Boyband Rebound [Editing]

s e v e n

“Oh look, a big red bus. With faces on the top.” Melody grins as Sara pulls a face at their tour bus, taking up three parking spaces. It’s completely red, a quite blinding colour (in Melody’s opinion) and has prints of the five boys on it. At Melody’s all-seeing height of five feet, the boy’s faces look incredibly monstrous.

“They’re already famous, why’d they need a neon bus with their faces on top? It’s not like they need the publicity anyway.”

Sara nods solemnly. “This is just too much. The bus literally screams ‘oh, I’m so bright, look at me.’”

Melody nods. “I agree. But I’m freezing, so as embarrassing as it is, let’s get in.”

Sara nods sadly and is about to take a step forward when someone barrels into her from behind, wrapping their arms around her and extracting a yelp from the brunette girl.

“Sara May! Are you cold?”

Sara fidgets as Louis rests his head on Sara’s shoulder, and shrugs out of his grasp. “No, thanks; Tomlinson.” With that, she stalks off towards the tour bus, nose up, giving Louis a cheeky wave as she does so.

“What’s she done now?” asks Niall, joining their party of now two, after taking a look at Louis’ heartbroken face.

Harry, Liam and Zayn saunter over, Zayn flinging his arms around Louis’ torso, seeing as the eldest boy breaks down into exaggerated sobs.

Melody’s shoulders fly up in a shrugging motion. “I thought you boys would have been in your bus by now?” she asks, directing her question at Liam. He smiles at her, saying, “nah. We decided to join you guys. The other bus’ empty.”

“I will not share a bus with ten other people, Liam. You do know the rest of the crew’s in our bus.”

Liam pulls a pout and blinks at Melody. But Melody, having helped in bringing up her three younger siblings, puts her hands on her hips and juts a side out. “No, Liam.”

“But please?” asks Niall, now joining the conversation, have had only an audience’s ear before. Melody shakes her head and that is when Harry decides to intervene.

“But Mel, we’d be all alone in our bus. It’s not fun to hang out with the same four boys,” he then turns to the rest of the band, “no offence, guys,” and turns back to Melody, finishing, “so we want something new. Like, you know, fresh. You guys are new to the team, so it’d be fun!”

Melody shakes her head. “But you’d be wasting a bus.”

“Then how about you two girls join us in our bus?” interjects Zayn, patting a now consoled Louis on the back as he proposes the idea. “That way, we wouldn’t waste buses and you’d have some free space as well. From what I heard, Wella’s going to force you two girls into a fashion parade to decide your outfits for the rest of the tour in the next few hours to Washington.”

Melody’s eyes widen. “I’m in. I’m joining you guys. Let me get Sara.”

○ ● ○ ● ○

She rummages around in her messenger bag, opening it for the first time since she’s gotten off their flight to New York the previous day, and goes pale when she can’t find the thing she’s been looking for.

“I need to check my Twitter feed. Can I have a laptop?” She says nervously, flopping down onto the nearest bed – regardless the owner; who, coincidentally, turns out to be Louis – and pulls her feet up to sit in a cross-legged position. The boy to whom the bunk belongs scowls at her and shoos her away. She makes a face at him and refuses to budge, delving in deeper into the white sheets to be overwhelmed with his musky scent; an odd source of comfort: somehow reminding her of someone, but she can’t say who.