AT LEAST IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU // Dream X Reader

21

Wrong. Well, half wrong, anyway. You might have averted that crisis, but that didn't mean other things weren't going to happen. 

You woke with a start as the bus lurched to a stop, listening to Myra groan as she hit her head on the top of her bunk. The bus was painted in diluted grays, and it was hard to see anything until you reached up to flip the lights on, wincing as the brightness made your head pound. "What's going on?"

"Hell if I know." Myra said. "God, why did I drink all that..." She slipped out of her bunk, padding towards the front of the bus, grumbling to herself as she massaged her temples. 

You got up as well, peering out the window and onto the highway. You had gotten back to the buses a few hours ago, after dancing until your feet hurt, and the drivers had gotten back on the road right away - it was a long ride from Dallas to L.A, after all, and you wanted to get there as early as possible. 

Outside, you could see the end of the Dream Team's bus - their lights were on as well. No one was moving. 

You slipped on some shoes and followed after Myra, stepping out of the bus and into the humid night air. On the horizon, you could just see a splash of light - probably a gas station or a small town. What was more important though, was the bus that had been leading the caravan, was stopped on the side of the road.

You stopped next to Myra, looking at it. "What happened?"

She shrugged. "Don't know. It doesn't look like anything's wrong-"

Your attention was drawn away when the Dream Team's bus doors open, and the boys piled out, all of them dressed only in their boxers. Your eyes rapidly darted back to the stopped bus as you felt your face start to heat up. You had only caught a side glance of Clay with no shirt and you were already getting all weird, you needed to get a handle on yourself-

"What happened?" Nick asked groggily, his voice raspy from sleep. 

"Did they break down?" George asked.

"Looks like it." Clay said. Your heart sped up as you heard his sleepy drawl. How could someone be so hot and nice at the same time? That couldn't be legal-

A flashlight shined in your eyes and you winced for a second before the man that was holding it lowered the light. You recognized him as one of the crew members that handled the more technical aspects of the show, like all of the machinery for the lights and the screens. As he walked, you could hear the keys hanging from his pants jangle. 

"Kevin." Clay greeted, nodding to the man. "What's going on?"

It was obvious that the man - Kevin - was not used to speaking to a bunch of twenty something year old boys in their underwear, but he began to speak anyway. "We have a flat on the bus, if you guys couldn't see already."

You peered closer at the tires through the darkness. Sure enough, a slight tilt to the bus, and a misshapen tire on the back left wheel. You hadn't noticed it in the night until Kevin had pointed it out. 

"How long is it going to take to fix?" Clay asked. 

"Well, that depends." Kevin said. "A couple of guys are heading over to that little patch of light on the horizon over there to see if they can help. Hopefully it's some sort of gas station. As soon as we can get a replacement tire, we can change it, so hopefully only a couple of hours at the most. It shouldn't make that much of a difference in the tour schedule or anything, if that's what you're worried about."

Clay nodded. "Okay. Just as soon as we can, lets get back on the road."

Kevin nodded. "That's the plan." He said. "I'll leave y'all to get back to bed now." He waved as he turned around, jangling back towards the bus with the flat tire. 

Clay sighed, bringing a hand to his temple. "This is fine."

Nick looked at him, huffing out a little laugh. "You sure about that dude?"

Clay sighed again. "No. This sucks."

A breeze ruffled through your thin pajamas, causing a scattering of goosebumps to rise over your skin. You crossed your arms, running your hands down from your shoulder to your elbow, soothing them away. You saw the others shiver as well - no one was really wearing more than their underwear.

"I need to put some clothes on." Nick said, shaking off the chill. 

Myra stopped him with a hand on his chest, fingers trailing downward. "Why?"

In an instant, Nick's mood changed, and he grabbed Myra's hand, squeezing. "I mean... since you asked..."

George frowned in disgust. "No, Nick go put some clothes on."

Myra drew her hand back with a laugh as Nick pouted. "I'm going to go change too." She said. "We're probably going to be here for a while anyway."

"S'probably a good idea." Clay yawned, stretching his arms up over his head. You watched the muscles pull for a second before forcefully snapping your eyes away again. "I don't think I'm going to be able to get back to sleep until we're on the road again anyway."

"Speak for yourself." George said, heading back for their bus. "I'm going back to bed."

With that, you headed back to your bus, following Myra inside. As soon as the door was closed, she rounded on you, placing both hands on your cheeks. 

"What are you-"

"Thought so." Myra said, pulling her hands away. "Your face is super hot. Shirtless Clay, huh?" She teased. 

You scoffed, trying to get your temperature under control. "Like you weren't giving Nick the up and down the whole time-"

"I'm allowed." Myra said, heading back to the back of the bus. "And you would be too, if you just said something!"

You frowned, something about how it wasn't that simple on your lips until you stopped yourself, thinking for a moment. You weren't super sure about Clay's feelings, and if those little signs had been meant for you, but that didn't mean you couldn't leave little signs of your own, right?

Maybe two could play at this game.