Five Years

I woke up in the morning leaning on Jack with a foul taste in my mouth. Morning breath was the worst but thankfully I had the cure. I carefully got up from beside him and walked over to my bunk, pulling out some fresh clothes and headed into the bathroom. I quickly showered and made sure to get fresh and clean before getting out and drying off. I changed into my new clothes and put my hair up in the towel. I did some simple makeup, winged eyeliner and some mascara. I picked up my dirty clothes and walked out of the bathroom to put them into my suitcase.

“Good morning sunshine!” Rian laughed from behind me. “What’s up with the towel? No blow dryer with you or anything?”

“Nope,” I packed my clothes away and turned around to him. “I left it at home so I’m going to be au natural this tour.” I went into the bathroom to take the towel off my head and I picked up my hair brush. Rian leaned against the door with his arms crossed and a smile on his face.

“You look nice today.” He commented as I ran a brush through my hair.

“In this old thing?” I laughed and looked down at my clothes. I was just wearing my light, distressed acid washed jeans, black muscle shirt that said ‘normal is boring,’ and my all black converse.

“I guess it’s just nice to have you around again.” He shrugged and leaned off the door frame. “You would look nice in anything that you wore.”

“Thanks Rian.” I smiled and pulled him into a hug. It really was nice to be around all the guys again, it felt like the home that I’ve been longing for. We heard the front door open and shut and then an Australian voice called from the front lounge. “Shay?”

“And that’s my cue to leave.” I laughed and patted Rian’s shoulder. “I’ll be back in a while, be sure to tell Zack that I went out with Jenna when he gets back.”

I walked out to the front lounge and Jenna was sitting on the couch talking to Alex. They were smiling and laughing but then she got up as soon as she saw me. “Ready to go?” I followed her out of the bus.

“So what were you and Alex talking about?” I asked as we went on our way back to her bus.

“He was just telling me about how things used to be when you still lived in Baltimore.” She smiled. “It’s really cool that you decided to come back and come on tour with us, especially now that you’re doing it because of your awesome job.”

“Are you kidding?” I laughed. “You’re here because you have a kickass job too. You get to sing your heart out to a ton of fans all the time, and that’s amazing.”

“Why thank you,” she laughed and we stepped onto her bus. I guess she was the only one awake because no one else was in the front lounge or anywhere to be seen. She went over to the kitchen area and grabbed some fruits and veggies out of the fridge. I watched as she pulled out a container of powder from a cabinet above the sink.

“So what do you want in your smoothie?” She asked.

“Since I’m not an expert on smoothies or anything so surprise me.” I smiled and sat down on the couch. She filled up the blender with various fruits and veggies and then added in some water, ice, and powder. She blended it into a liquid and then dumped it out into two cups with a lid and straw.

“So let’s go on our stroll.” She handed me one of the cups and I took a long drink as I stood up from the couch and headed out the door.

“Wow Jenna, this is amazing!” I laughed and continued to chug down the drink while we walked around the parking lot.

“Thank you, I always try to find delicious new recipes online and this one just seemed to stick with me.” She beamed and we continued our little walk around the venue. “So what was it like being with the guys before you left, did you ever go on tour with them?”

“Uh well, I guess growing up with the band was a lot of fun and I used to make the posters and I even helped keep their website updated in their early days. I was a huge part of the band and then I decided to go off and do my own thing. I got my degree in journalism and applied for some internships at AP and then they offered me a job. I spent a lot of time in Ohio and I never came back to come and see the guys but Zack would come and visit me all the time.”

She nodded. “And what’s the deal with you and Alex? He told me that you used to date but he didn’t give me any hints as to why the two of you broke up in the first place.”

“It’s a really long story.” I sighed and took another sip of my drink.

“Well we have a ton of time before I have to be off performing.” She shrugged and we walked down the sidewalk and into town.

*Flashback*

I sat in my room with the new album blasting. Nothing Personal was a huge hit and not to mention my new summer album. It was hard dating Alex while he was out on tour all the time to promote their new album. There was a knock on my door and I turned down my music before answering the door.

“Alex!” I squealed and jumped into his arms, planting kisses all over his face and neck.

“Well it’s good to see you too Shay.” He laughed and peeled me off of him. We walked over to the bed and sat down.

“I had no idea that you were back from tour, Zack said that you guys wouldn’t be back for another two weeks.” I furrowed my brows and reached across the bed.

He sighed and looked down at our hands. “I came back because there’s something that I have to tell you.”

“Well what is it? You know that you can tell me anything Lex.” I looked at him with concern; he’s never acted like this before.

He shook his head and looked up at me. “This is really hard to say but, I cheated.” My heart dropped and a lump was starting to grow in my throat. “Are you going to say anything?”

“How could you?” I let go of his hands and tried my best not to break down in front of him.

“I’m really sorry Shay,” he frowned. “I was just drunk and I didn’t know what I was doing. You have to believe me, I still love you.”

“No Alex.” I shook my head and got up from the bed. “If you loved me then you wouldn’t feel the need to stick your dick into some other woman in order to feel whole again. You have a god damned girlfriend. Well, used to.”

“Wait, you’re breaking up with me?” His mouth hung open and he got up.

I smirked and opened up my bedroom door. “And I’ll make it easy for you, you won’t have to see me around anymore. I’m going off to college in Ohio so I can get a fresh start.”

“Wait, you got accepted and you didn’t even tell me?” He furrowed his brows.

“I was planning on telling you when you got back from tour but I guess now’s a good a time as any.” I crossed my arms. “But now I want you to leave.”

“Shay, you’re making a mistake.” He shook his head.

“No Alex, you made a mistake when you cheated. Now you’re dealing with the consequences and I won’t ever be able to look at you the same way again.” I gestured towards the door. “Bye.”

*End Flashback*

“Oh my god, that’s awful!” She cooed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, why would you ever come back onto the tour with him?”

“Well AP got in touch with the band about an exclusive interview and international cover feature with the magazine.” I explained. “Since Zack is my brother I convinced him to get the band to agree to it and then the editor put me in charge of the project. Then I had to get in touch with a photographer and Zack hooked me up with Adam so now I’m here.”

She rubbed my arm. “I just want you to know that if you ever need a getaway from them, you’re always welcome to come over to our bus.”

“Thanks,” I smiled. It was nice to know that making friends besides the ones that I was temporarily living with were so easy to make, and not to mention friendly. We continued our walk around before heading back to the buses and spending our day with the rest of the bands.

Notes