Avery’s POV

“Hey, guys we are going to be stopping soon if you’re hungry.”

“What?” I groaned and slowly opened my eyes, feeling he bright sun coming through the window. What time was it and where was I? Oh and what was that awful taste in my mouth? I feel like I swallowed a skunk and that piercing pain my temple was enough to kill me.

“What time is it?” A deep groggy voice sounded next to me.

I suddenly felt my body being moved along with someone else, causing my eyes to open quickly. I nervously looked to my left to find that I had been sleeping in what appeared to be Jason’s bunk. His arm was underneath my head while the other was wrapped loosely over my waist. Oh my god, what did I do last night? My anxious blues darted down over my body. Thank god I was wearing a pair of black shorts and a tank top. So that means I didn’t do anything stupid, right? “Well hello there, beautiful.”

I blushed when his dark eyes met mine. “Hey…what’s going on?” I asked, my voice husky from sleep.

“It’s around eight and we should be stopping at nine,” the other male voice answered. I glanced over my shoulder to see Dan standing besides, looking at the scene with a smirk on his face. “Fun night? You were both so fucking wasted when we got on the bus. Damn, Ave, you’re like a fucking wild child. I should come party with you.”

What? A wild child? What the hell was he talking about? The last thing I remembered was playing that drinking game with the guys and then Matt and Brian coming on the bus. What the hell happened between my smoke break and now?

“Shut up, Body,” Jason snapped as I hid in his side, the embarrassment burning my face. I was literally mortified of what he meant. “Go make some coffee…”

Dan chuckled and walked away, closing the curtain on Jason and I. “Oh god…” I breathed when I couldn’t hear his footsteps. “What the hell is he talking about?”

Jason chuckled and sat up lightly, pulling me with him and tucking me into his side. “Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything too outrageous.”

“’Cause that makes me feel so much better,” I groaned, rolling my eyes in the process. “But really…what did I do?”

“What didn’t you do is what you should be asking.” Great so now he was going to make me play guessing games? I hated not knowing what was going on and this fell under this category.

I pinched my eyes shut and hide in Jason’s armpit. “Like what?” I whined.

“Oh, like pretending you were in that movie and dancing around the room, yelling at me and anyone who walked by to do the lift with you…It was actually kind of adorable…I finally caved in and you were in your glory,” Jason had a huge smirk on his face as I looked up at him.

“And?” Oh, there had to be more by the look on his face. Jason raised a question brow at me as if he wasn’t sure what I meant. I really didn’t want to spell it out for him: I was embarrassed enough as it was. “Did we…”

Jason sighed and looked away from me with a frown. “Jason? What?” He just shook his head and stared out the window, obviously upset about something. Was I supposed to remember something?

“Hey, I’m talking to you, mister!” I said, moving over to sit on his lap and taking his face in between my palms. His brown eyes locked with mine and we both couldn’t help but smile. “Please…I hate not knowing what happened!” I begged, kissing his cheek.

“Why do you have to be so damn convincing, huh?” Jason raised his brow at me and then sighed. “Nothing happened besides me pulling you into my bunk after you realized Maya and Matt were sleeping.” He smiled at me but I couldn’t fight the feeling that he was keeping something from me. Did we do something more that he wasn’t letting on?

“Why, did you want something to happen?” He wagged his eyebrows at me and I couldn’t help but giggle. “’Cause we could totally make out if you want to…”

“You’re a goof,” I giggled, kissing the tip of his nose. He really knew how to make me laugh. I cuddled into his chest, feeling his comforting arms around me. Jason was really a great friend and I didn’t know what I would do without him. “Thanks for everything last night…I had fun…from what I can remember,” I said, absentmindedly twisting on of his long hair between my fingers.

“Please, like you had to force me to hang out with a beautiful and awesome girl,” Jason said, his hand moving to cup my face. I smiled into his hand, feeling a blush coming again. Man I was on a roll with the red cheeks this morning. “You’re fun to be around,” he shrugged, smiling back at me. “And I’d gladly be by your side anytime.”

“You’re just saying that,” I teased, leaning forward slightly to whisper, “You actually wanted to watch Dirty Dancing and drink girly drinks last night. You can’t fool me.”

“Oh yeah…” Jason’s fingers were suddenly tickling my sides, causing me to fall backwards in the bunk with laughter. “I think you just wanted to get me drunk!” His fingers mercilessly flew over me, not allowing me to breath from laughter.

“Please…Jason…” I gasped through the torture, trying to grab his hands to push them away.

“Oh, no…you asked for it!” he chuckled just as I pulled his hands up, causing him to fall on top of me. I took in a quick breath, realizing how close we suddenly were. Jason smiled down at me, his brown eyes locking with my blues. The worst part of this was that all I could think about was Brain’s eyes staring me down, teasing me with his closeness. But this wasn’t Brian, this was Jason, one of the sweetest guys on the face of the earth, and I was stuck on the asshole that didn’t want me. I really was an idiot.

Jason slowly leaned forward to close the distant but I gently pushed back on his chest. “I-I should probably go wake up Maya…” I stammered, freeing myself from Jason’s arms and fleeing down the hall.

After waking up Maya, I quickly ducked into the bathroom and climbed into the shower. I had to get those haunting brown eyes out of my head and just forget about him. Zacky was right, Brian needed to prove himself to me before I could even give him the time of day. So why was he constantly on my mind? I mean, why was I pining over someone who obviously didn’t want me? And what almost happened between Jason and I back there? I was so confused. I just wanted the answer to appear so I didn’t have to think about it anymore. I was tired of being pulled in every direction in this guessing game. Should I just forget about Brian and give Jason a chance? I mean, Jason had been nothing but kind to me from the get-go.

I closed my eyes as the warm water cascaded down my back. Oh, I forgot how good showers felt, specially when I was stressed. But why was this all stressing me out? Nothing was happening. I just needed to forget about Brian and move on, that settles it.

I quickly dressed in a pair of short cut off denim shorts and a black tank-top and threw my hair on top of my head in a messy bun. I knew it was supposed to be a hot day so I would save myself the trouble of having to change or put my hair up later. I applied a natural looking layer of makeup before joining the gang as we got off the bus.

However, as soon as I stepped outside I could shake the feeling that someone was watching me. I glanced around and shook my head, knowing that I must be crazy. I didn’t look like anything special today.

“Sorry about last night, I didn’t mean to fall asleep with Matt in our bed.” Maya asked as she dragged me away from the group sometime later. “So where did you end up sleeping last night?”

“Don’t worry about it,” I shrugged, looking through the rack of clothes with Louisiana on them. These honestly were some of the lamest and stupidest shirt I had seen. “Look at this,” I held up a shirt that said Kiss me I’ve got crabs on it.

Maya burst out laughing with me. “Wow…that’s awful…and I bet we could get one of the guys to wear it,” she mused, looking it up and down. “But really where did you stay last night.”

I chewed my bottom lip and moved away, now looking at the tacky shot glasses. “Come on Ave…there are only so many choices,” Maya sounded behind me, hot on my heels for an answer.

“I slept in Jason’s bunk…but before you even say something, nothing happened,” I sighed, looking down at the ground with a blush. “I learned my lesson the last time.”

“Well, I Jason is more of you type anyway.” What did she mean by that? Okay fine, so Jason looked and acted more like the type of guy that I usually fell for, but he wasn’t the one that was on my mind right now. I chewed my bottom lip as I watched Brian talk with the guys with that smirk on his lips making my heart flutter lightly. No, Ave, get your head out of your ass—not gonna happen.

“He would be good for you. So why don’t you go for it?” Maya looked up from the clothing rack and followed my gaze before putting her arm around my shoulder. “Oh…still stuck on brown eyes?”

“I guess you could say that…but I know I shouldn’t be. He doesn’t want anything beside a hook up. If was smart I would forget about him but—“

“You like him…” Maya finished my sentence with a smirk.

I sighed and hung my head, feeling really stupid. “I’m an idiot—“

“PLEASE LET ME RIDE WITH YOU!” An ear-piercing scream interrupted.

Maya and I looked down in front of us to see Jimmy suddenly sitting on his knees in the praying position. “I promise we’ll have a good time!” he begged, now giving us the big blue puppy dog eyes. “Plus…I’ll buy us candy! We share with no one,” he whisper yelled, making me giggle. He was so funny.

“I think candy is the last thing you need, Rev,” Matt laughed, coming up behind him and shaking his head. “I think you need to do some laps to get this energy out.”

“That… actually not a bad idea!” Jimmy looked back over his shoulder at the group in line before he jumped back up to his feet and pulled me into his side. A wicked smirk fell over his face and I suddenly felt uncomfortable. What was this man planning now? “But I have to take a hostage on my secret mission!”

“Wait, what?” I asked, now totally confused as to what was going on. “I’m gonna get breakfast we can do whatever you want after—“

“Don’t worry, Maya will get us something, right love?” he asked hurriedly and Maya nodded her head. What? She was going to let him drag me away?

“Maya?!” I gapped at her as Jimmy grabbed my arm and tugged me past the rest of the group, causing Jason, Zacky, and Brian to follow us with their eyes.

“Oh, you’re going to love this little one!” he said excitedly, now almost running.

“Isn’t Maya your sidekick?” I asked nervously as he dragged me down away from the little line of shops, not caring that we were knocking into people.

Jimmy shrugged but didn’t stop moving. “She is my Knife Girl…but right now she is Shadow Boxer chick so I have to have a substitute and you’re it little one.” Little one? That made me sound like a baby and I certainly wasn’t one.

“LOOK!” Jimmy finally stopped running, pointing at a huge brick wall in front of us. I looked up the wall to see an extravagant piece of art painted on the wall that was supposed to depict everything that Louisiana stood for. It was beautiful and I loved art—It was my major after all. Well, graphic design. Did Jimmy know that?

I took a step forward and let my fingers move over the thick textured paint as I admired the work. It was really something and Jimmy thought so too. “It’s beautiful,” I mused, looking back at him over my shoulder.

“And that’s not all!” Jimmy announced, suddenly dragging me back toward the shops before taking a turn. Within moments we were standing in front of a huge crab aquarium. “Isn’t it magical.” His eyes seemed to light up as he moved forward, placing one of his hands on the tank. “Crabs have to be one of mother natures most misunderstood creatures….hard shell exterior and a soft inner center…you just have to get through the layer. Sometimes it’s easy and sometimes they are little stubborn asses who try to avoid you…but patience always leads to the best part.”

Jimmy glanced at me over his shoulder as I chewed my bottom lip before he continued. .“You just need to give the crab a chance to show his true colors…big heart, great sense of humor, true friend, and very loyal.” Suddenly I didn’t feel like he was talking about the crabs anymore. Was he trying to tell me to give Brian another chance? “That’s what crabs are.”

“Jimmy?” I asked. He shook his head and turned around to face me. “What are you talking about?”

“Crabs of course!” he responded like it was the easiest answer in the world. “Now let’s go get our breakfast because I am fucking starving and could eat at least three Johnny Christs right now!” Jimmy grabbed my hand again and we were off through the crowd.

Matt’s POV

“So what are your plans for the last four hours of our trip?” I asked Maya, watching her seductively take a drink from her straw as we headed back towards the bus.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, big boy?” she teased. I moved over behind her and pulled her back into me, my hands going into the pockets of her shorts. She closer her eyes and let out a small moan, feeling my need for her growing in my pants as we continued to walk. God she made me hot and that was just from looking at her our touching her alone. Oh, she had some kind of magical power over me, that was for damn sure.

I leaned down and bushed her hair over to one shoulder. “Oh I definitely would,” I practically growled. “Your sexy little ass better be on my bus…I still have the back room for the next two weeks.” Maya shivered under my touch and looked up at me with those beautiful brown eyes. She was so fucking gorgeous.

“I would like that…but I don’t want to leave Ave alone,” Maya explained, groaning slightly as I moved her hips with my hands. This was fucking torture being surrounded by people all the time. If I couldn’t have her soon, I was going to bend her over in front of everyone and fuck her.

“Well bring her up on our bus, we’ve got lots of shit to do,” I promised, thinking of all the ways I could sneak her away for a little while fun. I had to get in my time with her while Larry wasn’t around after all. “We’ll keep an eye on her and I’ll make it worth your while.” I teased.

“Well when you put it that way, how could I refuse.” Maya spun around in my arms a pressed her lips to mine. God her kiss tasted so good. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pressing her hips into mine. I wanted her and I wanted her now.

“Can you two at least wait ‘til we’re not in public?” Zacky scoffed, leading Avery past us with Jimmy and Gates hot on their heels. “You know you don’t want any of that kind of publicity.” Shit he was right. We weren’t in Huntington Beach anymore and we had crazy fans following us around the country. The last thing we needed was for a picture of Maya and I making out to make it to the internet or Larry for that matter.

“Let me talk to her…I’ll see what I can do,” Maya said and pecked my lips before chasing after Zack and the small brunette.

“So are they ridding our bus?” Gates asked, coming up beside me. I followed his gaze to Maya and her friend and smirked. Oh, he was definitely lying to himself when he said he didn’t like her. He was an idiot.

I shrugged and put my hands in my pockets as we walked. “I don’t know yet. Either way, I’m going with Maya. If you want to hang out with Avery you better grow a pair and ask her,” I chuckled, watching Gates’ brows come together.

“How many times to I have to tell you that it’s not like that,” he groaned, blowing out a cloud of smoke. “I just thought it would be more interesting to have the girls on the bus instead of just playing Call of Duty or some boring shit,” he tried to explain but I didn’t believe him. “I fucking hate video games.”

I rolled my eyes and patted him on the back. “Keep telling yourself that buddy because I heard Jason kissed her last night,” I chuckled before increasing my pace and walking away. I would give him three…two…one…

“What the hell do you mean Berry kissed her?” Brian raged, storming up behind me.

I shrugged again, trying to contain my amusement. This shit was rich right here—someone else giving Gates a taste of his own medicine. I really never thought I’d see the day where I saw his jealous side. Who was this person? I wasn’t sure but it was nice to see.

“You better start talking, Shadz…” Gates warned and I stopped and turned to him.

“Why? What does it matter? She was a one time thing right?” Syn gapped at me before letting out a sigh. Fine, I guess I’ll enlighten him, party pooper. “I guess it happened when they were drunk…she doesn’t remember though.” And there was that smirk again, the cocky bastard. “Happy?”

“It’s like motherfucking Christmas,” Gates said and I followed his gaze to watch Maya get on the bus with Avery, Jimmy, and Zacky. He took another long drag of his cigarette, leaning to the side to watch her walk up the stair. Yeah, he was definitely fooling himself with the one time thing bullshit.

“What are you planning?” I asked, raising a brow at him as he kicked the butt away. Gates was definitely a schemer and I would give him that.

“I’m not planning anything. I’m just going to let my dice fall where they lay,” he smirked just as Jason got onto our bus causing him to frown again.

“Guess they are falling for Berry…” I chuckled again, getting way to much amusement from all this. “But don’t worry…it was just a one time thing. Come on, Gates, it’s time to hit the road.”

I patted his shoulder and lead the way back onto our bus. As soon as we were on the bus Gates grabbed Jason and dragged him toward the back of the bus. Well, I didn’t see that one coming. I guess Gates decided they needed to have a talk? Oh, well, it wasn’t really any of my business.

I scanned the bus to find Maya sitting next to Avery at the table with her computer and Zacky and Jimmy watching over their shoulders. They were both pointing to the screen and smiling with enthusiastic expressions on their face.

“You’re a fucking genius, Ave. Maybe we should hire you to do the t-shirt,” Zack said, shaking his head with a smile. He looked impressed at whatever it was and I wanted to find out.

“I like it better then what we’re selling now to be honest,” Maya shrugged, hugging her friend.

I came up behind Maya and put my hands on her shoulders, massaging them gently. She melted into my touch as my eyes fell on the computer screen. There in front of me was an amazing design of a skeleton carrying a deathbat flat through a cemetery. It one of the coolest t-shirt designs I had ever seen. “You made this?” I asked Maya but she just giggled and shook her head.

“No, that’s all Ave. I do fashion and she does the art. We’ll have a brilliant business one day I’m sure,” she laughed as Gates and JB came back. Jason waved goodbye before heading off the bus, leaving Gates with a cocky smirk. What the hell was that about?

“So what’s going on?” Gates asked with a smile, planting himself on the bench across from us. He put his feet up on the table and looked extremely smug. What was he playing at now?

Notes

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