Runaway (A 5SOS FanFic)

1. Introduction

Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock seemed to be getting louder as my pulse was getting faster and faster. He was right in front of me. The boy whose face had filled my walls and sung me to sleep every night since the accident.

As I approached my mirror, a flash of blue became visible, which shocked me just a little. Ever since I'd dyed my hair I'd always get excited when I looked in the mirror. Despite the fact it'd been a month already, I hadn't gotten used to it. I don't think I ever will. I've finally achieved the look that I've been dreaming of and I couldn't be happier.

'Roxie! I've made your favourite, blueberry pancakes!' Exclaimed a voice coming from the kitchen. Seconds after, a scent that I have come to know and love engulfed my room.

'Coming mum!' I took one last glance into the mirror then, following my nose, rushed down the stairs to the source of the glorious smell. Once I reached the kitchen I was out of breath from all the running. I'm definitely not as fit and healthy as I used to be before the accident.

'There she is! Happy birthday princess. My baby is already 18!' My mum opened her arms wide and forced me into an embrace despite all my complaining and groaning. It was always a tradition for my mum to hug me as tight as she possibly could on my birthday. She said it was the least I could deal with, after all she had to give birth to me, chubby legs and all. Of course, this year her hug was even tighter given that it was such a milestone in my life.

'Thank you mother dearest, now let go of-.' I began frustratedly, suddenly stopped mid-sentence by my brother who had come to join in on the hug making me even less able to breathe. My brother, Edward, is three years younger than me yet still he acts like he's 10 years younger. He had brown hair, just like my natural colour and glasses that he thought made him look cool. News flash, they didn't.

'Edward! Get the hell away from me! You out of all people should know I hate hugs with a passion,' I said, remembering back to the time he got sent home from school with a black eye. I was about 13, making him 10, and we were in school when he came up to me and decided to give me a massive hug, squashing me so hard I felt like I was going to puke all over him. I didn't, of course, but what I did do was much more permanent than a sick covered t-shirt. Yes, my fist did meet his face and I wasn't even sorry about it..

'I'm sorry Roxanne Amelia Elizabeth Johnson. You can move out now that you're 18 you know, just a suggestion.' Edward stepped away from me and my mum, who still held a firm grip around me. I rolled my eyes at him, letting out a long dramatic sigh before pushing my mum's arms off me in annoyance. My sudden aggression sure didn't go down well with my mum, glaring like a lion would when it was ready to hunt it's next prey.

'Go sit at the table Ed, Roxie you'll be helping me after that cheeky behaviour,' said my mum, directing me to the plate of steaming hot pancakes. Even if it was my birthday, my mum never just dismissed bad behaviour. 'Take them to the table, and don't think that's all, you'll be doing the dishes after dinner.' I took the plate to the table and sat down opposite my brother who couldn't contain his laughter. My misfortune always provided entertainment for his immature mind.

As we all sat down at the table and began to dig into the pancakes, my mind began to drift away from the tedious conversation about my brothers science project that he and my mum were having. Instead of contributing I stared at the empty space that filled the chair at the end of the table.

That was where my dad used to sit.

Three years ago, being in the wrong place at the wrong time changed my families lives forever. It was a cold winter day in December and we were all on our way to the annual christmas fair at the community centre. My dad was driving and singing along to his favourite christmas song, jingle bell rock, just like he did every year. We approached a junction where you could decide whether to turn left, the short route up a steep hill, or right, the longer route which was much more flat. My dad decided to go left. As we were driving up the hill, a car coming the opposite way at a ridiculous speed spun out of control, just metres in front of us. It left no time for my dad to break before we hit the car. We were all pretty lucky, my brother and I came out with mild bruising and my mum with mild whiplash. However, my dad was affected much more, he suffered from a severe head injury due to the air bag not inflating on the steering wheel. He was put in intensive care for just under a week, constantly becoming stable, then unstable. It was at exactly 12:35pm on the 19th of December when we received the call from the hospital, telling us he had passed away. They don't like saying dead. But that doesn't change facts.

'What do you think I should do Rox?' My brother asked.

'Huh?' I hadn't been paying attention at all to the conversation and was extremely confused.

'Are you okay?' My mum looked concerned.

'Yeah, I-I'm fine, just thinking about dad, he'd love the pancakes you've made this year, they're especially good.'

'I'm sure he would, the list of similarities between the two of you is getting longer and longer day by day. Are you sure you're okay? You can take the day off of college if you want, I know how hard it is for you on special occasions like this.' She reached out to take my hand, but I pulled away, placing my hands in my lap under the table.

'I'm fine mum, really. As much as I'd love to take a day off of school, I have exams coming up soon. I'd better get going, it's getting late. Bye mum! Bye loser!' I quickly swatted the back of Ed's head before heading to the door.

'Goodbye sweetheart, have a good day!' Mum exclaimed just before I slammed the door shut behind me.