Alex's POV
I woke up feeling like complete shit; my head was pounding, my mouth was dry and my whole body ached. I could hear the consistent sound of Zack's struggled breathing in the form of snoring. I groaned at the sound, and turned over only to be completely startled by the sight of an unfamiliar blonde lied beside me. I sighed; remembering that we had slept together whilst I was incredibly intoxicated last night, but I had left her here once I had sobered up to go and speak to Charlie.

The thought of my conversation with Charlie made me want to retch. I couldn't believe those words had left my mouth; it was like my mouth had completely detached from my body – which often seemed to happen when I was angry. I was infamously known for my short temper, but I'd never been that grotesque, especially towards a woman. It was strange, Charlie just seemed to provoke some part in my brain that caused me to become so defensive and over zealous; it probably had to do with the fact she was the only girl who'd ever told me when I was being a jackass – which I was a lot of the time.

The nameless blonde beside me began to stir, turning slightly as she gently cooed. Quickly, and in a bit of a panic, I slipped out of the bunk and drew the curtain behind me. All of the other bunks, besides Zack's, were empty, meaning everyone else was already off getting breakfast or – I checked my phone; 1:15 PM – yep, lunch. I was still fully dressed in yesterday's clothing, but I sensed I didn't have enough time to have a shower and change, before the girl woke up, and so I just bolted for the door.

"...Alex?" I heard her sleepy voice murmur as she looked for me, just as I closed the door behind me. I sighed with relief and quickly hurried towards the canteen where I was sure the rest of the boys were.

I walked into the packed, hectic room filled with chatter and immediately spotted Rian's wide, sparkling grin as he listened intently to a story being told by Gabe Saporta. I grabbed myself a coffee and some food, before taking a seat beside Jack, who was also listening to the story carefully. It was something about Pete Wentz and a hotel TV and a pretty hotel worker, but I wasn't really listening, I was too busy scanning the room for Charlie. I spotted Carter and the rest of the guys, but she seemed to be absent. I sighed, praying that it wasn't because of me.

"Thanks for that, dude!" Zack growled sarcastically as he approached us, his eyes puffy and red from sleep. He sat across from me and beside Rian with a yawn, and snatched my coffee from my hand.

"Woah, what the fuck?" I furrowed my brow, confused as to what I had done to upset him and cause him to steal my drink.

"That girl! Who the fuck was she?" he questioned, downing my drink like it was an alcoholic shot.

"Ohhh..." I breathed, having completely forgotten about the blonde I had left back at the bus.

"She thought I worked for you! She kept asking for your fucking schedule!" he rolled his eyes and glared at me. Rian laughed but I wasn't really listening, I was still scanning the room and checking the door, hoping to see Charlie; I really needed to speak to her.

"What's up with you?" Rian asked, but I continued ignoring him. "Bro?" He snapped his fingers in front of my face and I jumped a little as he pulled me out of my trance, and turned to face him.

"What?" I muttered in an exasperated tone.

"You've been so weird recently," Zack responded, eyeing my suspiciously.

"Yeah, it's like you're in your own world," Rian chuckled, turning his attention back to the food in front of him.

"What?" I mumbled, "No, I'm fine," I stated absent-mindedly, my eyes already wandering.

"Dude -" Zack began to speak but I cut him off by getting up and walking away. I heard Zack tsk whilst Rian chuckled, but I had to speak to Charlie.

As soon as I set foot out of the canteen I spotted her across the parking lot; she was helping some guy carry boxes to their merch tent. She was wearing a You Me At Six shirt and jeans so ripped they might as well have been shorts. I recognised the guy she was with as being the guy she had spent a lot of yesterday talking to, but I'd never seen him before then.

Without really thinking I rushed towards her. She was laughing as she handed the guy a box and then made her way back over to the delivery truck. "Charlie!" I called out, rushing up behind her just as she was about to grab another box.

She turned to me and immediately rolled her eyes. "I'm busy," she responded bluntly, turning away and grabbing a box. I should've expected that she wouldn't want to speak to me, but I couldn't deal with the thought of her walking around all day thinking about what an asshole I am.

"I know, I know," I sighed and she began walking away, "but can we please just talk?" It sounded like I was begging, I was so desperate for her to just hear me out.

"We have nothing to talk about," she muttered as she handed the box over to the guy with a smile on her face. He looked down nervous and coy, probably trying to seem like he wasn't eavesdropping. She turned back to face me and brushed past me to get back to the truck.

"Okay, I know, but I'm really sorr-" I followed after her. I didn't know what had gotten into me, why did I care so much?

She turned to me sharply and cut me off, a blank expression on her face. "I know," she responded coldly, "just leave it," she turned back to the truck.

"But-" I began, still not satisfied with the rushed apology I had given.

"Seriously," she sighed, grabbing another box and turning to look at me, "I want to be amiable for the sake of everyone else, but I do not want to speak to you, okay? Especially not about last night," She had lowered her voice significantly so the guy she was helping wouldn't hear us. Her eyes were subdued and vacant of any emotion as she looked up at me, a look of disinterest on her face.

"Uhh..." I stammered, not sure of what to say. I appreciated that she was willing to get along and not make things awkward, but I was still unhappy about the agreement; I wanted to explain to her that I didn't mean any of it and that I was just an idiot (although I was certain that was already apparent). She walked away before I had a chance to respond properly and I watched her and the guy share a little joke and giggle together as she handed him another box. "Okay..." I whispered, mostly to myself, as I hung my head a little and walked away feeling rather defeated. I could still feel the animosity between us, and although it was my own fault, it still bothered me – at least I had tried.

"You guys did so great!" Flyzik praised, handing a bottle of water to Jack and wrapping an arm around a rather sweaty Rian. We had just finished our second performance in Nevada and we were on a serious high; the crowd was insanely hype and I was still buzzing with adrenaline as we bounded off stage. "Our tent's all set up, I think this would be a really good time to go over there and sign some stuff!" he continued, grinning wide.

We were the last show of the day, therefore business would be awesome over at our tent, even more so if we hung around there for a little while and took pictures and signed some stuff.
Making our way over to our tent, which was just a few yards beside The Safe Bet's, we could already hear a lot of commotion. I figured it was a queue already forming up for us after our set, but as we rounded the corner we could see a solid 30 foot line coming from The Safe Bet's tent. The guy who I hadn't met – who I had gathered by now was their new merch guy – was stood on a chair speaking into a megaphone whilst Charlie and her band were stood off to the side taking group photos with fans.

"GET A FREE CD WITH EVERY PURCHASE!" the guy was yelling into his megaphone, "IF YOU ALREADY HAVE ONE, GIVE IT TO YOUR FRIEND, GIVE IT TO YOUR MOM!" He wasn't that funny, but people were still laughing wildly at him, probably because he a pretty good looking guy.

I groaned at the sight, feeling rather irritated that they'd managed to get a bunch of customers, most likely that had just came from our set. "He's good," Matt mumbled to himself, looking a little annoyed by this new guy.

Once we approached our tent and people began registering who we were, the back end of their line feathered away and drifted over to us; I couldn't help but smirk a little. "YO NO! COME BACK!" the guy chuckled into the megaphone, obviously joking but he just irked me for whatever reason.

"NO NO! STAY HERE!" Jack yelled laughing, grabbing the girl at the front of our queue and holding her arms to her sides, as if holding her in place; she forced a laugh and although she was looking at him in adoration, it was obvious she was uncomfortable.

"Okay, don't restrain the fans," Matt deadpanned, grabbing Jack and rolling his eyes at his dumb behaviour. Jack began defending himself, apologising profusely to the girl to ensure he hadn't actually hurt her but we all just continued to ignore him, shaking our heads. Our tent was already set up and ready to go, so we instantly began taking pictures and signing stuff as Matt began selling away.

"WHAT ABOUT A FREE SIGNED CD WITH EVERY PURCHASE?!" the guy at The Safe Bet's tent began yelling, wiggling his eyebrows. A couple of people from the line we had formed strayed and rejoined their line, but none of the other guys seemed to be phased. "YES!" the guy cheered, pointing at each person who made their way back over towards him.

"Matt, do something," I muttered through my teeth as I smiled for a photo.

"About what?" he responded absent-mindedly as he made a transaction with a customer; he obviously wasn't as bothered by the situation as me.

"They're stealing customers," I responded like it was obvious. He turned and crinkled his brow at me in confusion, since it wasn't even a big deal, but it was irritating me.

"WHAT ABOUT A FREE SIGNED SHIRT FOR ANYONE WHO SPENDS OVER 20 BUCKS?!" the guy shouted again. A few whispers came from our line, before people again began leaving.

"Matt!" I gave him a warning look and he rolled his eyes, still not taking me seriously.

"Okay, fine..." he sighed, "2 FOR 1 SHIRTS! LIMITED OFFER!" Matt yelled, his voice in no way comparing to the volume of the megaphone, and his unenthusiastic tone wasn't helping either. The guys all chuckled, along with The Safe Bet, in fact it seemed like I was the only one who was taking this seriously.

Adam looked over at us and gave us a mock-shocked look, before standing up on a table and taking the megaphone from the other guy, "I'LL GIVE MY SHIRT TO THE FIRST PERSON WHO SPENDS OVER $30!" he yelled, tugging at the material of the shirt he was wearing; it probably wasn't even worth more than $30 but more people began gathering around anyway. Adam threw out his arms towards us as if to challenge us. Everybody but me was laughing.

"Oh, it's on!" Jack declared, attempting a deep, menacing voice. He climbed up on our table, clinging to the top of our tent for support. "EVERYTHING AT OUR TENT WILL BE UNDER $10 FOR THE NEXT HOUR!" he yelled as loud as possible.

"Dude, you can't just do that-" Matt began to protest.

"Shut up Matt," he mumbled, "EVERYTHING UNDER $10!" he continued, causing Matt to sigh. People began rushing over, earning a wide grin from Jack and he began climbing back down from the table.

Adam was now shirtless and climbing back up on their table, "BEN'S SHIRT IS ALSO FOR SALE!" he yelled, causing Ben to give him a disapproving look. Ben was by far more attractive than Adam and pretty buff, so of course, people began leaving our line and practically throwing their money at him.

"Jack, you need to get naked!" I exclaimed, pushing him forward towards the front of the tent.

"What?" he looked at me quizzically.

"Don't get naked," Zack responded blankly, shaking his head in disapproval.

Jack held Zack's gaze for a while before looking over at Matt. "Should I get naked?"

"If you get naked, I'll quit right now," Matt deadpanned, folding his arms across his chest.

"Even more reason to do it!" I joked, earning a mocking look from Matt, but I was still serious about the getting naked thing.

By this point both Ben and Adam were shirtless, and Charlie had pulled another megaphone from thin air it seemed; both her and their merch guy had started a chant and people across the parking lot began yelling back "THE. SAFE. BET!" continuously, pumping their fists in the air. Charlie smiled a huge, smug grin, pulling faces at Jack, Flyzik, Zack and Rian – pretty much anyone but me.

"I'm getting naked," Jack said definitively after a while of us just consistently losing in this strange battle that had erupted.

"No!" Rian yelled. "Yes!" I yelled simultaneously. Jack took off his shirt, as I cheered, and swung it around his head before throwing it towards the queue formed at the opposing tent. A bunch of girls gathered around him to take quick selfies with him.

"THAT'S CHEATING!" Charlie called into her megaphone, pointing at Jack with a laugh.

"EXCUSE YOU!" Zack began yelling, chuckling, "DO YOU NOT SEE ADAM AND BEN?"

The blonde girl directed her gaze to her shirtless brother and best friend who were now intercepting the group of girls surrounding Jack and trying to photobomb photos. She scratched her head and crinkled her nose mockingly, "Yeah, true," she muttered, "Jenson, take your shirt off!" she laughed, pushing the taller guy who was also stood beside her on their table. Zack chuckled at her, shaking his head and I glared at the side of his face subconsciously.

"JACK BARAKAT HATES PUPPIES!" Jenson called out, cupping his hands around his mouth to try and project his voice. People began to mockingly boo Jack as Jack flipped Jenson off, laughing.

After more laughter and yelling, Charlie had began a sing-song and people were all chorusing back their own lyrics to them; the sound deafening. I decided to press play on our CD player, which contained our most recent album, and cranked the volume up as high as it would go. The sound drowned out quite a lot of the chanting and Charlie sent me a fake glare, laughing as she did so; the situation obviously putting her in a better mood since now she was at least acknowledging me. I had somehow ended up with the other guy's megaphone and so I climbed up on a chair and began yelling the lyrics into the megaphone, earning laughter from everyone but people still gathered around and cheered as if I were performing a solo concert.

Jack and Ben were both dancing shirtless in the mass of people; Jack twirling Ben under his arm like they were ballroom dancing. Adam grabbed Charlie and pulled her down, encouraging her to join him as he began a conga line. People latched on to their shoulders; the laughter drowning out the people who were still singing along with me. Adam began leading the conga line back to their own queue, flipping me off as he did so. Charlie laughed hysterically, the sight made me smile but I tried my best to keep a hard composure. I could hear Matt, Zack and Rian all laughing and clapping as Adam began a conga-esque 'dah dah dah dah dah DAH, dah dah dah dah dah DAH' chant, kicking out their legs to the rhythm. Unknowingly, Jack clung onto Ben shoulders as the pair got whisked away by the line.

"JACK!" I yelled, giving him a look. People were laughing at my response, but I still wasn't too sure if I was kidding or not.

"Oh! Alex!" Ben looked up, a big grin on his face, "Join us!" he yelled, holding an arm out to me.

"No!" both Charlie and I yelled back at him in unison, her head whipping back to face her brother before looking up to meet my gaze after hearing my voice. She gulped a little and held my stare for a while before I had to look away out of sheer discomfort. I looked back at Ben who grimaced, looking rather disappointed.

"Jack, take off your pants!" I yelled into my megaphone, determined to win this. Jack stopped in the middle of the conga and looked at me intensely, internally questioning what I had said; people rushing around him to grab onto Ben and continue without him, but also cheering at my suggestion.

"Okay, we're done here," Matt finally said with a sigh, grabbing my pant leg and pulling me off of the chair I was stood on. He took the little closed sign we had and placed it at the front of the desk, earning some boos but mostly cheers from The Safe Bet. He yanked the megaphone out of my hands and threw it back towards the guy who's name I still didn't know, the pair laughing with eachother, which honestly pissed me off even more.

All four of us left the tent, Matt collecting Jack on our way past him; Zack and Rian still laughing and clapping. "I would've just took my pants off, you didn't need to close down," Jack explained to Matt in a hushed voice.

"That's why I closed down," Matt responded, patting Jack's back and shaking his head.
I thumped both Rian and Zack on the back of the heads, they were both still laughing and calling things out back to the other band and Charlie kept laughing and responding and it was irritating me. "Ow!" they chorused, reaching for their heads and glaring at me. I rolled my eyes and walked ahead of them, not bothering to explain.

The rest of the day was pretty chilled; there was no party tonight and so we spent most of our night playing video games with a couple of the YMAS guys and Adam and Emmet from The Safe Bet. Emmet was a pretty quiet guy but after winning our 10th game of Mario Kart we all demanded some answers. He held his hands up defensively, "I learnt from the best," he chuckled, "Charlie taught me everything I know," he turned to Adam and the two laughed knowingly.

"She's good at video games too?" Max shook his head and looked back at the screen, "is there anything she can't do?" he mumbled and everybody laughed, Josh pushing at his shoulder jokingly. Adam and Emmet exchanged looks but laughed awkwardly, whilst I just kept my eyes on the television screen despite us no longer playing.

"She can't tell analogue time," Emmet muttered sarcastically, knowing no one actually cared about an answer to Max's question.

"Or make good coffee," Adam joined in, chuckling, both of them clearly uncomfortable.

"She's so fit, though, man," Dan laughed, patting Emmet's back. Everyone continued to chuckle and nod in agreement, as I continued to watch Mario dance across the screen, trying to remain relaxed and nonchalant.

"She's proper lovely and nice, too," Josh chimed in, "So funny, definitely one of the lads."

"Yeah, one of the lads who you'd fuck," Jack laughed and I gulped hard, feeling like my whole body had tensed up as I bit hard on my lip.

"Orrrr, fuck off," Adam laughed, holding his head in his hands and appearing nauseous from the conversation.

"How do youse not see it?" Dan chuckled.

"Yeah she's good looking but that's just weird, man," Emmet shook his head, grimacing.

"So neither of you would go for it given the opportunity?" Josh chuckled, "I know you fuckin' would!" he pointed at Adam, who was usually rather cheeky and perverted, but he pulled a disgusted face.

"No, no, no, no, no," he shook his head profusely, "and yano what?" he laughed, "it's not like she'd fuck any of youse anyway," he continued mockingly, him and Emmet continued to laugh as the rest of the boys all protested, laughing along with them.

"Did you not see that heated kiss we shared the other night?" Jack asked sarcastically, pulling at his shirt and pouting in mock-arrogance. The memory of them kissing made my head hurt.

"Mate, she wouldn't touch ya with a barge pole," Adam continued to laugh, "She's way out of all of your leagues," he gestured to the whole room with a chuckle. The rest of the guys had began fake arguing, all claiming why she'd want to be with them. The whole thing made me increasingly uncomfortable and borderline sick, so I got to my feet and exited the back room, closing the door behind me as I took a seat on my bunk. I threw my head into my hands and sighed, feeling conflicted and confused. I obviously knew she was attractive, I knew she was funny and sweet and cool and so why did it make me uncomfortable hearing other people think those things?

I was thankful no one had noticed my departure and I could have this time alone, but then I heard the door open and close again, footprints coming towards me and sitting on the bunk across from mine. "What's up with you?" It was Zack.

I slowly looked up and brushed my hair out of my face. "Uh..." I stammered, "nothing." Zack gave me a prying look but I continued to smile at him, "seriously, just needed some fresh air."

"From the hallway?" he looked at me sceptically.

I gulped; Zack was very good at reading people and it was hard to hide stuff from him. Whenever he felt like something was going on, it was like Detective Merrick was on the case and he wouldn't give up until he knew everything. "Erm... I don't feel well, I had to... sit down on my way to... the door..." I muttered, watching his eyes to make sure he bought what I was saying, he still didn't look too convinced. "Anyway..." I began again, getting to my feet and walking towards the door of the bus, "you should go back to playing games," I called out but he watched me closely as I left. I breathed a sigh of relief as I closed the door behind me.

The next day was a pretty boring one; we had no set and would most likely spend our time hanging out, relaxing and just waiting for night to roll around since there was supposed to be a party happening. Rian and I sat in the front lounge, drinking coffee and chatting away about typical band stuff, whilst Matt and Jack played CoD in the back room. Zack had set up a makeshift bench press outside and so mine and Rian's conversation was being mostly drowned out by his constant grunting and Jack and Matt's yelling.

"Knock, knock," we heard a British voice, as their hand reached into our bus and knocked on our open door. Ben's face popped round, a big smile on his face.

"Hey bro," Rian immediately got to his feet and walked towards him, "what's up?" I could hear Charlie's voice mingling with Zack's and so I got to my feet also and popped my head around the door. She was stood in a pale blue tank top and some white shorts which accentuated the tan she'd recently acquired. She looked up and met my gaze for a second before turning back to Zack whilst I continued to watch them both laugh about whatever they were discussing.

"Hey, we really need some ketchup, can we, like, borrow some?" Ben asked, with a hopeful smile.

"Sure, no problem," Rian responded, he glanced over at Charlie, "Hey Char!" he called out as he turned and went to grab some ketchup from our mini fridge.

"Hey!" she called back, smiling, although Rian had disappeared from vision, "I'm just here to make sure he doesn't get a "shitty" brand of ketchup," she laughed as Rian re-emerged with the bottle and handed it to Ben.

"Oh, no need to worry," Zack laughed, "I would never let them buy anything but the best," he assured her and she laughed. I could feel myself beginning to glare at Zack, I wasn't sure why but I couldn't control it.

"Oh really?" she raised her eyebrows, smirking at him.

"Oh yeah, he's like a ketchup fiend," Rian laughed. Ben had already thanked Rian and left by now.

"Is ketchup healthy?" she laughed, "are you even allowed to eat it?" she looked Zack up and down; he was clad in some tight shorts with no shirt on, sat on the little bench he was using. "Do you eat anything besides raw meat and protein shakes?" she asked sarcastically, nudging him and he chuckled, blushing a little.

"It's shocking, I know," Rian joked and I side eyed him for just being involved in this conversation, but he didn't notice.

"Every time I look over here he's lifting more and more weight," Charlie laughed, turning to Rian and shaking her head in disbelief.

"Dude, he could probably lift you," Rian laughed. He placed his arm around my shoulder, clearly not picking up on the vibe that I wasn't feeling this whole conversation.

"No way," Charlotte shook her head, looking back at Zack, "there's no way."

"Easy," he responded with a shrug, "I could squat lift you no problem," he gloated, folding his arms. I could feel all of the moisture leave my mouth as a lump formed in my throat; the way Charlie was smiling and looking at him made me feel ill.

"Prove it," she laughed, her eyes gleaming. It was clear from her response that she wasn't being serious but Zack got to his feet regardless. He manoeuvred her around a little into a better position and hooked one arm behind her knees and the other around her upper body, gripping tightly as he pulled her up and behind his neck. She squealed as she clung tightly, curling her body into his neck and remaining as still as possible whilst he squatted a few times with ease; the whole while she was screeching and giggling like a little girl.

He put her down eventually, a little more sweaty than before but with a proud grin on his face. She stumbled a little as if she were dizzy, her cheeks a shade of pink and her eyes glazed over, she continued to giggle. "Okay, that was kinda hot," she mumbled through giggles, biting her tongue adorably. The whole thing had my skin burning, I felt like I could barely breathe – like I had been winded. Zack chuckled, shaking his head, looking down, seemingly shy. Rian laughed too, his eyes lit up as he shook his head at Charlie, but I just remained completely straight faced; staring at her. "Alright..." she was still giggling and seemed a little out of breath, she wafted her face with her hand, causing the boys to laugh some more. "I gotta go..." she smiled, biting her lip and waving as she half-ran away.

"Score!" Rian laughed, high-fiving Zack, who still looked rather coy.

"What the fuck?" It escaped my lips before I could stop it, my brows furrowed in anger.

"What?" Zack questioned, looking confused.

"What the fuck was that?" It was too late to play it cool now, I might as well let it all out.

"What?" Zack raised a brow at me quizzically; Rian mimicking the expression.

"What... do you like... do you like... like her or something?" I asked, throwing my arms out in exasperation, not really certain of where I was going with this.

"No..." he breathed, looking at me like I was dumb, "do you?" he smirked, cocking his head at me, sarcastically.

"Yeah... do you?" Rian repeated, raising his brows, seeming more serious about the question than Zack had.

"What?" I crinkled my nose, pretending to be shocked by their accusations, "No! What?! No! Just... I don't know man, why you gotta flirt with every girl? Like, yeah, we all know you're buff dude, stop showing off!" I sighed, folding my arms and gulping.

"Since when did that bother you?" Zack exhaled through his nose in laughter, still eyeing me suspiciously.

"Since you're doing it with Charlie," Rian teased, nudging him and the pair laughed.

"I... I don't like her!" I gulped again, my throat feeling like it was closing up, "I just... yano what?" I rolled my eyes, "fuck off," I muttered and turned away, marching to the back room to join Flyzik and Jack. I could hear Zack and Rian chuckling at my response but I just ignored it.

No POV
Alex turned on his heel with an exasperated sigh and stormed towards the back room, he knew that his defensiveness paired with stomping away only made him seem more suspicious, but he was tired of explaining himself; how could he explain it when he wasn't even sure himself? Zack and Rian turned to eachother, chuckling at the taller man's departure and strange attitude, they both had a knowing look in their eyes.

"What was that about?" Zack laughed, shaking his head.

"You're thinking what I'm thinking, right?" Rian raised his eyebrows, smirking, "clearly he's got a thing for her," he stated. The pair looked at eachother for a while, smiling wickedly. Alex hadn't had a crush on anyone since they were in High School, and even then he would never admit it.
"I mean, obviously," Zack laughed, "we'll never get it out of him, though," he rolled his eyes.

Rian rubbed at his stubbly chin in thought; he didn't really care whether Alex had a crush on Charlie, but the prospect of his best friend actually having feelings for someone besides himself was mind-blowing – and also teasing him about it would be super fun. "How could we get him to admit it?" he pondered aloud.

"Uh... well... me flirting with her seemed to get him all riled up," Zack pointed out, raising his eyebrows.

Rian wagged his finger at him, nodding, "Yes, yes, that's a good idea," he agreed, his eyes lighting up with excitement, "so... just flirt with her when he's around and hopefully we'll get something out of him," he chuckled and the pair high-fived over their newly hatched plan.

Night rolled around fairly quickly and it wasn't long before music was blasting and drinks were being chugged. Rian had quickly inhabited the first beer pong table he spotted and him and Nathaniel Motte began versing eachother, instantly grabbing people's attention since they were both such loud competitors. Zack wasn't the heaviest drinker, but he had decided to let loose and enjoy a couple of beers; he stood chatting with Jenson and Carter since they both shared his love for working out.

"Yooooo Gaskarth!" Ben yelled as soon as Alex had left the bus. Jack and Flyzik had already bolted to the drinks table, leaving Alex to fend for himself. Ben was a nice guy, but a little full on at times. It became clearer to Alex as Ben approached him that Ben was already pretty drunk – he was a total lightweight.

"'Sup dude?" Alex responded, an awkward laugh. He scanned the area for Charlie; he kind of presumed she wouldn't turn up since she had clearly not been in the mood for a lot of things recently, including partying – probably because of him.

When Ben finally reached the taller boy he flung an arm around him. "You're a cool guy," he mumbled, taking a sip from his solo cup. Alex looked around awkwardly, unsure whether he should thank him or not. "I don't get why my sis hates you," Ben chuckled.

"Oh, trust me, she has fair reasons," Alex responded, a sad smile on his face. He wished she would just get over it, but deep down he knew he deserved her animosity towards him.

"Nah... seriously, you're super cool," Ben patted Alex's cheek, "aaaaall she does is talk about you... Alex this, Alex that, like I'm starting to think she's secretly in love with you," he burst into laughter, pushing the taller boy. It was obvious he was just kidding, but Alex's breath hitched in his throat regardless.

He forced out a small laugh, "nah, she hates me," he confirmed, biting his lip.

"Yeah, I know..." Ben agreed with a nod, taking another sip from his drink. His eyes were so glazed with booze that it was almost as if he were looking in no direction at all; Alex was concerned how someone could become so drunk so quickly. "She thinks you're a dick," he chuckled, "but I know you're cool," he pulled Alex into an uncomfortable hug which lasted far too long, but Alex just continued to scan the area.

After a couple more awkward minutes of listening to Ben drunkenly stumble on his complimentary words, Alex finally spotted her. She was wearing a ripped blue sweatshirt and a pair of acid wash shorts; her hair fell in messy waves and her lips were a shade of hot red. It was so strange to him how she could dress so casually and yet look so good, he took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. She was stood chatting with that merch guy, the pair of them were laughing hysterically and the way he was looking at her made Alex heat up.

Before he could stop himself he was marching towards them, leaving Ben alone and confused. "Uh... hey..." he spoke once he stopped in front of them, he hadn't really planned this far ahead. The pair of them turned to him, their laughter dying awkwardly. "Can I please talk to you?" he asked, staring directly at Charlie, completely forgetting there was someone else stood beside her.

"Uh... I'm kinda in the middle of something, Alex," she forced a smile, nodding her head towards the guy beside her.

"Hey man," the guy spoke, extending his hand out politely to Alex.

Alex grabbed it, his eyes lingering on Charlie's before briefly looking at the guy, "Uh, hey," he pulled away after shaking, "can you please give us a minute?"

The guy's face twisted a little, not expecting Alex to be so rude, "Err... sure," the infliction on the word made it sound like a question, showing his confusion, but Alex didn't care; he watched him intently as he walked away before turning back to Charlie.

"Well, that was rude," she stated, folding her arms, looking very unimpressed.

"What was?" Alex asked, completely oblivious to his behaviour.

"Sending Tyler away," she widened her eyes at him as if it were obvious.

"Who's Tyler?" he scrunched his forehead and she looked at him in disbelief, "Oh..." it clicked in his brain, "that guy?" he casually flicked his thumb towards the direction the boy had just went in.

Charlie rolled her eyes and nodded. "What do you want?"

"I just wanna talk to you," he responded, his eyes soft as he looked at her. He gulped, suddenly a little nervous. "I know you said you didn't want to speak about it, but I just really wanted you to know how sorry I am and how I didn't mean anything I said at all," he rambled, chewing on his lip, "I was just mad," he explained.

She rolled her eyes, her arms still folded across her chest, but she smiled ever-so-slightly as she met his pleading eyes, "It's okay," she shrugged with a sigh, "I guess," she added.

He sighed with relief, feeling a lot better knowing she had heard him out and although he was still a dick, at least he had apologised. "Are we okay?"

"I guess," she shrugged again, still seeming stand-offish with him.

"Just 'cause... we seemed alright yesterday..." he began, referring to the tent battle they had had where it seemed like she were laughing with him He scratched the back of his head, "I want us to be friends," he finally admitted, his palms sweating profusely.

She rolled her eyes but gave him a small smile, "I guess that would be okay," she exhaled through her nose in place of laughter.

"Good," he smiled, feeling a lot better. "Friends?" he suggested, holding his hand out to her.

She grabbed it and shook it, a small smile forming on her lips, "friends," she agreed and pulled her hand away.

"Okay... uh... I'll leave you to er... to whatever..." he stuttered, turning on his heel and walking away; still extremely nervous but feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Alex's POV
The night continued as they usually did; Rian had won 3 games of beer pong, Zack was doing shirtless handstands and Jack was making weird life plans with people he'd only known a few hours. By this time I usually had chosen a girl for night and was about ready to head back to the bus with them, but I just wasn't feeling it tonight; plenty of girls had came to speak to me but I found myself blowing them off and walking away.

I was just enjoying myself with the boys, I hardly ever got to see some of the people we were touring with and I often took these times for granted – picking women and alcohol over just chilling and having a laugh. A few of us were doing some shots, all laughing as Dan Flint hunched over and began heaving.

"Oooo, what's goin' on over there, ey?" Josh was rubbing Dan's back, but his gaze was elsewhere. I followed it and spotted Charlie and Zack stood speaking. She had her arms across her chest and a huge grin on her face, whilst Zack was still shirtless and had a drink in his hand; the pair were laughing hysterically and she kept grabbing his arm as he blushed. I balled my hands into fists instinctively and felt a lump form in my throat; it felt like I was a cartoon with steam coming out of my ears, but I simply looked down at the shot glass in my hand and filled it back up, pretending I hadn't seen what I had.

"You don't think they'll get it on, do you?" Gabe chuckled, pouring himself another shot and downing it instantly.

"Dunno," Josh shrugged, smirking. "GO ON ZACK LAD!" he yelled across the tarmac, cupping his mouth to project his voice. Zack and Charlie looked up, Charlie instantly blushing as Zack just laughed, holding his thumb up to us. His eyes connected with mine for a split second, as if he were trying to tell me something, but I was too busy glaring. Charlie continued to giggle but then her eyes met mine and her face changed, I looked away, feeling uncomfortable.

I didn't want it to bother me, but it really did. She had been speaking with that Tyler guy all night and although that too annoyed me, it was nothing compared to seeing her blush and giggle around Zack. I didn't have feelings for her; she was a cool girl, hilarious and lovely and smart and gorgeous, but I didn't have feelings for her. She was definitely one of the nicest girls I had met in a long time, but I didn't have feelings for her. Would I jump at the chance to have her in my bed again? Of course, I wasn't stupid, but I did not have feelings for her. And she definitely didn't have feelings for me, obviously, why would she? I was awful – to all women, really, but specifically to her.

I downed the shot I had poured and grimaced as the burning liquid coated my throat and spilled down my oesophagus. I bit down hard on my lip and threw the plastic shot glass to the ground, causing the boys around me to look at me questioningly, but I didn't stay to explain. I began heading back towards our bus, my brain in overdrive; I could feel Charlie's eyes follow me, trying to figure out what I was thinking, but even I was having trouble with that.

Slamming the bus door behind me, I marched down the hallway and into the back room. Picking up the nearest object I could find – a can of Jack's hairspray – and launched it across the room, letting out a grunt of anger. I threw a couple of soft punches at the back of the lounge door, ensuring not to break through the wood, before sending my fist at full force through a lamp placed on a table beside me. It went flying across the room and smashed on the floor, leaving broken bits of pot and glass around, as well as blood pouring from my knuckle. I groaned and began sucking the blood from my hand, anger still flowing through my veins, but I knew I had to stop and calm down.

I hadn't even realised the extent of what I had done until I heard "Alex?" in her sweet little voice. I glanced around the room and at the mess I caused, closing my eyes tight and feeling suddenly very embarrassed. "Are you okay?" she spoke again, closing the bus door behind her and walking closer to the lounge.

I left the lounge and walked towards her, closing the door behind me, not wanting her to see the destruction I had caused. "Hey, what's up?" I asked, seeming relaxed and casual.

"Nothing, you just seemed -" I had been trying to conceal my fist, but it was clear that she had spotted it. She reached for it – her skin on mine making my heart pound – and pulled it closer to her face, inspecting the bloody cut on it before looking back at me, her eyes swimming with concern I didn't deserve. "What the hell?" she questioned, her eyes wide.

"Oh," I laughed it off, pulling my hand away, "I just erm... slipped..." I shrugged, knowing how unconvincing I sounded. She tilted her head and gave me a prying look, but I shrugged again. "Seriously, go back to the party, I'll be right out," I continued with a small smile.

She held my gaze for a long time, trying her best to read me, but I had became a master of hiding my emotions, so after a while she gave up and sighed, "alright..." she breathed, her eyes still pouring into mine with worry, "well... see ya in a bit," she smiled, still suspicious as she turned and walked to the door. She stopped in front of it and gave me one last pressing look but I just gave her a small smile in response; she gulped a little and finally left. I let out a heavy sigh, feeling so stupid to have almost been caught. I never knew how angry I was until I had exploded and every time I always felt so pathetic and ridiculous to have erupted the way I had, and this time was no exception. I quickly tried my best to clean up the back room and dispose of all the shards of glass I could find, although I was a little too drunk to do a thorough job.

I sighed and rubbed at my forehead, already feeling my hangover coming on. Despite having told Charlie I would be right back out I decided to just get into bed and hopefully get some sleep before Zack's snoring could eliminate the chances of that happening. Plus, sleeping sounded a lot more fun than having to watch Charlie and Zack laughing; the image of her fingertips on his bicep were ingrained in my brain and tormenting me. But I still didn't have feelings for her.

Notes

charlie's outfit
would like to thank kari for like the majority of the ideas in this chapter lmaoo, thanks for keeping my writers block at bay and also basically writing my fic for me, slushpup child xoxox