The Distance Between Us

I pushed my short messy black hair out of my face and sighed in defeat as I sat on the floor. I’d searched the entire building and hadn’t found him. A door opened down the hallway and I looked up, hoping that it would be Maika.

“Oh. Hey, Chris.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You seem to sit on the floors a lot,” he commented.

“I couldn’t find someone,” I shrugged. “I’m a little disappointed.”

“I take it you mean…” I nodded before he finished.

“So…”

“Kylie is cute,” he mumbled. “What does she think of me?”

I grinned. “She’s way too shy to talk to you first. Go find her!! Ask her on a date. She’ll say yes, I promise.”

He smiled. “This is just to help you with the betting problem, isn’t it?”

I shrugged. “It helps. But I really just want to prove them wrong.” I frowned. “They think I can’t handle a relationship.”

“Can you?” he asked curiously.

I sighed. “Obviously not. I always screw up.”

Chris jumped when his phone rang. He answered and I watched him curiously. “Yeah. She’s right here… We were talking…” He rolled his eyes. “No, we were talking about how she was planning to have hot sweaty sex with you,” he said sarcastically. “Yes, I was kidding! Sheesh.” He rolled his eyes again. “Melody, will you say hi so that Maika knows I’m not lying?” He held the phone out.

“I can’t find you!” I yelled.

“That works. Thank you.” He held the phone to his ear again. “Told you so. We’re by the door that leads to the stage, why? … Okay… Bye.” He hung up. “He’s coming to find you, and I’m off to find your sister.” He smiled at me.

“Mention none of this to her,” I pleaded. He nodded and smiled again before he left.

I got up and was pacing back and forth as I tried to gain my composure. “God, this isn’t fair,” I mumbled to myself. “They can go off and fuck whoever the hell they want, but the one guy I want… I can’t… Stupid bet.” I groaned and blushed when I saw his shoes when I stopped. I slowly looked up.

“How’s the self-control coming along?” he smirked, putting his hands on my hips and pulling me closer to him.

“Honestly, not very well,” I frowned. “And you aren’t helping the cause.”

“Should I leave?”

“No!” I answered, slightly too quick. “I just don’t want to screw up again.”

“You won’t,” he reassured me.

“I always do. It starts with a smile. That smile turns into a kiss. That kiss leads to making out, and then all my clothes are gone and I’m a whore yet again.” I frowned. “That’s why they always bet on me and not someone else.”

“You aren’t a whore.” I snorted. He cupped my chin with his hand and forced me to look up at him. “You aren’t, Melody. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t say it.” He brought his lips to mine, but it was nothing like before; it wasn’t just for show. It was soft and sweet; more of a reassurance. He pulled away but kept me close to him.

Maybe he was right. Mind over matter.

Someone walked by. “So if I asked you to kiss me again, would you?” I asked, biting my lip.

“It depends,” he answered.

“On what?”

“On if you really wanted me to, or not.” He shrugged. “I probably would anyway, because I want to.” He smiled sheepishly. I jumped back a foot when my phone vibrated in my pocket. “Holy SHIT! What the hell is in your pocket that vibrates like THAT?!”

I pulled my phone out and blushed. “Sorry.” I looked at the screen before I decided that Kylie ranting about my current situation wasn’t important for the time being. “My phone is going to get more action than I will this tour. How fucked up.” I shook my head and ran my fingers through my hair.

“Alright, the next band playing is There for Tomorrow!” I yelled into the mic after our last song. I just wanted to sleep, but I knew the next few hours would be pretty busy. “Show those boys a good time!” With that, I left the stage. I went to find my acoustic in the trailer, but put it back in the case after I’d tuned it for the songs I wanted to play later.

I went back inside and found Kylie. She was watching Chris from the side of the stage. “Kylie,” I said as I stood beside her. “Spread the word that I’m playing acoustic after the show.”

“Really? Are you trying to show off for somebody?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Not really,” I answered honestly. I gave her a short list that I’d written while still outside. “But these are the songs I’m gonna play.” She nodded.

“You gonna stick around to watch them?”

I nodded. The smile never faded from her face the whole time that There for Tomorrow was playing. “Oh my god!” I squealed.

She blushed. “What?”

“You and Chris…”

“What about it?”

“YOU DID IT!” I yelled. Maika turned and stared and I realized only then that they had finished playing “Pages”.

“Alright, everybody! This song is for a girl I met recently,” Maika said as he turned back to the crowd. He came over to get a guitar and everybody else disappeared behind the drum riser. He smiled at me as he came over and got an acoustic. He went back to the center of the stage. “This song is called ‘Burn the Night Away’.”

He looked back over at me and smiled before he started playing.

It's 3 in the morning and I'm still not sleeping
Cause I'm finally running your race
The mountains you've been climbing seem like they have steepened
Since I decided to pick up the pace
If the whole world told me I should disappear
Could I fall right next to you
Just let me burn the night away
Oh baby let me burn the night away
By thinking of the simple things you say to me
That get me through the day
You keep me wide awake
You keep me wide awake
So don't look back the hourglass is running empty
You've got me buried with your every move
Your fine lines have me at a loss of memory
I'm right beside you in an empty room
If the whole world told me I should disappear
Could I fall right next to you
Just let me burn the night away
Oh baby let me burn the night away
By thinking of the simple things you say to me
That get me through the day
And it's so hard to catch your feelings
When you always run away
You keep me wide awake
You keep me wide awake
You're making it hard
For me to just start
Over like were new
Oh the whole world told me I should disappear
Cause I'm falling in love with you
Just let me burn the night away
Oh baby let burn the night away
By thinking of the simple things you say to me
That get me through the day
And it's so hard to catch your feelings
When you always run away
You keep me wide awake
You keep me wide awake

Kylie nudged me with her elbow after the song was over. “I think he’s trying to say something.”

He came back over and grabbed my hand. “What? I’m not going out there again!” I protested.

“Trust me,” he said as he started pulling me out. I drew in a deep breath. He grabbed the mic. “How many of you know who this lovely girl is?” The whole crowd screamed. “So if you’re following me on Twitter, you’d know why she’s up here.”

“Don’t you dare go there again,” I hissed.

He grinned. “Show Melody some love!” The crowd screamed and I blushed.

“Kiss her!” someone in the crowd shouted. I spotted one of the girls from earlier.

“How many of you think I should kiss her right now?” Everybody was going wild.

“You just love doing this, don’t you? I swear, you are the most evil person I have ever met,” I sighed.

“I never said I’d do it on stage,” Maika said into the microphone before he put it back on the stand and led me back off the stage. He smiled as he lightly pecked my lips and returned to the stage.

“So do you wanna bet that he was singing that song for you?” Kylie grinned.

The small crowd around me were watching. “Alright,” I called out. “How many of you guys like Boys Like Girls?” I smiled at the reaction. “Well this song is from their new CD. It’s called ‘Someone Like You’.”

My fingers easily found the right frets on the neck of the guitar as I played. Most of the kids in the small crowd were singing along—at most, there were fifteen kids. I smiled when I saw Maika coming towards the crowd. He stood behind two girls.

The song ended and several of the kids left. “Can I get a picture with you?” someone asked. I nodded and let everybody get their pictures.

“Are you going to answer questions?” another kid asked.

I grinned. “Depends on the questions.”

“What’s up with you and Maika?” he asked. I eyed Maika.

“Ask him.” I shrugged.

“Oh sure, just point me out,” Maika said as he walked around to stand next to me.

“Well?”

“Melody!” I heard Kylie yell. She ran towards us. “Whoa. Nice crowd.”

“Are you together, or not?”

“Not,” Kylie answered for us. “She’s more about the sex.” I glared at her and slapped her arm.

“Ignore Kylie. But no, we aren’t in a relationship.” Maika grinned mischievously. “What do you want, Kylie?”

“Chris kissed me,” she whispered.

I smirked. “DID EVERYBODY HEAR THAT? CHRIS FROM THERE FOR TOMORROW KISSED KYLIE! Go bug those two.” I winked at them before I walked away with Maika and my acoustic.

“You were amazing,” he told me as I put my guitar in its case. I shrugged and he cupped my chin with his hand. I studied his eyes for a minute before he leaned closer and kissed me. He smiled as he pulled away. “Are you guys staying in a hotel close by or driving most of the night again?”

I thought. “I think we decided to stay close by. Any hotel suggestions?”

“Chris, trade keys with me,” I begged.

“What? Why?”

“I don’t want to spend the night with Kylie nagging about what’s going on in my love life.” He smiled before he traded keys with me. I found the room I was now sharing with Maika and unlocked the door.

“What are you doing here? Not that I’m complaining,” Maika said with a grin.

“Chris and I traded.” I smiled. “And Kylie’s going to assume I had sex with you.” I shrugged.

“You look tired,” he yawned. I had already dropped my bag. I climbed onto the bed next to him and rested my head on his chest.

“I’m very tired,” I agreed. He turned down the volume on the TV and kissed the top of my head. “I don’t want to sleep yet, though.” I yawned and lifted my head to smile at him.

“You know,” he started. “It’s taking all my strength to not kiss you right now.”

“Then kiss me,” I smirked as I climbed on him and straddled his waist. He smirked before he flipped me over and pinned my hands above my head with one of his.

“Maybe I will,” he whispered as he closed the distance between us. His lips were soft and warm on mine. He slipped his tongue into my mouth when I accidentally let out a small moan. His free hand cupped my cheek as he pulled away.

I smiled. “If you keep kissing me like that, I might lose that bet much sooner than I want to.”

He chuckled, “You asked for it.”

“I don’t even have self-control Why the hell did you listen to—” I was cut off by him pressing his lips to mine again. “Cheater,” I muttered seconds after he kissed me. “I’m gonna lose!” I complained.

He smiled. “I’m done.” He let go of my hands and rolled off of me. I climbed under the covers and grinned in amusement as he stared at me with a confused look.

“Your bed is already warm,” I explained. He rolled his eyes before he turned off the light and climbed under the blanket with me.