Our Love Isn't Perfect, But It's True

I'm always screaming my lungs out till my head starts spinning.
Playing my songs is the way I cope with life.
Won't keep my voice down.
Know the words I speak are the thoughts I think out loud.
I like to keep things honest. I'm a safe bet like your life's staked on it.

I groaned as my phone rang loudly from...somewhere. I don't really know where. I reached around blindly, my face still buried in my pillow that was way to hard for my liking. I tried to feel for the table that was right beside my bed, but all I felt was air.

Attempting to slide over so I could reach the table, I underestimated the distance to the edge of my bed and fell to the floor with an 'oof.' Wait a minute...my bed isn't that close to the ground! I opened my eyes and lifted my head, recognizing the grey carpet from the entertainment room.

Groaning, I pulled myself on to my knees, rubbed my eyes, and glanced around the room. I had fallen off the couch, where I had apparently been laying on top of Tyler. Josie was curled up against Trent's side in the blue bean bag chair, and Kris and Alex in the red. Ethan was sprawled across the coffee table and Smokey curled up on the love seat.

I'm always screaming my lungs out till my head starts spinning.
Playing my songs is the way--

I found my phone and answered it with a tired, "Hello?"

"Hey my favorite girly! What happened to you last night?" a voice said too loudly, causing me to pull the phone from my ear and wince.

"Not so loud. And I have no idea what happened, Jackson. I can't remember anything," I said, rubbing my eyes with my free hand.

"Don't remember what happened? You got drunk, didn't you! I knew there wouldn't be any reason for what you said when you called," Jackson replied, trailing off a bit. My eyes widened.

"What did I say?" I asked slowly.

"Nothing important. Some nonsense about Psycho, then... No that was about it," Jackson said, pausing when he didn't want to voice his thought. I kind of wanted to know, but decided I need Tylenol too much to care. "Well anyway, you have two fights tonight. One against the new guy, Dagger. He's really good, believe it or not. And the other is just a crowd pleaser. Nothing you need to worry about. You'll win."

"Okay, sounds great. I'll talk to you later," I said, hanging up the phone. I stood and stretched, looking at the mess we had made. Bottles lay scattered around the floor. Empty bags that were once full of snacks were thrown everywhere. The place was messed up, even the recliner had been flipped on its side. I muttered, "What the hell went on last night?"

"What went on in here?" a familiar, frightening voice boomed from the doorway. I winced from the loud noise that made my head throb and looked up to see my father, standing there with his eyes narrowed and arms crossed over his chest. Anne stood a little ways behind, disappointment clear on her face. The loudness of Dad's voice woke everyone up. Ethan and Smokey even jumped to fall off the couch.

I stared, wide-eyed. Everyone watched my dad in silence as he began to move around the room. He picked up the liquor bottle that had been emptied, and put it into the trash can where beer cans and wine cooler bottles were also piled.

"Drinking underage? In my house? That is something that is not going to happen. I want everyone who doesn't live here out now! You're lucky I'm not going to call your parents," My father shouted. I saw everyone flinch a bit from their obvious hangovers.

Kris and Alex stood and shot me an apologetic look before disappearing out the front. Trent kissed Josie on the cheek before following suit behind Kris and Alexandra. Tyler came up behind me and hugged me.

"Sorry for getting you in trouble, Mick," he whispered then pecked me on the cheek.

"Out!" Tyler sighed and left with his hands in his pockets, shooting me a look over his shoulder as he did. My dad watched him leave, just to make sure I guess, and turned back to Smokey, Ethan, Josie and I. He put on his best 'angry Daddy' look, which he had never been very good at, and simply stated, "Explain."

We all began rambling at the same time, making excuses and such. Dad held up his hand to stop us, then shook his head. "One at a time. McCartney, you go first."

"It's my fault, Dad. I started the party, brought out the alcohol, and probably made the mess, too," I said. I meant probably because, really, I couldn't remember anything from last night. My dad stared at me and sighed.

"Ethan, Smokey, Josie, clean this place up. Mick, help them, but you're ground for a week," he said, before turning and leaving.

"I'm very disappointed in all of you," Anne squeaked just to say she had some sort of parenting skills. I sighed and turned to the others.

"You didn't have to do that. It was our fault too," Josie stated with a one-shoulder shrug. I chuckled and shook my head.

"Nah it's all good. I wanted the party, first anyway and... Oh crap!" I shouted, running my hands through my hair.

"What?" Smokey asked.

"I have fights tonight at Kletka! How am I supposed to go now?" I whined, falling backwards into a bean bag chair and sighing dramatically.

"How about you sneak out?" Ethan suggested, smirking. Sneak out? I mean, everyone has snuck out before. It's part of being a teenager. The first time I snuck out I was in the seventh grade and I snuck out to go on a date with some boy. I did, in fact, get caught. Mostly because I tried to pull the whole 'pillow under the covers' thing. And that never works.

Anyways, after that fun little story time, I hopped up and smiled at the three of them. "You're right. I'm going to sneak out. And you're going to cover for me."