“Hey, hey, Rachel!” Jared sticks his head inside your bunk on the tour bus, making you jump. You glare at him and take out your headphones.
“What?!” You snap, irritated at being interrupted. It was Thirty Seconds To Mars’ first proper tour, the perfect way to kick off your final summer with your three best friends before you go to college.
He raises an eyebrow at you. “Fancy a game of truth or dare?”
Not wanting to risk annoying Jared further, you roll your eyes. “Fine.”
You clamber out of your bunk and walk to the living area of the tour bus that the boys had only just been able to afford to hire, where all the guys are crammed together. You squeeze in between Jared and Tomo and you see Shannon staring at you. But the moment he sees you’ve noticed, his gaze instantly drops to the floor, as if it’s suddenly fascinating.
“Let’s do this!” Jared says, sitting on Tomo’s lap and clapping his hands.
“Get off me, Leto!” Tomo shouts, pushing Jared onto the floor. Jared pouts at him and Tomo’s expression instantly softens. “I’m sorry, baby. But you’re too heavy.”
“Can we get on with this?” You say.
“Sorry, Rachel!” Jared says from the floor, rolling his eyes dramatically and smirking. “Go on – truth or dare?”
You bite your lip in indecision, considering both options. Jared knew that you’d had a crush on Shannon ever since you’d first met him; all those years ago back at Jared’s house when you offered to help him with biology. If you chose dare, he’d probably make you kiss Shannon, but if you chose truth, you’d probably be forced into admitting your feelings for him. Either way, you were going to end up embarrassed.
Finally, you pluck up the courage to say: “Truth.”
Jared smiles. “You have to say something that you’ve kept to yourself for a long time, but something that only I know.”
You feel your cheeks burning and your heart pounding. Why was Jared doing this to you? You drop your eyes to your feet and then look up again. Shannon’s gaze is fixed on you.
“I…I…” You take a deep breath, steadying yourself for what you were going to say. There was no way out of it. “I’ve had a crush on Shannon ever since I met him.” Then you turn to Jared. “Are you happy now?”
Not even bothering to look at anyone else, you get up, slap Jared as he too stands up, and storm off the bus.
You’ve got no idea where the hell you are, so you storm around to the back of the bus and sink to the ground. You hug your knees to your chest and rest your head on your kneecaps. You couldn’t have just stayed in your bunk, could you? Why did you have to actually tell the truth? It would have been so much easier just to lie. A stray tear leaks out of your eye out of pure frustration. You knuckle it away and whack your head on the back of the bus.
“I’m an idiot,” You mutter to yourself.
“No, you’re not,” A familiar voice says.
You get up and begin to walk away, but a hand catches hold of your wrist and pulls you back. You thud into Shannon’s chest and he hugs you tightly. Without even thinking about it, your arms wrap themselves around him. You can’t help but notice how right it feels to be in his arms and to have him in your arms.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” He mumbles, burying his face in your hair.
You heart jumps at his actions and warmth kindles in your heart. “I didn’t want to lose you. You’re such a great friend and I didn’t want to ruin things between us because I was so terrified that I would scare you off. I’ve known you for such a long time and you’re Jared’s older brother and I couldn’t bear it if I didn’t have you in my life anymore because I just HAD to fall in love with you!”
You pull away from him and slam your palm against the back of the tour bus in your anger. Shannon stands there looking at you in complete shock. You turn back to him, not bothering to hide the tears that are now streaming down your face, not only because of the pain in your hand, but because of your sheer frustration.
“You love me?” He says softly.
“Yes, Shannon!” You shout. “Okay?! And it kills me every single day, knowing that I’ve been in love with you for years and I haven’t done anything about it because I’m such a coward!”
He scratches the back of his head and sighs. “Rachel, there’s no better way to say this. I love you. And I’ve always loved you, ever since the moment I helped some clumsy girl that my little brother brought home for revision pick up her books after she dropped them.”
You blush, realising he’s talking about the moment you first met him. You bite your lip. “Really?”
“Really,” He says quietly. “And besides, I thought it would be bad taste to hit on my little brother’s best friend,”
Then he reaches out and takes hold of your uninjured hand and pulls you close to him. You look up into his eyes and he crashes his lips onto yours. Your hands immediately tangle in his hair and pull him even closer to you. His hands travel up and down your sides, rest on your hips and then come to a rest below your bum. He leans back onto the back of the tour bus and you jump up, wrapping your legs around his waist, his hands still resting below your bum.
You pull away and rest your forehead on his, sighing slightly and closing your eyes. His hands move away from your bum and brush your hair out of your face.
“You’re beautiful,” He whispers, kissing the tip of your nose and you open your eyes.
“Not as beautiful as you,” You say, tracing the outline of some of his tattoos.
“I love you,” He says, looking deep into your eyes and kissing you again, ever so sweetly.
“I love you, too,” You tell him.
“FINALLY!”
The flashes of numerous cameras make you and Shannon turn around. All of the guys are standing there, taking photos, laughing and you have no idea if they’re videoing the pair of you. You hide your face in Shannon’s neck and he turns his head to kiss your neck. Then he grips you again and walks away so the two of you could have some privacy.
YOU ARE READING
Band One Shots - CLOSED
Fanfiction**OPEN** One shot requests for band members of your choice.
