Truly Madly Deeply

Chapter 14: The Bed Switcheroo

The bus was winding down for the night, the chaos of the show still buzzing in the air, but for now, it was time for some much-needed quiet. The lads were lounging around the small space, half of them still hyped from the adrenaline of performing, while others were winding down, chowing down on whatever food they could get their hands on.

Savannah sat with the rest of them, a bag of crisps in one hand, a soda in the other, and her legs stretched out across the couch. It was moments like this that felt like normal—just a group of people chilling out, trying to recover from the madness of being rockstars, and her, still just trying to survive in a bus with five hormonal teenage boys who somehow thought it was perfectly acceptable to run around without shirts half the time.

"Hey, Louis," Savannah called out, "do you ever wear a shirt that doesn't have your face plastered on it? Seriously, it's like I'm in a walking advertisement for your ego."

Louis glanced up from his snack, flashing a grin. "Why, love, do you want to see me in a plain shirt? This is what the people need, babe. You can't just hide this masterpiece of a bod." He flexed his biceps, which, to be fair, were pretty impressive. But Savannah rolled her eyes.

"Sure, whatever you say, Mr. Superstar," she said, taking a sip of her drink. "But I swear, if I see one more leopard print jacket or tight-ass jeans, I'm gonna lose it."

Louis shot her a playful wink, "You love it. Everyone loves it. Admit it, you're my biggest fan."

"Fan of what? The loudest, most obnoxious person I've ever met? Yeah, sure, totally," Savannah replied, smirking as she popped a crisp into her mouth.

"Hey, don't make me come over there and teach you some manners, Sav. I can be nice... when I want to." Louis leaned in mock-threateningly, but his wink gave him away.

Meanwhile, Liam—who had been content with letting the banter flow—glanced over at Savannah with a small, kind smile. "You good?" he asked, voice smooth like melted chocolate. Savannah's heart did a little flip, but she tried to keep her cool.

"Yeah, just trying to survive in a world of chaos," she said, flashing him a grin. "And, you know, pretending to not be totally distracted by certain people who can't seem to keep their shirts on."

Liam chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it, right?"

Before she could respond, Louis jumped in, interrupting the moment, "Yeah, I bet you wish you had it like me, Payne. But lucky for you, not everyone can pull off this look." He fluffed his hair dramatically and struck another ridiculous pose. Savannah couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, okay, enough of the fashion show," she said, wiping her eyes from the laughter. "So, what's the plan? Who's crashing with who tonight? 'Cause you know, I'm not dealing with you two again," she added, glancing at Louis and Liam, who had this mischievous glint in their eyes.

Liam, ever the gentleman, gave a knowing glance at Savannah. "You know what, Sav? You've been putting up with this lot long enough, so you can have my bed tonight."

"Wait, what?" Louis shouted, almost spitting out his drink. "You can't just give away your bed like that! I thought we had an unspoken rule that I always get to choose who I sleep with. It's only fair."

Savannah smirked. "Oh, so now we have rules, do we? That's cute."

"Listen, love, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make," Liam said, flashing his winning smile. "Besides, if you don't take it, I'm not sure how much longer I can put up with Louis trying to spoon me again."

Louis scoffed dramatically. "I don't spoon, I cuddle," he said, clearly indignant. "And by the way, I don't know who started this whole 'Liam's the gentleman' thing, but the real gentleman is me. I've got more charm than all of you combined."

"Right. Sure," Savannah said, rolling her eyes but enjoying the banter. "But seriously, Liam, thanks. I'll take the bed."

"Of course. Besides, I promised to torture Louis tonight, not Niall. You know, keep the drama alive." Liam said, flashing a smirk at Louis.

Louis' eyes widened in mock horror. "Wait, what? Torture me? I was just joking about the spooning! You can't just swap me out for Niall. No one's allowed to touch my precious space!"

"Too bad, mate," Liam teased. "You're stuck with me tonight."

Louis looked around the bus, clearly trying to find someone to side with him. "Harry! Zayn! Help me out here!" he called, but the other two were already too busy laughing to even pretend to care.

"Louis, you're on your own this time, mate," Zayn said, sipping on a can of soda.

"Yeah, you're too much drama," Harry added with a wink, earning a glare from Louis.

Louis groaned dramatically, throwing himself down onto the seat beside Niall, who had been quietly munching on his ever-present snacks. "I can't believe this. I get Liam tonight? This is punishment, not a night of rest!"

"Oh, I'm sure you two will have a lovely chat in the bunk," Niall muttered, eyes still glued to the bag of crisps he was holding. He took another bite and shrugged. "Not my problem, mate."

Savannah, now with a full belly from dinner and a grin on her face, grabbed her hoodie and headed toward the bed Liam had offered. "Thanks again, Liam. I'll try not to make you regret it."

Liam's grin only widened as he stretched out on the couch next to Louis. "No worries. Just make sure you don't let Louis sleep with you in the bed when he inevitably tries to sneak in."

"Oh, believe me," she said with a sarcastic smile, "I'll be keeping an eye on him. No way am I sharing a bed with that diva."

As Savannah settled into the bed, she heard Louis mutter from the other side of the bus, "This is an absolute disaster." But Savannah just smiled to herself. She was surrounded by chaos and egos, but somehow, it was exactly where she was meant to be.