- reference picture for michael's hair color on the side -
I walk up and down the aisles of the beauty-cosmetic store, searching for the perfect color. I want to find a color that I think Sophie would like. Or a color that would look good next to her when we take pictures together. For when we finally get together.
I finally settle on a color, a blue that's got a lot of gray tones so it's muted without being dark. I grab a box as well as a box of hair bleach and head to the counter to pay.
We're staying in a hotel for the next couple of days since we're having a few interviews and shows around the Los Angeles for a little while.
I climb into the rental car that I borrowed from management and drive to the fancy hotel that I would only be able to dream of staying in if not for this band.
The elevator takes too long for my liking and I feel myself getting angry. All of my emotions are hitting me at once and it's making me really easily angered. My temper is really bad recently and I don't like it, but I know there's only one person who would make it all better.
I get back to my room and change my clothes so I don't ruin my them, and then head to the bathroom and rip open the box of bleach. I prepare the bleach mixture and apply it to my hair to lighten the previous deep red color.
After waiting about 20 minutes, I shower to rinse the bleach from my hair and repeat the process with the blue dye, leaving the dye on my hair for longer.
I dry my hair and run my fingers through it, styling it so it looks messy yet put together.
I groan in annoyance when I have to pause the TV in order to go answer whoever is knocking on the door. I open the door, glaring, and love the satisfaction when Calum takes a couple steps away in fear.
"Okay, dude, you've got to chill out with this anger stuff. Hating everyone isn't going to get you anywhere." I roll my eyes at him and continue glaring at him, waiting for him to tell me why he decided to interrupt my television time.
"We all planned to go to that steakhouse tonight. You know, the one we saw the other day that's a couple streets over? Do you want to come?" Calum asks.
"No." I snap at him and begin to close the door.
"Come on, man, you haven't been out with all of us in forever, unless it was required. We haven't been out together as a band since you discovered that girl." He rolls his eyes in annoyance at me and steps into my hotel room.
"Sure, come on in." I give him as much sarcasm as I can possibly muster, plotting his murder in my head when he laughs at me. "And don't you dare bring Sophie into this, and for the record, she's not just "that girl" to me." Anger starts boiling at the pit of my stomach. Sophie is not just some random girl to me and all of the guys know that, yet they still refer to her as that. I know they think it's stupid how much I'm letting her affect me, but I can't help it. I know I'm meant to be with her at some point. Things like this don't happen for a reason. If there was absolutely no chance I would never have a connection with her, I would've been able to let go of her by now.
"Uh, fine, I guess I'll go." I pinch the bridge of my nose, getting annoyed at the thought of leaving the comfort of my hotel room, pizza delivery, and my bed.
"You didn't have much of a choice anyway, Luke and Ashton are waiting outside to drag you out if needed." He smirks, obviously finding his lame joke funny. I go into the bedroom and change out of my hair-dye stained clothes. I check my hair in the mirror of the bathroom and head out to where all of them are waiting.
The dinner is okay, not great but not terrible either. When we drove by the restaurant the other day, it looked so popular, I thought there wouldn't even be a chance the food wouldn't be too good.
I get back into my hotel room and jump onto the bed as soon as I cross the threshold to the bedroom. It may not seem like I did much, but I was more productive today than I have been in a while.
"... This is going to be my first cover on iTunes, so I'll understand if there's not much success..." I blink my eyes open, scanning the rest of the King-sized bed and the remainder of the room. I spot Luke sitting in the chair near the balcony door, my laptop balanced on his skinny legs, Sophie's voice plays out of a speaker.
"What are you doing in my room?" I groan when he turns and yanks open the curtain, the sunlight immediately streaming in and burning my eyes.
"I'm here to wake you up, Management decided that we should get a break since we've been on the road for so long. They're giving us a few weeks to go home and our plane leaves in..." He looks down at his watch, "...exactly 2 hours."
"Well, yay to going home. Nay to having to leave the humble abode of my hotel room."
"But wouldn't you much rather be at home in your bed than one that's been slept on probably hundreds of times?"
"True. Now, get out. I have to get ready; and get off my computer, no one gave you permission to go through my stuff." I snap at him, throwing the covers off my body and climbing out of the bed to start packing my stuff.
"Well that hot chick you're in love with was on the screen and I thought it'd be an easy way to wake you up." He smirks, knowing how pissed I'll be at him later for calling Sophie "that hot chick".
"Get. Out." I seethe at him, all my anger from the past couple days finally starting to escape. He practically runs out of the room and I'm left to pack and then wait for everyone in the lobby.
I pull my laptop out of my carry on bag and lean back in my first class seat to help myself calm down and relax. I pull my headphones from the side pocket and put the buds into my ears.
After going to YouTube and searching Sophie's channel, I scroll through all of her videos and click on the very first one ever posted.
A younger sophie pops up onto the screen, I check to see when the video was uploaded, and I'm surprised to see that it was almost 3 years ago.
Sophie's hair is straight, but instead of being glossy and soft-looking like it usually is, it's frizzy and has just a small amount of curl to it. She opens her mouth and braces cover her teeth. The braces aren't crazy and they don't make her look bad, she's one of the only people I know who don't look dumb with braces.
When she begins talking, her voice is a bit more high pitched than it is now, and a lot has changed in those 3 years.
"Hello! My name is Sophie; welcome to my channel! For today's video, I'm going to be singing a song called Some Nights by the band Fun.. Another song that you may know by them is their song We Are Young. Trust me, I know that my videos aren't going to be very good right now, I'm going to try and make the future one's better." Now that she's mentioned it, I can see that the camera quality of this video is different from her videos now.
She doesn't say anything for a few seconds and the video has an awkward vibe to it.
"I'll be playing my acoustic guitar instead of having instrumental music playing, but maybe I'll look into the instrumental sometime in the future.
"This is Some Nights! Enjoy!"
Some nights I stay up cashing in my bad luck
Some nights I call it a draw
Some nights I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights I wish they'd just fall off
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh, Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for, oh
What do I stand for? What do I stand for?
Most nights I don't know anymore...
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh
This is it, boys, this is war-what are we waiting for?
Why don't we break the rules already?
I was never one to believe the hype
Save that for the black and white
Try twice as hard and I'm half as liked
But here they come again to jack my style
But that's alright
I found a martyr in my bed tonight
Stops my bones from wondering just who I am, who I am, who I am
Oh, who am I? Mmm... Mmm...
Well, some night I wish that this all would end
'Cause I could use some friends for a change
And some nights I'm scared you'll forget me again
Some nights I always win, I always win
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh, Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for, oh
What do I stand for? What do I stand for?
Most nights I don't know...
So this is it. I sold my soul for this?
Washed my hands of that for this?
I missed my mom and dad for this?
No. When I see stars, when I see, when I see stars, that's all they are
When I hear songs, they sound like this one, so come on.
Oh, come on. Oh, come on. Oh, come on!
Well, this is it guys, that is all-five minutes and I'm bored again
Ten years of this, I'm not sure if anybody understands
This one is not for the folks at home;
Sorry, to leave, mom, I had to go
Who wants to die alone all dried up in the desert sun?
My heart is breaking for my sister and the con that she called "love"
And then I look into my nephew's eyes...
Man, you won't believe the most amazing things, that can come from...
Some terrible nights...
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh
The other night you wouldn't believe the dream I just had about you and me
I called you up and we both agreed
It's for the best you didn't listen
It's for the best we get our distance... Oh...
It's for the best you didn't listen
It's for the best we get our distance... Oh...
....