Blue Eyes Don't Lie

I watched her sleep for a bit. It sounds creepy, but I didn’t want to move. All of the lines in her face relaxed, and her lips were slightly puckered, as if she was going to kiss me. I love her so much. I don’t know what I’d do without her. I kissed the top of her head and got out of the bunk. Fuck. The bus was a total wreck. Matt was on the floor, Chris’ feet hanging out the end of his bunk, Max on the table where he normally ends up and Dan with him. I started laughing to myself before I kicked all of them and woke them up.
“Morning boys. Get up. New York today.”
“Oh, fuck!” Max said loudly from the table. “I feel so fucking wrecked! Why the hell are you here Dan?”
“I have no idea. I think you dragged me here?”
“Oh. Maybe, I can’t really remember.”
“SHUT UP!” Matt yelled from the floor. “I WANT TO FUCKING SLEEP!”
“You have to get up Matty boy.”
“No.” He was a stubborn little fucker at times.
“Get the fuck up, or I’m gonna sing in your ear. Badly.”
“Don’t need to say that, do anyway.”
“Fuck you.”
“Nah mate. I’m going back to bed.”
And with that he got up and went to his bunk.
“Your turn Danny,” I walked over to the table where Dan and Max were. “Come on, wakey wakey.”
I kissed his cheek for a laugh, and he got up like a shot.
“I’m up, I’m up!” He got up and went to the fridge and got a bottle of water, which he then poured on Max. “Get up.”
“I like the table a lot.”
“Yeah, you always end up there when you pass out.” I laughed at him.
I felt a set of arms wrap around my waist, and I turned around quickly, breaking their hold. I turned and found Liz standing there with a confused look on her face.
“Why are you all being so loud? I can’t sleep.”
“Sorry, love. They’re having trouble getting up. Particularly Matt.”
“That’s 'cause you’re doing it all wrong. Allow me,” she walked over to Matt’s bunk and opened the curtain. She started poking him profusely. “Get up, you lazy shit.”
“Liz? Why are you poking me?”
“Cause you’re a fucking lazy shit. Get up.”
“I don’t want to!” He whined. “I’m tired!”
“Don’t care! You gotta get up!”
She carried on poking him while the rest of us sat around laughing at him. Eventually he started to get up and she started on Chris. She was a lot gentler with him though.
“Chris, get up,” she said softly. “You need to get up now.”
He always was the best one of us to actually get up when asked, and he’d just seen her wake Matt up, so I figured that he didn’t want the same treatment.
“Mmm… okay.” He mumbled.
Matt still hadn’t moved from the bunk, so she turned back around and began poking him again.
“I said get the fuck up, you fucking lazy shit.”
“Wow, vicious.” I stated.
“Only thing that seems to work with him though,” she shrugged. “Nothing much else I can do. Dan, can you hand me that bottle of water?”
He gave her the bottle, and she pulled back the covers and poured it over his face, and his trousers.
“Now are you gonna get up?”
“Yes,” you could tell he wasn’t happy. “Am I really a lazy shit?”
“Yes.” She walked away from him, and came and kissed me.
“Well if I’m a lazy shit I should be able to get away with it.”
“No. You have stuff to do today.”
“Like what?”
“Like play a show, dickhead.”
I could see the rest of the boys laughing silently, and I was trying hard not to laugh myself.
“Dickhead? Who are you calling a dickhead?”
“I am calling you a dickhead, dickwad.”
“Dickwad? That’s a new one.”
“I thank you,” she took a mocking bow. “Now seriously get the fuck up or I am going to hurt you.”
“More than you already have? Oh, the horror!”
“Seriously? You seriously want to play this game? Okay fine. It’s on, twonk.”
“Twonk? You’re really going for it today.”
“Shut up. Cunt.”
It was the first time she’d ever said that. I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing.
“And what are you laughing at?” She glared. I could tell she wasn’t in a good mood.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” I shut up quickly.
“Good.”
And with that, she stormed off into the bathroom to get dressed.
“Good luck today mate.”
“Cheers Matt.” I said sarcastically.
I didn’t know whether to follow her, or wait here. I chose to wait outside the bathroom. I knocked on the door quietly.
“Liz? Is everything okay?”
“No. Not really.”
“Let me in, tell me what’s up.”
She opened the door, and I instantly knew something bad had happened. She never cried; yet she was stood there with tears rolling down her cheeks.
“My mum phoned me. My uncle died last night.”
I knew she was close to her uncle, even though he lived at the opposite end of the country to her. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to say. Instead I just stepped forward and hugged her. There isn’t much that I could have said to make things better.
I heard someone walking up toward the bathroom, so I let her go and turned around. It was Max.
“Is everything okay?”
I shook my head.
“Get dressed, I’ll see you in a minute,” I said to Liz. I turned back to Max when she’d closed the door. “I need to tell you guys something.”
“Josh, what is it mate?”
I got all the guys together. “Guys, Liz’s uncle died last night. Be nice today, please?”
“I thought she was in a bad mood.”
“Matt, really?” She’d found her way to where we were all sat.
“Sorry,” he got up and hugged her. “About everything.”
“Should be, lazy shit.”
She cracked a small smile, and went back to our bed. I followed her.
“I don’t know what to do Josh.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Scream, cry, and change everything.”
“You can scream and cry all you want, but you can’t change it. I wish you could.”
“So do I,” she whispered pathetically. “Come lay with me?”
I got in the bed, and she pushed her body close to mine. She rested her head on my chest, and my chin on the top of her head.
“I love you so much.” I whispered.
“I love you too Josh. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
We lay there for hours, until sound check.
“You coming to watch?”
“Sure, I need to get outta this bus.”
We walked to the stage hand in hand, and I didn’t care who saw.