Drawn To Each Horizon
Nineteen
Alex POV:
So today is Rian’s birthday. It sucks because it’s a Tuesday but then again none of us have to work for a long time so it wasn’t a big deal. I still needed to get Rian a birthday gift, maybe I should’ve changed before going out this morning. Oh well, who cares? I brushed my hair with my fingers quickly and finished the last of my coffee before going inside the store. I looked around for a long time, not finding anything. I went around for a while before finally stumbling into the jewelry section. I tried not to look at anything but one necklace caught my eye. It was a golden chain with a galaxy looking pennant hanging off of it.
“See anything you like?” A woman from behind the counter asked.
“Yeah can I get a closer look at that necklace?” I pointed towards the necklace that had caught my eye. She gladly opened the glass case and pulled out the necklace. Would Liv like it?
“This is a unique piece of jewelry that just came in yesterday.” She explained. “It’s a bit expensive but I’m sure that a lucky lady would love this.”
Maybe I just liked it because I was interested by outer space but it was perfect for Liv. I could see her wearing it all the time whether it were casual or dressy. But if I did get it for her, it would be like she had a piece of me with her whenever I was gone.
“How much is it?” I asked.
“Well it originates from around $7,000,” she started to speak.
“For a necklace?” I was thrown aback by the price. Who in their right mind would pay that much money for a piece of jewelry? A wedding ring I could understand since you’d be wearing it every day, but a necklace? I don’t think I could pay that much money for it.
“Yes, but since we are known for our discount jewelry prices, we’re selling it for $700.” She smiled, “Which is a tenth of the original price.”
“Oh,” I looked at the necklace again. Liv was worth it, this would be a perfect Christmas gift for her. Of course it wouldn’t be the only one, I’ve gotten her some great stuff. But this, this would be the best one yet.
“So are you interested in buying?” She asked politely, trying to sell me.
“I think so.” I’ve bought Olivia a lot of jewelry, but I’m thinking that this one would be her favorite, I knew it was mine. She put it into a box and wrapped it up in some tissue paper before plopping it into a gift bag. I handed her my credit card and signed the receipt. I walked out of the store and mentally slapped myself. I was going to get a gift for Rian, not Liv. Back to the drawing board I guess.
This is hopeless. I’ve been searching my house for almost three hours trying to find something to give Rian for his birthday. I ran a hand through my hair and looked around my crawlspace. Fucking hell, this is harder than I thought. I got up and kicked a box over. I heard a clinking sound and I looked to see what it was. I looked down to see a set of broken drumsticks. They looked like the ones Rian had broken back when we just played in his basement. It was the summer before going into junior year, the year before Olivia stopped going to Rian’s house over the summer.
“Alright guys, lets run over it one more time.” I tried to convince them.
“But we’ve done it like fifty times already.” Jack whined.
“No, we have to get really good.” At this point it was almost hopeless. We had been going at it all night and Rian had already sweated through his shirt. Zack’s shirt was already off and Jack was complaining about hand cramps. How were we ever going to get good?
“You have practiced a lot already.” Olivia tried to reason with me. “You guys sound really good anyways.”
“Yeah dude,” Rian stood up, “Can we just be done for the night?”
“I just want to run through it one more time.” I ran a hand through my hair and tried to calm myself down.
“Fine,” Rian sat back down, “Just one more time and then we’re done.”
“Okay and let’s give it our all.” I tried to sound optimistic. Rian counted us in and we tried our best to put a lot of energy into it. Halfway through the song we heard a snap and turned to face Rian. His face was bright red and he was cursing under his breath.
“What happened?” Zack asked.
“I broke my fucking drumsticks.” He picked up the broken pieces and started walking towards the trash.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Throwing these shit sticks away.” He grunted.
“No dude, we can look at these when we make it in the big time and laugh.” I said. I don’t know why he was so upset; he broke drum sticks all the time. It wasn’t a big deal either; he was kind of a klutz. But hey, he can always get new ones.
“You keep them then, they’re broken and useless.” He set the broken sticks in my hands and went upstairs. We stood there awkwardly in Rian’s basement, not saying anything without his presence. I guess we’re waiting for him to come back.
“I don’t think he’s coming back down.” Olivia broke the silence. It was nice to hear her voice, she never talked to us and I don’t know why. Maybe we made her feel uncomfortable. After all, we are older.
Zack and Jack went upstairs to go home and Olivia went upstairs to go get something to eat. I took the guitar off my shoulders and looked at the broken sticks in my hands. I went upstairs and turned off the lights behind me.
*End Flashback*
I laughed at the memory and went looking around to find something to wrap it in. We would laugh at the memory now, even if we were upset back then. If you broke some drum sticks back then, you’d have to go buy new ones. Now, we just have a shitload so he can just toss them into the crowd. Hopefully, he’d like his gift.
Olivia POV:
Alex had picked me up earlier and told me all about his day. He did leave out a few things though, like what he got for Rian. I’m pretty sure the anticipation was going to kill me. After all, we were completely honest and told each other everything.
I just got Rian a picture of us from the last summer we spent together. It was the summer before I stopped going there. He was going into his junior year and I was going into seventh grade. I always thought that he hated having me around. You know since he was older and always hanging out with his friends. I just didn’t think that he wanted to spend time with his little sister anymore. I didn’t know it then, but that was the summer that I stopped going. That was the summer where it all ended. I didn’t realize that I wouldn’t really see him again for almost eight years.
--
“Alright man, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Alex waved to Rian before leaving the basement. “Bye Olivia.”
I waved goodbye to him awkwardly. He didn’t know it, but I thought he was cute. Rian watched him walk up the stairs and he started to move around his drum kit. Zack and Jack had already left so it was just Rian and I now. They were getting good enough to the point where they’d go play shows or have others hanging out in the basement when they played. No need for me to give my opinion when they had so many others. It was pretty weird now that Rian was always busy. I mean, my stays should be shorter now.
“You okay?” Rian asked, not particularly concerned. I blinked my eyes to make sure that no tears were coming out. Why did I have to be so sensitive?
“I’m fine.” I mumbled. I made my way upstairs to the guest room where I was staying. I pulled a pillow to my face and stayed like that for what felt like ages. Only a few more days and I would be going home. Then school starts back up and I could see all of my friends again. My phone buzzed and I checked the message.
From: Kiki
When are you coming back home? We miss you!
I smiled at the message; it was good to hear from familiar people. I wiped away the tears that were glistening on my cheeks.
To: Kiki
In a few more days, miss you too!
“Hey Olivia, are you coming down for dinner?” Rian appeared in the doorway.
“Not hungry,” I mumbled.
“Okay what’s going on?” He sat down at the edge of the bed and looked at me.
“Nothing, I’m just not hungry.” I prayed that my eyes weren’t red. I prayed that I looked okay and not suspicious.
“Not that.” He rolled his eyes. “Why have you been acting all… weird?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I looked over at the window above the bed.
“You know what, I wanna know what’s wrong.” He crossed his arms and lifted up his eyebrows. “And you’re going to tell me, even if I have to beat it out of you.”
“You wouldn’t hit me.” I gave him a look.
“I don’t think you wanna find out.” He returned my look.
“I just don’t wanna eat anything right now.” I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head.
“This isn’t about the food dammit.” He dug the heels of his palms in his eyes. “Why are you avoiding me?”
“You’re just busy and I don’t want to bother you.” I felt tears welling in my eyes.
“Um, you’re supposed to bother me.” He rolled his eyes. “That’s kind of what sisters are do.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?” He tried to sound compassionate.
“Just go eat or something.” I tried to wave him away.
“Not until you talk to me.”
“Rian, go away.” I told him.
“Why won’t you talk to me?” He sounded irritated. “Come on, do you think I hate you or something?”
“I just feel out of place okay?” I raised my voice.
“Why?” He asked.
“Look, you’ve got your band and I just stand in the way when I come out here.” I curled up into a ball.
“Shut up.” He hugged me.
“Now go eat before I punch you.” I let go of him and watched him walk out of the room.
“We all like having you here by the way.” He poked his head into the room before going down the hallway.
Some time passed and I guess dinner was over.
“Hey.” Rian came back into my room. “Wanna come to a show Friday?”
“I’m leaving that day.” I looked over at him.
“Yeah, I know. It’s close to the airport and then we can take you there when the show’s done.” He tried to convince me.
“Alright,” I sat up. That would be in a few days and then I’d be going home.
“Ready to go?” Rian’s mom came up to my room to help me with my bags.
“Yep,” I followed her downstairs to the car. Rian was already at the venue doing sound check or something. She set my duffel in the trunk and I put my backpack in there with it. My flight was in a few hours and we were a short ways away from the venue and airport.
“I haven’t seen them play in a while.” She tried to make conversation.
“They’ve gotten good.” I tried to help keep the conversation going. We got to the venue and looked at the cars that were parked. It was a small club and a few people were already there. Not many, but enough to make a small crowd, around forty people or so. His mom led me to side stage so we could see them play. Mickey was helping them set up, along with Vinny and Danny. I never talked to any of them, and I kind of thought Vinny was a douche. Hell, they could all be douches for all I know. I hardly even talk to the guys I saw every day.
The guys finally got set up and we watched as some more people came in at the last minute. They started their set and finished it up pretty quickly. I wasn’t really paying attention. They cleaned off the stage once the curtains were down. They went out to the van where they kept their equipment. Rian’s mom and I went over to the van and waited for Rian to finish up.
“Oh hey, see you next summer.” Jack said and was about to pull me into a hug but stopped himself. I guess he didn’t want it to be awkward. Thank god he didn’t though.
“See you in a year.” Alex winked. I don’t think he meant to, he probably had something in his eye.
“Yeah, bye,” Zack said.
“Bye.” I looked over at the van and waved as they drove off. We all walked back to the car and headed off to the airport. Security was a breeze, thankfully there weren’t a ton of people there. I’ve never been a fan of crowds. It didn’t take long for the plane to make it to the gate. I said my goodbyes and gave Rian a hug goodbye. His mom made us take a picture. He laid his arm over my shoulder and smiled. I smiled as well, even though I wouldn’t see him again for a long time.
*End Flashback*
Rian POV:
“Present time!” Cassadee set a bunch of boxes and set them around me. I opened up the presents and they were mostly alcohol. I’m not complaining, but I always get that stuff. I grabbed a gift and saw that it was from Olivia. I looked up at her and she had a huge grin on her face. I unwrapped the present and looked down at a picture in a small frame. It was the day she left to go home, her last summer in Baltimore. That was over nine years ago.
“Thanks sis,” I pulled her into a big hug.
I opened the last present, which was from Alex. He had a huge smile too. I rolled my eyes at him and pulled out a pair of broken drumsticks. I gave him a confused look and he just made me read the card that came with them.
I remembered now, it was stupid that I was so mad about some broken sticks. I laughed and hugged him.
“Did you guys coordinate your gifts?” I asked.
They just gave me confused looks.
“They’re both from the same summer.” Nothing. “The summer before our junior year, you know Olivia’s last summer at my house.”
“Weird coincidence I guess.” Alex wrapped an arm around Olivia’s waist.
So today is Rian’s birthday. It sucks because it’s a Tuesday but then again none of us have to work for a long time so it wasn’t a big deal. I still needed to get Rian a birthday gift, maybe I should’ve changed before going out this morning. Oh well, who cares? I brushed my hair with my fingers quickly and finished the last of my coffee before going inside the store. I looked around for a long time, not finding anything. I went around for a while before finally stumbling into the jewelry section. I tried not to look at anything but one necklace caught my eye. It was a golden chain with a galaxy looking pennant hanging off of it.
“See anything you like?” A woman from behind the counter asked.
“Yeah can I get a closer look at that necklace?” I pointed towards the necklace that had caught my eye. She gladly opened the glass case and pulled out the necklace. Would Liv like it?
“This is a unique piece of jewelry that just came in yesterday.” She explained. “It’s a bit expensive but I’m sure that a lucky lady would love this.”
Maybe I just liked it because I was interested by outer space but it was perfect for Liv. I could see her wearing it all the time whether it were casual or dressy. But if I did get it for her, it would be like she had a piece of me with her whenever I was gone.
“How much is it?” I asked.
“Well it originates from around $7,000,” she started to speak.
“For a necklace?” I was thrown aback by the price. Who in their right mind would pay that much money for a piece of jewelry? A wedding ring I could understand since you’d be wearing it every day, but a necklace? I don’t think I could pay that much money for it.
“Yes, but since we are known for our discount jewelry prices, we’re selling it for $700.” She smiled, “Which is a tenth of the original price.”
“Oh,” I looked at the necklace again. Liv was worth it, this would be a perfect Christmas gift for her. Of course it wouldn’t be the only one, I’ve gotten her some great stuff. But this, this would be the best one yet.
“So are you interested in buying?” She asked politely, trying to sell me.
“I think so.” I’ve bought Olivia a lot of jewelry, but I’m thinking that this one would be her favorite, I knew it was mine. She put it into a box and wrapped it up in some tissue paper before plopping it into a gift bag. I handed her my credit card and signed the receipt. I walked out of the store and mentally slapped myself. I was going to get a gift for Rian, not Liv. Back to the drawing board I guess.
This is hopeless. I’ve been searching my house for almost three hours trying to find something to give Rian for his birthday. I ran a hand through my hair and looked around my crawlspace. Fucking hell, this is harder than I thought. I got up and kicked a box over. I heard a clinking sound and I looked to see what it was. I looked down to see a set of broken drumsticks. They looked like the ones Rian had broken back when we just played in his basement. It was the summer before going into junior year, the year before Olivia stopped going to Rian’s house over the summer.
“Alright guys, lets run over it one more time.” I tried to convince them.
“But we’ve done it like fifty times already.” Jack whined.
“No, we have to get really good.” At this point it was almost hopeless. We had been going at it all night and Rian had already sweated through his shirt. Zack’s shirt was already off and Jack was complaining about hand cramps. How were we ever going to get good?
“You have practiced a lot already.” Olivia tried to reason with me. “You guys sound really good anyways.”
“Yeah dude,” Rian stood up, “Can we just be done for the night?”
“I just want to run through it one more time.” I ran a hand through my hair and tried to calm myself down.
“Fine,” Rian sat back down, “Just one more time and then we’re done.”
“Okay and let’s give it our all.” I tried to sound optimistic. Rian counted us in and we tried our best to put a lot of energy into it. Halfway through the song we heard a snap and turned to face Rian. His face was bright red and he was cursing under his breath.
“What happened?” Zack asked.
“I broke my fucking drumsticks.” He picked up the broken pieces and started walking towards the trash.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Throwing these shit sticks away.” He grunted.
“No dude, we can look at these when we make it in the big time and laugh.” I said. I don’t know why he was so upset; he broke drum sticks all the time. It wasn’t a big deal either; he was kind of a klutz. But hey, he can always get new ones.
“You keep them then, they’re broken and useless.” He set the broken sticks in my hands and went upstairs. We stood there awkwardly in Rian’s basement, not saying anything without his presence. I guess we’re waiting for him to come back.
“I don’t think he’s coming back down.” Olivia broke the silence. It was nice to hear her voice, she never talked to us and I don’t know why. Maybe we made her feel uncomfortable. After all, we are older.
Zack and Jack went upstairs to go home and Olivia went upstairs to go get something to eat. I took the guitar off my shoulders and looked at the broken sticks in my hands. I went upstairs and turned off the lights behind me.
*End Flashback*
I laughed at the memory and went looking around to find something to wrap it in. We would laugh at the memory now, even if we were upset back then. If you broke some drum sticks back then, you’d have to go buy new ones. Now, we just have a shitload so he can just toss them into the crowd. Hopefully, he’d like his gift.
Olivia POV:
Alex had picked me up earlier and told me all about his day. He did leave out a few things though, like what he got for Rian. I’m pretty sure the anticipation was going to kill me. After all, we were completely honest and told each other everything.
I just got Rian a picture of us from the last summer we spent together. It was the summer before I stopped going there. He was going into his junior year and I was going into seventh grade. I always thought that he hated having me around. You know since he was older and always hanging out with his friends. I just didn’t think that he wanted to spend time with his little sister anymore. I didn’t know it then, but that was the summer that I stopped going. That was the summer where it all ended. I didn’t realize that I wouldn’t really see him again for almost eight years.
--
“Alright man, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Alex waved to Rian before leaving the basement. “Bye Olivia.”
I waved goodbye to him awkwardly. He didn’t know it, but I thought he was cute. Rian watched him walk up the stairs and he started to move around his drum kit. Zack and Jack had already left so it was just Rian and I now. They were getting good enough to the point where they’d go play shows or have others hanging out in the basement when they played. No need for me to give my opinion when they had so many others. It was pretty weird now that Rian was always busy. I mean, my stays should be shorter now.
“You okay?” Rian asked, not particularly concerned. I blinked my eyes to make sure that no tears were coming out. Why did I have to be so sensitive?
“I’m fine.” I mumbled. I made my way upstairs to the guest room where I was staying. I pulled a pillow to my face and stayed like that for what felt like ages. Only a few more days and I would be going home. Then school starts back up and I could see all of my friends again. My phone buzzed and I checked the message.
From: Kiki
When are you coming back home? We miss you!
I smiled at the message; it was good to hear from familiar people. I wiped away the tears that were glistening on my cheeks.
To: Kiki
In a few more days, miss you too!
“Hey Olivia, are you coming down for dinner?” Rian appeared in the doorway.
“Not hungry,” I mumbled.
“Okay what’s going on?” He sat down at the edge of the bed and looked at me.
“Nothing, I’m just not hungry.” I prayed that my eyes weren’t red. I prayed that I looked okay and not suspicious.
“Not that.” He rolled his eyes. “Why have you been acting all… weird?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I looked over at the window above the bed.
“You know what, I wanna know what’s wrong.” He crossed his arms and lifted up his eyebrows. “And you’re going to tell me, even if I have to beat it out of you.”
“You wouldn’t hit me.” I gave him a look.
“I don’t think you wanna find out.” He returned my look.
“I just don’t wanna eat anything right now.” I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head.
“This isn’t about the food dammit.” He dug the heels of his palms in his eyes. “Why are you avoiding me?”
“You’re just busy and I don’t want to bother you.” I felt tears welling in my eyes.
“Um, you’re supposed to bother me.” He rolled his eyes. “That’s kind of what sisters are do.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?” He tried to sound compassionate.
“Just go eat or something.” I tried to wave him away.
“Not until you talk to me.”
“Rian, go away.” I told him.
“Why won’t you talk to me?” He sounded irritated. “Come on, do you think I hate you or something?”
“I just feel out of place okay?” I raised my voice.
“Why?” He asked.
“Look, you’ve got your band and I just stand in the way when I come out here.” I curled up into a ball.
“Shut up.” He hugged me.
“Now go eat before I punch you.” I let go of him and watched him walk out of the room.
“We all like having you here by the way.” He poked his head into the room before going down the hallway.
Some time passed and I guess dinner was over.
“Hey.” Rian came back into my room. “Wanna come to a show Friday?”
“I’m leaving that day.” I looked over at him.
“Yeah, I know. It’s close to the airport and then we can take you there when the show’s done.” He tried to convince me.
“Alright,” I sat up. That would be in a few days and then I’d be going home.
“Ready to go?” Rian’s mom came up to my room to help me with my bags.
“Yep,” I followed her downstairs to the car. Rian was already at the venue doing sound check or something. She set my duffel in the trunk and I put my backpack in there with it. My flight was in a few hours and we were a short ways away from the venue and airport.
“I haven’t seen them play in a while.” She tried to make conversation.
“They’ve gotten good.” I tried to help keep the conversation going. We got to the venue and looked at the cars that were parked. It was a small club and a few people were already there. Not many, but enough to make a small crowd, around forty people or so. His mom led me to side stage so we could see them play. Mickey was helping them set up, along with Vinny and Danny. I never talked to any of them, and I kind of thought Vinny was a douche. Hell, they could all be douches for all I know. I hardly even talk to the guys I saw every day.
The guys finally got set up and we watched as some more people came in at the last minute. They started their set and finished it up pretty quickly. I wasn’t really paying attention. They cleaned off the stage once the curtains were down. They went out to the van where they kept their equipment. Rian’s mom and I went over to the van and waited for Rian to finish up.
“Oh hey, see you next summer.” Jack said and was about to pull me into a hug but stopped himself. I guess he didn’t want it to be awkward. Thank god he didn’t though.
“See you in a year.” Alex winked. I don’t think he meant to, he probably had something in his eye.
“Yeah, bye,” Zack said.
“Bye.” I looked over at the van and waved as they drove off. We all walked back to the car and headed off to the airport. Security was a breeze, thankfully there weren’t a ton of people there. I’ve never been a fan of crowds. It didn’t take long for the plane to make it to the gate. I said my goodbyes and gave Rian a hug goodbye. His mom made us take a picture. He laid his arm over my shoulder and smiled. I smiled as well, even though I wouldn’t see him again for a long time.
*End Flashback*
Rian POV:
“Present time!” Cassadee set a bunch of boxes and set them around me. I opened up the presents and they were mostly alcohol. I’m not complaining, but I always get that stuff. I grabbed a gift and saw that it was from Olivia. I looked up at her and she had a huge grin on her face. I unwrapped the present and looked down at a picture in a small frame. It was the day she left to go home, her last summer in Baltimore. That was over nine years ago.
“Thanks sis,” I pulled her into a big hug.
I opened the last present, which was from Alex. He had a huge smile too. I rolled my eyes at him and pulled out a pair of broken drumsticks. I gave him a confused look and he just made me read the card that came with them.
I remembered now, it was stupid that I was so mad about some broken sticks. I laughed and hugged him.
“Did you guys coordinate your gifts?” I asked.
They just gave me confused looks.
“They’re both from the same summer.” Nothing. “The summer before our junior year, you know Olivia’s last summer at my house.”
“Weird coincidence I guess.” Alex wrapped an arm around Olivia’s waist.
Notes
So this is a very long chapter, sorry if you like the shorter ones. I just didn't feel like splitting Rian's birthday into two separate chapters. But hey, flashbacks are cool right? (Please tell me if you liked them bc I had no idea what I was doing with this chapter.)Anyways, I'm so House Party was amazing and if you guys are going on a later date, you'll love it, I promise. Alex would pout because we weren't being loud enough the first time and it was adorable.
Thanks for reading lovelies!
@BringMeBarakat
That's so sweet! Fun fact: writing the ending actually made me cry.
1/3/14