BLOOM • awsten knight

42

JUNE 2018

Awsten feels weird knowing that Elle is in Los Angeles by herself; he wants to be there, too, reminding her to breathe when she gets too nervous and somehow forgets, or to give her his hands to draw patterns on his palms, instead of biting her nails or twisting her rings until her skin is red.

The evening has firmly set in by the time Elle finishes up her second meeting, with Hopeless Records.

Awsten had called her shortly after her first meeting, but it was only a brief conversation, before she made her way to the second.

He has been pacing up and down the bus, as it drives to Pomona, ahead of the first day of Warped Tour, only taking a seat in five minute intervals.

Elle's second meeting ran over, by a fair amount, while Awsten was expecting her call, which for some reason, gave him an itch of anxiety.

It was strange going back to an empty hotel room when Elle was on such a high, but she calls him immediately.

He picks up after barely one ring, scrambling to answer, earning some strange looks from the rest of the band.

"Hey! Hey, how did it go?" He asks, immediately, and Elle grins.

"Good, I think," she nods, still smiling. "Yeah, really good."

"Wait," Awsten pauses, a concentrated look on his face as he intently listens to her voice, a smile playing on his lips. "You sound different."

"Do I?"

"Yeah, you sound happier, more excited than the last one," he observes. "Did you like Hopeless better?"

Elle hesitates before she answers; she still isn't sure what she's talking about when it comes to all of this, but she knows how she feels - and she's a little taken aback that Awsten can tell, just by the sound of her voice. "Yeah, I really do."

"And they offered you a deal?" He presses, his own excitement growing for her.

"Yeah," Elle grins so wide that she giggles excitedly.

"Oh my fucking god!" Awsten jumps up from his spot on the bus. "And are you taking it?"

"Yeah.." somehow, she grins even wider, as she hears cheers from the other end of the call.

"Sorry, I put you on speaker for that," he apologises, sheepishly.

"It's oka-"

"Congrats, Elle!" She's interrupted by Geoff, Otto and Jawn, shouting as an almost incoherent collective.

"Thank you, guys!" Elle beams in return.

"I'm taking you off speaker now, hang on," Awsten laughs, and she hears him wandering elsewhere, away from his friends. "Okay, now I can be soft," he says, reaching the back of the bus.

"Oh?" She giggles quietly.

"I'm so fucking proud of you," sincerity is laced with Awsten's words, and Elle feels like she could melt. "Like, wow, seriously. You've accomplished so much in such a short amount of time, and I'm just- I'm so proud of you."

"You have no idea how much that means," she mumbles, unable to suppress the grin playing on her lips. "I lov- thank you," Elle lets out a sighs, "I really wish you were here, so I could talk to you all about it in person, and stuff."

"Tomorrow, I promise," Awsten assures her. "But for now, I'll just have to kiss you- miss! Miss you," he trips over his words, letting out a sigh. "I mean, I'll have to miss you until tomorrow."