Smash Into Me

It was barely even one in the afternoon and Kayleigh was ready to pack up and leave. The Indiana heat was making her head spin and stomach hurt. It was too humid to even think of being outside, yet there she was, sitting in that chair in that tent, legs propped up on to that table.

This morning, she had made a new sign for her tip jar. This time the sign read "donate to help find the cure for hangovers!"

She thought it was funny. A couple others found it funny, too, slipping in two dollars or the occasional five.

Josh was not outside in the heat fighting a hangover. Instead, he was inside the bus where it was nice and cool, nursing a cold bottle of Corona.

"What did you and Kayleigh talk about this morning, mate?" Dan asked, plopping down on the small leather sofa in the lounge.

"Her tattoos and our mutual love for Brand New," Josh shrugged, fighting the smile that wanted to break out on to his face. He held the bottle of Corona close to his lips, trying to hide the smile slowly creeping it's way out. "Why?"

"Just wondering. I could hear you two chatting, just didn't know what about," Dan replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

“So, mate, you and Kayleigh, huh?” Matt laughed, emerging from the bunks. He grabbed a beer off the counter, popping it open and taking a sip from it.

Josh rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed, “We're just friends.”

Matt chuckled, shaking his head at his naïve friend, “Right, Josh, friends.”

“Fuck off,” Josh muttered, getting up. He ventured off the bus and on to the main grounds where thousands of kids were. He was going to wander around, probably hang around the tent and meet some fans, promote his band, things of that sort.

As he walked through the sea of tents and kids, he spotted a certain brunette that had been on his mind all day. He smiled to himself, watching as she chatted with Sierra, using her hands for emphasis as she spoke.

He didn’t know if he should go over and talk to her or not. Had their talk this morning been enough for her? Josh didn’t want to come across as annoying.

He fought with himself for a moment, debating the pros and cons of going over there and talking to her.

He decided he was going to walk by without saying a word to her. If she wanted to talk, she’d say something as he walked by.

Kayleigh glanced over Sierra’s shoulder, seeing a certain blue-eyed Brit walking past the tent, Corona in his hand. She smiled, hoping he’d come over and talk to her. After her conversation with him this morning about tattoos and Brand New, she wanted to get to know him better.

Josh could see the girl smiling his way out of the corner of his eye as he passed the tent. He took a sip of his Corona, smirking. He had got her.

***

“Is it eight thirty yet?” Kayleigh groaned, throwing her head back in frustration. She wanted to pack the shit up and go on the bus where it was nice and cool. She had decided she wasn’t going to party at all tonight because of how bad her hangover was all day.

Her father always used to say to cure a hangover, just drink more. Then again, he was an alcoholic.

“Sorry, babe, it’s only six fifty,” Blake gave her a half-smile, setting his phone down on to the table in front of them. He had been helping her for the past two hours and she was so thankful for it. Usually she never needed help, but today, today she needed it.

“Fuck me,” She sighed, slumping out of her foldable chair on to the dirty ground. She sat there, head resting on the seat of the chair. Surprisingly, she was comfortable like that. The ground was cooler.

Blake laughed, looking down at the girl slumped on the ground, "What are you doing?"

"Don't question me, Blake," Kayleigh muttered, waving her hand at him as if she were brushing him away. "Can we pack up early? I wanna go sleep."

"You can go. I can handle it here, don't worry," Blake said, grabbing his phone off the table. He scrolled through his contacts and texted his band mates. "Jerry can help me, too. Go rest. You honestly look like shit."

Kayleigh couldn't help the grin that spread across her face, "Thank you so much, Blake. You are my hero." She stood up, dusting the dirt off the back of her shorts. She turned around, sticking her ass out to Blake, "Any dirt?"

Blake laughed and wiped off the rest of the dirt Kayleigh had missed. "You're good."

"Thanks. Tell Mike I wasn't feeling well?" She asked, scooting through the gap between their table and their neighbors.

"I will, don't worry!" Blake reassured her, shooing her away.

She smiled one more time at him before turning and practically running towards the buses. She climbed on to the bus, the cold air hitting her body like a brick wall. The silence of the bus told her she was all alone and she liked that. She went to the bunks, climbing in to her bunk. She fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

*

Josh laughed at Max, who tripped in front of him as he went up the bus stairs.

“Hey, have you seen Kayleigh?” Sierra asked, appearing from the back of the bus. Josh and Max both shook their heads no. She let out a loud groan, “Usually she’s the one finding me, it’s never the other way around.”

“I’m sure she’s around here somewhere,” Max reassured Sierra, who was clearly frazzled by not being able to find her friend.

Josh skewed his mouth to the side. If Sierra couldn’t find her, she wasn’t around the grounds. She was missing.

He walked to the bunks, needing to change out of his dirty clothes. Everyone was going out to dinner tonight. He'd help Sierra look for Kayleigh after he changed.

Josh pulled back the curtain to his bunk and jumped when he saw the sleeping girl in his bunk. What the fuck was she doing in his bunk? Josh turned and called to Sierra, “Found her!”

Sierra quirked her eyebrow up. She hadn’t thought to check all the bunks. She walked back to the bunks and stood next to Josh, a small smile on her face. She looked up at Josh, “She looks so peaceful, doesn’t she?”

Like an angel, Josh thought. “Yeah,” He replied softly, staring at Kayleigh. He wanted to crawl in that bunk and lay with her.

Sierra lunged forward, cramming herself in the small space with Kayleigh.

Kayleigh stirred, feeling a presence next to her. She turned over, opening her eyes slowly. She was met with the golden eyes of Sierra Kay Kusterbeck. Kayleigh let out the loudest scream Josh or Max had ever heard.

Sierra fell out of the bunk, holding her stomach from laughing so hard. Josh covered his mouth with his hand, trying his absolute hardest to hold back his laughter. Max was standing at the entrance to the bunk hallway laughing his ass off.

Kayleigh peered out of the bunk, glaring at Sierra laying on the floor, “Fucking bitch.” Her eyes then met Josh’s. “What the hell are you staring at?”

The smile was wiped from Josh’s face, and suddenly, he stumbled to find words. It was like the words were trapped, sticking in the back of his throat. “I – you – ”

“You’re in his bunk, idiot,” Sierra laughed, getting up. She pulled the curtain across from the bunk Kayleigh was in open. Kayleigh’s giant elephant pillow was sitting in that bunk.

Kayleigh’s eyes went wide and her cheeks immediately went red. She couldn’t believe she had been asleep in Josh’s bunk for the past…what…two hours? She buried her face in Josh’s pillow. No wonder this bunk felt…different.

She lifted her head off the pillow, her eyes meeting Josh’s amused stare again. “I’m so sorry, Josh. This used to be my bunk. Seriously, I’m so sorry,” She muttered, crawling out of his bunk.

“Trust me, love, Josh doesn’t mind,” Max commented, a cheeky grin on his face. Josh looked over at him with wide eyes. Max rolled his eyes. Anyone with eyes could see Josh liked the girl. Just the way he looked at her gave it away.

Kayleigh crawled into the bunk she shared with Sierra, burying her face into her elephant pillow. She was too embarrassed to even concentrate on anything. She hadn’t even heard what Max had said. “Leave me to wallow in my embarrassment,” She muttered into the pillow, sliding the curtain shut.

“Kayleigh, really, it’s fine,” Josh laughed, pulling the curtain open. He took a seat on the very edge of the bunk.

Sierra watched as Kayleigh lifted her head off her pillow and stared at Josh with a smile. She watched Josh return the smile. She felt the chemistry between the two. Max felt the chemistry between them, too.

The two onlookers both wondered how long it would be until Kayleigh and Josh felt the chemistry themselves.