Tour Bus Troublemaker// c.p.

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Monday eventually arrived. My mom drove me to the secret building I was meeting Lili and Charlie at. We pulled up around 8:30 in the morning.

I stepped out of the car and grabbed my bags. A nice man came and took them, placing them in the storage space of the bus. I thanked him and found Lili, dragging my mom the whole way.

Lili hugged my mom.
"Thank you so much for letting her do this. At 18 years old, this is such a great opportunity for her to get recognized and an overall amazing experience, I assure you," Lili told my mother, whose eyes were full of tears. She smiled and nodded, as if trying to convince herself this was the right thing.

A car pulled up, I assumed it was Charlie. I turned to my mom and hugged her tightly. She sniffed and I knew she was crying.

I pulled away and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Mom, I'll be okay, I promise," I insisted and she nodded, kissing my cheek one last time.

"You call me every day, if not every other day, you hear me?" She told me and smiled motherly.

I laughed softly and nodded.
"You got it, Mom," I affirmed.

"Take care of her for me," she directed towards Lili, who nodded and smiled warmly.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," I whispered back and she released my hand, which she'd been holding the whole time. I watched as her car pulled away and for the first time since I heard the news, I felt scared. I took a deep breath to calm some of the nerves and Lili rubbed my arm.

"Hey, it'll be alright," she told me and I nodded unconvinced.

I turned around to see a guy with a scar on his right eyebrow and knew immediately who it was. He was standing tall and wore a pair of ripped jeans and a casual t-shirt. His brown hair was styled perfectly, just a tad messy. My heart skipped a beat...I must've been staring like that for a while.

Soon, Lili led me over to Charlie's manager who shook my hand and introduced herself. They led me over to Charlie, who first seemed to be ignoring us and scrolling through his phone.

"Charlie?" His manager said his name after we'd been standing there for a few seconds. His hazel eyes met mine for a split second and he turned to his manager.

"This is Kristen Lahey," she introduced me. He looked back at me and I suddenly felt very insecure of my appearance. My medium brown hair was thrown into a bun and I had on an old band t-shirt with some cutoff jean shorts and Adidas shoes. I had some makeup on, but not nearly enough to hide the redness I felt in my cheeks.

"The opening act, I assume?" His low, smooth voice asked and glanced back at his manager, then at me again.

She nodded.
"For the whole tour," she said and he nodded without a word. Then he continued to scroll through his phone as if we weren't standing there at all.

"Alright, everyone," the guy who'd taken my bags earlier, who I now knew was the bus driver, announced.
"Load up!"

I looked at Lili, who gestured to the bus.
"You're time, girlfriend," she told me.

Charlie suddenly looked up from his phone.
"I'm sorry," he said, putting his phone in his jeans pocket.
"I'm on the same bus as the opening act?"

His manager cleared her throat.
"Charl-"

"No," he held up a hand and looked at the bus.
"That is my bus."

"Charlie we only have one, I'm sure you'll be just fine," his manager muttered.

I felt a pang of hurt in my chest. Did he not want me here? Or just on the same bus? I looked down and kept my mouth shut.

"Charlie, get on," his manager warned him.

"Fine," he huffed and climbed into the bus.

I shot a worried glance at Lili behind my shoulder.

"I promise he's a nice guy once you get to know him," his manager reassured me.

I gulped, looking up at the bus before walking in. I looked around in the spacious area on a surprisingly large bus. An almost full size lounging area, in the back were the bunks and a small recording area. There was also a tiny bathroom. The lights were dark, projecting off little light at the moment.

Charlie was already sat on a fluffy couch in the lounging area, still looking at his phone. I sat on a chair directly across from him and saw him tense up to see someone else, someone new, in his bus.

"Look," he began, startling me. He put his phone away.
"You're opening act for a reason. So stay out of my space, my recording studio, and basically any place on this bus labeled with my name, got it?"

I blinked a few times and tilted my head a little in confusion.
"Weren't you opening act for Shawn Mendes like, last year?" I questioned.

He narrowed his eyes and sighed.
"Listen, sweetheart, just keep distance and we won't have a problem," he muttered and stormed off to the bunk area, leaving me stunned and alone in the lounge area. He's just stressed, I kept telling myself. He's got his own tour now. That's a lot of responsibility and pressure.

He may have a cold, emotionless exterior, but he really was pretty hot. I was worried even if he stayed this way the whole tour, that wouldn't stop me from falling in love with him, simply for his looks.

I shook my head and felt the bus start moving. I began scrolling through my social medias, seeing all of the well wishes and congrats. I smiled to myself and settled into the comfy chair. The bus smelled strongly of cologne, the same scent I'd smelt when I first stood near Charlie.

I could hear him shuffling around in the bunks, then saw him walk into the recording studio. He sat there for a moment, pausing to take a breath then running a hand through his wavy hair. Then he took out his phone and typed for a moment. I watched in awe as he stood up, putting headphones on and beginning to sing.

The soft movements of the bus combined with Charlie's beautiful voice almost put me to sleep. I went on Snapchat to see that notcharlieputh had added me back. I smiled a little to myself and then saw he had posted something.

A black background with some typing that read:
Feeling inspired.
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