Feeling This

Chapter Seven

(A/N: This took me like six hours to write. I love summer.)

Tom knew that Mark was right. He didn't know what Nicolette was trying to get out of flirting with him, but it wasn't fair to her for him to flirt back. So he tried to put as much space between him and Nicolette as possible, but that was easier said than done when they were living together in four hundred square feet's worth of space.

            As a result, Tom tried to spend more time in Blink's venues by practicing backstage before soundchecks. But that only worked at the larger venues where there was a backstage with dressing rooms for him to hang out in, which the sports complex in Phoenix did not have.

            So Tom had no other option but to stay on the tour bus. It was either that and stay in air-conditioned comfort, or go out and "explore" in the hot sun. Needless to say, the bus won out. But it was agonizing to watch Mark and Nicolette sit next to each other at the bus' only table, laughing as they read out Shakespeare or some shit from Nicolette's textbook. Meanwhile Tom just sat by himself on the couch with his guitar, trying to remember the lyrics to his own songs.

            He knew that Mark was just helping Nicolette with her homework, but Tom couldn't help but feel jealous every time Nicolette smiled at Mark when she finally understood something. Tom just wanted to be the reason for her to smile. But that could never happen, not the way he wanted it to. So Tom suppressed his emotions and focused on his music.

            But he couldn't ignore Nicolette forever, something the young girl seemed determined to prove to him.

            The band had just played the show in Phoenix, outdoors. The temperature had been at a staggering 77° in fucking September. Normally, that would have been fine, Tom hated the cold; he was from California for Christ's sake. But playing a show outside when it's hot is literally the worst thing in the world. Tom was always drenched with sweat after playing such concerts. And that night was no different.

Everyone was hot and sweaty from working in the heat, some more than others, which meant everyone wanted to shower. The only problem was: the bus had exactly one shower.

Travis called the bathroom first which was fair enough. The drummer always worked up the greatest amount of sweat from banging away during the show. Tom was pretty sure Travis did more work than Mark and himself combined.

Tom didn't really care when his turn to shower would come. The worst that could happen was that he would be last and the hot water would be gone, but a cold shower never sounded that bad when you've just performed in what felt like hotter than hell. So Tom was content to sit around in the living room, writing possible song lyrics while he waited his turn. And then Nicolette sat down next to him.

"You know," she whispered, "we could shower together to save time and water."

Tom gulped nervously and subtly cast a glance at the others in the room to check if anyone had heard her. Fortunately for him, everyone else on the bus was doing their own thing: Kate was on the phone going over details for tomorrow's show, Rick was examining the photos he had taken during the performance, and Mark was listening to his Walkman while playing on his Game Boy. But that didn't mean that the rest of the crew, or worse – Travis, couldn't walk in at any second.

"You should really stop it with the flirting," Tom replied, refusing to meet Nicolette's eyes as he continued to stare down at his notebook. "It's not, uh, very...nice." Tom cringed as soon as the adjective left his mouth, but he hadn't been able to think of what else to say.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Tom could practically hear the smirk in her voice. "Am I misbehaving?" Nicolette placed her hand on Tom's thigh and crossed her legs, blocking everyone else's view of Tom's lap with her raised knee. "Maybe you should punish me."