The Loud Crowd

8. I Need You

Evening, people! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy Sherlock Episode. Oops, I mean New Year. Sorry, Sherlock has taken over my life for a while.

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I woke up in the bus, momentarily disorientated by the unfamiliar surroundings. I breathed a sigh of relief, remembering where I was and where I was headed. The first show. 

I slid into a pair of black shorts and Nate's red t-shirt which I still hadn't returned. I pulled back the ugly, stiff curtain to see a black sky and a motorway moving fast outside. Headlights blared and created rivers of red and white along the busy road. 

I jumped down from the bottom bunk and padded into the main area of the bus, finding that I would need to get used to moving around in a moving vehicle. I coud hear the guys' voices inside the living area, and slid open the light plastic curtain-door thingy to reveal them playing poker. 

They were sat crowded around the tiny round table, shouldres hunched over their cards. Freddie's poker-face was terrible - he kept smirking and coughing in a egotistical way. Nate however, remained stoic. Chris looked bored. 

I settled into the sofa, inhaling the smell of Nate's shirt. "How long do we have?"

Nate turned with a bright smile when he heard me. He smirked at the shirt. "Not long. Maybe half an hour?" He was totally oblivious to Freddie, who was looking at his exposed cards. 

I nodded. "Good. I don't want to have to wait too long for our first crowd."

And it was true; I was looking forward to performing on stage as a band again. I had to have faith that this time, we'd make it through the whole tour with minor injurires, and that was that. Perhaps the euphoria of standing before a huge crowd on a huge stage would be worth it. 

I stood and went over the small kitchen area, grabbing a pre-paced sandwich from the cupboard. I would be too excited to eat before the show, but knew I needed sustenance to keep myself going. 

I sat on Nate's lap, munching on my sandwich. I ignored Freddie and Chris' bewildered glances - I was already pumped for the show and didn't care. 

Nate rested his chin on my shoulder. "What are you doing?" He murmured quietly. 

"Not caring," I muttered, pointing at the cards in his hand. "Are they good?"

He smirked. "I'll teach you poker sometime. Then you'll know."

I laughed, biting into my sandwich, content with just watching them play. These boys were my family, and I was always happiest with them. I sighed, "You guys know I love you, right?"

Freddie frowned. "Yeah," He said slowly. "What's up?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Just... Performing with you lot is my favourite thing. And I'm feeling sentimental." I shrugged. 

Chris nodded towards my position on Nate. "Sentimental enough to explain?"

I laughed, throwing my head back. "I think you guys have already worked it out anyway."

Nate chuckled, threading his arms around my waist. "Good for them, because I definitely haven't." I could feel his laughter beneath me. 

"So..." Freddie trailed off. "You're like, a thing? You've finally worked it out?"

I shrugged. "Would it be too soppy of me to say we're in love?" I said, with a mocking breatheless tone. 

Nate laughed louder than ever, his shoulders shaking me. "We just couldn't help ourselves," He joined in with the same tone, adding a mock tear-wipe.