(4) Out of Control: An All Time Low FanFiction Romance

Chapter 37: Why

        I bowed my head at the Seattle, Washington crowd, unwinding the cord from my arm before mocing off the stage, in front of the rest of my band. They were chattering away noisily behind me, going on about the show we had just finished, their voices annoying to me at the moment. I was still lacking sleep and all I was looking forward to was taking a shower and sleeping for a few hours alone on our bus while everyone else hung out backstage, either watching the shows or preparing to go on.

        I would have been better off if I had gotten more sleep this morning, but Jack's presence in my bunk had interrupted that, and he didn't seem to get the hint that I'd rather be sleeping than making out with him.

        My intention was to head straight forward, eager to get into my bunk, even though it paled in comparison to an actual bed, but my attention was veered to my left, as Stephen caught my eye. I hadn't actually talked to him since I hooked up with Jack, and a small part of me thought that was unfair, considering we'd had our sort time messing around before Jack was available.

        Stephen met my gaze, excusing himself from the people he was talking with. I sighed gently, turning to the left to meet him halfway.

        "Hey," I greeted him softly, smiling.

        "So, you and Jack, huh?" he said, jumping straight to the point. I laughed shortly, nodding.

        "Yeah, news travels fast around here."

        "Eh, I saw it coming," Stephen shrugged, watching me with a friendly expression. Not mad, or regretful, but friendly, the way he'd been before anything happened. "The two of you never kept your eyes off each other. If it weren't for Holly, I'm sure I could be saying the same about your hands."

        I laughed again, smiling wider. Things always ended up better when people weren't bitter about the way they were treated. I kenw their reaction was more or less based on how I treated them, but still, some people could handle it and some couldn't.

        "You ready, man?" Josh said, coming up behind Stephen, laying a hand on his shoulder. He smiled warmly when his eyes landed on me, and I returned the gesture, watching Stephen nod at his brother.

        "See you guys later," I grinned, backing away a few steps before turning, walking quickly again, heading towards the door. My band mates had scattered, the only one in sight being Xavier, talking to Kinsley as usual. I hoped the other guys hadn't retreated tot he bus, looking to take a shower. I wanted to claim it first, gitting my full share of the hot water.

        I picked up my pace a little, moving through the bands and crew occupying the stage area.

        "In a rush to get somewhere, Nat?" a voice questioned form behind me, and I spun quickly, gaze landing on Alex's dark eyes, his arm draped around Stella, a position that must be second nature to him. "Jack kicked us all out of the bus." He continued, voice faltering as his fiancé hit his chest, glaring at him.

        "Stop it," she scolded him, probably the only person who wouldn't put up with the childish antics of some of the people on tour.

        "Yeah, I'm just dying to know Jack's waiting for me," I winked, sarcasm dripping in my tone as I spun back around, heading for the exit.

        "Damn, I didn't know you wanted me that badly," a new voice, coming from behind a stack of speakers to my right said. I jumped, swearing under my breath.

        "For Christ's sake, stop fucking doing that!" I exclaimed, glaring at Jack as he pushed himself off of the speakers, where he'd been leaning, arm crossed over his chest. He was getting into this annoying habit of popping out of nowhere, scaring the shit out of me half the time, and I was really starting to hate it.

        "Sorry," he apologized, hands reaching out to coil a finger around my belt loop, pulling me towards him as I tried to walk past. At the pull, I stumbled slightly in my wedges, hand reaching out to latch onto Jack's bicep so I wouldn't fall. He laughed, catching me. I glared to him, brushing my hair out of my face.

        "I think you need a shower," Jack teased, brushing back a section of my bangs sticking to my forearm. I raised an eyebrow at him, sarcasm etched into my expression.

        "Really? Cause I was thinking I like looking like I was just thrown into a pool, and smelling like I just ran a marathon."

        "You'll be kicked off the bus for smelling like shit," Maverick's voice hissed in my ear. "I don't think Jack's going to want to fuck you if you look like it, too," I whipped my head around, noting him grinning at me as he walked past. I flicked him off, the annoyance I'd felt this morning rising in my system. Jack's chuckle rose at Maverick's comment and I rolled my eyes, starting to walk away, continuing towards the exit.

        "You going to follow me into the shower or something?" I quetioned, not bothering to look at Jack as I pushed the door open leading to the area behind the venue, knowing Jack was a step behind.

        "Is that an invitation?" he wondered, eyebrows wiggling when I did look at him.

        "You wish," I laughed, stepping into the cooling night air, sun already half-hidden by the horizon of Washington.

        We crossed the parking lot in silence, the few yards to the door of my bus easy to cross in a few moments. I stepped up to the bus, hand reaching out towards the door as I turned my head, meeting Jack's eyes. He stepped closer, making the space between us minimal, almost nonexistant.

        "You think you can wait a little longer," I teased fingers trailing the length of his chest, traveling up around his neck, pulling his head closer, but not all the way to my lips.

        "We wouldn't have to wait if you'd just let me join you," he said quietly.

        "Sorry, I don't think our bathroom is quite big enough for two people."

        "It could be if we stood really close together," he whispered, and I laughed, turning away from his mouth moving closer to my lips. I tried to move my hands between us to push his chest off of mine, already uncomfortable because my clothes were sticking to me.

        I managed to push at his stomach, moving him away. "Give me a few minutes." I said quietly, reaching back to open the door, slipping into the small opening quickly and shutting the door between us. I laughed lightly to myself, moving through the drawers and fishing out new clothes before heading to the shower, to wash away the sweat and sligtly smeared makeup.

        I slipped into yoga pants and a t-shirt, throwing my hair into a bun before slipping on flip-flops and leaving my bus, walking quickly to All Time Low's bus. I opened the door slowly, moving silently onto the bus. 

        Jack was lying on the couch, facing away from me, his eyes closed, hands clasped behind his head. I smiled to myself, stepping further into the bus. I moved to the couch, setting myself above Jack, alms pressing onto the cushions on either side of his torso to hold my body just slightly above his.

        "If you want to sleep, I can go," I muttered, mouth by his ear. When I pulled back he was grinning, eyes now wide.

        "Trying to make excuses to leave, ma'am?"

        "Oh no, sir. I just want to make sure you have enough energy," I smirked. Jack's response was to wind his arm around my back, pulling me completely against him, mouth eagerly on mine as he moved us, flipping me over so I was below him, never breaking the contact of our lips.

        The exhilaration and ache fired up in my body again and I pushed myself against him, momentarily wondering why exactly everything seemed better with Jack, why I felt like I wanted him more than I'd wanted anybody else.