I Will Lick My Wounds, Because They Taste of You

“Hey buddy, is everything okay?”

“Yeah everything’s fine, listen I met some guys at the airport and they’re gonna give me a ride”

“I don’t think that’s very safe kiddo…” Ted said in a cautious voice on the other end of the line. “I won’t be too long, just hang in there”

“No it’s okay, they’re in a band, they’re playing this year and it would save you the trouble of coming out here when they've got room to take me”

“What band is it?”

“You Me At Six”

“Ah I see nice guys. Well if they could bring you that would save me some time. I guess I’ll see you in a bit then”

“Will do. Later teddy” she giggled and then ended the call before turning and walking onto the bus. Max was at the top of the stairs and grabbed her wrist before leading her further onto the bus where four boys were sat around. They hadn't even noticed they’d come in so Max got their attention and they all looked at them expectantly.

“Guy’s this is Libby. Her uncle works for warped tour but he’s caught up there so I said we’d give her a ride. Libby this is the rest of the band” he said smiling down at her. “Over there is Dan” he said pointing to a guy on the sofa. He had light brown hair that was slightly shorter than all the others and one of the most defined jaw lines she’d ever seen.

“Nice to meet you” he said and gave her a little wave to which she smiled and said it was nice to meet him too.

“Next we have matt” and he pointed to the boy sitting next to Dan. This boy had long jet black hair and a slight Asian look to him. He nodded in her direction and smiled so she smiled back. “Then we have Chris” and he motioned to a boy sitting at a little table on the side. He waved and smiled shyly so she smiled back, “and lastly we have Josh” he said pointing to baby faced brunette sitting by the window at the table.

“Nice to see you again love” he winked and Libby felt tiny butterflies erupt in her stomach. Josh wasn't exactly the best looking boy she’d ever seen in her life, but there was something about him that was definitely super attractive. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

“You too” she smiled back and then looked to Max.

“Just shove your bags anywhere, I’ll be back in two secs” he smiled and placed his hand on her arms before disappearing towards the front of the bus.

“Here, I’ll give you a hand” Josh said and got up to take a few of her bags out of the way and placed them in one of the empty bunks. “Damn, how much stuff do you have?”

“I like to be prepared” she said matter of factly and he just smirked at her.

“Encase of what? An emergency fashion show?”

“ I'm guessing unlike you, I change my outfit and underwear everyday”

“Ouch” he said and put a hand on his chest. “That hurt Libby”

“Well it’s true” Dan said as he walked past them to go into the back lounge of the bus.

“Fuck you flint, you’re supposed to be on my team” he moaned at him before both Libby and Josh made their way back to the table. They both sat around it and then Max came back to join them.

“Just spoke to our driver, he said it’s gonna take about two hours to get there” he told them and then patted her knee lightly and let it linger there a little bit before taking it away.

Libby felt the heat rise to her cheeks at the simple gesture and tried to hide her face until she stopped blushing.

The rest of the journey Josh and Max told Libby all about the band. How they started and she was surprised at how far they’d come. Matt and Chris came over not long after to add to the crazy stories, but Dan stayed in the back lounge doing goodness knows what. Then the topic changed and moved onto Libby.

“Well what do you wanna know?” she answered after Max said to tell them about herself. “There’s not much to tell”

“Okay, well where do you come from?” Josh asked

“I live in Kingston”

“Fuck off!” Max suddenly exclaimed. “Sorry, but that’s where we come from. Well near enough anyway”

“Are you kidding me? So we could have walked past each other loads of times and not even know”

Max was about to reply when the bus came to a stop and Dan emerged from the back with heavy eyes and a slight slouch.

“You alright man?” matt asked him and he nodded lightly.

“Jet lag” he mumbled and then scratched his head before looking at Libby. “We’re here now so I’ll get you’re bags out if you want” he smiled sweetly and she grinned back.

“I’ll help, since they are mine” she chuckled they went and grabbed all her bags. They had to make about three trips to get them all out. Once they were all out Libby rung her uncle and thankfully he was finished with whatever had gone wrong before and was only a few bus’s over.

“if we all take one we can take it one trip” Max said and they all grabbed a bag”

“Thanks for this guys, I’ll make it up to you somehow I promise”

“I bet Max can think of a few ways” Josh said slyly to matt and Max hit him on the arm.

“Would you shut the fuck up” he hissed quietly hoping Libby hadn't heard. Unfortunately for him she had. Then again she didn't really understand so she just smiled.

They made it to Ted’s bus and he was just coming down the steps when she got there and she dropped her bags and ran to him. He pulled her into a hug and she smiled at the familiarity of him.

“Ah libbs you made it, it’s so good to see you again buddy”

”it’s good to see you too teddy” she winked and he just shook his head laughing before looking up at the five boys.

“Ah you guys must be the You Me At Six lads. Thanks for looking after this one” he said motioning towards Libby with his head. “I know she can be a bit of a handful”

“Oi” she said and hit his arm playfully.

He laughed and ruffled her hair before looking back at the boys “No but seriously, thanks guys. Just drop her stuff here; we’ll take care of it. Go grab some sleep”

They placed her bags on the floor and said a collection of goodbyes before they started to leave. Ted grabbed a few bags and started to take them onto the bus.

Libby looked up to see most of the boys going, but Max stood then and when her eyes hit his he smiled crookedly.

“So I guess I’ll see you around then”

“That you will” she replied quietly. Being alone with him now made her feel oddly nervous. The feeling on intensified when he stepped closer to her, taking her hand in his and placing a soft kiss to her cheek.

“Bye Libby. Sleep well” he said before dropping her hand and turning to catch up with the rest of the boys.

She watched them walk back to the bus with a happy feeling in her chest knowing that she’d made some awesome new friends already and wouldn't be feeling as alone as she thought this summer.