𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 (𝙵𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙱𝚡𝙱)

Track 22 | 𝗜 𝗖𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲

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The storm had faded into oblivion along with the light in the cloudy sky. Following several hours of talking, planning, and jotting down notes, we had made some non-final decisions about what songs we wanted to include on our tracklist and what songs needed some fixing before consideration. 

Ari remained relatively out of the conversation, even though we tried our best to include him every chance that we had. He just laid there on the floor, listening to voice memos on Eden's phone, playing several demo recordings of fully-written, half-written, and barely-written songs that we'd made in the past. At least, he told us which ones he liked and which ones needed more work.

At the end of the day, we were all tired and ready to head home for the weekend. Monday would be our talent show performance, so it was vital that we relaxed for the next two days. No drama whatsoever.

Torrence and Levi both left Rian's apartment together first as they were needed home by their parents. Rian cleaned up his apartment, refusing help from the few of us left, allowing us to go home for the night. Eden, Ari, and I accepted his dismissal and left his apartment, taking the stairs instead of the fire escape.

The stairwell of the apartment was always so tight and narrow, so we all climbed down the steep steps in a single-file line. Ari and Eden, being the best friends they were, kept talking and whispering to each other as I led the way down.

When we reached the bottom floor, the three of us exited back out onto the front steps of the apartment, the smell of damp concrete and wet leaves filling our nostrils. The sky was black, the lampposts glowed orange, and the puddles shimmered green and red under the changing traffic lights.

"What now?" Eden murmured, breathing in the cool air. A chill surged throughout my body.

"As much as I'd love to stay out all night with you guys," Ari flattered, turning to face Eden and me, "Bonnie checks my room before twelve to see if I'm actually home, so I better get back." A short pause. "That, and... I'm just tired out of my mind."

"We'll walk you home," Eden suggested, nudging him on the shoulder with her arm.

"Yeah, my bike's at your place, anyway," I added, giving Eden a side-glance.

Ari nodded and walked down the steps with his hands kept in his pockets. Eden and I looked at each other once again, the same identical gaze from before being shared between us. Slowly, we trailed after Ari down the storm-afflicted sidewalks of Cloverland.

"What exactly are your restrictions as a foster kid?" I sparked up conversation as I caught up to Ari's right side, Eden taking the left.

"What do you mean?" Ari responded.

"Like, apart from the phone and room thing, what are you held back from that's usually normal to non-foster kids?"

Ari sighed, thinking it over. "Well, first of all, a normal life... Uh, homeschooling is a major difference, but... Steven was always a good teacher and he taught me everything I needed to know for senior year. That way, I can actually graduate high school, so, it hasn't really affected me."

"Anything you miss about being homeschooled?" Eden chuckled, her arm interlocking with Ari's.

"Definitely not being Shirley's classmate, that's for sure."

"Your foster sister, right?" I recollected.

"Yup," Ari smacked his lips as Eden cut in: "Yeah, they kind of hate each other."

"God, she's such a bitch to me for no reason."

"You've been with them since freshman year, right?" I said, "Is this the longest you've stayed with a family before?"