Begin Again - A.I

five.

"Stacy's mom has got it going on! She's all I want and I've waited for so long!"

I sit back in the passenger seat of Ashton's pick up truck as he and the other three boys in the back scream along to a new CD in his stereo. I'm starting to actually get a headache from all the yelling and banging and crashing around, and also starting to seriously regret my choice of going to this band practice of theirs.

"Come on, Ella!" Someone cheers from the back. "Join in!"

I scoff. "Even if I knew the song, which I don't, I would never join into this animal fest," I snap. They all just laugh.

"El hates music," Ashton informs everyone, reaching forward to turn the volume slightly down.

I frown. This is about the fifth time today he's talked down about me to his friends. What makes him think that he knows me anyway? Because he certainly doesn't. "I do not hate music," I argue. "I'm just not crazy about it like you."

"Okay, name one artist you like," he responds.

I'd rather not place this stupid game with him, but there's something about the way he speaks to me that makes it sound as though he's challenging me. And I'm not one to back down from a challenge, especially from a rustic and rocker small town boy like Ashton. He can never make me think that he's better than me.

I fold my arms over my chest, the seatbelt sitting awkwardly. "I like plenty," I say. "You probably won't know them."

Ashton erupts into loud laughter. "Honey, try me."

"You are speaking to Ashton here," a voice speaks up from behind me and it makes me jump. I had completely forgotten that Ashton and I weren't alone in this car and in fact had three other people listening in. "No one knows music like this dude."

"Name a song and he'll know every single lyric." Someone else laughs. "It's insane."

I start to feel nervous because I just know whatever I'll say will get shut down by Ashton and the boys. It's obvious I don't listen to the kind of music they do. "Well, I usually just listen to whatever's on the radio-"

"Should've guessed." Ashton rolls his eyes.

"But," I continue, annoyed, "I quite like the band Pearl Jam." I say it shyly, because it's kind of lame. It's the only thing I like that others don't. I only like them because my dad has their album and would always play it, so I got used to it. I have vivid memories of waking up early mornings to my father blasting the album and singing along. He used to like it because my mother didn't. I guess he was like that with a lot of things.

Ashton goes silent, and I think that I've proven him wrong and said a band name he has never heard before. I start to feel a little satisfied, because I've actually bet him at his own game. Until the back of the car erupts into loud cheer.

"Are you serious?" Luke, I think, cries. "That's Ashton's favourite band!"