groupie; afi

eleven

Ashton's POV

I wake up around my usual time but I'm still exhausted from the beach. I don't regret it though despite my tiredness. I go ahead and start packing up my things for the bus. I try to be quiet so I don't wake up Calum but I fail and he wakes up anyway.

"Sorry, Calum. Didn't mean to wake you," I say.

Calum just nods and rolls back over. He's never been a morning person. I finish packing up my things and I check the time. 8:30 a.m, we have at least an hour before we leave.

Me: Hey Natalie. Wanna get some coffee?

I change into one of my usual outfits, a tank with some ripped black jeans. I decide against a bandana today since my hair was being manageable.

Natalie:): Of course! Let me get dressed

I knew that she would say yes but I can't help feeling excited. I met her in the hallway once she told me she's ready.

She's wearing a band tee and what I think is mom jeans. I take a closer look at the shirt and smile.

"One Direction?" I raise my eyebrows.

"It's an old shirt. I forgot to pack a good one to wear but no bullying me please," She giggles.

"I'm not bullying. I do have a surprise piece of news for you though," I say.

I have a feeling she's gonna flip out.

"Which is?" She says while we start walking to the dining hall.

"I know those guys. We did a few opening shows with them and I was pretty close with them," I look at her reaction. She's obviously trying to hide a smile.

"Okay, that's actually really cool," She says through a bit of chuckles.

"It was. Maybe we can all hangout one day," I suggest.

"That'd be super fun," She says.

We finally reach the breakfast area. I get an iced latte and she gets a cold brew with oat milk. I offer to pay for her but she won't let me. Something about not wanting me to feel obligated to pay for her, even though it's just something I want to do.

"Wait, where is the next stop at?" She asks me.

"I think Vegas but I would have to check," I sip my coffee.

"We should all try to do something while we're there. Maybe if we hangout as a group then some people will start to like me more," Natalie says.

That'd be great actually. I'd love for her to get along with Calum. He's my best friend and she's my, well, other friend.

"Definitely. I'll talk to the guys about it," I say.

We have some more small talk while we drink our coffee. It was honestly one of the better mornings that I've had on tour.

It's time to take our things to the bus so I walk with Natalie to the bus while the other guys follow behind us. She takes her things to her room and I take my stuff to the bunks. I guess she wanted to shower because she doesn't come back. Calum comes to the bunks and scoffs at me.

"How was the date last night?" He says, sounding snarky.

"Date? It wasn't a date. Natalie and I just wanted to hang out," I explain.

Why is he acting weird?

We continue our conversation in the lounge room.