// chapter three //

talia's pov

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i lay back on our brown, leather couch, scrolling through my instagram news feed as cal and michael let out shouts throughout their many matches of fifa. 'no no no no no.... YES!' michael screams at our flat screen television. calum wears a frown on his face as he rapidly pressed button on his controller.

'hey babe?' michael says to me, his eyes still on the game. calum and i shoot him daggers with our eyes.

i sigh, ignoring my pet peeve for that nickname. 'yes, michael?'

'yah' know when you insulted us after we played american idiot for you?'

i scoff. 'i didn't insult you. i said it didn't suck as much as i thought it would,' i reply, double-tapping a photo on my phone to 'like' it.

michael shrugged it off. 'what the hell, same difference. anyway, don't say that type of stuff in front of luke and ash because..... GO GO GO!' he shouts at his animated character, cutting off his former train of thought.

'michael.'

'sorry,' he says. 'luke and ash are becoming more sensitive, okay?'

i furrow an eyebrow. 'wait, what do you mean by more sensitive? sensitive to what?' i interrogate, looking up from my phone, only to stare at the back of the now-purple-haired boy's head. when he doesn't reply, i turn to calum, but his main focus was soley on the tv. i roll my eyes, and jump up to pull out the plugs on the video game; the screen goes static.

michael and calum groan simultaneously. 'whatcha' do that for?' calum whines.

ignoring him, i advert my gaze to michael. 'what are luke and ashton sensitive about?'

controllers still in hand, michael and calum share a knowing glance. 'we've been receiving a lot of... backlash on social media,' says michael.

i cross my arms. 'so? what's so different about it this time than from the times before?'

calum sighs, standing up and pacing around the room. 'you don't get it. it's not so much about what's different, it's about the large numbers of hateful comments we get day after day. luke and ashton are naturally weary of criticism, but this is flat-out hate.'

michael nods and scratches his neck. 'especially the hate on our version of american idiot. i mean, we worked hard on that, you know? it might not be our original song, but it's a song of our's none the less.'

i nod in understanding. 'that's the reason for their awkward state yesterday?' i ask cautiously, suddenly feeling bad that i was responsible for upsetting luke. and ashton.

'yeah,' calum answers, his large hands harshly rubbing the sides of his face. 'and we're getting pretty freaking tired of being called a boyband,' he says, spitting the word out like venom.

'see!' michael exclaims. 'i told you that would become an issue when we first accepted one direction's offer!' he was referring to their tour.

i frown, giving michael a reassuring gaze from where i stood at the tv, the video game's wires still in my grasp. 'don't say that, michael. they're your friends,' i say, sounding like how my mother sounded when she scolded me for being rude to other children when i was a toddler.

'maybe so, but it just doesn't... feel right, talia. we're not some bubblegum pop group. we play our own instruments, we write our own songs... we work hard,' michael defends, the flirtatious, bad-boy act now draining from him. i stare at him, taking in his worried, angst-ridden expression, because i know that this'll probably be the only time i'll catch him in the act of being a responsible, mature young man.

he lifts himself up from the floor, throwing the controller on the couch. 'i'm leaving. it was a bad idea to bring it up, anyway,' he says, stopping at the coat rack to retrieve his heavy, leather jacket. we hear the door slam.

cal and i share a worried glance, before he pulls out his phone and begins texting away at lightning speed. i sigh, dropping the wires on a random spot on the floor, and seat myself on the opposite side of the couch. if that wasn't awkward, then i don't know what is.

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guuuyyss....

filler chapter, i know. but next chapter will be a little better :)

btw, lulu antariksa on the side (not the best pic of her but bare with me?) ! she's from the nickelodeon show 'how to rock'.

looks like talia's gunna beat someone up with that bass mmmm....

doesn't she look like she belongs in the hood family?

fun fact: she's half- indonesian (just like me teehee!)

byeee xxx