Ashton's POV

I've always kind of had that longing for a family of my own. I didn't come from a very stable home but I think that maybe taking care of a kid that also comes from a broken home would help fill that void inside of me. Although the rest of the guys were reluctant at first, they've supported me in the long adoption process.

After getting all the necessary clearances and background checks, we were finally allowed to start looking for a suitable child to welcome into our family. First we made an appointment with the nearest child services office and asked if we could get some information on children suitable to our family. Luckily, the center had a whole giant binder of available kids. We flipped to the 11-14 section and that was where we found her.

Reject. What an unfortunate name for such a sweet looking girl. Her natural firery red hair fell down her shoulders straight as an arrow. Splashes of freckles made an appearance on her skin. A Mona Lisa like smile and soft hazel eyes completed her.

"She's pretty." Michael said and peeked over my shoulder. "Reject." He continued, "What a horrible name. Why would anyone name their kid that?"

The caseworker sighed, "Oh. Are you talking about Rae?"

I turned the binder towards her, "What can you tell me about this girl?"

"She's a mute." The woman shook her head, "Rae is not right for your family."

"We can work with a mute kid." Calum spoke up, "That won't make us love her any less."

The caseworker shook her head again. I noticed there was a small nameplaque on her desk. It said Charlene Harper. "Rae is a very shy and introverted child. She isn't right for your lifestyle of vigorous touring."

"Please?" I begged, "I want to see her."

Charlene slumped her shoulders, "Fine. But I should let you guys know that she came from a highly abusive father. The chance that she would feel comfortable living with four men is very slim."

"Thank you, m'am." Luke said and reassuringly patted me on the back, "I'm sure this means a lot to Ashton."

I nodded vigorously. This meant everything to me. I was already picturing how she would fit in with our family. I could see how her bedroom would look, the special places we would take her, even the kinds of movies we would watch. Her gentle smile would stretch into a big one. She would be happy. Her previous pain would be no more, all that mattered would be her and us. Our own universe.

Reject's POV

Jessie clasped her hands together, "Rae you look so good! They're going to love you!"

I looked myself up and down again. My outfit really wasn't all that spectacular. Just one of my non ratty pink shirts and blue jeans. I did like my hair, though. I had a little extra time so I put one smaller braid on each side of my head and braided light pink ribbon in it. I love trying new things with my hair and clothes.

"Did you draw a nice picture for them?" Jessie asked me.  I nodded and pulled the sheet of folded paper out of my back pocket.  She gave a photo of them yesterday so I could possibly make a quick sketch.

They looked like a pretty typical pop-punk band.  A blond guy with a lip ring, a dude with brightly dyed hair, a dark haired guy with some tattoos, the last person had brown curlyish hair and a bandanna.  Jessie said the bandanna guy was named Ashton and he was the one that was adopting.  I'd still have to live with the rest of the band though because they all shared a house.

The sketch I did really wasn't all that great.  It was just a quick one that showed them as cartoon like characters.  They were lazily colored in and I had drawn some small designs around the outside of the paper.  I was only doing this because Jessie had told me to.

They aren't going to like it

The loud thoughts were back.  There was still a little doubt in my mind.  What if they hate it?  What if they crumple it up right in front of me?  That would make me upset.

A loud bell sound rang through the house, signalizing that someone was at the door.  A wave of anxiety cut through me.  They're here.  I shoved the drawing back in my pocket.

"Welcome!" Jessie exuberantly opened the door, "We're so glad you're here!"

"We're happy to be here too."  The first person in the door was the guy with curly brown hair, Ashton.  I was surprised to hear an Australian accent lace his words.  Then I cracked a smile.  Accents are so interesting.

Ashton grinned as soon he saw me.  I glued my eyes to the floor.  I hate eye contact.  It makes me feel like I'm being inspected as if I'm a specimen in a cruel experiment.

"Hello, darling." He said softly, "You look very nice today."

I took a deep breath and pulled the paper out of my back pocket.  I'd rather do this now than have Jessie remind me later.  I held the paper out to the boy in the bandanna.

"Did you draw something for us?" Ashton took the paper from my hand.  I braced myself, waiting for the rejection that would surely come.  I knew I should have spent more time on it.  He's going to hate me.

"Rae, this is amazing." I took a quick look at his facial expression.  He was smiling even larger now.  "Thank you so much for taking the time to make this.  I love it.  You're really talented."

I did a quick nod and returned my gaze to the ground as my insides flooded with relief.  He likes it.

"What's that?" The red haired guy came over to us, "Did she draw that?  Aww, it's so cute.  Thank you so much!  I'm Michael, by the way."

"Why don't you guys come to the living room?" Jessie offered, "There's more room and we can get to know eachother better."

So we went into the living room.  The boys took the couch and I sat on the armchair.  Jessie leaned against the wall, ready to answer questions.  Ashton passed the drawing around to the others.  They mumbled soft comments about how good my art skills are and how much they loved it.

They're just pitying you.  I bet they'll throw it out later.

I tried to block that thought out.  I don't need it.

"Anyway, I'm Ashton.  I'll be your official guardian if we decide to adopt you." He introduced himself, "And these are my bandmates, Michael, Calum, and Luke."

Each boy raised his hand and and said hello when Ashton said his name.  Calum was the dark haired one and Luke had the blond hair and lip ring.  They all seemed very nice and not overly friendly and condescending like most of the people that come to visit me.  Maybe this could work.

"Rae and I already look like siblings with our red hair." Michael joked.  I smiled.  It was then I decided that I liked these boys.

"So Rae, what kind of stuff do you like to do?" Luke asked me.

"She draws a lot-" Jessie started.

Luke interrupted her, "No, I want Rae to answer.  This meeting is about getting to know her.  I think she should be the one to tell us about who she is."

I froze.  No one has ever asked for me specifically to tell them about what I like.  I usually just let Jessie answer for me.  They must really care.  I know it doesn't seem like much, but this means so much to me.

Jessie nodded and handed me a small whiteboard and dry erase marker.  I wrote quickly in messy sloping letters

Art, horror movies, some reading

"Horror movies?" Michael perked up, "You like horror movies?"

Jessie groaned, "It's so odd.  The telephone ringing still scares her but she can go through all the Purge movies without a single flinch."

"That's awesome!" Michael exclaimed, "We should watch a couple movies sometime."

I'd like that

"What kind of music do you like?" It was Calum's turn to ask a question.

I shrugged

anything

"We play in a band.  Would you still feel okay and safe even though we might be gone most of the day?" Ashton asked me.

Jessie is a teacher so I'm alone most of the day anyway

He nodded, "Good.  We don't want you to feel neglected or anything like that."

For the rest of the time they were there I showed them some of my other artwork, they returned the favor for singing for me.  We talked about our favorite things and I learned that they had a place in Los Angeles that they stay in when they're not on tour.  Los Angeles in only about 20 minutes away from the social services office in Glendale so it was incredibly convenient if anything went wrong.

Ashton looked at his watch, "So Rae our hour is almost up.  Do you think you'd maybe want to come live with us for a week? If things don't work out you can always come back and if you do like it than we'd be happy to be your forever home."

I eagerly nodded.  These boys were nice to me and not at all like I expected them to be.  I'll give them a shot.

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second rewritten chapter

how are you guys liking the rewrites?  I think Rae has a lot stronger voice now and that makes me feel more confident about her character