and the stars will all come out

chapter twenty! ☆

THE SUN HUNG LOW IN THE SKY, CASTING A WARM, GOLDEN HUE OVER THE CABIN AS LANDRY'S CAR RUMBLED UP TO THE GRAVEL DRIVEWAY. Tall pine trees framed the picturesque scene, and a gentle breeze rustled the leaves, creating a melody that was always soothing. From the outside, the kitchen looked silent, as usual, meaning everyone was once again in the basement.

As she parked the Volvo and stepped out of the dented car, a soft, earthy aroma of pine filled the air, and Landry took a moment to appreciate the tranquil ambiance. After finding Hope unconscious on the floor, which had replayed in her memory at least a thousand times since it happened, she'd been determined to appreciate the little things in her life. After all, she wasn't sure how long she had left before things ultimately turned for the worst.

(Because that always seemed to happen.)

Landry shut the dented car door and sucked in a deep breath, then went to head inside.

"It's me," she called out as she stepped into the abandoned kitchen, like usual, shaking off her muddy Converse onto the mat.

Also like usual, there was no response, so she trampled downstairs and called, "Hey!"

"Hey, Landry," Adam was the first to call from downstairs, and seconds later, Landry entered the basement.

She smiled politely at him. "Hey."

She automatically looked around for where Dave had went: the soundboard still hadn't been moved into the basement, Taylor was crouched over his bong in the corner like usual, inhaling noisily, and Nate was on the couch, idly reading some rock magazine she'd never seen before.

"Where's Dave?" she asked cheerfully.

"Out," Adam responded simply. "He wanted to look at new generators, 'cause we don't know what's going on with ours. Think we might have to replace it."

"We just know it's noisy as hell from upstairs," Nate put in from the couch, without looking up from the magazine.

"I noticed," Landry said flatly: there was little to appreciate about this conversation, it was just boring. "Any new plans for music? When are we getting the soundboard into the basement?"

Taylor finally detached from his bong, blowing clouds of pungent smoke everywhere, coughing in the haze.

"Hopefully sometime this week!" he responded, grinning in his usual Taylor way. "I'm super excited."

Landry smiled as she deposited herself on the couch. "Me too."

"He's played 'Learn to Fly' for you, right?" Adam asked from the opposite side of the room.

"Yeah, he taught me the chords," Landry replied evenly, unsure of where this was going.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Adam said breezily as he flopped in the armchair and automatically picked up the N64 controller that had been forgotten on the coffee table. "You know, I really think this album is going to be...different."

"It should be, now that I'm on drums," Taylor responded cheerfully, but Landry's brow was furrowed: the way Adam had said different intrigued her.

So she turned to him. "What do you mean by different?"

"Oh, I dunno," Adam replied as Nate got up from the couch to turn the N64 - the communication was wordless, they were probably going to play Mario Kart again. "It might not be on the same level as 'The Colour and the Shape', that's all. To be fair, I don't think anything we do will be."

The air in the room seemed to tense.

Across the room, Taylor gulped and tried to bury his face in his bong, seemingly the only one who recognized it for what it was.