Somewhere in the Middle
College
It’s been a couple weeks since the accident and my cast was finally able to come off and Hayley and I were clear to go to back to school. While I was picking out something to wear, I decided to go with a black dress and heels to show off my newly healed leg. After I finished getting dressed, I skipped down the steps and into the kitchen. “Morning,” I greeted, giving mom a kiss on the cheek.
“Morning, Riley,” she smiled. I sat down beside Hayley and mom placed a plate of food in front of me.
“Where’s dad?” Hayley asked, munching on a piece of bacon.
“He had to go to the studio early,” mom answered, not looking up from what she was working on. I nodded and finished eating. I went back up the steps to brush my teeth quickly before literally skipping down the step and saw Hayley already there, tapping her foot with a smirk, holding her car keys. Since her last one was totaled, it wasn’t salvageable. Mom and dad bought her a new one that was also blue, but it was a little darker and with two white stripes like mine had.
“You took less time getting ready with the fucking cast on,” she snarked. I did the mature thing and stuck my tongue out at her.
“Bite me.”
When we made it to school, I got out of the car, squinting up at the sun. Of course, I thought. The one day I forget to wear my sunglasses there are no clouds out. Fucking perfect. We met everyone at our lockers and Aiden pressed a kiss to my cheek. Let me make it clear that we were not dating. I wasn’t even completely sure that he broke up with Slutlynn. We hadn’t seen her or her brothers since the day of the accident, and none of us were completely sure what had happened. Not that we were complaining, or anything. We were both glad they were gone and we hoped that we would never see their faces again.
“How’s the leg?” Barbie asked, shoving some books in her locker.
“It’s good; still aches when the weather changes, though,” I smirked. Giana walked up and gave Hayley and me a hug.
“Good to see you both looking relatively healthy again,” she smiled, pushing a lock of red hair behind her ear. Hayley and sent her matching smirks as we made our way to our first period class. The teacher was standing in the front of the room, and to be completely honest, I couldn’t even remember her name.
“How nice of you two to finally join us,” she said loudly to Hayley and me. I gave her a blank stare and knew that my sister was doing the same. “You both have your homework, correct?” She questioned.
“Homework?” I questioned. She leveled me with a stare and then moved her steely gaze over to the group.
“None of you thought it would be wise to give them the assignments the two weeks they’ve been gone?” She asked with a sickly sweet smile on her face that reminded of Umbridge from Harry Potter.
“We got into a car accident, give us a fucking break,” Hayley states, exasperated. Umbridge look-alike pursed her lips angrily.
“Both of you to the principal’s office,” she stated shrilly, pointing out the door. I tossed my hands up in the air, dramatic flair and all.
“You got to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered, storming out the door with Hayley right behind me. She fell into step next to me and smirked over at me.
“Already kicked out of class and school hasn’t even started yet. I think that’s a record.”
August 15, 2010; Huntington Beach, California
I plopped down on my bed with a tired sigh. I had just finished packing up the things I was taking to college and was exhausted. Pushing a strand of my now red hair out of my eyes (it had to be a natural-ish color for college) I looked around my now empty-looking room. “Hey, you almost ready?” I looked over to see Hayley standing there, her now black hair up in a bun on the top of her head. I nodded, standing up.
I couldn’t believe that it had been two years since mom and dad adopted us. We had changed a lot from the people we were before. Now, at eighteen years old, we had matured and grown out of our “scene” phase. Because of that, we distanced ourselves from the group and didn’t talk to them anymore. My break-up with Aiden went much smoother than Hayley and Ace’s. The worst part of it all was what Barbie had screamed at us when she and Giana realized they were distancing ourselves from them. ”You guys are fucking posers!” she had screamed. ”I hope you both die for what you’re putting Ace and Aiden through!”
“Yeah, I’m ready,” I answered, picking up the bag I had just packed and hoisting another one over my shoulder. We both walked down the steps and saw everyone waiting in the living room.
“All packed?” Dad asked. Hayley and I nodded. “Alright, we’ll go bring some of your stuff down.
“Thanks, dad,” Hayley stated, moving out the door with me in tow towards the U-Hal truck we were taking. Our cars were already shipped to Baltimore, Maryland. We were both accepted into John Hopkins University, and were attending their School of Nursing.
An hour later, everything was packed up and ready to go. Pulling myself out of an extremely warm group hug, I looked at the time on my phone. “Hayls, we got to get going.” She nodded her agreement and extracted herself from the group.
“Call us when you stop at the hotel tonight, okay?” Mom reminded in a soft tone that was a warning that more tears would be coming soon.
“We will, mom,” I stated before hopping into the driver’s seat of the U-Hal. I could hear Hayley making sure that the door in the back was secure before climbing into the passenger seat. She buckled herself in while I started the truck up.
“You know, stopping at a hotel will just make the drive longer,” Hayley stated casually.
“Agreed. We’ll call mom when we pass the exit that the hotel is in.”
“Done deal.” We waved out the window as I pulled the truck away from the curb and we said goodbye to our home in Huntington Beach, California and were on our way to Baltimore, Maryland. Hayley turned on the radio and B.O.B.’s new song, Airplanes started playing.
[Chorus: Hayley Williams]
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now
Wish right now
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now
Wish right now
[Verse 1: B.o.B]
Yeah, I could use a dream or a genie or a wish
To go back to a place much simpler than this
'Cause after all the partyin' and smashin' and crashin'
And all the glitz and the glam and the fashion
And all the pandemonium and all the madness
There comes a time where you fade to the blackness
And when you starin' at that phone in your lap
And you're hopin' but them people never call you back
But that's just how the story unfolds
You get another hand soon after you fold
And when your plans unravel in the sand
What would you wish for if you had one chance?
So airplane, airplane, sorry I'm late
I'm on my way so don't close that gate
If I don't make that then I'll switch my flight
And I'll be right back at it by the end of the night
[Chorus: Hayley Williams (B.o.B)]
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars? (Shooting Stars)
I could really use a wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
[Verse 2: B.o.B]
Yeah, yeah, somebody take me back to the days
Before this was a job, before I got paid
Before it ever mattered what I had in my bank
Yeah, back when I was tryin' to get a tip at Subway
And back when I was rappin' for the hell of it
But nowadays we rappin' to stay relevant
I'm guessin' that if we can make some wishes outta' airplanes
Then maybe yo maybe I'll go back to the days
Before the politics that we call the rap game
And back when ain't nobody listen to my mixtape
And back before I tried to cover up my slang
But this is for the hater, what's up Bobby Ray?
So can I get a wish
To end the politics
And get back to the music
That started this shit?
So here I stand and then again I say
I'm hopin' we can make some wishes outta' airplanes
[Chorus: Hayley Williams (B.o.B)]
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
[Outro: B.o.B {Hayley Williams}]
I could really use a wish right now {oh, oh-oh oh}
I-I-I could really use a wish right now
Like, like, like shootin' stars {oh, oh... oh}
I-I-I-I could really use a wish right now
A wish, a wish right now
{A wish right now}
August 18, 2010; Baltimore, Maryland
Hayley pulled the U-Hal into the parking lot of our dorm room, and put it in park. We, and a few others, were moving in to the dorms a week earlier than most. “Go get our room keys while I go flirt with some people to help us out,” Hayley said making me laugh.
“Yeah, alright.” I hopped out of the passenger seat and walked into the residence hall. There was a blond woman, probably a senior, sitting behind the main desk, typing away at her computer. She looked up when I walked up.
“May I help you?” She questioned with a friendly smile.
“Yeah, I’m here to get the keys for Riley Sullivan and Hayley Sullivan.”
“One moment,” she said, and started typing again. “I’m assuming you two are related because I can only give keys to immediate relatives,” she added, looking up at me. I smiled.
“Hayley and I are twins,” I responded.
“Awesome, which means I can go ahead and give you both of them. I just need you to sign these two papers.” She held them out and I quickly scrawled my signature at the bottom of both and she handed me the keys. I took a look at them and saw that they were two different rooms. I frowned.
“We aren’t rooming together?” I asked lowly.
“You both are on the third floor; that means that you both get single rooms. Neither of you have to share,” she informed me.
“Oh, thanks,” I trailed off, realizing I didn’t know her name.
“Natalie Day,” she greeted.
“Nice to meet you, Natalie. And thank you,” I added, jogging out the door to find Hayley. She was standing by the truck with five guys.
“Told ya I’d find muscle,” she smirked. I arched an eyebrow at her.
“You certainly did. Thanks guys,” I said towards the men. They all waved it off and I tossed Hayley her key. She looked at the number etched into it.
“Room 307,” she said to herself and then looked at mine. “308? We aren’t rooming together?”
“Nope, we don’t have to room with anybody,” I smiled.
“We hit the fucking jackpot,” she whooped and then turned towards the guys. “Alright, boys; boxes marked ‘H’ go to room 307. Boxes marked ‘R’ go to room 308. Got it?” They all nodded and I unlocked the latch on the U-Hal and slid it open.
All seven of us grabbed a couple boxes and headed up to our rooms. With the five guys helping, we got everything moved into our rooms in about twenty minutes and I plopped down on my bed with a tired sigh. Hayley walked in a couple minutes later with her phone in hand. “Okay, so I called mom and dad and told them we got here okay and everything moved in. Now, all we need to do is return the U-Hal and pick up our cars.”
“Sounds like a plan. Let’s hit it.”
“Morning, Riley,” she smiled. I sat down beside Hayley and mom placed a plate of food in front of me.
“Where’s dad?” Hayley asked, munching on a piece of bacon.
“He had to go to the studio early,” mom answered, not looking up from what she was working on. I nodded and finished eating. I went back up the steps to brush my teeth quickly before literally skipping down the step and saw Hayley already there, tapping her foot with a smirk, holding her car keys. Since her last one was totaled, it wasn’t salvageable. Mom and dad bought her a new one that was also blue, but it was a little darker and with two white stripes like mine had.
“You took less time getting ready with the fucking cast on,” she snarked. I did the mature thing and stuck my tongue out at her.
“Bite me.”
When we made it to school, I got out of the car, squinting up at the sun. Of course, I thought. The one day I forget to wear my sunglasses there are no clouds out. Fucking perfect. We met everyone at our lockers and Aiden pressed a kiss to my cheek. Let me make it clear that we were not dating. I wasn’t even completely sure that he broke up with Slutlynn. We hadn’t seen her or her brothers since the day of the accident, and none of us were completely sure what had happened. Not that we were complaining, or anything. We were both glad they were gone and we hoped that we would never see their faces again.
“How’s the leg?” Barbie asked, shoving some books in her locker.
“It’s good; still aches when the weather changes, though,” I smirked. Giana walked up and gave Hayley and me a hug.
“Good to see you both looking relatively healthy again,” she smiled, pushing a lock of red hair behind her ear. Hayley and sent her matching smirks as we made our way to our first period class. The teacher was standing in the front of the room, and to be completely honest, I couldn’t even remember her name.
“How nice of you two to finally join us,” she said loudly to Hayley and me. I gave her a blank stare and knew that my sister was doing the same. “You both have your homework, correct?” She questioned.
“Homework?” I questioned. She leveled me with a stare and then moved her steely gaze over to the group.
“None of you thought it would be wise to give them the assignments the two weeks they’ve been gone?” She asked with a sickly sweet smile on her face that reminded of Umbridge from Harry Potter.
“We got into a car accident, give us a fucking break,” Hayley states, exasperated. Umbridge look-alike pursed her lips angrily.
“Both of you to the principal’s office,” she stated shrilly, pointing out the door. I tossed my hands up in the air, dramatic flair and all.
“You got to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered, storming out the door with Hayley right behind me. She fell into step next to me and smirked over at me.
“Already kicked out of class and school hasn’t even started yet. I think that’s a record.”
||
August 15, 2010; Huntington Beach, California
I plopped down on my bed with a tired sigh. I had just finished packing up the things I was taking to college and was exhausted. Pushing a strand of my now red hair out of my eyes (it had to be a natural-ish color for college) I looked around my now empty-looking room. “Hey, you almost ready?” I looked over to see Hayley standing there, her now black hair up in a bun on the top of her head. I nodded, standing up.
I couldn’t believe that it had been two years since mom and dad adopted us. We had changed a lot from the people we were before. Now, at eighteen years old, we had matured and grown out of our “scene” phase. Because of that, we distanced ourselves from the group and didn’t talk to them anymore. My break-up with Aiden went much smoother than Hayley and Ace’s. The worst part of it all was what Barbie had screamed at us when she and Giana realized they were distancing ourselves from them. ”You guys are fucking posers!” she had screamed. ”I hope you both die for what you’re putting Ace and Aiden through!”
“Yeah, I’m ready,” I answered, picking up the bag I had just packed and hoisting another one over my shoulder. We both walked down the steps and saw everyone waiting in the living room.
“All packed?” Dad asked. Hayley and I nodded. “Alright, we’ll go bring some of your stuff down.
“Thanks, dad,” Hayley stated, moving out the door with me in tow towards the U-Hal truck we were taking. Our cars were already shipped to Baltimore, Maryland. We were both accepted into John Hopkins University, and were attending their School of Nursing.
An hour later, everything was packed up and ready to go. Pulling myself out of an extremely warm group hug, I looked at the time on my phone. “Hayls, we got to get going.” She nodded her agreement and extracted herself from the group.
“Call us when you stop at the hotel tonight, okay?” Mom reminded in a soft tone that was a warning that more tears would be coming soon.
“We will, mom,” I stated before hopping into the driver’s seat of the U-Hal. I could hear Hayley making sure that the door in the back was secure before climbing into the passenger seat. She buckled herself in while I started the truck up.
“You know, stopping at a hotel will just make the drive longer,” Hayley stated casually.
“Agreed. We’ll call mom when we pass the exit that the hotel is in.”
“Done deal.” We waved out the window as I pulled the truck away from the curb and we said goodbye to our home in Huntington Beach, California and were on our way to Baltimore, Maryland. Hayley turned on the radio and B.O.B.’s new song, Airplanes started playing.
[Chorus: Hayley Williams]
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now
Wish right now
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now
Wish right now
[Verse 1: B.o.B]
Yeah, I could use a dream or a genie or a wish
To go back to a place much simpler than this
'Cause after all the partyin' and smashin' and crashin'
And all the glitz and the glam and the fashion
And all the pandemonium and all the madness
There comes a time where you fade to the blackness
And when you starin' at that phone in your lap
And you're hopin' but them people never call you back
But that's just how the story unfolds
You get another hand soon after you fold
And when your plans unravel in the sand
What would you wish for if you had one chance?
So airplane, airplane, sorry I'm late
I'm on my way so don't close that gate
If I don't make that then I'll switch my flight
And I'll be right back at it by the end of the night
[Chorus: Hayley Williams (B.o.B)]
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars? (Shooting Stars)
I could really use a wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
[Verse 2: B.o.B]
Yeah, yeah, somebody take me back to the days
Before this was a job, before I got paid
Before it ever mattered what I had in my bank
Yeah, back when I was tryin' to get a tip at Subway
And back when I was rappin' for the hell of it
But nowadays we rappin' to stay relevant
I'm guessin' that if we can make some wishes outta' airplanes
Then maybe yo maybe I'll go back to the days
Before the politics that we call the rap game
And back when ain't nobody listen to my mixtape
And back before I tried to cover up my slang
But this is for the hater, what's up Bobby Ray?
So can I get a wish
To end the politics
And get back to the music
That started this shit?
So here I stand and then again I say
I'm hopin' we can make some wishes outta' airplanes
[Chorus: Hayley Williams (B.o.B)]
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
Wish right now (Wish right now)
[Outro: B.o.B {Hayley Williams}]
I could really use a wish right now {oh, oh-oh oh}
I-I-I could really use a wish right now
Like, like, like shootin' stars {oh, oh... oh}
I-I-I-I could really use a wish right now
A wish, a wish right now
{A wish right now}
||
August 18, 2010; Baltimore, Maryland
Hayley pulled the U-Hal into the parking lot of our dorm room, and put it in park. We, and a few others, were moving in to the dorms a week earlier than most. “Go get our room keys while I go flirt with some people to help us out,” Hayley said making me laugh.
“Yeah, alright.” I hopped out of the passenger seat and walked into the residence hall. There was a blond woman, probably a senior, sitting behind the main desk, typing away at her computer. She looked up when I walked up.
“May I help you?” She questioned with a friendly smile.
“Yeah, I’m here to get the keys for Riley Sullivan and Hayley Sullivan.”
“One moment,” she said, and started typing again. “I’m assuming you two are related because I can only give keys to immediate relatives,” she added, looking up at me. I smiled.
“Hayley and I are twins,” I responded.
“Awesome, which means I can go ahead and give you both of them. I just need you to sign these two papers.” She held them out and I quickly scrawled my signature at the bottom of both and she handed me the keys. I took a look at them and saw that they were two different rooms. I frowned.
“We aren’t rooming together?” I asked lowly.
“You both are on the third floor; that means that you both get single rooms. Neither of you have to share,” she informed me.
“Oh, thanks,” I trailed off, realizing I didn’t know her name.
“Natalie Day,” she greeted.
“Nice to meet you, Natalie. And thank you,” I added, jogging out the door to find Hayley. She was standing by the truck with five guys.
“Told ya I’d find muscle,” she smirked. I arched an eyebrow at her.
“You certainly did. Thanks guys,” I said towards the men. They all waved it off and I tossed Hayley her key. She looked at the number etched into it.
“Room 307,” she said to herself and then looked at mine. “308? We aren’t rooming together?”
“Nope, we don’t have to room with anybody,” I smiled.
“We hit the fucking jackpot,” she whooped and then turned towards the guys. “Alright, boys; boxes marked ‘H’ go to room 307. Boxes marked ‘R’ go to room 308. Got it?” They all nodded and I unlocked the latch on the U-Hal and slid it open.
All seven of us grabbed a couple boxes and headed up to our rooms. With the five guys helping, we got everything moved into our rooms in about twenty minutes and I plopped down on my bed with a tired sigh. Hayley walked in a couple minutes later with her phone in hand. “Okay, so I called mom and dad and told them we got here okay and everything moved in. Now, all we need to do is return the U-Hal and pick up our cars.”
“Sounds like a plan. Let’s hit it.”
♠ ♠ ♠
So....it's been a while. Hayley and I got to talking, and we decided to start this one back up again. Since Hayley and I are both in our early twenties and no longer teenagers, we decided to make a large time-skip. We've matured, and our characters need to, also.Comment? Message? Subscribe? Thanks. Peace, love, skittlez!