K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

Michael groaned. Everywhere he looked, there was cute. It was unbearable. He slumped down into the tour bus couch. Beside him, to his left, were Mike and Hunter, cuddling and sharing occasional stolen kisses when they thought no one was looking.

To his right were William and Gabe, who may as well just fuck and get it over with, in Chizzy’s opinion. Only because they were groping. And moaning.

Opposite him, on the other couch, were Travis and Alex. All Time Low weren’t even on the damn tour, but Travis had insisted that his lover came too. They were making out, and making disgusting noises.

In the foot well between the couches, sat Vicky-T and Ryland, who were cooing over each other and generally being insufferably adorable.

“Enough!” Chizzy shouted, standing up and heading for the door “Could you lot just stop being so… Cute!” Everyone laughed, and Chizzy frowned.

“Aha, your accent’s cute when you’re mad.” Alex laughed. Travis slapped him across the cheek.

“Eyes on your own boyfriend, thank you.” He mumbled, flouncing his auburn hair away from his eyes.

“I’m going to the Cobra bus.” Chislett mumbled, turning to the door.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you…” Vicky laughed sheepishly. Chizzy narrowed his eyes.

“What did you do?” He asked, flicking his gaze from Vicky, to Ryland, then to Gabe and back again.

“We actually didn’t do anything, for once.” Ryland said, sounding proud “It’s just, Nate and Suarez…” Chizzy groaned again, opening the door and leaving into the cool evening air of Phoenix, Arizona. It was summer, so it wasn’t like it was cold or anything, but Chizzy had most definitely been warmer in the bus, even with the cute.

He walked across the parking lot, staring up into the golden sunset in the sky. The light glinted off the tinted surfaces of the three respective tour buses. We The Kings’ was a bland little thing, plain black with silver trim. His band’s bus was red; it pretty much always had been. The Cobra Starship bus between them was an eye-watering reflective shade of purple, with the words ‘Fangs Up!” painted down each side in a shade of luminous yellow. It hurt Chizzy’s eyes just looking at the thing.

He mumbled to himself as he walked over from between the buses and headed for the road. The parking lot wall had a wide gap in it at one point, and Chizzy assumed the bus had to try and fit through there, but he wasn’t certain. After all, he had been asleep when they arrived.

He sat down on the wall and looked back at the bus.
Inside the bus, Hunter and Will were pressed against the glass of the windscreen, trying desperately to see what was going on.

“Move over, you’ve got dodgy eyesight.” Alex sighed, elbowing Will out of the way.

“Is it just me, or are all the singles stropping lately?” Alex asked, squinting out of the window.

“Lex, there’s only two of them.” Travis remarked “If Danny wasn’t ill, then there’d be three, but that’s beside the point.”

A scheming look graced Alex’s features.

“HEY!” Hunter cried, batting him ‘round the head “That’s my lil’ bro you’re plotting about!”

Everyone laughed, and Mike pulled Hunter down into a hug.

“He’s old enough to know what to do with himself, Hunter.” He explained quietly. Hunter pouted. Mike pecked his cheek lightly.

Chizzy was staring out into the orange-bathed road when a tall, skinny figure ambled past him, holding pizza. The figure paused and retraced their steps, standing in front of Chizzy and crouching down.

It was Drew.

“Chizz!” Drew exclaimed, throwing his arms around the elder and plonking down beside him.

“Uh, hey Drew…” Chizzy said slowly, still staring out to the road.

“Earth to Chislett!” Drew shouted through a mouthful of pizza, waving his hand in front of Chizzy’s face. Chizzy sighed and looked at Drew, who had a piece of pizza hanging from his mouth. Chizzy frowned and got up; Drew followed a few seconds later.

Back in the bus, Alex was still pressed against the glass, but this time alone.

“Yes, yes… Move into the light… Just there… Lil’ bit more…” He mumbled, fist up against the glass “Yes! Mwahaha!” He started to dance, stirring the air whilst grinning inanely.

“Less dancey, more watchy!” Travis hollered, turning him around and pushing him against the glass again.

He watched the two outside, who were standing in the yellowy orange glow of the streetlamp. All he could see were two silhouettes.

“Who hit you with the grouchy stick?” Drew exclaimed, raising an eyebrow and laughing at the older. Chizzy frowned again and turned around, making a move to walk away.

“Hey, come on, I’m just joking.” Drew explained, grabbing Chizzy’s wrist and holding him back. The Australian looked up at the Floridian and raised an eyebrow.

“Why?” Chizzy asked. Drew flashed a small smile. Chizzy softened and stopped trying to leave.

He supposed he did have a little itty-bitty soft spot for Drew that was unexplainable; there was something about him that made Chizzy’s heart melt every single time his eyes dared to stray to the younger American.

Whatever it was, however, was a mystery to everyone.

Chizzy couldn’t work out if it was his baby-faced features, the way he flounced his dark hair away from his perfect eyes, the way he’d just say whatever popped to the top of his head, even in the most inappropriate of situations. He figured he could list millions of reasons and still have a million more to go.

Okay, so maybe he was lying.

It’s not an ‘itty-bitty’ soft spot at all.

It’s a gargantuan, heart-wrenchingly enormous gooey place somewhere deep inside of him.

Lord knows where, but we all know it’s there.

“Chizz.” Drew said, waving his hand in front of Chizzy’s face. Chizzy looked shocked and shook his head.

“You’re daydreaming. Again.” Drew said, smiling sympathetically “Who was it this time?” Chizzy blushed pale pink and shook his head.

“Doesn’t matter.” Chizzy mumbled, fixing his gaze on his grimy Converse.

“Awwh, come on, you know you can tell me!” Drew exclaimed “Promise I won’t laugh…”

“Youwill’cosit’syou.” Chizzy murmured, and then realized what he’d said, and quickly began to resemble a beetroot.

“What?” Drew giggled “English, please!”

“I said ‘You will’” Chizzy explained, trying to regain his composure.

“No, you said something after that.” Drew continued, throwing the empty pizza box into the road “It sounded like ‘Cos it’s you’…”

Chizzy went red again.

“Oh my God!” Drew exclaimed “That was what you said wasn’t it!” Chizzy nodded sheepishly and swallowed nervously.

“Awwh!” Drew yelled, hugging Chizzy tight “That’s adorable!”

“That’s it? Adorable?” Chizzy asked, confused “You’re not freaked or anything?”

“Nope, not freaked.” Drew replied “I mean, ninety-eight percent of the tour is gay or bi anyways, so why would it matter?”

“I meant you’re not freaked that it’s you that I… like…?” Chizzy clarified.

“Oh hell no, I don’t mind at all!” Drew answered, laughing at his own stupidity. He hugged Chizzy and pecked his cheek lightly. Chizzy almost felt his legs turn to jelly.

“It’s just… Never mind…” Drew said, trailing off and staring at the orange sky.

“Hey, that is so unfair!” Chizzy cried “I had to tell you, so you’ve gotta tell me!”

“It’s just… Just that I kind of… sort of…” Drew hesitated, embarrassed.

“ACTION! ACTION!” Alex cried back in the bus. Hunter practically flew from Mike’s lap and slammed into the windscreen.

“Who did what and why?” Travis asked, fiddling with his hair.

“Drew kissed Chizz on the cheek, but I don’t know why, moron, ‘cos I can’t read their thoughts!” Alex retorted, staring out of the window.

“I kind of…sort of… really like you too…” Drew finished, blushing.

“Really?” Chizzy asked “You’re not just saying that ‘cos I did?”

“No, I really do…” Drew explained, staring at the floor.

“In your words, that’s adorable.” Chizzy said quietly. Drew looked up and smiled weakly.

They heard Alex and Travis shouting at each other from the bus. They turned and looked back at The Academy Is…’s bus. Hunter’s small silhouette was visible in the windscreen, a blurry vision of Carden laughing behind him discernible too. Alex and Travis were play fighting on the sofa.

“They’ve been watching us all night.” Chizzy guessed, narrowing his eyes.

“How about we give them what they’ve been waiting for?” Drew suggested, smiling. Chizzy smirked.

They each gently took the others hand and as their lips tentatively made contact, it was as if time stopped.

They know it’s cheesy, but that’s how they’ll always describe it.

Hunter’s now jumping and waving figure seemed to freeze in mid air, as did the ongoing rumble of late evening Phoenix traffic. As they broke apart, time began again.
Mike and Hunter came piling out of the bus and came running down to the two of them.

“Does that make anything official?” Drew asked quietly. Chizzy nodded. Drew smiled and pecked Chizzy’s lips affectionately.

“FINALLY!” Mike and Hunter hollered, high-fiving each other when they reached the other pair. Chizzy rolled his eyes.

“Now you can stop whining about our cuteness!” Hunter said excitedly “Because you’ll both be just as cute!”