Faint sounds sent Rylie on the edge of being asleep and awake.
"What do you think happened last night?"
"I'd say they had some fun and decided to come home to keep the party going."
"Man, I hope for Rylie Paul doesn't see this."
"I hope for Luke Paul doesn't see this! We might as well start digging his grave."
"Yea, Paul doesn't like Luke. At all."
"Why not?"
"Hmm. Luke was flirting with his daughter."
Rylie opened her eyes to a blur before her. Her eyes adjusted, and she gasped, pulling the cover up over her startled body when she saw Michael, and Ashton hovering over her. "Guys! Privacy! There's a reason there's a curtain on these bunks!"
"There's a reason these bunks are so small..." Ashton shot back, his eyebrows tilting with a playful judgment.
"Yea...they are only made for one person." Michael frowned, and Rylie raised her eyebrows at his glum expression. She barely knew those boys, and they were creeping on her as she slept. Then she felt warmth beside her, and the memory of her and Luke's kiss last night played on her lips. "Nothing happened!" she defended, but they only shot her unconvinced faces.
"Really, he was just helping me."
"With what? Taking your pants off?" Ashton chuckled, and Michael slapped him on the arm. Rylie rolled her eyes at the inappropriate statement, and begged for the conversation to end quickly.
"No, he was helping me find my charger and I...just kinda...let him stay." she blushed, knowing the words sounded like bitter lies.
The boys looked down at their feet to end the already awkward conversation, and Rylie took the opportunity to jump from her bunk and pull the heavy cover over Luke's sleeping body. He looked so peaceful, and she smiled at the taste of him still on her lips.
She pushed past the lanky boys before her, and headed straight to the bathroom. She locked the door behind her, and glanced at herself in the mirror, expecting to see a tired, deranged beast. Instead, she noticed her skin glowing with a happiness she hadn't had in a while. She radiated glee, and Luke just seemed to make her feel so joyful and special. In that moment, she planned to never let him slip through her already damp fingers.
She washed her face, and applied the daily routine of light makeup, and brushed through her wavy locks. Then, she went and grabbed her favorite pair of skinny jeans with a black t-shirt, and her Docs. She wasn't big into fashion, and nobody seemed to mind.
She stepped out of the cramped bathroom and stretched, releasing her limbs from their aching positions, and preparing for the chaotic day ahead. She observed Michael sitting at the small table in the bus alone, and stepped over to him.
"Wanna go get breakfast?" she asked him, wanting to get to know the new band better. Michael seemed so sweet.
Michael looked up at her with vulnerable eyes and smiled. "Sure." He got up, exposing his height to be only a few inches taller than she. They exited the cramped bus, feeling the sunshine hit them at an intense rate. Not many people were outside but Rylie knew they were surely grabbing breakfast at the caters in the outlandish building ahead.
"So tell me about yourself." Rylie spoke.
Michael rubbed the back of his neck. "There's not much to tell actually."
"I highly doubt that." Rylie raised her eyebrows in an attempt to open up and she met his luminous green eyes. They gleamed in the sunlight with such a childish air of peace. They were breathtaking; almost enough to compare to Luke's but not quite.
"Well I grew up with the boys, but me and Calum were always real close. Ashton was a few grades ahead, and I didn't like Luke that much." Michael started.
"Why not?" Rylie asked, bewildered by the idea of someone not liking Luke.
"I always thought he was too cool to be friends with me." Michael laughed at his silly comment, and Rylie pictured a shy, chubby Michael glancing over at the fringed, lanky Luke, wanting so desperately to be his friend.
"So how'd the band form?"
"We all had a passion for music, and we ended up making a band. Then, when we got serious, we decided we needed a drummer, and Calum knew Ashton."
Rylie nodded, thankfully she was no longer clueless. "Well I listened to a few of your covers. You're really talented."
Michael shrugged. "There's definitely room for improvement."
"There's always room for improvement. I still haven't mastered piano, but for now, I'm proud of my skills." she had room to brag.
Michael nodded, and opened the large door for Rylie as they got to the building. Everyone was glum and silent as they grabbed their coffee, and piled music equipment into a large trailer. She walked over to a big table filled with delicious pastries and breakfast, and mentally thanked the caterers for making such tasteful food.
She grabbed a glazed donut from the assortment, and watched Michael grab one too. She eyed the coffee, but decided she didn't need any, and walked with Michael back out into the open air, and to their bus.
"So are you 18 like Luke?" Rylie asked, taking a large bit of her donut, and humming with satisfaction.
"Well I turned 19 a couple months ago, but I ended up dropping out of high school to come on this tour." Michael answered.
Rylie stifled a laugh. "You're such a rebel. High school dropout. Band tees and skinny jeans. Dyed hair. Eyebrow piercing. Tattoos." Yet somehow, and she didn't mention this to him, he was like a soft, gentle teddy bear.
Michael laughed at her observation. "I'm actually a pretty good guy."
"Yea, I think you are."
The next few steps consisted of them both finishing off their food.
"So...I'm sorry if I'm nosy, but are you and Luke...like a thing now?" Michael asked, and he avoided Rylie's questionable eyes.
It wasn't that she was uncomfortable with the question; she just didn't understand why it mattered to him. She gave him a content smile, and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Right now, we're just seeing where things go."
Michael nodded again, and plastered a smile on his face. Hidden behind his glowing eyes was a somber look of self pity and defeat. "Well Luke's a great guy." he sighed.
"You okay?" Rylie noticed his immediate solemn expression.
"I'm fine." Michael smiled another fake expression, and she decided their conversation was drawing to a close.
"Hey!" They both turned to see her father running towards them, and they stopped to wait. Paul caught up to them quickly, and Rylie felt intimidated by the shirt tightened around his muscular body. She was uneasy, knowing how their last conversation went, and she was in no mood to be dejected from his words.
Paul looked at Rylie with melancholy eyes, and he choked back a frown so he could pull a cheerful mask over his face. "Hey." he said simply, and she nodded. She knew Michael could sense the tension, so she wrapped her fingers around the end of his elbow, and met his eyes to assure him everything was alright. She felt him tense up by her touch, and she silently chuckled at his shyness.
"So you have the option of which bus you're gonna be sleeping on. One Direction or 5 Seconds of Summer...or where you really belong: with the background people?" he asked. Rylie nearly forgot about the many buses were needed on this tour. There was a bus for each category of people, but everyone somehow ended up in different places. Sometimes she found herself sleeping with the equipment. On the earlier tour she had been on, her assigned bus was with the rest of the backup band, but she was always so close with the 1D boys that she hardly followed the rules. Plus, she was dating Liam at the time.
Now she had an option, and it was obvious what Paul wanted her to pick, but she felt connected to the new band. They were so much more her style, and she seemed to mediate towards them. Plus, there was Luke...
"5 Seconds of Summer." Rylie stated, and she glanced at Michael to see his eyes light up.
"Why am I not surprised?" Paul remarked, scribbling something on his notepad. "Did you go on that date last night with Luke?"
Rylie rolled her eyes, ignoring the judgment in his voice. "Yes I did, and it was amazing. Thanks for asking." her sarcasm was clear, and she couldn't imagine how Michael felt in this awkward fight between father and daughter.
"Congrats on losing my approval." Paul said, and smiled a pathetic smile her way before turning on his heel, and ending the conversation.
Rylie was unhinged with a furious manner as her blood boiled. Her dad was being so cold, and she hated it. She hated not getting along with someone, but she was never going to do everything her dad wanted. He would have to deal with it. She twisted back around, and ignored Michael's questions as they walked back to the bus in silence.
All she wanted was Luke to get her mind off everything like he so easily did, and she crawled on the bus, immediately searching for him. He wasn't in her bunk anymore. They had to head to Milan Italy any minute now so she wanted to talk to him before everything got crazy.
The bus was quite big for a...well...bus. The front was of course where the driving took place. Then there was a couch, a table, a TV with all the X-box games imaginable, and a small kitchen.
There was about 10 bunks next. The bunks were about 6 by 3 so anyone taller than 6 feet had to squish together. Then there was a very small bathroom with a toilet, a sink, and shower head over the entire thing, so if you wanted a shower, you could just sit on the toilet.
In the back of the bus, there was another sitting area that was entirely sound proof and if the boys weren't in a hotel room, that's where they recorded. How they were going to get this bus to Italy was a different issue.
Anyway, once Rylie checked the bunks and saw no Luke, she assumed he was in the back room. She slid open the door and saw the boy whose relationship they shared indescribable sitting on the leather chaise, and jotting something down on the yellow notebook on his lap. His exquisite tan guitar rested in his lap, and Rylie admired the sweatpants being the only thing covering his body. His chest wasn't very muscular like most guys but she loved it. It was slightly tan, and he did have faint abs. His hair was in a messy scoop on his head, and he looked like a disguised angel.
"Luke?" she called his name, and saw his eyes meet hers. She had ripped him from his flustered thoughts. A smile crept upon his face. "There's the girl of the hour."
Rylie raised her eyebrows as she sat down beside him.
Luke put the pencil behind his ear, and licked his chapped lips. "So I woke up, and the greatest idea came to mind."
"What was it?"
"Listen." Luke fumbled with his guitar. He started to play some chords and sing the lyrics on the paper.
"How did we end up talking in the first place?
You said you liked my Cobain shirt
Now we're walking back to your place
You're telling me how you love that song
About living on a prayer
I'm pretty sure that we're halfway there
And when I wake up next to you I wonder how
How did we end up here?"
"Now it's not finished yet. That's just the chorus, but what do you think? I thought our date was perfect inspiration for a song." Luke smiled, obviously proud of himself, and the lyrics played in Rylie's head. It was beautiful. That was so kind; so thoughtful. He was so amazing.
"I could literally cry." Rylie said, her stomach in knots at the wonderful gesture. "No one's ever written a song about me. I've always been the one to help them."
Luke smiled, and his hand found her cheek. "I really feel something with you, Rylie. I feel like we've known each other forever when it's only been what- a day? I really like you."
Rylie's cheeks flushed with red. She was intoxicated with passion at Luke, and she felt the same way he did. Her whole body tightened in nervousness as she leaned closer into him, attaching their lips together. Another explosion of fireworks went off in her body, and she loved the thrilling feeling. Luke's lips tasted like cherry and she was reminded of how much she loved cherries. Especially the taste of cherries on Luke.
