***READ UPDATED VERSION NOT THIS VERSION of Love Squared

Chapter1~Ashlynn

A pounding headache split between my temples. I reached for my phone to turn the volume of my music down just as a reminder popped up on the screen. "Show #56 tonight!! Halfway through tour!!" It read. I let out a long sigh.

     I was in the band No Strings Attached and had been on the road for five months now, living out my dream. It was my third world tour but I still had a hard time realizing that this was a normal thing for me. This time, I had become homesick, and I chose the comfort of my tour bus bunk to rest my racing mind. The alert on my phone had just reminded me of how long I had been gone and will be gone for.

Just when I had finally drifted off to sleep, I was startled awake by the sound of tapping outside my bunk. "Who is it," I groaned, sounding more miserable than I intended.

     "Guess," a deep voice responded. It was obviously Hunter. I knew him so well that I could tell he was smiling as he spoke, without even moving the bunk curtain.

     I decided to mess with him. Since he knew I had a bad headache, I planned to play it up a bit.

     "Where am I?" I questioned, furrowing my brows.

     Hunter swept the curtain back, a look of concern painted over his face.

     "Ash, it's me Hunter. We're on the tour bus... Don't you remember?! Are you okay?"

     I probably should've stopped there, but being the prankster I was, I made up my mind to take it a little further.

     I stared at him blankly and rubbed my head. "Who's Ash?" I responded. It took everything in me to hold back the laughter that was trying to escape.

     His eyes widened, and he replied, "Did you hit your head?" He didn't wait for a response. "Let's go get you some ice."

     He scooped me up and carried me bridal-style into the back lounge and gently placed me on the couch. I was kind of glad when he set me down because my heart was racing so much and I was positive he could feel it.

     "Stay right here, I'll go get the ice," he said sternly and made his way to the kitchen.

     I took his absence as an opportunity to let out a small giggle. That's when I realized... It was oddly quiet on the bus. Too quiet. The rest of the band was nowhere to be seen.

     Just then, Hunter walked back into the lounge, ice in hand. "Here you go Ash." He offered me the ice. I put up a hand, pushing it away from me.

     "Can I tell you something?" I asked sweetly.

     "Sure, anything," he responded. He looked at me intently with his emerald green eyes, urging me to speak. His face was saying "tell me every little thought on your beautiful mind." And I really wanted to...

     A lump formed in my throat. I felt extremely guilty for lying to him, but I swallowed the lump away and met his eyes.

     I motioned for him to move closer, so he bent down. I whispered in his ear, "You are so gullible!!!" and added a giggle.

     He stood up and shook his head slowly. "Ash... I," he began.

     I felt the lump of guilt form again. "Yea, Hunt?"

     "You drive me crazy!!!!" He laughed pulling me into a friendly hug.

     A wave of relief swept over me now that I knew he wasn't mad.

     "Your life would be so boring without me though!" I said teasingly as we ended the hug.

     "I can't argue with that," he smirked.

     "You should have seen your face you were like..." I copied his concerned look as best as I could.

     "Stop it," he playfully punched my arm. "I can't help I'm a good friend."

     The last word sank my heart. Friend. Nothing more. Nothing else. Just "friends". How I longed for us to be more than that. But I could never tell him. It would ruin our friendship forever, not to mention the band's chemistry. Besides, he had a girlfriend. Marissa. Just the thought of them together drove a stake through my heart.

     "And I can't argue with that," I tried desperately to cover up the pain in my voice. It was no use. But he didn't seem to notice.

     "Where is everyone?" I questioned, once again aware of the rare silence.

     "They're checking out tonight's venue."

     "Oh. I hadn't realized we arrived." I said.

     "Yep. We've been here for a little while.
Rehearsal's in an hour," he added with a quick glance at his watch. "How's your head doing? If you feel better we can tour the arena."

     "It's feeling better, thanks," I lied. "And that sounds like fun! Do you think we can take the Segways?!"

     "Who's gonna stop us?! Race you to the trailer!!"

     We ran off the bus and out into the bright, sunny world. We easily found the trailer that held all equipment we might need; back up speakers, cords, mics, Segways(cause why not), and other tech stuff. I beat him there. :p
Soon, we were off towards the entrance of the arena, which was not far from the trailer.

     As we entered the massive structure, I breathed out deeply. It was bigger than I thought. Ever since I was little I had dreamed of playing in arenas like this one. I felt chills which were closely followed by some nervous butterflies in my stomach.

     "Pretty neat," I was yanked from my thoughts to see Hunter gazing at the arena around us.

     "Yea," I managed to get out, overcome by mixed emotions. I was so excited yet so nervous for the night to come. It was just an incredible feeling I'll never forget.

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(A/N): Thanks so much for reading this! If you leave a comment, please make it a nice one! I will update the story as often as possible. TRUST ME IT GETS BETTER. FIRST CHAPTER WAS PRETTY BORING BUT IT GETS REALLY EXCITING. Please don't take my work. Try writing your own story. It's like living out your dreams or your nightmares. You are in complete control of everything, so have fun with it!  Don't forget to vote!! Thanks again for reading!!

Love y'all!😘

~T🤓🤗