Becoming Us || l.h

Chapter 5

I wake up on the bus, confused. I don't remember walking out to the bus... I look around, seeing if anyone is here. The bus is dimly lit, meaning everyone is asleep. I sit up, the couch not the most comfortable thing to sleep on. I have a knot in my upper back, but I am glad it's just a dull pain, not sharp. I stretch my back, feeling it pop and the pain relieving itself.

"Wow. Your back sure pops a lot." I swivel toward the curtain leading to the bunks, Ashton standing there in running shorts and a t-shirt. His hair is messed up, slept on, but he doesn't look like he's gotten sleep. "Can't sleep?" I ask, watching him walk over to the couch and sitting next to me.

"No. I've been fighting with my girlfriend." He sighs. He rolls his eyes, clearly annoyed. He runs his hands over his face, letting out a sigh through his nose. He slides his phone onto the table, relaxing back into the couch. "She's just-" he pauses, trying to find the right word. "Infuriating. I honestly don't know why I'm still with her at this point. She's not putting as much into the relationship as I am after the tour started and I try to make an effort to talk to her but she isn't responding with the same effort. It's always I'm busy, talk to you later or going to bed, talk to you in the morning but she never would." He explains, closing his eyes and breathing.

"What's her name?" I ask, sitting on the couch crisscross apple sauce style. "Amanda, I used to call her Mandy, but she told me to stop calling her that a couple of weeks ago and I know she used to love it when I called her that." He admits, putting his head into his hands. "Oh." I can't think of anything else to say, twiddling my thumbs. I'm not good at this kind of stuff. No one ever came to me for advice before. At least, I think that's why Ashton's telling me this. For advice.

"How long have you been dating?" I ask, watching him pull his head from his hands. "Nine months. I started dating her after Alyssa, and I broke up. I met Amanda while on our Australian tour, and we clicked." Ashton smiles, remembering back to that day I'm guessing.

"At first, she was worried about dating me while I was on tour, about to come to the US to start working on stuff but I finally talked her into everything, and she agreed to date. She finished out the tour with us then went back to Uni, while I came here and now she's distant. Now I'm feeling her worries she had expressed when we met." He takes a deep breath, checking his phone. "She's not even responding to my texts anymore." He groans, tossing his phone back down.

I stifle a yawn, watching him. "What are you going to do?" He glances over at me, shaking his head and shrugging. "I wish I knew." He mumbles, deflating. He lets out a yawn, causing me to yawn as well. "I'm gonna try and get some sleep, I'll see you in the morning." He says, standing.

-

My arm is moving, but I'm not moving it. I try to peel my eyes open, but they don't want to. It's early, I can gauge that much, but my body does not want to move. "Dylan." Nope. It's too soon, voice. "We're at the hotel if you want to sleep in a real bed." Luke. Luke is the one trying to wake me up at whatever this ungodly hour is. I let out a sound similar to something between a groan and a higher-pitched noise I honestly can not name this early in the morning.

"Are you going to come?" Luke asks, sounding a little amused, but tired over everything else. I slowly nod, still not opening my eyes. I slowly roll, swinging my legs out of the bunk before I fall. I slowly sit up, peeling my eyes open. "What time is it?" "Five, I thought you'd like a real bed over the bus bunks." I nod, standing and grabbing my glasses. "You wear glasses?" He asks, leading me off the bus. "Yeah, I usually just wear my contacts though," I explain, a scream making me jump. I watch Luke jump as well, both of us turning to see the source.

A girl had run to my brother, who looked more asleep than I felt. I continue walking inside, Luke walking beside me. "Room 713." He says, Ashton, Calum, and Michael walking toward the elevator. Ashton holds the door, Luke and I both fast walking, so he doesn't hold it too long. The elevator ride is silent, and I stand there, staring at the numbers as they climb from one to seven. The doors open and I walk out, looking on the walls for the room numbers.