If Only Those Fan-Girls Knew

"You girls ready to go?" Alex asked. I smiled at him, glancing up from beneath my quickly re-mascara lined eyelashes, pulling my floral luggage behind me, dragging the wheels on the rocky concrete before the barriers keeping fans from swarming the bus.

"Yep!" Alyshia said happily. I pulled at my sleeves nervously. I'd changed quickly into something I hoped was more attractive before we left, and I really hoped I didn't look stupid. I was wearing a Nirvana mid-sleeve shirt, ripped up skinnies, and converse. I rocked back and forth on my heels, feeling a lot more nervous than I should of. I could see the pure happiness in excitement in Alyshia's eyes, and I wish I could feel that way too. Her parents were alright with us going on tour. They were a lot more lenient than mine. I told my parents that I was just going away on a few day trip for work. I couldn't imagine her reaction when I were to tell her that I wasn't coming home for a while. I felt bad.

"Flyzik wants to talk to you guys quickly, then we'll be off." Zack said, smiling. Alyshia and I nodded.

"We'll be in the bus, setting up a spot for you girls." Alex said, with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "See ya in a few."

"Bye Alex." I said quietly. He took a few steps backward, grinned, and ran into the bus, Zack following quickly after.

I looked over and Alyshia, with a raised eyebrow. She could tell I was nervous, but gave me a reassuring look. Matt walked over a few minutes later, with a friendly smile. "Hey girls," he greeted. We both murmured hello, looking up at him expectantly. "So, you're the newest addition to the All Time Low family?"

"I guess so." I said, sort of quietly, curling my toes up in my shoes.

"Well, I guess I should explain to you how we work around here." He said, just as calm as before. "Seeing as the tours are getting better, we need a few extra helping hands around. That's you guys. You'll be putting up banners, helping unload things, basically being the guys gophers." He said teasingly. Alyshia and I just listened, still sort of in shock. "We'll be paying you of course, too. As long as you do what you're supposed to."

"Of course." Alyshia said excitedly. We exchanged happy looks.

"Alright, awesome. We better get into the bus though, or we'll be late for the next show." He said, gesturing towards the huge black bus that would serve as home for the next few months. Alyshia glanced back at me, before racing me to the bus door.

Once inside, I looked around, instantly overwhelmed by the mess. It was something I'd have to get used to, I guess.

"Hey girls!" Rian greeted. He was sitting on one of the couches, texting. Jack was hanging out of his bunk, Zack was sitting opposite Rian, and Alex was walking over to me.

"There's a spare bunk. You two can share it, or one of you can sleep on the couch." Alex said sheepishly. "Sorry, it's probably not too comfy." He said apologetically, our eyes meeting briefly before I looked away. I couldn't help it. I was nervous.

"Yeah, we'll share."

"You know...." Jack said slowly, still hanging at what looked like a very uncomfortable angle off his bunk. "One of you could just sleep in my bunk. Or both. I'm down for either."

I laughed, and Alex threw Jack a look I probably wasn't supposed to see. Jack winked at me, and Alex bit down on his lip. It was absolutely adorable. Could he be jealous?

"Yeah. No thanks." Alyshia said, making a face. I giggled.

"Well, we don't have to go to bed right now."

Suddenly, Jack let out a rough squeak, and rolled off the bunk, landing with a thud onto the floor. "I have an idea!"

"Yes, Jack?" I asked curiously, as he picked himself up off the floor.

"Let's watch E.T.!" He said excitedly, glancing around to pick up all our expressions. Alyshia's eyebrow was raised, Rian was smiling, Alex and Zack were shaking their heads, and I just sort of stared.

"I like E.T. ..." I said quietly, shrugging my shoulders.

"I guess we could." Alex agreed, our eyes meeting briefly. A tight smile crossed my lips before I nodded. Alyshia just shrugged, but Jack was already rifling through a box full of DVDs.

"Here it is!" Jack said, whipping a case in the air, with a ridiculously excited expression. He ran over and put the E.T. in the DVD player, and plunked himself down on the couch, right in the middle. He beckoned all of us over, patting down the couch. Alex walked over, and sat beside Jack, and I sat beside him. Alyshia grudgingly sat on Jack's other side, and Zack seated himself beside her.

I was surprised at the tour bus. I thought it'd be a lot more boring, more of a transportation device rather than a temporary home. There was the bunks, the driving area, bathroom and there was also the sort of entertainment area, as well as a small kitchen sort of thing. The TV was put into the wall of the bus, with the various gaming devices and DVD players hooked up. The couch was obviously built into the floor so it wouldn't move, but it was comfortable anyways. The bus was obviously crowded, obviously messy, but it was homey. And I already loved it.

The movie started, and finally, everyone went quiet. There was definitely not enough room for six people on the small couch, so Rian sat in a chair, watching and softly drumming his fingers on the small table in front of him. Jack was watching contently, with a half grin on his face. I watched him curiously, laughing under my breath. Alex glanced at me, and smiled, shrugging his shoulders.

The whole bus was dark, and I could only make out slight movements illuminated by the TV screen. Alex's body was rigid, like he was scared to bump into me. We were already shoulder to shoulder, seeing as the couch was so crowded, but he didn't seem to want to overstep his boundaries. Really, all I wanted to was cuddle up into him. I could see Alyshia and Zack getting sort of close (closer than they already were). I couldn't focus on the movie at all, but I tried not to keep glancing over at Alex, so he didn't think I was some freak, just eying him down.

Alex quietly coughed, and I looked over against my better judgment. Immediately, our eyes met, and he smiled. I nervously smiled back, glancing back down for a moment, then looking back up. His eyes were still glued to me. I looked at him, and he looked at me. He opened his mouth to speak, then silently shut it.

'Hello.' I mouthed, tilted my head and bited my lip. His eyes danced away from mine, then once again, back.

'Hi.' He mouthed back, his shoulders sagging slightly, untensing. He smiled, leaning his head back on the cushion. 'How are you?'

'Amazing.'

"This is such a good part." Jack announced, watching the TV on the edge of his seat. It broke the gaze between Alex and I. He chuckled under his breath, then looked back at me with a smile, his arm dropping, and hitting the side of my leg. Our eyes connected, and his lips parted. The bus was achingly dark and loud, and I felt Alex's finger tips gently caress the side of the leg. On impulse, I panicked and reached down to push his hand away, but as I did, he grabbed mine.

He laced our fingers together, and broke our gaze, smirking smugly at the TV as if he hadn't just made my heart jump from chest.