Like, a band?" I grinned. "Like, playing shows, having practice?"

"Yes!" He said happily.

"That's awesome, John!" I exclaimed. "I'm happy for you!"

"Really?" He asked.

"Of course! This is why we came to Tempe, right?" I shrugged. "You finally got what you wanted."

"Yeah." He said, his smile growing wider each second. "I'm so excited for practice tomorrow."

"Good. Me too." I nodded.

"Are you coming?" He questioned.

"If you want me to." I said. "Then, yes."

"I do." He smiled. "Do you want to get a coffee or something? I'm so tired."

"Yeah, sure." I said.

"Okay." He said, before making a quick left.

After about ten minutes, John pulled into the parking lot of what looked like a teen hangout. We both got out of his car, after he turned it off, and John locked the doors. He grabbed my hand and led me towards the door, before opening it and letting me in. I smiled at him as a thanks, as he came in behind me.

"I came here when we first got here." John said, as he wrapped his arm around me.

"I wondered how you knew where it was." I smiled.

He laughed slightly and nodded. "They have fliers and stuff, and that's how I found out where that show was at, too. Where I met that girl."

"Oh, right. Vanessa or whatever." I said.

"Yeah. Her." He said, as we walked up to the counter.

A teenage boy looked up at us and smiled. "What can I get for you two?"

John and I ordered what we wanted, before John paid for it, and we made our way down the counter, where the coffees are set when they're finished. John and I stood there for a few minutes, until our coffees were ready. We took them from the woman that handed them to us, and we went over to a table, that was next to a bulletin board that was full of fliers and papers.

"So, tell me about what you and Britton did." John said, after taking a sip of his drink.

"We just...hung out." I shrugged. "And we went to Phoenix."

His eyes went wide and he set his coffee down. "What'd you guys go to Phoenix for?"

"We, uhm. We saw my parents and Kayla." I said slowly, as I looked up at him.

"Why?" He asked, sounding slightly upset.

"I just...missed them." I said with a slight shrug. "So, we went to go see them."

"What'd you tell them? Did you tell them where we were?" He wondered.

"John, you don't have to get upset." I told him. "I just told them where we were and that we were okay."

"Kalen." John sighed, as he ran his hands over his face.

"What did I do?" I asked.

"You don't go home and be like 'Hey, John and I are in Tempe. We're crashing in his car and having a great time being fucking broke. And by the way, I miss you guys.'." He said as he looked over at me.

"They weren't mad, John!" I sighed. "Why are you so mad?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed again. "I'm not mad! You didn't even talk to me about it, though."

"You were gone." I stated.

"You could've called, maybe?" He said like I was stupid.

"What difference would it make, John?" I questioned.

He shrugged. "I don't know. What if you just...left? What if your parents made you stay there."

"This is what you're worried about." I stated, more than asked. "You think I'm going to just leave you here by yourself?"

"I mean...yeah." He said. "You have nothing here, Kalen."

"I have you here." I said. "And I'm having a good time here. You don't need to get all worked up."

"What if your parents come find you, though?" He panicked. "What if your dad comes here and, like, beats the shit out of me?"

"He won't!" I smiled. "You don't have to worry, John. I promise."

"They hate me, though." He said. "I know that."

"They don't hate you." I shrugged.

"They hate me." He smiled. "Don't even try and say they don't."

I rolled my eyes and sighed, as a guy with brown hair came over to us, with a piece of paper and a tack in his hand. "Is it cool if I just stick this paper on the bulletin board?"

"Go for it, man." John shrugged, as he got out of his seat, so the guy could reach the bulletin board.

"Sorry. Thanks." He apologized, as he tacked the paper to the board.

John looked over at the paper and read it, before looking at the guy. "Roommates?"

"Uh, yeah. I just got an apartment for myself, but I need some roommates." He replied.

"How many?" He asked.

"One or two." The guy answered.

"How much is the rent?" John questioned.

"It's not much. My parents are paying, like, over half since I'm going to school and everything." He said. "Why? Are you interested?"

"Well, my girlfriend and I kind of need a place to stay...but we're not in school or anything." He sighed.

"You guys have jobs?" He asked.

"...No." He said. "But, we can get one?"

"They're hiring where I'm at." He shrugged. "I can get one of you a job there?"

"John, what are you even doing?" I asked, as I looked at John.

"I'm trying to find a place to live." John stated, as he looked at me.

I put my face in my hands and let out a sigh, as I shook my head. "John."

"Where's the apartment at?" John asked curiously.

"It's about ten minutes away from here. It's close to everything. Shopping, restaurants, school." The guy replied. "You can give me a call if you're interested?"

"Alright." He smiled. "I'm John, by the way. John O'Callaghan."

"I'm Eric Halvorsen." The guy grinned. "My number's on the sheet, so just give me a call after you talk to your girlfriend...what's your name?"

"Kalen." I said with a smile.

"Eric." He waved. "I better get going, though. Just give me a call, John."

"Will do." John grinned. "Thanks."

"No problem. Bye. Bye, Kalen. Nice meeting you both." Eric said, before turning on his heel and walking out of the building.

"Can we please be his roomies?" John begged, as he looked at me.

"John, we don't have any money!" I sighed. "And you're going to be in the band with the guys, so how are you going to work?"

"I can." He shrugged. "I can sing on the street. You can go work with Eric."

"Wow. Thanks, John. How generous of you." I smiled.

"No problem." He chuckled. "I can go work with him, if you want!"

"It doesn't matter." I sighed.

"So, you're saying we can stay with him?" He grinned, as he bounced in his seat.

"You know we don't even know him, right?" I said.

"I know. But he seems like a nice guy." He shrugged.

"I don't think so, John." I said.

"Eh, you'll come around." He smirked.

***

"Thanks again, Eric." John said, as he set his bag down on the floor, once we got intoEric's our apartment.

"No problem." Eric said happily. "I finally have some roommates."

I looked around the apartment and sighed to myself. It was definitely a nice apartment. The walls were an off-white color, and I could tell they were freshly painted. The floor was wooden all the way from the kitchen to the bedrooms, and the family room was carpeted. There were a few pictures hanging up of Eric and some other people that looked like his friends and family. A bass guitar was resting against the couch, and an amp was sitting in the corner, with papers all around it.

"You play?" John asked, as he looked at the guitar amp.

"Yeah. I play bass for my band." Eric nodded.

"Nice." He smiled. "What's your band called?"

"A Rocket To The Moon." He replied. "Are you in a band?"

"Yeah. I just got into a band the other day." John said.

"Well, this is when John gets a new boyfriend and the girlfriend just gets dumped on her ass, right?" I asked, as I set my bag down.

"Of course not." Eric chuckled. "You can work with me and we'll become best friends. Then John will be left out."

"Sounds fair." John said, before winking at me.

"Unless John was the one that wanted to work." He shrugged. "Then you'll definitely be left out."

"I'm a better worker than John, so I'll just work." I said. "He can go mess around with his friends."

"My God. You have the best girlfriend." Eric commented, as he looked at John.

"I know." John grinned, as he wrapped his arm around me.

"So, shall we get your room situated?" He asked, as he picked up our bags.

"Let's do it." I sighed.

Eric and John nodded, before John and I followed Eric down the hallway and into the bedroom. There were two twin beds in the room and John looked at me, before letting out a laugh. I smiled and rolled my eyes, as Eric set our bags down. John and Eric pushed the two twin beds together and I took my clothes out of my bag, so I could put them in the small closet.

Once I was done, I leaned against the wall and watched John and Eric set everything up, so everything would be ready for us to get to bed. When they were finished, John hung up some of his clothes, before we walked into the kitchen, made some dinner, and sat around the kitchen table to eat, while we talked and got to know each other.

Even though I didn't even know Eric and even though I was still a little nervous to live with him, he seemed like a nice guy. He obviously had great parents, since they were helping him pay for his apartment. He was in school, which was good, and he worked, which was also good. Now, all John and I had to do was make some money, so we could keep up on the rent. And if John played guitar on the street and I went to work with Eric, everything would hopefully fall into place.

This is definitely not how I planned to live my senior year in high school. But, whatever happens, happens for a reason.