Little Sister | All Time Low

4

"Hey Ri?" I called as I stood in front of my pile of clothes that had been thrown all over my bed.
"Yeah?" He asked, walking over to me with a smile.
"Can you help me?" I questioned, pointing to the mess. "I'm trying to find an outfit for the date, but I don't know what to wear."
"Oh." His smile faltered, a fake one taking it's place quickly before he turned towards the stack. I corked an eyebrow at him as he shuffled through the various items biting his lip slightly- as if he was deep in thought. "Uh, maybe you should try this." He handed me a grey and black see through shark bite tank top and black jean shorts. "You always look amazing in this." His cheeks went a bit pink as he moved towards the junk bunk, grabbing my pair of grey vans from our matching set we had picked up last month. I grabbed my crisscross strap bralette and matching panties, along with a pair of socks.
"Thanks Ri. You're the best." I smiled, leaning up and kissing his cheek before walking into the back room and shutting the door. I changed quickly before exiting, making my way towards the bunks where Rian resided, leaning next to my bed, exactly where I had left him. "Do I look alright?" I looked down at the ground, shuffling my feet nervously as I waited for his answer.
"You look as amazing as always, Shay." He smiled down at me, causing my own lips to form a small one.We stood there for a few moments, smiling at each other before Alex cleared his throat, catching our attention.
"I'll, uh, leave you to finish getting ready." He stuttered before walking towards the front of the bus.

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Alex's POV

"So do you have a plan for tonight?" I interrogated Zack as we sat in the front lounge, deciding on our set list for tomorrow.
"Uh, no not really. I was just thinking dinner." Zack shrugged, looking up. "Why?"
"No reason." I sighed, looking over at the bunks where Rian was helping Shay.
"Alex, you said we could go out. Don't back out on it now." He scowled, pulling my attention away from Shay and Rian.
"I'm not, Zack, it's just...." I trailed off, looking back towards my little sister. "I just don't think it's the best idea."
"Alex, I'm not going to do anything to her, if that's what you're thinking."
"No, Zack." I nodded towards Shay slightly, as she and Rian talked. "That's what I'm thinking."
"I don't think I'm following." Zack breathed out after a moment of watching them.
"He is in love with her, and judging by the way they act, she is too, but she just doesn't know it." I explained.
"I still don't understand."
"If you two go out and have a good time, she won't realize her feelings until it's too late."
"So you don't want me to go out with her?" Zack questioned, leaning forward.
"No it's not that. I want you to help her realize her feelings."

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I sighed, looking myself over nervously in the mirror one last time. "It'll be fine Shay." Rian smiled slightly behind me. I turned towards him and grimaced as I saw Zack approaching from the corner of my eye. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah." I nodded, grabbing my bag from my bunk before smiling at the guys. "Bye."
"Bye." They chorused as Zack extended his arm towards me, which I took. We made our way to the door and exited the bus, heading towards a black van a few feet away.
"So, where are we going?" I asked Zack, climbing in the back seat as he held open the door for me.
"I was thinking dinner, maybe?" He said, climbing in after me.
"Uh, sure." I smiled sweetly. He leaned forward and said something to the driver before we pulled away from the bus lot. The ride was eerily silent and as we pulled up to the restaurant, a weird feeling began to grow in my stomach. Zack got out and offered me his hand, helping me climb down before handing the man a few bills. "Where are we?"
"Well, uh, Rian told me about this place and I figured you'd like it. It's Mexican food." He grinned.
"Rian. Oh." My own face broke into a grin. "This should be good then." He grabbed my hand, leading me inside to the hostess. "Pick a table anywhere." She smiled. Zack nodded and scanned the room before walking over to a booth.
"So, uh..." He started.
"Uh.." I grimaced. My phone buzzed in my pocket, breaking the tension and pulling my attention away from Zack, who was awkwardly shifting across the table. I pulled out my phone and smiled, seeing a snapchat notification from Rian. I smiled unlocking my phone and opening the app, playing the picture of him frowning with the caption 'I miss you, come home'
"This is awkward, isn't it." Zack broke me out of my daze.
"It is." I sighed, setting my phone face down on the table top.
"Hello I'm Stacy," a woman said, walking up and standing in front of our table. "I'll be your waitress tonight. What can I get ya'?"
"I'll have a lemonade." I told her, turning to Zack.
"I'll have a tea." He smiled slightly at her. She nodded her head before walking away, awkwardness surrounding us again.
"Why is this so awkward. We've been together before." I sighed , playing with my phone to avoid looking at Zack.
"Shay." Zack sighed, pulling my attention away from what I was doing. "I think we never actually liked each other. It was just the trouble of hiding it that we liked."
"What do you mean?" I asked a the woman walked up and set down our drinks. Zack waved her off, saying some lie about needing more time before replying.
"I don't think we actually have feelings for each other. I think we just liked the fact that being together was a challenge. There's someone else you like, anyways, but you're too caught up in this to notice." He explained.
"What? No I'm not." I frowned.
"C'mon Shay. We all know you have feelings for Rian. And he sure as hell has feelings for you but you're both too caught up in other things to admit it."
"I don't have feelings for Rian. He's my best friend." I defended, sticking a straw in my cup and taking a sip.
"Shay, the only time you've smiled since we got here was when you got a snapchat from Rian." He frowned.
"That doesn't mean anything."
"Shay, why do you always do things with Rian? You'll film videos with him, you'll have movie days with him, you will sleep with him. Why don't you do that with the other guys?" Zack smirked, taking a sip of his own drink.
"He's my best friend." I stated. "That's what they do."
"You don't even do those things with your own brother." Zack chuckled quietly. "You like Rian. You're just so comfortable with it that you don't notice it."
"Zack, I'm not in love with Rian." I scowled.
"I never said you were Shay." His smirk grew. "But it kinda seems like you are."
"I'm not." I crossed my arms.
"Okay then. Answer me this. Who's the person that you feel the most comfortable with? The one you like seeing every day? The one you love to spend time with? The one who you can talk to for hours on end and never get bored?"
"Rian. Easy." I told him.
"Shay, I just used the dictionary definition of love for those questions." Zack's smirk turned into a genuine smile. "You just admitted it without noticing."
"Zack..." I dropped my head, staring at my lap. He was right. I did just admit it. I'm in love with Rian. All the signs are there, I just always thought it was because we were best friends. "I think I'm in love with Rian."
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"You're back early." Alex remarked when we walked back into the bus. "Everything go well?"
"Yeah, everything went well." Zack answered with a nod.
"Where's Ri?" I quizzed nervously, looking over to Alex and Violet, who were both wearing giant grins.
"He's in his bunk, I think." Violet answered. I nodded, stalking off towards the bunks and stopped in front of his.
"Hey Ri?" I uttered quietly. He pulled back his curtain and jumped down, smiling softly.
"Yeah?"
"Can we talk outside?" I questioned him. He nodded and I grabbed his hand, pulling him outside.
"What'd you want to talk about?" He requested once I had shut the door to the bus so no one could hear us.
"I don't really remember now." I lied, looking down at my feet nervously.
"How was your date?" He asked, leaning against the bus.
"It was, uh, good I guess." I shared, looking up at his face, which held a small frown.
"Oh, so are you guys officially together now?" He looked down, shuffling his feet carelessly.
"No." I shook my head, causing him to look up.
"Why not? I thought you two really liked each other." His face twisted slightly as it turned into an unknown expression.
"We didn't really like each other. We liked the trouble behind it." I sighed, moving closer so I was standing right in front of him. "Besides I love someone else."
"Who? Is it Jack? I always thought there was something..." Rian started ranting, pushing himself off of the bus.
"Rian shut up! It's not Jack!" I giggled quietly, looking up at him.
"Then who is it?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"You're so stupid sometimes." I giggled again, watching as a confused expression over took his features.
"What are you talking about?" He looked down at me, furrowing his eyebrows.
"I don't love Jack." I told him with a small smile. I gently wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "I love you." In lieu of replying, he leaned down, capturing me in a passionate kiss. Our lips moved in sync as his arms encased my waist, pulling me against him. We pulled apart breathlessly and he rested his forehead on mine, trying to get some air. "I love you too."