Keep Your Heart Wide Open.

It had been a few days now and everyone was finally getting into the routine of the tour. They had played a few more shows and Gianna was getting used to selling merch, learning to grin and bear it with certain customers. Every night Gianna would watch the show from afar, enjoying it as much as if it were the first time she was seeing it. She couldn’t help but feel the knots in her stomach as she watched This Century, staring right at Joel, while it looked like he was looking right back at her.

Gianna currently lay on her back in her bunk, reading a book. Being on a bus with five still somewhat immature guys was more work than she had thought, and she was more than thankful for any moment of peace that she could get. She lightly hummed to herself as she slowly turned the pages, her eyes moving quickly over the fine print black words. All of a sudden a piece of paper hit her book and she sighed, putting it down. Of course, she was faced with none other than John O’Callaghan.

Gianna rolled her eyes and looked at John, pretending to be angry. “What is it O’Callaghan?” John smirked and raised his eyebrows up and down. “I need you to do me a favor.” Gianna reached to her side, pulling the neon orange post it note from the bed and placing it on her page, saving it for later. She put the book on the floor and looked at John once again. “I’m listening.”

“Well, I’m going to the movies with this girl tonight. And I told her we’d double date so that it wouldn’t be so awkward. So I was wondering if you would…be that double date?” Gianna leaned forward, tilting her head to the side. “Wait. This isn’t the girl from the club the other night, is it?” She laughed as a light blush showed on John’s cheeks. “It is! What’s her name?” John spoke softly, still looking at the floor. “Taylor.” Gianna smiled. Once John had finally looked back up, he grabbed Gianna, practically begging her. “So will you come?” Gianna sighed and nodded her head. “Fine. But this double date better be worth it.” This time, John smirked. “Oh, don’t worry. You’ll be happy. I promise.”

Gianna had put on a plain black v-neck tee shirt and gray skinny jeans, slipping on black flip flops. She placed her sunglasses on her head and followed John off of the bus. The movie theater was in walking distance, so the two walked up the road for about ten minutes.

They finally arrived at the theater and walked inside, immediately spotting Taylor standing by the ticketbooth. The girl smiled brightly and Gianna could tell she wasn’t just some girl who wanted John because he was in a band. Gianna and John walked over to her, as John introduced Gianna to her. They chatted for a few minutes before Gianna leaned into John, whispering so that Taylor couldn’t hear her.

“So, where’s my date?” John turned around, searching through the theater. He stood up tall, looking all through the crowd to spot who he was looking for. “I told him to meet us here at…there he is!” John smiled waving the boy over. Gianna took a deep breath and spun around, nearly tripping over herself when she saw who was now walking towards them. She could only imagine how red her face was.

“Hey, Gianna.” She smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, something she seemed to do a lot when she was nervous. “Hi, Joel.” The blonde boy smirked, his eyes locking into hers. The pair stared at each other until John coughed loudly, breaking their gaze. “You guys ready to head inside?” Joel and Gianna looked at each other once again and nodded. “Yeah. Definitely.” John smirked and turned, his arm wrapped loosely around Taylor’s waist.

Gianna and Joel followed behind them, keeping their distance. They walked into the theater silently. A thousand thoughts were running through Gianna’s head at a mile a minute. She would be brutally honest. She was not expecting to see Joel walk into the theater. The four of them moved towards the back of the theater, grabbing four seats in the very last row. They exchanged small bits of chatter as the previews began to roll, the lights dimming.

Gianna smiled to herself as she looked over at John and Taylor. His arm was around her shoulder, her head leaning on his. She bit her lip and shifted her head away slightly. Without even noticing it, she moved her hand to the arm rest, only to accidentally touch Joel’s arm. She quickly pulled her hand away and laughed nervously. “Sorry.” He chuckled. “It’s fine.” She couldn’t help but think about how warm his skin felt. How from just that one simple touch, she felt as if she had touched fire. Just one simple touch and she had felt fireworks. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried hard to not look in his direction, keeping her gaze on the screen in front of her. She moved her arms to her sides, her elbow grazing Joel’s. She hesitated, waiting to see if he moved his. When he didn’t, she looked down and bit her lip. She was just testing the waters. She slowly moved her knee, hoping that Joel wouldn’t notice. She moved it close enough that it was just touching Joel’s. Joel sat in the chair, looking at the screen as if he hadn’t noticed anything.

Gianna watched the screen, bored out of her mind. John had picked the cheesiest romantic comedy for them to see, and Gianna was clearly uninterested. So when Joel leaned over, she was more than happy to oblige. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her skin, the slightest touch of all. His voice was soft and smooth, like velvet. His words were thought out and planned, which excited Gianna. “Want to get out of here?” Gianna took one last look at John and Taylor, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and turned back to face Joel.

“I thought you’d never ask.”