Broken || Roadtrip

twenty one ▪ "Bummer. You deserve a great girl"

"Harvey!" Throwing my arms around the blonde giant of a human being, he is quick to hug me back, lifting me off the ground as our chuckles fill the air.

"I missed you too, Asher" squeezing me one last time, the Cantwell boy carefully sets me down on the ground, my arms slipping from his form as I turn to Blair and Ginger, hugging the both quickly as well, while Harvey moves on to greet the rest of the boys.

"How was the drive?" Making some small talk, I urge Blair and Ginger to follow me inside, the boys already chatting with Harvey, leading him into the house as well.

"All good, almost no traffic at all" Blair smiles, his eyes drifting towards Mikey, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Deciding to drop it for now, I follow the boys into the living room area, the loud laughs making me grin instantly.

"This house is huge!" Harvey exclaims, his eyes jumping around the guys as we all start laughing again, my feet bringing me to stand next to Brook.

"Yes, and you haven't even seen it properly" Andy chuckles, as our attention is drawn towards Alex, who shakes his camera, a questioning look on his face as I roll my eyes, playfully of course.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, I'm just gonna go hide somewhere while you film a little" sighing dramatically, I take a few steps backwards towards the door.

Harvey points a finger at my form making me stop in my actions, an eyebrow raised.
"We'll talk later, Ash. I haven't seen you in forever and you guys-" glancing towards Rye and back to me, I give him a small look, "need to fill me in".

"I already told you" narrowing my eyes, I wave my hand around slightly.

"Yes, but I want to hear it from Rye too and talk to you both. I'm happy for you two and I need to know more" Offering a grin, I feel my cheeks heat up as I roll my eyes playfully, the rest laughing as I proceed to disappear into the hallway.

A small giggle leaves my lips as I shake my head in amusement, walking towards the room I'm technically sharing with Robbie.

Plopping down on my bed, I get comfortable and unlock my phone, opening Instagram and looking through my feed.

Spending about 10 minutes on the app, I soon grow bored, a groan sounding from me as I toss the phone towards my side my arms stretching into the air as I turn to lay on my side.

"What was that then?" A voice startles me as I quickly sit up and look at the source of it, finding Robbie laughing at me.

"Go away" falling back onto my bed, I grab my phone again, refreshing the site just to be met by new pictures of the people I follow.

"Nah, I don't want to be in the vlog either" Flopping down on his own bed, he turns to look at me, prepping himself on his elbow as I decide to ignore his eyes on me and go through the pictures first.

Seeing him wiggle his eyebrows at me out of the corner of my eye, I sigh quietly, dropping the phone on my stomach as I turn my head to look at him and raise an eyebrow.
"What?"

"We haven't had much time to talk lately" he shrugs, getting more comfortable and laying on his back too, his eyes fixed to the ceiling.

"Yeah, you're right" furrowing my eyebrows, I climb out of the bed and sit down at one end of his bed, my legs crossed as I wait for him to sit up.
"So what do you wanna talk about?"

Getting into a sitting position with a small sigh, he crosses his legs as well, our knees touching.
"Are you excited to go to work next week?"

Breathing out through my nose, I nod my head a little, a nervous giddy feeling making my stomach turn slightly.
"Quite nervous actually, but I know the other trainers, or most of them, so it won't be too bad. Besides, you remember I trained with the group I'll take over last month. They are great".

"Nice" Offering a genuine smile, he purses his lips slightly, "What are you planning with your YouTube channel?"

"Oh don't start with that" groaning lightly, my hand flies to my forehead, a stressed look on my face, making the boy opposite me chuckle. "I need to get editing".

I usually post commentary videos, having some gameplay in the background while I give my opinion on various topics, no facecam of course.

"Yeah, I saw some people commenting asking where you are" shrugging his shoulders, I smile to myself, feeling so grateful to be worried for by my viewers.

"What about the girl you went on a date with?" Changing the subject, I tilt my head to the side slightly.

"Oh no" shaking his head, he presses his lips into a thin line, "she is really nice, but I don't think we'll fit like that".

"Bummer. You deserve a great girl" I pout slightly, his eyes rolling as an answer.

A knock on the door makes us both turn to look at who is interrupting our best friend bonding time, Jack popping his head into the room, his face seeming a little nervous and just not like a typical Jack face.
"Guys, you should come. Mikey and Blair have some news."

"That doesn't sound good" offering a joking vibe, I untangle my legs and follow after the Irish boy, who to my surprise doesn't laugh at my words.

Arriving in the kitchen area, Mikey and Blair sit on the stools with Ginger behind her boyfriend, a hand on his shoulder. The rest of Roadtrip and Harvey as well as Alex stand next to them, Robbie, Jack and I stepping to their side.
A small silence follows before Blair clears his throat.

"We need to talk. Mikey and I had some serious conversations and we came to the conclusion that Mikey would be happier if he would leave the band".

Another silence falls among us as I let my eyes wander around the faces of the boys, most filled with confusion and a little mix of hurt and sadness. My own feelings falling somewhere in those categories.

"What?" Brook is surprisingly the first one to speak up, my brain not able to process the information I just got.

"I'm sorry guys. I love this life and all of you, but I miss my family so much. I can't take it" Mikey avoids our eyes as I can practically hear how guilty he feels.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ryan asks, his voice so weak and hurt, I can feel my heart crack slightly.

"I-I needed to figure this out for myself first and I needed to talk things through with Blair and my family as well and I just didn't want to worry you too early. I know I should've told you guys..." finally able to look at us, his eyes hold so much emotion, I find my eyes watering slightly, my gaze shifting to the ground to keep me from crying.

"I told him as well. We wanted to have everything sorted out before telling you", Blair speaks up, the whole attention shifting towards him as we all look at him, me included.

"I understand you're confused and feel betrayed but please don't be mad at me, I love you guys" playing around with his fingers, Mikey's pleading eyes force me to look away again, unable to understand his reasons just yet. I know I'll come around at some point but not yet.

Glancing at the rest of the boys instead, I take in their looks. As soon as my eyes settle on Jack, a thought crosses my mind, my eyes narrowing as I watch the side of his face.

How did he know?