We Own The Night

“Delaney!” I shouted, standing at the doorway with a frown on my face. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw my brother’s head poke out of the kitchen, into the hallway at the other end of where I stood.

“Yeah?” He asked, tilting his head sceptically.

“Have you seen my keys?” His dark eyebrow raised on his forehead.

“You lost them again?”

“No! I didn’t lose them! I just… temporarily… misplaced them.” I said, giving him a small pout that I’d perfected over the years. He shook his head dismissively, disappearing back into the kitchen for just a split second before reappearing, this time standing with my keys in hand. I grinned at him as he tossed them over, and I reflexively caught them with one hand. I scrambled over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck tightly, while he just laughed.

“I swear you’d lose your head if I wasn’t here to take care of you.” He joked in my ear, and I elbowed him lightly in his side and stuck my tongue out. All he did was grin innocently at me, disentangling my limbs from his body. He gave me a gentle nudge towards the door, cheeky smile on his face. My brows furrowed as I looked at him.

“Go on, get going! You’re gonna be late! You do wanna meet them, don’t you?” I blinked at him.

“You KNEW?” He gave a sheepish smile, like as a kid who’d been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. “Myles told me a couple of days ago,” he admitted, gauging my reaction. “He decided to wait til the last minute to tell you guys, though, because well… He’s Myles, y’know? No, but seriously, you’re gonna be late.” All I could do was stick my tongue out, but instead opted to listen to him, backing up as I made my way towards the door. It took me just a second to pull one of my converse on, and I half ran, half hopped out the door as I tried to pull the other one on. I hit the button to unlock my car, and I slid quickly into the Genesis Coupe.

The first thing I noticed when I pulled into the driveway, was Myles sitting on the front doorstep with a bored expression on his face. As soon as the car slowed to a stop, I looked at him, frowning slightly.

“Erika still getting ready?” I questioned, and he gave a small nod before pulling himself slowly to his feet. He glanced back at the house one last time as he walked over, shaking his head with a slight roll of his eyes. I just grinned brightly at him, patting the passenger seat on my side. With a twinkle in his eyes, he slid into the seat, watching the front door with me. I was bubbling and about to burst with excitement, but I really didn’t think he needed to see that right now. Not because I didn’t trust him or anything—but because I knew he would just make jokes and never let me forget about acting like an awestruck little girl, ever. Instead I just watched him, quietly, as I saw him close his eyes. He looked so peaceful like that, so young and innocent in a way I’d never seen him before. Every time I saw Myles… Many torn emotions came back to me. I’d known Erika for years, and well, because of that… I’d pretty much crushed hardcore on Myles for more years than I cared to count. Eri had sworn he’d liked me too, but I’d been much too worried to say anything. Because, as much as I’d of loved to date him… Myles was still Myles, and I’d of preferred him as a friend in my life, rather than nothing at all.

“JESS!”

“Hey girl!” I tore my eyes from him, and grinned. My eyes looked over her outfit carefully, and I couldn’t help but smirk. Her favourite outfit, only for Gaskarth, of course. Why did it not surprise me in the slightest? To my right I heard the click of my car door opening, and the seat being pushed forwards just enough for her to crawl in behind. Myles sat back down, clicking his seatbelt in as the car whirled and roared to life. Turning back to look, I had to stop myself from frowning as I saw Erika closer in the mirror. A fairly significant amount of makeup covered her face, coating the imperfections she thought were much worse than they actually were. That was one of the things that differentiated us; Apparently I tended to be more ‘au-naturelle’ while she was more the highstrung city type.

“You don’t know where you’re going, do you, Jess?” Myles’ voice interrupted my thoughts, and I jumped slightly.

“Not in the slightest…” I replied, eyes refocusing on the road. It took a few minutes for Myles to describe where we were going, and not to mention, how to get there; and of course, Erika was out in her own world, iPod headphones jammed in her ears. Her eyes were closed, and she moved just the slightest bit to the beat of the song. By the time we got there, she hadn’t even noticed, until she heard my door slam as I stood up. I straightened my shirt, looking at Myles expectantly. He gave a slight shrug, as he made our way towards the front door of the sound studio we now stood in front of. I chewed my lip nervously, waiting.

“So how did you even get the chance for this to happen, anyway?” I asked, curious. After all, how many people get this opportunity?

“Friend of mine worked backstage with them a couple of years ago has been tight with them since. Went to help them with their sound and shit a couple of weeks ago and I asked them about meeting you guys and they said sure.” He said, as if it was absolutely nothing. I opened my mouth to reply, but of course, could only be interrupted.

“Myyyyles!” Erika whined, now standing beside us. “I thought you said All Time Low was gonna be here! And more importantly, Alex Gaskarth!” She pouted, looking at him. I snorted slightly.

“Who said what about All Time Low not being here?” I whirled around, and gave a slight squeak of surprise as I stared into the eyes of the one and only Alex Gaskarth. Beside me, I heard Erika give a squeal of delight. Alex extended his hand to me, and I grasped it tightly, still in total shock that this was happening at all. However, I tried to stay as collected as I possibly could. Which, I assure you; I’d had practice with.

“Hey, I’m Alex Gaskath, as you already know.” He said to me, grinning brightly. I smiled back at him.

“Jess,” I said, pausing, “Jess Baker.”