**This is a shameless plug for City and Colors new album "Bring Me Your Love". I think I'm going to be using a lot of his songs in this fic so I'm encouraging you all to download a few tracks.
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It was a few weeks into the tour and so far it was going off without a hitch. The boys and I had gotten quite close. I realized that I had been developing feelings for Joe after I had caught myself staring at him for the fifth time in a two hour span. It was strange—I had never gone for someone quite like him before. He was funny, cute, smart, and genuinely nice. My previous boyfriend, Ryan, was tall, muscular and full of himself. It wasn’t that he treated me bad, but he just didn’t seem to be emotionally involved in the relationship as much as I was. I think that the relationship between Ryan and I had instilled some sort of fear inside of me. A fear of not being loved back. Joe definitely was not the easiest book to read. He was genuinely nice to everyone and I did not notice any change in his goofy behaviour from when we were together and he was with someone else. I didn’t want to put myself out there just to be rejected.
The boys were staying on our bus overnight as we travelled to the next city because Frankie had come down with a bout of the flu. The entire crew was bored out of their minds as we had just finished watching I Know What You Did Last Summer. It had been the only thing worth watching on TV and the selection on the bus wasn’t very satisfying. I was lying upside down on the couch with my legs on the back of the couch. Joe and Marina were to my left and Nick was on my right. Lindsey, Sinead and Kevin were all sprawled uncomfortably on the floor mixed in a sea of blankets and pillows that they had swapped from the bunks.
“I’m bored,” Joe said with a groan.
“Yeah, me too. I can’t believe that you guys don’t have Guitar Hero or Rock Band or anything,” Nick said running a hand through his curly brown hair.
“That’s only because we prefer the real thing,” Marina said with a laugh. “Actually, speaking of the real thing... you should play something for us Heather. You never do anymore and you were always so good.” I sat for a second in thought. I had brought my acoustic guitar on the bus and I had almost forgotten how good my fingers felt playing a six string instead of the four string I played nightly. I wrinkled my nose in a small grin.
“I don’t know you guys. I don’t know what to play.”
“You always know what to play. Don’t be so shy,” Sinead said with a smile. A chorus of “Yeah, play something!” and “I want to hear you plays” rang through the bus, and I let out a sigh as I walked back to my bunk. I pulled out the black guitar case that was stored under my bed. I opened it up and pulled out my Gibson acoustic and a plain purple guitar pick from the pick case. I closed the case and began pushing it back under my bunk when out of the corner of my eye I saw a black duffel bag stuffed underneath Marina’s adjacent bunk. I pulled it out and pulled on the zipper. Reaching in I pulled out her white tambourine. I smirked—If I had to play then she had to play too. As I walked back to the main area of the bus I could hear them whispering about me.
“She’s so good. I don’t know why she doesn’t play more. She’s honestly one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever met,” Lindsey said.
“She just doesn’t like being the centre of attention. She’s one hell of a bassist though,” Sinead replied. I entered the room and tossed the tambourine at Marina. She held it up, confused, but I smiled back at her, knowing that she knew the song that I was going to play. I sat down on the bench at the table and put the guitar strap over my head.
“I’m a little rusty, so don’t hate,” I laughed as I began to strum the chords on the guitar.
A coma might feel better than this,
attempting to discover where to begin.
You're weighed down, you're full of something.
Of sickness, and desertion.
You're weighed down, you're full of something,
you're underneath it all.
So say goodbye to love,
and hold your head up high.
There's no need to rush
we're all just waiting, waiting to die.
Hoping a better place is all I need,
with moments of innocence and mystery.
Oh, it's the little things you miss.
Like waking up all alone.
Oh, it's the little things you miss,
when you're underneath it all.
So say goodbye to love,
and hold your head up high.
There's no need to rush
we're all just waiting, waiting to die.
All your friends seem like enemies
when you're broken down and empty.
All your friends seem like enemies
when you're broken down and empty.
So say goodbye to love,
and hold your head up high.
There's no need to rush
we're all just waiting, waiting to die.
I finished playing and looked around at the shocked faces of the three boys.
“Was it really that bad?” I asked with a nervous giggle.
“Heather, that was just amazing. It was.. awesome!” Kevin said clapping his hands together a few times. “Did you write that?” I nearly burst out laughing.
“Oh, I could never write something that good. That, my friends, is the work of City and Color. He’s one of the most talented artists I have ever heard.”
“Do you have an album? I would love to listen to it,” Joe asked, flicking his long hair out of his eyes.
“Um, yeah. Hold on a sec,” I said, handing my guitar to Kevin, who proceeded to strum a few chords. I walked back to my bunk and rummaged through my large black duffel bag until I found what I was looking for. I double checked to make sure that the CD was inside the case before walking back.
“It’s kind of mellow. I’m not sure if you’re going to like it.” He reached out to grab the CD, but I pulled back at the last second. “This CD is my most prized possession next to my bass. If there is even a tiny little scratch on it at all...”
“Don’t worry!”
“I had to have my cousin ship this to me from Canada..”
“C’mon Heather! I won’t..”
“You have to swear that this will come back in mint condition.” Joe *CENSORED*ed his head to the side and looked me in the eyes. I could feel myself beginning to melt as I stared into his deep brown orbs.
“I promise that I will not damage, scratch or alter this album in anyway,” he said before snatching it out of my hands. There was a sudden crack and my eyes went wide as I noticed the new crack on the CD case.
“Joeeeeeeeee,” I moaned, swatting him in the shoulder. “You can’t even keep a promise longer than four seconds. For a second I could have sworn I saw him blush, but I couldn’t be sure as he began to run around the bus. I began to chase him, playfully punching him when he was within my range.
After about a half an hour, everyone began to settle down and we sat back down to watch the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe which was playing on ABC. After a while, and a few yawns later, Joe announced he was going to bed, and walked towards the bunks. One by one the others left until I was the only left watching the movie. Once the credits began to roll, I switched off the TV and walked back to my bunk, noticing that Joe had himself sprawled over the entire bed.
“Joe, you’re in my bed,” I whispered, poking him in the side. He responded with an incomprehensible mumble.
“At least move over if you’re not going to move.” I waited a few seconds. “Ugh. Fine, I’ll go sleep on the couch then.” As I got up to leave he rolled over leaving just enough room for me to squish in. “Ah, such a gentlemen,” I said with a small laugh as I crawled in and pulled the blankets over my body. He shifted his body and put his arm across my stomach.
“I’m sorry I cracked your CD case,” he mumbled.
“It’s ok. I’ll just switch it with Lindsey’s Jonas Brother’s CD,” I laughed, rolling onto my side so I was facing him.
“That’s not funny,” he growled, pulling me closer to his body. Our legs were now intertwined. I stifled a yawn.
“Goodnight,” he said as he leaned over and placed a kiss on my forehead. Our eyes met and he hesitated before leaning down and placing a delicate kiss on my lips. He pulled back and placed his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes.
“Goodnight,” I mumbled, as I turned over onto my other side. I laid awake for most of the night, thinking about the events which had just taken place, and how comfortable it was to lay in his arms.
