Destined To Explode

“Good Morning, sunshine!” I yell as I jump onto Zack’s back the next morning, he was loitering in the lobby like a few others, waiting until more people show up for breakfast before we all went to sit down. “Did you kill my cousin last night?”

“Yeah, I shoved him into the closet after too. We’ll get away with it, buddy.”

“Awesome.”

“If you’re quite done discussing my murder, can we please go for breakfast now? I’m in need of some waffles before the day begins.” Jack walks past, texting frantically but still managing not to crash into people as he strolls across the lobby.

“He has spoken.” Zack laughs, hitching me further up onto his back until he has a much more secure hold. “Shall we, m’lady?”

“Oh, Sir, if you would.”

Alex follows behind us, chuckling before chivalrously helping me down when we arrive at an empty table, pulling the chair which I was due to sit on closer to his own, his arm falling across the back of it before he presses a long kiss on my cheek. “Shopping and lunch?”

“Hmm?” I turn my head, my attention having gone to where Matt was trying to stop Jack from piling bacon onto everyone’s plates and Alex’s smile causes my own to appear. “Hey.”

“Hi.” He chuckles, moulding our lips together for a few short moments. “I said, how does shopping and lunch sound?”

“When?”

“Well, around lunch, I would have thought,” Alex laughs as I nudge him with my elbow, not resisting as he pulls me just that bit closer to him, pressing a kiss to the top of my head as I press one to his clothed shoulder. “Up for it?”

“Yeah, just as long as you don’t mind missing out on some gambling time.”

“We have two days to throw our money away; I think that I can cope without the extra couple of hours at the poker tables.”

“In that case, I’m going to get dressed seeing as it’s already eleven,” I jump up out of my seat, grabbing a slice of bacon off of Jack’s plate with a napkin as he walks past, quickly bending to press a kiss to Alex’s stubbly cheek before I go. “I suggest that you do the same.”

“I’ll be up in a bit.” He grins. “Just gonna grab a real breakfast.”

I ruffle Jack’s hair as I pass him on the long table, which is slowly filling up with sleepy band and crew members as they file in from the lobby. Cass and Rian passing me, hand-in-hand as I wait for the next elevator, Travis bursting out of it when it finally settles on the ground floor, grabbing me in a bear hug and attempting to drag me back across to the restaurant.

“Come eat some breakfast, Poppy flower.” He grins, and it’s kind of difficult to get away from Travis, what with the height difference and his determination.

“I need to get and get dressed, Trav.” I laugh, tugging in the opposite direction until he lets me go. “Lex and I are going out.”

“Date?” He winks, laughing as I slap his arm playfully, but confirming it with a nod. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

I resist the urge to flip him off, I mean, we are in public and there’s other people around and he’s already skipping off having caught up with Rian and Cass, talking to them in a loud voice about really craving some Pop Tarts right about now.

~*~*~*~

Shopping and lunch with Alex is nothing like shopping and lunch with say, Cassadee. With Cass, it was more of a relaxed thing, wandering around aimlessly, discovering new shops and occasionally buying something here and there before a quiet lunch but with Alex… it was speed walking around stores, picking up copies of things he already owned, myself only gazing at things instead of purchasing and then, at least this instance, buying a dress for the festivities tonight before we rush through a Subway and eat the sandwiches on the way back to the hotel.

It’s nice either way, spending some time alone with Alex outside of the bus and hotels, doing something like a normal couple would, unlike the hours in which we spent tucked away in dark venues, surrounded by dozens of other people.

It’s straight back into the mayhem once we reach our hotel room again, the door adjoining our room with Jack and Zack’s wide open when we enter, Cobra Starship blaring from Alex’s laptop that’s sat on our bed, Jack stood in only his boxers, dancing to the music.

Jack Barakat, everyone; my cousin.

“The fuck, bro?” Alex laughs, pushing Jack away from the device so that he can mute the noise. “What are you doing?”

“Pre-gaming!” He screeches, grinning. “You guys coming gambling with us all? We’re gonna fuck some shit up!”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re in our room. Dancing to Cobra. In your underwear.” I raise my eyebrows. I wasn’t shocked, this was Jack. Nothing that Jack does shocks me anymore.

“I, um, I’m not actually sure. It seemed like a good idea.”

“Well, if you could leave so we can get ready, that would be good, man.” Alex gestures to the open door. “What time is everyone meeting at?”

“Six, in the lobby. We gotta look smart apparently, so no jeans.” He looks at us both with a grin and then skips back through to his own room, slamming the doors as he goes.

Alex and I look at each other in silence before we laugh, Alex shaking his head as he moves his laptop onto a more stable surface, throwing the bags that he had been holding onto the bed instead. “Are you sure that you’re related? I just don’t see it.”

“I do wonder sometimes if one of us was adopted, or maybe Joyce brought home the wrong kid from the hospital,” I joke, flinging myself down onto the chair in front of the vanity. “But no, somewhere our genetics match and we become cousins – unfortunately.”

“Yep. I can escape him sometimes, but not you – you’re family, and Jack loves family.”

Our conversation carries on as we get ready for the night, Alex emerging freshly changed in a dress shirt and brand new skinny jeans – something he had bought especially for the night, now that all of his other pairs were ripped, frayed and faded thanks to the tour.

“Suitable?”

“Jack said no jeans.” I quirk an eyebrow as I eye the garment.

“Well, I didn’t pack slacks, so unless you want me to go in my briefs…”

“You look fine.”

“And you need to go and change so that we can go.”

I had already done my hair and make-up while Alex had fussed around in the shower and with his hair, so it was a matter of slipping into the dress that he had bought and working out if the two pairs of heels I had brought with me would in fact go with it, otherwise it would be ballet flats and feeling short for the rest of the night.

The dress Alex that had bought me (seeing as though he had an input on what I had bought with his money), was a simple, cream coloured ‘drape’ dress with sequin detail on the straps – modern, but without having random sections of flesh showing, ridiculous amounts of ruffles or covered in buttons like so many of the other dresses that had been on show in the stores.

“You ready?” Alex grins once he’s zipped the back of the garment up, pulling on his leather jacket whilst I slip the pair of black court shoes onto my feet.

“To go throw my money away and consume a gallon of free champagne?”

Yes, yes I was.

Notes