We're finally in Vegas. I've never been here before so I'm very excited to see what's going on. There's still a few hours before the boys have to be on stage so we all chill out at the hotel.
Ashton and Michael left to grab us some lunch, leaving me in my hotel room alone. Someone knocks on my door and I figured it was one of the two with the food. I was wrong.
Luke was standing in front of me holding a game console and some video games. He must've thought Michael was in here or something.
"Michael left to go get something to eat," I say, feeling quite awkward.
Luke bites his lip and is coming across as nervous.
"Actually, I was hoping we could play together? And I wanted to apologize for how we started off. I thought that we could start over and play some games. If you want to," Luke says.
I'm taken by surprise from his request. I stare at him blankly for a moment, trying to find the words to say.
"Um, okay. Sure, come in," is all I manage to get out.
Luke walks in and sets the console near the tv on the stand. He faces towards me and sighs.
"I'm just gonna start. I'm sorry. I had been inappropriate with you since day one. I've been thinking of a lot of things and that's what made me realize. I hope you can forgive me," Luke says, his bright blue eyes seem filled with guilt.
Luke looks so upset by his words. Not in the way that means he's upset to apologize but that he's upset that he acted in a way that warranted an apology. He starts to fidget with his hands while he waits for my response.
"I forgive you. And I appreciate that you apologized," I give Luke a smile.
Luke's face instantly lights up. He smiles back at me and pulls me into a hug. I'm not uncomfortable by it. I actually enjoy his hugs.
Luke pulls away and starts to hook up the game system. I check out the games he picked for the both of us. I pick out Mario Kart for us to play.
"I must warn you, I'm pretty great at this game," I say, hanging him the disc.
"So am I. I could be professional if that was a
thing," He chuckles.
"We'll see," I say, grabbing one of the controllers.
We start our first race. Luke wasn't wrong about being extremely good at the game but neither was I. I can tell that the other boys must not be as good at the game because his once relaxed position turned more alert by the second lap.
I finally get in first and manage to maintain a stable lead. Luke smirks and reaches over to mess with my controller. I try to keep playing while dodging Luke's hand.
"Ugh, you're such a cheater," I laugh, still trying to win.
"You gotta so what you gotta do," Luke laughs too. I never noticed how adorable his laugh was. It's so contagious.
"Oh yeah? Still didn't mess me up much," I say, crossing the finish line and securing my spot in first.
"Beginners luck. Or you used black magic," Luke chuckles.
We're about to start another race when Ashton and Michael return. They both seem really confused when they see Luke and I. I don't blame them as I would be confused too.
I jump up off of my seat and grab what's mine from the food bags. I sit back down with Luke and offer him a share of my food. He takes a few fries and eats them quickly.
"You guys are friends now?" Michael speaks up.
"Yeah, we put the past behind us and started over," I nudge Luke, who's stealing more fries.
Ashton gives a pleased look at us while he eats his burger. I can tell that he likes that I'm starting to get along better with his friends, or our friends I should say. The only one that I don't have a good stance with is Calum but I plan on changing that.
Luke ended up eating the majority of my fries but I didn't mind. It was really nice to sit and eat with them. There was no weird feeling around us that would've been caused by awkward situations in the past. It felt natural. In an odd way, I kinda feel bad for Calum. He's missing out on this feeling right now.
...
For the concert, I wore Ashton's ripped up Jimi Hendrix tank, ripped black boyfriend jeans, and high top converse. I did my makeup and made sure my hair looked alright.
I had Luke take some photos for me to upload on my Instagram. I hadn't really been keeping up with it recently since I've been so busy. Ashton notices me taking photos and decides to get in one. He squishes my face and places a kiss on my cheek for his pose while I'm standing there giggling. The photo actually turned out cute.
I know that it would be against my contract if I share too much. But, if I make it the last slide on my photo then I don't think anyone will notice, right? Plus, for all anyone knows, I could just be a fan. I add his photo in as the last photo and tag him. I caption it, "je t'aime." I chose that one since I do love Ashton, he's a good friend, and my mom used to teach me French when I was younger. It was her dream to live in France so she wanted me to understand the language before the move. I'm pretty fluent in French now but I don't use it often. In some ways, being near Ashton reminds me of her so I felt the caption was a nice ode to my mom as well.
I post the photos and put my phone away. I've learned most of the words by now so I can finally sing along with them. I'm excited for whatever musical stuff they have coming after this album. It'll be great, I'm sure.
We meet backstage so the boys can get there things together. I don't feel the usual stare downs that I typically would from Calum.
Maybe he's over whatever was making him hate me?
I check my phone to see that Ashton at some point reposted my post on his story with, "je, t'aime aussi." I smile at my phone screen. I also notice hundreds of comments trying to figure out who I was. I only hope I don't get a call later that says I'm in trouble.
The boys and I decided to check out The Strip area of Vegas. There's a few attractions there that we can see.
The whole place was so lively. There were crowds of people surrounding us. Every little detail was catching my eye. I notice people playing music on the street and try to zone in on the sound while walking with the boys.
Michael points out a building that's near what looks like a giant Eiffel Tower replica. It's lit up with the pattern of the France flag. We walk over and go to the building. It happens to be a lookout point for the tower.
My fear of heights isn't something that's been brought up until now. I've been dreading the plane rides that I'll inevitably have to go on. It isn't something crippling but it still sends shivers down my spine to be high off the ground.
We get to the roof where the main look out spot is. Luke suggests we stand closer to the edge to get a better look and of course, the majority of people agreed.
My hearts beating faster while I stand there with them. I can barely focus on the beautiful statue in front of me. I look over at Ashton, who's admiring the piece.
"Ash?" I get his attention. I didn't intend on giving him this nickname but it just happened.
"Yes?" Ashton responds, ignoring what I called him.
"Can I hold onto you? I'm scared of heights and I'm kinda freaking out," I explain, biting my lip. I almost regret asking him since I feel somewhat embarrassed about it.
"You don't have to ask. You can hold onto me whenever you like, Natalie," Ashton smiles.
I reach over and wrap my arms around his bicep. My head rests on him and I already feel more relaxed. Holding Ashton made me feel more stable on the edge than I was before. I look over at Michael who's smiling at us. as if he knows something Ashton and I don't. I'll ask him about that later if I remember.
I can feel Ashton's fingers dangling from his hand. They're grazing my leg as I hold his arm to my chest. I don't know what came over me but I slide one of my hands down to his and intertwine our fingers. He squeezes my hand back in response. So now, I'm holding hands with Ashton. It doesn't feel awkward and I'm only a little nervous but that could be the height fear.
We leave after getting our good look at the statue. It was beautiful. Something that you could draw from memory because you can remember it's beauty clearly. Ashton doesn't let go of my hand after we leave the look out building. I don't mind though. We walk around, trying to find something else to do.
The band from earlier is still playing and I get an idea as we pass them.
"Dance with me Calum," I walk over to him, letting go of Ashton's hand.
Calum's been silent the majority of our trip. But he's also seemed less resentful towards me. He looks over to Ashton after I make my proposal. I look at Ashton with him, he's furrowing his brows at him. Ashton mouths something to Calum that I don't quite understand. Calum's attention turns back towards me.
"Um, sure," Calum says. I can hear his anxiousness through his tone.
I pull him closer to the band so we can hear the tune better. Although I'm trying to pretend that there's so issues between us, I still don't dance with my arms wrapped around him like I would normally. I quickly learned that Calum can't dance. He stumbles over his own feet, making me chuckle at him. Calum laughs with me. For a moment, it feels like Calum and I never despised each other. I hope this feeling stays.
We walk back to our group after we get tired of dancing. After the dancing, Calum's starting to open up and talk with the group more. I do catch Ashton giving him weird glares at random times though. I'll bring his glances up in private. I don't wanna ruin this moment.
We get some ice cream as our final stop before we go to the hotel. I got my favorite, rocky road, and I'm pretty sure I haven't heard this much slander on this flavor ever before. The majority of it came from Michael who got plain vanilla.
"Mikey, talk to me when you spice up your flavors a bit," I joke around.
Michael flips me off and I pretend be in shock. I give him one back and we laugh it off.
When we get back to the hotels, I feel really tired. It was a fun but long night. Ashton walks me to my room and we talk in the doorway some before he leaves.
"You've got something right there," He says. He swipes his thumb along my bottom lip. He looks in my eyes after wiping off his hand.
"Thanks," I smile. It was embarrassing that I was walking around with something on my mouth but it's Ashton, he won't make fun of me.
"No problem," He says, only breaking the eye contact to look at my lips.
Just kiss me already.
I lean in towards him and leave a peck on his lips. Ashton kisses me back of course. I could still taste a hint of his strawberry ice cream on his lips.
"Goodnight Natalie," He smiles.
"Goodnight Ashton," I say, closing the door while we walks to his room.
While I'm changing into pajamas, my phone dings. It's the manager who signed me for this job.
Mr. Campbell: No more posting with the boys. I'll let it slide once but if it happens again then you and Ashton are in trouble.
At least I get a pass this time, I guess.
Me: Okay, it won't happen again. Sorry.
I don't feel as phased as I thought I would be if I got in trouble. I don't even really care. I don't mind people wondering who I am or if I'm dating Ashton.
It shouldn't even matter. I'm not dating Ashton and we're just friends. We don't even like each other like that. We just kiss and stuff, like friends do.
___
Authors Note
friends kiss each other right? lol
what did you guys think about how calum's acting? what do you think michael knows that ashton and natalie don't?
also news ab my life, i'm dying my hair next week. i'm excited.