The Memory Playlist

Sure Feels Right

Niki.

Right now, it's about one thirty in the morning, and I'm doing government on my laptop on the bus. Everyone else is still up. I don't know why. I have to at least finish this test, though. I've been so distracted with the band and with Andy that I haven't allowed any time for homework until three days ago.

I suddenly feel Andy's head on my shoulder, as he's been spending the night in our bus lately. "Aren't you done yet?" he asks tiredly.

"Almost," I say. "I have to finish this test for government."

"How many questions?" he asks.

"About fifteen," I answer.

"Are they easy?" he asks.

"Not really."

"Ugh," he groans. He flails his body and his head falls into the space between my arched back and the couch.

"I can tell everyone to leave so you can sleep," I whisper to him.

"No," he says, yawning, "I couldn't sleep without you on my side anyway,"

Before I can swim in the warmth his words give me, Riot shouts, "Okay! I can't stand it! Niki, give me your iPod!"

I frown from confusion. "It's in my bunk," I say.

"Ugh!" He gets up, waddles past Nix, one of our lighting technicians, then climbs up into my bunk to search for my iPod. After a moment he finds it and comes back to plug in my iPod where there's a stereo that can play iPods. A moment later, what sounds like claps start up throughout the bus. I recognize it a moment later as Riot comes back to where we're sitting.

"Everbody's doing a brand new dance now. C'mon, baby. Do the LocoMotion."

I laugh as I hear the lyrics. "Really, Riot?" I ask.

"C'mon!" he says. He grabs my hand. "You're going to do the dance with me!"

I laugh as I stumble to my feet. We wait until we get into the right beat. Then we start to do the dance that goes with it. Andy and Nix watch us, amused. Marissa giggles as I pull her towards us and make her do the dance, since she knows the dance too.

"C'mere," I say as I grab Andy's hand, pulling him up.

"I don't dance!" he says, trying to sit down.

I tug his arm, winning the battle of strength. "C'mon. Watch how I do it." I show him, and force him to do it. He laughs, then he tries to follow. Since part of the dance is swinging your hips, he weakly does that part. I laugh and grab his bare hips, forcing him to swing them more widely. He laughs and pulls away.

"You're no fun," I say, pouting my bottom lip.

He smiles, then he pulls me into his bare chest. "Oh well," he says, smiling.

I smile up at him, then I step onto my toes and press my lips to his as the song begins to end.

After a few minutes, Riot, Marissa, and Nix decide to go to bed. That leaves only me and Andy while my iPod plays softly in the background. I put it on my softer playlist and turn it down a little bit so it's better for the people sleeping.

A song by Sixx: AM called "Sure Feels Right" starts playing in the background. Andy smiles at me as he slides off of the couch and pulls me up. He smiles down at me as he pulls my hand up, intertwines it with his own, and slides the other hand around my waist.

"I know how to do this dance," he says, smiling.

I'm not particularly great at this, but I can keep a beat and stepping back and forth is pretty easy. I rest my head on his shoulder after a moment. He pulls me closer to him. "Remember the letter I got today?" he asks.