Paint You Wings.

⊱⊱ Riley Van Acker ⊰⊰

"Why are you on the floor."

"Why aren't you on the floor?"

"Because I'm normal?"

"If you're what's considered normal then I don't even want to know what's weird."

"Are you calling me fat." Linc deadpanned.

"HOW DID THIS CONVERSATION EVEN TURN INTO ME CALLING YOU FAT?!" Charlie yelled, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. "On second thought... Yeah, you are fat."

Shaking my head at the people I considered my brothers, I chucked the two square pillows at each of their heads, hiding behind the couch once they'd both let out weird cries of very exaggerated pain. They were hit by pillows, it couldn't have possibly hurt as bad as they made it out to be.

My hiding spot wasn't as fantastic as I thought it was, for they appeared in front of me a few seconds later, attacking me with the pillows that I'd attacked them with prior. A giant grin flitted onto my face as I tried to block their hits but they just kept on abusing me with the pillows - yelling out the most bizarre insults that I'd ever heard in my entire life.

When they finally stopped about two minutes later, my cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so big and they were out of breath. Shows how unfit those two were, no matter how thin they were. They collapsed on the floor, one on either side of me as we just laid there, not saying anything. I missed this.

"So... When are you gonna visit your boyfriend?" Linc smirked, propping himself up on his elbow to look at me.

I rolled my eyes, shoving him so that he fell back onto the floor with a thud, Charlie's familiar chuckle following suit.

"But seriously. I thought you were gonna go visit him?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"You've been texting non-stop." Linc pointed out. "And Skype-ing, too." Charlie added thoughtfully after.

It was true. Alex and I had been texting since he got off the plane at the first Warped venue. Throughout the first actual day at Warped, I'd still receive random texts from him, even though I could clearly tell that he was busy. Be it a simple smiley face or a sad face, there would always be at least one text per day. And every time that text came in, I couldn't help the cheesy smile that came to my lips.

He'd also Skype called me on his third day of tour, since his bandmates and crew members were all passed out drunk, and he hadn't gotten drunk. It was actually pretty rare for him, so I felt a little flattered that he hadn't gotten drunk just so that he could video chat with me. By that, I meant that he'd talk and I'd use the chat box. I thought it was rather ridiculous but he insisted on us Skype-ing because he, quote: 'missed my stupidly pretty face', unquote.

I'd ended up blushing and he, of course, pointed it out with a smug little grin.

My phone beeped, signifying that a text had just come in and I pulled it out - immediately getting knowing looks from the guys on either side of me. With another roll of my eyes, I opened up the text from the man himself.

When are you coming to visit? It's been two and a half weeks and I miss you :(

"That's it!" Linc exclaimed suddenly, also very loudly. I jumped a little, shooting him a questioning look, as did Charlie.

"I'm buying you a ticket to the next venue. And you guys had better be an official couple by the time you come back." He said sternly, sitting up.

I grabbed his hand, typing on a blank note and then showing it to him. 'I'll only be gone for two days, tops. You do know that, right?'

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't care. You two are, like, perfect for each other. Something better freaking happen."

I blinked at him while Charlie let out a small laugh. "You know... For someone who claims to be Ri's older brother... You're playing a shit role at being overprotective and stuff."

Linc shrugged his shoulders again, shooting us both a grin. "Bend me over, fuck me in the arse and you can call me your gay older brother." He winked, skipping away to his room; making me bury my face in the couch cushion while Charlie erupted into uncontrollable laughter.

I really loved that kid.



Arms snaked around my waist, tugging me backwards and then spinning me round, straight into the familiar body that I seemed to fit perfectly into. A smile came to my lips and I wrapped my arms around the man with the pink hair, letting him nuzzle my neck with his nose and then pick me up and spin me around in the middle of the airport, resembling a scene available in every single cliché movie ever written.

"I've missed you so much." He admits, setting me down on my feet and gazing at me with his beautiful brown eyes.

I simply hug him again, hoping that he would understand that I've missed him, too. I've been trying to talk, to force myself, but I can't. I physically cannot. So I've given up. Alex said that he didn't care that I couldn't talk but I know that he will, eventually, get tired of me. So I've just opted to enjoy the moments in which he does not care and still wants to be around me.

"Warped Tour's just gotten so much better." He grinned, wrapping an arm as he led me out of the terminal to get a cab.

When we made it back to the bus - I don't even know how he figured out which bus was All Time Low's bus because there were so many buses parked side-by-side - I was bombarded with a bear hug from a lanky skunk-haired male. I hugged him back, pulling out the little drawing I'd done for him during the flight from my back pocket.

It was nothing much, but since I hadn't gotten anything for him for his twenty-forth, I figured a cartoonified drawing of him while standing with Jake and Finn from Adventure Time would be an okay present. It was a pretty sucky gift, considering how he was a rockstar and had a huge pool party at Hard Rock hotel in Vegas - Alex told me about it - but it was all I could come up with.

Luckily for me, Jack loved it - pulling me in for another hug and then giving me a sloppy kiss on the cheek. I gave him a two-fingered salute in response as he grinned widely, heading to the bunk area while mumbling something about keeping the drawing forever.

"So, uh, we don't exactly have a spare bunk since the only other free one is used for Jack's crap -"

"Excuse you!" Jack yelled from further inside the bus.

Alex laughed. "Okay, fine. It's used for Jack's and my crap so you can just have my bunk. I'll sleep in the back lounge or something."

I shrugged my shoulders, gesturing for him to lead the way. He led me to the last bunks, near the back lounge. The bunk was rather spacious and also directly opposite to Jack's. Dropping my fat backpack on the floor next to his bunk, I pulled out my phone and typed on a blank note. 'We can share. It's kinda big and I don't want to kick you out of your bunk.'

He eyed me skeptically, raising a thick eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

'We're both adults here.'

"Nah, Alex is a twelve year old boy stuck in a twenty-five year old man's body." Jack interrupted as he leaned his chin on Alex's shoulder from behind him.

Alex rolled his eyes, shoving him off of his shoulder. "Technically, I'm still twenty-four." He pointed out.

Jack rolled his eyes as well. "Technically, you're still a little boy." He mocked, shrieking as Alex made a move to punch his shoulder.

With a sigh that was overly dramatised, Alex turned back to me. With playful orders to get me changed into more 'Warped appropriate clothing' (his words, not mine), he left me alone. I changed out of the skinny jeans I'd been wearing into a pair of high waisted black jean shorts, tucking in a loose-fitting dark grey tank top as well. It seemed Warped appropriate enough so I went out to meet Alex, only to have him trail his eyes up down my body at a snail's pace before he tugged me out of the bus to meet his hundreds of friends.

"It doesn't really help that you're gorgeous and wearing stuff like that, you know." He murmured into my ear, wrapping an arm around my waist casually as we stood side stage, awaiting Of Mice & Men's performance.

I shot him a look, ignoring the blush that had come to my cheeks.

Alex shrugged. "You didn't see the way some of the guys looked at you."

To be honest, he sounded a little jealous. And, although I shouldn't have felt flattered, I did.

'Doesn't matter, anyway. Mute, remember?'

He read the note I'd typed and then raised an eyebrow. "So?"

I blinked and he let out a breath. "Seriously? You not talking isn't some kind of disability, you know."

I shrugged, typing on another blank note: 'I don't think mute girls particularly appeal to anyone.' I remember telling this to Charlie not too long ago.

He rolled his eyes, using his hands to gesture to himself. "I'm here, aren't I?" He smirked, making me roll my eyes.

Of Mice's set was amazing, and Austin, although he was the sweetest man I'd ever met, was an absolute beast on stage. Throughout the set, I could feel Alex looking at me and when I looked back at him to shoot him a look, he just smirked, wrapping his arm around my waist before turning to watch the guys on stage. Then there was the part when Alan came over, shooting me a wink and even leaning in to peck me on the cheek after I'd offered him some of my bottled water. Alex's grip had tightened on my waist and I had to bite back a smile.

I was turning into a walking cliché movie. The whole boy and girl meet, they get on well, they don't put a label on their relationship but they act like a couple -- that sort of thing.

Honestly, I really didn't know what Alex and I were. I knew that I liked him, more than I should. I wanted to assume that he liked me back, but it was hard to do so, seeing as how he was someone from a completely different world that I was from.

But then again, whatever this was... I liked it. A lot.

And that scared me more than I wanted to admit.