Making Friends With Bacardi

Alex's P. O. V.

"She's such a fucking tease." I said, slamming my hamburger down on my plate causing it to fall apart. "I mean look at her over there," I swung my arm in her direction. "She never acted like this until I tried to kiss her yesterday."

Jack and I were sitting at a picnic table in the middle of an abandoned park eating my over cooked burgers and waiting for other bands to show up. The rest of the guys were cooling down in the bus and getting all of the fireworks out. Kayleigh was standing by the bus with Rian and he was pouring a gallon of warm water over her head so she could wash her hair.

"I need someone taller to do this." I heard her laugh.

"What about Zack?" Rian replied.

"Alex!" Jack said snapping his fingers in front of my face. "Listen to me. Pay attention." He was now banging his hands on the table.

"I'm listening!" I said, banging on the table along with him.

"She's always been this way around us. You're just looking at her differently because you're attracted to her."

Jack was right. She has always been comfortable enough around us to run around in her underwear. But if she did that now, I would be sitting there pulling a pillow onto my lap instead of laughing along with the guys.

I took a sip of my water and glanced her way. Now Zack was pouring the water over her. She was running her hands through her hair and her body was glistening in the hot Texas sun. It looked like a scene from a cheap rap music video, but this rap music video actually turned me on.

"Will you-hey! Will you fucking pay- hey! Pay attention to me! Me! Me!" Jack freaked out.

"Jesus Christ, Jack." I laughed.

"You're attracted to your best friend." He said, looking at me in the eyes. "Do you still want to be? Do you want this to go any further?"

The guys knew I liked her. But I didn't know if she knew. She probably did with Jack being around 24/7. And she probably got the hint from that slip n' slide incident yesterday.

"I want it to go allll the way." I winked at jack.

"Be serious!" He banged on the table again.

"Calm down!" I mimicked him again, causing the loud bangs to echo.

"I'll calm down if you be serious." He said.

"Okay, and I'll calm down if you stop flipping the fuck out." I said, getting irritated. I hated this subject. It would have been so much easier if I knew how to control my actions and not get so caught up in the moment. "I want- I want this to grow into something more." I said softly, looking at my plate of destroyed food.

"But what if that doesn't work out? What if she only looks at you as a best friend..." he paused. "Like it should be."

"Yeah, I know jack. It should always be that way, shouldn't it?!" I stood up with my plate and bottle of water. "But things can't stay the same way for forever!" I shouted and stormed off, leaving him there alone.

I over reacted. I know I did. I knew he was trying to help me sort things out but I just wanted to be alone and think things through on my own, or maybe with Kayleigh. I was now walking past kayleigh and Zack. I glanced at her and she was now squeezing the water out of her hair.

I swung open the bus door and went in, feeling the freezing cold air from the AC on my skin. All the guys were eating their hamburgers and taking turns playing video games. "Can you guys uh-" I rubbed the back of my neck and paused. I didn't want to sound too harsh. "Can you guys get off the bus for a second, please?"

Surprisingly, they listened. They all walked off the bus, shutting the door behind them and leaving me all alone. I sat on the couch and laid my head back. It was quiet on the bus, but I could hear Kayleigh's faint laugh from outside. I felt a little smirk grow on my face. Her laugh made me feel warm inside. It made me feel happy and want to laugh along with her, no matter what she was laughing about.

I looked over at the bathroom door. That's where I stood yesterday, calling out Kayleigh's name and waiting for her to at least say one word back to me. She opened the door a little and I waited a second to she if she would do anything. When she didn't, I pushed the door more open myself. She stood there, covered in water and paint, looking up at me. "I'm sorry." I said.

She gave me a confused look, so I continued. "I got caught up in the moment." I didn't know what else to say. I don't know if she even believed the lie. I just pressed my wet and paint splattered body against hers and kissed her forehead. She didn't say anything. She just hugged me back.

I stopped looking over at the bathroom door and heard the front door to the bus opening. Kayleigh entered and wrapped a small white towel around herself. "It's freezing!" She said.

"Well, you are wet." I stated.

"I'm sorry, did you want to be alone?" She said, walking past me and back into the bunk area.

"No," I said. "You're fine."

"Okay, good." She called out. "But I'm changing, so don't look."

Of course after her saying that, my curiosity took over. I leaned over a little, but not too much. I didn't want her to catch me stealing a glance. I realized I was trying to check out my best friend and quickly sat back before I saw anything. I felt like a disgusting pervert.

"So what are we doing tonight?" She asked, still out of view.

"Well, we're still waiting for a few other bands to get here but we're just gonna watch fireworks tonight. I'm not getting drunk." I said.

She walked back out, now wearing dry clothes and sat next to me on the couch. "You haven't gotten drunk yet on this tour." She smiled. "You're doing good."

I laughed. "I know, I just never feel like it anymore."

"Wait, did you just say that?" She laughed. "You used to live for alcohol."

"I know. It was horrible, wasn't it?"

"Well, not horrible. It was bad for someone your age, but it was so much fun trying to carry you up to your room every night past your parents." She laughed at the memory.

"Yeah." I chuckled, looking down and playing with a stray string that hung off my shirt.

She acted like she didn't know I was attracted to her. I hoped she didn't know. I hoped this was just a phase and it would soon be over. Should I tell her the truth now? Or keep it away from her?

"Well," She said, getting off the couch. "I'll be outside, eating your over cooked hamburgers."

Getting ripped out of my thoughts, I laughed nervously. "Okay. I'll be out in a few minutes."

Kayleigh's P.O.V

We all surrounded the big burning fire with drinks in our hands and sing alongs. Alex was sitting down across from me strumming his guitar. Jack and I shared a blanket and he was resting his head on my shoulder. Zack was talking with some friends from various bands, and Rian left the crowd a minute because he got a phone call.

The sky was painted with deep pinks, oranges, and yellows from the hot sun finally setting. The bright colors hovering over our heads made Alex's eyes shine and lightened up his hair, making it have a little orange-ish red tint. I noticed myself staring at him as he strummed his guitar and hummed his own little song in his head. The strum turned into something more and he started to sing "Luck loves me not tonight, I'm running out..."

"Running out!" Someone echoed and I saw a random hand holding up an empty bottle over Alex's head.

This caused Alex to smirk and the crowd to laugh. He continued to play and the crowd started to sing along. Sing alongs were contagious for me, and this whole camp fire theme was so relaxing. I started to sing along too and Jack smiled up at me. I smiled back and rested my head on his. "Our time has come and we've got these big city dreams."

When Alex sang 'We've got these big city dreams' he looked up at me. The same homesick feeling I got the other day stung my gut again, but it was even harder this time. I missed being back home and waking up to the busy city that rested under my apartment window every morning. I also missed falling asleep with the bright Baltimore city lights shining in, lighting up my whole room. I miss stepping out of my room to find at least one of the guys asleep on my couch. Don't get me wrong or anything, touring is fun, but I just miss being home.

"Lets take a moment to reflect," Alex sang. "On the past few years of my life."

I've always knew Alex's voice was amazing, but I was just now realizing how amazing it sounded when he sang to acoustic, instead of electric. I closed my eyes and just listened as he continued to sing. His voice was getting louder and louder and so was the small crowds. I was surprised they even knew the song.

Alex finished the song and handed the guitar to Zack. Alex walked off and I tried to see which direction he went but I lost him when he walked behind the crowd. I wanted to go follow him for some reason. I had no idea what that reason was, either.

The sky was now dark and the fire was getting bigger. Jack spotted Matt with the fireworks and ran off to go cause some trouble. I didn't see anyone I knew, so I got up to walk back to the bus.

It was pitch black and all I could see were the lights and shadows peering out of the bus windows. I made my way to the door and got on. Matt and Alex were on the floor with piles of fireworks and Rian was standing in front of the bathroom door. "Dude, let me out! I swear I wont touch anything!" Jacks muffled voice flowed out from behind the closed door.

"No!" Rian yelled at him. "I don't want to die tonight."

I laughed and Alex noticed my presence. His face lit up and he got up to walk over to me. "Hi." I smirked.

"Hi." He repeated, grinning at me.

I gave him a tight hug. I inhaled the sweet smell of his cologne and suddenly felt safe. I felt so safe as he patted my back and swayed to each side a little. I pulled away a little, but still had my arms around him. I looked up at him with a faint smirk and loving eyes. He gave me the same look and my heart melted because of how cute he could be sometimes.

I leaned up and gave him an Eskimo kiss. He Eskimo kissed me back and laughed. "Why are you acting so weird?" He asked.

I'm just attracted towards you too. I wanted to say. But instead, I said "I'm not."

"Uh huh." He protested. "You're getting all cuddly with me."

"Oh." I said, backing away.

"No, no." He quickly said. "I like it." He smirked and put his arm around my shoulder. "Wanna watch the fireworks from on top the bus?"

"Yes." I smiled at him. He smiled back at me and turned around to face the guys.

"Hurry up with those fireworks, will you?" He said.

"Yeah, yeah." Matt said, shooing him off with his hand.

Alex took the hint and put both of his hands on each side of my waist to lead me off the bus. We made our way to the back of the bus and climbed up the little ladder. The top of the bus was dirty but we sat on it anyways.
Above the bright stars were shining, causing the light to reflect off the top of the bus and light up Alex's smiling face. Below there were faint laughs, conversations and sing alongs. The wood smothered by the fire was cracking and bottles were clinking together after someone made a toast.

Me or Alex didn't say a word. He just put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him. We both stared up at the night sky and enjoyed each others presence. From down below everyone started to cheer and we saw the first firework go off directly above us in the sky.

He laid down and pulled me down with him. I put my head on his chest and he grabbed my cold hand. With his other hand he rubbed my shoulder to warm me up. I looked up at him and smiled. He looked back down at me and smiled as red and blue fireworks lit up his face.

This is the way it should always be, I thought. Alex and I should always be this close to each other. We should always just sit next to each other and enjoy being with one another without having to say one word.

Alex was now running his hand through my hair and softly singing a song I have never heard before. "Tonight, We'll take a walk under our own starlight. Because It's so easy to, forget about the things tomorrow brings, and all my memories without you."

I wondered if he came up with that on the spot or if he's been working on it for days. You never know with Alex. If something just pops in his head, he's rushing around to find some sort of writing utensil and paper.

I decided not to say anything. I just turned on my side and buried my nose into his neck. I placed my cold fingertips on his bare hip bone and moved them up and down while barely touching his skin. I felt him get shivers and his hips moved in a small perfect little circle. I placed my whole hand on his side and rubbed it up and down to warm him up.

He turned his head my way and placed his soft, small lips on my forehead. He pulled away and stared at the fireworks bursting in the sky. I leaned up and placed a small little kiss on his cheek. I put my head back down on his shoulder and he continued to run his hand through my hair.

This is the way it always should be, I thought.