Charlotte woke up with a pounding headache, although she was fairly certain she hadn't drank enough last night to be hungover. She had, however, been confused enough for her brain to still be hurting. She rubbed at her aching temple as the sound of assorted snoring came in clearer. With a groan, she got to her feet and made her way towards the front of the bus to grab a cup of coffee.

"Rough night?" Carter asked with a soft chuckle, noticing her obvious discomfort. He peered up from the MacBook on his lap and took a sip of his coffee, watching as Charlotte poured herself a cup.

"Something like that," she mumbled, leaning against the counter and bringing the steaming mug to her lips.

"You've got a set in a couple of hours, so you should probably go get some breakfast," Carter spoke, turning his attention back to his laptop.

Charlotte groaned. She didn't have any appetite and plus she wasn't in the mood to run into Alex. She was still pretty unsure of what to do with the information Jack had given her, about Rian and Zack's plan and Alex having had his heart broken, but she definitely wanted to do something about it. After the stunt Alex pulled last night she was pretty annoyed and thought a little revenge was in order, she just wasn't entirely sure how to pull that off.

---

The Safe Bet's set was fairly short today, but still a lot of fun. The group of them skipped off stage; their hearts pounding and their foreheads sweaty as they soaked in the electric atmosphere, allowing the adrenaline to slowly dissipate. Charlotte grabbed a bottle of water and waved as she saw Tyler approaching them.

"Hey," he smiled sweetly at her before turning to Carter, "Am I opening the merch tent now, or later?" he asked.

Carter wrapped an arm around Tyler and smiled, "I'll do it, you should take the day off." He ruffled Tyler's hair before setting off towards the merch tent. Tyler turned to Charlotte with a confused look on his face. She let out a laugh. It wasn't often Carter was in a good mood, so it was usually wise to just sit back and reap the benefits, rather than question it.

"Well, since I'm apparently free, do you wanna go get some food?" Tyler asked with a chuckle, a hopeful gleam in his eye.

"Uh... sure?" Charlie responded with a smile, although her tone was a little uncertain. She wasn't entirely sure of her and Tyler's friendship; she didn't really know him too well yet, but he seemed like a nice guy. She was just worried he had a little more interest in her than she did him, but she shrugged that off and grabbed her things.

They asked the rest of the guys if they wanted to come – much to Tyler's dismay – but they all claimed to already have plans with some of the YMAS boys.

Charlie and Tyler headed off towards wherever Tyler was taking her. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Alex, staring them down as they walked across the tarmac. His face was totally blank, but she had an inkling that he was a little annoyed at the sight of her and Tyler walking and laughing together.

She didn't know why, but her immediate reaction was to link her arm with Tyler's. Tyler seemed a little taken aback, but he flashed her a warm smile as she laughed way too hard at the joke he had told. Charlie peeked back at Alex and noticed he had completely turned away and was talking to Flyzik and some other guys. She gulped a little, turning and flashing Tyler a fake smile as they continued their walk.

---

"So..." Zack began, pretending to have his head buried in a magazine with Alex on the front of it. Alex, however, was not looking at all like the handsome picture in Zack's hands. He had woken up with a brutal hangover, although that was becoming his constant state by this point. What had really pushed him over the edge was seeing Charlie and Tyler giggling as they practically cuddled all the way across the carpark. The thought had left Alex's head in a bit of a tizz. "How was drinking from Charlie's bellybutton?" Zack asked with a forced laugh, peeking up at Alex in anticipation.

"Uh..." Alex rubbed his head; the thoughts of last night rushing back to him. Why had he been such a dick – for the millionth time? He had been hoping to get Charlie alone at some point today to apologise (again, for the millionth time), but after seeing her and Tyler together he just felt pretty numb and angry. "It was just a game," he shrugged, picking up his phone and scrolling through all 0 of his text messages – but Zack didn't have to know that.

"Oh," Zack breathed, seemingly casual. "I mean, yeah, I know," he let out a chuckle, "but she's hot, though," he watched Alex intently, but as soon as Alex glanced up at him, his eyes darted back to the page he was pretending to read.

"She's, uh..." Alex gulped. He had no idea what to say. Should he just casually agree? Should he brush it off like he didn't find her incredibly attractive? Should he get Zack in a headlock? The last option seemed like it would be pretty detrimental to Alex's health. "Yeah, she's hot," his throat seemed to close up as he forced the words out.

Zack looked up and narrowed his eyes at the shaggy haired man; confused by his tone of voice. Alex flashed him an uncomfortable smile. He knew what Zack was doing. He was doing that creepy mind-reading thing he seemed to be so good at. Alex was sure Zack was a witch. The way he could read people so easily; even Alex who was like a brick wall when it came to emotions.

Luckily for Alex, their encounter was interrupted by a rather sweaty Jenson, in basketball shorts and a tank top, bounding onto their bus, totally out of breath. He hunched over and held his knees, breathing heavily. Zack shot Alex a look as the pair waited for him to explain. "Do... you guys... wanna play... footy?" he asked between irregular breaths.

Zack let out a soft chuckle. "Do you mean soccer?" he asked, his tone mock-condescending.
Jenson stood straight now and glared at Zack as if he had just punched him in the gut. "No!" his tone was borderline appalled, "I mean football," he spoke sternly, rolling his eyes. The two Americans laughed as Jenson let out a groan, turning and getting off the bus. "Just come join us when you're done being obnoxious!" he called out before mumbling some obscenities under his breath, making his way towards the small patch of grass to the very edge of the parking lot, where a huge group of guys were playing football. It was USA vs. UK. Team UK consisted of Jenson, Emmet, Adam Josh, Dan and Ben in goal, whilst Team USA was comprised of John, Gabe, Kennedy, Alex, Zack with Jack in goal.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Adam yelled, glaring at Ben who had allowed the ball to pass by him for the 5th time already. Ben had continuously grumbled about not wanting to play, but his protests had been ignored and now he was being yelled at.

"I'VE TOLD YOU, I SUCK IN GOAL!" Ben yelled back, shaking his head in exasperation.

"YOU SUCK IN GENERAL!" Jenson yelled as he took a swig from a bottle of water.

"Okay, that's just mean," Ben mumbled, giving Jenson a look. Jenson shrugged in response.

"HEY!" Adam called out, waving his arm in Alex's direction. Alex had been on a pee break and was just passing through the buses on his way back to the makeshift pitch. Alex stopped, awaiting what Adam was going to say. "CAN YOU GO GET CHAR?!" Alex stuck his thumb up in response, turning on his heel and jogging over to The Safe Bet's bus.

"Seriously?" Ben looked around at his teammates in disbelief, "You're gonna replace me with my sister?"

"I'd replace you with my fucking dog, at this point," Josh Franceschi remarked, gaining laughter from the group of sweaty men.

Ben's jaw hung agape, "Wow," he breathed, "T-that really hurt." Josh rolled his eyes at the overly dramatic, curly haired boy.

---

Alex stepped onto The Safe Bet's bus and was immediately greeted by the sweet sounds of Charlotte's giggling. It instantly put a smile on his face, but as he moved closer to the sound he could hear a male voice speaking as well. Alex's smile instantaneously fell as he quickly moved towards Charlotte's bunk – where the noises were coming from.

He ripped the curtain back and saw Charlie propped up against one wall of her bunk, her phone in her hand, and Tyler propped up at the other side, also on his phone. It was a relief compared to what Alex was expecting, but it still infuriated him nonetheless. His face was completely blank and hard as he watched the pair jump out of their skin, not realising Alex had came onto the bus.

"Oh my god," Charlie breathed, clutching her chest and feeling her accelerated heartbeat due to the scare.

"What are you guys doing?" Alex asked, ignoring their reactions. His voice was cold and seemingly disinterested, although it was obvious that he was suspicious of the situation – for whatever reason.

"We're playing-" Tyler began with a wide grin, not detecting Alex's tone. Alex didn't even bother to look at Tyler when he spoke, his brown orbs remained firmly on Charlotte. She hated this cold stare he had, it made her feel like an ant under a microscope. A microscope in the hot sun, and an ant that was being slowly burnt to a crisp.

"Yano, I'm not surprised," Alex let out a mirthless, gravelly laugh, cutting Tyler off. "Just hanging out with some guy in your bed," he spoke mock-breezily. Charlotte was hardly phased by the statement and it's connotation, she just rolled her eyes and continued to glare at him.

"What do you want, Alex?" Charlotte asked, impatience lacing her voice as she looked up at him, unimpressed. Tyler began to shift uncomfortably in his seat as the pair just glared at eachother, unmoving, no words.

After an excruciating silence, Alex spoke, "Adam wants you." He jutted out his thumb as if to gesture to Adam.

"Oh, are the guys playing soc-" Tyler began, but again, Alex interrupted him.

"Yano, I'm really not talking to you," he muttered harshly. Tyler was now in the firing line of Alex's icy stare and he immediately felt intimidated. He gulped and sat back further against the wall.

"Alex!" Charlie raised her voice, furrowing her brow as she looked at the tall man in disbelief.

Alex wasn't a fan of Charlotte looking at him like that. He felt almost... guilty? It was an emotion he wasn't very accustom with. "Sorry," he muttered, putting his hands up defensively.

"Uh... maybe I should... go?" Tyler breathed awkwardly, slipping out from Charlie's bunk as another staring match ensued between the pair.

"No, Tyler," Charlie protested, reaching and grabbing his hand. Alex's eyes clocked the touch immediately and he felt anger bubbling inside him already. He sunk his teeth into his lower lip and felt his jaw lock as he folded his arms across his chest. Charlotte caught a glimpse of this and quickly removed her hand from his. Whether it was for Alex's feelings or Tyler's safety, she wasn't really sure. "If anyone should leave, it should be Alex," she spat his name from her mouth, turning and glaring up at him.

"Sweet," he flashed her a fake grin, before turning his gaze back towards Tyler. His eyes were practically pushing the man off the bus.

"Uh, no, I'll see you guys," Tyler gulped again and hurried off the bus. Alex exhaled through his nose in place of laughter, watching the short guy scamper away. Charlotte, however, didn't find any amusement in it.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Charlotte got to her feet and stood in front of Alex. Her small height barely met his shoulders, but she still tried her damnedest to get in his face.

He let out a laugh, "What?" his eyes softened now and he looked down at her, acting oblivious. "I just don't like the guy," he shrugged, pushing past her and moving towards the door.

She turned and followed him. "You don't know him," she spoke accusingly, her brows knitted together on her forehead.

Alex turned to face her and shrugged again, "I don't need to," he stated plainly.

"God!" she groaned, "You're such a dick!" Alex let out a laugh; he wasn't sure how he managed to do it so easily, but provoking Charlie was pretty enjoyable for him. "Can't you just be nice to people?!" she threw her arms out in exasperation.

"Being nice gets you nowhere, babe," he responded immediately, smirking down at the small bundle of anger in front of him. He had to admit, she was pretty adorable when she was mad.

Charlotte racked her brain for a witty remark, but her mind was so clouded with anger, she couldn't think straight. The pair simply just looked at eachother for a while; Charlotte angry and upset and wanting so badly to give Alex a piece of her mind. Whilst Alex's face had softened drastically; watching her getting worked up amused him, but also kind of turned him on. Strange, he thought, as he smirked down at her.

All Charlotte wanted to do was wipe the cocky grin off Alex's face. And so that's what she did... kind of. She lunged forward and connected her lips with his, her hands quickly found his hair as he wrapped his arms around her waist and hitched her up onto his waist – as if he knew this was going to happen.

Their lips mashed together, like they too were fighting. Charlotte made quick work of taking control. She slid her tongue into his mouth, flicking it teasingly against his. He moaned into her, as he swirled his tongue around hers. His hands moved to her behind and squeezed; his fingertips gripping and pulling roughly as he tormented her. The air between them was so limited, it caused the pair to become almost dizzy.

Alex quickly made his way towards the back-room, kicking the door closed behind him with his foot. He fell back into the couch, pulling Charlie into his lap as the pair continued to devour eachother. Charlie assumed position and straddled Alex, placing her hands either side of his face and kissing him feverishly. Alex groaned, bucking his hips into her. He could already feel how hot she was against him and the thought was torturous.

Charlotte let out a small giggle before sinking her teeth into Alex's lower lip and dragging it back, just enough that she could look him in the eyes. His eyes rolled back and he began to bounce one leg in frustration. Charlotte giggled again, before pulling away and continuing her assault down along Alex's jawline and neck. She nibbled and sucked at certain spots, just enough to earn noises from Alex. He bucked his hips into her again and she could feel his arousal. She smirked to herself, feeling accomplished. At this point she wasn't entirely why she was doing this, but she continued to tell herself this was her revenge plan. Although, she wasn't so sure.

At a snails pace, she began fiddling with Alex's belt buckle; purposefully allowing her hands to slip and stumble. Alex kept moving to help her but she slapping his hands away every time. She had no intention of actually undoing his pants. Although, it would be doing him a favour – who plays football in skinny jeans?

"ARE YOU GUYS COMING?" Adam's voice echoed through the bus. Charlotte suppressed a snicker as she felt Alex go still beneath her. She had a feeling one of the boys would become agitated and come and find them. Her revenge was going to plan. She continued her assault on Alex's neck, just to add insult to injury.

"Uh... in a minute!" Alex yelled back, his voice shaky and weak.

"You wish," she mumbled into his neck, leaving one last kiss there before jumping to her feet and grinning at him sweetly, as if nothing had happened.

Alex tried his best to suppress a smile; running his tongue along his teeth in frustration as he shook his head at her. "You're evil," he whispered, a gleam in his eyes.

Charlotte let out a laugh. "I know," she smiled wide, earning a laugh from Alex as she turned and skipped off the bus; feeling very proud and smug, although slightly confused.

Alex rolled his eyes playfully and followed after her. He had absolutely no idea what had just happened, or how it had happened, but he wasn't complaining. Although, a small part of him was. He couldn't help but question whether or not this was a good idea – which was very unlike him, since usually anything that involved a girl was a great idea to him.

However, this felt a little dangerous to him. He wasn't sure how or why but part of him was begging him to get out whilst he still had the chance. Whilst another part of him – almost minute – was telling him to just do it; just go with it; just give it a shot. He wasn't entirely sure what that even meant, or whether he should listen to it or not. He shook his head and tried to clear all of his conflicting thoughts. He was just going to do what he always did; have fun. And if things got too messy? Get the fuck out of there.

Notes

charlie's outfit