Critical || Luke Hemmings

Chapter Ten

(Sydney’s POV)

I woke up to the sound of the bus rumbling as it was driving along.  I’m not quite sure how I got back on here.  In fact, I can’t really remember most of the evening, but there is one specific thing I remember.  I kissed Ashton Fletcher Irwin, one of my best friends.  Someone I didn’t actually have any intimate feelings for.  I don’t even know what came over me.  Clearly I was drunk, but even the kiss was foggy in my head.

I just remember asking him to dance and then somewhere in the middle of all that, my lips crashed onto his.  I took him by surprise, that’s for sure, and before either of us had a chance to even acknowledge what had happened; he was sprinting out the door.

The bus hit a bump, causing my head to hit the wall, sending my already aching head into worse pain.  I groaned quietly, grabbing my phone checking the time.  I had a voicemail waiting from an unknown number.  I clicked on it and put the phone to my ear.

“Hello Sydney, my name is John Janick.  I’m calling from my label Fueled by Ramen.  We saw some of your work regarding merchandise and photography for 5 Seconds of Summer and we think you’ve got a talent, a talent we would love to have on our team.  Give me a call back and we can discuss this further?  I can’t wait to hear from you.”

I shot up from my bed, gripping the wall with my hand to hold myself steady.  Fueled by Ramen just called me.  They have some of the biggest names like Fun., Paramore, The Cab,  A Rocket to The Moon and they called me.  I stood slowly from my bunk, making a bit more noise than planned.

“Syd..?” I heard Michael mumble from his bunk.  “Please don’t tell me you’re going to be sick.”

I shook my head until I realized he couldn’t see me.  “N-no Mikey, I’m okay.” I whispered back to him.

“Why are you awake?” He poked his head out of his curtain and looked up at me.

“I can’t sleep”

He got out of his bunk and motioned for me to follow him to the lounge.  “That makes two of us,” he grinned before plopping down on the couch.  “What’s on your mind?”

I sat down beside him and shook my head.  What wasn’t on my mind right now?  I kissed Ashton and I don’t even know what he thinks.  I just got a call from Fueled by Ramen.  My head felt like it was going to fall off.  “Well for starters, I kissed my best friend,” I laughed at the stupidity and rested my head on his shoulder.

“Oh I know, we all saw that.  What were you thinking?”

“I have no idea, I mean, it’s Ashton.  I love him but not like that,” I threw my hands into the air.  “He’s not mad at me right?” I mumbled glancing up at Mike.

He shook his head and smiled.  “Trust me Syd, he’s not mad.  He knows it was a mistake.”

“So why did he sprint out of the club like it was on fire after?”

“He had to talk to Luke..” Michael mumbled looking away from me.

I furrowed my eyebrows looking at him.  “What happened to Luke that was so urgent?” 

“He just didn’t feel well, don’t worry about it.”  That was a lie, but I refuse to dig any deeper.  “So anything else keeping you up?”  He breathed, trying to change the subject.

“I got a call..” I bit my lip feeling a small smile creep onto my face.

“A call?” Michael questioned.

“A call from the owner of Fueled by Ramen,” I blurted out, looking up at him as his face changed from confused to excited.

“Are you serious?  What for?  Syd that’s so cool,” he smiled wide, making my smile grow even bigger. 

“He just said that I should call him because he thinks I have a talent that would be great for his team.”

His smile faltered slightly, his face getting serious.  “His team huh?” He moved away from me slowly as I nodded.  “What about this team..?”

My heart sunk in my chest with that question.  I hadn’t thought about that.  If I call him back and I join the Fueled by Ramen team, I’d leave Hi or Hey and the boys.  I swallowed and shook my head, tugging on Michaels arm.  “This is my team.  It’s just an offer anyways, I can always turn him down.”

We were quiet for a few moments, both of us clearly deep in thought.  “Sydney..” he mumbled as I looked up at him.  “You can’t turn down an offer like that..  Not when it’s your career on the line.” 

There was shuffling coming from the bunks, followed by some quiet whispers back and forth before Ashton and Calum joined Michael and me.

“What are you guys doing up?” Calum said as he walked into the lounge.

“We couldn’t sleep,” Michael croaked out.  I nodded in agreement.

“You two look so serious, what’s going on?  Is everything okay?”  Ashton said sitting down beside Michael.  “Sydney, if this is about the kiss it’s fine-“ 

“It’s not about the kiss Ashton,” I said cutting him off before realizing how harsh I sounded.  “I’m sorry about that by the way,” I mumbled.  He nodded and gave me a smile.

“Then what is it?” Calum said shifting in his seat anxiously.

I didn’t want to tell them.  I didn’t want them to think I was even thinking about leaving them.  I wasn’t.  I could never. 

“Yeah, what is it?” I heard from the doorway where Luke approached.

“Sydney, they need to know too.” Michael whispered, nudging me.

“Fueled by Ramen offered me a spot on their team.”  I said, looking at their expressions.  “Or at least, I think that’s what they called me for.”

“That’s a huge thing,” Calum said patting my leg giving me a small smile.  I nodded and smiled back at him. 

Luke shifted on his feet in the doorway, looking down at the ground and running a hand through his hair.  “What does that mean for us?” he said practically above a whisper.

I couldn’t help it as my eyes started to water at his words.  “I’m not sure..  It all depends on if I call them back or not.” I paused for a moment and saw the hurt on each of the boy’s faces.  “Not that I will call them back.  I couldn’t leave you guys.  Not after everything.” 

“You’re calling them back in the morning.” Ashton said looking up at me sternly causing Luke and Calum to look at him like he was crazy.  He looked at them and nodded before turning his attention back to me.  “You were a huge part of the reason we got to where we are today and we will forever be grateful for everything that you’ve done for us over the years, but Sydney..” he paused and grabbed my hands before continuing.  “This is your chance to have your moment.  You’ve supported us every single day and I refuse to be selfish enough to stop you from getting your moment.”  He smiled before falling back onto the couch.

“I’m with Ashton on this,” Michael said biting his bottom lip and looking down. 

Calum nodded in agreement, not looking up from his lap.  “So am I..”

I glanced over at Luke who was looking at me with hurt all over his face.  He didn’t say anything.  He didn’t even nod.  He let out a few curse words before walking out of the room. 

I felt the tears start to fall from my eyes.  I loved these boys so much.  They’re all I’ve had for the past three years.  The thought of possibly leaving them makes my stomach go into knots, but I knew what Ashton said was true.  This was my chance and I’d be a fool not to take.  Before I was able to comprehend what was happening, I was being pulled into the tightest group hug.

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Just when you thought Luke and Sydney were gunna be able to work their shit out.

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