Home, Sweet Home

Lily knocked on the door. We waited for a few minutes and then the door opened reveal my mother.

“Oh you’re early. I was just starting to cut things up. Come in, come in.” She said looking frazzled.

“Do you want some help with anything Mom?” I asked politely but I knew what her answer would be.

“No, no. Head on in to the living room and just relax.” She said waving us off and heading off to the kitchen.

I took a few minutes to look around the entry way I knew all too well. The walls were still the same white. There was still a door to the left that led into the dining room. To the right was to a doorway without a door the led to the living room. Straight ahead was a set of stairs to the left and a hall to the kitchen on the right side.

We took a right into the living room. It was like stepping into a time capsule. The tan couches looked exactly the same and I could have sworn they haven’t moved since I had last seen them. There was one to my right against the wall facing me and to the left there was another smaller one up against the wall. On the wall opposite was a fire place. It used to be a real one but my parents turned it into a gas one because it was safer.

Then on the far wall of to the left was my parent’s music corner. They got me and my brother in to music at a very young age and I burned through a lot of instruments. This is where my parents kept them. The only thing missing was the old guitar my brother learned to play on. He took it with him when he moved out. He has since gotten a new one.

There was a stack of band instruments that I started learning to play but lost interest in. I played flute and clarinet for a year. Then wanted to try violin. I felt like it was boring so I moved on to cello which I liked even less. It was heavy and I didn’t like carrying it. None of them stuck.

At the age of eight I started learning piano with Gloria because she found me in there sitting at it and not touching it. I remember admiring the giant grand piano. I wanted to touch it so badly but Gloria’s only rule in the studio was don’t touch the piano.

When she found me I was so scared. I thought I was going to get in trouble for sitting there eying the keys. Instead she asked me if I would like to learn to play something. I of course jumped at the chance to touch the ivory keys. She came and sat next to me. My hands itched to push one of the keys but instead I wait for instruction.

Gloria was never one to teach childish songs for beginners. Instead she started me off on Beethoven. It was hard but for some reason I was determined to learn it. My parents took notice to my intense interest in the piano and went out and bought one. It still sat in the same spot against the wall as it did when my parents surprised me with it.

No matter how many instruments I tried, I would always go back to the piano. There was just something about the way it sounded and how my fingers just seem to glide across the keys. I especially loved the sound of the piano blended with a voice.

Next to the piano in the corner of the room was an old chest that was filled with sheet music.

On the other side was an old looking red chair with cherry colored wood detailing and legs. Lily and I always used to fight over who would get to sit in it. It was usually her while I took a seat at the piano. Between the chair and the piano, there was a stand that held extra guitar strings and other bits to fix the instruments and things like rosin for the bows of the violin and cello.

“I call the comfy chair.” said Lily racing over to the chair before I could even comprehend her words.

“I hate you.” I said following her over and sitting on the piano bench after throwing my purse in her general direction. I ran my fingers across the fall board before lifting it up revealing the keys. Without thinking about melody I started pushing random keys.

“Hey Sammie,” Lily stated as if to ask me a question. I turned and looked at her. “Can I play games on your phone?”



Third Person POV

Sammie just gave a nod and went back to pressing keys on the piano. Lily opened up Peggle on
the phone and started to play. She was about to finally beat a level she had been working on since yesterday when the phone vibrated causing her to miss the shot.

Lily looked to see why the phone had vibrated and the little message icon had a tiny bubble with a one in it. She planned on looking at it and telling Sammie what it said but when she saw it was from Dan, she had to reply to it.

“Hey, what are you up to?”

Lily felt and evil grin spread across her face but wiped it away before Sammie could see.

“Hi. This is Lily. I’m playing games on Sammie’s phone.”

“Okay. Hi.”

“Just so you know, I’m the best friend. I was the best friend before you and you can’t take that away from me. It’s my title.” Lily typed out with lots of silly emojis trying to convey that she was joking.

“I would have never dreamed of it.” Lily was relieved that he didn’t think she was serious.

“Just thought I’d make it completely clear.”

“Understandable. So what are the two of you up to?” The evil grin made a short reappearance before it was shoved away again.

“I can show you better than I can tell you.”

“Hey Sammie, will you play something for me?” said Lily opening up the camera on Sammie’s phone and pushing record.

Almost instantly, Sammie started to play a silly little tune that you only needed two fingers for and started sing the Llama song. Once Sammie was done, Lily hit the button to stop the recording.

“Oh come on. Play a real song.” said Lily sneakily attaching it as a file, writing a “hehehe” as the message and sending it to Dan.

“Fine. I know the perfect one.” said Sammie.

Lily had just managed to hit record before Sammie started in on the song. It was one that Lily didn’t recognize. Sammie had a wider taste in music that Lily did so she wasn’t really surprised that she didn’t know this song.

It started out slowly and softly. About thirty seconds in, Sammie started to sing. Lily wasn’t expecting it but she intended to send it just the same. The song was very pretty sounding but Lily didn’t really get the lyrics.

“What was that?” Lily asked keeping it recording just in case Dan didn’t know the song either although he probably did.

Sammie had told her quite a bit about Dan and their similar music taste.

“It was Pyramid Song by Radiohead.” said Sammie without looking over at Lily.

Lily stopped the recording and attached it as a file like she did with the last. The message she sent this time said “I think you may know this one” and then she sent it.

She was about to ask Sammie to play another one when Ian walked in.

“Hello ladies.” He said coming over and sitting on the arm of Lily’s chair. He had his guitar case with him.

“Hey.” The girls said at the same time.

“Hey Ian, can I mess around with your guitar in a few?” Lily asked.

While Lily wasn’t as musically inclined at Sammie and Ian, she could however play the guitar. Her voice wasn’t as good as Sammie’s but she didn’t let that stop her from singing along with her sometimes.

“Yeah, sure. I just tuned it so it should be all good to go.” said Ian putting the case at Lily’s feet. “I’m going to go out back and check out the lawn mower for Dad. He thinks he might have hit something when he was mowing the lawn.”

Ian was gone soon and Lily decided to make another request.

“Okay Sammie, that was pretty and all but can you please play a song I actually know.” As she said this she hit record on the camera and then propped it up on the stand beside the chair checking that Sammie was in shot.

“Okay. Get ready.” Sammie started in on the piano and Lily recognized the song almost instantly. It was a song that Sammie had sent to Lily a few months ago. It was called Skin Tight by Niykee Heaton. Lily grabbed the guitar and started playing and singing harmony at the pre-chorus.

“Never have I ever believed in a happy ending, all them fairy tales, always knew they were just pretending.” They sang together.

It made Lily think of Ian. Ian was her fairy tale and she didn’t think it would ever happen but she still hoped.

“Never thought I’d be that girl, then you came and rocked my world, never thought I’d be that girl, then you fucked up my world.”

The girls sang while Lily dropped out with the guitar so it was just Sammie playing. The lyrics made Sammie think about how before Dan, she never thought she would be the kind of girl to fall in love with her best friend.

The girls finished out the song and Lily went over and picked up the phone hitting the stop button. Then putting the guitar away.

“There, are you happy now?” Sammie asked with a smirk.

“Ecstatic.” said Lily with a grin while sitting back in the chair.

Sammie went back to playing random keys. Lily took this opportunity to send the video to Dan like she had with the last two. Then after it said the message had sent she typed out another text.

“Isn’t my best friend amazing?” She didn’t get a reply to any of the videos or the text she just sent.

“I’m deleting the texts. Please don’t tell Sammie you know.”

With that she deleted her whole conversation with Dan including the first one he sent. Lily also stole Dan’s number. She had evil plans and they involved Sammie.



Dan and Phil had been lounging around the house all day. Even though Phil was there the house felt empty with Sammie gone. Dan had woken up still in Sammie’s room cuddled with his phone and her pillow pet. He felt weird being in Sam’s room without her being there. So he quickly went back to his room.

Dan eventually ventured out into the lounge. Today was an internet scrolling day where he didn’t nothing but scroll Tumblr and watch YouTube videos. Phil joined him around two in the afternoon.

Around seven, Dan went back into his room. He caught himself thinking about Sammie. He thought that maybe he should text her or something. He texted a quick “Hey what are you up to” and sent it. What he didn’t expect was for someone other than Sam to text him back.

He ended up having a little conversation with Lily, Sam’s best friend in the US. Dan could tell she was joking in her texts by the amount of emojis she used. When that conversation ended he re-worded his first text and sent it again.

“I can show you better than I can tell you.”

Dan was intrigued by this message. He waited for a few minutes. Just when he thought she wasn’t going to text back, his phone went off. He opened the text to find a video. The message about it said “hehehe”

Sammie sat at a piano and was playing a little two finger tune he had taught her. He knew what was coming next.

“Here’s a Llama, there’s a Llama, and another little Llama. Fuzzy Llama, funny Llama, Llama, Llama, Duck.” He couldn’t hold back his laughter. He watched while Sammie finished out the Llama Song. He saved it to his phone.

As soon as he was done there was another text sent to his phone.

“I think you may know this one.” Dan had no clue what she could have been talking about. He opened the video. Almost instantly the sound of a well-tuned piano filled his room.

Lily was right he did recognize the song. It was one Dan had been learning a while ago. What confused him more, was that Sammie was at the piano. He watched as her fingers moved. He thought she didn’t know how to play. She even let him attempt to teach her. Dan suddenly felt embarrassed and ashamed.

Then another surprise. Sammie started to sing. Whenever he had heard her sing before, she was terrible, like worse that Dan when he isn’t really trying, terrible but this, it was so good. It made Dan chest hurt with how good it was. He listened to the song all the way though and then listened to it again.

After the second play though was done, he saved that video to his phone as well. When Sammie came back, he was going to have to have a talk with her. She was so good. He didn’t understand why she would purposely sing badly or pretend to not play the piano.

Then he realized why she never told them. She hated special attention. It was a reason she didn’t want to be in any video and why she looked so mad when he told her he and Phil had to tell the subscribers about her. She didn’t want them to give her any special attention for being able to do a couple of things well. Maybe he wouldn’t be having a talk with her when she got back.

As he was thinking this, his phone went off again and then a second text came in right after. The first was a video. He clicked it. Again Sammie was sitting at the piano but the angle of the camera was different from the last two videos. You could see more of her face and less of her hands.

Dan took in the fact that she was wearing something other than black and it looked amazing on her. The light blue complementing her skin tone that almost matched his. Her hair was curled but it was styled in a way he hadn’t ever seen it before. It almost looked as if she had a fringe but he knew Sammie hadn’t cut her hair.

Sammie started singing again. This one seemed like more of an upbeat fun song. Once she started the chorus, another voice and a guitar joined along with hers. Lily looked just like she did in the picture Sammie had of the two of them on her dresser. She was the original best friend. Lily’s voice wasn’t as developed as Sammie’s leading Dan to think that Sam had had voice lessons.

He watched as the two of them had fun and sung along with each other. He really started listening to the lyrics of the song.

“Oh you got me trippin’, acting like a fool, we could do this all night, way your body fits mine.”

Those lyrics pulled Dan into a memory he had forgotten about.

Dan was over at Sammie’s for a music night where they would lay in the floor in a dark room and listen to music. Sammie had fallen asleep first. Dan did what he normally did when she fell asleep and pulled her headphones off so she could move and lay comfortable.

He had taken off her headphones and she started to stir in her sleep. Dan froze as she wrapped her arm around him and buried her face in his chest. Dan didn’t know if he should wake her up or just let her move on her own and save her the embarrassment. He set her headphones above their heads next to his.

He thought to himself, when he was ever going to have the chance to hold her like this again. He took advantage of the situation and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. The first thought that came to his mind, was the fact that she fit so perfectly lying next to him.

Dan was pulled out of the memory by his phone going off again.

“I’m deleting the texts. Please don’t tell Sammie you know.”

No he definitely was not going to be telling Sammie about this either. He saved the last video to his phone and then put on his headphones. The first song that came on was Pyramid Song by Radiohead. Sammie sang it better.