Auriana
"Okay everyone, it's a quarter to twelve so if you don't have a CD yet, you can still buy one, Auriana, Jimmy, Brooke, Jeremy, Emma, Jake, Nikki, Skylar, Scarlet, Renee, would you like to sing the last song on your CD as a closing song?" Michelle asked. We climbed on stage and started making music.
"You don't have to face the world all on your own,'
"Don't forget that we're here for you,"
"Don't let anyone get you down,"
"We'll show them that,"
"No matter where we are,"
"In the darkest of nights,"
"You'll stand by my side,"
"In the middle of the night,"
"And it doesn't matter,"
"How hard it gets,"
"Because we're better together,"
"Time to celebrate,"
"We sticked together,"
"Through it all,"
"So we're different, so what,"
"All of us together,"
"Those differences are what makes us strong,"
"'Cause we're better together,"
"Each of us is a piece of the puzzle,"
"We fit together perfectly,"
"Whatever life throws our way,"
"We can make it work,"
"No matter where we are,"
"In the darkest of nights,"
"You'll stand by my side,"
"In the middle of the night,"
"And it doesn't matter,"
"How hard it gets,"
"Because we're better together,"
"Time to celebrate,"
"We sticked together,"
"Through it all,"
"So we're different, so what,"
"All of us together,"
"Those differences are what makes us strong,"
"'Cause we're better together,"
"Make a difference,"
"We're a team,"
"When we're together,"
"We can do anything,"
"Make a difference,"
"We're a team,"
"When we're together,"
"We can do anything,"
"Yeah!"
"Because we're better together,"
"Time to celebrate,"
"We sticked together,"
"Through it all,"
"So we're different, so what,"
"All of us together,"
"Those differences are what makes us strong,"
"'Cause we're better together,"
"Make a difference,"
"We're a team,"
"When we're together,"
"We can do anything,"
"Make a difference,"
"We're a team,"
"When we're together,"
"We can do anything,"
"Yeah!"
"We're better together."
Jake
The crowd started clapping. We put the microphones back on their stands and we all danced for the last ten minutes of the party until Michelle turned off the music.
"Okay everyone, it's twelve o'clock, so unfortunately the party has come to an end. I hope you had a good time." The gym slowly emptied.
"This was the best party ever!" Brooke waved her arms happily.
"I agree with Brooke," Jeremy cheered. Renee rolled her eyes at their enthusiasm.
"You guys think every party is the best party ever," Renee chuckled. We burst out laughing.
"Brooke, are you coming to get the platters?"
"Sure, Mom." We walked to the kitchen. Mrs. Taylor gave each of us a box. We thanked Mrs. Taylor and walked to our bikes where Principal Nickolas was waiting for us.
"I want to ask you something," we looked at her expectantly, "will you guys be organizing all the parties from now on?" We exchanged a look and nodded.
"Okay, I'm going to go home now," the headmistress said with a laugh and walked to her car.
"Jake? Can I talk to you for a minute?" sounded it shyly behind them. I glanced at Auriana who nodded her head in agreement and let go of my hand. I walked with Hannah, but in a way that I stayed close to my friends.
"You're not going to hit me again, are you?" I wondered out loud. Hannah shook her head. Only now did I see that she had tears in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Okay, yes I knew I had hurt her, but it wasn't sadness that I saw on her face…it was something else, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"The whole thing with Mrs Scheeps and Auriana's father is my fault." I looked at her, not understanding.
"I called Mrs. Scheeps after I ran away in anger."
"Why would you do that?!" My concern turned to anger.
"I wanted revenge on Auriana for taking you away from me, it was just stupid jealousy." Hannah lowered her eyes.
"Hannah do you know how much danger you've put us in?!"
"I'm sorry!" Hannah burst into tears. Immediately after my outburst I felt sorry and hugged Hannah. She couldn't have known this would happen either, I thought. Auriana looked around and a pang of jealousy shot through her.
"How did you get Mrs. Scheeps' phone number?" Hannah remained silent. I lifted her head with my finger and looked at her intently. Hannah sighed and looked into my eyes.
"Angela Scheeps is…my…mother," Hannah admitted softly. A tear rolled down her cheek but she quickly wiped it away.
"What?!" At first I got a look of pure horror on my face, but that changed to a look of pity. You'd be better off having anyone but Angela Scheeps as a mother, I thought.
"Go home, rest, and we'll talk on Monday."
"Okay, Jake?" I looked at her expectantly.
"Thanks," Hannah said with a half smile. I gave her a smile that said it was okay and walked back to the rest where I saw the expression on Auriana's face.
"You don't have to be jealous," I laughed as I put my arm around her shoulders. We arrived at her grandmother's house shortly after. She felt in the pockets of her cardigan. Typical of her to lose her keys again, I thought.
"Lost your keys?" I asked, laughing. I had gotten to know her well enough in the past two months to know that she regularly loses or forgets her keys.
"No… they're just inside." Auriana rang the doorbell as I shook my head, laughing.
"Forgot your keys?" her grandmother asked. She looked tired. That wasn't surprising after the night they had had. After the incident at school, they had been brought home by the police officers who had come to take their statements. The twins had only been in bed for half an hour.
"You know me, don't you?" Auriana said. Now that she was safe and sound, I turned to go to my own house, but a stern voice stopped me from taking a single step.
"And where do you think you're going?" Auriana's grandmother asked. I stood there frozen, and Auriana had a hard time holding back her laughter.
"You're not going out anymore."
"But I have to go home," I protested.
"Text your mother that you're staying the night at Jimmy's," Auriana's grandmother said. She looked at me sternly.
"But..." Auriana looked at me from behind her grandmother, laughing. She could barely hold back her laughter.
"There's no point in arguing," Auriana laughed. Maybe it would be better to just give up, I don't think I'm going to win this one. Auriana took the boxes out of her panniers and pulled me inside.
"Do you want something to drink?"
"Uhm, water." She stood up and looked sternly at her grandmother.
"Grandma, can you make Jake feel comfortable?" Auriana walked to the kitchen. Auriana's grandmother stood up and walked to a dresser where she took something out and pushed it into my hands.
"If you're going to do something, do it safely." My eyes slid to what she had put in my hand and I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. Auriana came back and handed me the glass.
"I said comfortable, not insecure," she said when she saw my red cheeks. Her grandmother shrugged innocently.
"You know me." Auriana sat down next to me and rubbed my back. Her eyes fell on what her grandmother had given me. Auriana grabbed it from my hands and put it back in the dresser. She grabbed the boxes from the table and pulled me into the kitchen. She had no intention of leaving me alone again. We put the boxes in the fridge and then walked upstairs together. Once we were safely in Auriana's room, I put the glass of water down on her desk and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't take her too serious," Auriana said as she wrapped her arms around my waist. She couldn't believe her grandmother was embarrassing her like that. I smiled and kissed the top of her head as I held her tightly in my arms.