Look for the Girl With the Broken Smile

The next day, SJ couldn't help but pay more attention to Dougie than she normally did. Danny's revelation the night before was making her think about Dougie. A lot. And she could feel Danny watching her, too. It made her wonder if the curly-haired guitarist had something up his sleeve.

Nothing Dougie did that day went by her unnoticed. She smiled at howcute he looked when he stuck out his tongue very slightly in concentration while he was playing on the Wii. She bit back a giggle when Harry told a joke and Dougie laughed a couple seconds later, only getting it after everyone else had. And when he walked around the whole bus shirtless trying to find his T-shirt she couldn't tear her eyes away from his tattoos, which she had previously never cared about but now found fascinating. She didn't know what was going on with her—this was Dougie Poynter, she had to keep reminding herself. But...had he always been this good-looking? Or was she just noticing it now?

With every minute she spent on the bus, she became more and more restless. It was driving her crazy not knowing if Danny had been serious or not. It seemed like he was telling the truth—Danny was a terrible liar, she would have been able to tell right away if he was joking around. But it just didn't make sense. After all those years, how could Dougie like her?

Finally, SJ couldn't take it anymore. They were all sitting backstage, with about five minutes before McFly went onstage, when SJ stood up. "Poynter, I need to talk to you," she said. "Outside."

Dougie looked up, alarmed. "What?" She could see his brain working, trying to figure out what it was he had done to upset her.

"What did you do now, Doug?" Harry said wearily.

"Nothing!" Dougie defended himself.

SJ didn't correct either of them as Dougie stood up. Maybe it was better if Harry didn't know exactly what it was she needed to talk to Dougie about.

Dougie followed her as she led him down the hall until she found a deserted corner. "What is it, SJ?" he asked a little warily, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.

"I was talking to Danny yesterday," she began.

Dougie acted all shocked. "True story?! No way. You should send that to the papers, SJ."

SJ gave him a dirty look. But under his tone of sarcasm, she heard a little apprehension. She took a step closer to him and, watching him carefully, said, "Danny told me that you like me."

His expression was one of shock. "What?"

"He said you like me," SJ repeated. She took another step toward him, close enough to feel the heat radiating from his skin and smell his faint musky scent. Unexpectedly, her heart began to race.

"Define 'like'." Dougie's voice was slightly hoarse. He, too, seemed to realize how close they were.

SJ took the plunge. She just had to know. And something about him was insanely attractive right then. "'Like', as in....this," she whispered, before kissing him.

If someone had told SJ a year ago that she would end up backstage kissing Dougie Poynter against a wall, she would have never believed it. It felt so strange and foreign, but exciting and heart-racing at the same time. She deepened the kiss and Dougie gave a low moan. He ran one of his hands through her hair and brought her closer to him. SJ's mind was wiped deliriously blank as his hands drifted down and tugged on her shirt, sending shivers down her spine when he made contact with her skin. But suddenly, before anything else could happen, he pulled away.

"What?" SJ breathed.

His blue eyes searched her face before answering," They're calling me."

Sure enough, SJ heard Tom hollering down the hall, "Dougie! Where are you? We're going onstage!"

"I have to go," Dougie told her abruptly, before turning and walking away.

SJ watched him leave, finger-combing her hair as she tried to figure out why the hell she had just kissed him. She didn't know. All she knew was that she had maybe, kinda enjoyed it.