Keep Your Heart Wide Open.

Gianna opened her eyes, pulling them tight once more as the harsh sunlight hit her lids. She threw the blankets off of her body, instinctively curling into a tight ball. Raising her arms above her head, she yawned out loud, causing John to turn and look in her direction. He watched her as she stood up off the bunk, pulling the blanket up as she made her bed. She pulled the hair tie she had in her hair out, her now wavy hair cascading down her back. John walked up behind her, handing her a cup of coffee. “Well, look who finally decided to wake up.” Gianna smiled and graciously took the steaming hot mug from his hands, tilting it and feeling satisfied as the burning hot liquid ran down her throat.

Gianna smirked and pressed John for details about that night a few days ago. “So you never told me. How was your date with Taylor?” She couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh as she saw blush on his cheeks, something she never knew was possible. John scratched his head, trying to avoid looking Gianna directly in the eyes. “It was good. Taylor’s really cool.” Gianna bit her lip and nodded, narrowing her eyes. “Just good? Gosh John, this girl already has you crazy for her after one date?” The light blush on his skin had blossomed to a much darker shade of scarlet and he reached behind himself for the nearest pillow before lightly hitting Gianna. Gianna laughed and looked at John as he nodded. "Yeah. She's something special." She turned to her bag, grabbing a simple white t-shirt and a pair of light blue denim shorts. Before John could say anything else, she walked to the bathroom to get changed.

She stared into the mirror, running a hand through her messy hair and tucking a piece behind her ear. Slowly, she moved her fingers to mouth, softly touching her lips. She cracked a small smile, thinking of how Joel's lips felt on her own. She grabbed her dirty clothes and walked out of the bathroom, being bombarded in the hall by John. He put his arm out, forbidding her to pass by. "You know, you play a dirty game, Summers." Gianna furrowed her eyebrows and smirked."What are you talking about, John?"

He laughed, backing up a little bit. "You get all the details about Taylor and you don't tell me anything about you and Joel." Gianna scoffed and pushed through John's arm, going to her bunk. But John was not finished yet as he followed behind her. She turned towards him and looked him directly in the eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about. There is no me and Joel." John laughed out loud, putting his hand over his chest. "Really? Come on. You guys walked out of the movie. Excuse me, but I am a guy. My thoughts tend to wander." Gianna's mouth nearly dropped to the floor and she hit John once again.

"John, you know I'm not like that." He nodded. "I know. So what really happened?" Gianna rolled her eyes. "What are you, a thirteen year old girl at a sleepover?" He chuckled. "No. I'm a friend." Gianna smiled and gave in as she sat on her bed, patting the spot next to her for John to sit down. She took a deep breath and turned to him. "We went to dinner. It was fun, we talked, he paid. The usual." Gianna looked at him as he nodded, pressing her to go on. "Then we went mini-golfing. He helped me get a hole-in-one." John still wasn't satisfied as he looked at Gianna. She bit her lip. "And...," she said, trailing off. He tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. "And?" She closed her eyes, looking at the roof of the bus. "And he might have kissed me." John smirked. "And you say there's nothing between you two?" This is when Gianna's gaze moved to the floor. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach. "I don't know. It's been a few days and...nothing." She stood up off the bed and went to walk away, when John reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. "Hey, I've never seen Joel look at anyone the way he looks at you, alright?" Gianna tried to smile but it soon faded as she walked off the bus into the bright sunlight.

As she turned the corner, she banged into someone. She quickly apologized before looking up, smiling when she did so. "Joel, hi." He smiled and pushed the hair out of his face. "Hey, Gianna. Haven't seen you around too much." She laughed nervously. Being nervous was not something that Gianna was really used to. "Uh, yeah. I've basically just been on the bus mostly." Joel nodded. "Well, I miss you." Gianna's voice was barely above a whisper. "I miss you too." They stared at each other and inside Gianna was begging for a repeat of the other night. Just as Joel started to lean in, the bus door opened and Pat came running out, ruining the moment. Gianna cleared her throat and looked at Joel. "Well, I better get going. Need to set up. See you later." Gianna moved out of the way, heading for the venue.

She was gone so quickly that she didn't even hear Joel's quiet "see you," behind her. She walked straight into the concert hall, finding a place to set up her post. It had become routine. Come in, set up, sound-check, be bombarded before show, watch concert, bombarded after, clean up, and repeat. Gianna was so used to it that she could basically do it with her eyes closed and her hands behind her back. She continued to set up as the guys went through sound-check, and before she knew it, doors had opened and people were piling in. She spent the night selling t-shirts, CDs, and bracelets while listening to the guys play. She began to box everything up as people left, while others stayed to talk to band members. Out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but notice the girl talking to Joel. She wasn't just a fan who was overly excited, asking for a picture and an autograph. Gianna could tell she had other motives in mind. She stood next to Joel, twirling her chocolate brown hair around her finger while biting her bubblegum lip-gloss frosted lip. Her laughs were loud and obnoxious as they traveled across the room. Gianna still stood there staring when Alex from This Century walked up to her. She nodded silently as she refused to take her gaze off of Joel. Alex followed her look and sighed. "Gianna, don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing. Really." He wrapped his arm protectively around her shoulder and her head landed on his.

John came over to the two. "Get ready. Once these last few are out, we're hitting up a party near by." Gianna nodded slowly, she wasn't really up for partying. Deep down she hoped Joel wasn't either. When the rest of the crowd left, it was just the bands and crews. Gianna looked around but couldn't find Joel anywhere. She shook it off and decided not to worry about it. Somehow they ended up at a house not too far from the venue, the party inside getting louder and louder each second. Gianna walked into the house, Alex still by her side. They walked through the crowd of people, trying to get away from the densely populated dance floor. Alex reached for a drink, handing one over to Gianna. As she took a sip, she spotted Joel standing with the same girl from the venue. Her body tensed up and Alex put his hand on her back, trying to lead her away. "Gianna, don't even think about her. She's stupid and trying way too hard. Joel would never go for her. You know that."

She smiled and nodded. But inside her head she couldn't help but wonder. Was she not trying hard enough?