Caught in the Middle

The next few weeks fell into a routine, one which the boys had grown accustomed to. We'd wake up in a new city, go get coffee, set up the venue, I'd set up merch while they sound checked, they'd play a show, we'd pack up, the boys would hang out with their fans and we'd be back on the bus, heading to the next city. Sometimes we would have a day or two off between shows, so we'd be booked into a hotel and we'd go and be tourists, hang out in a bar or go to a club.

During the last week, I noticed Pat looking a little down, a frown often being on his face as he walked past me. I caught him alone on our last day off, as the rest of the boys had gone out to have a couple of afternoon beers before we went out for dinner to celebrate ending the tour that night. He was lying on the couch in the back lounge, staring intently at his phone.

"Hey Pat, can I talk to you for a moment?" I asked him as he sat up, noticing me walk in the door.

"Y-yeah, sure. W-what, uh, what about?" he asked.

I sat down next to him on the couch. "I just noticed you've been looking a little down lately and I wanted to know what was worrying you."

Pat glanced down at his phone again before answering. "I, uh, haven't heard f-from Alecia at all on this t-tour."

I frowned. "How come? Have you messaged her or called her?"

"Uh, no. I don't wanna bother her, she's p-probably really angry at me."

"Pat, when I went to San Diego just before the tour started, she called me saying you guys had split up, and she was upset, but not angry. I told her I'd talk to you, because I can guarantee that if you pick up that phone and you call her, she'll talk to you. She misses you, I'm pretty sure that she'd do anything to be with you. What's holding you back?"

"I can't date her. Look at h-how Halvo reacted when we walked in h-holding hands, he would actually come after me with-with a knife if I told him I was in love with his cousin."

I smiled as Pat confessed that he was in love with Alecia. As soon as I heard it, I knew I had to get them back together.

"Okay, listen to me Pat. Fuck Halvo. Fuck whatever he thinks. He's not the boss of you, and if he doesn't want either you or his cousin happy, then he's not a good person. Don't for a second think that you should live your life based on what someone else tells you. If you're in love with Alecia, go out there and tell her! She's not going to care what Halvo thinks, so why should you? You have to fight for her, or else one day you'll go to say it and some other guy will have swept her off her feet."

"But what if I'm too late now? What if she found someone else while I was on tour?"

I smirked as I opened up my message thread with Alecia and handed it to Pat. "I'm pretty sure she's in the same boat as you. Now, while you have some free time before the boys get back, go outside and call her. Even if it's only for five minutes, to say hi and ask how she's going. That will be enough to show her that you care and that you're thinking about her."

Pat took a deep breath and stood up from the couch, phone in hand. "Okay. I'll be back soon."

I beamed as he left the bus and I heard him greet Alecia on the phone. About fifteen minutes later, as Pat was walking back onto the bus, I got a message from her, thanking me for talking to him. Even though all my relationships with my friends were going down the drain, I still felt better knowing that I was helping two people repair theirs.

* * * * *

The boys came back from the bar an hour before we were booked in to have dinner, their current buzz allowing them to make plans to visit one of the clubs they had passed on the way back after dinner. We all agreed that this would be a fun way to celebrate the end of tour, so I made sure to dress extra nice for this club.

The restaurant we went to wasn't overly fancy, but it was still a nice place. However we looked extremely out of place, with most of the boys wearing button ups with torn jeans and boots and me in my dress and heels.

Being the largest group of people in the restaurant, it was safe to say that all the rest of the restaurant patrons, as well as half the staff, weren't too fond of us by the time we paid the bill. Our laughs got louder as we consumed more and more beers, and just as I thought we were going to get kicked out for public disturbance, Tim announced that he was going to go pay the bill and we exited the restaurant, the only person looking in the place looking happy being our server who had been tipped a hefty amount to make up for us being a nuisance.

We flashed our ID to the bouncer at the club and once we entered, I was overwhelmed by the amount of flashing lights and drunken people in the club. Having been in a relationship where we preferred staying in with a carton of Chinese takeaway and a movie since I was 21, this was my first club experience.

"Come on, I'll buy you a shot to get you started," John said in my ear so that I could hear him. I nodded as he took my hand and dragged me to the bar, asking the bartender for two shots of something I couldn't identify.

He handed me a shot glass of a blue-black liquid and I looked at it cautiously before asking him what it was.

"It's Black Sambuca, tastes like liquorice and is guaranteed to get you fucked," John said, clinking his glass to mine and downing the shot. I took a deep breath and tipped it down my throat, feeling a slight burn and a growing warmth in my centre. I placed the glass on the bar and called the bartender over to order a glass of vodka with soda and lime. The boys were all drinking Jack and coke and it didn't take us long to get enough drinks into us that we were dancing and having a good time.

I kept seeing Garrett looking at me, almost glaring, and it only pushed me to drink more so I could forget how he looked as I danced with John, the alcohol making my head feel cloudy and giving me a false sense of confidence. Within the first hour of being in the club, I was drunk enough that I was having a little trouble walking straight and everything was funny.

A song that I knew came on over the speakers, so I put down my empty glass and grabbed the wrist of the person closest to me, dragging them onto the dance floor. It wasn't until I turned around that I realised I had pulled Garrett out with me.

"I fucking love this song!" I yelled over the top of the beat, and Garrett couldn't help but laugh at my enthusiasm. I laced my fingers with his, raising them above our heads as I shook my hips to the beat, not caring that people around me probably thought that I was the world's worst dancer. Garrett laughed and danced along with me, smiling at me for the first time on this tour.

The song changed into a slower, sexier one with a deep bass thudding through the floor. Garrett turned to leave, but I grabbed his wrist and pulled him back, wrapping my arms around his neck. He paused for a moment, then placed his hands on my hips. I moved us back and forth to the beat, looking him in the eyes the whole time.

Before I knew what I was doing, I leaned up and took Garrett's face between my hands, kissing him hard on the lips. He froze, then started kissing me back, but it was short-lived as he pushed me back, looking kind of angry.

"Jessy, don't do this to me. I told you I didn't want to be friends anymore because I knew you would hurt me. Just, please, don't talk to me, don't come near me. Leave me alone."

Garrett walked away, running his hand through his hair and leaving me by myself on the dance floor. Moments later, John came up to me and started pulling me away from the crowd. I was still stunned at what had happened. What was I thinking? I thought I had been making progress in my relationship with Garrett, but by getting too far ahead of myself I had pushed us back to level one.

"Jessy? Are you okay?" John asked me. I shook my head.

"I don't feel too great, can we go back to the hotel?" I asked him.

"I'll go tell Tim we're leaving, you start heading out and I'll catch up to you."

I started staggering towards the club exit, sensing John behind me as we stepped into the cool, night air.

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders as I leaned into him, supporting myself against his lanky frame with my arms around his waist.

"What happened? You looked pretty upset back there," John said, concerned.

"I just don't feel good, I just wanna sleep," I slurred out, leaning on John and making him stagger, almost making both of us fall into the gutter.

"Hold on, it's going to take us half an hour if we're both walking," John said, and in a few seconds he had swept my feet off the ground and was carrying me bridal style back to the hotel. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my head on his shoulder as he carried me into the hotel.

He stopped outside his hotel room, setting me on my feet so he could get his key from his pocket. I wasn't used to being on my feet and I stumbled and fell into the door, giggling as I slid down to the floor.

"There's no way I'm leaving you alone in this state," John said, pulling me back to my feet. He wrapped his arm firmly around my waist and opened his door, leading me to the bed and sitting me down gently. I flopped back onto the bed, feeling the room spin as I closed my eyes.

"Hey, don't go to sleep yet. Come on, help me get you out of these death traps and into something comfy," John said, tugging on my shoe straps. I giggled, not bothering to help at all.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" I teased him. He chuckled, continuing to try and take off my heels.

"You're something else, you know that? Fuck, what did you do, glue these things on? How do you women do it?" he complained, still pulling at my shoes.

"Just leave them on, I don't care," I whined.

"Jessy, I'm not gonna let you go to sleep with a pair of fucking stilettos on, you'll break something," John said, letting out a small cheer as he loosened the first shoe, removing it before attacking the other one and removing it quickly.

I smiled as my feet were relieved from the heels, curling up on the bed. "Goodnight John."

"Hold up, let's get you out of that dress and into something comfortable."

"Wow, you're getting ahead of yourself there John. You gotta take me out to dinner first," I giggled. John just sighed and moved across the room.

"I'll find you something to put on. Can you get changed yourself or do you need some help?" he asked. I lifted my arms weakly, waved them a little bit, then flopped them back onto the bed. John sighed again, taking my actions as a no and he pulled me up into a sitting position.

"You're gonna have to stand up and help me out here, Jessy," John said, tossing some clothes onto the bed as I attempted to stand, swaying dangerously. John held me still with one hand and pulled down the zip on my dress with the other, pulling the dress down before helping me into his shirt. I laid back down, wriggling my way up the bed and under the covers, feeling myself start to fall asleep already.

I heard John get changed before he turned off the light and climbed into bed, checking his phone and tapping on the screen before putting it on the bedside table and rolling over. He was staying firmly on his side, so I moved in closer to him, resting my head against his arm chest. He shifted so his arm was wrapped around me and I was curled into his side.

"Hey John?"

"Yeah?"

"You're my best friend, you know that?"

There was a short silence before he replied, his voice a whisper. "Yeah, I know. You're my best friend too, Jessy. No matter what happens, you'll always come first."

I smiled and pressed a kiss on his cheek, to which he pulled me in closer and kissed the top of my head.

"Good night John."

"Good night Jessy."