Senseless

"Please, you need to help me!"
There was this brooding innocence among the young boy, that just made me want to hold him in my arms.
He needed to be protected.
"What's wrong?" I asked, offering him a hand and helping him to his feet. I was right.
He was about Ashley's height.
"There's this evil man out there!" the kid cried, looking around him. "He wants to hurt me."
"What?" Ashley asked, his muscles tensing as he scanned the area. "I don't see anyone around."
"Don't leave me here, please." he begged, his diamond-glass eyes filling with tears and making my heart twist.
Glancing at Ashley, I pleaded for help.
"If there's someone after him, we can't leave him out here." Ashley concluded. "In fact, it's not safe for us either. Let's get on the bus, and we'll discuss what we can do then."
Nodding, I took the boy's hand and led him inside.
"Jake!" I called out, when we stepped in. "Jinxx! Christian! Jon!"
"What?"
They filed into the living area, glancing at the blonde haired beauty in confusion.
"Who's that?" Jinxx asked.
In the fluorescent light, his features became more noticeable. His pale skin was scratched and bruised.
There was a faint scar underneath his right eye.
His dirty blonde hair was unkempt and littered with little bits of leaves and grass.
"That's..." I trailed off, when I realized I didn't know who the kid was.
"Alexei." he answered, a misplaced accent rolling off his tongue in a soothing way. "Alexei Romanov."
"Alex-ay?" Jake repeated. "Do you mind if we call you...Alex?"
"Sure."
"So, any reason why you brought an obvious run-away onto our bus, Andrew?" Jon asked, raising his eyebrow.
"There's someone after him, and we need to keep him safe." I decided, placing a hand on Alex's shoulder.
"Who?"
"His name is Robertin." Alex informed them. "He wants to kill off my family, so he can take over the throne and destroy our government."
"Throne?" Ashley questioned.
"I'm the heir to the Russian throne." Alex answered simply, as if it were a well-known fact. "I need to protect my family."
"I...thought the Russian Royalty died off years ago?" Jinxx mumbled, trying to piece everything together.
Alex seemed confused, turning to me. "Please, you need to help me! Don't let him hurt me."
"I won't." I promised, ignoring the looks from the rest of my band. "I'll keep you safe, alright?"
"Thanks."
Placing a guiding hand on the small of his back, I led him towards the small bathroom to clean him up.

--

"Alright, guys.” Jon announced, pulling into the parking lot of a hotel. “Enjoy this night in a bed, because you’re spending the next 17 hours on a plane.”
“Great.” Jake muttered.
“We need to leave for the airport at six, so unless you’re planning on enjoying the sights of Finland a little longer, I suggest you make it.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Following him into the hotel, we waited while he checked in.
“Andy.” he handed me mine. “You’re sharing your room with Ashley and Alex. Whatever you do with the kid is your responsibility, so I’m not paying for an extra plane ticket to America, that’s your problem.”
“Sure.” I nodded, grabbing my suitcase.
Alex and Ashley followed me into the elevator, giving each other apprehensive looks. They barely knew each other, but they didn’t seem to want to get along.
Opening the hotel room, we were greeted by a stereotypical setting, with a Queen sized bed and a pull-out couch.
“You can sleep on the couch, Alex.” Ashley sneered, dropping his bag on the floor and locking himself in the bathroom.
“What did I do, Andrew?” Alex frowned. “Why does he act rude towards me, when I’ve done nothing.”
“It’s Andy.” I corrected. “And Ashley, well, I don’t know what’s wrong.”
It was odd.
Usually he was easy going with anything I wanted to do, and he had no problem with meeting new people.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I assured, sitting cross-legged on the bed and pulling Alex onto my lap.
Brushing his bangs out of his face, I admired his eyes.
“Tell me more about Robertin and this Russian family.” I smiled. “Maybe Ashley just doesn’t understand.”
“My parents were the rulers of Great Russia, but they had to go into hiding when Robertin threatened them. He found me though, after killing my parents.
I’m the next in line, and he wants to destroy the rest of the Romanov’s so that he can have pure control.”
“Who’s Roberting?” I asked.
“He used to be our tutor, but he was plotting. He’s a tall man, with piercing green eyes and dark brown hair. There’s a family crest marked on his left arm.”
“Marked?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, like these.” Alex answered, his hands running across the tattoos that littered my arms with fascination.
“Oh.”
“Anyway, I ran away and ended up in...Finland. But I need to keep my sister’s safe. I need to make sure they don’t die.”
“Are you planning on going back?” I asked in disbelief.
“I have to.” he nodded, straightening up. “You’ve been kind and helped me rest, I need to go back and help them.”
“I’ll go with you.” I decided.
He sat up, an excited look in his eye. “Would you really?” I nodded. “Thank you so much, Andy! I need to come up with a plan, but we’ll leave tomorrow.”
“I guess I’m not going to America.” I sighed.
“WHAT.” Ashley burst out, a pissed off expression on his face. “What do you mean, you’re not going to America?!”
“I’m staying here.” I answered simply. “Well, I’m heading to Russia. I’m helping Alex save his family from Robertin.”
“You can’t be serious!” Ashley yelled. “Andy, do you...outside.”
“What?”
“Step out of the room for a moment.” Ashley sighed. “I need to talk to you in private, alright?”
“Fine.”
Whispering in Alex’s ear, he stood up and watched me follow Ash outside of our hotel room with a hesitant look.
“I’ll be right back.” I promised, closing the door and facing Ashley. “What the fuck is your problem?”
“Problem?” Ashley scoffed. “Andy, do you seriously believe this kid’s bullshit? He’s probably just trying to meet the band. I mean, his life’s in danger?The Russian Royalty? There’s a man after him because this Robertin character is after the throne? Don’t you think that’s a little...unbelievable?”
“No.” I frowned. “He’s telling the truth, and I’m not going to let him get hurt.”
Turning around, I left him in the hallway and approached Alexei with a sympathetic smile.
“I’m sorry about that. How about we get you cleaned up, yeah?”
“Alright.”
Taking the carry-on, I led him into the bathroom and closed the door.
I helped him wash up, rubbing a bit of antibacterial gel along the cut on his cheek, just in case.
“What’s that?” Alex asked, pointing to a box.
“Hair dye.” I answered, taking it out. “It colors your hair another color. This one’s black. I’ve been meaning on redoing mine.”
“Oh...”
Opening the box, I showed him the container. “You just rub it into your hair, wait a few minutes, and wash it out.”
“Can you color my hair?” Alex asked, with a hopeful expression, glancing at the model on the box.
“Sure.” I laughed. “Let me just fix your hair a little, okay?”
Taking out a razor, I ran it through his shaggy blonde hair, using the same technique I used on Ashley’s hair.
“I don’t know why I didn’t become a hairdresser.” I commented, mixing the chemicals and rubbing it through his hair.
What was leftover I used on my hair.
“Now we wait.” I mused, sitting cross-legged on the bathroom floor and staring up at Alexei.
He was adorable.
His lips had a natural pout, and his eyebrows creased as he lost himself in thought.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked.
“Robertin.”