Blogger | Josh Dun

Part 16

It was late, and everyone was sleeping in their bunks. Everyone but me, it seemed. I'd been tossing and turning all night and knowing that I wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon, I slipped noiselessly into the main room of the tour bus. I sat on one of the couches, draping a blanket over my lap to fight the slight breeze. I opened my Twitter app and scrolled through my timeline, retweeting a few tweets about the blog or the boys.

I heard some shuffling behind me and looked round to see a shirtless Josh emerging from his own bunk. He was rubbing at his eyes, his biceps bulging. I tried not to stare for too long, shooting him a quick smile before focussing back on my phone. I assumed he had just woken to use the toilet, so was surprised when the blanket was lifted and the sofa dipped as he slid in beside me. 

"Whatcha doing?" He mumbled, the tiredness lacing his voice adorably. 

"Just scrolling. I couldn't sleep, sorry for waking you." 

He just shrugged and rested his head on my lap, shuffling slightly against the leather of the couch to get comfortable. 

He looked up at me as if to check that his position was okay. I just smiled down at him and put down my phone, running my fingers through his fading hair instead. Josh let out a small noise of satisfaction and shuffled once again so that he was hugging my thighs. 

His body warmth began to make me feel drowsy, and for the second time, I fell asleep in his arms. 

...

I woke up the next morning with a hard chest against my back and arms around my waist. Josh's face was nuzzled into the crook of my neck and his hot breath was fanning against my shoulder. 

I heard a camera shutter click, and opened my eyes just enough to see Tyler stood with his phone pointing towards me and Josh. The drummer stirred slightly, his arms tightening around me and pulling me even closer to his body. I felt his lips quirk upwards in a smile against my skin as Tyler and Jenna started 'aww'ing at our position. 

"Shut up," I complained and hid my face in the blanket, my cheeks reddening in embarrassment. 

I managed to wrestle myself from Josh's grip and dash to the bathroom to avoid anymore confrontation. I showered, taking my time washing my body and hair, and then blowdrying it. I was doing everything I could to prolong the time before I had to face them all out there. 

I tied my hair into two buns on top of my head, which made it look like ears, and dressed as slowly as possible. After brushing my teeth and spraying deodorant, I knew I couldn't make any more excuses, so I left the bathroom. 

Jenna was waiting outside for me. 

"Liz, if you took any longer in there, I was going to break in. I need answers."

I sighed. "Shoot."

"What the hell was that? You tell me there's nothing going on, but you sure looked cozy!"

"I was on the couch last night and Josh came to sit with me, then we fell asleep. That's it."

She narrowed her eyes at me but then smiled. "Okay. I believe you."

"Good, because it's the truth. Why's it so important anyway? We're just friends, which I keep having to remind you."

"It's important because you're the only two people who can't see it."

"See what?"

"I am not going to tell you. You need to work that out for yourself." She sauntered away into the lounge, and I followed behind her.

Josh and Tyler were on the couch, laughing together. 

When they notice our presence in the room, Josh stood up. 

"I'm going to shower." He poked one of my buns as he walked past. "Cute."

When I turned back towards Tyler and Jenna, they were both already staring at me. 

"What?"

Tyler grinned at me. "Oh, nothing."

"Has your wife been implanting things into your head about Josh and I?"

He shook his head. "Nope, these are completely my own opinions."

I threw my arms up in the air in frustration.

"This is ridiculous."

...

The rest of the day had gone by with no more said about the topic of my non-relationship with Josh. 

The boys had done a show, I'd taken photographs and written up my blog, and the boys had even stopped to meet fans at stage door, which I happily photographed. 

They both looked so genuinely happy to meet their fans, and their happiness was contagious. I smiled the entire time, and Josh would look over at me occasionally to check I was okay. Each time we made eye contact, he'd either pull a funny face at me or smile even wider.

We finally made it back to the bus, and everyone called it a night. It was late, and the bus started moving on towards its next destination. 

"Lizzie?" I heard Josh whisper from the bunk above me.

"Yeah?"

Instead of getting a reply, my bunk curtain opened and a shadow climbed in my bed beside me. 

"I wasn't going to say anything, but I've noticed that the only two times you've slept properly on this tour is when we've slept together."

I stayed quiet. 

"I'm right, aren't I?"

I whispered back. "Yeah, you're right."

"Well then, we can't have you going without a proper nights sleep, can we?"

"I guess not," I agreed, and let the drummer pull me to lie down next to him. I rested my head on his shoulder, and placed my hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat on my palm as I drifted off to sleep.

For whatever reason, this boy was the cure to my insomnia, and I was okay with that.