My New Obsession [BxB]

Chapter Nineteen [Part Two]- The Beauty That I'm Faking

"James? Jay? Wake up, we're here."

My shoulder was being shaken and my eyes snapped open as George spoke to me softly. The van was empty and dark but I could just about see the others standing outside, huddled under a dim streetlamp. I couldn't quite believe that I had slept for the whole journey and it took a couple of minutes for me to snap back into focus. George undid my seatbelt for me and held onto my hands as he pulled me out of the car. Once in the evening air we both started shivering and clung to each other for warmth.

"Hey, Eddie, is there anywhere around here for us to-"

"Oh, no you don't, Jake! I'm under strict instructions not to let you out partying tonight. You need to be well rested for tomorrow." Eddie stated. Jake frowned.

We all got our suitcases out of the back of the van and then headed over to the hotel. It was nothing glamorous but we really didn't care so long as we had somewhere warm to sleep. I thought about all the bands that had to build themselves from the ground up and how we were practically having everything handed to us. Was that right? Shouldn't we be working hard too? Not that we hadn't sweated night and day over our album- but something still didn't seem right to me... You hear all those stories of bands having to hitchhike to venues and having nowhere to spend the night... comparing our situation to that made us seem like royalty.

The lobby of the hotel stank of coffee and cigarettes- but not in the good way- and the carpet was one of those hideous jobs that looked older than the hotel itself. It was a red and orange ridiculous pattern, threadbare in many a place, and it didn't feel too great underneath your shoes. We made our way slowly over to the front desk which was looking rather beat up. Maybe our situation wouldn't differ too greatly to those start-up bands after all...

The girl behind the counter was about as helpful as a chocolate coffee pot; her brain was surely melted in the same way at least. You could tell she just couldn't wait to get home. Eventually, though, she got us all the right keys and told us what floor we were on and such. We couldn't all fit into the elevator so I went up with Eddie and Rich whilst the others stayed down in the lobby. The hotel really was more crumby than I had first thought.

Even though David and the club were helping us out with this tour, we still had to try and keep our expenses down and so George, Matt and me were sharing a room whilst Bryan, Rich and Jake shared another and Eddie had his own room which he was paying for himself- though, knowing us, we would probably all end up in the same room anyway. We still felt quite bound to each other, no-one wanting to be apart from one another.

Eddie gave me my room key and of course it was one of those electronic ones which take about twenty attempts and most of your gentle nature to work. I was about to snap the key card in two and take it down to the lobby when the little red light finally switched to green and the door swung open.

The main room had one window that faced the car park, a double bed and a sofa-bed, a table with two chairs, a wardrobe with a built-in safe and a chest of drawers with a crappy old TV on top. I pulled my suitcase into the room and let the door shut behind me. The others would be up soon. I had a quick inspection of the room, opening a door to reveal a tiny bathroom, and everything looked old but clean. I pulled up the blind at the window and looked out over the dull view. I could see the motorway in the distance, a couple of trees, the car park and the bins. Such an inspirational view.

There was a knock at the door and I opened it to reveal George and Matt. I smiled at them and the both smiled at me and I stood to the side to let them through the door. George's eyes flickered over to the double bed and then locked with mine and I knew we were both thinking the same thing; had they given us a double bed on purpose? I decided maybe not, considering we were sharing with Matt and all. George smirked.