The Tour

41

The sound of an alarm clock ran through the tour bus doing nothing but cause me to groan and place a pillow over my head like I was still a teenager. I knew full well it was my mums alarm with her need to get up bang on 9am regardless of the time zone she's in. I don't know if it was the pre existing anger I had from yesterday but this morning it seemed to ring for longer causing my ears nothing but pain. All I wanted was to sleep all day long. I knew we had been driving all night so that meant a new show was in a mere few hours.

"Come on Nic up you get" I heard her say walking past the flimsy curtain that I called my "bedroom"

"It's 9am are you crazy" I groaned hoping she'd get the hint

"Come on, I've not traveled all this way to not enjoy the full day even if it is you in a random arena in Philadelphia. This is mine and your dad's last full day don't waste it." She said as I sighed knowing she was right. Although their trip was 3 days long only 2 of those days were full days. Their plane was due to leave at 1pm tomorrow meaning they'd be leaving here for the airport around 11am not leaving us with much time at all.

I slowly swung my legs out of the bunk bed and jumped lightly onto the floor not wanting to cause a panic or fright to anyone on the bus if I landed with a thud. The soft smell of toasted waffles filled the air as I got closer to the small kitchen area allowing me to let out a small smile as I saw my mum toasting the waffles I could smell

"Please tell me you don't live off these when I'm not here" she said holding up the packet of waffles in disgust

"I cannot comment on that" I laughed as she rolled her eyes

"First thing that's happening when you get home is you're having fruit and veg missy" she said as I saluted her as I laughed. I wanted to be angry with her I really did but I simply couldn't. Her company was so comforting. She was my mum after all. All I kept thinking to myself was that yesterday happened for a reason. She was cozying up to Luke for a reason. A reason I wanted to know but also couldn't care for.

"David breakfast is ready" she suddenly shouted making me jump slightly as the pile of waffles landed on the table "I wish I could say freshly made but our daughter seems to of forgotten she can cook" she said as my dad walked into the room laughing at her comments

"Good morning darling" he said kissing my forehead and hugging me slightly before sitting down next to me as we all began to eat our food together. The sense of home filled the small room. This is what I wanted, the three of us together. No drama, just chilling out like we would at home.

"I miss James" i suddenly blurted as they both looked at me confused

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you miss your brother" my mum said as I laughed

"I dunno it just seems weird that there's only three of us when there's meant to be four" I said standing up and taking my plate to the sink to wash up later on

"Where are you going?" She said as I turned a confused look to her

"To get changed some of us have work to get on with" I sassed before walking into the bedroom area again and grabbing an oversized hoodie I'd stolen from Oli while I was back in London before pairing it with some black gym leggings and converse. As I left the room I began pulling my hair up into a messy high ponytail wanting it out of my way for soundcheck later on

"You're going out dressed like that?" My dad questioned as I nodded

"Problem?"

"No no problem I just thought pop stars were meant to be more glamorous" he joked as I rolled my eyes

"Not a pop star dad... I'll see you both later on" I said hugging them both quickly before leaving the bus as smiling seeing Michael leave his own at the same time as me

"There she is" he said as I smiled hugging him tightly as he arrived at my bus

"I'm so glad to see you" I muttered as he nodded

"I can imagine" he said as I looked at him confused as we began walking towards the venue "Oli text me last night... I'm on strict rule to look after you to my best ability" he said as I rolled my eyes

"I don't need protecting" I said as he held his hands up in surrender making me laugh slightly

"Don't shoot the messenger Miss Bright I'm just doing what I've been told to do..think of it as helping a friend" he said as I nodded and opened the door to the venue. Luke's aftershave instantly hit my nose casing my face to scrunch up. Subtle reminders of his presence often included his scent, a small way of telling me he was here before I had the joy of seeing him at some point today.

"Make sure you do your soundcheck and go straight back to your parents please" Michael said before wondering into his own dressing room making me give him a thumbs up as I made my way to my own.

Entering the dimly lit room I smiled seeing my guitar sat waiting for me in the corner of the room. All I could think of was the chorus I played for my dad yesterday and the promise I'd made to him to finish it. I quickly grabbed it, hoping even just holding it would begin to inspire some sort of inspiration. But nothing came. Just the same part of the chorus over and over again.

Your skin is made of glass and I wanna throw stones
You don't care about the mess that you leave when you go

It was all I had. A tiny part of a chorus that I wanted to expand. For now all I could do was play the same chords over and over again to try and create a rhythm to go alongside the lyrics. But I had time, my soundcheck was always last. I had enough time to try perfect this. I placed the guitar on my lap and began playing around with chord patterns before a loud knock echoed through the room making me jump before telling them to come in.

"Hello you"