I'm Not Fine At All 》Michael Clifford

Chapter Five

Riley's POV:

"Please keep singing?" Michael begged. He'd been trying to get me to keep singing after I saw them staring at me. I shook my head and handed him the guitar. "I'll sing with you," He said. I looked at him shyly, then back at the floor, and nodded once. "What song?" I shrugged my shoulders. I honestly didn't know. He thought for a moment, then smiled and began playing a song which I loved: Holiday, by Green Day. I smiled and he said, "you know this one?" I nodded again, and he started the first verse.

"Hear the sound of the falling rain
Coming down like an Armageddon flame (Hey!)
The shame
The ones who died without a name"

I joined in for the next part. I harmonized well with his low key, my high voice where it's never been before.

"Hear the dogs howling out of key
To a hymn called "Faith and Misery" (Hey!)
And bleed, the company lost the war today

"I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On holiday

"Hear the drum pounding out of time
Another protester has crossed the line (Hey!)
To find, the money's on the other side

"Can I get another Amen? (Amen!)
There's a flag wrapped around a score of men (Hey!)
A gag, a plastic bag on a monument

"I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On holiday

(Hey!)
(Say, hey!)"

I let my voice drop out for this part, as Michael sang solo for the bridge. I smiled as he watched me.

"The representative from California has the floor,

"Zieg Heil to the president Gasman
Bombs away is your punishment
Pulverize the Eiffel towers
Who criticize your government
Bang bang goes the broken glass and
Kill all the fags that don't agree
Trials by fire, setting fire
Is not a way that's meant for me
Just cause (hey, hey, hey), just cause, because we're outlaws yeah!

"I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
This is our lives on holiday!"

We sang the last lines together, and I was laughing by that time. A real laugh. I had never sung like that before. I never really let my voice go, I'd always kept it quiet, just above a whisper. But this time, I let it go and sang my heart out, forgot that the boys were watching. I actually had fun with it.

I looked at the three and smiled sheepishly as they began to applaud. They were cut off by Ashton walking in, with nothing more than a towel around his waist; from the looks of it, he'd just gotten out of a shower. My eyes widened and I looked at the floor as he walked through the room fussing over his hair.

"Okay, which one of you had surgery done on your vocal chords? Because that was way too high for any of you three-" He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. "Oh... wait... Riley, right?" I nodded, again surprised to find that he remembered me. "So I hear you like my bandana..."

"Michael, you told him what I said, you twit!" I screeched, and he looked up. Ashton laughed and Michael looked up, then jumped forward and put a hand in front of my face.

"Ashton! Put some clothes on! You don't want to scar her for life, do you?" He shouted. I pulled at his hand and saw as Ashton put his hands in the air and went back into the bathroom. Only then, did Michael totally remove his hand.