CHAPTER 16: 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER
“No one understands the chemistry we have, and it came out of nowhere…… Say my name, no need to pretend, don’t be shy…… I'll show you why you're not gonna walk away…” - Mrs All American, 5 Seconds of Summer
“Did you dye your hair?” Michael asked, tugging the strands of my hair.
“Yes good job Sherlock, thank you for noticing,” I replied sarcastically.
“Are you trying to copy me?”
“Hmm, well let’s think. You dyed your hair blonde, and I dip-dyed mine light blue, so yes I think I am trying to copy you.”
“No like I mean, I dyed mine, you dye yours, just what are the chances?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not even gonna have this conversation with you.”
Sure we were friends now, but mine and Michael’s relationship would never last without arguing or disagreeing on something. So living with them in their house in Los Angeles could get a little tricky because so far in two days a fight had broken out three times. All three were actually between me and Luke but it always started with me and Michael arguing over something and then Luke would come and add fuel to the fire.
“Come here you bastard!” Ashton giggled.
I looked to where the source was coming from and found a shirtless Ashton (a very fine sight indeed) chasing Luke out back to the pool. I stood by the door to see what the hell they were doing, it was a common thing for me to observe what they were doing half the time.
“Come and say hi!” Ashton said while raising his phone. Oh so they were making Keek, I turned around to go back into the house. “Hey Kat! Come and say hi-“
Luke snatched his phone off him and then started making weird noises. “Oh look at that, we’re out of time.”
“You’re a real douche,” I said, putting up my middle finger.
“Seriously are the two of you ever gonna get along?” Calum said, appearing behind me.
“Nope. Never. We’ll never be friends.”
“Yeah well that was also true with you and Mike and Ash.”
“Who said I get along with him?” I retorted, gesturing Michael who was furiously pressing buttons on his controller.
“Well you don’t hate him,” Calum pointed out.
“Then who said I don’t hate her?” Michael yelled.
Calum and I looked at each other, trying not to laugh. “By the way Cal, even though you have a nice body, please put some clothes on.”
“CALUM! COME OVER HERE!” Ashton yelled out of nowhere.
“I think you should go and run to save your damsel in distress,” I said cheekily.
Calum pretended to unsheathe a sword. “Oh fear not my princess! I am here!”
I laughed at Calum doing a weird run and then walked over to the kitchen to make myself some toast after realising just how hungry I was.
“Are you in the kitchen? Make me some vegemite toast,” Michael called while holding a controller in his hand and not peeling his eyes away from the TV screen.
“No you can make it yourself. I’m not your slave,” I said, slamming the lid of the Vegemite jar back on. Michael continued to whine and I eventually gave in. “Fine! I’ll make you the fucking toast!”
“Thanks Kat! I love you!”
“I beg to differ,” I said, putting the bread in the toaster. “And that was so not true not even a week ago,” I added.
Miraculously Michael actually put his controller down. “Well things change don’t they?”
“I think recently things have been changing quicker than your hair colour.” I buttered the toast and then put it down on the coffee table in front of him. Then I sat down next to him and put my plate in my lap. “Can I play?” I asked, nodding my head to the spare controller.
“You?” Michael asked skeptically.
“Yeah. Let me explain to you something. I was pretty much raised by my two brothers. They taught me a lot how to act like a boy, and not mention my best friend since I was like three was Calum. Did you think we would braid each other’s hair and play with Barbies?”
“Well… it’s Calum.”
“Hey! I heard that!” his voice came from somewhere outside.
“Oh come on! You’re like hairless!”
“So…” I continued without laughing. “My point is that I have been playing video games for years with my brothers and Calum and I am not a total girly girl. And two of my three other best friends are also guys.”
“Okay, fine…” Michael threw me the spare controller. We each took two or three bites from our toasts and then almost simultaneously wiped our hands on our jeans then poised our hands on top of the controller. Michael looked at my hands then at me in surprise. “So far so good,” he muttered. “Okay? You ready?”
“As ready as you are.”
Michael pressed play and then we both started furiously pressing the buttons immediately. “Woah you are good,” Michael commented.
“Well, thank you,” I said, successfully shooting someone.
“Hey can I ask you something?”
“Fire away. Ha, get it? Fire away?”
Michael looked hopelessly at me for a split second before looking quickly at the TV screen again. “That was the worst pun ever.”
“Yeah I know. So what were you asking?” I asked, shooting down another player.
“Exactly what happened between you and your dad? You never talk about it for too long.”
“Well, there’s a reason.”
Michael killed two more people. “How come?”
I sighed. “He was a douche. I hate him. He left me and my brothers alone with my mum and married a whore who had a shitty dickhead of a son and another little slut of a daughter. Ethan finally told me this year that our mum actually died because of depression. She was insistent of staying with us and take care of us, but the depression affected her immune system and her heart. She- well you get the gist of what happened afterwards.”
“Oh wow, I’m er… really sorry.”
“Don’t be. All you need to do is to go and kill my father like how you’ve killed people in here and I’ll be fine.”
“Okay. I’ll do it for you- FUCK!” Michael pressed the buttons even more ferociously. “That was close!”
“And apparently I have another brother or sister too.”
“What no way.”
“Yes way. My dad told me that she left right after she discovered she was pregnant with his kid because she didn’t want to get involved, but for all know she might have had an abortion or miscarriage and didn’t have the kid.”
