Shot In The Dark [Book 1]

0.3 - The Lion's Den

"Margo, there's a fine line between wanting to be friends with someone and wanting to be them. You need to learn to figure out which is which." Jeff explains as we sit in my living room, discussing the plans for the next few weeks.

For the past few minutes, my eyes have been focused on the small light coming from the power button on the television. My mind wandering to places beyond this room where I currently feel smothered, wishing to be anywhere else.

"Yeah, and Abe robs banks in his free time. Just drop it, Jeff. If I want to have friends then that's my choice. I'm a teenager, I'm supposed to be going to parties and getting into trouble, not working nonstop." I argue, not feeling like putting up with his shit today.

On that note, Abe walks in the front door and interrupts us.

"There's someone moving in next door." He hands me my ice water that I asked for and I gasp, standing up.

"Who? Can I meet them? Are they nice? Oh my gosh do they have a dog?" I grin, bombarding Abe with questions as he sets my food on the coffee table and grabs the top of my head, pushing me away from him.

"I saw them carrying some instruments inside. They looked young, you should go introduce yourself." He winks and that's enough for me to know that he heard our conversation before he walked in.

I grab my phone off of the couch and run out the door, Abe following me. I notice a few moving trucks and people that I assume were hired to move the stuff. I look around, hopeful to find some people around my age, when I hear laughing.

My head shoots in the direction of the laughter and a grin appears on my face.

"Abe look, it's him." I grab Abe's arm and whisper as I try to contain my excitement. "Abe it's literally Calum."

"Yeah kid, it's Calum." Abe smiles and I realize he already knew this information. That's exactly why he offered for me to come out and meet them.

"Should i go talk to him? How do I look? Oh no what if he isn't excited that we're neighbours. Okay no, I'm Margo Roberts, I've got confidence." I ramble and Abe laughs at me, rather than helping me.

"Go talk to him, I promise he won't think you're a creep. Just don't come on too strong" Abe tries to reassure me and I nod, walking up to where Calum and the three blonde guys are, nervously trying to tame my messy hair.

"Calum look it's your girlfriend, Margo, right?" The cheeky one, Ashton I think, smiles.

"Yeah, and you're Ashton if I'm not mistaken." I respond and he nods. "So you guys are moving in here?"

"Just until our career takes off, then we're getting separate places. Do you live around here or did you follow us?" Calum jokes and I shake my head.

"Yeah, I live in the house next door. It's not everyday that a new face comes around here so I wanted to see who it was." I explain myself and they nod before Luke speaks up.

"You don't talk to many people, but you seem really social. Why is that, if you don't mind me asking?" His question shocks me and it causes laughter to erupt from my stomach.

"I am very social, but my manager wants me to stay away from people outside my team. He says it's a dog eat dog world, and since I had to fight for my spot on top, I should always keep my walls up." I shrug, not really understanding the explanation myself. "I don't understand why anyone would want this life though. Yeah, it has it's benefits but it's a lot of stress. It robs you of your childhood."

"Tell us about it," Mikey breathes out and I furrow my eyebrows. "I can't sleep in anymore!"

His exclamation makes me giggle before Calum finally speaks up again.