Steal a Kiss in the Dark

October 15, 2004

"Mia," Alex, one of my best friends, yelled to me as I emerged from the top of the stairs disrupting their band practice.

"Gaskarth," I started with a false, pissed off tone. My favorite thing to do is fuck with Alex.

He pouted at me, "What did I do?"

Giggling, I replied, "Nothing buttface!"

I should have expected it but I was thrown off guard when Jack came around the corner and tackled me onto the couch. "Dog pile on Mia!" He called out right before I was crushed by my three best friends and Zack.

It was unclear to me but for some reason, Zack just didn't like me. He never really acknowledged my presence and he always got quiet whenever I was around. When he joined a band with Alex and Jack he signed on to have me around as well.

Jack had been my next door neighbor since I was three years old, and I was the first person to befriend Alex when he moved to America at the age of seven. Rian, after joining the band, quickly came around to loving me the way Jack and Alex do. Zack, I don't think he's talked to me once.

"Get off!" I giggled and wiggled underneath them. Quickly, Alex and Rian got off of me while Jack continued to lay on me. "Jack! I said get off!"

"Okay!" He chuckled before rolling over, still on top of me, and pulling his dick out.

"Dude!" Alex and I yelled in unison, and I continued, "Put your cyclops away, I don't need your juices on me."

"What's going on down there?" We could hear Jack's mom ask as she began coming down the stairs.

"Nothing!" I yelled back to her and Jack put his junk away. As I pushed him onto the cement, basement floor his mom turned the corner and looked at us with a cocked eyebrow.

"Are you sure everything's okay down here?" She asked in her sweet voice. She really was a sweet, respectable lady. How Jack is her son, I'll never know.

Flashing a large smile, "Everything is 100 percent okay. Just us messing around in a totally appropriate manner."

"Okay, well the chicken will be ready in about five minutes."

The best part of coming to Jack's house at this time is his mom always has supper started and typically almost ready. I love my mom, but she can't cook for her life. Jack's mom on the other hand is a wonderful cook.

Listening carefully for her to reach the top of the steps I held my question in. Once she was there I asked the guys, "So does Playground X wanna play a part of my Sweet Sixteen party?"

"Of course, we do!" Rian answered for the other members.

"You know... we have a really shitty band name," Zack said.

Giggling, I said, "So you do hear the things I say!"

"Sorry, I'm not really social," he said ending our conversation.

"Find a new band name. Please. Playground X completely and utterly sucks," I smiled hopping onto Alex's back. "Off to eat nummy Mommy Barakat food!"

Alex then led everybody up the stairs while piggybacking me. The five of us then sat around the dinner table as Mommy Barakat placed the chicken, buns, corn, and strawberries on the table. As I eyed up the fresh strawberries, she grabbed the milk and placed it on the table before sitting between Jack and Alex.

It was probably best that she sat between the two of them. God knows they get out of hand quite easily. That may or may not also be why I'm not allowed to sit next to Jack and Alex. Dinner at any of the guys' houses I was always next to a mom and dad or Rian and Zack.

"I got it!" Alex half shouted startling me as I was drinking my milk. "All Time Low!"

"How'd you get that?" I asked wiping the spillage off my mouth.

Taking his one headphone out he replied, "New Found Glory broskis."

"I like it," Rian said before joking, "sure beats Playground X."

Zack spoke next, "Sounds good to me."

"All Time Low it is!" Jack smiled.

"Thank God! Playground X was horrible!" I giggled taking another bite of my chicken.

Once we had all finished we placed our plates in the sink before heading right back down to the basement. This is where all the good parties happened, and where Jack and I hid out on the nights I'd sneak over here to play video games and eat ice cream.

I'd run to Alex's house more often if he was right next door to me as well. Once I get my license in a month, though, I'm heading anywhere and everywhere late at night.

"You guys," I said in a serious, urgent tone. All four of them looked over at me with questioning eyes, "I think Matt just asked me on a date on Friday."

Jack started laughing.

"Say no. He asked through a text," Zack quietly said.

"No, she has to say yes. Boys don't ask Mia on dates," Alex supportively said.

"Maybe the boy in this room that likes her should just ask her out," Rian said winking at Alex.

Jack then got on his knee in front of me, "Mia Nicole Albrecht, would you accompany me to the movies this Friday night?"

Pulling my blonde hair in front of my face and giggled. "Oh, Jack. You're so strange. How about no to the date but I'll come over late and we can kick ass playing video games?"

"That's totally okay. Will I be getting laid?"

"Haha, no," I stated sticking my tongue out at him and placing my feet on the top of Rian's head. Almost instantly my phone was vibrating with a text from my mom.

Mom: It's 7:30. Come home, you need to do homework.

"Get your nasty feet off my head," Rian whined. Right away, I slipped my feet off of his head, stood up, and walked on over to Jack and jumped into his lap.

I kissed his cheek quick, "Bye Barakat. Mommy said I need to get home."

Next, I went to Alex and did the same, replacing Barakat with Gaskarth of course, then to Rian. I then headed to the stairs and simply waved goodbye to Zack, since I wasn't close enough to him to jump in his lap and kiss his cheek.

Upstairs, I hugged Jack's mom goodbye before slipping my shoes on along with my zip up hoodie. I walked to the door shuffling my feet as I went.

Walking outside the cool, crisp October air hit my face. It slightly stung since I wasn't used to it but it got better in a few seconds. Not quick enough, though, I entered my own home to be greeted by the scent of pumpkin spice.

"Smells good, mom," I sighed slipping my shoes and hoodie off. Believe me, I love my mom, and I love Baltimore, but I needed out.

Appearing out of the kitchen she half-smiled at me. "I never see you anymore, Mia. You're always with your friends or in your room. I miss having you around."

"Mom," I sighed, "I need to find who I am and be that person. I'm not going to find that person if I'm stuck hanging out with my mother all the time."

"Mia," she breathed out.

"Just stop, Mom. Odds are those guys are gonna go somewhere with their band so I kinda need to hang out with them as much as I can before it becomes completely impossible."

October 15, 2013

Boy, had I been right all those years ago. Yeah, I got out of Baltimore and ended up in South Carolina. Yeah, the guys got pretty big. Yeah, we lost all contact over the past nine years since that night.

Surprisingly enough, All Time Low was going to be in Charleston on the night of my twenty-fifth birthday and I was determined to have another night with my boys.