To the Stage

Nichole manoeuvred herself from Ben’s grip and walked out of the bunk. She grabbed a new set of clothes from her bag and went to the small bathroom to have quick shower. As she was showering she noticed a few hickeys on her neck. She rolled her eyes at it, knowing how much Ben likes to bite her whenever they were having sex.

Once done with showering, she quickly dressed and exited the bathroom. Ben was still sleeping and she knew not one of his band mates would be up this early. She went to the small kitchen in the bus and made herself coffee. While doing so she heard a rustling from the bunks. A still sleepy Danny trotted his way to the kitchen. Nichole was surprised that he woke up this early on his own. Normally somebody had to drag him out of the bed.

“Morning, love,” he said groggily. He noticed the cup of coffee in her hand and he swiftly took the cup from Nichole’s hand and took a sip of it. “Ahh, this is good. You’re a life saver,” he said before plopping down on the couch.

“Bastard, that’s mine,” Nichole said, sitting next to him and taking the cup away from him before he could chug it down. Danny uttered a protest but Nichole’s not having any of it. “Go make your own, you lazy fuck.”

Danny huffed and stood up and went to make his own coffee. “Why are you so cheerful in the morning?”

“I’m always cheerful, haven’t you noticed?” And when Danny turned to look at her, Nichole beamed at him. She laughed as he rolled his eyes at her. When he sat next to her, Nichole eyed him curiously. “How come you’re awake this early?” It was 10.00 AM, Danny usually wakes up at close to noon.

Danny sighed. “My biological clock’s messed up.”

“No, your biological clock is finally back to normal,” she said. Danny scoffed and proceeded to enjoy his coffee. She sighed and leaned her head against her best friend’s shoulder and the both of them sat in silence. She liked moments like these and Danny knows it. Sometimes just sitting in silence is the only amount of peace they can get amidst their hectic lifestyle.

But that silence was cut short when she heard Danny’s stomach grumbling loudly. They looked at each other for a second and Nichole burst out laughing. Danny chuckled too and then he made an innocent face. “What? I’m a growing child, I need to be fed!”

“You’re a grown ass man, Danny.”

“And I still need to be fed,” he said. He stood up and motioned her to follow him. “Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”

“What about the rest of them?”

“They’ll probably sleep until, like, noon-ish so they’d never notice us disappearing,” Danny said. Then he scratched the back of his neck. Nichole knows that whenever he does this he has something important to tell her. “Besides, I want you to meet someone.”

Nichole raised an eyebrow at him. “Ooh, you want me to meet someone, eh?” She teased and for once, she saw Danny blush. She couldn’t believe that Danny was blushing. She had never seen him blushing before. She could tell that Danny really likes this girl that she was about to meet. “Wow, Danny Worsnop is blushing. I thought I’d had to kill someone to see you blush.”

“Oh shut it, bitch,” He said before going back to his bunk to wear a shirt. He came back to the front and the both of them exited the bus and walked under the morning sunlight. They walked in silence as Danny was texting away on his phone; texting the girl, Nichole thought. They reached a diner near the next venue the band was gonna perform tonight and before she could grab the door handles to enter the diner, Danny stopped her. She gave him a questioning look.

“Her name is Dawn, she’s 19 and she’s amazing,” before Nichole could say anything, he cut her off. “No, none of the guys know about her. Not yet. She’s coming to the show tonight and then the guys will meet her.”

Nichole giggled as she could tell that he was nervous that she’s meeting this Dawn. She knows it means a lot to him that his crush is meeting his best friend and this made her smile. “Aww, Danny, you’re so cute when you’re nervous.”

Danny rolled his eyes again at her and pulled her in the diner. “Bitch,” he simply said but from the side, she could see him smiling.

------------------

When their food arrived to their table, Nichole was on the verge of dying of starvation. Exaggeration, but that was how she felt. The smell of freshly made blueberry pancakes only multiplied that feeling. She grabbed her fork and spoon and was about to take the first bite of her pancake, when Danny suddenly stood up. Nichole looked up from her food, and looked at Danny, frowning. But Danny wasn’t looking at her, though. His eyes were glued to the girl who just entered the diner.

Now Nichole knows why Danny was all caught up with this girl. She could see why. Danny went to her and gave her a warm hug; Nichole could see his hand lingering on the girl’s lower back for a few second before both of them pulled away. Then Danny slipped his hand around the girl’s waist and led her towards Nichole.

“Nic, I’d like you to meet Dawn Adams,” he introduced her. Her name is as beautiful as her, Nichole thought. They shook hands and Dawn flashed a smile towards Nichole. “Dawn, this is my best friend Nichole Harper.”

“Nice to meet you, Nichole,” she said with a smile on her face. Nichole could tell she was a bit nervous because her eyes kept going to Danny and he kept urging her by making small nods. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

This is getting more interesting by the second.