The next morning Oli woke up with a huge smile on his face, the memories of last night still floated around in his mind. The way Josh had seemed so sincere about everything he said, the way he kissed him. It was like they had never stopped talking to each other.
Oli’s phone started to ring almost as soon as he turned on his side. It rang a familiar tone, one that told him that it was Josh. He immediately clicked the green box and held the phone up to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Oliver, babe.” Josh said happily. “How about you and I go out to breakfast, alone?”
“That sounds great.” Oli replied. “As soon as we stop again, I’ll be outside my bus.”
“Awesome. I’ll see you in an hour.”
“See you.”
“Oh, Oli?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.” Josh said quickly before hanging up, leaving Oli with a huge smile on his face.
“I love you too.” Oli said, still clutching the phone to his ear.
“That warms my heart and everything…” Matt said as he pulled Oli’s curtain open. “But we need to talk man. I’m really worried about this whole Josh thing.”
“What is there to be worried about? It’s clear that he loves me, since he’s going to break up with his girlfriend soon, and I love him too.” Oli began. “Listen Matt, I don’t want to sound rude, but if you have something ag-”
“You know that as one of your closest friends, all I want is your happiness and if Josh makes you happy, then fine; he does. All I’m worried about is that he’s going to hurt you and I don’t want that to happen. I like seeing this Oli, happy and smiling all the time.”
“That’s very sweet of you, Matt, but I assure you that Josh isn’t going to hurt me.” Oli said, finally sitting up. “It’s nice to know that I have friends who care about me so much.”
“Just promise me that if he ever hurts you, you’ll let me beat the crap out of him.”
“I promise.”
— — —
An hour later, the bus was coming to a stop. Oli jumped out of his bunk and quickly put his shoes on, almost falling as he was making his way to the front.
“Careful there.” Matt laughed. “I’m sure he’s not going anywhere without you.”
“Is he already out there?”
“Last time I saw we were arriving at some parking lot of the venue and he was standing by a tree.”
“Fuck, I’m late.” Oli said worriedly. “He’s going to think I don’t want to see him anymore, but I do Matt, I really want to spend alone time with him.”
“Relax, he’s still there. I’m sure.”
The bus finally came to a complete stop, making Oli smile and run to the front. He waited for the driver to open the door, bolting out of it as soon as he did.
He ran towards the trees, his eyes searching for Josh. His smile quickly faded as Josh was nowhere to be found.
The older man ran back into the bus.
“Are you sure he was by the trees?” Oli asked Matt. “He wasn’t there when I went looking for him.”
“That’s where I last saw him.” Matt replied. “Maybe he’s back at his bus.”
“Good idea, maybe I’ll call him.”
Oli quickly dialed Josh’s number, holding the phone up to his ear. After a few rings, the sound went to Josh’s voice mail. Oli frowned and re-dialed his lover’s number again.
“He’s not answering.”
“Maybe he’s showering.” Matt suggested. “I think you should give him some time and call again.”
“I’m going to his bus and find him there.”
Without waiting for an answer, Oli ran back to the front of the bus and quickly made his exit. He walked carefully in between the other busses and finally made his way to the You Me At Six bus. People seemed to still be inside, so he decided to knock.
A few seconds later, a shirtless Josh came to the door. His hair was messy and it seemed like he had a significant ‘tent’ in his pants. Oli didn’t worry though, maybe Matt had made a mistake and seen the wrong guy.
“Dan, I told you, Alicia and I will join you at breakfast in a bit.”
“Josh? Did you just wake up or what?”
“Shit, Oli… I-”
“Babe, this isn’t going to take care of itself.” Alicia said, waltzing in seconds later, half-naked. “Oh, I didn’t know you two were talking again. For the record, Oliver, Josh and I were about to have a quickie. If you don’t mind you can go ahead and leave now because otherwise it won’t be so quick.”
“Yeah, I was just leaving.” Oli said, not breaking eye contact with Josh. “I was just reminding Josh that we have to perform our songs on the mainstage.”
“Well, you’ve told him, now leave.”
“Alicia, don’t be so rude.” Josh said, looking at Oli apologetically. “He was just tr-”
“Don’t worry, Franceschi, she’s in her right.” Oli said, finally breaking eye contact. “See you then.”
The older man turned around and walked away, making his way in between the busses once again. He stopped and finally broke down by the Memphis May Fire bus. His back was pressed to it as he slid down. Once he reached the bottom, Oli hugged his knees to his chest. Tears began rolling down his face, staining it with the sticky substance.
After a few minutes, he reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He pressed the number 3 and held the phone up to his ear, putting a hand on his mouth.
“Yeah, mate? What’s up?” Matt asked.
“I’m by May Fire’s bus, come pick me up please.”
He ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket, letting tears run down his face again.
A few minutes later, Matt showed up, worry clearly written on his face.
“What happened?” he asked. “Don’t tell me, was it Josh?”
All Oli could do was nod. Matt frowned and pulled Oli to his feet, wrapping his arms around his waist and setting the other’s head on his shoulder.
“There, it’s going to be okay.”
“I’m just done with Josh completely, Matt.” Oli mumbled. “I don’t want to hear or see anything from him ever again.”
“That can be arranged.” Matt said in a mysterious tone, making Oli shoot his head up. “I’m just saying.”
“I don’t hate him that much.”
“I was kidding. Now, do you want to get some breakfast. The lads and I still haven’t eaten anything.”
“Sure.”
