BLOOM • awsten knight

31

APRIL 2018

"Okay, seriously, where are we going?" Elle asks, for the third time, from the back of the car.

"You'll find out soon," Awsten laughs, from the passenger's seat.

She huffs in response, to which he subtly reaches his hand back, locking his fingers with Elle's behind the seat; she smiles as he runs his thumb over her knuckles, soothingly.

The drive isn't long, but Elle still doesn't know where they are; she's been in Houston for well over four months now, but she still isn't great with knowing where anything is, outside of her apartment, work, and Awsten's house.

It isn't until they pull up to a semi-familiar street, and Elle notices a bright neon light on the side of a large building, reading House Of Blues.

"Oh my god," she lets out a breath, suddenly starting to put some piece of information together.

Jawn parks the car, and Awsten hops out to open Elle's door for her; she looks at him, with her mouth gaped, trying to process what she thinks is happening, and he simply giggles.

She takes his hand as he helps her out of the car, closing the door behind them, as Jawn grabs his equipment.

"Is this what I think is happening?" Elle finally says, and Awsten grins widely.

"Happy birthday," he plants a kiss on her temple, as she leans into him.

"It's not my birthday for another three days," she points out, as Awsten begins to lead the way towards the venue.

"Yeah, but, I couldn't exactly get them to move the show," he replies, earning a lighthearted eye roll.

"Oh, here," Jawn stops momentarily, pulling something out of his backpack. "Almost forgot," he adds, handing Elle and Awsten their lanyards.

"Holy fuck," she takes a breath, as Awsten places it around her neck. "Are we going backstage?" She looks up at him, and he nods, with a shrug, as if it isn't a big deal. "Awsten Constantine Knight, are you taking the piss right now?"

"No," he laughs at her reaction, and her jaw drops.

"Fuck, fuck, oh my god," realisation seems to hit Elle suddenly, as she stops in her tracks.

"Wait, you're okay with this right?" Awsten stops quickly, too. "Like, you're comfortable with meeting them and stuff? We don't have to if you don't want to, I just-"

He cuts off his rambling when Elle wraps her arms around him.

"Thank you," she hugs him tightly, and he soon relaxes, his arms folding around her waist securely.

A part of Elle wishes she'd kissed him to shut him up instead.

"Come on, you two," Jawn says, loudly, causing the pair of them to pull away, with a glare. "Don't look at me like that! I have places to be, pictures to take," he waves his hands, sassily.

Awsten looks to Elle, rolling his eyes, earning a giggle, as they proceed to walk into the venue.

It had completely slipped Elle's mind that 5 Seconds of Summer were even touring right now, let alone playing a show in Houston tonight, so she's completely caught off guard.

Though, now it seems to make sense, since Awsten and Taylor had both seemed to keep her away from the topic, but she was also busy enough with work, so she wouldn't have had much time to think about it at all.

At some point, Awsten effortlessly interlocks his fingers with Elle's as he leads her through the venue; as soon as she realises, she squeezes his hand gently, appreciating the comfort, since she has no idea where she's going.