The Jacket Snatcher

Chapter 48- You're Going Down

___________________________________________________

If I've learned anything about the glamorous touring life, it's that bus rides from city to city are definitely not glamorous. During a particularly long drive between Nashville and Houston, we stop midway at a gas station with a pretty legit supermarket attached to it. It's the middle of the night, but the bus driver needs to stretch his legs. Everyone gets off, eager for the chance to stretch, but I rush straight for the store, planning to stock up on some snacks. My stashes have had a funny habit of disappearing from under my nose...I suspect Mikey or Calum.

I'm pondering the likelihood of one of them finding my stash of sour punch straws under my pillow when someone taps me on the shoulder. I spin around and find Ashton grinning at me.

"I have an idea," he says, before tugging me down the next aisle.

When we get back to the bus, the other guys are already back in their bunks and presumably sleeping. That makes our job easier.

As quietly as possible, we creep our way down the aisle between the bunks, careful not to make too much noise with our shopping bags. Ashton puts a finger to his mouth and then points to the back lounge. I follow him, and once we shut the door, he lets out an excited giggle.

"This is going to be great!" he says through a snicker. "I've been wanting to get them back for the whipped cream incident for so long..."

I don't even let my mind wander with that one, instead, I empty out my bag onto the couch and survey our ammunition.

"Will this even bother them?" I ask, not convinced that our prank is quite up to whipped cream standards.

Ashton nods his head vigorously. "Trust me. It doesn't even matter what wakes them up, they'll be pissed no matter what!"

"Great," I say, rolling my eyes.

He pats my shoulder. "Don't worry. Luke forgives easily. It's Calum that holds the grudges," he says with a wink and another excited giggle, this one more maniacal than the last.

"It seems you do, too," I say with a smirk.

"Let's just say that when whipped cream gets stuck certain places, you never forget."

I put my hands up. "Enough said."

We sit on the couch for another few minutes, discussing strategy and battle tactics while waiting to make sure that the guys are really asleep. After Ashton is satisfied by the amount of time that has passed and with our plan of attack, he grabs up one of our bags and rips it open.

With a twinkle in his eye, he removes a giant marshmallows and weighs it in his palm. "Oh, yeah. This feels like it'll pack a punch."

I'm still not convinced, but it was never my intention to inflict actual bodily harm anyway, so I open my bag, too. As I take one oversized marshmallow in each hand, I find my adrenaline starting to build. This is going to be something I tell my grandkids about, I can feel it.

After stuffing more ammunition into our pockets and hiding the rest behind a pillow, we slowly open the back door and peer out into the hallway of bunks.

Silence.

Ashton sneaks out and stations himself between Michael and Calum's bunks. He motions for me to come stand on the other side by Luke's. With an impish grin, he looks over at me. Then, with a nod, he yanks back the two curtains and lets fly his sugary bullets.

I follow his lead and pull back Luke's curtain. Time slows down as I watch his eyes flutter open in confusion. His eyes meet mine, and for a moment, it looks like he's about to smile at me, but that's when my first marshmallow pelts him in the face. His face goes slack in shock, and he looks at me with complete disbelief.