I am so tired. My eyes are so heavy. I just want to curl up in my bed and sleep for the next week, but that is impossible with my schedule. The words in front of my eyes were starting to go blurry so I quickly rubbed away the desire to sleep and took a large sip of my coffee. The sound of Stella's soft breathing made me jealous. She looked so peaceful with her head on the pillow What I wouldn't give to have it as easy as she does, and that's saying something, because Stella Gaskarth's life is far from normal.


My hand didn't want to cooperate with me, but I forced the words on to the paper with my neat hand writing. Just a few more questions and I'll be done. Just a few more questions and one more of my advanced classes could be crossed off the list. I was so close to my dream, graduating early and starting college. I had two more lessons left, which meant I had two more final tests, then it would all be over for me. At least, the high school part would be.
Saying I was exhausted didn't even begin to describe it, which is probably why I didn't notice when my dad tapped on the door or even when he stepped through it. I exhaled a sharp breath and twisted the pen around in my fingers, watching him eye me like he used to when I was a little girl, explaining to him why monsters didn't really exist.


"Baby, it's four in the morning," dad frowned, his eyes flickering to the stack of books in front of me. "Why aren't you asleep?"


"I recorded yesterday," I mumbled, dropping the pen so I could grab my cup of coffee again. The liquid was starting to become cold. "I figured I'd use my free time to finish up some school work."


"This isn't free time," dad laughed lightly. "It's bed time."


"I think I'm well past the phase where you have to tell me when to go to bed, Daddy."


Dad nodded, the frown still lingering on his lips. He had to have known this wasn't the first night I'd pushed myself to my limits. Every other night, since we got to the studio, I'd stay up late and focus on my studies. That alone explains why I've had such an 'easy' time flying through my work.


"Aubs, I know your mom and I have pushed you a little harder than we should have to focus on your schooling, but that's just because we know how smart and talented you are.. Please, don't take on more than you can handle. You can graduate on time, it doesn't matter to us. You're already years above your age, anyway."


"I'm not doing this for you and mom," I snapped, instant regret running through my veins. "I'm sorry. You guys did push me, but it just made me realize what I'm capable of. Daddy, I have two more text to take and then I'm done. Once my tutor signs off, I can start applying for college. At least I'll get a little break, right? I was also wondering if I could take the state test. Just so the school sees what I'm capable of, not just my tutor. Then I can put that on my application, too."


"I'll take you to take the state test," dad murmured, his eyes scanning the room. There was a ton of scrap paper strewn across the floor and I'm sure he was wondering how Stella slept through my frustrated groans. "But you have to promise you'll take a break between graduation and college. Promise me, Aubree."


"I promise, Daddy," I forced a smile. "It'll be nice to worry about the band and Tom for a bit."


Dad shook his head, but smiled nonetheless. His feet carried him over to my bed, where he gave me a disapproving look for the coffee, but a surprised glance when he saw how long my explanations were on my questions for the section I was currently focused on.



"Finish up and get some rest, honey." Daddy kissed my forehead. "I love you."


"I love you too, Dad."


"And Aubs?" He paused right before he left the room. "I'm proud of you."


As the door shut behind him, a smile came to my lips. It was so nice, just once in a blue moon, to hear that someone was proud of me. There was more to me than the princess image and the brains. I was human, too. With a happy feeling in my gut, I chugged the rest of my coffee and grabbed the pen, easily sailing through the last of my questions. I tossed the book and quiz to the side, snuggling up in my bed, allowing sleep to wash over me.
A short three hours later, Tom was knocking on our bedroom door. I heard Stella grunt and roll over in her bed, probably to press her pillow to her ears to drown out the sound of Tom letting himself enter. I smiled to myself and sat up in the bed, insantly feeling sick and drained. I needed more sleep than I'd gotten.


"Morning, baby," Tom beamed, his eyes flashing from the books to my eyes. "How'd you sleep?"


"Like a baby," I forced, a yawn taking over my lungs. "Let me brush my teeth and I'll be right out."


Tom nodded, closing the door behind him. He was sweet enough to give me more time for myself during the day than anyone else, but that didn't really make things any easier on me. I didn't need Tom to know this, however. He was doing such an amazing job as our manager, I didn't want to think that he was the cause of my sleep deprived brain. Still, I had a repuation to uphold, so I crawled out of bed and tossed my pillow at Stella's head.


"Rise and shine, Stella!" My voice boomed. Admittedly, it was hoarse, but I still managed to have the same cheer I had every morning. It was getting rough, but it'd be over soon, I just knew it. "Time to get the day going!"


I heard Stella mumble curse words in my direction, which made me giggle slightly. I made my way to the closet and picked out a gray dress, one that would make my eyes pop, and changed my clothes quickly. Normally, I would shower, but today was one of those days that made me feel dragged down. Feeling comfortable in the dress, I made my way into the bathroom. I brushed my hair, which fell against my shoulders with just enough life to make it seem like I tried, and brushed my teeth. Once I wad done with that, I covered the bags under my eyes, applied a little eyeliner and smiled at myself in the mirror. It'll do, I suppose.


"Good morning, princess," Nate yawned in my direction. He was waiting on the bathroom as I was leaving it. "You look awfully chipper this morning."


"And you look like a bum," I giggled. "So, when am I going to meet the lucky lady, Nateykins?"


"I'm not sure," Nate shrugged. "I honestly wasn't even supposed to tell you guys about her. She wants to wait until I'm sixteen so she doesn't get in trouble."


"I assumed as much. It's a good things you'll be sixteen by the time we hit the stage again, huh?"


"Yep."


Nate and I shared a smile before I allowed him to enter the bathroom. My own feet carried me to the kitchen, where Tom and Mr. Gaskarth were making breakfast. Uncle Jack was sprawled out in his chair, clearly just as exhausted as myself, while Mr. Merrick and Daddy were sipping their coffee by the island, talking quietly to themselves.


"Hungry?" Mr. Gaskarth flashed me a smile.


"Starved."


I took my seat at the table, waiting for the food to be placed in front of me. Most mornings I was willing to help set the table and pour drinks for everyone, but today, I just didn't have it in me. Eventually, the rest of the band joined us and we all sat down for breakfast together. I finished my meal quickly, the feeling of being full making me sleepy once more, and poured myself a large cup of coffee.


"Stell, you have more work to do with dad today," Tom started, earning a glare from his twin sister. "Nate, you've got some recording to do, as do you, Jack." He turned his attention to me, a flirty grin on his lips. "Aubs, you've got first lesson, then we'll switch off so you can worth with Stella on a new beat for our latest song."


Everyone nodded as we were dismissed from the table. Slugishly, I took a seat in the living room where my tutor had been waiting.


"Good morning Aubree."


"Good morning, Mrs. Harris," I smiled. "I finished my lesson last night. It's, crap." I groaned. "I forgot it in the my room."


"No worries," I heard my dad's voice enter the room. He was holding my books and my quiz in his hands. "Thought you might need this."


I mouthed a thank you before he left the room and passed my quiz off to Mrs. Harris. She read over it, a smile on her lips. Another A. We ran over a few more basics before she sat a work-book down in front of me. Inwardly, I groaned, knowing this was my final test for this class. Once I finished this, I'd have one more lesson and one more test.


"You have an hour. Begin."


Most of it was a breeze, but there were a few questions I struggled with. I just had to remind myself that I could sleep when all of this was over, which helped lift my spirits enough for me to finish the test within forty-five minutes. I fell back against the couch and slid the test over to my tutor.


"I'll let you know tomorrow how you did," she grinned. "In the meantime, here's your French lesson. This is the least important of your studies, so don't stress yourself over it too much. Just get it done and get it back to me."


"Okay."


Yeah, right. Aubree Dawson not stress over a lesson? This woman really did not know anything about me. I was confident in my final grade, no matter what the lesson was. French would be no different. I'd work on this during all my breaks throughout the day and hopefully finish it up tonight before I hit the sheets. If I was lucky, I'd take my final test tomorrow, or at the very least, later this week.


My tutor released me for the day, sending me off to meet up with Stella. When I entered the room, she was still in the middle of writing with her dad. Awkwardly, I stood back and waited for them to notice me.


"Aubs," Stella smiled, putting her notebook down. "Are you ready?"


"Yeah, except my drums are still in recording. How are we going to practice?"


"Oh, right," Mr. Gaskarth smirked. "We moved them for you last night, Aubree."


I nodded, gratful that he did that, but sad that I wouldn't catch a nap before I had to exhaust the rest of my energy. Following Stella with tired eyes, I put on my game face and went through rehearsal like a champ. Us girls ended up owning the song, Stella beaming at me proudly from where she stood with her guitar. From there, we parted ways so she could run off to her lesson. Tom had taken his own while I was working with Stell, so this was one of our rare moments of free time alone together.


"How has your day been?" Tom asked, allowing himself to fall on my bed. I was thankful to have made it back here after practice.


"Can't complain," I smiled. "I have to complete one more French lesson and one more test.. Then I'm done."


"You're the smartest girl I've ever met, you know that?"


I giggled to myself, spinning the ring he bought for me on my finger. I love my friends, I love my family, but Tom was definitely the strength that kept me going. Without him, I probably wouldn't have the courage to get on stage and rock my heart out. Mom always said this is what she was like with dad.. When she went on some old show called The Voice and landed a solo career, he supported her the entire time and made special surprise trips to see her. Mom said it was really hard on both of them, trying to have a relationship with their careers, but they did it. I knew we could do it, too.


With a smile on my face, I curled up in bed and rested my head on Tom's shoulder. I could feel my body relaxing. If I took a nap now, that would give me an hour of rest. I could continue my day when I woke up, eat dinner, finish my exam and be ready to take my final test tomorrow.


I'm the Dawson princess, I reminded myself, drifting off into a sound sleep with Tom's protective arm around me, I can do anything I set my mind to.

Notes

Love me some Aubree. <3.