Private Universe

"I know who I want to take me home. " I sang to myself. I had my ipod in and I was feeling good. I was lying on the couch on the tour bus of the band that I would be the main tech person to. I hadn't realized that was what my job interview was talking about but I wasn't complaining. It could be an insanely fun experience. I was also greatly enjoying my song so I wasn't paying attention to my surrounds until I felt a huge pressure on my stomach.

I opened my eyes to a brown-eyed grinning fool. He was sitting on top of me making it impossible to move my arms so I could tackle him if needed. He was wearing a flannel shirt and a gray beanie. And as if he had guessed my thoughts he pulled out my headphones and grinned even bigger. If that was possible.

"Hey, buddy." He said still grinning.

"Buddy? I didn't know we were that close."

"Hmm. I may have misjudged our previous interaction then." He looked thoughtful for a second.

"Oh yes."

"That's disappointing. Cause now I will have to sit on you until you agree to be my friend." He grinned again.

"Please get off."

"No way."

I looked around to see if I could possibly reach anything to hit him with. I was sadly disappointed. There was nothing within my reach. I needed to get creative. How was I going to get him off of me?

"Quit thinking. It makes me nervous."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't like a girl that thinks?"

"I didn't say that. You just need to stop thinking right now. There are so many terrible things you could do to me."

"How? You're sitting on me." I smiled.

"I know of a few ways."

"Enlighten me. I would love to know."

"Like hell." Just as he said this the door of the tour bus opened and the rest of the band came in.

"Whoa. Interrupting something, are we?" The dark haired one said.

"No, Jack. I'm just trying to be friends with her." Alex said.

"So you've decided to sit on her?" He questioned. This was perfect. He was distracting Alex so I could figure out what I should do.

"Yes."

And then it came to me. My hands might have been 'tied up' but my legs weren't. I'm not sure how I did it but I managed to wrap my legs around Alex's chest from behind and then roll over onto the floor. From there it was a mystery as to how I ended up on top him with his hands pinned to the floor above his head. I grinned at his stunned face.

"Whoa!" I heard Jack yell. I could tell the three of them were laughing. "I like her." I looked up to find him grinning at me.

"Me too." The other two chimed in. They were also grinning.

Jack held out his hand so I could stand up and I accepted. I was starting to feel weird being on top of Alex anyway. "Thanks." I said and grinned at Alex who was looking too stunned for words from the floor.

"How the hell did you do that?" He asked.

"Not sure. It was a bit...spontaneous. And I was feeling attacked. I don't know. It just happened." I said.

"Well, I must congratulate you," Jack said sticking out his hand. "You're the first person to pin Alex down. He's usually on top of everyone."

I laughed a little. "Thanks. I have to go. I'll come find you guys in a bit though. I need to talk to some people."

I slipped out the tour bus door and walked to the park across the street. There was a bench for me to sit on and relax for a minute. This was definitely going to be difficult. Especially since I was the main tech person in charge of everything they did. I closed my eyes and started to take deep breaths. I felt a weight next to me and opened my eyes to find Alex sitting next to me. Only he didn't look nearly as happy as before.

"What can I do you for?" I asked nicely.

He sighed. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you."

"Really? It feels like it sometimes."

I smiled. "We've only met twice."

"Yes, but you wouldn't allow me to call you after the party." He looked really hurt by this.

It was my turn to sigh. "I meant what I said. It's not a good time for me."

"Can I ask why?"

"You remember Holli?"

"Yes."

"A few weeks before I got the invite to that party I was just starting to get over all the damage she had caused me. The invite and the party set me back."

"What damage?"

"While in high school her friends managed to find ways to tear me down. It sounds pathetic but I'm not a confident person and they didn't help. She didn't either. She pretended it never happened. I never talked to her about it either. So I guess that's partly my fault..." I trailed off.

"What do you mean tear you down?" He questioned.

"Just...all the stuff that girls never want to hear. Stuff about my clothes and how I wore my hair or the fact that I didn't wear make up. All those small things that seem so important to a girl in high school. They knew all the right buttons to push."

"Why would any of that matter?"

"It shouldn't. But it did. At the time. Because all of them had much more money than me and they had the best everything. Part of me was jealous but I never said anything or asked for a make over because I knew I would want everything they had and I knew I never would be able to afford it."

"Oh."

"They all thought I should go blond too. They were all like bleach blond and in perfect shape. I was small with dark hair. They always picked on me about that."

Before Alex could respond my phone rang. He let me answer and as I listened to my manager I stood up. Alex followed. I hung up the phone and told Alex what was going on.

"Time to go." I smiled at him.

We walked back in silence. Not awkward silence but comfortable silence. When I glanced at him from between all my hair I noticed he was watching the ground as we walked and he looked deep in thought. When we got back to the buses I stopped to figure out where I was going. I felt Alex right behind me. And then he whispered in my ear.

"I think you're beautiful." And walked off before I could see his face. I felt myself smile as I watched him go.