I Love Your Bubblegum Smile

“Let’s get shit-faced!” A voice in the distance hollered and Harley groaned, rolling over in her bunk.

The yellow curtain masked the activity happening outside of her bunk, but Harley could still hear every word being passed through the bus, and this annoyed her greatly, as there were many, many words.

“Jack, I don’t want you to give me a fucking lap dance!” Another male shouted, and the sound of glass cracking echoed throughout the bus.

Harley internally cringed, before sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

Glancing at her watch, which lay loyally by her side, she realized it was well past two in the morning.

Now, Harley was curious.

Stretching in the confines of her bunk, she pulled open the yellow curtain, to find a sea of people dancing around the bunks.

This confused her greatly.

After all, it was almost three in the morning, and there were at least sixty people on the All Time Low bus. Before she went to sleep, there were four. Now there were sixty.

Everyone seemed to be holding either plastic cups filled with what appeared to be cheap wine and beer, or wine bottles.

In the sea of people that she could see, Harley recognized not a single person.

After blinking many times while trying to figure out if the scene in front of her was a dream, someone bumped into her.

The man was in his early thirties it seemed—slightly old to be on Warped Tour—and smirked.

“Nice pajamas.” He laughed, before disappearing in the crowd.

Harley looked down and gasped, recognizing that she was still in her pajama shorts decorated with small teddy bears and a baby blue tank top.

Realizing that she wouldn’t be able to change, let alone make her way to the bathroom because of the massive amount of people inhabiting the bus, Harley settled on finding the boys.

She forcefully shoved her way through the crowd, earning shouts of protests, a few shoves, and a couple of hands attempting to grope her ass.

Finally making her way to the front lounge, she spotted the band sprawled across the room.

Jack appeared to be attempting to give Jeff Maker, the lighting guy, a lap dance while a banana was stuck in the crotch of his jeans. Rian seemed to be having a chugging competition with Flyzik, Zack was laughing at Vinny, who was giving impressions while holding two vodka bottles and Alex seemed to be dry humping Evan while bursting into song.

Lisa was talking to a guy with jet black hair and a nose ring, while Kara was passed out on the floor. Charming.

Weighing her options, Harley figured that her safest bet to figure out what was going on would be to ask Zack, who seemed the least bit intoxicated.

She managed to squirm her way towards him, and once she was in front of him, she waved.

This caught his attention, and he smiled, putting down the red cup in front of him.

“You look happy,” he gestured to the grimace that had etched its way onto her face.

“Oh, I am.” She muttered, sarcastically. “What is all this?” She gestured wildly to the dancing people, alcohol and intoxicated bodies passed out on the floor.

“Alex decided to throw a party,” Zack grinned, motioning to go somewhere quieter, as Vinny was still screeching out impressions beside them.

She nodded, and the couple ventured further into the bus, towards the back lounge where it was less crowded. After taking a seat on one of the sofas, she watched as Zack did the same.

“Why did he have the party?” Harley continued from their previous conversation.

A yelp was heard from the front lounge, and the sound momentarily distracted Zack, but after realizing that it was nothing to panic over, he turned back towards Harley.

“Because he’s Alex,” Zack smiled, as though remembering something. “He loves alcohol, noise...and people.” Zack laughed, noticing Harley’s expression. He moved in closer, as someone had turned on some loud disco music, so Harley could hear him better. “I also think its because he hasn’t had a lot of alcohol in a while. Plus, with the whole anxiety incident today, I guess he wants to drink his problems away again.”

“I don’t think he—“

“Yo! Lovebirds!” Someone slurred, and both Zack and Harley jumped apart.

Harley frowned, noticing as Jack stumbled further into the room, flanked by Travis and Alex. Harley raised her eyebrows, surprised that her boyfriend was highly drunk at, let alone invited to one of All Time Low’s famous bus parties.

“Dude, Harley has a boyfriend!” Alex shouted, waving his hands frantically, as though that would separate Zack and Harley.

“Who?” Jack asked, bouncing up and down.

“Travis, you dickhead.”

“Yeah, me, you dickhead.” Travis echoed, laughing as Alex attempted to jump on Jack’s back.

This sent both boys tumbling down towards the floor, leaving Travis to laugh at them from a standing position.

He sat next to Harley, and slung an arm around her waist. She smiled as he leaned in and kissed her. He tasted like vodka and Red Bull.

She pulled away, watching as Zack attempted to help up Alex and Jack.

Once the boys were standing again, Jack ran towards Harley, and collapsed onto her lap.

“Jack,” she groaned under his weight, “lose some weight. God, you’re so skinny but you’re such a fat-ass!”

She laughed, attempting to push him off of her.

He crawled to the right of her and sat down between her and Zack.

“Nice outfit,” he laughed eyeing her outfit. “Your shorts are turning me on.”

She hit him in the shoulder, but he just swayed slightly. “I have a boyfriend, asshole.”

“I’m game,” he laughed, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at Travis.

“That’s sick, man.” Travis groaned, shifting in the chair.

“You’re not drinking,” Alex pointed out, pointing a wavering figure towards Harley accusingly.

“No, I guess not.”

“Let’s go to the front lounge,” he suggested, grabbing her hand and tugging her away from Travis. “Kyle’s serving drinks.”

“Wha—?“ Harley attempted to ask, but was cut off by Alex yanking her roughly through the crowd.

She followed after him, as he took her towards the coffee table, which had been set up as a makeshift bar.

The air smelled of alcohol, vomit and sex, and Harley had a feeling that it would take numerous shitty air fresheners to get rid of the odor.

Sitting on the chair near the table was a lanky peroxide-blonde haired man, with icy blue eyes and a big smile.

He was holding a bottle of red wine, and pouring it into one of the plastic cups, before resting it back on the ‘bar’ and handing the cup to the girl he was talking too.

Alex approached him, before yelling out. “Burns!”

“Gaskarth, my man!” Kyle laughed, sloppily giving Alex one of those one-armed-guy-hug-handshake things. “What’s your poison?”

“Straight vodka for me, and...a beer for my friend here,” Alex ordered, laying a drunken arm around Harley’s shoulders.

Kyle looked up, as though only realizing that Harley was beside him.

“Hey there, pretty lady.” Kyle smiled widely, showing off a row of dazzling white teeth.

“Hi,” she smiled uneasily, wishing that she were already intoxicated, so that she could just get this night over with.

It was easy to say that she would not be going back to sleep anytime soon.

“Here’s your beer,” he said, sliding her a red cup of her own.

“Thanks,” she smiled, sipping the foul liquid and feeling the effects begin to create a stir in her body. “I like your hair.” She nodded towards the platinum-blonde mess a top his head.

“I like your face,” Kyle grinned, cheekily.

“I’m being serious!”

“So am I,” Kyle winked, before nodding towards Alex and silkily disappearing into the crowd to occupy himself with someone else.

“What was that about?” Alex asked, after a beat of silence.

“I’m not sure,” an awkward moment occurred as Alex continued to stare at Harley, “how did you get him to be your bartender anyway?”

“I paid him twenty bucks that I stole from Jack, and promised him a kiss.”

“I’m sure he’s happy,” Harley laughed.

“He took the money, but punched me in the shoulder about the kiss.” Harley laughed, chugging the rest of her beer down and refilling the plastic cup.

Alex was still watching her, as he stumbled towards her. An odd pause filled the air, as Alex and Harley locked gazes.

“Hi,” he drunkenly hiccupped, placing a hand awkwardly on her collarbone.

She eyed his hand wearily, taking in the warmth of his calloused fingertips and how...large his hand was.

He smirked at her, in a way that his lips turned up ever so slightly. His nose bumped against her cheekbone, as he stepped closer, the proximity of his body increasing.

He was close. So close that Harley could see every detail on his face. From the light brown stubble that collected around his chin and along his jaw, to the intensity of his dark brown eyes. From the way his light brown hair fell in his face, just brushing past his left eyebrow to the way his eyebrows were slightly raised in anticipation. From the way his mouth opened slightly to reveal his front two teeth to the way his right tooth was slightly crooked. Harley was mesmerized.

His glassy eyes held a flurry of emotions that Harley could not even begin to place, and as he began to step closer to her, she realized three important things.

The first was that Alex was about to kiss her, as she could tell by the way he was looking at her lips.

The second thing she realized was that she liked Alex, more than a friend. She knew that by the way he looked at her, by the way she felt herself looking at him, by the way she desperately wanted her lips to touch his, that she liked him. That Jack was right all along.

The final thing she realized was that this couldn’t happen here. This couldn’t happen now. They were both in happy relationships, and the last thing either of them needed was to be caught cheating, where there were at least sixty people to witness their infidelity.

So, she did the only thing that she considered right in this situation, and pushed Alex away.

He looked startled, even in his drunken haze, and his glassy eyes displayed an emotion similar to hurt.

His face dropped as he stepped backwards, confused by his rejection.

His eyes searched hers in an attempt to find an answer. Finding none, he looked back at Kyle who had returned to his post as a bartender.

“More vodka?” The blonde asked tentatively, picking up a clear glass bottle. The crowd had doubled, and it was hard to make him out in the sea of bodies.

“Yeah,” Alex scowled, “I’m ready to get fucking plastered.”

Kyle poured him another cup, in which Alex chugged right away, even thought the liquid was sure to burn his throat.

After finishing the drink, he crumpled the red plastic cup, glanced at Harley and frowned, before stalking into the crowd angrily.

Kyle sent a nervous glance between Harley and the spot where Alex had been.

“These parties are fucked up.” Kyle muttered, taking a sip of beer while leaning back in his chair.

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Harley sighed, getting the feeling that she had just fucked up big time.