The Eight Of Us? (Sidemen Fanfic)

10

Riley's POV

The car came to a stop and we all climbed out. When Buddy jumped out I hooked the leash back onto his harness.
The other boys had arrived a couple of minutes before us and were standing around Simon's car which was parked a couple of spaces down and across the isle.

"What took you guys so long?" Ethan called out, laughing afterwards. The rest of us chuckled a bit, not really having an answer or a funny comeback on hand. I looked towards the place that we had come to and it was an enormous pet store. Let's get this done with. Since it is a pet store, people are allowed to bring their pets, regardless of how well behaved they are. This can serve as a problem with service dogs because they can easily become distracted and miss an alert.

We walked up to the front of the building, me leading the way since the boys obviously don't have a pet to shop for. I went to grab a shopping cart, but I was stopped by JJ.

"You don't need one of them, I can carry the dog food," he said with a smile and put his hand on my back, in a friendly gesture.

"Are you sure?" I asked not wanting to inconvenience him by having him carry it.

"Yes, I'm sure. Look at these, it will be a piece of cake," JJ said as he flexed his biceps. He smirked and winked at me. I hit his chest lightly and giggled at him.

I continued through the store. Every once in a while I would look back behind to see if the others were still there. They all had gotten distracted by some animal wether it be a dog, cat, or some kind of reptile. The only one still with me was JJ. We finally made it to the dog food and I immediately found the right brand and size.

"This it?" JJ asked pointing to the bag.

"Yup, you don't have to grab it now if you don't want to, I need to get Buddy a couple of other things first," I said as I pet the bird dog's head.

"I'll just grab it now and follow you, it really isn't that heavy," JJ said. He bent down and lifted the bag onto his shoulder like it was nothing before standing back up.

I started in the direction of dog beds. When we got there, the entire wall was covered in different styles, colors, and sizes. I just looked around at the different options. A barking drew me away from the beds and to a small dog in a cart. The cart was being pushed by a woman who was smiling at Buddy. The dog in the cart was going absolutely crazy, barking at Buddy. Buddy's attention was completely on the other dog.

"Awe, isn't he a cutie. Say hello, Mac," the woman said in a voice that you would use to talk to a dog or a baby.

"Ma'am, please control your dog, my dog is working and can't focus with your dog barking," I said calmly. It's always important to stay calm in a situation like this, you never know how the other person is going to react to a confrontation.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the woman said and pushed her cart down another isle. The barking soon stopped and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Buddy, focus," I said. I placed my index finger on Buddy's nose and slowly brought the finger to my nose. Buddy followed my finger until our eyes locked. He was now refocused on me.

"Wow, does that happen a lot?" JJ asked from beside me. He shifted the bag of food on his shoulder.

"Yeah, unfortunately," I replied. I then turned back to my task of picking out a dog bed. I finally laid eyes on just a tan bed that looked big enough for Buddy, plus maybe another dog. I grabbed two of the same bed and then glanced over to JJ.

"I think that'll do it," I said and he nodded. I headed for the front of the store to pay. After standing in line, I gave in and grabbed a bag of treats for Buddy as well. We finally got to the front of the line and paid, then we waited by the door for the other boys. The other boys, minus Josh and Harry, came up to us and stood around, waiting for the other two.

"Please, Joshy?" Harry begged. He had a hold of Josh's arm and was trying really hard to convince him of something.

"No, Harry. When are you going to find time to take care of an animal?" Josh asked with his dad voice. He removed his arm from Harry's grasp and instead put his arm around his shoulders, bringing him into some sort of side hug. Harry frowned and tried to use his puppy eyes on Josh.

"Come on, don't give me that look," Josh said while shielding his eyes from Harry.

"Let's get going before we actually end up bringing an animal home," Ethan called out and we all agreed, well except for Harry. We all made it out to the cars and loaded all of the things I had bought into the back of Josh's car before splitting back up into our two groups.

During this car ride, Tobi controlled the music and we all ended up screaming the lyrics to some of the diss tracks. Tobi occasionally took a couple of Snapchat videos and put them on his story.

When we reached our next destination, we all piled out of the car. I looked at the building that we were parked in front of. It's a music store.

"Why are we at a music store?" I asked.

"We wanted to listen to you play something," Josh said with a smirk. We all walked up to the store and went inside.

I looked around in awe of all the beautiful instruments. Violins and Violas were hung on the walls. Guitars, acoustic and electric, along with electric basses as well. Amplifiers were scattered around the room in various places. Keyboards and grand pianos were lined against a wall. Trumpets, tubas, and trombones sat on stands along the floor. Cellos and upright basses stood in holders. Drum sets stood on little make shift platforms. Benches were scattered throughout the store. This is my paradise. Nearly every instrument imaginable is at my fingertips.

"Hey, you're Riley, Riley James? I love your videos. Is there anything I can help you with?" A man wearing a sore uniform asked.

"Thank you. I was just hoping I could play some of your instruments," I said hoping he would let me. I haven't played in a while, I had to leave all of my instruments in America because it was too much to get them all here. I've also been getting ready for my move here and haven't had any free time until now.

"Yeah, of course! Feel free to play any of them. If you need anything let me know," he said politely and then disappeared to continue his work.

"So, what do you want me to play?" I asked the boys as I turned to face them. They were just looking around in awe still.

"Anything," Tobi said still looking around. I looked around as well, one last time before my eyes landed on an absolutely beautiful cello.

I walked across the room to it. I unlatched the stand and picked it up along with the bow. I quickly unhooked Buddy's leash from his harness so that he could walk beside me while I carried the cello with out hitting him. A chair was sat not far away from where I stood, so I made my way over and sat on it.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! It's storming right now and I love it. Lightning and thunder galore, plus a bit of hail, and the possibility of tornadoes. Fun, fun, fun. Anyways, until next time, Ilya, bye!!!