Noah
Noah burst into AJ's room at 8am, she was still in bed. He ran in and jumped on her bed.
"Morning babe! Happy birthday!"
He kissed her lightly.
AJ
By reflex, AJ's arm flung up and whacked him in the face.
"Who? What? Where?" she sat up, rubbing her eyes.
Then she saw who it was.
"Oh! Oh babe, you ok? Did I um... hurt ya?"
Noah
Noah rubbed his eye, and felt it start watering.
"No, I'm alright. Happy birthday!"
He pulled her up.
"Come on."
AJ
AJ hesitated, confused for a moment.
"Oh... birthday... great."
She pulled back and collapsed down onto the bed.
"Birthday's are for sleeping in. I'm thinking three. At least."
She closed her eyes.
Noah
Noah shook his head and picked her up.
"Nope. First you gotta see presents."
He carried her out to the living room, her eyes still closed. He sat her on a stool and told her to open her eyes. If she chose to listen to him, she would see she was sitting at her very own drumkit.
AJ
"Can I just fall asleep here then?" AJ murmured, squinting a little as she opened her eyes again.
She looked around her curiously.
"I'm... at a drum set. A big one."
She looked up at him.
"Planning to teach me or something?"
Noah
"Well... no, I can't exactly. But Chris has agreed to it. You're first lesson is this afternoon."
Noah kissed her cheek.
"Go back to bed, you look like you need it. I'll see ya later."
Noah left heading in the direction of the shower.
AJ
AJ groaned, rubbing her forehead, before standing up again. She almost fell over, but used her gravity to steady herself.
Mumbling incoherently, she shuffled back to her room and snuggled in under the covers again.
Noah
A few hours, one shower, a change of clothes, and a guitar practice later, Noah felt more human.
He stepped out of his room and literally ran into AJ again.
"Oh hey there." He kissed her cheek. "Ready to actually pay attention now?"
AJ
AJ smiled and wrapped her arms around him, having forgotten what had happened that morning.
"Pay attention to what, man?" she chuckled, pulling him down for a longer kiss.
Noah
"I don't think you realised the drumkit... is yours."
Noah led AJ back out to it, hoping, this time she would see the giant red bow tied around it.
"Happy Birthday."
AJ
AJ just stared at it in shock for a moment, before her eyes totally lit up.
"Mine?!" she exclaimed, bouncing a little, "you, you... the drums... Mine?! Wha-how? When? Oh my freaking God..."
Noah
Noah grinned, watching his girlfriend get tongue-tied over the drums.
"Yep, for you. And Chris will be here in about 2 hours to give you the first lesson. Sound good?"
AJ
AJ jumped and down on the spot for a moment before very suddenly changing her gravity to the roof. She was wearing slippers, so she knew she wouldn't get it dirty.
Then she took the drum set and nearby drumsticks as well, sat at the stool with the sticks in her hands, and licked her lips.
Chris, Noah and Alyssa
"I guess there's not much left to say but... happy birthday?"
Two hours later, Chris let himself into Noah's house with Alyssa and they headed to the living room, where AJ and Noah were hanging out. Well, Noah wasn't so much hanging as AJ was. She was on the roof with the drums while Noah was on the couch with his guitar.
"Hey Noah, AJ. Happy birthday!" Alyssa greeted.
"Hey Noah. Happy Birthday, AJ. Ready for the lesson? Perhaps not on the roof though." Chris grinned.
AJ
"Thankies!" AJ grinned happily as she bounced on the small stool.
Then she cocked her head at Chris.
"Awwwwww, why not? Oh well, we can always have it on the wall instead."
Then she changed her, her drums, and Chris's gravity to the side wall she and Noah had spent the first night on.
"Come babe," she rushed, banging out an amateur beat.
Alyssa, Chris and Noah
Chris shook his head.
"Nah, I'd rather be on the floor, sorry. But I have this thing."
Alyssa smiled sympathetically at him and turned to Noah. "Wanna play? I brought my acoustic."
"Yeah, come to me room so we don't disturb them." Noah got up and picked up his guitar, waiting for Alyssa. They went into his room and started to play their guitars.
AJ
"Alright," AJ offered, "you be on the floor..."
She change his gravity.
"...and I'll stay here."
She grinned.
Chris
"You realise I can't teach you when we're at different places."
Chris sighed, not letting himself be annoyed. He bent down and pulled his drumsticks out of his bag and twirling them around his fingers while waiting.
AJ
"Damn. I thought sideways would be easy."
She lowered herself and the drumset to the ground, tapping her drumsticks.
"Show me how to do that first," she grinned, raising her eyebrows as he twirled the sticks.
Chris
Chris smiled.
"Ok. But that's really not the most important aspect."
He demonstrated how to hold the sticks and watched her try to spin them.
AJ
"Whoops."
AJ chuckled as one stick went flying across the room, soon flying back into her hand.
"Actually, I could always go better..."
She bit her lip and began to show off by placing her index finger under the middle of the drumstick and having her gravity power spin it around her finger.
Chris
Chris chuckled.
"Or you can just cheat. Ok. Let's start with a basic beat."
Chris moved next to her and demonstrated again. "Try?"
AJ
AJ hesitated, tried the beat, and nailed it.
"Woohoo!" she exclaimed with a grin on her face.
Chris
Chris grinned.
"You wanna try anything harder today? Or just continue with that beat?"
AJ
"Nah, nah, keep goin' man," AJ insisted.
"The more I learn in less time the better. I dunno when I'll be shipped back to Oz."
She scratched her head for a moment.
"I really wanna set up my own band there."
Chris
Chris nodded, and demonstrated another basic beat, just slightly harder.
"Cool?"
AJ
AJ nodded, and concentrating, began to reply it.
She grinned when she realized she wasn't stuffing up.
"Hella sweet," she crooned as she kept going.
She hit a cymbol to end it and chuckled.
Chris
Chris grinned. "Yeah just practice with those two for now. And you can vary the beats slightly as well. Like this."
Chris did it and stood back again.
AJ
AJ tried his modification, pursing her lips in concentration.
For her first hour drumming she considered herself doing well.
After nailing what he'd shown her, she tried a few adjustments of her own.
"Hey neat!" she exclaimed, when it actually sounded good.
Chris
Chris chuckled.
"You're not bad for someone who's just started playing."
AJ
"For someone who's never sat behind a drum set in their LIFE," she pointed out, "this is still... wow..."
She used the tip of one of the drumsticks to scratch her head.
"Hmm... maybe I'm a natural. Zac Hanson eat your heart out," she chuckled.
Noah, Alyssa and Chris
Half an hour later, Noah and Alyssa emerged from his bedroom, carrying their guitars. Chris kissed Lyssa's cheek when she came back.
"How's it going?" Noah asked.
AJ
"Noah?!" AJ gasped, pretending to be shocked, "how could you ask me such a thing?! It's DRUMS! Come on man, seriously. I'm freaking out here. Chris says I'm actually good. I haven't even been going for an hour yet."
Noah
Noah shrugged. "I just meant how were the lessons going."
He settled himself on the couch, and fiddled with his guitar.
AJ
AJ jumped up from the stool she hadn't left for over half an hour and bounded towards him.
"Wait, wait, wait..." she held her hands up.
She slowly reached for his guitar, and placed it on another nearby couch.
Then she jumped on him.
Noah
Noah grinned and wrapped his arms around AJ's waist.
He kissed her nose.
AJ
"Thank you," she purred, hugging onto him again.
"You know, I like you alot. That's... gettin' me a set was prolly the best thing anyone coulda done to make my whole year."
Noah
Noah grinned.
"Ah no problem. Anything for your birthday."
AJ
"I'm thinking you're not understanding," AJ flopped down onto the couch next to him, not meaning to ignore their small audience.
"Getting me drums... even though it may not seem like much, but you've actually changed my life."
She put a finger under his chin to make him look her in the eyes.
"I've wanted these babies for so long you're hardly gonna see me off them now," she raised her eyebrows.
Noah, Chris and Alyssa
Noah shrugged. "I can live with that."
He kissed her nose and gestured to Lyssa.
"You wanna go practice again, kid?"
"I'll kick your ass for that."
Lyssa punched Noah, picked up her guitar and followed him out.
Chris turned to AJ. "Ready for more?"
AJ
AJ couldn't wipe the grin from her face.
"You bet!" she exclaimed, bounding up from the couch and over to the drums.