Colder Than My Heart

Alex screamed one last time into the microphone. His lungs were burning, his throat was aching but he held the note without fault until the end of the song. All four boys stumbled from the stage, panting and sweating to extremes. After collecting themselves the acoustic set went more smoothly, however Alex’s arms still felt heavy and were painful as he strummed the guitar. He was thankful to put the guitar down, settling it in its case before lazily flipping all the hinges shut. After signing various objects and people, taking a few pictures and taking phone calls people wanted with their friends the boys set off back to the bus. Zack took the guitar from Alex, having him whisper a breathless ‘thanks’ as he slumped past him.

Approaching the bus Alex tugged on his keys, snatching them from the loop of the belt they were tied to. He took the key, shining in the light and jammed it into the lock. With one swift hand movement the door burst open and Alex let out a loud groan as he stumbled inside.

“Dude, take it easy,” Rian chuckled as he shook his head and stepped past the disheveled man.

“Sorry,” Alex breathed leaning against the driver’s seat to regain his balance. “Is there any way II could go get a shower?” He asked holding his head in his free hand. “I’m exhausted,” he groaned as he tilted his head back.

“You look it,” Jack commented as he opened the door to the refrigerator.

“Yeah we’re not setting off ‘til tomorrow because it’s not a long drive apparently,” Rian shrugged.

“Which reminds me,” Jack began going to stand up too quickly and smashing his head on the roof of the refrigerator. “Oh fuck!” He exclaimed stepping away and leaning against the cooling device as he held his head in his hands. Rian rolled his eyes and moved past him to take the drink Jack had let fall before shutting the door for him.

“What?” Alex panted looking over at the man in pain.

“We invited Too Close over for a night on the bus because they’re just in a van. Is that cool with you?” He asked regaining his composure and looking over at his friend. Alex broke out into a smile, thankful that all the guys wanted the decision to be unanimous and answered with a simple nod.

“Sure,” he added as he steadily made his way towards the bunks. He kneeled down to the side of his bed, gently opening the curtain as if it may break. The clothes he had so carelessly thrown across the sheets that morning were just as he had left them with his case still open at the foot of the bed. He knelt down, taking out a fresh lot of clothes. Not clothes he would typically wear, he’d gone for the tight jeans and t shirts as opposed to the vests and shorts he would normally wear, the reason why? Simply because it made him look good.

After gathering his clothes and throwing them into a smaller back along with everything else he needed he took a towel from the on board bathroom and threw it over his shoulder. Turning on his heel he made his way from the scene.

Sarah gently brushed her hair over one of her shoulders. The guys had allowed her to take the first shower slot, knowing that she’d want to spend time looking presentable as they were spending the night with people she barely knew on their bus. Nick, Jersey and Thomas were all gone, leaving Sarah, Andrew and Blake alone back at the van. Due to the lack of hair products she’d been forced to towel dry her hair, leaving it in natural loose curls, something she hated. She dressed her neck and wrists in ornate trinkets. Not expensive, but sophisticated. Her eyes wandered over the van, landing on her short leather jacket hung over the back seat. She leaned across the middle row, stretching her arm out just enough for her fingers to come into contact with the black material when a hand came into contact with her backside and an audible crack sounded through the van. She gasped quickly, sitting back on her heels and turning around to meet Blake’s grinning face kneeling next to her.

“Rodriguez, you asshole!” She grimaced shuffling away and leaning back over the seats. Blake ignored her yell and turned around, sitting with his back against the seat.

“Well, tonight should be interesting,” he commented leaning his head back and rolling it to look at her.

“How so?” She frowned pulling the jacket off the seat and opening it out to slip over her shoulders.

“Well you haven’t met Alex yet,” he muttered.

“Alex?” She asked turning and looking around the piles of mess in search for her small bag.

“All Time Low’s singer,” he nodded.

“I thought Jack was the singer?” She asked tilting her head at the man before turning and picking up the bag she was in search of.

“No. He’s just really sociable. He’s Alex’s clone basically,” Blake hinted keeping his eyes on every move she made as she shuffled around him.

“Well I can deal with that,” she shrugged opening up the bag and pulling out a mirror and simply makeup. “Jack’s a nice guy. I like him,” she commented popping the cap off her eyeliner. Blake sighed inwardly when he finally tore his eyes from her. He thought it best not to pass judgment on Alex after only meeting him twice, and he definitely knew better than to force judgment onto others. Most of the guys in the bad were fans of All Time Low and had heard them being spoken about, therefore knowing about the reputation certain members had lived up to, but after meeting them personally Blake wasn’t too sure whether it was all rumors or whether his nonchalance was an act.

Sarah was sat in the van alone, Andrew and Blake had been sat a short distance from the van, sitting on the chairs they had acquired while Sarah continued to dress inside of it. She took one last glance in the mirror, making sure everything about her was as in place as it could be before putting everything back in place. Sarah was a person who went solely off first impressions and subconsciously thought other people did too. Because of this she always made sure she looked presentable and came across as a good person. She had never been able to take rejection well, it was her strongest fear.

A light tapping came from the door of the van causing Sarah’s head to snap in the direction of it. On the other side of the door smiling at her through the window stood Nick. She grinned at the figure, reaching over the pull on the handle which allowed the door to glide open. She moved over, sitting on the edge of the seat so her feet were dangling over the edge of the van.

“You ready to go?” He asked tilting his head at the girl sat on her hands. She smiled at him, sending him a simple nod before hopping down and sliding the door shut behind her. Andrew walked over to the van, informing the others that he’d stay behind for a while. They all nodded and took off amongst the midst of towering buses. Sarah found herself admiring the outsides of the tall vehicles. All windows were blacked out so she couldn’t see what was inside, this alone fascinated her. Blake caught her in awe over the vehicles in various colors, shapes and sizes and smiled to himself. He swung his hand out, catching hers and causing her to snap out of her daze to smile at the boy.

“Isn’t this theirs?” Thomas asked stopping to point at a silver bus he was stood next to. Everyone’s eyes roamed over it before Jersey took a glimpse at the front of the bus.

“Well from what I can guess yeah, it sounds like what they said,” he commented keeping his eyes on the vehicle.

“Only one way to find out,” Jersey commented before he brought his hand up to the handle. To his delight the door was open. He quietly opened the door, sliding it out and crept into the bus. The rest of his band mates all turned to each other in confusion outside, not knowing whether they should follow the boy or stay put. “Bus raid!” They heard echoing from inside followed by laughter causing everyone’s attention to fix on the open door way before piling in after them. Sarah tossed Blake a nervous glance as he tugged on her hand. “Come on,” he grinned stepping up the first steps onto the bus. She let out a short sigh and followed after him.

Alex’s hair was pin straight. As feminine as it made him sound he was always one for vanity. He stared in the mirror in the bathroom of their tour bus wondering what else he could possibly do. He spent long moment arranging and rearranging single strands of his hair in the mirror and glancing over his features. Should he shave? No, it was too time consuming. He suited the rugged look anyway. He stood on his tip toes looking down in the mirror to see if his attire needed any adjustments. Did he really need to wear the waistcoat over his shirt? Was it too much? His thoughts were cut short by a loud yell coming from the front part of the bus.

He stood back on the balls of his feet and looked at the door expectantly as if the person who had yelled would jump through it. He then heard laughter along with more yelling from what sounded to be Jack in either greeting or encouragement. He wondered whether a prank had been played on another member of his band before glancing into the corner of a room. Sat tucked away beneath a shelf sat a small clock. Alex looked closely at it, noticing the hour to be quite late. A smirk made its way onto his lips. His guests had arrived. Not only this but he knew one of the guests who he was yet to meet was that of a young lady and a young lady spending the night drinking and partying on his bus spelled out ‘invitation’ to Alex Gaskarth.

As he stood back up straight he made his way to the door, flipping the lock undone and swinging the door open.

“What’s all the yelling?” He asked around the slightly crowded room of people who all turned and grinned at him before their eyes shifted and all faces turned to ones of horror. The door had continued to swing backwards and Alex, clearly unknowing, didn’t realize there were two bodies out of his sight. One being that of a nineteen year old girl stood directly in the path of the door. Luckily she saw the door coming, bringing her hands up and grabbing the edges of it quickly. As soon as Alex had realized what situation was about to unfold he too flew for the door, grabbing the edges and holding it firmly still.

“Oh God!” Sarah gasped when she stopped the door along with a second pair of hands.

“Oh my god I’m so,” Alex began pulling the door back and shoving it into place before turning around and locking his chocolate brown eyes onto a pair of dazzling green gems. “Sorry,” he breathed. For some reason the girl who he had found so stunning and had spent days chasing after was in his bus. And he’d nearly hit her with a door. Smooth, Alex. But one thing didn’t add up. Why was she in his bus? Then he remembered the singer he was yet to meet. He then realised why the band members had looked so familiar when he met them a few days back. Suddenly everything began to click into place. The beautiful girl before him was the singer of Too Close for Comany. She was the girl he hadn’t yet met and the girl he’d seen with such a powerful voice performing on that stage nearly a week ago. He glanced over her attire as a smirk made its way onto his lips. He mentally cussed when his eyes ran ove her legs, she was dressed to kill. Right then he had made it his aim to get the girl before him as many drinks as she could possibly consume. Alex Gaskarth had hit the jackpot. Perfect.