Lost until Found (5sos)

Chapter 7

December 31st, 2017

   "Five! Four! Three! Two! One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The crowd of people made up of family and friends cheered and hugged each other drunkenly. The band kissed each other's cheeks briefly and Michael kissed his girlfriend Crystal, who Tanner thought was perfect for Mikey. Tanner sat quietly on the couch and drank their drink. It was whiskey. Tanner doesn't drink hard almost ever but, tonight is an exception. Though they aren't alone, it feels that way. It feels like the whole room has gone black and its just Tanner. There's voices but not the people from the party, its...different people, new people. Not people, creatures. Not new, familiar. Tanner feels the worst vibes from these voices. They've been here before. Tanner closes their eyes, their head spinning. Is it the alcohol? The voices got louder, going on about everything wrong with Tanner. Have you seen your body? All these people and no one is talking to you. They don't care about you. "That's not true. Stop it." Tanner started talking to their self. Calum sat next to Tanner while they talked to their self and cried silently.

    Calum tapped their shoulder. "Tanner? Are you okay bud?" Tanner nodded and then shook their head. "Do you want to go to a room alone for a bit? Are the people too much? " Tanner nodded again. Calum helped them up and walked them to an empty room near the back of the house. Tanner sat down on the bed and tried to control their breathing. Calum sat patiently and waited for Tanner to allow him to help. They sat their for a while in silence, comfortable silence. "I'm-i'm sorry." Tanner stuttered a bit, repeating bits of words. "Don't be Tanner, I understand people can be a bit too much on the brain." Calum smiled softly. "Do you wanna stay back here and talk about what happened or do you just wanna listen to music and go back when you're ready?" "The sec-second one-one." Cal nodded and turned on some Joji. Tanner laid down and curled into a ball and slowed their breathing. Calum laid next to them and chilled out. After about thirty minutes Tanner fell asleep. Cal put a blanket on them and left quietly to go smoke. 

   "Hey Cal! Where have ya been?" Ashton slurred his words slightly. "Helping Tanner. They had a panic attack or something but they're okay now they're sleeping. Just came out for a smoke." "Oh alright. Want one of us to keep an eye for them?" Cal nodded while pulling out a cigarette and heading for the back door. "Yeah thanks." Cal put the cigarette in his mouth and went out the door. Ashton informed Luke and Michael about the situation and they took turns checking on Tanner until the party ended. When Tanner finally woke up all of the people had gone and Luke, Ashton, Calum, Michael, and Crystal were the only ones left. Tanner walked slowly down the hall and rubbed their eyes, almost resembling a toddler who woke up from a nap. "Hey gu-guys." They all took their attention off the TV to see Tanner.  "Hey love." Crystal said sweetly. "How was your nap bud?" Luke asked. Tanner smiled a little a put a thumbs up. "Come over a watch TV with us." Calum patted the space next to him in the love seat. Tanner happily squished in next to Cal and watched as Evan Peters murder people on the TV. 

January 15th, 2018

   Tanner rolled out of bed and walked into the kitchen grabbing a bowl. "Morning T." Ash chirped. He was the only one to get up most days. Michael and Crystal lived together with their dogs. Luke lived with his dog. So, Tanner, Ashton, Calum, and his dog Duke, all lived with each other. "Morning Ash." Tanner grumbled. They poured their cereal and milk, sitting quietly still trying to wake up. "Studio day?" Ashton nodded and smiled. Duke ran happily down the hallway. Cal is up. Tanner's face lit up as Duke wagged his tail. "Hey boy." Tanner pet him happily as Calum drug slowly behind. "Hey Cal." Ashton said. "Might wanna start getting ready, studio day today. Last few songs." Tanner finished their bowl and put it in the sink. They walked to their room and threw on a random shirt that probably wasn't theirs and some pants. They fluffed their hair and grabbed their keys and phone. After about an hour, they finally made it to the studio, last recording day and then some finishing touches. "Hey boys." The producer smiled as the last few band members walked in. The producer stopped Tanner for a moment, "Hey i'm not sure if the guys brought it up to you but they said they wanted your voice on some tracks." The last time Tanner sung on a track was when they were just starting. They helped do some vocals on 'Heart Break Girl' and 'Gotta Get Out' and other smaller songs. "Oh well um..i'll think about it." They walked into the studio. One of the last few songs they needed to finish was 'Babylon' which was one of Tanner's favorite tracks. "Okay so on the agenda for Babylon we need to do some backing vocals with harmonies, next is main chorus with more backing vocals and then the verses." Calum went into the room and put the headphones on. He sang the first verse with ease and next came the backup vocals for what He just sang. "You wanna try?" Michael held out the headphones enticingly. Tanner sighed and grabbed them, "Let's do it then."