The Sky Under the Sea

[Chloe]


I followed Vic across the cold parking lot in silence. My cheeks were flushed as I couldn’t stop staring at Vic.. shirtless Vic.

How hadn’t I noticed how big his muscles were before?

All too soon we reached the bus, climbing inside quietly.

How the hell had Mike and Tony slept through that? It’s mental.

We made our way back down the bus and Vic was about to clamber into his bed when I tapped him on the shoulder.


“Hey Vic.. do you mind if I borrow one of your hoodies? I’m absolutely freezing.” I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, emphasizing my point. Vic reached into his bag and pulled one out, handing it to me. As I pulled it over my head I heard him say,


“You know, if you’re still cold you come crash with me, in my bunk if you wanted? Seeing as it would be warmer and all..” He trailed off, a hot blush creeping into his cheeks.


“You’re so cute, you know that?” I said, giggling.

Oh my god, I can’t believe I just giggled.


He climbed into bed, motioning for me to follow. As I lay my head down on the pillow, I looked into Vic’s gooey brown eyes and melted.


“I take that back.” He looked crushed, his face falling. 
I brushed a stray lock of hair away from his face and smiled.


“You’re beautiful.”


“So are you, Chloe dear.” A huge grin spread across my face
. Safe to say when I sank into sleep seconds later, I was happy. All night I dreamed of gooey brown eyes and a cute little nose ring.



I groaned when my alarm went off at 6, waking me from my peaceful sleep.

Why was it, the one night I get the best sleep ever, we have to leave early?

I shut it off as quick as I could, not wanting to wake Vic. He was still sleeping, snoring softly. He was just as, if not more beautiful when he slept. For what seemed like hours but was really only minutes, I watched him sleep. I saw his curly brown hair splayed across the pillow, I saw his long eyelashes flutter as he stirred, and I saw how peaceful he looked. Just then my eyes were met with Vic’s open ones.


“Hey there.” He smiled sleepily. Gosh his morning voice was sexy. I managed a smile back.


“Morning. I’m sorry I forgot to turn off my alarm.” I said dismally, hearing Mike stir in the bunk beneath us.

“It’s fine. We might actually leave on time for once.” He chuckled, rubbing his hands over his eyes.
Carefully I swung out of his bunk and padded towards the kitchen, hearing Vic follow me down.


“Coffee?” He asked, turning the kettle on. I shook my head and made a face.


“I hate coffee.” I said, jamming my hands into Vic’s hoodie and sitting down on their couch. That stopped him in his tracks.


“How can you hate coffee? That’s like hating kittens or something. Theres’s something wrong with you.” He said indignantly. All I could do was laugh. He poured himself a mug and sat next to me on the couch, our thighs just touching. Funny how slight a touch makes my heart race. All was quiet for a moment, and it wasn’t awkward at all. I enjoyed just me and Vic, in the silence of early morning. I smiled lightly to myself, wanting it to last forever. Unfortunately, it didn’t. A minute later Mike walked out from his bunk, rubbing a hand over his face. He lifted an eyebrow when he saw me sitting next to Vic, but didn’t say anything.


“Morning Mikey!” Vic said cheerfully. All he got was a groan in reply. “The kettle just boiled if you want coffee.” He added.


“Lucky. Almost makes up for being woken at this god forsaken hour of morning.” He grumbled, turning his back on us to make his coffee.


“Uh, that was my fault. I forgot to turn it off when I realized I was crashing here last night. Sorry Mike.” I said sheepishly. He turned to face us, now lifting both his eyebrows as he saw his brother shirtless, and me in his hoodie.


“Vic, I thought we agreed. No fucking on the tour bus!” 
Vic’s head snapped up and I looked down at my hands, face crimson.


“What? Mike! The hell? No - we didn’t fuck!” Vic exploded. I looked up just in time to see Mike wink at us.


“Just messing with you bro.” Vic rolled his eyes.

“I have an idiot for a brother, I apologize.” He said, sipping more of his coffee.


“Well, if you guys weren’t fucking..” Mike sent me another wink. “.. what were you doing over here? I don’t care, I’m just confused.”


“I can’t believe you didn’t hear it.” Vic shook his head in disbelief.


“Hear what?” Mike asked, taking a seat opposite us.
“Morning.” Tony groaned as he dragged himself out of his bunk.


“Morning Turtle.” Mike said.


“Coffee?” He asked, still asleep.


“Kettle just boiled. Make yourself a cup and sit down, we’re only explaining this once.” Vic commanded. Tony raised an eyebrow but said nothing. There was a lot of eyebrow raising going on this morning, I thought to myself. 
A minute later, Tony was seated next to Mike, cupping his steaming mug in his hands.


“Okay. Chloe, go ahead.”
 Clearing my throat, I decided on giving a brief account of what transpired last night.


“Well, long story short. Bo’s been getting nightmares, pretty bad ones, for the last few weeks. Last night she had a really bad one and started screaming, and woke up Vic, Jaime and I. They came over to our bus to see what was going on and Jaime carried Bo outside to try and calm her down because I couldn’t. She woke up and went back to bed, and I asked Jaime to stay with her because I was worried. So, he slept in my bunk and I, uh, slept here.” I finished, cheeks red. I didn’t want to tell them I slept in Vic’s bunk, so I thought it would be safe to say nothing at all.

“Woah.” Mike said, sipping his coffee.


“Yeah. She was screaming so loud, I’m amazed you two slept through it all.” Vic said, draining his mug and standing up to place it in the sink.


“That reminds me, I should get over there and find out if Bo’s alright. I’ll send Jaime back so you guys can get ready to leave.” I sighed, not wanting to leave so soon. But, I knew I had to. Vic turned to me, his eyes pleading me not to go.


“I’ll come back before we leave, promise.” I smiled at him, starting to pull his hoodie off. Two strong hands yanked it back down.


“Keep it.” He said softly.


“Ooh, I think little Vicky-poo has a crush!” Mike teased. Vic’s face went bright red at Mike’s comment, as did mine. But not out of embarrassment, but out of the fact that the person who knew Vic best thinks he has a crush on me. A girl’s gotta hope, right? Vic was just standing there, staring at his feet when I looked back to him, poking my tongue out at Mike.


“I’ll be back.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek gently, before turning and walking out into the cold morning. There, that’ll give them something to talk about.

 The bus was still dark when I got back, but someone was sitting on the couch already. Immediately I knew it was Jaime, the ruffled yet still spiked hair a dead giveaway.





~ earlier that morning ~

[Jaime]



I tried to roll over onto my stomach, but I couldn’t. Something was in my way. It was warm and soft and.. someone, not something. I opened my eyes, and as they adjusted to the darkness I saw who it was. Bo, eyes closed and breathing deeply. At some point in the night, we must have switched sides because she now had her back to the wall. I have no idea how that would have happened in such a tiny space, but hey it did.
 Asleep, Bo looked so.. vulnerable. The expression on her face was so innocent and unguarded. She just looked so different.

Pulling the covers up over my bare chest, I shivered. It was really, really cold. Not wanting to wake her, I shuffled slowly closer to her share in her warmth. It was dark in the bunk, but there was just enough light that I could make out the features of her face. Never before I had I just simply looked at someone, and observed all the little things about them. I did just this as Bo slept peacefully at my side. I took in her long eyelashes, the curve of her lips, the way her hair fell across her face. I took in her little nose ring, the one that was just like Vic’s, and I took in the sound of her breathing as she stirred slightly. Reaching out, I pushed her hair back from her face so I could see it more clearly. My hand traveled down the side of her face, and onto her shoulder, then finally coming to rest on the curve of her hips.


This was how we stayed for a while, until my stomach started to rumble. I was torn between staying here, in the warmth with Bo or getting breakfast. Eventually, my stomach won out and I slipped quietly out of the bunk. 
Feeling my way down the bus, I tip-toed into the kitchen. 
I hope they have cereal or something in here, I thought, starting to open cupboards. After a few minutes worth of rummaging, I produced a bowl, a spoon and a bowl of fruit loops.
Unfortunately there was no milk. As I sunk into the couch and raised my spoon, the bus door opened and Chloe walked in. In Vic’s hoodie, I might add.


“Hey Jaime.” She said quietly, sitting next to me and eyeing my breakfast.


“Sorry, I kind of got hungry so I made breakfast..” 
She laughed.

Good, she isn’t mad.


“Our bus is your bus Jaime, you know that. We’re one big family here.” I shivered in the cold morning. When did it get so cold? Not for the first time that morning I wished I had the foresight to bring a shirt or a jumper.


“How was your sleep?” I said through a mouthful of cereal. An unmistakable blush crept up into her cheeks and she looked away.


“Uh, fine.” she said.


“I know that look. And that hoodie. You cuddled with Vic, didn’t you? Aw, that’s a bit cute.” She turned to look at me, a giant smile on her face.


“Yeah, we did.” She admitted. “I slept in his bunk.”


“Crowded, isn’t it?” The spoon had just gone into my mouth when I realized Chloe was looking at me with a confused look on her face.
 Waving my spoon in the air, I hurriedly swallowed.


“Bo slept with me last night. Not like that, I mean. I mean we both slept in the same bunk, asleep.” I stuttered out.

Way to go Jaime.


“Really?” Chloe seemed stunned.


“Yeah, why’s that?”


“It’s just.. that’s not like her. I can’t even remember the last time she let someone share a bed with her. She only shares with me and thats because I’m her best friend.”
 My heart started beating faster.


“Uh, she didn’t exactly ‘let me’. She was the one who asked, actually.” I ran my hand through my hair, placing my now-empty bowl on the bench.


“Hmm.” Was all Chloe replied, looking deep in thought.
“I might wake Sam and Jeremy seeing as we need to leave in an hour.” Chloe was more so talking to herself, than to me.


Is it really that strange for Bo to share a bunk with me? I thought it was pretty normal, but I guess not in her case.. But why? Why was it so out of character for her to even ask?

I made a mental note to ask her about it later.


“Jaime?” Hearing my name dragged me back to reality.


“Thanks, for staying with her last night. Really. Means a lot to me to know my best friend is in good hands.”


“What do you mean?” My cheeks were starting to go red.


“I mean that she has someone like you to look after her. Most people just shrug her off as a friend, and those who get close enough to learn about her past usually take off right after. And yet, here you are. It’s a rare thing, seeing someone care for her. She doesn’t let many people in either, that’s part of why I was so surprised to hear she asked to sleep with you last night.”


“So what does it mean?” I asked, still a bit confused.


“It means you’re different. It means you’re special.” She said simply. Leaning over, I gave her a sideways hug.


“You are the most amazing person, know that? You don’t see many people who look out for their friends like you do.” Guess we were having a bit of a dnm this morning. In our pajamas. In the dark and the cold.


“Bo and I.. we go way back. The bond we have is beyond friendship, we’re practically family. We’ve helped each other through so much, and I know she’d do the exact same for me.” The morning was starting to get brighter, lighting the inside of the bus.


“I see why Vic likes you so much.” It slipped out before I could stop it.

Oops. But, Vic will thank me later.


“He likes me?” She asked, her face lit up with a giant smile. Nodding, I continued.


“Quite a bit, actually. So he wanted me to cosy up to you and find out if you were single and if you were interested blah blah blah. Which, I assume you are. And I also assume you kind of knew he was into you? You know, with the cuddles and the jumper and everything.” The blush in her cheeks went even deeper.
“

I was hoping like hell that he did, and I thought he might but proof is nice.” She laughed, the smile not leaving her face. 
I was almost in non-stop shivers, my body shaking from the cold.


“Hey Jaime, if you want to go and get changed I’ll wait until you get back to wake Bo?” Chloe suggested.


“Good idea, wouldn’t want to catch my death before the end of Warped Tour.” 
Jumping out of the bus, I jogged over to ours and opened the door the heavenly scent of coffee.