No One Knows You Like I Do

Madison pulled the blanket that was wrapped around her up farther so it was just below her chin. She thought for a moment and remembered she hadn’t fallen asleep with a blanket. She opened her eyes and began to look around. Nick was beside her on his laptop, Loren was driving, Justin was asleep in the passenger seat, and Halvo was snoring in the back. Madison sat up in her seat and let the blanket fall into her lap.
“Halvo’s snoring wake you up?” Nick asked as he turned to face her.
“No, actually.” She giggled, realizing how loud it truly was. “It was the fact that I now have a blanket, when I went to sleep without one.”
“Ah.” He chuckled. “You looked cold, so I covered you up.” He leaned over and pecked her cheek. “Did you sleep well?”
“Surprisingly, I did.”
“That’s good. Unfortunately, we have a full day of driving ahead of us. But Loren said we’ll be stopping in about 45 minutes to get some gas, go to the bathroom, and get some breakfast.
“Sounds good.” She yawned and repositioned herself so she was leaning on Nick’s shoulder. She pulled the blanket up again and began her attempt at falling back asleep.

******

After hours of doing nothing but staring out a window, Madison was becoming restless. It was nearing 9:30 pm and she’d only been out of the van twice.
“I can’t take it anymore!” She blurted out. “I need out of this van!”
“Relax, Madison.” Nick chuckled from the driver’s side. “I was just about to get off the freeway for another bathroom break.”
“But even after that, we’ll have to get right back in the van and go back to doing nothing.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“You can sleep.” Justin suggested from behind her.
“I’ve sleep practically all day. I’m so awake right now, it’s not even funny.”
“How ‘bout this: The Maine guys are stopping, too. Maybe you can go with them for the remainder of the drive. Surely one of them is as awake as you are and even if they’re not, you can bug Mackenzie or watch movies or something.” Nick suggested just as they were coming to a stop.
“I like this idea!” She unbuckled and hopped out of the van.
“I can’t come with you, though. I’m driving all night.” Nick shrugged.
“It’s okay.” She pulled him in for a hug and kissed his lips with force. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Alright then. Don’t have too much fun without me.”
“Of course I will!” She teased and stuck out her tongue.
“Love you.” He smiled.
“Love you, too!” She smiled back as she took her pillow and phone out of the front seat and skipped over to the bus. She knocked on the door and Pat cracked a window nearby.
“Who goes there?” He asked.
“It’s me! Madison!” She smiled brightly.
Pat pulled the window open all the way and smiled back. “Well, come on in!” Madison pulled open the door and made her way up the steps. Pat pulled her in for a tight hug before dragging her to the back lounge.
“Are you here to visit MC?” Pat asked.
“I was hoping you guys would let me stay with you ‘til morning.”
“Of course!” He grinned as he pulled her into the lounge. He jumped up on the couch after releasing her hand. “Madison’s joining us tonight!”
Mackenzie got up and quickly enveloped her best friend in a hug.
“Those guys were getting so boring!” Madison joked, even though it was half-true.
“Well, we aren’t boring here!” Kennedy said taking his attention away from the video game he was playing with Jared.
“Maybe you can beat Jared at this stupid game because I sure can’t.” He set the controller down as Jared erupted in laughter.
“You can’t beat anyone!” Jared said.
“Hey.” Kennedy objected.
“It’s true. You can’t.” Garrett snickered.
“Let’s see how I do!” Madison threw her pillow onto the couch and grabbed the controller.

John had been sleeping in his bunk for hours, but now it seemed near impossible for him to continue due to the loud group he toured with. He sighed as he pushed back the curtain and hopped out of the bunk. He decided against throwing on a shirt because it required too much effort. He stepped into the back lounge and noticed an extra person. His heartbeat sped up and his throat ran dry. He attempted to swallow the nervous lump in his throat so he could say hello, but it didn’t work. Instead, Pat turned and noticed his sudden appearance into the room.
“Hey there, sleepyhead.”
“Hey.” He chocked out through his dry throat. Everyone turned to see him, except for Madison and Jared because they were too wrapped up in the game.
“Hey, John.” Garrett said. He quickly noticed John’s quietness and nervousness. He shook his head at him before turning back to Mackenzie. John took a seat next to Madison’s pillow. He knew right away it was hers because the smell of her perfume was all over it and could be smelled even from the distance John was.
Once Jared and Madison finished their game, Jared still reigning champ, Madison moved to the couch and sat next to John.
“How’s your day been, John?” She asked sweetly. Then again, anything she said sounded sweet to John.
“Uhm…good. I-I slept most of the day, though.”
“Me too!” She shouted, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Nick thinks I’ll be up all night. I mean, he didn’t say it, but it was implied.”
“You do seem very awake.” John laughed.
“Oh, I am!” She picked up her pillow and squeezed it against her chest. “Also, Nick bought me a bunch of candy at our last stop and I ate most of it already.” She chuckled.
“Oh boy. She will definitely be up all night.” Mackenzie laughed before a yawn escaped her lips.
“Ready for bed?” Garrett asked before placing a kiss on her temple. She nodded and they stood up from the couch.
“Make sure she sleeps at some point, will ya?” Mackenzie asked John.
“Thanks, Mom.” Madison said.
“Uh, y-yeah, sure.” John said. Mackenzie hugged Madison tightly before her and Garrett disappeared into the bunk area.

By one in the morning, everyone had gone to bed except for Madison and John. They were both still wide-awake.
“What’s there to do now?” Madison pouted. “Everyone’s asleep but us!”
“We could, uh, watch a movie?”
“What movies do you have?” John led her to the movie pile and let her take her pick. She immediately scooped up Mean Girls.
“Why do you even have this?” She chuckled.
“Guilty pleasure for all of us.” He shrugged.
“Well, let’s watch it.” She handed him the DVD case and he put the movie in the player. He pressed play before leaning back and lying on the couch. Madison grabbed her pillow and lay next to him.
For the first 15 minutes of the movie, the two stayed quiet, but Madison quickly broke the silence by asking John questions about him. She realized that they had known each other for a while and they still hardly knew each other. She asked him about his family, his favorites (color, movie, food, book, etc.), his favorite part about touring, and lastly if he had a girlfriend. John chuckled awkwardly before replying. “Nope. No girlfriend.”
“Alright then, any crushes?” She sat up now, not even paying attention to the movie. John’s cheeks turned pink.
“Nope.” She could see that he was lying.
“Tell me the truth, John! Maybe I can help you with her!”
“I, uh, highly doubt that.” He sat up and looked away so they no longer had eye contact.
“Sure I could! I’m a girl; she’s a girl. I can definitely help you get her.” She smiled.
“How bout we just go back to watching the movie, yeah?” He scratched the back of his neck nervously.
“C’mon, John! I bet she’s a great girl. And anyone would be lucky to have you.”
“She is a great girl.” He smiled. “But, uh, she’s already got a boyfriend, so it’s too late.”
“Oh, John.” Madison frowned as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “I bet you’re way better than the guy she’s dating! But if she can’t see how amazing you are, then she must be blind! Just be patient. She’ll come around and you’ll be dating in no time!”