“I'm not ready to sleep.” Schyler said as we entered, heading for the elevators. There were a couple hopefuls chatting in the sitting area, but aside from that the lobby was eerily empty and quiet.
“But I'm so tired.” Maggie moaned characteristically.
“Lets at least head up and get ready for bed.” Colton suggested reasonably. “We don't have to go to sleep immediately.”
“I dunno about you guys but I'm going to sleep.” Phillip announced. It was Maggie's turn to bang impatiently on the up arrow. I just watched amusedly.
The doors finally slid open and we piled in, pressing the top floor button. The minute the doors reopened, Maggie and Phil were fighting for the exit. I looked to Colton on our way out, who grinned and dramatically brought his arm out, chauffeur style, to invite me to go ahead. I laughed and exited the elevator with him at my heels.
“Natalie hurry up you have the key!” Maggie yelled from down the hall. Phillip had already disappeared into his room, without so much as a good night. I choked back a laugh.
Rolling my eyes at my friend's impatience, I picked up the pace, pulling the key out of my pocket as I went. I tossed it to Maggie as I reached her and Sky. She immediately unlocked the door and made a beeline for a bed, not bothering to undress. I shook my head and followed in after Sky, who switched the lights on. I heard Colton shut the door behind us.
“Maggie you probably should change.” I suggested. A gentle snore came from her direction, and I heard Colton snort behind me.
“I guess we can chill in the other room.” Sky suggested, digging around in her suitcase. She came up with a light blue pajama shirt and matching shorts. Colton shrugged, headed for the adjoining door. I followed.
My pajamas were the first items I'd packed, so I had to dig to the bottom of my suitcase to pull them out. By that time both Sky and Colton had claimed a bathroom, so I quickly undressed in the room. I pulled my grey “I <3 music” tee over my head and slid into my black sports shorts, my typical pajamas. Then I grabbed my toothbrush and headed towards the bathroom tying my hair back, figuring Colton would be out in a moment.
Unfortunately, I was all too correct. The door flew open just as I got to it, and before I could react Colton ran right into me, holding a cup of water. This time I wasn't quite as lucky balance-wise, and I toppled backwards, cool water flooding over me and making my top cling to my skin. I hit the ground with a painful BANG, and quickly rolled to the side, curling into a ball to avoid being crushed by Colton. He landed next to me, a look of shock glued to his face. His legs were sprawled out awkwardly behind him. He was also, to my great dismay, dry.
“Oops.” he said after a moment. He still looked like he was trying to add up what just happened. My tailbone felt as if it had shattered, and I was shivering.
“I'm never going near a bathroom that you're in again.” I vowed out loud, slowly sitting up and gingerly rubbing my lower back. My grey shirt was sopping, and the cup was no where in sight. He slowly registered that I was on the ground too, and then seemed to suddenly realized what happened. His eyes widened.
“Oh my gosh Nat... I'm SO sorry.” he moaned earnestly, slowly lifting himself to his feet and offering me a hand.
“I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that I'm fairly certain all of my 'klutziness' is actually your fault.” I groaned, accepting it. He carefully pulled me to my feet, cringing.
“And you might be half right,” he laughed, looking me over, “Are you okay?”
“Aside from a broken tailbone and a cold, yeah totally.” I tried to glare at him but failed miserably, as I burst out laughing. He gave me a look and let out a little awkward chuckle. I stumbled back towards my suitcase to find a dry shirt as Colton started to dry up the mess. To my dismay, the only other t-shirt I had was the one I'd worn on the flight, that was covered in puke-man germs. I groaned and tugged on my wet shirt angrily.
“I'm gonna go down and ask if they have a dryer.” I announced, rising to my feet. Colton raised his eyebrows.
“Even if there were dryers, the hotel's full. You're not gonna be able to use them.” he said, shrugging.
“Then what do you propose I do?” I asked him, slightly perturbed. Luckily I don't think he picked up my annoyance.
“Here.” he turned away from me a minute, digging in his suitcase. When he came back up, he was holding a worn cotton batman shirt. He tossed it to me. “It's my fault you're soaked in the first place.” he laughed. I wasn't quite sure how to respond.
“I... Uh... Thanks.” I walked back to the bathroom, careful to stay as far from Colton as I could. He laughed at my obvious effort to avoid him.
I shut the door and peeled the music shirt off, hanging it over the towel rack to dry out. Then I pulled Colton's shirt over my head. It was way too big for me and hung down past my shorts, but was incredibly soft and comfortable. And even better, it had the gentle warm smell that I now automatically associated with hot sunlight and Colton.
I fought back a sigh as I redid my hair and (carefully) left the bathroom. Sky was sitting on my bed next to Colton who was casually talking to her as she leaned against him. I couldn’t help but feel slightly left out as I sat across from them, joining their conversation about what would go on tomorrow, idol-wise. Only then did I remember my phone buried deep in the bottom of my suitcase, with those four new messages. I vowed that I'd look at them tomorrow. I mean after all, what was the worst they could be?
Chapter Six: New Messages
Start from the beginning
