BLACK ROSES

Chapter 12; Speed

~ this is pretty short but I think it's enough to make up for that little break I had. sorry lol. I've been really busy with school and stuff but I always have schemes for this story going in the back of my mind. again, thanks for all the comments and stuff, you guys are so nice ~

*Ellie's POV*

"Hey there, stranger," I say with a smile.

"Can this count as a first date or something?" Andy asks, worry etched across his face. "I can't really take you anywhere nice like this on tour, and considering how all of us are here, we might be able to get away from the media for now if we want to keep it secret and-"

"Andy, oh my god, it's fine, this is fine," I stop him mid-sentence. The creases in his forehead smoothed out and a hesitant smile crossed his lips. He gestured to the restaurant's doors, which were slowly closing as our bandmates filed in before us. My smile matched his, and we walked towards the entrance.

We noticed that the service was either really well, or nobody else besides the two bands were here, since everybody else had disappeared to their own tables.

A stoic looking waiter appeared and led us to our own booth, hidden away in the corner of the restaurant.

The floors were covered in lush, red carpet and the ceilings were tall. There were several little tables covered in white tablecloths scattered around, but there were also dividers splitting the room in thirds. I could see Jenna and CC, and hear Taylor and Ashley, but other than that, we were alone.

We were handed menus with ornate handwriting scribbling the titles of food.

"Wow," I muttered. "I didn't think we'd stop somewhere this fancy."

"I didn't either, actually," Andy said, letting out a small laugh. "The bus driver suggested we stop here."

I smiled and said, "Yeah, I would have been fine with another McDonald's, to be honest."

"Well, I would like to seem a little classy for a first date, Ell," he murmured.

I could feel my cheeks heat up, so I covered my face with the menu and pretended to figure out what I wanted to eat.

The bored-looking waiter came back and took drink and food orders, which left me with nothing to cover my reddened cheeks.

"Um, Ell, I have a question," I heard Andy mutter across from me.

"Alright, ask away," I say. I could feel my blood pump faster as my anxiety riddled holes in my brain with questions.

"D-Do you think this is happening too fast? Should we just stay friends for awhile and then see where it takes us?" he asks hurriedly. The way he was biting his lip made it apparent that he'd been thinking this for awhile.

"Honestly," I sigh. "I've liked you since we were 12 years old. Now, granted, there was that huge ten year break in between then and now, but when I realized it was you, sitting across the table at that meeting, I realized that those feelings never really went away. I will admit, we've only been reunited for a month or so, but I know that if you want to wait, I'll still like you a lot when you do want to be together."

"Ell, I-"

Andy was interrupted by a wild Ashley appearing, crowing, "'Sup, bitches!?"

The two of us jumped nearly a mile into the air. With a hand clutched to my heart, I nearly shout, "Ashley, what the shit?"

"I asked the waiter if we could push some table so we could be all together. What's the point of having a team meal if the team ain't together?" Ashley replied nonchalantly. Jenna was stood behind him, looking slightly dismayed. We could see Taylor and CC coming from behind one of the dividers, looking slightly red in the face. They were quickly followed by a chorus of laughter from Lynn, Jake and Jinxx, who were also coming towards us.

I heard a sigh from Andy, but he stood and helped Ashley push three tables and seven chairs over to ours.

When he sat down again, he made eye contact with me and cocked an eyebrow, as if mentally saying, 'We'll continue the conversation later.'

Soon after, bottles of wine were brought to us, which was a mistake on their part.