You're Automatic.

It had been been almost a week since the guys had left and I hardly spend much time out of the hotel room. I had convinced Skye to come stay with me so I wouldn't be as bored or lonely, but he was gone a lot due to a mission he made a point of keeping it a secret.

I was laying in bed, awake but I didn't really want to get up. I hadn't heard my brother leave but I didn't heard the television or radio on, so I figured he was gone. I rolled over and sighed, curling up against a pillow. I hadn't talked to Bill since the day he left, but the locket around my neck helped make it a little more tolerable.

"AMANDA!"

I instantly jerked up into a sitting position at the sound of Skye's scream. My heart pounded harshly as I jumped out from under the covers and ran over to the door, flinging it open and running out. I nearly collapsed as he sat on the couch with a huge grin. "You asshole! You scared the hell out of me! What is wrong with you?" I pounced on him and playfully punched him repeatedly.

"Hey, abuse!" He laughed and shielded his face until I stopped and got off. "I was just going to tell you that your lover is on the line," he said as he handed me my phone.

I took the phone and stuck my tongue out at him, but was smiling widely. I put the receiver to my ear and took a deep breath to ease my nerves. "Hello?

I heard a relieved sigh. "Oh, Amanda. You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice." Though I couldn't hear it, I was sure there was an adorable smile on his face.

I grinned, "I think I have a pretty good idea." I felt like I was about to cry. I hadn't heard from him in so long and I thought it was going to be even longer until I got to hear his voice again. "I miss you guys so much."

"We miss you too. Like crazy. There isn't a day that goes by that something doesn't remind us of you. Like yesterday when we went to get coffee before a show and couldn't stop talking about the day we met you. How are you holding up? Skye said you're miserable and never leave the hotel." I could hear the disappointment in his voice and it made me feel bad.

I shot a glare at Skye. He didn't have to tell him that and embarrass me. I sighed and shook my head. "I'm okay. I don't really leave much, probably because I'm so worried about bumping into my mom or Shawn without my protectors." I chuckled slightly. While that may have been part of the reason I never went out, it wasn't something I thought about much. I just didn't really want to do anything without my boys.

"I'm sorry I couldn't bring you with us, I wish I couldn've. It makes me feel terrible to know you're so worried about that and you're alone so much. Things are just so hectic out here, we don't get much down time. I think it would be overwhelming for you if you'd have come out though."

I sighed. He was probably right. It was only after he said that that I realized how exhausted he sounded. I wondered how much time he had spent resting or how much sleep he had gotten, and it worried me to think that it wasn't enough.

Someone in the background on Bill's side spoke to him in a hushed tone, the hostile sound being a sign it was in German, and he replied. "I have to go, we have to get ready for our show. I'll call you later, though. I love you and I'll see you soon."

Though my heart felt a pang of sadness at having to hang up so soon, I smiled. "I love you too. I really hope I get to see you soon... Tell everyone I say hello."

"I will. Keep your fingers crossed and your chin up, liebling. Goodnight."

After her hung up, I set my phone in my lap and sighed. I felt better, having heard his voice. I reached up and held the locket in my hand. I could wait to see him, as painful as the slowly ticking time might make it. Winter break would be difficult without the guys, so much more time on my hands, but I knew I wouldn't be alone the whole time.

"How is he?"

I looked over at Skye as he was doing paperwork, strategically tilting his clipboard so I couldn't see what he was writing. I shrugged, "He sounds tired. He said things have been hectic." Skye nodded but didn't look at me. I stood up and walked over to the door, tugging on my shoes on without a worry about them being untied or even about the fact I was still in my pajamas.

Skye's head moved slightly then turned to look at me when he finised writing something. "Where are you off to?" I noticed the skin beneath his eyes were slightly darker than normal and his bright blue eyes didn't have their usual spark. It seemed like Bill wasn't the only one working more than resting.

"I'm going to see if they're still serving breakfast. Do you want anything?" I pulled my hoodie off the back of a chair and slid it over my shoulders before zipping it up. While everyone else seemed to be exhausted from the things they were doing, I did nothing but lay around and eat. Maybe I needed to find something to keep my mind off the waiting time until I could be reunited with my boyfriend.

Skye grinned a little, "A chocolate chip muffin, if they have any." A little bit of the spark in his eyes returned when I nodded at him. I walked out the door and, before shutting it behind me, he called a last request, "And some chocolate milk!"

Down in the lobby, the continental breakfast was still set up, and still relatively empty. I slowly walked down the length of the tables, seyeing what my options were. Chocolate chip muffin, check. No chocolate milk, but I knew there was a gas station just a couple blocks up the street and I could buy Skye a chocolate milk there. Having my brother covered, I grabbed a juicebox or orange juice, a peppermint teabag, and a strawberry danish. I wrapped my brother's muffin in a couple napkins and putting it in my hoodie pocket before making my trek to the gas station, waving and smiling at the woman at the front desk.

The air outside was cold and it raised goosebumps on my skin underneath my jacket. I pulled my hood up and walked as I nibbled on my danish. Slush underneath my feet made the pavement a little slippery and I knew the bottoms of my pant legs were going to be soaked and dirty by the time I got back up to the room, a fact that made me frown disapprovingly.

As the gas station entered my line of sight, I smiled and quickened my pace. I was only two yards from the front door when a patch of ice caught me by surprise and I screeched embarrasingly before nearly fall flat on my butt.

Before my bottom collided with the pavement, I was caught underneath the arms. "Whoa, hey, careful!" A young man chuckled and helped me back up to my feet, holding his arms around me to make sure I didn't fall again.

I ducked my head and blushed, staring at the half of my danish that had been dropped on the ground, to not think about having been seen and saved by this stranger. "Sorry... Thank you." I chewed on my lip as I turned to walk into the building, only for him to jump in front of me and hold the door open, bowing slightly. I blinked and smiled sheepighly, walking in and going toward the drinks.

"I promise I'm not following you on purpose," he said, chuckling as he walked behind me. His wet shoes squeaked against the floor, stopping only a moment before I did.

I turned to look at the drinks, peeking over at him and barely being able to see him around my hood. He was cute, but in a cliched way. Chestnut hair, green eyes, tall, muscular; maybe in his late teens or very early twenties. Attractive, yes, but nothing in comparison to Bill. I shook my head and turned my focus back to getting a chocolate milk for Skye. While I was making my decision, the man grabbed a soda and walked away. Honestly, a part of me was stalling so he would move on and I could avoid further embarrasment, though I probably just seemed retarded just standing there for so long.

Chocolate milk in hand, I walked up to the cash register and took my place in line, right behind Tall, Buff, And Handsome as luck would have it. He glanced over his shoulder at me and smiled a bit, and I tried to hive embarrassment by looking past him out the front window. Barely a minute later, I saw a familiar car pull up to a gas pump and I froze.

"Hey, are you okay? You don't look so good..." The guy looked back at me, a combination of worry and suspicion on his face. He followed my gaze then looked back at me with a smirk, "Let me guess, your parents?"

I manged to nod, but my head barely moved. The irony of me hiding out for as long as I had and they hadn't found me then, the one time I go out of the hotel, they find me? It was painful and ridiculous. "I ran away over a week ago..." I knew I still looked battered to hell, but I wasn't going to say why.

The boy looked between my step-dad as he walked toward the building and me. "I guess we should hide you then, huh?" Before I could open my mouth, the bell for the door rang and I was quickly being pulled against the stranger's side and under his arm. "Don't freak out," he uttered quietly as Shawn got behind us.

My heart was pounding like a jack hammer and I was shaking like a leaf. I was glad my hood was still up but I didn't trust that it would hide me forever. I could barely move and the young man practically had to drag me up to the register. He pried the chocolate milk from my hands and set it with his stuff.

"Gosh, babe, you really are cold, huh?" He laughed and kissed my temple, rubbing my arm as if to warm me up.

I forced a chuckle, and I felt like it fooled no one. After he piad, I snagged Skye's drink and we walked out of the building. We barely got out and away from the door when he quickly turned and pushed my back against the wall, bringing his face close to mine with his hands on either side of my head. I was just about to scream he pushed his lips against mine to stop me, eyes wide.

"Shh," he said after he removed his lips from the second long kiss. I was furious he had done that but he moved his eyes pointedly to the side where I saw my mom walking into the gas station. As soon as she was inside, he grabbed my hand and walked me over to the car, opening the passenger side door. "What?" He asked when I stood stiffly.

"I just met you and you expect me to get in a car with you?" I raised my brow skeptically. My eyes darted to the window of the gas station where Shawn was paying and my mom flanked him, holding a new box of cigarettes. "I appreciate what you did but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this," I stated as I looked back over at him. Not to mention the fact you just kissed me!

He looked over at my parents then at me with a smirk, "Well, it doesn't seem like you have much of a choice." He stifled a laugh when I quickly darted into the car and ducked out of view when my parental figures walked out the door and scanned the parking lot. He walked around the opened his door, slidding in. "We can wait here until they leave or I can give you a ride so you aren't walking out in the cold all by yourself." He looked at me.

I pursed my lips as I thought and I finally sighed. "Okay, fine, but I'm only a couple blocks away." I told him what hotel I was staying at, which supplied an impressed whistle, and I grabbed my phone. My thumb hovered over Skye's speeddial as the man pulled out of the parking spot to take me "home."

"So, you run away and go to a hotel? How do you have enough money to be staying there for so long?"

"I have a boyfriend," I said quietly, practically sitting against the door to put as much space between us as I could. "He was staying there and now he's just paying for the room until he can fly me out to stay with him." Suddenly, I was glaring at my savior. "That reminds me! That kiss was very inappropriate!" I crossed my arms angrily.

He laughed and glanced at me for a moment. "You would've freaked out and screamed if I didn't shut you up and your mom and dad would've seen you. Then what?" He looked at me smugly. "If it means anything, I'm sorry. I didn't know you had a boyfriend."

"Step dad," I corrected before continuing, "And of course you didn't know. You just met me five minutes ago. And you paid for my drink, so now I need to pay you back..." I sighed and started to take my wallet out.

"Nah. Consider that quick peck your payment. It seems to have put you off more than a couple bucks put me off, so we're square." He looked at me, his expression now unreadable. "I'm sorry though, really."

"Nice to meet you, Sorry, I'm Amanda," I mumbled sarcastically. I didn't know why I was so annoyed with this guy. He had just saved me from being discovered and probably beaten within in inch of my life, if not worse. Perhaps it was the ruined plan or the irony of being safe until the second I left the hotel. The inappropriate action hadn't helped either though.

He snickered and pulled up in front of the hotel. "Alright, you don't have to be so hostile, Amanda. And my name isn't really sorry, it's Jackson." He grinned at me.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, though I was smiling. "Nice to meet you Jackson. Thanks for what you did back there, you didn't have to help me."

He shrugged. "Hey, you were a damsel in distress and your knight in shining armor wasn't here, so you needed someone. Let's do it again sometime," he teased.

I scoffed a laugh. "Or we could not." I opened the door and slipped out, quickly shutting it and running inside before he could say anything else.