Tour Bus Troublemaker// c.p.

•13•

I wake up to feel a hand gently shaking my shoulder as I lay in bed.

"Kris," he says quietly.
"Kristen."

I open my eyes and see Charlie standing over me, gazing down at me with soft eyes.

"Good morning, gorgeous," he smiles and brushes a few pieces of hair out of my face. I close my eyes and sigh, smiling.

"Morning," I mutter into my pillow. I sit up and rub my eyes. I see I'm still in my clothes from yesterday...weird.

"You ready?" He asks me. I look at him in curiosity. I can hear some faint cheers outside of the bus.

"For what?" I ask and he reaches for my hand, interlacing our fingers. Why is he acting so strange? It's almost...nice.

"C'mon," he leads me to the door of the bus as it opens and I see a huge crowd in front of us cheering loudly.

I look to him.
"Charl-"

"Hey, everyone!" He says to the crowd which makes them holler even louder.

"As you already know, some things I regret have been happening between Kristen and I," he begins, turning to me and taking my hands in his.

"But I still love her. I always will, I think," he smiles lovingly at me, making me smile back at him and my eyes tear up in happiness.

"And she's the most incredible person I've ever known," he states, still gazing at me.
"So I ask you, Kristen Rose," he pauses.
"Will you do me the honor of being my girlfr-"

"STOP!" A familiar voice shouts out of the crowd.

I look at the audience to see a panicked, out of breath Shawn rushing towards Charlie and I.

"Stop, please," he exhales when he reaches me. His eyes are full of worry.

"Don't do this, Kristen, listen to me," Shawn lets out a sigh.
"I know we just met, but, God. You are the most beautiful and smart girl I've ever talked to in my whole life, and I really, really can't get you out of my head."

I look at him with a concerned expression.
"But, Shawn, I-"

"Forgive me for interrupting this moment for you both, but after everything Charlie has put you through, don't you think your deserve better?" He reaches and brushes my cheek with his soft fingers.

I draw in a long breath.
"I can't do this," I feel my face become red from embarrassment. Here I am, in front of a colossal crowd, being asked to choose between two amazing boys who both care about me.

"You can't ask me to choose, guys," I reply, glancing at Charlie and then Shawn.

"Him or me, Kristen?" Charlie questioned, looking me dead in the eye.

"I-I...." my voice trails off.
______________________
I flutter my eyelids open to see Charlie's empty bed opposite me.
The bus is empty, as far as I can tell. I walk into the lounge and see nobody. I'm in an oversized t shirt and spandex, so I change into a tight crop top with some ripped denim shorts. The Texas heat and humidity is insane already.

I apply my daily makeup and put my hair into a messy bun. I'm too lazy to put my contacts in so I throw on my glasses. When I walk back into the lounge, I can hear muffled voices right outside.

"Hey, Kristen, right?" Her annoying voice already has my ears ringing when I step outside.

"Um, yeah," I answer politely with a fake-ass smile. Her bright pink hair is disgusting and why does she have so many piercings?

"I'm Bella," she chirps and I nod, glancing at Charlie who is standing awkwardly in between us.

"I'm aware," I answer, never taking my eyes off Charlie, who is staring at his feet.

"I love your music, by the way," she tells me. My eyes flicker back to her and I grin a little.
"We should hang out sometime."

I nod slightly and we exchange numbers.

"Thanks," I reply and she quickly wraps her arms around Charlie's neck, her face too close to his.

"See you tonight, babe?" It was more of a statement than a question. He nods and plasters on a phony smile before she smushes her lips against his. I watch for a moment before they both pull away. Her hot pink lipstick is smeared all over his mouth as she gleefully skips away. I feel a stabbing pain in my chest, reminding me of when my lipstick used to be on his lips. It should be mine.

His eyes don't even meet mine as we both stand there for a minute after she is gone.

"Got something you want to say?" He asks coldly, looking away from me.

I shake my head, though he can't see me.
"Not at all," I remark and finally he turns to me. I notice his cheeks are flushed, and underneath the layer of gross lipstick his bottom lip quivers ever so slightly. Is he about to cry?

"Kristen," he says and draws in a long breath, perhaps to keep from breaking down.
"Don't hate me, alright? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you hated me. And I know what I'm doing with Bella so soon may seem wrong to you, but it's right to me, okay? Just leave it at that," he looks away. I shake my head, unbelievingly.

"I wasn't gonna say anything," I mutter behind him.
"But I do have a question for you, Charlie."

His reddening eyes meet mine.
"Ask away," he whispers and blinks a few times.

I sigh.
"You say what you're doing with Bella is right, but," I pause for a moment.
"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?"

His sad eyes suddenly turn upset.
"That's none of your business," he replies and shakes his head.

I shrug.
"Just wondering," I remark and heard back into the bus.

I flop down onto the couch, keeping a sneaky eye on Charlie outside in the parking lot. I watch him as he paces around for a minute, then see some small tears slip down his cheeks. I want to comfort him, I really do. But I just can't bring myself to go out there. Not after what I just witnessed.

Then I remember my dream. Charlie was acting so nice, just like when we were still together. Well, not "together", but close to it. And Shawn, oh, Shawn. He makes my heart melt to its core. But I can't make that choice. At least not now.

I scroll through my phone for a while before Charlie walks back in, closing the door behind him.

"Sound check in an hour," is all he says as he rushes by me, into the studio.

I don't hear from him after that, but I receive a text from the anonymous number that might not be so random now.

Hey it's Bella😋

I notice that the phone number Bella gave me is oddly similar to the one that has been sending the threatening messages about the "bae." What bae? Who is this bae?

Then I realize that Bella's number and the other number are identical. My heart sinks as I come to consider...

The anonymous number wasn't so anonymous anymore.