Beside You
One.
“Tori, we can get through this,” he said, his grey-ish blue eyes searching mine for some shred of hope. “We can try the whole long distance thing. It could work.” I almost believed him. Almost.
“No, it can’t,” I said, fighting back tears. “And there’s gonna be millions of girls fawning all over you. I can’t expect you to stay with me.”
“But I don’t care about those other girls,” He whispered as he pulled me close to his chest. I couldn’t help it anymore. My eyes began to water, and I buried my face in his shoulder, hugging him tightly.
“I’m gonna miss you so much,” I cried softly, inhaling his cologne for the last time. “I…I love you, Luke.”
He pulled away for a moment and looked into my eyes. He smiled, “I love you too, Tori.” He leaned in and kissed me deeply.
“Astoria Rose Parker, wake up! You’re gonna be late for school!” My mum hollered from downstairs. When she used my full name, I knew she meant business. If she had to say it more than three times, I was doomed.
“I’m up!” I groaned, flinging off the sheets. I grabbed an old band t-shirt and some skinny jeans out of my closet to get ready. I quickly pulled my hair into a messy ponytail and stared at my reflection. It’ll have to do, I thought. No time for makeup today.
In the bottom corner of my mirror, I noticed the photograph of my ex-boyfriend, Luke, and I. It was taken about two weeks after we had started dating. He was hugging me from behind, kissing my cheek as I smiled into the camera. At that time, I already knew I was falling for him. He could be such a cheeseball sometimes, but that was one of the things I loved about him.
Luke had dropped out of school and left to go on tour with his band, 5 Seconds of Summer, months ago. The biggest band on the scene right now, One Direction, had asked them to go on tour as their opening act. That was a no-brainer for the 5SOS guys. This was their big break. I understood that; I just didn’t want to face the fact that it meant the end of Luke and I. So before he left, we broke up. He said he was willing to try to make it work, but I knew it was just a matter of time before long distance would be the end of our relationship. Some part of me was hoping that we could get back together one day, but every other part of me knew that was a recipe for disaster. The guys had a whole slew of female fans dying to meet them, talk to them, touch them, etc. Who was I to compete with that?
My best friend, Jade, was dating one of Luke’s bandmates and close friends, Calum. They had kept up the long distance thing, and I don’t know how they did it. They FaceTimed constantly and spoke on the phone as much as possible. Jade came from a wealthy family, so occasionally, her parents would pay for her to fly out to where the guys were performing. I, on the other hand, was not that fortunate, but I was happy that they could make it work.
Calum, along with the other guys in the band, Ashton and Michael, had become like brothers to me. When Jade and I would hang out with them, we would talk about nothing and everything, laugh about stupid inside jokes and movie quotes. It was heartbreaking to see them go, but it was nothing compared to being without Luke.
“ASTORIA!” Mum yelled again. “Do I need to count to three?”
I swung my backpack over my shoulder and rushed down the stairs. “No, mum, I’m not two.”
She was standing by the sink, making coffee and toast, while my little brother, Thomas, sat at the counter munching on a bowl of cereal. “Here,” Mum shoved a plate with a piece of toast over to me along with a jar of Vegemite.
I ruffled Thomas’ hair with my fingers. “Hey kid,” I snickered.
He playfully punched me, “Hey dog breath.”
“What?” I acted offended and started tickling him. He screeched with laughter as he squirmed in his chair, trying to get away.
“Hey, hey! Stop it!” Mum bellowed. “He’s gonna end up choking. Can you please just sit and eat?” Thomas and I rolled our eyes and went back to breakfast. I knew why mum was irritable. She had been working late nights at the local diner trying to scrape by and pay our rent. Dad passed away when I was about 10. After that, mum lost her smile, her zest for life. It was hard to watch, and it left Thomas and I fending for ourselves most of the time.
“I’m gonna have to work late again tonight,” Mum sighed. “Can you make dinner for Thomas?”
“I’m right here,” He said, throwing his hands up in the air.
“I know, sweets,” She smiled.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” I said, looking down at my phone. Jade had sent me a text: Where are you? I have big news! “I have to go though. Jade’s waiting for me. You ready, Tommy Boy?”
“Why do you call me that?” Thomas growled, hopping down from his stool.
“Because you’re my little bro.” I giggled.
*
“Tori!” Jade called me over to her locker as soon as I walked in the front school entrance. “Guess what? Guess what? GUESS WHAT?!” She looked like she was about to burst with excitement.
“Oh my God, calm down,” I laughed. “It’s too early for you to be screaming.” Jade was hyper and silly and everything that I wasn’t. We practically grew up together, and our moms were close friends.
“I can’t calm down! Calum texted me this morning and told me that him and the guys are gonna be stopping in, because they’re getting a break from the tour!” She squealed as she jumped up and down.
My stomach dropped. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, do you wanna see the text?” Jade eagerly whipped out her phone.
“Ugh, that was a rhetorical question.”
“What? I don’t get why you’re so mad. Calum told me again how Luke hasn’t shut up about you since they started touring back in February. You should be happy. Maybe you guys can get back together.” She grinned.
“I’m not mad. I just…wait, Luke’s been talking about me? But he hasn’t texted me, like, at all.”
“Maybe he’s afraid to? I don’t know. Text him!” The sound of the bell echoed throughout the hallway, signaling that it was time to go to class. “We’ll talk later, but you really should text or call him.”
*
Sitting in class was torture. All I could think about was seeing him again. It filled me with butterflies. When Mrs. Graham wasn’t looking, I sent a text to Luke: Hey, I know we haven’t talked in forever…Jade told me this morning that you guys are visiting soon. How are you?
I tried to shift my attention back to what we were learning in class, something about Shakespeare’s Hamlet. My eyes kept reverting back to the lock screen on my phone, pleading for a text message. Then my mind started playing tricks on me. You shouldn’t have texted him first. He’s gonna think you’re desperate. ‘How are you?’ You know damn well how he is. He’s following his dream, making and playing music, having sex with random girls…he doesn’t need you anymore. You were a fling, nothing compared to what he has now.
All day I waited for a text, a call, something.
When it was time to go home, I waited outside Thomas’ classroom so that we could walk back to our house together, the same routine every day.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Still nothing. I decided to go on Twitter. He seemed to be on there a lot. Sure enough, he had posted a tweet about an hour ago. Can’t wait to be back home in Sydney :)
Before I could react, my phone started to vibrate. It was a call. From Luke.
“No, it can’t,” I said, fighting back tears. “And there’s gonna be millions of girls fawning all over you. I can’t expect you to stay with me.”
“But I don’t care about those other girls,” He whispered as he pulled me close to his chest. I couldn’t help it anymore. My eyes began to water, and I buried my face in his shoulder, hugging him tightly.
“I’m gonna miss you so much,” I cried softly, inhaling his cologne for the last time. “I…I love you, Luke.”
He pulled away for a moment and looked into my eyes. He smiled, “I love you too, Tori.” He leaned in and kissed me deeply.
“Astoria Rose Parker, wake up! You’re gonna be late for school!” My mum hollered from downstairs. When she used my full name, I knew she meant business. If she had to say it more than three times, I was doomed.
“I’m up!” I groaned, flinging off the sheets. I grabbed an old band t-shirt and some skinny jeans out of my closet to get ready. I quickly pulled my hair into a messy ponytail and stared at my reflection. It’ll have to do, I thought. No time for makeup today.
In the bottom corner of my mirror, I noticed the photograph of my ex-boyfriend, Luke, and I. It was taken about two weeks after we had started dating. He was hugging me from behind, kissing my cheek as I smiled into the camera. At that time, I already knew I was falling for him. He could be such a cheeseball sometimes, but that was one of the things I loved about him.
Luke had dropped out of school and left to go on tour with his band, 5 Seconds of Summer, months ago. The biggest band on the scene right now, One Direction, had asked them to go on tour as their opening act. That was a no-brainer for the 5SOS guys. This was their big break. I understood that; I just didn’t want to face the fact that it meant the end of Luke and I. So before he left, we broke up. He said he was willing to try to make it work, but I knew it was just a matter of time before long distance would be the end of our relationship. Some part of me was hoping that we could get back together one day, but every other part of me knew that was a recipe for disaster. The guys had a whole slew of female fans dying to meet them, talk to them, touch them, etc. Who was I to compete with that?
My best friend, Jade, was dating one of Luke’s bandmates and close friends, Calum. They had kept up the long distance thing, and I don’t know how they did it. They FaceTimed constantly and spoke on the phone as much as possible. Jade came from a wealthy family, so occasionally, her parents would pay for her to fly out to where the guys were performing. I, on the other hand, was not that fortunate, but I was happy that they could make it work.
Calum, along with the other guys in the band, Ashton and Michael, had become like brothers to me. When Jade and I would hang out with them, we would talk about nothing and everything, laugh about stupid inside jokes and movie quotes. It was heartbreaking to see them go, but it was nothing compared to being without Luke.
“ASTORIA!” Mum yelled again. “Do I need to count to three?”
I swung my backpack over my shoulder and rushed down the stairs. “No, mum, I’m not two.”
She was standing by the sink, making coffee and toast, while my little brother, Thomas, sat at the counter munching on a bowl of cereal. “Here,” Mum shoved a plate with a piece of toast over to me along with a jar of Vegemite.
I ruffled Thomas’ hair with my fingers. “Hey kid,” I snickered.
He playfully punched me, “Hey dog breath.”
“What?” I acted offended and started tickling him. He screeched with laughter as he squirmed in his chair, trying to get away.
“Hey, hey! Stop it!” Mum bellowed. “He’s gonna end up choking. Can you please just sit and eat?” Thomas and I rolled our eyes and went back to breakfast. I knew why mum was irritable. She had been working late nights at the local diner trying to scrape by and pay our rent. Dad passed away when I was about 10. After that, mum lost her smile, her zest for life. It was hard to watch, and it left Thomas and I fending for ourselves most of the time.
“I’m gonna have to work late again tonight,” Mum sighed. “Can you make dinner for Thomas?”
“I’m right here,” He said, throwing his hands up in the air.
“I know, sweets,” She smiled.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” I said, looking down at my phone. Jade had sent me a text: Where are you? I have big news! “I have to go though. Jade’s waiting for me. You ready, Tommy Boy?”
“Why do you call me that?” Thomas growled, hopping down from his stool.
“Because you’re my little bro.” I giggled.
*
“Tori!” Jade called me over to her locker as soon as I walked in the front school entrance. “Guess what? Guess what? GUESS WHAT?!” She looked like she was about to burst with excitement.
“Oh my God, calm down,” I laughed. “It’s too early for you to be screaming.” Jade was hyper and silly and everything that I wasn’t. We practically grew up together, and our moms were close friends.
“I can’t calm down! Calum texted me this morning and told me that him and the guys are gonna be stopping in, because they’re getting a break from the tour!” She squealed as she jumped up and down.
My stomach dropped. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, do you wanna see the text?” Jade eagerly whipped out her phone.
“Ugh, that was a rhetorical question.”
“What? I don’t get why you’re so mad. Calum told me again how Luke hasn’t shut up about you since they started touring back in February. You should be happy. Maybe you guys can get back together.” She grinned.
“I’m not mad. I just…wait, Luke’s been talking about me? But he hasn’t texted me, like, at all.”
“Maybe he’s afraid to? I don’t know. Text him!” The sound of the bell echoed throughout the hallway, signaling that it was time to go to class. “We’ll talk later, but you really should text or call him.”
*
Sitting in class was torture. All I could think about was seeing him again. It filled me with butterflies. When Mrs. Graham wasn’t looking, I sent a text to Luke: Hey, I know we haven’t talked in forever…Jade told me this morning that you guys are visiting soon. How are you?
I tried to shift my attention back to what we were learning in class, something about Shakespeare’s Hamlet. My eyes kept reverting back to the lock screen on my phone, pleading for a text message. Then my mind started playing tricks on me. You shouldn’t have texted him first. He’s gonna think you’re desperate. ‘How are you?’ You know damn well how he is. He’s following his dream, making and playing music, having sex with random girls…he doesn’t need you anymore. You were a fling, nothing compared to what he has now.
All day I waited for a text, a call, something.
When it was time to go home, I waited outside Thomas’ classroom so that we could walk back to our house together, the same routine every day.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Still nothing. I decided to go on Twitter. He seemed to be on there a lot. Sure enough, he had posted a tweet about an hour ago. Can’t wait to be back home in Sydney :)
Before I could react, my phone started to vibrate. It was a call. From Luke.
♠ ♠ ♠
Thank you so much for reading! I'm excited to get to work on this story. I love the 5SOS boys. They make me so happy :) Oh, random side note, if you know of anyone who makes layouts and/or banners, could you give me their username. Because I clearly suck at it if you coudn't tell, lol. I'd be happy to do some kind of trade with them, like including them in the story with their favorite 5SOS guy. Although it would have to be Michael or Ashton since Lukey and Cal are already taken :3 Now I'm rambling...anyway, I appreciate feedback, so leave a comment if you'd like! :)