Lights Out

tHIRTEEN

"You've never been to LA before right?" Jaden asked as we piled into the van that Trent would be driving back to Los Angeles. I shook my head as I fell down into a seat between him and Payton and pulled my pink fleece blanket up and over my body. It was already nine at night and the drive from Seattle to LA was going to take almost a full day of driving.

"We have to take her to Disneyland," Payton said, leaning over my body to look at Jaden. I eagerly nodded my head in agreement. I loved all things Disney.

"Oh, word," Jaden nodded his head. I sighed as I leaned back further into my seat and rested my head onto Payton's shoulder. One thing I hated was long car rides, and this one was going to be ridiculously long.

--

"Bake, Baker, wake up," I could feel someone nudging me but I didn't want to move. I didn't want to open my eyes, I just wanted to sleep. "Baker, baby, come on," Payton's soft voice continued to urge me out of my sleep. I slowly opened my eyes and was greeted by his smiling face. "We're here, babe," he grinned. A smile immediately spread across my face as I quickly sat up and looked out the van's window.

"LA?" I questioned, just to make sure I understood.

"LA!" he chuckled. "Let's go! We're at the house!"

I groaned as I stretched out my aching muscles. The drive from Seattle had been brutal. The few of us that were driving back with Trent had agreed to make minimal stops only to use the bathroom and to get food.

I jumped out of the van and my eyes widened at the house before me. The house was huge with a very modern look. It was very square and blunt and stood out amongst the other houses on the street. I excitedly ran toward the front door where Jaden and Griffin stood, each holding a set of keys.

Griffin put the key into the lock and turned and pushed the door open. My eyes were huge as I took in the entryway. Marble floors welcomed us as we walked inside. To the right was a large staircase and when we continued walking straight we were greeted by a beautiful living room.

"This is gorgeous! I'm almost afraid to stay here. You boys get wild," I said, spinning around to take everything in. This house was nicer than anything I had ever seen. My home back in Pennsylvania was tiny. It was a townhouse with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was perfect for my family, but compared to this house it was extremely small.

"No, no getting wild in this house," Chase said, stepping in through the door behind us. "This house is insane."

"Yeah, the only place we can have any amount of fun is the pool!" Jaden told us, pulling back the blinds on the back door to reveal the pool. It had a large waterfall pouring into the far left corner and a sliding board that sat across from it.

"Oh my god! Can we just move here?" I exclaimed, plopping back onto the couch that reminded me of clouds. It was so soft and so comfortable.

It wasn't until now that I realized truly how much social media had changed my life. I was staying in a mansion with some of my best friends in Los Angeles, California. I was just a sixteen year old girl from Pennsylvania, I didn't belong here. All I did was lipsync to songs and did a couple dances and yet here I was living the good life. I had some of the best friends anyone could ask for. I was truly blessed when it came to life.

"So, who gets the big master bedroom?" Griffin said, walking down the stairs. "I think we should like pull straws or something."

"Um, no. I think since I'm the only girl crazy enough to put up with all of you I automatically get dibs on the big room!" I stomped my foot onto the ground and emphasize my point and they all laughed.

"I'm down with that," Payton said, wrapping his arm around my leg and pulling me down onto his lap.

"The only reason you're okay with that is because you'll be sleeping there too!" Chase laughed with a shake of his head.

"Well, only another reason why Baker should get it. We're two people. We need the bigger room," Payton laughed.

"Hey now, who said I was sharing with you?" I giggled, poking Payton on the top of his nose. "I may just want to go up there, lock myself away, and have a complete girly night. Spread out on the bed and watch Greys, you know how I do."

"Yeah, you don't want to be involved in her girl nights. She'll slap a face mask on you and put clips in your hair!" Jaden jumped up off the couch across from where Payton and I were and pointed his finger at me. "She had me smelling all fruity!"

I laughed as I remembered back to when Jaden had come to visit me for my birthday. The first night he was there I had declared it anything I wanted to do night. We did face masks, he painted my nails or at least attempted to, and we watched girly movies all night long. Jaden really was the perfect friend to have because he never complained.

"Oh my gosh, yes! I remember that! You were such a good sport!" I giggled, reaching up and pulling him down into a hug.

"I think I'll be fine," Payton said, pulling me back tighter against him. I nodded my head, before pulling away and standing up.

"Speaking of that big master bedroom, I'm going to go take a nap!" I announced before taking off toward the stairs then running up them.

It didn't take me long to find the biggest room in the house. It was huge and everything was bright white. I loved it. It definitely helped keep my nerves at bay. All white was so calming to me. I quickly jumped into the bed and wrapped the fluffy white blankets around my small body. No matter what the temperature was like outside I always had to be wrapped up tight in blankets.

Almost immediately I could feel my eyelids getting heavy and before I knew it I was in a deep sleep, something I would be thankful for later.