Keep Your Heart Wide Open.

Gianna turned over in her bunk while rubbing her eyes and yawning. Her arms stretched above her head and she tossed off the blanket that was draped over her body. The bus was silent, the guys still fast asleep. Gianna carefully stood up from the bunk, adjusting her tank top before walking into the front area of the bus. She walked to a cabinet, grabbing a bowl and placing it on the plastic table in the lounge area. She grabbed a box of cereal, milk, and a spoon, before walking back to the lounge.

She sat quietly as she ate, flipping through the pages of an issue of Alternative Press magazine. Her fingers carefully turned the pages, looking at the “100 Bands You Need To Know.” Her eyes moved slowly across the pages, reading the paragraphs about the bands that sparked her interest.

She sighed as her eyes landed on This Century, which was featured in the article. She stared down at the picture of the four boys that she was beginning to adore. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t ignore the anxious feeling in her stomach.

Growing bored of the magazine she tossed it to the side and instead just sat in silence with her breakfast. She was so absorbed in the cereal that she did not even hear someone else come into the lounge. She looked up from the bowl when all of a sudden Garrett was sitting across from her, his hair all over the place. Clearly, he had just gotten up.

Gianna continued to eat her breakfast as she stared at him, her eyebrows raised. He tilted his head to the side while Gianna chomped on her cereal. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Gianna stopped chewing for a moment and held her spoon in the air before looking at him with a confused look on her face. “Not that I know of.”

Garrett nodded and smirked. “Really? Because I thought you definitely had something you needed to do today.” Gianna bit her lip and put the spoon down on the table, crossing her arms over her chest. “If this has anything to do with last night…” Garrett reached out and lightly shook her by the shoulder. “Yeah. It has everything to do with last night.”

Gianna looked down and played with her hands, swallowing the lump in her throat before looking back up at Garrett. “You’re right. This is something that I need to do.” And with that Garrett stood up, gripped her shoulder for support and then walked back to the back of the bus.

Gianna took a deep breath and stood up from the table to get changed, leaving the half-eaten bowl of cereal behind.

In a few minutes she had thrown on a pair of skinny jeans and a tee shirt, grabbing her bag before she walked to the bathroom. She gazed into a mirror at her reflection. Her eyes were still a little bloodshot, slight bags were forming under them. Her lips were chapped and her hair stuck out in all directions. She coated her lashes with a few coats of mascara and sighed, deciding that it was now or never.

She took a deep breath as she stepped off the bus, her feet meeting the pavement. She walked slowly to This Century’s bus, her feet dragging her almost unwillingly. She stopped at the door and sighed before knocking lightly. She stood for a moment before the door opened, revealing Alex. She smiled up at him the best she could and he invited her inside.

They walked into the bus, sitting in the lounge area without saying a word. Gianna sighed and looked up at him. “Listen. I didn’t mean to barge in. I just…really need to --" Alex chuckled as he finished her sentence. “Talk to Joel? I get it. We all do. I know you were upset last night. And I know he wants to talk to you too.”

Gianna nodded and smiled, feeling a little bit better. But these days, it seemed like everything in her life was going wrong. As soon as they laughed Gianna looked towards the back and immediately stifled her laughter. Alex turned to see why she had become quiet and he too stopped laughing.

They sat there silently as the girl from the night before walked by them with a smug look on her face. She looked at Gianna and scoffed, muttering a “loser” under her breath as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. She walked off the bus and left Alex and Gianna behind, mouths wide open.

Gianna stared straight ahead, unable to say anything. Alex reached out and tapped her quietly. “Gianna?” She still said nothing, staying completely still. She bit her lip and turned to Alex, looking up at him as she whispered. “Tell me they didn’t.” Alex searched her face, sad that he knew she was hurting. “I-I don’t know. I didn’t even know she was here.”

Gianna nodded and stood up, grabbing her bag. She was about to turn and leave the bus when someone else walked into the room.

Joel entered the lounge area looking extremely tired. He shook his hair out of his eyes and looked at Alex and Gianna, saying nothing. Gianna stared at the boy in front of her, breathing heavily. She bit her lip and tried to wipe her eyes.

Alex stood up, looking between the two. Joel turned to him and spoke up. “Where are Sean and Ryan?” Alex looked at Gianna before answering his question. “They went out not too long ago.” Joel nodded and sat down, trying to avoid Gianna’s gaze.

Gianna kept staring at him in disbelief. She was practically frozen in her spot. Alex looked down, knowing what he had to do. He looked at the pair and sighed. “Look, I’m going leave you two alone, okay?” He waited for a minute. When they were both quiet, he walked off of the bus. They remained silent and didn’t look at each other.

Gianna moved forward a step, unsure of what she was going to say. She didn’t know what was about to happen, but she knew this was going to be difficult.