The Story Left Untold

We arrived at the venue a few hours later. I didn’t actually realize that I had taken a nap until I woke up in my bunk after being shaken awake by Flyzik.

“It’s time to get up, Brittany,” he told me as I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes.

I nodded at Matt and sat up. I hopped out of my bunk and saw that I was the only one left inside. “How long has it been since we arrived?” I asked Matt who was grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Well, it’s been about twenty minutes.” He smiled at me before heading out of the bus.

I yawned as I sleepily made my way into the comfort room but little did I know that there was actually someone there taking a bath.

Alex screamed like a girl once I got inside and saw him naked. I don’t know why but I checked him out before screaming as well but I started to laugh as I rushed back out. The guys came back on the bus and found me on the floor laughing my ass off.

“What happened?” Jack asked with a big smile on his face.

“What happened was that this girl right here disturbed my bath,” Alex answered, coming out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He sprinkled suds all over me as I tried to get up.

“I’m sorry but I didn’t know you were inside,” I told him as I got up from the floor. “And besides, you didn’t even lock the door.”

Alex just rolled his eyes, totally embarrassed, as he walked back into the bathroom. I made my way to the kitchen sink instead to splash my face with water but I didn’t think it was that necessary anymore seeing that I was already really awake.

I don’t know if I should forget about what I saw or treasure my eyes for seeing what they did. To be quite honest, he was pretty hot underneath all the clothes he’s always wrapped up in. Oh my God, what am I thinking?

The guys shrugged it off as they went back outside the bus. Since I couldn’t use the bathroom, I went out of the bus as well. I made my way to the merch tent where Vinny was and watched him grab shirts from really big boxes.

“Are you gonna stand there all day long?” he asked, wiping the sweat off his face.

I smiled and bit my lip. “Maybe,” I laughed.

“Get your ass over here and help me!” he joked as he went back to work.

I chuckled as I crossed over the counter and helped him unpack boxes. Once everything as placed on the table, we started to arrange everything in size and in color. Once we were both satisfied, we sat on the chairs that were provided and started to make small talk.

“So how’ve you been holding up?” I asked Vinny as he placed his feet up on the table and rocked his chair back.

“Well, it’s been the same. I mean nothing much has really changed,” he said.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” I asked bringing my feet up and crossing them Indian-style on the chair.

“Jack’s been making more dick jokes, Zack’s still working out, Rian’s practically the same, Matt’s still obsessed with Mickey but Alex...,” he trailed off suddenly. “There’s something off about him.”

“Like what?” I asked almost immediately.

Vinny did a double-take before answering me, “Well, he’s been silent for a while now. I mean ever since Matt told us that you’d be hanging with us for this tour, he hasn’t been the same loud, obnoxious ass that he is.”

I had to laugh at that but it also had me wondering. Did he not want me here? I mean if someone in this tour wanted me gone then I think I’d take the first cab ride home. I didn’t want to be a nuisance to any of them. That’s exactly why I didn’t want to come in the first place.

I was about to say something else when Alex himself was right in front of us. “Hey, uh, Brit,” he stammered. “Can we go and get some coffee? I really want to talk to you.”

I looked at him in surprise as I processed what he just said. “Um, yeah, sure.” I told him as I got up. “You got everything covered here, right?” I asked Vinny. He just saluted as he moved his cap over his eyes to take a nap.

I hopped over the counter and started walking out of the venue with Alex. “So what’s up?” I asked him.

He seemed really nervous and somehow it was getting to me. “We’ll talk when we get there.”

We walked in an awkward silence as we made our way to the coffee shop down the street. Fortunately for us, there were no screaming fans rushing to be by Alex’s side. Maybe there were a few who asked for a picture and a signature but that was about it. One of them even said hi to me telling me that she just loves how Jack and I were together. I didn’t say anything about it because I didn’t want to break her heart. For all I knew, Jack and I being together was the only reason she believed in love. That might’ve been an exaggeration but it could’ve been true.

Once we got our orders in and the barista called out Alex’s name, he brought the order to our table by the window and heaved a heavy sigh.

“Is everything alright?” I asked him as I opened the cap of my cup and placed in some sugar and milk.

I looked up at him when he didn’t answer. He hasn’t touched his coffee and all he was doing was looking down. He was sulking.

“Alex, what’s wrong?” I said getting up and getting in beside him. I placed a hand on his back and he flinched away.

“I’m sorry,” was all he said. He was on the verge of actually breaking down and crying.

“Um, Alex, if you didn’t know any better, I forgave you that day we all met up on the beach.” I smiled at him but he was far from feeling any sign relief.

“But it still doesn’t feel right,” he said. He looked out the window to avoid looking into my eyes.

“Alex, it’s okay,” I said reaching for the hand that was on his lap. I didn’t know where I gathered the courage to do that – or to do all of this – but I wasn’t complaining. “We’re friends now. You shouldn’t feel that way anymore.”

“Brittany, I didn’t mean to play a mean trick on you. I didn’t know that what you and Jack had was what made him so happy. I just thought that he liked the thought of having you – not the real you,” he said, making a very sincere apology.

“We’re all past it now,” I said, giving him a friendly hug. “Just keep your head up and smile. For all I know depriving you of your smile can make all your fans psycho.”

He laughed at that and it was nice to hear him laugh for once. Our hands were still interlaced and he didn’t seem to want to take his hand away. I wasn’t one to complain either. I was just glad to know that the reason behind why he wanted to talk wasn’t because he wanted me gone. He was actually guilty for what he did.

I grabbed my coffee cup and stirred its contents before taking a sip. I slowly slipped my hand away from his as I held the cup with two hands. I felt his stare on me the whole time. I smiled to myself as I placed the cup back on the table.

“Aren’t you going to drink your cup?” I asked him, bringing him back into the present.

He smiled as he looked down and blushed. He was a pretty cute guy. Wow, my thoughts are really scaring me.

“Thanks,” he said after taking a sip.

“What for?” I asked him as I returned to my original seat which was right across him.

“For forgiving me and my childishness.” He gave me one of those charming smiles and I swear the butterflies in my stomach fluttered everywhere.

“It’s my pleasure,” Or should I say guilty pleasure? I swear my brain is racking up the weirdest thoughts.

We talked some more before heading out of the coffee shop and back to the venue. I was glad I was able to fix things with Alex even if it already was fixed in the first place. I didn’t know why but I was glad to hear that he was actually sorry for what he did. I didn’t think he’d have the guts to admit he was wrong but I guess there was a lot to Alex that I didn’t know and this was only the beginning.