All I'm Living For

To say she enjoyed their set would be an understatement. While it wasn’t exactly twenty people, the crowd was definitely on the smaller side. But it didn’t matter to Teah. She got right up to front, standing directly under Josh, who laughed at the girl as she danced and jumped around to their songs. For her, there was no place she’d rather be than a gig. She loved the feeling of absolute freedom and letting yourself get lost in the music along with a crowd of other people. It felt comfortable, like she belonged there.

Occasionally, she would steal glances at Max while he was playing. Something about him had captivated her, and she was determined to get to know him despite their less-than-friendly encounter back at the tent. When he was on stage, she saw someone who was full of life and energy, charismatic and free-spirited and genuinely happy. She hoped that this good-spirited attitude would linger after they were done with their set.

Unfortunately, she had no such luck.

As the last song ended and the boys began to file off stage, she walked around to meet them at the back. Leading the group was Max, who looked angrier than he had before they’d started playing, and he stormed down the ramp and off towards the back lot without so much as a glance in Teah’s direction. She turned and watched him walk away, puzzled as to what could have set him off so quickly.

Seeing that her back was turned, however, Josh seized this golden opportunity to jump off the end of the ramp and tackle her into a disgustingly sweaty hug. “Soooo, what’d you think? And don’t lie and say it was horrible, because I saw you having fun.”

“Josh, you’re absolutely mental, and you smell horrible.” She managed to escape his grasp as the rest of boys appeared from stage. “But, I will say, that set was brilliant. I absolutely loved it.”

The lead singer gave her a cheeky grin. “Cheers, love. That’s the smell of manliness and success radiating from my body.” He spread his arms out wide, basking in the bright summer sun.

“Christ mate, drop your arms before your ‘manliness’ knocks out half the crowd,” Matt playfully punched him as he started off back towards their merch tent, Chris and Dan not far behind.

Josh glanced around, surveying his surroundings, blue eyes squinted in concentration as if he were searching for something he had lost. Teah looked around as well, curious as to what the boy in front of her could be looking at. “Did you see where the cranky little hedgehog went off to?” Josh said, turning his attention to the girl.

Teah chuckled at the suitable nickname. “Dunno, he kind of stormed off stage and headed back towards the buses. He looked proper pissed off.”

“Right, well, he needs to stop being such a wanker and moping about all the time.” Josh removed his cap, raking his fingers through his sweat-drenched mop of hair in exasperation. “Listen, I’ve got to go take care of some band shit. Would you mind terribly just running out to the buses and seeing if you can’t get him to at least come back out for a bit? The band we’re sharing the bus with is playing right now, so he should be the only one in there.”

She rolled her eyes, kicked at the dirt on the ground and pondering how she should handle this. It was a bit odd for a stranger to come busting up into your bus and demanding that you come out, and judging by his behaviour thus far, Max would have none of it. But on the other hand, there was a part of her that desperately wanted to get to know the adorable boy with the massive brown eyes that harbored so many bottled thoughts and feelings. Add that to the fact that Josh was in front of her, hands clasped, lower lip stuck out, pleading as though his life depended on it. The decision was easily made.

“Yes, Joshua. I suppose I could do that for you. Now quit making a fool of yourself and go join the rest of the lads.”

“Thanks love,” he said with a wink, the signature cheshire cat grin back on his face once again. “Go round back, it’s the last bus on the left, number 17 I’m pretty sure.” He turned towards the direction of the tent and started off, but turned back to her a moment later. “If he gives you any shit, just leave it. He’s got a stick jammed so far up his arse lately he’s probably got splinters on his tongue.”

“Aye aye, captain.” Teah gave the boy a salute and started off towards the bus lot. It was just past noon now, the blistering heat and heavy humidity making it difficult to breathe even as she walked the short distance across the parking lot. “Christ,” she muttered to herself, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead. “If the air on that bus is broken, the poor lad must be dying in there.” She scanned the rows of buses, eventually spotting 17 in the far back corner and making her way to the door. Reaching it, she lightly placed her ear to the door, making sure no one else was in there and she wouldn’t be interrupting something. Hearing nothing, she pulled the large metal door open and made her way up the few steps and inside the bus.

She couldn’t help but laugh at the sight before her.
There, lying face down on the floor, shirtless, was Max, with several fans set to the highest speed surrounding him like some kind of wall of relief from the stifling heat.
Hearing her laughter, the boy groaned, turning over so that he was lying on his back. He raised one hand in a sort of half-assed wave before propping himself up on his elbows and giving her a curious look. “Erm… not to be a right twat but, what are you doing on our bus?”

“Ohhh, so now you care about coming off as twat?” she teased, smirking. “Little late for that, isn’t it?”

Max hung his head for a moment before looking up, a sheepish grin gracing his boyish features. “I suppose you’re right, I was a bit of a wanker earlier, yeah?” He stood, ruffling his already disheveled hair and sticking out his hand to her. “Mind if I give it another go?” She placed her hand in his, prepared for a friendly handshake, but was thrown off when he thrust both of their hands up to her face. Her puzzled expression caused him to giggle, reminding her of a small child who thought very highly of their own joke. “Kiss my hand. It’s the polite thing to do when you meet a beautiful girl such as myself.”

He stood there, straight-faced, gaze moving between their hands and her pale blue eyes until she eventually broke down and pressed her lips quickly to the back of his hand. “How very rude of me, I do hope you’ll excuse my poor manners.” The banter flowed easily between the two, as if they’d been friends since the beginning of time. “Now, I hate to be forceful, but I do actually have a job to do, so get your arse outside and back to the tents.” Still holding onto his hand, she turned quickly and pulled him straight down the steps and out the door.

“Jesus, forceful much?” He mumbled, stumbling onto the dirt surface of the bus lot with a jolt. She grinned, already walking back to her post. Suddenly, she heard rapid footsteps approaching from behind her, and just as quickly he bolted past her, only turning around to yell “race you there!” as he sped away. She shook her head and laughed before picking up her pace, close behind him and determined to win.