I Will Make You Believe....

Chippers

I woke up the next day and was finally able to shower. There was nothing better than the feeling of warm water washing away the dirt and hectic travel from the day before. I did have to rush once again for our nine am lobby call to the venue. Jordan left me in the foyer where merch would be with a walkie and ten pallets of merch to go through.

"I have two days to get through all of this?" I groaned and cracked my knuckles and cut the plastic from the first pallet.

First thing was to go through each box and separate it out into design, then by size and start counting. Before I knew it, there was merch everywhere. It was spread out but organized. I had half of the cloth counted and all of the accessories counted and reboxed and labeled. I was gross and sweaty and my hands were cramping.

"Jesus do we really go through this much merch?" I jumped, dropping the pile of shirts I had in my hands on the ground.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."Josh raced over and handed me the shirts I had just dropped on the ground.

"Wow, we just got her and you're trying to kill her already. Don't make me kick you out of the band again..." I chuckled at Tyler while taking the shirts from Josh.

"It's ok dude, I was just trying to get this all done before we finished for the night. I know I have another day, but I hate leaving this stuff out without me here." They seemed to nod and understand.

"Well, we're actually done for the day. We were trying to see if you wanted to come back early with us or catch the last ride back with the rest of the crew. Jordan, Brad, and Mark are coming with us." I looked back and saw I still had five designs to count. It was going to be another three hours before I was done.

"I think I'll stay. I'm close to done." they smiled before walking away.

Before I could even resume counting my phone went off.

Little Drummer Boy:Come to my room when you're done? 327

I was right that it took me another three hours to count everything. After boxing everything back up, I was the last person back at the hotel around 10 that night. My bed looked so comforting, but I remember Josh.

I was quick to wash the cardboard fuzzies and dirt off me in the shower before changing into a pair of fuzzy Dr.Pepper pj pants and a Panic racerback tank top. Grabbing my key, I crossed the hall bare foot before quietly knocking on Josh's door. He answered with a yawn, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. We can talk tomorrow." I went to walk away and he grabbed my wrist.

"I asked you to come here remember. It's just jet lag." I gave him a small smile and walked into his room.

He closed the door behind me as I sat on his messy bed. He stood in front of me in a pair of mesh basketball shorts, still rubbing his eyes.

"Is there something specific you wanted to talk about?" He stood in front of me.

"I like you a lot. I want a chance to prove that to you."

He grabbed the desk chair from behind him and sat down directly in front of me. He grabbed my hands.

"Not being able to say a word to you in front of my friends and coworkers the last 24 hours drive me crazy." A warm blush creeped onto my cheeks again. I wasn't sure what made the man in front of me infatuated with me, but I wasn't opposed to it.

"Josh, I like you too. I just can't risk it professionally... I explained this to you last night." I chuckled. He just sighed.

"You said it last night, but why do I get the feeling there's more to it than that?" I sighed.

There was, but no one usually questioned it.

"It's a really long story..." he just chuckled as I looked up at him. He reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind me ear.

"I could listen to you talk all night..."

And he did. We went back and forth talk to each other about our lives. He told me about his two sisters and his brother. He told me funny stories from when the band was first starting, weird times growing up. In return, I told him about my early touring years. I told him a lot about my hometown and how much I missed LA. I told him about all my friends. It was when we got to my family that I froze.

"Do you have any siblings?" He asked with a huge smile before taking a sip of his hot coco.

We had made popcorn and hot chocolate during all of this and were sitting on the balcony. I was wrapped in the comforter from his bed and he had put a hoodie on. Even now, I just stared at my hands.

"Uh no." He must've noticed my hesitation.

"Hey now, that didn't feel like the full truth." I chuckled.

"Well, little drummer boy, sometimes the truth it painful." He frowned when he realized he had hit a nerve.

"I didn't mean to make you bring up something you didn't want to..." he reached over and grabbed my hand.

"Let's just say I'm not used to affection and I never know how to return it..." I looked up at him with a sad smile.

"Well. Let me help you with that then..." I just chucked and looked back at my hands. He settled back against his chair.

"Josh as much as I would love that, we've got a long road ahead of us before anything will happen... don't take it personally. I'm just an honest but concealed person." He chuckled and sighed.

"Well, I think we should try. You never know what will happen..." I chuckled as I looked over at the city. I just noticed how the sun was coming up.

"We stayed up all night talking..." I chuckled as he seemed to notice the sky at the same time I did.

"I'm gonna go back to my room and take a nap before bus call. You do the same yeah?"

He shook his head and stood with me to walk back inside. I helped him clean up our mess and replace the comforter back on the bed.

"Thanks for tonight." I told him as I walked towards the door.

"Hey," I turned and was immediately pulled into his chest," thank you for opening up to me how you did. I know it's hard for you to do that, but I want you to know that I hope you do it more." I couldn't help but wrap my arms around the genuine boy in front of me.

"Now go get some sleep, welcome to the Twenty One Pilots crew. We're crazy."