I lay staring at the dark ceiling, looking at the bumpy texture. How do they make it uneven like that? The bathroom light switches on, and I jump, looking over as the door closes. It's silent for a minute then I hear the toilet flush then water run, Luke walking out when everything shuts off.
"What's keeping you up?" I ask, pulling my knees up to my chest. Luke jumps, swiveling toward me quickly. "Jesus, you scared me." He mutters, closing his eyes for a second. "Sorry." I chuckle, giving him a small smile. "I can't sleep, what about you?" "Same. Sleeping twenty-four hours doesn't exactly work well with a normal sleep schedule." I joke, watching Luke walk over and sit next to me.
He cracks a smile, facing me. "I would guess not. Are you feeling better though?" "Yeah, for the most part." I nod. "My body is still a little jumpy but other than that I'm pretty good," I explain, watching Luke nod. "Shut up! Would Ya?" Ashton groans, turning in his bed. Luke and I laugh, looking over at Ashton.
"We could go down to the lobby to talk for a little bit if you'd like. That way we aren't disturbing anyone." Luke offers, standing and holding out his hand for me to take. I grab it, feeling him pull me up. We leave the room after grabbing shoes and a key card, heading to the stairs. I stuff my hands in my pocket as I walk down the stairs, glancing at the landing I had the panic attack on. I continue on, following Luke out into the lobby.
I take a seat on one of the couches, Luke sitting on the other end and facing me. I turn and face him, watching him grin. "What?" I ask, a small smile creeping onto my face. "Nothing, just the way you turned to face me." He shrugs. I furrow my eyebrows, watching him for a second.
"Besides the panic attack and your mom yelling at you, have you had fun in the first week of touring?" "I guess." I shrug, not sure what to make of the first week. "What about you?" I ask, looking up at him. "Yeah, I'm enjoying opening for your brother." He nods with a smile.
---
I wake up, Luke laying on my stomach and snoring softly. I look around, no one disturbing us. Odd, most hotels won't let guests sleep on the couches. I turn toward the windows, seeing fans taking pictures of Luke and me through the window. Shit. I shove Luke off me, biting my lip when he lands on the floor with a thud. "What was that for?" He groans, slowly sitting back on the couch.
"Sorry, I panicked and shoved you off me. Fans were taking pictures." I mumble, glancing over at the windows again. The fans are comparing pictures or videos, pointing at something on one girls' phone.
"You two are finally awake." Ashton's voice makes us jump, both of us turning to look at him. "Why didn't you wake us? Fans have pictures of us sleeping here!" I demand, standing and looking up at Ashton. "You both looked peaceful, and when I first came down, there were no fans." He explains, shrugging. "Calum has your stuff, Dylan. Michael has yours, Luke." He says, rolling his own suitcase outside and talking with the fans.
"I am so dead," I mumble, falling back on the couch. "So much unneeded drama." He groans, falling back as well. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath, jumping when a voice goes, "Guess who!" My eyes snap open, and I look around, seeing a beautiful girl with blonde hair and brown eyes covering Luke's eyes. Her fake nails are bright pink, almost neon, but I will admit, it is a good color for her.
"Hi, Lana." Luke sighs, pulling away from her hands. "Aren't you happy to see me?" She asks, looking down at him with a pout. "Yeah, just tired." He makes up, standing. He gives her a hug, trying to avoid her kiss, but she manages to sneak one in any way. "Alright, so I know today is mostly riding the bus, but I have some things we can do!" She says, pulling Luke out to the bus. I sigh, standing and following them to the bus and following them on.
I go sit next to Ashton, leaning on him. "I don't like her," I tell him, watching her and Luke interact. "No one does." Ashton sighs, watching Lana. "I'm going to go sleep in the bunks, so I don't have to see any more of this," I tell him, making a face at the couple.
-
I come out of the bunks as the bus rolls to a stop, at our next destination. Lana bounces out of the bus and Luke follows, attached to her hand. I let out a yawn, going to the bathroom and brushing my teeth quickly before heading inside the venue.
I follow my brother to his room, finding him pacing when I walk in. "You good?" I ask, laying down on his couch. He glances over at me, biting his lip. "You can't tell anybody." He starts, pointing down at me. "Rachel is pregnant." I finish, staring up at him with an unamused expression. "I heard her talking on the phone saying it's been half a month and she'll figure it out. Then she was throwing up, and she's a moody bitch, and she's also refusing to drink anything, and she loves to drink." "When is she not a moody bitch?" Blake asks, shaking his head.
"But rewind. Lana told me she was 2 months pregnant. What's this half a month shit?" "I don't know. Maybe she found out half a month ago? I'm not a mind reader." I roll my eyes, giving my brother an incredulous look. You have a brain. Use it. "She said she's known, she just didn't know how to tell me." He says. "Did she tell you how long she's known?" I ask, watching my brother think. He shakes his head, frowning. "So she could have found out half a month ago..." He drifts off, shrugging.
"What do I do?" He asks, looking back down at me. "I don't know. I'm not a relationship expert!" He laughs, sitting down by my feet. "You don't have to be. You're an outside perspective." "I still don't know," I tell him, looking over at him. "Give it your best shot." He offers, giving me a small smile. "Well, in my opinion, you should find out when she got pregnant, and when she found out," I tell him, watching him. He nods, contemplating. "'Cause we both know she has the past in cheating so if anything doesn't add up, figure it out."
The door opens, Rachel walking in. "Blakey, I don't feel good." She complains, walking in and sitting on his lap. I take this as my cue to leave, walking back down the hall. Michael, Ashton, and Calum are talking next to the stage entrance, pointing toward their dressing room. "I probably shouldn't go in your dressing room?" I ask, walking toward them. "From where I left them, they're probably fucking at this time." "TMI," I mutter, shaking my head at Calum while making a face.
Everyone laughs, heading out to the stage. "Are you still doing Teenage Dirtbag and I Miss You?" I ask, looking over at them. They nod, grabbing their instruments, Ashton sitting at his drums. I grab Luke's guitar, strumming a few chords. "Do you guys know When We Were Young, by The Summer Set?" I ask, playing the first few chords. Ashton smiles, nodding. Calum and Michael nod as well, small smiles appearing.
We start the song, and I sing, all of us messing around and having fun with it. The song is almost over when the guitars and mics shut off, Ashton's drumming the only thing heard. We look around, my mom walking out, frowning. I sigh, putting the guitar down. "What are you doing?" She demands. "Having fun," I mutter, staring up at her. "Or is that not allowed either?" She sighs, closing her eyes in frustration. "You aren't allowed on the stage. These boys need to practice." "Tell that to Luke who's still with Lana. Or is she allowed to disrupt their work but I'm not." "I'm not fighting with you over this." My mom mutters, leaving the stage.
I roll my eyes, hopping off the stage and climbing the barrier, taking a seat in the floor seats. Ashton gives me a small smile that I don't return, slouching down in the chair. Luke comes out looking ruffled, Lana, coming out and sitting next to me. "You're Blake's sister, right?" "Yeah." I nod, watching the guys. "He's so sweet of taking the guys in as an opening act." "Mhmm." I nod, barely paying attention to her. I watch Luke and Calum joke around a little before starting. "How have they done so far on tour?" She asks. "Good," I reply, rolling my eyes. She should be paying attention to her fake boyfriend.
"I'm sensing you don't like me very much." "It's not you. It's the situation you and Luke are in. I don't care much for fake dating since that's what my brother and Rachel are doing. You can see how that's working out." I shrug, trying to play it cool. She nods, giving me a smile. "That's understandable, I don't care for it too much either. There's so much acting that goes into it. It's tiring after a while. I'm so glad Luke saw that and asked me to be his real girlfriend." I start coughing, trying to breathe and comprehend what she just said.
"Wait, what?" "Yeah! He asked me to quit the fake stuff and actually date him, no strings attached! So we called our managers, and they got rid of the contracts since we are actually dating." She grins, practically bouncing in the seat next to me. I nod, no words coming to mind about this. "Congratulations," I say, forcing a smile and almost cringing when it sounds more like a question than anything else. "Thank you! I'm so excited to spend time with him on this tour." She smiles. I nod again, slowly facing the boys practicing.
A new song I haven't heard starts, making me focus on the music.
Ever since the day that we met
I couldn't get you out of my head
There was always something about you
Every chance that I seem to get
Finds a way to end in regret
There was always something about you
Jealousy keeps containing me
In time you'll see
Just what we could be
[Chorus:]
But I'm always too late
I'm always too late
I see you but I always hesitate
'Cause I'm always too late
Don't wanna be too late
To have you by my side and I can't wait
'Cause never is too late
Every time I see you with him
I'm tearing down the walls in my head
I can't hold back any longer
Jealousy keeps containing me
In time you'll see
Just what we could be
[Chorus:]
But I'm always too late
I'm always too late
I see you but I always hesitate
'Cause I'm always too late
Don't wanna be too late
To have you by my side and I can't wait
'Cause never is too late
Wanted to tell you
What I feel inside
Don't wanna hurt you
I'll make you feel alright
Wanted to tell you
What I feel inside
Don't wanna hurt you
I'll make you feel alright
[Chorus:]
But I'm always too late
I'm always too late
I see you but I always hesitate
'Cause I'm always too late
Don't wanna be too late
To have you by my side and I can't wait
'Cause I'm always too late
(I'm always too late)
I'm always too late
(Waiting for you babe)
I see you but I always hesitate
'Cause I'm always too late
(I'm always too late)
Don't wanna be too late
(Waiting for you babe)
To see you by my side and I can't wait
'Cause never is too late
I smile, listening to Luke sing. He's so in his element when he sings, it's amazing. "Great job guys. That's officially on the setlist now." My mom says, coming out. They smile, putting their instruments down and walking over to her. "Which cover are you going to take out?" She asks, looking down at her paperwork. "Um, I Miss You probably," Michael says, looking around for confirmation. "Sounds good. I'll run this by sound, so they know. Go rest up." She leaves the guys heading to their dressing room.
I follow Lana to the dressing room, watching her run over to Luke. "Hey Lana, do you mind if I steal Luke for like five minutes? I need to talk to him about something." I say, standing in the doorway with my arms crossed over my chest. "Go for it!" She nods, letting go of the death grip she had on Luke. He follows me down the hall to a quiet section, leaning against the wall and looking at me.
"Either you're a complete idiot, or you have some kind of plan regarding the whole asking Lana to be your real girlfriend," I say, staring up at him. "I do have a plan. I thought of it while you were napping on the bus and I haven't had time to tell anyone actually, but I figured it was a pretty good idea, so I went through with it." He states plainly, smiling.
"What is this pretty good idea?" "Well, asking Lana to be my real girlfriend entitles that the contracts are no longer valid, right? We can't fake date if we are actually dating. So the contracts are no more. Now, I can't just break up with her right away, I'm gonna have to go at least a month dealing with her like a real girlfriend, but after that, I can dump her, and I won't be breaking any contract rules. I'm praying this month goes quickly." I stare up at him, processing everything. "That's actually brilliant. Kill the deal by actually dating. I never would have thought of that." I ponder, staring at the floor. "Nice job, Luke," I tell him, looking back up at him. "Get back to your girlfriend. It's been like seven minutes." I finish, following him back to the dressing room. Luke goes in while Calum, Michael, and Ashton come out, pulling me away from the dressing room.
"Spill," Calum demands, staring down at me. "So, Luke's got a lil brain in there. He asked her to be his girlfriend to kill the contract. He's gonna break up with her in like a month or so. That way no one gets suspicious." I summarize, looking around at all of them. "Our little Lukey is taking after me." Michael sympathizes, holding his hand to his heart. I roll my eyes, leaning back against the wall.
"The only downside to all of this is Lana is touring with us for at least a month now, maybe a little more. That means dealing with them making out and Lana being Lana for the next month or so." I explain, watching all of their expressions go sour. "So I vote we all find shit to do at all of the stops, so we don't have to deal with that," I conclude, and they laugh. "Avoidance can only go so far, Dylan," Ashton says. "Hey, if I can avoid an ex for a year, we can avoid Luke and Lana for a month." I point out. "Sounds like a plan then." Ashton nods Calum and Michael the following suit.