Don't Let This Memory Fade Away

I woke up the next morning around ten o’clock. I was still extremely tried, but try as I might, I couldn’t fall back asleep. I huffed as I pushed myself up on my elbows. I took a quick glance around, realizing that I really wasn’t dreaming; this was all real. I hopped off my bed with a wide smile on my face and headed to the staircase. My goal was to get to the kitchen, but I had no idea where it was in this mansion. I had fallen asleep before Elliot could show me around.

“Well,” I thought, “might as well give myself a tour of the place.”

I explored the upper level of the house, which contained mostly guest rooms. I happened upon an office and a library as well. I found 4 bathrooms on the upper floor, not including the one in my own room, and 4 more on the lower level. The rooms that I discovered on the first floor included a game room, a band room (which I found a little strange), a formal dining room, a room that was set up to look like movie theater, a formal sitting room, the family room in which I had been seated the night before with a large 60 inch flat screen, and finally, the last room I came to, the kitchen. It was located at the back of the house. Like the rest of the house, it was picture-perfect; granite countertops, stainless steel appliances topped off with white cabinetry and furnishings. Above the sink there was a large window looking out into the backyard. In the backyard there was an in-ground pool with a diving board, and next to it was a hot tub. To the left of the pool, there was what looked like a mini skate park. I smiled. “I’m going to like it here.”

“Good morning Farah, I see you’ve found your way to the kitchen.” Elliot chuckled from behind me, “What would you like for breakfast?”

“Hmm… do you have any fruit?” I asked.

“Sure we do! Would you like me to make you a fruit salad?”

“Yeah, that would be great.” I gave him a shy smile.

I took a seat on one of the stools at the breakfast bar. I watched as Elliot prepared my fruit salad. My mouth began to water. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning before I left for the trip.

“Do you want whipped cream?” he asked.

“Yes, please.”

He went over to the fridge, took out the bottle and sprayed some on top.

“Catch!” he said as he threw the bottle to me. Luckily, I caught it, right before it hit my head. “Nice.” He said, smiling.

I looked at the can, then back at Elliot. He just stood there and continued to give me a goofy smile. Finally, he spoke.

“Come on, I know you want to.”

I laughed and sprayed the whipped cream into my mouth. Once I was done, I tossed the can back to him.

“So,” he started as he put the can back into the fridge, “tell me why you wanted to come here.”

“Well, my favorite band, All Time Low, lives around here and they go to Dulaney. I really want to meet them and get to know them. I thought meeting them before they even became famous would be really awesome.”

“Oh, well, who’s in the band?”

“Alex Gaskarth, Jack Barakat, Zack Merrick, and Rian Dawson.”

Elliot nearly spit out his orange juice. He swallowed and then continued “No, you’re kidding.”

“About what…?”

“Those boys make it?”

I was sort of taken aback by this “Yeah, you sound surprised. And wait, you know them?”
“No, I’m not really surprised. They’re talented kids. It’s just really good to hear that they go far with what they’re doing. And yeah, I’ve known those boys for a while now. My son had a little band going, nothing big, just something he and his friends did in their spare time. Jack and Alex would come over to watch. Eventually Rian and Zack started tagging along. But last year my son went to college, so now they come over occasionally to use the band room.”

My heart stopped. “So they come here?”

He nodded in reply.

“When do they usually come?”

“Saturday’s usually. Sometimes Friday nights, but not too often. “

“So they might be coming today?” I asked excitedly.

“They may.”

I smiled and looked down at my bowl of fruit, which I found to be empty. “Well, on that note, I’m going to go get dressed. Thanks for the fruit.”

“No problem.”

I went upstairs and threw on a purple tank top and some black shorts.

“Good enough.” I thought to myself and headed my very own bathroom to do my makeup.

Just as I was starting my makeup on my left eye the doorbell rang.

I finished my makeup quickly and rushed to the top of the stairs. I looked down excitedly, hands shaking. Elliot had opened the door and standing outside were Alex, Zack, Jack, and Rian.

“Oh my gosh.” I whispered and ran back into my room. I needed to make sure I looked perfect before going to see them. I looked in the mirror above my dresser. I thought I looked pretty, but it was quite clear how nervous I really was. I smiled in an attempt to mask what I was feeling.

“Farah! Come down here! I have some people I want you to meet!” I heard Elliot call. What the smile was covering immediately vanished as my heart flipped. I took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. Turning from my mirror, I walked out of the room.

I stood at the top of the staircase and looked down at those four boys, my heroes. I smiled even bigger and proceeded to slide down the banister. The boys laughed as I did so, and as soon as I got to the bottom, they clapped.

I blushed and thanked them quietly, putting my hands behind my back.

“Farah,” said Elliot “I would like you to meet Alex, Jack, Zack, and Rian.”

I looked over at them to see their warm smiles. I noticed Jack staring directly at my chest. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but I tried to dismiss it.

“Hey guys, it’s nice to meet you!” I said much too enthusiastically.

“It’s nice to meet you too!” Alex answered. “So I hear your parents went to England for a job?”

“Yes, that they did.”

“That’s cool. I used to live in England. I’m from Essex.”

“Wow, that’s really cool!” I said, trying to sound surprised. Unfortunately, I was a really bad actress, and by the look on Alex’s face, you could see that he thought I was being fake towards him.

“Come on, Alex, stop trying to impress her. “ Jack said, still maintaining eye-to-chest contact.

“Hey, Jack, why don’t you shut up and look at her other set instead?” He shot back. We all started laughing while Jack shifted his attention to his shoes.

“Well, I’m going to go run a few errands. I’ll be back in a little while. I’ll trust that you’ll all behave…” Elliot said, directing this more to the boys than me.

I gave Elliot a surprised look, and he returned his goofy smile. I bit my lip in an attempt to hold back my excitement.

“We will, we will, don’t worry.” Rian assured him. Elliot began to walk out the door, but I stopped him.

“Wait, where’s Marian?”

“Oh, she went to go get a surprise for you. She won’t be back until later.”

“Oh, alright.” I said “Bye!”

With that, Elliot left. It was just me and All Time Low.

That’s when I noticed Zack’s face. It was all scratched up and he looked like he was in a lot of pain.

“Oh my gosh, what happened to you?” I asked, concerned.

“I fell…” he replied as he shuffled his feet, clearly embarrassed.

“Oh! You poor thing. Is that why you guys went running down the street yesterday?” I asked the other three boys.

“Yeah. He ate it pretty bad.” Alex said, looking at his friend’s face.

“Well, why don’t we go play a few songs,” Zack said, trying to get the attention off him “Shall we?”

The boys nodded in agreement and headed to the band room. I just stood there, not sure if they wanted me to watch them perform. Alex turned around “You coming?”

I nodded and walked over to him. He gave me that half smile that I knew all too well, and it made me want to melt.

/Snap out of it, McDonald./ I scolded myself mentally.

We entered the band room and I watched them as they set up. I couldn't believe this was happening. It was fantastic.

**

“Alright,” Alex said as he put his guitar around his neck, “We’re gonna play a song called Time to Break Up by Blink-182” He acted as though he was performing in front of a crowd of people rather than just me.

“I love that song!” I said, excited to hear their cover of it live, rather than the recording on my iPod.

“Really? You’re a blink fan?” he asked.

“Hell yeah! They’re one of my favorites.”

They all smiled. “Sweet.” Alex said.

“Alright, ready?” Rian asked from behind the drums. They all nodded, and Rian tapped his sticks together. On the third tap, the song began.

“I guess it’s only the men
Who get fucked now and again
We take our chicks to the mall,
We wait in parking stalls
And when we come home too late,
She's pissed that she had to wait
And my excuse not to call,
It never worked at all…”

I couldn’t stop beaming. They definitely were not perfect, but they were excellent performers. They were so into it.

“Pretty good, huh?” Alex asked with a smug smile.

“Hmm… I don’t know… you guys definitely need some improvement…” I replied wisely, still beaming.

“Ha ha ha,” Alex laughed fakely. “Like you could do any better.”

“I was kidding! You guys were great. And I probably couldn’t have.”

He gave me a weird look “Really? Because you look like you would have a good voice.”

I just shrugged. I’ve been told I have a nice voice before by friends and family, but does that really count?

“Well, I want to hear you.” He said. The guys nodded in agreement.

“Oh, no, I’d rather not embarrass myself…”

“No, get your ass up here and sing.”

“Alex…” I bit my lip and looked at the ground. I really didn’t want to.

“Come on, if you suck, it’s fine. We won’t laugh.” He reassured me, but I was sure this was a lie.

“If I do, tell me. Please stop me so I don’t humiliate myself more than I need to.” I said as I got up out of my seat and headed for the small stage where the boys were standing, waiting.

Alex gave me his hand and helped me up, then handed me the microphone. I just stared at it.

“Do you want us to play, or do you just want to sing without anything else.”

“Sing without anything I guess.”

“Okay, what will you be singing?” Rian asked as he stepped off the stage.

“Umm…” I had to think about this. “Tiny Dancer.”

“Interesting choice.” Alex chimed, and I began to tremble. I was so nervous, but I wanted to at least /try/ to impress them.

I took a deep breath “Here it goes” I thought to myself.

“Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand.”

When I finished, I realized I had had my eyes sealed shut for the whole performance. I opened one, slowly, peering out at them. This time, they were the ones who were beaming.

“You,” Alex said, “were great!”

I couldn’t stop smiling as Jack, Zack and Rian agreed.

“You should definitely play with us sometime, well, whenever we need a girl singer.” Said Rian, getting up off his seat to help me off the stage. My mind immediately flew to Remembering Sunday. What if I was the one singing instead of Juliet? No, no, I wouldn’t let that happen. Besides, I wouldn’t even be here for the recording of So Wrong, It’s Right. Unless, of course, I couldn't get back.

“Yeah! Definitely!” Jack chimed in.

Suddenly, a cell phone went off. It was Zack’s. I had to retain my laughter as he pulled out a chunky old phone.

“Hello? Yeah… okay. Yeah we’ll be there. Okay! I got it! MOM!”

I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. It reminded me of the conversations that my mom and I had on the phone.

My stomach twisted. I missed my mom.

I tried not to show the pain I was currently feeling and turned away, pretending to examine a Foo Fighters poster on the wall.

I heard Zack’s phone beep as he ended the call. “Guys, we have to go, my mom’s freaking out about helping her. We have to get back to my house now.”

Jack threw his head back “Ugh dude, no!” he whined.

“Come on, it’s not going to be that bad. Quit being lazy.” Rian said as he pushed them out of the room. Alex resisted and stayed standing in the room, staring at me.

“Alex, dude, you coming?” Rian asked.

“Can I… catch up with you guys in a little while?”

“Not sure Zack’s mom is going to be too happy about it…”

“Oh well, I’ll see you in a little while.” He said, and not once did he take his eyes off me.

“That’s not fair! If he gets to stay, I should get to too!” Jack yelled as he tried to push his way back through the door, but Rian stopped him.

“No, Jack, just leave them…”

“But-”

Rian then whispered something to Jack that I couldn’t make out, causing Jack to look at me.

“But what if I-”

“I don’t care.”

“But he always-”

“Shut up Jack, let’s go.”

“This isn’t fair!” He yelled and shot Alex a dirty look. He then proceeded to stomp away in a child-like tantrum. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“DON’T LAUGH AT ME!” I heard him call, but it was too late. Alex and I were laughing hysterically.
When the front door slammed shut, Alex stepped closer to me.

“Sorry about him,” Alex said, catching his breath “He can be sort of childish at times.”

“Well, it’s expected from guys our age.”

He gave me a funny look “Are you saying that I’m like that?”

“I don’t know, am I?”

“You’re sarcastic. I dig it.”

I rolled my eyes and cracked a small smile. Alex started closing the space between us, but I stopped him.

“Woah there, buddy. I’m not sure if you’re used to girls just letting you do this kind of stuff, but I’m not like that.”

“Do what kind of stuff?” he asked, still closing the space between us and putting his hands on my hips.

“Seriously Alex…”

He brought his face closer to mine, then whispered in my ear “You know you want it.”

And in all honesty, I did, but I didn’t want to seem easy.

“Oh my goodness. Alex, stop it. Seriously. I don’t even know your last name.” A blatant lie.

“It’s Gaskarth. Now you know.” He brought his face closer to mine once again.

I shook my head, still saying I wasn’t going to kiss him.

He sighed, but didn’t move away.

“You’re full of it, Gaskarth.” I sighed. “Let’s just get to know each other for now? And be friends?”

He dropped his hands from my waist and looked into my eyes with his own deep brown beauties. It made me wonder why I didn’t kiss him.

/That’s obviously what he’s trying to do to you, Farah. Get a grip./

“I guess so.” He grumbled and plopped down in one of the chairs.

After a few moments of silence, I spoke up.“So…” I started, trying to make the situation less awkward, “Where did the guys have to go?”

“They had to help Zack’s mom set up for the family barbeque. I was supposed to go-”

“But you decided to stay here and make a move on me.” I interrupted him.

“Yeah…”

“I’m sorry if I wasted your time.” I half laughed.

“Hey, don’t be. It was sort of a wakeup call. I am used to girls just letting me do whatever. I mean, why wouldn’t they let me? Just look at me.”

“Are you being serious?”

“Yeah… why?”

I laughed “A little cocky, aren’t we?”

“Oh no, no, It’s called confidence.” He said, flashing me the smile that I knew and loved, except more youthful.

“Of course.”

“So, what’s your last name?”

“McDonald.” I replied.

“Like the restaurant?”

I laughed “Yeah, like the restaurant.”

He didn’t respond, he just smiled at me. Feeling awkward, I looked away.

“Do you want to go to Zack’s?”

“Sure, why not. Do you think his mom will mind?”

“Nah, Mrs. Merrick’s pretty cool.”

Just then, I heard the door open and close.

“Hello?” I heard Elliot’s voice call.

“Shit.” I mumbled.

“What?”

“I think he might be pissed it’s just you and I…”

“Oh well!” he said as he got up and walked out of the room. I shook my head as I followed after him.

“Hey, Elliot!” Alex said, acting as if the situation was completely normal. I was worried still, since I didn't know Elliot too well and where he stood with these sorts of things.

“Hello again, Alex. Where’s the rest of the crew?” He asked, curious.

“They had to go back to Zack’s house to help his mom set up for the cookout.” He replied casually, “Farah and I just stayed here for a bit. She has a really good voice, you know.” He said, easing his way around questions.

“Does she?”

“She does. She’ll have to sing to you later. But is it okay if she comes with me to the cookout?”

“Yeah, of course. But Farah, before you go,” He handed me a cell phone and smiled. “I’ll call you when you need to be home.”

I looked at the cell phone in my hand, once again having to contain my laughter.

“Thanks, Elliot!”

“Well, have a nice time you two.”

“Bye!” I said, and Alex and I walked out the door.