Run [Stereo Kicks/ James Graham]

Chapter 8

A/N: I'm going to try to write longer chapters from now on, because I like them more. Sorry if anyone's into short chapters? XD
*********************************************************
They were playing FIFA, and I watched slightly disinterestedly, as I had no passion for football, but their reactions were quite comic. "NO! You filthy cheater, spawn of satan! That was my ball, and I should've scored!"
A giggle left me, but I quickly shut up as furious eyes snapped to me. "He cheated! It's not funny!" I forced myself to keep a straight face until the attention was no longer on me, when a coy grin crept onto my face.
"You're not interested, are you? We can go watch a movie, if you want." Charlie murmured in my ear, and I nodded happily, so we slipped from the room, Charlie telling me to sit down on the sofa as he found a movie. "What do you want to watch?"
"I'm not sure." I bit my lip, not knowing any recent movies.
"We could always watch The Fault In Our Stars. Classic, that." He suggested, so I agreed, and he sat next to me as the movie started playing.
When Gus pulled the cigarettes out, I scrunched my nose up, heavily against smoking, but it was okay when he didn't actually smoke. Later on, I realised the word okay, was not okay.
"Gus!" Tears built up in my eyes as he told Hazel that he had cancer. Charlie chucked next to me at my distraught face.
As the end of the movie approached, I started sobbing, alongside Hazel with the heart-breaking phone call. "H-he d-d-d..." I sobbed sadly, and Charlie hugged me gently, not letting me go until the movie was over.
"It's okay." Charlie whispered.
"Not okay! Okay... Gus..." Tears were falling steadily from my eyes, so Charlie gathered me into his lap, hugging me tightly as I cried my eyes out at the most emotional and best movie I'd ever watched.
"Amelia!" Suddenly, Reece was by me, worry lacing his voice. "What happened?"
"We just watched The Fault In Our Stars." With a jolt, I realised Charlie had tears in his eyes as well, but he wasn't crying.
"Aww." Reece took me off Charlie, and I clung onto my twin, still bawling my eyes out. The others boys came out as I was starting to calm down.
"What's wrong?" One of them asked concernedly, but I couldn't pick out who.
"Fault In Our Stars." Reece laughed, fingers stroking comfortingly through my hair. They cooed, a couple of them also hugging Charlie.
"Do you want a cup of tea?" Tom offered me.
"I've never had tea." I muttered, wiping under my eyes, and I noticed as his eyes widened slightly, but otherwise refrained his shock.
"I'll see if you like it, then." Chris followed him as he left, and I finally stopped crying, giggling at my stupidity of crying at a film. Soon enough, though, we were all drinking either tea or coffee, talking about the tour as I listened attentively, trying to pick up all the information I could.
"Our next show's in two days, so you could come watch that if you wanted?" Jake asked me, and I nodded eagerly.
"Or sing." James smirked, making them all laugh when I frantically shook my head. "Don't worry."
*********************************************************
Two days later
*********************************************************
The boys performed amazingly, and I grinned as I skipped down afterwards, going across the floor towards the back door, before being stopped by someone. "You that homeless, needy freak?" She sneered, and I squinted, trying to place her, until it clicked. The screechy singer that had given me a pounding headache until my boys came on... Kerri Watt.
"No. I have a home now, thank you very much." I said smoothly, yet sending her a glare.
"As if Reece wants you." Kerri scoffed. "Why, he never looked for you in London, did he? When it was reported that all those girls went missing there. Cramping on his tour style, time with the boys, and having to explain you... None of the girls know you. He isn't... Ashamed, is he?" A malicious smile spread across her face as I hovered uncertainly.
"You f*cking talk to her like that and I'll kick your ass so hard my foot comes out of your mouth!" A Bristol accent growled furiously, before Jake slapped her around the face. "You're fired, beat it. Come on, Amelia." Fans had just noticed Jake, and were running over, so he pulled me over to a door which security were guarding.
"What's up?" James asked us as a still angered Jake led me to a back room, which James was about to go into.
"Kerri f*cking spoke to her, that's what. She's out." Jake muttered darkly, and I think James picked up on what he was saying, as the next thing I knew, I was enveloped in a tight hug.
"Don't listen to a word, we all love you." My heart did that flippy-over thing again, and I wasn't sure what was happening, but I hugged James back nevertheless.
"What's going on here?" An amused-sounding Barclay appeared, and drew back.
"Kerri happened, she -"
"Oh, god." Barclay groaned. "I knew I had a bad feeling about her. Honestly, who in their right mind would insult Amelia?"
"Excuse me?" Reece asked sharply, and we turned to see Reece and Charlie watching us. "Who?"
"It doesn't matter, Reecey, Jake took care of it." I tried to reassure him, but he could read my mind, even after the years apart.
"Someone insulted you on the basis that you used to be homeless, and you're my twin, and used it against you..." He fell into thought for several long moments. "Don't tell me it was who I think it was."
"If you're thinking a 'K' -" James started.
"I'm going to f*cking kill her!" Reece yelled, running down and out into the main area.
"Reece, wait!" We all dashed after him, seeing Kerri on the stage, as Reece jumped up, stalking over to her. The few remaining girls were watching curiously.
"You dare talk to my twin, my baby sister, like that... You'll f*cking regret it, you skank!" The fury behind Reece's voice was audible as everyone listened.
"She's nothing, you're probably better off dropping h-"
Crack.
Blood splattered across the stage as Reece hit Kerri, before we pulled him back. "Don't you dare call her nothing!" He fumed, struggling against us to attack Kerri.
"No, ssh, security'll deal with her." I comforted Reece, knowing I was the only person who had ever been able to calm him down without getting my head bitten off in the process. "I don't care what she says, she's not worth it."
"I hate her." He mumbled furiously as he hugged me tightly, the fans all being ushered out before any pictures could be taken of us, or how Reece had hit her.
"I know, Reecey, it's okay." Gently, I kissed his cheek, threading my fingers through his hair to calm him down, the other arm holding him to me, as he started to release the anger.
"Reece, let's go backstage, yeah?" Casey offered, the seven boys pulling the two of us out of sight, and into the back room. "Chill out, okay?"
"I-"
"Reece." I warned him. The tension visibly left him, as he relaxed.
"I'm sorry." Reece sighed.
"It's okay, Reecey."
"Yeah, besides, we can get another backing act now." Tom nudged him, and suddenly eyes fell on me.
"Can't sing." I raised my hands defensively.
"We don't know that until you sing." Chris smiled. Was he always smiling or something?
"No way." At my flat out refusal, they laughed, sitting down and breaking off into conversation. My mind drifted to the fans, and what would be perceived of me. If Reece was really ashamed of me...
"What're you thinking?" Charlie asked me softly, pulling me from my thoughts.
"Do you think Reece's ashamed of me?" I blurted out without being able to stop myself. His eyes widened minutely.
"God, no, Amelia! He loves you more than anything, anyone can tell that just by the way he looks at you, treats you, talks about you. Reece loves you, nothing will change that." Charlie reassured me quickly.
"Thanks." A soft smile spread across my face as I hugged him. Even though it had been a matter of days, I knew I had a firm friendship with Charlie already.
*********************************************************
"Ashamed of her? Ashamed of her? I love her! God, that woman, I swear to god..." Reece was ranting, I could hear as I woke up woozily. "She's perfect! Of course, she is, being related to me, of course..."
"Stop being so lairy, man. Just get over it." Jake's voice floated through, and I could tell by the slightly exasperated tone of his voice that he'd told Reece this several times in recent hours or minutes, even.
"Leave Jake alone, Reece." Yawning, I padded into the room, effectively shutting them both up.
"Finally awake?" Casey looked up, smirking. "For a sixteen year old, you can't half sleep." Silently, I stuck my tongue out at him, heading into the kitchen for some water.
"That's her way of flipping you off, mate." Reece informed him as I poured myself a glass, sipping it slowly, chuckling at the sentence. Just seconds later, I went stone still, a piercing scream leaving me as I dropped the glass, before I leapt out of my skin, colliding with someone and clinging onto them, shaking, as I ran.
"What's wrong?" Reece asked me worriedly, wrapping his arms around me as I tried to wriggle out of his grasp and away.
"S-s-spider!" Tears were already falling down my face, and he hushed me, handing me over to someone else before the spider was going to be thrown out.
"Hey, it's okay, it won't hurt you." Several of the boys held me in a group hug as I cried out my absolute terror, my terrible fear.
"It's gone, okay?" James told me, brushing the tears away from my eyes, my heart thudding against my chest as I sobbed pathetically. "We've got you."
"H-hate s-sp-spiders." I stuttered out, clutching desperately onto his shirt, tying to hide away. He let me cuddle up to him, and for some reason, my heart wouldn't stop beating quickly, but I ignored it, instead laying happily in James's arms.
"Do you want to go to bed, Amelia?" Reece offered, picking me up effortlessly, and something inside me shifted as I let go of James. He tucked me into his bed, kissing my forehead and promising he'd be back in ten minutes.
Not ten minutes later, Reece climbed in next to me, and I cuddled into his chest, as he wordlessly hugged me to him, and I finally fell into a deep sleep.
*********************************************************
A/N: sorry to interrupt, but this chapter seems a bit sketchy. I'm trying to work to something, but I'm struggling how to get there. Sorry for bad quality, peeps 😣
*********************************************************
The next morning, we had the day off, as we were travelling down up to Birmingham apparently for a show there the following day. Once I'd showered and gotten changed into one of Reece's shirts, and a pair of denim shorts that they'd bought me, I headed out into the main room.
Jake and Casey were talking casually while on their phones. "The rest of them are playing FIFA, but you're probably not interested." Casey informed me.
"Got something on your mind?" Jake glanced up at me as I sat down next to them, chewing on my lip thoughtfully.
"Do you think I'm sick?" I asked them seriously. They raised their eyebrows.
"Sick? Do you feel ill?" Casey asked me, and I shook my head. "Well, what's wrong?" After a moment's hesitation, I told them how I'd occasionally feel weird, and my heart would do that flippy-over thing.
"I see." To my utter confusion, Jake was smirking at me. "May I ask when?"
"It's normally when I'd give someone a hug." I muttered, folding my arms over my chest in annoyance as I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me.
"Anyone specific?" Casey asked almost innocently, and I thought over it for a second.
"James, I think." I admitted, tilting my head when they both gave me Cheshire grins. "What?"
"I think you might be possibly afflicted with liking James." Jake chuckled.
"Of course. I like you all."
"I think you might be afflicted with liking James." Casey repeated, until I finally caught onto what they were saying, and blushed a deep red.
"I-I hardly know him!" I protested, while thinking over if that was the cause for everything.
"You and Charlie are already practically best friends in this amount of time. Why not a crush?" Casey teased gently. "It's not that bad."
"It is!"
"Why?" They persisted.
"B-because... I hardly know him, he's probably got a girlfriend, and Reece would kill me." Struggling, I said whatever came to mind.
"We've been over the first point, he hasn't got a girlfriend, and Reece would probably be happy that you liked someone he really got along with and would treat you well." Jake sighed. "It's really okay, Amelia."
Little to any of our knowledge, Tom slunk past into the bedroom, unseen, fondly muttering 'children' under his breath.