Unexpected (Avi Kaplan)

Safe & Sound

Avi's POV

I woke up to the sound of fidgeting underneath my bunk. We were on the bus, heading to somewhere or another. All I knew was it was in Germany. We had finished up our North American leg and started the Europe portion a couple weeks ago. I checked my phone for the time, frowning when 2:47am flashed in my face. I pushed the small curtain to the side and carefully hopped down, making sure to keep quiet.

Leaning down slightly, I peeked through the curtain underneath my bunk, only to find Ivy twisting and turning. Another nightmare. She had been having them for the past couple of months, ever since she decided not to take the offer to switch labels. I carefully crawled in next to her, pulling her close to me and gently hushing her. It seemed to always work when it came to making sure she didn't wake anyone else up.

She soon calmed down enough for her sleep to deepen just as her phone vibrated on the opposite side of her. I picked it up and looked at it, reading what I could of the message.

Guess who's on thei...

Curiosity got the best of me and I carefully took her thumb, unlocking her phone before finishing the message.

Guess who's on their way to Germany. It's only a matter of time before everything you have comes crumbling down around you. Love ya.

I wish I could have stopped then, but something told me not to. Something told me to read messages from the same number. So I did, and I was not happy. They dated all the way back to that very day, a mixture of threats and pictures that seemed to be taken from somewhere hidden, but they were of her. Of all of us.

I probably shouldn't have reacted like I did, but it was like something clicked that I couldn't control. I shoved the curtain out of the way and got up, her phone still clutched in my hand. "What in the hell are these?!" I nearly yelled, the sudden groaning and cursing telling me I had woken everyone up.

Ivy was the first one to peek her head out as she looked up at me through squinted eyes. "What are you talking about?" She asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she climbed out of bed.

"Avi it's like three in the morning. Go to sleep," Scott said from behind me.

"Not until she tells me what the hell is with the messages." Even though she tried to hide it, I could tell she knew what I was talking about. She reached for her phone, but I moved it out of her reach and pointed to the front. "Now."

Getting the hint, she grabbed the panda hoodie she had gotten in New York and pulled it on as she slowly made her way towards the font and sat on the smaller of the two couches.

By now, everyone was up and looking at me crazily, but I didn't care. "You too," I said as I walked over and sat across from her, Scott and Mitch on one side of me and Kevin and Kirstie on the other side.

Ivy silently pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them as I handed her phone to Scott first so he could read the messages. "It's not-"

"Don't speak." Okay, I might have been a bit harsh, but I couldn't believe she would keep this from us. Scott passed the phone to Mitch who read it and passed it to Kirstie, then Kevin. Once he finished, I took the phone back and crossed my arms. 

"Why would you keep that from us?" Kirstie was the first to speak, and I didn't have to look at her to see tears pricking her eyes.

"It's not a big deal." Ivy refused to look up or meet any of our eyes. Instead, she played with the strings on her jacket lazily.

"NOT A BIG DEAL?!" I paused, trying not to let my emotions get the best of me. "They threatened not only you but all of us. They've been stalking us. Do you know who it is?"

She didn't answer. "It's that asshole from the studio isn't it," Mitch said as he started to up. Scott immediately placed a hand on his arm and sat him back down.

She kept silent, wrapping her arms around her legs, still not looking at us.

"I'm going to the police when we get to the city," Kevin said, earning agreement from everyone except for Ivy herself.

"You're not going to say anything are you?" I finally asked, feeling my blood start to boil.

"What's the point? You're just gonna criticize and judge me more if I do," she said, catching me, and everyone else off guard.

"What's that supposed to mean? We're not judging you," Scott said defensively.

"Bull. You're supposed to be my friends. Be there for me but instead, you're all ganging up on me."

"You're supposed to tell friends when someone is threatening you."

"Not when you don't want them to constantly worry about you because they have enough to deal with." With that, she stood up and walked away, crawling back into her bunk and closing the curtain.

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed softly before looking down at the phone and sending a message to the number.

Who is this? Why are you harassing my girlfriend

Not even a minute later, I got a reply.

Your worst nightmare bassman. I blocked the number and tossed the phone on the opposite couch as I stood up. "I'm gonna go check on her."

"Make sure she knows we're not judging or criticizing her. We're just worried," Kirstie said, and I nodded. I didn't say anything as I made my way to the bunks and crawled into hers without a second thought.

She had gotten rid of the hoodie and pulled the covers up to her neck, facing away from the curtain so her back was to me. I quietly wrapped an arm across her waist as I pulled her close to me. "I'm sorry I snapped at you," I mumbled against her shoulder.

"You had every right to. That's no why I was so upset." She turned towards me and buried her face in the fabric of my shirt. "All of you ganging  up on me like that...I never felt more alone than I did in those five minutes."

I rested my chin against head as I ran my fingers through her hair soothingly. "Scott wasn't lying when he said we weren't judging you. We're all just worried. There's no telling what he'll do, but I promise that no matter what, I'll be there for you, keep you safe. We all will. We love you. I love you."

I could hear her breathing stop momentarily, but I couldn't blame her. I never outright said that I loved her, even though I did. "I love you too." That's all she said, and that's all she had to say.

"Just promise me you won't keep things like that from me again? I don't know what I'd do if something happened and I didn't know because you wanted to be stubborn."

She laughed quietly and nodded, never pulling her head up to look at me. "I promise."

A/N: Big news!!! New title + cover!! I figured there was nothing wrong with updating one more time tonight despite how tired I am. I may or may not be slightly addicted to this story right now haha...

~*~*~Ash~*~*~