(1) Talk Me Down: An All Time Low Fanfiction Romance

Chapter 31: Okay

        About thirty minutes into the session, I had changed my posture completely. Rian had forced a can of orange soda into my grip, and my back slouched into the deep dents of the beaten up couch. It was strange, for once, I was feeling extremely comfortable.

        The dim, old lights of the garage made the boys look slightly yellow. I could see the sweat glistening off their arms, faces, and chests. Alex's shirt was nearly soaked all the way through, so wasn't Jack's. Zack was in a loose sleeveless shirt that barely showed his moisture. Rian was in the middle, and I couldn't keep my eyes off of him when he played.

        A lot of people would just see Alex, the front man of the entire operation. He distracts you from everyone else, mostly because he is so into the music. He writes it, it comes from his heart. I didn't blame him for all the emotion that he puts into his performance. Zack and Jack are on either side of him, and they are interesting to watch too. Jack smiles, jokes around, and moves around constantly. Zack stomps his foot when he plays, closing his eyes when his fingers move against the strings of his bass. Rian is something entirely different from the rest of them.

        His eyes are either closed shut for minutes at a time, or open as he concentrates on where to hit his drumsticks next. I didn't know a thing about drums, how to play, or what was what, but watching him play was like watching a professional. His fingers never faltered, it was like there was no need to think about what he way playing. He just knew.

        The way his expressions changed, I could just see how much he loved it. He smiled to himself, eyes never really wandering from his work when they were actually gone. HIs hands moved so quickly, it didin't seem possible to comprehend. For the first time ever, I really listened to the drums during a song. It was always background noise, nothing you thought about. When I watched Rian play, I couldn't help but listen to every noise he made.

        They finished the song, Alex leaning over his microphone panting. Zack held Rian's symbol as he hit it, and they all grinned to themselves like little boys, happy with the new song they'd been working on for weeks. I guess it was the first song Alex has written in a while, because he's had mega writer's block. The song came out great, and I liked it a lot. I'm pretty sure the name was, "Memories That Fade like Photographs."

        Jack smacked Zack and Alex's butts, much like a boy would do after a football game. He yelped happily at the turn out of the song, jumped and clicked his heels together excitedly and screamed, "THAT WAS BOMB!"

        "Dude, nice job," Zack held out his fist to be pounded by Rian. He tapped his knuckles lightly, reaching for the bottle of water, and looking over at me with a smile. I grinned back, giving him a thumbs up. He stood up from the stool and walked to me. I smiled when he flopped down between my side and the arm of the couch. His hand fell casually around my shoulders. I felt my hair touch his hand, but I didn't mind. It didn't bother me at all actually.

        "You guys are so good," I said to him mostly, still a little scared to address the group as a whole. I knew that I could talk to Zack, and by Jack's first reaction to me, he seemed okay too. Alex intimidated me, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it was because he led the pack, and he was in charge the same way Veronica was. At the same time, I wasn't really afraid of him. He was someone that I would stand up to, someone I would tell off. Maybe it was because I knew if Alex didn't like me, I had a feeling that might influence Rian. I really didn't want to stop hanging out with him -- not one bit.

        "You can just tell me how good I looked while playing, I won't mind," Jack fell onto the couch, head on my lap as he sunk into the couch, and looked up at me. His skunk colored hair hung away from his face, allowing me to see his forehead. I guess he was more comfortable with me than I thought.