Chasing the Night

Travis wasn’t listening. At some point when Hunter had started talking animatedly with the members of Times Infinity! he’d zoned out, staring at the place where Jase’s hand rested on Arianna’s hip. He slipped his sunglasses on, so no one else would see him staring, and stuffed his hands into his shorts pockets.

“Travis? You listening?” Travis snapped his head in Hunter’s direction. “What?” he asked him, confused. Hunter sighed and shook his head with a lopsided smile. “You weren’t listening, were you?” Travis blushed and smiled shyly. “Sorry,” he said with a shrug.

Arianna knew that she really shouldn’t be looking, especially with her boyfriend holding onto her so tightly, but she couldn’t help but notice how cute Travis was. She loved the way his long hair flopped over his eyes, the way his blush tinted his cheeks the lightest shade of pink, and the way his smile lit up his whole face. She tore her eyes away from him and blushed, looking up at Jase. He smiled down at her and kissed her on the nose, causing her to giggle.

Travis heard Arianna’s amazing laugh and looked over at her, just in time to see Jase kiss her. They looked so happy and he didn’t want to mess it all up. Maybe it would be better if he wasn’t friends with Arianna. They barely knew each other, anyway. He figured he could disappear completely from her life and she wouldn’t notice.

“There’s a party tonight,” Hunter said now, catching Travis’ attention. He looked over at the brunette again. “Where?” He asked him. “All Time Low’s bus,” Hunter replied. “Where else?” The others laughed and Lukas jumped up and down excitedly. “All Time Low? Are you fucking serious? We’re going to an All Time Low party!” Lukas said, smiling like an idiot. “Hey! I thought you were our fan boy?” Travis said with mock hurt. Lukas’ eyes widened and he bounded over to Travis. “Oh, I am, I am!” He back-pedalled. “I totally love you equally.”

Travis laughed and shoved Lukas in the shoulder. “Whatever, man,” he said with a small smile. Embry burst out laughing behind them. The bassist was usually shy around new people and stayed quiet. “Lukas, you idiot!” Embry jeered. “You’re digging yourself a hole.” Lukas turned to face the bassist and smiled goofily at him. Travis stared at Embry’s arms and the parts of his torso that weren’t covered by his tank top.

“You wanna take a picture?” Embry asked him with a smirk, looking him up and down. “Sorry,” Travis said, looking into his eyes. “I just...your tattoos are amazing.” Embry smiled and tugged on the hem of his tank top. “Thanks,” he said with a smile. “Where’d you get ‘em done?” Hunter asked him. “Here and there. I like to get a new one in every new city I go to. I guess it’s a hobby of sorts. I’m kinda obsessed with ink,” Embry said with a shrug, looking down at his Vans, suddenly nervous.

“That’s really cool,” Travis said. “Hey, how come I didn’t know that about you?” Lukas cut in, slinging his arm over Embry’s shoulders. Embry glanced at him and raised his eyebrows. “You never asked.” Embry had liked Lukas for a long time, but he knew that Lukas would never feel the same way back. He was straight, for goodness sake. Embry had ‘come out’ to his friends when he was sixteen years old, and they didn’t care that he was bisexual. They’d never treated him any differently because of his sexuality. But if Lukas found out that he liked him, Embry was sure that he’d run a mile. He hated keeping such a huge secret.

“We’ve actually got an interview in like, twenty minutes,” Hunter said, looking at the time on his phone. “I guess we’ll see you tonight, then,” Arianna said, sensing the end of the conversation. The two bands said their goodbyes and parted ways, Times Infinity! heading back to their van, and We The Kings heading for their bus to clean up before going to their interview.

Jase let go of Arianna’s hip to hold her hand, walking slowly beside her back to the van. Lukas and Embry bounded ahead of them in search of food and energy drinks. Arianna watched them run off together, laughing to herself at their antics. “You’re happy today,” Jase commented. “Of course I am,” Arianna replied, looking up at her boyfriend. “I have an amazing boyfriend, my friends are awesome and I’m having the time of my life on this tour!” Jase laughed and let go of Arianna’s hand, draping his arm around her shoulders instead. Arianna leant into his side as they walked, enjoying the first bit of alone time they’d had together.

“Travis, Hunter, Drew and Danny seem really nice,” Jase said, picking up the conversation again. Arianna immediately felt guilty. She’d gone out the previous night with Travis and hadn’t told her boyfriend. A part of her even liked Travis...a little more than she should. She wrapped her arm around Jase’s waist and smiled up at him. “Yeah,” she said. “Lukas was thrilled.” Jase laughed and launched into an animated speech about how childish Lukas was. Arianna was only half-listening, her thoughts drifting to the ginger-haired boy that had messed them all up to start with.
______

Arianna checked her reflection in the rear view mirror of the van one last time. She’d kept her makeup minimal, and chosen a deep blue halter-neck dress to wear. She didn’t have any high heels, and had instead paired the dress with her favourite Chuck Taylor’s. Her hair was loose and wavy, framing her face perfectly. Arianna wasn’t really sure if she was supposed to dress up or not. If she was, she could just pull it off, but the dress was casual enough for a chill-out session as well.

“You look amazing,” Jase said, leaning against the open sliding door of the van. Arianna turned to face him and smiled, taking Jase’s outstretched hand and getting out of the van. Jase shut the sliding door behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. He wore a pair of low-slung blue jeans and a plain black v-neck tee. He led the way to All Time Low’s bus, telling Arianna on the way that Lukas and Embry had already taken off.

When they reached the bus, the party was already in full swing. It seemed like every band on tour had found their way there. Music blared loudly from speakers they couldn’t see, and loads of people were outside the bus, gathered around a small fire clutching red plastic cups in their hands. Jase pulled Arianna after him onto the bus, in search of Lukas and Embry.

“Hey!” Jack Barakat, the guitarist of All Time Low greeted them. He held a plastic cup in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other. “You must be Arianna,” he slurred, gesturing to the blonde with his bottle. “Travis told me about you!” Arianna smiled and nodded. “This is my boyfriend, Jase,” she said. “Nice to meet cha’! I be Jack Barakat, and this be my party!” He screamed. The other party-goers started cheering loudly and the music got turned up louder.

A group of twenty or so people started dancing in the middle of the bus as the loud dance track made the floor vibrate. “Dance with me?” Jase screamed over the music. Arianna nodded and ran over to the group of people already dancing. Jase stood behind her and placed his hands on her hips, grinding against her as people pushed in on them from all sides. Arianna put her hands up in the air and let the music take over her.

Travis watched all of this unfold from one of the overly-occupied couches on board the bus. A couple was making out on the couch to his right and three other people were squashed on his left, just talking and drinking. Travis was wedged in the middle and felt incredibly awkward. He stared at the group of people dancing, his eyes never leaving the spot where Jase’s hands gripped Arianna’s hips. He couldn’t help but feel jealous. Travis thought that he and Arianna had really...connected, and now...he just didn’t know what to think any more. Maybe it would be better if he just disappeared.

With that thought, he peeled himself from the lounge and pushed through thick groups of people until he was off the bus. He headed over to the campfire, grabbing a beer from a cooler beside an abandoned camping chair and sitting down. He stared at the bright flames, lost in thought, as he brought the bottle to his lips.

It just wasn’t fair. Why did she have to have a boyfriend? In what universe was that fair? Why couldn’t he have her? Travis sighed to himself, taking another swig of his beer. Even if Arianna was single, he didn’t think he’d have much of a chance. She was beautiful and talented and amazing and he was...well, he was just Travis.

Back inside the bus, things had been taken up another notch. Lukas was off partying with Alex Gaskarth, the lead singer of All Time Low. He’d completely ditched Embry to do shots with the popular singer. Embry felt completely alone, even though he was surrounded by so many people. He recognised the members of some of his favourite bands and immediately wished that he hadn’t. He thought so highly of them, idolised them, even, and to see them behaving like they were was disappointing for him, to say the least.

Embry figured he’d just leave. No one wanted him around, anyway. Arianna was off somewhere with Jase and Lukas was definitely long gone. Embry didn’t know anybody else. With that in mind, he headed for the door, pushing his way through the crowds. He must’ve pushed a little too hard, because he ended up face-planting on the littered floor of the bus. Someone grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back up. Embry gasped for air and grabbed at his chest. The fall had really taken it out of him.

“You okay, man?” Zack Merrick, the bassist of All Time Low, stood before Embry and he was asking if he was okay. Embry blinked rapidly. Was this really happening to him? The invisible one? “I’m, uh, fine,” Embry stuttered nervously, shuffling his feet awkwardly. He looked down at his shoes to avoid catching his eye. Zack gently lifted Embry’s chin to make him look at him. Embry looked away quickly. “I’m really sorry about that,” Zack said. “I’m Zack, by the way.”

“I-I know w-who you are,” Embry stammered, cursing himself for being so damn awkward. Zack smiled and dropped his hand from Embry’s face. He took Embry’s hands in his and stared into his eyes. “You haven’t told me who you are yet,” he said with a small smile. Embry beamed back at him. “I’m Embry. I play bass in Times Infinity!” Embry had a sudden surge of confidence. Zack smiled and pulled him along, through the people, outside and behind the bus, away from everyone else.

“That’s better,” Zack said, leaning against the bus. “Now I can actually hear myself think.” Embry smiled shyly and stood a few feet in front of Zack, his hands shoved in his pockets. “The party is pretty crazy,” Embry commented, trying his best to start a conversation. “They’re always like this. Alex and Jack get kinda carried away. I just feel so out of it, though,” Zack admitted. “Like you’re invisible,” Embry replied, glancing up at him. “Exactly,” Zack said with a smile, pushing off the bus.

Before Embry could even think, before he could even comprehend what was happening, Zack’s hands were gripping his hips lightly, and he was resting his forehead against his. Embry’s heart sped up immediately in response. He took in a sharp breath just as Zack pressed his lips to his. The kiss was slow and soft and sweet and everything that Embry had imagined his first kiss to be, and more.

When they broke apart, Zack looked down at Embry, his hazel eyes full of adoration. He stepped back from Embry and shook his head a little. “I’m sorry I jumped you like that,” he said. “I don’t know what came over me...” Embry smiled widely at him, touching his fingers to his own lips in disbelief. “It’s really okay,” he murmured, his heart beating so fast it felt as though it would fly right out of his chest.

“Embry?” Embry turned to see Lukas, staring at him in disbelief. So much for being invisible, he thought.