You're No Good At Lying

“I need you to mail these for me when you go to the store tomorrow,” Spencer said cheerfully a few days later when she saw her brother pass by at nearly ten thirty in the evening, when most people on tour were in the middle of a number of different parties and festive occasions. Morgan cocked his head as he scanned the addresses of the envelopes; he recognized one to be their home address, another to be the address of Spencer’s college, and one to an unknown address in California.

“Who are you writing to in California?” Morgan asked, scanning the letter that puzzled him most of all.

“A college,” she replied nonchalantly.

“A college!” Morgan nearly yelled, and Spencer just folded her arms across her chest. “What’s wrong with the University of Miami?”

“I don’t like it there anymore, you know that,” she responded coolly.

“Seriously, Spencer?” Morgan asked with an exasperated sigh. “Just because of those girls? You’re going to run away because of a bunch of bitchy, self centered, rude –“

“It’s not just because of them,” Spencer responded harshly.

“Well then how come you’re leaving? You’re just going to leave mom like that, really, Spencer?” Morgan argued, and Spencer could feel her breath beginning to shallow.

“Don’t put me in that position, Morgan,” she said through gritted teeth.

“It’s the truth, though!” He yelled, and Spencer’s hands curled into fists. “All you think about is yourself!”

“Because I was the one who came home at two o’clock at night drunk as fuck,” retorted Spencer with a sarcastic snort. “Because I was the one who took the money we were saving for mom’s birthday present and used it to buy new tires for the car. Because I was the one who ran away when dad died!”

“I can’t talk to you right now. I can’t talk to this new, lovesick Spencer. Find me when the rational thinking Spencer comes back,” muttered Morgan before he turned around and headed back towards the bus.

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Having to go back on her brother’s bus to get an extra change of clothes and her blanket was awkward, to say the least, especially because they both knew where she was planning on staying the night, now that the bunk next to Morgan was obviously off limits. As Spencer trudged through the darkness of the empty tour grounds, she wished she had thought of bringing a flashlight so she’d have an easier time in remembering if the All Time Low bus was to the right after the blue bus, or after the black one. At eleven o’clock at night, they looked all the same.

Finally, after having a difficult time, she stumbled upon what she knew to be Zack’s bus. Jiggling the handle, the door opened, and she silently stepped on the bus. The lights were dimmed down to a faint glow, and Spencer could barely make out the form of Alex lying asleep on the sofa, surrounded by what looked to be enough beer bottles to quench the thirst of a band four times the size of All Time Low. Stepping over a couple empty ones, she made her way into the back, clutching her things tighter to her chest. Now, if only she knew which bunk belonged to Zack.

Pulling back the curtain of the first bunk slowly, Spencer was greeted with a bit more of Jack than she had ever hoped to see. She grimaced before replacing the curtain quickly. The next bunk belonged to Rian, and she crossed her fingers that the third one would be Zack’s, and not their manager or a member of their crew. Her fingers hovered over the curtain, before pulling it back ever so slightly. She sighed from relief as Zack’s head clearly stuck out from under the mass of blankets, and with a gentle touch she prodded his shoulder. “Zack,” she whispered, “Zack, please wake up.”

He groaned, rolling over to face the person who had woken him up. “Spencer?” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his palm. “What’s wrong?”

“Can I sleep here tonight?” Spencer asked quietly, adjusting her grip on her blanket and clothes.

“Yeah, sure,” he murmured, patting the spot next to the wall. Tossing her stuff on the foot of the bed, Spencer crawled over Zack and made herself comfortable on her side of the bunk. Facing Zack, Spencer’s eyes slowly begin to fall to a closed position, but not until she heard Zack whisper, “What happened?”

“I got into a fight with Morgan. Don’t worry about it. Go to sleep,” she insisted.

“No,” Zack responded, propping himself up on his elbow. “I’m awake now. Just tell me.” Spencer shook her head, letting her head fall on the surprisingly comfortable pillow.

“We just got into an argument about me going to college in California. Really, Zack, it’s not a big deal. I’ll apologize tomorrow,” she promised, her eyes closing completely. Her eyes remained shut as Zack pulled her closer to him, and she allowed herself to cuddle against his warm skin.

“You know what I was going to tell you, but never found the time?” He asked softly, his fingers tracing light patterns on a patch of exposed skin. Spencer muttered a ‘no’ quietly. “That you don’t always have to apologize.”

“Trust me,” Spencer responded quietly, lifting her head up just enough so that she could look Zack in the eye. “It was my fault. Even I know it was my fault.” She let her head fall back down, feeling Zack kiss the top of it softly.

“You’re a good person, Spencer. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”