Touring With the McDonoughs (sequel to MIWTM)

Chapter 34

Riley's POV:

Mom asked me to get Braiden and Haley so that we could begin our little... Singing session. You might be wondering, after singing for three hours straight, these guys wanted to sing MORE? Well, it was just a little... Karaoke session, if that's what you'd call it? Yeah, a small family karaoke session.

Anyways, as I stepped out of the beloved tourbus, I saw Braiden and Haley walking towards the bus... Well, actually only Braiden was walking. Haley had stopped short as though she couldn't believe something because her mouth hung open and her hands were resting on her hips. Braiden stifled a laugh and sped up. A second later, Haley charged at him, colliding with his back and strangled him from the back but Braiden didn't seem to mind as he began laughing hard. He dropped his bag before unhooking Hale hands from his neck.

"You did NOT do that, Braiden!!" she yelled with a laugh.

"What? I did!! Why is it so hard for you to believe it?" he replied with a grin. Haley let out another laugh before letting go of Braiden.

"Well I still don't believe you!" she said, crossing her arms and huffing. Braiden let out another laugh before messing Haley's hair. I felt as though I couldn't breathe. I tried to look away but I... I just couldn't. They looked so happy together. Haley and I could NEVER be like that. Damn! I frowned, turning around to step into the bus as I heard them call my name.

"Hey, Riley!" they called together. I turned back, giving them a forced smiled and a wave. Braiden and Haley shared a look as Haley slowed down in front of me and Braiden walked passed me, patting me on the back with a smile, and climbed into the bus. My eyes followed Braiden into the bus before returning to Haley. She smiled at me but I furrowed my brows in question.

"How are you?" she asked politely, looking a bit nervous.

"I'm... Okay... What about you?" I replied, shoving my hands into my jeans' pockets.

"Good good," she said with a nod. I nodded back, still confused as to what was going on.

"So, should we---" I began after a minute of silence.

"I want you to hear something, Riley," Haley said suddenly, all humour gone from her face.

"Oka---" I barely said as Haley grabbed my hand and began dragging me towards the building where we'd just had our concert. Entering the backstage area, she quickly pulled me across the place till we stopped abruptly in front of a room. I looked up to see that it was the Instruments Room.

"Hey, you guys! We're about to close in a little while!" A backstage dude said to us.

"Yeah, we know. Just... Can we have like... Ten minutes please?" Haley said, urgency clear in her voice.

"Ten minutes. Not a second more," the dude said. Haley nodded before pulling me in with her into the Instruments Room. I suddenly put up my other hand to prevent myself from colliding into the door and open it a little further for the both of us. Haley let go of my hand as she speed walked to a grand piano in the furthest corner of the large room. What is she doing??

"Well, come on! We only have ten minutes!" she cried out nervously, looking my way. I made my way over to her and stopped, deciding whether or not to sit next to her. In the end, I pulled up a stool from nearby and sat on it. Haley saw my actions but didn't waste any time arguing on them. She took in a deep breath, her fingers hovering over the black and white keys.

"Just... Just listen, okay?" she said, not making eye contact with me. I nodded and she began playing the piano. The music wasn't anything I had heard before but it sounded nice. The slow rhythm of the music was quite soothing.