She's Dancing Alone

I turned on my mattress in my half-conscious state before wincing slightly at the pain behind my eyes. Gently cracking one of my eyes open I began to take in the unfamiliar surroundings. I rolled on my back and rubbed the sleep from my eyes in an attempt to wash the mild aching away. When my eyes opened I noticed the bed I was lay in was sufficiently smaller than the one I had left back home. It was shoved to the corner of the beige room and the glass door leading to the balcony was to my left. Looking around the room I noticed I wasn’t alone.

On the completely opposite side of the room to me sat another bed of a similar size. A few feet away from it about half way down the same wall stood yet another bed. On it sat Zack. His long curly hair was unruly and clumped together in odd places indicating his lack of a shower. I pressed my palms down on either side of me, allowing my body to elevate at an angle just high enough to get a normal angle of the room. Hearing the sound of water running I looked towards the bathroom which was on the other side of the wall next to the vacant bed.

I tilted my head at the door as if expecting someone to jump out as I heard movement on the other side of the door.

“I’ve already called on the bathroom next in case you’re getting any ideas,” Zack commented in a bid to guess my thoughts. I simply smiled in return as my eyes settled on him.

“How long have you been awake?” I asked quietly, still in my slumber-like state.

“I’m not sure,” he sighed. “About an hour or so,” he shrugged to which I frowned.

“What time is it?” I asked as I kicked my legs over the side of my bed and folded my hands in my lap. He looked up towards the small table between the two beds and tilted the tiny silver clock so he could see it.

“Half ten,” he concluded before letting go of the clock once more. “Jack didn’t get up much before you,” he shook his head. “About a half hour at most, he went straight for the shower,” he concluded. I responded with a small nod of the head before reaching my arms above my head and stretching them with a silent yawn.

“I’m gonna sit on the balcony for a bit,” I informed him standing up and heading for the glass door.

“Okay,” he replied. In my tired state I could have cared less about my attire. Due to the small amount of luggage we were allowed on the tour I was informed to only bring necessities. Being a girl, I don’t like to be at a lack for clean clothes so I’d promised myself to offer to do all the guy’s washing at any machine and tumble drier we came across. I’d also decided to pack pyjamas because of the amount off unnecessary space they consumed and therefore resorted to sleeping in boy shorts and T-shirts.

As I slid the door back I could feel a small but welcoming breeze of the morning whip around the skin between my shorts and the knee-high socks wrapping my legs. I could feel the goose bumps began to prickle on my arms but simply smiled into the air as I shut the door behind me. I made my way towards one of the white plastic chairs sat next to the table and folded parasol and took a seat. I settled down as best as I could in the seat and looked out onto the horizon for what seemed like only a few moments before movement from inside the room disturbed my thoughts. My ears strained to hear the squeak of the door’s hinges before a figure stepped through with a heavy sigh. Mumbles echoed through the room and bounced through the glass in order to hit my ear drums. Some brief shuffling occurred and the hinges squeaked once more before silence. I waited to hear something else but nothing came. After a moment or so the faint sound of footsteps made its way towards the glass door before it rolled open. I continued to stare out over the ledge ahead of me as the plastic of the chair behind me was dragged against the floor and up next to me.

The next thing I knew the warmth of a hand gently leaned against my shoulder and I was pulled towards a body only to have the owner’s lips attach to my temple. I smiled to myself as he let go and sat down in the chair causing me to look up at him. Loose green board shorts gripped his waist and a white U2 shirt hung off his shoulders. His hair, barely visible from beneath the flat-peak cap adorning his head, was damp and beginning to curl slightly at the ends. I smiled up at him as he took his place and returned the gesture.

“’Sup Buddy,” he greeted sliding down in his seat and dangling his feet over the concrete ledge before us.

“Nothing much,” I started before clearing my throat from how raspy my voice was.

“Just woke up?” He asked turning his head to look at me as he folded his hands across his stomach. I merely nodded in reply. Clicking his tongue he rolled his eyes at me before commenting. “Girls,” was his simple reply with a shake of his head.

“And what exactly would you know about girls?” I challenged raising a single eyebrow.

“Think about what my dad is. Now ask me that question again,” he countered. I winced at the thought of Jack and his father having vagina discussions and pulled my knees to my chest. “Thought so,” he grinned before looking back out over the balcony again. He mustn’t really value those shoes dangling so carelessly over the edge of a building. After a few moments of silence and brief glances in Jack’s direction I felt the need to break it.

“So what are we doing today?” I asked out of pure curiosity. He bit the inside of his cheek with a thoughtful look on his features before turning to me.

“Well, we start unpacking all the bags we left on the bus, sort food out, go eat and then drive to the first venue,” he shrugged. I nodded in reply before looking down and biting my lip. “Are you nervous?” He asked knowing my expressions far too well. I looked back up, tossing him a weak smile before quickly averting my gaze.

“A little,” I mumbled.

“Don’t be,” he whispered back softly. I looked back up to see him sending me a reassuring grin, this time I didn’t turn away. “It’ll be fun, we’ve not had a girl on tour for the full trip before,” he commented before shrugging. “Besides,” he began turning to look back out. “Time will fly by with all the stuff we’ll be doing.”

Oh god.

“What ‘stuff’?”