I Love Your Bubblegum Smile

The next morning, it took Harley five tries to get out of bed.

After each try, she would open her eyes to see the darkness inside her bunk, groan, and then proceed to roll back over and cuddle into her pillow.

After the fifth try, Harley gave up in going back to sleep and instead tore the curtain of her bunk open, before stepping out onto the bus.

As she walked into the front lounge, her eyes still glazed with sleep, she began to realize something important; this wasn’t her bus.

The front lounge was noticeably smaller, and much tidier than the lounge in All Time Low’s bus. The countertops were a different color, as well as the wood that supported them, and the fridge was a bright white, instead of the silver one that gleamed in All Time Low’s kitchen.

And the fact that We The Kings’ drummer—Danny Duncan—was passed out on the floor only clad in a pair of boxers may have given it away.

Random articles of clothing were strewn across the floor, a reminder of the game of strip-poker that had taken place the night before (Harley had only played until she had her pants off, and then surrendered after Travis claimed that his bandmates were corrupting her.)

Memories of last night flooded back into her brain and she immediately felt angry at her brother once again.

After she had returned from Denny’s, they had watched the football game before decided on poker—which, after a few beers, turned into drunken strip poker. When it came time to sleep, Harley had stumbled onto the couch, but was quickly ejected by Travis, who demanded that she take his bunk instead.

After grumbling, but eventually agreeing, she watched in horror as Travis laid out a pillow and blanket and took his place dutifully in the back lounge. Suddenly remembering this, Harley trekked towards the back lounge and found Travis, sound asleep, on the plush dark blue couch.

Harley watched him carefully, taking in the image of his sleeping body. His brilliant orange hair fell in his face, shielding his closed bright blue eyes. His skin was pale, but held a slightly red tinge. She smiled and watched as his blue eyes opened.

“Hey,” he smiled, his voice thick with sleep. “How long have you been up?”

“I just got up.”

“Where are the guys?” He yawned, but got up and stretched none the less.

Harley’s eyes traveled to the slither of skin that showed as his t-shirt rose from his jeans. She frowned in disappointment as he dropped his arms and the exposed skin was covered.

“Danny’s passed out on the floor in the front lounge. I think I saw Drew in the kitchen and Hunter’s still sleeping.”

Travis nodded groggily, standing up and grabbing Harley’s hand before leading her towards the front lounge. Harley’s stomach jumped and she stared at his hand wrapped around hers.

Travis let go upon reaching the front lounge, and instead kicked Danny lightly in the stomach. Danny groaned in response, obviously hung over by all the alcohol he had consumed the night before.

“Get up, you asshole.” Travis laughed, prodding Danny with his foot. “And put some pants on.”

“And a shirt!” Harley groaned sleepily, pretending to shield her eyes as she made her way to the kitchen.

“You want anything to eat?” Drew asked her from the island in the middle of the small space, eating what appeared to be a bowl of Lucky Charms.

“No thanks,” Harley declined, though her stomach groaned painfully from the lack of food in the past twenty four hours.

She must’ve looked like shit.

She rested her arms against the counter next to Drew, so she was in a leaning position next to him. Drew returned to his cereal while Travis grabbed an orange and began peeling it.

“At least take a slice,” Travis tossed the peeled orange at her, which she caught with difficulty. “Or two. I know you must be hungry.”

Harley reluctantly obliged, and took two slices away from the orange before tossing it back to Travis, much more ungracefully. He grinned, but caught it none the less. Danny reappeared fully-clothed, before grabbing the box of Lucky Charms and pouring himself a bowl.

“Do you have any clothes I can borrow?” Travis sent her a confused look. “I haven’t showered since yesterday.” Harley scrunched her nose up in disgust, “I just feel dirty, ya know? All I need is a quick shower. It’s okay if you don’t have any clothes that would fit me.”

Harley blushed after the words left her mouth, realizing that she had just told a boy about her lack of hygeine. Travis didn't seem to notice though, and if he did, he was good at hiding his disgust.

“Actually, I think I do.” Travis said, grabbing the remaining three slices of his orange before gesturing for her to follow him deeper into the bus

. He found his suitcase, which contained what apparently seemed like a bundle of guy’s clothes, and picked out some shorts and a faded Glamour Kills shirt.

“The shower’s in the back,” Travis nodded, rubbing the back of his neck with his right arm before retreating back to the kitchen.

Harley walked the opposite way towards the bathroom, which was—surprise—almost exactly like All Time Low’s.

The small cabinet was stuffed with different men’s hygiene products, and a tube of Crest toothpaste lay dishevelled on the side of the small porcelain sink. The shower was a cramped cubicle in the corner shielded only by a thin shower curtain and the toilet was opposite it.

Harley made sure to lock the door as she stripped herself of clothing. She turned on the water and jumped slightly as a spray of hot droplets flew towards her. She stepped into the shower and relaxed, cleansing the dirt that had clung to her skin for the past twenty four hours.

After showering, Harley redressed in Travis’ clothes—she had to roll the shorts many times before they actually fit her—and returned to the kitchen area.

Everything was exactly how she had left it, except Drew had moved to the couch with his Lucky Charms instead of the island.

“I should probably head back.” Harley said, looking back and forth between Travis and the door.

He nodded, before saying goodbye to his bandmates and walking out the door and motioning for her to follow.

Harley trailed behind him, and soon they were walking side by side. It was supposedly a free day today, at least for Harley and All Time Low. They were going to stay at the venue for a few more hours, and then set off towards the next venue which was somewhere in the east.

Travis and Harley walked in silence, before reaching their destination. The All Time Low bus was parked exactly where it had been before. The driver’s seat was empty just like it had been the night before, but the major difference was the fact that the small glass door had been opened.

“I should...go?” Travis frowned, rubbing the crook of his neck slowly.

He took a small step backwards, indicating that he was true to his word, though it was obvious that he did not want to leave. The corner of Harley’s lips twisted upwards as she bravely clasped Travis’ hand in her own.

“Don’t.” She slowly made her way up the steps, dragging Travis behind her.

As she made her way deeper into the bus, the voices of televised sports commentators began to waft through the air. The boys were up.

Slowly, she rounded the corner with Travis in tow, to find the boys sprawled out on the couch watching the football game. Two girls, sat on the couch as well, squashed uncomfortably between Alex and Rian.

They were both laughing, and Harley couldn`t help but furrow her eyebrows in confusion. Upon closer inspection, Harley realized that one of the girls—the brunette—was actually Rian`s long-time girlfriend Kara, while the blonde beside her remained a mystery.

“Ahem.” Harley cleared her throat loudly, catching the attention of everyone in the room. She felt Travis jump slightly from behind her, causing her to stumble slightly.

She blushed, but quickly regained her composure as anger replaced her embarrassment. Memories of the night before and a feeling of loneliness quickly flooded through her body, pulling her under into a world of black.

Her body went rigid almost immediately, and a sharp pain echoed across her insides. The pain subsided after a moment, but her throat went dry, as she attempted to form words.

Rian was quick to cut her off.

“Where the hell were you last night? You never returned from the merch stand. We went to look for you, and you weren’t anywhere in the venue.”

“Oh really?” She sent him a glare, challenging him. Words spilled out of her mouth before she could control them. “You were looking for me at Denny’s huh? Because that’s a great place to look. I’m sure I’d be there!”

Rian’s face clouded over with shame and guilt, but it quickly turned into confusion.

“How did you know we were at Denny’s anyway?” Rian narrowed his eyes at her, and it’s Harley’s turn to blush.

“Travis told me.” She blurted out, earning a quick jolt in her hand.

She looked down, only to realize that Travis’ hand and hers were still connected. He looked confused, but Harley silently prayed that he wouldn’t say anything.

“Wait,” Rian stopped, drawing out each letter as he took in her appearance. He sent her a calculating look, taking in Travis’ pair of shorts and faded t-shirt that hung off her skinny frame, her obvious bed-head, lack of makeup and squinted eyes. “You were with him last night...weren’t you?”

Harley felt her face flush at what he was implying and though technically it was true, Rian made things seem much worse than they actually were.

“Yes...and no. You assholes locked me out of the bus, so I had no choice but to go to We The King’s bus! But that’s not what I’m yelling at you about! You don’t ever tell me where you’re going to be, and I’m sick of it!”

“Relax,” Rian said, but sent a menacing look to Travis. “I’m the one who should be yelling at you. You go ahead with your boyfriend and spend the night doing god-knows-what while we’re out. We’re twenty-fucking-one years old. I think we can party when we want to. I don’t need my baby sister’s consent to do so.”

“Well...you could at least leave the door open for me when I come back? I could care less what you do! I’m forced to do a fucking job on this tour, and if I come back late, it’s not my fault!”

Words flew out of her mouth so quickly that they began to slur together into one sentence, causing Rian to furrow his eyebrows.

Awkward tension radiated across the bus, and Harley realized that nobody else had said a word as the two Dawson siblings had argued. The silence stretched out as Harley breathed heavily, waiting for Rian to say something.

“Um....” a female voice broke the silence, though it was new and unfamiliar. “I know this might be a bad time, but I think I’m supposed to introduce myself.” She glanced at Alex, who sent her an odd look. “I’m Lisa Ruocco, Alex’s girlfriend.”

Harley stared at her in utter shock.

Could this girl really be that stupid?

Harley gave her the once over, and then glanced at Alex.

She was blonde, but more of a honey blonde than a platinum one, and had blue-ish brown eyes that twinkled under a thick layer of mascara. She was skinny and barely reached Alex’s shoulder, so she must have been pretty short.

She had a small smile on her face, and Harley felt it necessary to punch that smile off of her face. Anger bubbled up inside of her, but she wasn’t sure why.

Rian made her mad.

Alex made her mad.

Zack made her mad.

Jack made her mad.

Lisa made her mad.

Travis....didn’t make her mad.

Instead of punching her though, Harley just stared. Harley was a good person, and it would be out of character to straight up punch a girl in the face. So instead, she offered a small, tense smile, before giving a slight wave.

“Hi,” she said, her voice quivering with anger, “I’m Harley Dawson. Nice to meet you.”

The silence became awkward again, as Lisa sank back into the couch. Alex shifted in the couch, and Rian still glared at Harley and Travis.

“Hey man,” Travis smiled finally from behind Harley. “No hard feelings, right?”

“Shut the fuck up, man.” Rian laughed, shaking his head in disgust. “There will never be ‘soft feelings’ when you’re sleeping with my little sister.”

“I’m not sl—” Travis started.

“What the hell, Rian?” Harley scowled, stepping in front of Travis once again. “First off, who the hell are you to treat someone that way? And second, Travis and I aren’t sleeping together. We’re not even going out. You just have to jump to conclusions all the time. Get this through your big-ass head: Travis and I arejust friends.” Rian remained silent as he evaluated her answer. “And you know what? What the hell?! I might as well go out with Travis with all the shit you’re putting him through.”

And with that, Harley whirled around bodly, bringing Travis’ face down towards her and kissing him straight on the lips.