My Knight in Shining Armor

Chapter 8: Alexander

The photo shoot was finally finished. I didn't mind doing them but after a while I was always ready to be done. I much preferred concerts or interviews because I felt as if I could be more relaxed whereas in photo shoots I always felt like I had to be aware of myself. Surprisingly, Dylan hated photo shoots and Christian loved them. I think Will was indifferent about them. All four of us could be hams for the camera but Dylan hated that most directors and stylists wanted to put in her in 'girly' clothing. While she enjoyed the occasional skirt or dress and loved heels, she wasn't a fan of bright colours. As for Christian, I thought he secretly wanted to be a model when he grew up because he loved posing.

We spent the next several minutes thanking the photographer, artistic director, and other members of the shoot before excusing ourselves to change back into our own clothes. Once I was changed, I walked down the hall to the room where we'd left Amie at the beginning of the shoot along with our phones and computers. I found her asleep on the couch, my laptop on the floor next to it. I went over and shook her shoulder gently. "Wake up sunshine."

"Hmm?" she mumbled. "Is it time for the shoot?" I looked at her concerned. What was going on with her?

"Amie...the shoot's over. We're getting ready to leave."

"Oh. Dangit! I missed the concert the other night and now the photo shoot. I'm sorry Alexander." She said, sitting up and looking down at her lap.

"It's alright. Now come on." I told her, offering her a hand. She took it and I pulled her off the couch. Once she was standing, I bent down to retrieve my laptop and then wrapped an arm around her waist in order to let her lean against me. She still seemed out of it and it only made me more concerned. Will and Christian were just entering the bus when we approached.

"Someone come and get me when it's time to eat." Amie said to no one in particular before heading toward the back of the bus. I watched her walk away and was positive that she was heading for her bunk.

"You okay brother? You've been staring after her for like ten minutes now. Is someone a little lovesick?" Dylan teased me.

I shook my head and sat down across from my sister at the tiny table near the front of the bus. "Do any of you know what's wrong with Amie?" Dylan immediately sobered up at my question.

"She's always tired and really slow as if she's about to fall asleep mi-step or something." Will said.

Dylan nodded. "Yes, something is definitely wrong. She doesn't joke around with us anymore like she used to. Now she's quiet and spaces out a lot. Do you remember the interview?" she asked. "When Kim asked her about the tour schedule, she said she was still tired from the fun park we went to. But she slept that whole night, most of the next day, and that next night until Alexander woke her up for the interview."

"Yeah. But wait, didn't she get up when I came in from the bar?" I'd been a little drunk but I could have sworn I remembered seeing her when I'd stumbled back early in the morning.

"For about an hour."

"She also hasn't been eating." Will shared. "She just nibbles at her food now when before she would eat just as much as any of us."

"But what I don't get," Christian spoke up, "is why she tries to hide it. We've been busy lately, sure, but we're not totally oblivious."

Will just looked at him. "Christian, this is Amie. She's used to being on her own. She also probably thought we wouldn't notice or that it would go away on its own. Plus, if I had to guess, this is something that has been going on for a while because she's been like this for at least a few weeks but like you said, we've been so busy that we haven't had a chance to confront her about it."

We talked a while longer trying to figure out what the problem might be and how to fix it before Dylan announced that we needed to eat before Christian's stomach ate her. In response, he'd merely shrugged and stated that lunch had been hours ago. I stood up to retrieve Amie's leftover lunch from the fridge. "Someone go get Amie while I heat this up please." Christian got up and went to fetch her.

"What is it?" My sister asked as I put a plate in the microwave.

"After she left, I talked to Mark for a few minutes and told him to get her a burger and some chips along with the shake she ordered. She barely ate any of the chips and didn't even touch the burger." I explained, taking said burger and chips from the microwave when it dinged. Just then, Christian came back with Amie.

"Thanks," she said, taking the plate from me and sitting down at the table. The rest of us went about fixing our own mish mash of food before squeezing around the table and adjacent couch with her. None of us said anything but I noticed her finish the burger as well as a few chips.

"Anyone fancy a movie?" Christian asked as we finished up.

"Sure." Will stood up and we piled our dishes on top of his. While he cleaned up, the rest of us followed Christian to the room at the back of the bus.

He sat down on one end of the couch while Dylan chose a film. Amie and I each settled for beanbags on the floor. Will chose to take the last remaining beanbag which left Dylan to share the couch with Christian once the DVD was ready to go. Soon enough, the beginning of Transformers filled the screen. We'd all seen it before but it was a good movie. About halfway through the movie, I glanced over to see Amie asleep. When the credits started to roll across the screen, I gently picked her up and put her to bed. She didn't wake the whole time.