Levitate (A Bad Omens RPF)

Chapter 8

My bones felt like they were made of lead as I climbed up the short three stairs into the bus after that night's show. Performing, then meeting people after, had been utterly exhausting. More so than it had been the night before.

Inside the bus, Jolly brushed past me. In the small space, his shoulder clipped mine and I nearly toppled over. He caught me with a hand around my bicep, steadying me before I could fall.

"Sorry, not enough room," he grinned apologetically.

A hot lick of unbidden annoyance flared in my chest, irrationally, as I knew that it had been entirely unintentional. I blamed it on my fatigue, and shoved it as far into the back of my mind as I could.

"You can say that again," I forced a smile that felt like it strained every muscle in my body.

Jolly didn't seem to notice. He turned around, headed in the direction of the bunks. I followed, intending to step into the bathroom and prepare for bed.

Behind me, everyone else had taken up seats around the table, though they hadn't brought out the Uno cards again. This time, they all looked as exhausted as I felt, slumping in their seats like they carried the weight of Mt. Everest on their shoulders.

I wouldn't have known this if Leah hadn't called out to me, causing me to look over my shoulder.

"Kat, where you going?"

"Oh I was just gonna go to the-"

A sharp click sounded from the direction of the bunks. I turned to see that Jolly had disappeared, taking my chance at the bathroom with him.

"...bathroom," I finished sullenly, instead turning to sit with the rest of the group.

"Good luck with that," Folio grinned.

I rolled my eyes, settling into my spot between Leah and Madilyn. Madilyn immediately propped her legs up in my lap, so that she was laying across Analie's thighs and mine. She looked ready to fall asleep on the spot, though she was fighting valiantly against it.

I was in a similar state, still clad in the clothes I had worn for that night's show. My eyelids felt as though they were dead-set on melding together, and keeping them apart was nearly impossible. The longer I sat up, the harder my rebellious eyes fought to close. Against my will, my head was beginning to droop onto Leah's shoulder as my mind slipped away into sweet, sweet nothingness...

"So we all agree that we are never ever staying up that late on the night before a show again, right," Analie said, startling me out of my dozing, whilst prodding Madilyn in the back of her neck, waking her as well.

"Absolutely not," Noah agreed, rubbing his hands over his face tiredly.

"Yeah... I feel like shit," Leah said.

Madilyn carefully rolled onto her back, narrowly avoiding the short drop to the floor, "if we're not staying up late, why the hell did you wake me up?"

"Cause you still need to shower and get out of those clothes, Mads," Analie soothed, running a hand over Madilyn's cheek.

Madi groaned loudly, covering her face with her arm. 

Most everyone had gotten a chance at the showers provided for touring performers in The Masquerade. However Madilyn, Jolly, and I had taken the longest helping to clean up after the show. 

By the time it was our turn in the shower, all the hot water had been used up. We decided we would take turns in tiny bathroom on the bus, though I was thoroughly regretting that choice now. I felt sweaty and disgusting.

I mused, deliriously, that I smelled like a rowdy mosh pit had vomited on me.

~~~

After a few minutes that felt like hours, Jolly finally emerged from the bathroom with damp hair and a fresh set of clothes. He gave a jaunty salute before clambering up into his bunk, disappearing behind his privacy curtain.

Finally, it was my turn in the bathroom. I caught a glance of myself in the mirror and swore under my breath. 

It had been so long since I wore my hair in anything but braids or twists, I'd forgotten about the part where I needed to actually do something with it before bed. If I slept on my hair in its current state, I would wake up to a matted and squashed mess atop my head.

"A fucking afro? The hell was I thinking," I muttered, glaring at my reflection.

A quick shower and a change of clothes later, I was back in the sitting area, regretting yet another decision. 

Noah and Nic, shortly before I went into the bathroom, had disappeared into their bunks. I wasn't sure where Folio had gone, as the privacy curtain on his bunk was open, and he was most certainly not in it. This left only the girls.

They had all succumbed to sleep, somehow appearing to be both completely at peace, and supremely uncomfortable all at once. Analie's head was tilted back and to the side, in a way that couldn't possibly have been good for her neck. Madilyn was curled into a fetal position, with her face squished into Analie's lower abdomen, and her neck was also bent at an almost unnatural angle, so that her right ear was making the acquaintance of her shoulder.

Leah, who never snored, was sitting straight up and had allowed her chin to fall forward onto her chest, so that her throat made a mildly concerning gurgling noise with each inhale. As I slowly tipped her head back, my eyes roved around the rest of the room and I caught sight of Folio.

He was, for some reason known only to him, asleep on the floor. His head was under the tiny card table, pillowed on his arms. The rest of him was sticking out, but mostly hidden from view unless you were looking for him. I frowned in confusion, wondering if he would want me to wake him long enough for him to get to his bunk.

I thought better of it, as he actually looked fairly comfortable where he was. Instead, I hobbled over on sore legs, and stole his blanket and pillow from his bunk. Once I had carefully placed the pillow under his head without waking him, I covered him with the blanket and left him to rest.

Settling down beside Leah, I resigning myself to more time spent on my hair whilst my friends enjoyed their dreams. At the moment, I lacked the mental capacity for anything requiring effort.

Lazily, I destroyed all of that morning's hard work, splitting my hair down the middle with my fingers. The camera on my phone served as my mirror once again, as I checked that the part was straight (almost but not quite, and I couldn't bring myself to care). 

I set about braiding my hair back into two dutch braids. Half-way through the first one, I began seriously considering how I would look if I just shaved my head. The idea was tempting, to say the least. However, I persevered.

By the time I was finished, my arms were aching, and I just wanted to sleep. So I gently prodded Madilyn awake, and ushered her toward the bathroom, before crawling into my bunk without a backward glance. 

A/N: I'm back! Lesgoooo. Sorry for the long hiatus. I've been really busy with work and things, and seriously lacking on inspiration, but hopefully I won't take any more long breaks like that lmao (no promises but I shall do my best)