Becoming Us || l.h

Chapter 2

Day two of being woken up annoyingly. Today, no one is shutting up, they are obnoxiously loud, and I for one will take no more of this! I want to sleep, that is all I ask for but no! No one is respecting that! I get that we are leaving today, I really do, and I like being ready a little before we leave, but at seven in the morning, I will sleep till the cars are moving, thank you very much.

I trudge downstairs, glaring at everyone. Ashton gives me a small smile before he goes back to eating cereal, scrolling through something on his phone. I slump down into the seat next to him, dropping my head to the counter, the cold granite helping to wake me up. Only a little bit though. "Tired?" Ashton asks, his mouth sounding full. I nod, unable to speak this early in the morning. "Welcome to life on the road, you get used to it, the last day." I let out a sarcastic laugh that turns into a groan.

"Aw, is someone grumpy?" Zach asks, coming into the kitchen. I lift my head high enough off the counter to look at my brother, seeing him looking for food. "One: you're no better than me in the mornings. Two: Why are you awake, you're not even leaving with us. Three: Can you hand me an apple?" I ask, slowly sitting up as I speak. He grabs one out of the drawer, washing it before handing it to me. I give him a grateful smile, taking a bite.

"Hey, we leave in five so go get your stuff ready to go, and that means loaded on the buses apparently," Luke says, peeking into the kitchen. I nod, standing. "Do you know what bus I'm on? Isn't there three?" Ashton nods, also standing. "I think you're with your family, so the first bus." "Yay," I mutter, a tight, fake smile on my face. "Do you have headphones?" Ashton asks, looking down at me. I nod, frowning. "Hide out in your bunk and listen to music, you'll be just fine." I laugh, smiling. "Thanks for the tip."

I hurry up to my room, still eating my apple. I carry down each suitcase one by one, the one I leave previously always gone when I bring the next one. When I come down the final time with my backpack and a half-eaten apple, Blake's in the door, texting. "Ready?" He asks, barely glancing up at me. I nod, following him out to the bus.

"Why do I have to ride with you?" I ask, following him onto the bus. "Because we have room for you." He replies, taking a seat on the couch. I shrug, sitting down next to him. "Ready for life on the road?" He asks, looking over at me. "It doesn't exactly look like I have a choice." I point out. I watch him roll his eyes, pulling his headphones out of his pocket.

I pull out my laptop, connecting to the bus's wifi. "Hey, what's the band name again?" I ask, nudging my brother. "5 Seconds of Summer." I nod, going to safari and then to YouTube. I type their name in, going to the first video, called Heartbreak Girl. I plug my headphones in and listen, liking it. A lot.

After it's done, I find another song, called Beside You. Whoever was the main singer was really good. I couldn't tell for sure who it was, Calum's voice is the only one I could actually recognize.

"Who's the main singer?" I ask Blake, turning to him. "Luke is, most of the time. Then probably Calum then Michael, Ashton doesn't typically sing since he's the drummer." I nod, going to the next song. It is called Gotta Get Out, and it sounds like an acoustic version, and I really like it. They seem incredibly dedicated to their music. The last one I listen to is Out Of My Limit.

"They're excellent, how'd you find them?" "YouTube. They do some covers, and they covered a song I really like, and I ran across it one day, and they were asked to tour with me." "Where are we headed to first?" I ask, leaning back on the couch and facing my brother. "Boston than Montreal. Starting north. Then working our way down the coast then I honestly could not tell you off the top of my head." I grin, shaking my head. "It's a wonder you remember your songs." "I don't, I just listen to my fans singing."I gasp, my jaw-dropping. "You're terrible! You're so fake!" He laughs, nudging me with his foot. "I'm only joking, come on." "You're mean," I tell him, crossing my arms over my chest.

Boston is tonight, right?" I ask, looking up at Blake. "Yeah, then we drive to Montreal, and I perform there tomorrow night. The next night is in Toronto, then back to the US. I get a day off then I play in New York for two days. Then we hit Philadelphia, then Washington, D.C., then Pittsburgh, then Cleveland, then down to Columbus. Then we get three days off in Detroit than a second performance there. Then we head down to Cincinnati, and that's all I can remember for up there. I think after that we head back to the coast and work down then back up to Chicago then it gets messy." "I can see that." I laugh, trying to comprehend everything he said.

"When do you go to Europe?" I ask, looking over at him. "Um, I wanna say September." I nod, thinking. "Dang it, I'll be seventeen, I won't be able to go to the bars." I frown, Blake, giving me a look. "Like you'd get to go anyways." "A girl can dream, Blake." He laughs, shaking his head at me. "You're something else, you know that?"

"Yeah, I've been told. I'm going to take a nap, feel free to wake me when we arrive if I'm not awake." He nods, putting his headphones back in.

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The bus jolts to a stop and I'm jolted awake, my body stiff and sore. "You need better couches," I announce, slowly standing. I stretch my body, hearing it pop. "It's still popping, I don't understand," Blake says, watching me. "Always has, always will kinda thing." I shrug, following him off the bus. Fans were barricaded off, and paps were with them, shooting questions at us. "Who's the girl Blake?" "My sister." He replies, putting his arm around me and pulling me inside.

"My advice, just ignore the paps and their questions, they know how to twist words to make you look bad. We don't need that, and I'd like to have a calm tour." "Keep your girlfriend off it then," I mutter, looking around. Blake sighs, the band walking in. "I have practice, keep yourself entertained." He says, walking off with his band. Luke, Calum, Ashton, and Michael come in, giving me a smile.

"How was your ride?" Ashton asks, giving me a smirk. "Well, I listened to your music and you're not half bad." I start, the guys smiling. "Then I learned the route of the tour and you guys don't get very much of a break." "Welcome to tour life." "I'll say," I mutter, shaking my head. "Then I took a much-needed nap." I finish. "Sounds like a pretty relaxing ride." "I didn't even see my parents so yeah, it was." I nod, following them. "Where are you going?" "Dressing room." I continue following, taking a seat on the couch.

"Have any of you been to Boston?" I ask, looking at them. "Nope." They all shake their heads. "First time in the US actually," Luke says, taking a seat next to me. "Oh, well then, welcome to a very odd country." "Sounds like it. Are you going to the show tonight?" Michael asks, turning to me. "No clue. I should probably find out if I can see any of the shows. I'll see you guys later." They nod as I run out of the room, wandering the halls to find someone who would know.