After their shower, the pair dressed and headed downstairs to find some breakfast. Chance looked a little rough much like Tim as Austin was talking animatedly with Rob about who-knows-what. Tim and Chance groaned at how loudly Austin was talking, and he was talking rather loudly on purpose, making Adam rub circles on Tim's back.
They had some time before they were to hit the road. Adam began obsessively checking his phone. The throbbing in Tim's head was too much for him to really care about anything at the moment. He didn't notice Amarelle's absence or her strange behavior. When Nate made it downstairs, Adam asked him if he'd talked to their girlfriend.
"She left the venue about half-way through the signing line. Said she wasn't feeling well." Nate said
Adam sat back in his seat, shoulders drooping, eyes not leaving his phone on the table. 'Something's wrong' Adam thought as he bit his lower lip. Rob caught Adam's sour mood and was sure it had nothing to do with the state of his husband. The fluffy, loveable "gopher" scratched his whiskers as he looked around at the table.
The beatboxer seemed to be the only pensive one at the table. Tim and Chance were both hungover, heads hanging low, not looking anyone in the eyes, slumping shoulders. Austin, for some reason, was his usual excitable self, hands moving wildly around as he spoke. When they were ready to board the busses, Tim still just wanted to crawl into his nice, dark bunk and shut the world out.
Before Adam could check on Amarelle, Austin asked him if he wanted to play a game with him and Rob. 'Chance wants to go take a nap' Austin frowned with sad eyes. Adam chuckled, eyes darting between the bunk area where he knew Ama was and his friends, and finally said yes. As soon as she heard voices on the bus, tensed up. She didn't want to speak to either man, didn't want to see them, just really didn't want to be around them at the moment.
They stopped several hours later for a dinner break and so the busses could get fuel. Tim and Chance seemed to both be in better spirits as the band convened at the front of the bus. Amarelle felt the bus slowing down. 'Do I want to go out there?' she asked herself until her stomach began making noises. With a groan she decided she did need to eat even if she wasn't ready to face either man yet. Seeing that they'd stopped at a truck stop that had several fast food joints in it made her sigh with relief.
She could grab her food and sit by herself or grab her food and head back to the bus. Before climbing out of her bunk, she strained her ears to make sure everyone else had exited the bus first. The group were walking into the building as the driver was filling the gas tank. She hated this feeling. She hated having to will tears away because she wanted to break down and cry for the third, or was it fourth, time in less that 24-hours.
Scanning choices, she settled on KFC and stood in line. Tim's laughter radiated to her ears making her cringe slightly. 'How could he be so damned happy when they are making me feel like this?' she pursed her lips angrily. She placed her order, filled her plastic cup, and stood to the side to await her food. Tim, Nate, and Luke walked along, all having their food already, and stopped by her. Right as her food was handed to her, since she'd opted to have it to go, Tim draped his arm casually around her shoulders.
She shrugged out of it before quickly walking away. Her pulse quickened slightly and her arms felt a bit tingly at his touch. Tim stood there, jaw ajar, staring as his girlfriend walked away from him. No cute-but-sassy remarks. Just walking away. He raised his eyebrow as he tried to figure out what was going on. 'Maybe Adam has a clue as to what's going on with her' Tim thought before Nate pulled his attention away from the purple-haired woman.
Amarelle ate her dinner in her bunk with the curtain closed. Tim boarded the bus and, when he didn't see Ama anywhere, began rubbing the back of his neck. He found a seat and sat down to his dinner. By the time the rest of the band boarded the bus, he looked down and realized he'd only picked through about half his dinner. No longer interested in eating, or socializing, he headed to the bunk area and got ready for bed.
Luke had scheduled two days' off in Plano, a subdivision of Dallas, a week after they arrived back in the US since they'd had a show every night for a solid week. The one other night she had to come to the signing line during that week, she witnessed Tim once again getting a little too flirty with the same redheaded woman. That night she had worn a pair of skin-tight faux-leather pants, leopard print stilettos, and a black leather vest top with the top unzipped slightly.
She was doing everything she could to show her body and cleavage. Once again, she was leaning over the table giving Tim an eyeful making him grin. Luke walked in to catch the show this woman was giving and rolled his eyes. He looked around, catching Amarelle briskly walking out, eyes finally settling on the band. Luke shook his head as he began to wonder if the percussion section understood what they were doing to their girlfriend.
Amarelle had begun staying in her bunk, eating by herself, and generally pouring herself into work. Everyone could tell there was some sort of rift between the trio, but no one knew how to bring it up or knew if Tim & Adam had even noticed it. They had noticed. When they had a hotel, she slept at the edge of the bed, shrugging away from being touched by either man. Not once since the first night back in the States did she make eye contact with anyone, even them.
If she wasn't on her laptop working, she was sleeping. Most people were just "vegging out" the whole first day of their two days' off in Texas. A friend she'd made when she was attending college in Dallas had sent her a text the following afternoon, knowing she'd returned back to the US, asking if she'd like to meet up later that evening for drinks and to catch up.
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Thinking a night out would help lift her mood, she quickly agreed. They texted back and forth about where and what time they were to meet up. Amarelle just wanted to get away, temporarily, from the band. She loved Tim & Adam fiercely. 'Perhaps we are spending too much time together' she thought as she waited for a reply from her friend. Yes, getting out and away from everyone for a night would do her some good!
She took a quick shower while Tim and Adam were chatting with Chance about their plans for the evening. Amarelle did a black smokey eye with a bright red lipstick to round out the look she was going for. She surveyed the finished product with a slightly puffed out chest. Without a single word to either man, she grabbed her purse which already had her room key, lipstick, wallet and phone in it, and headed out for the evening.
Adam watched her leave their room without so much as a 'goodbye', 'I love you', 'have a good evening' or anything. She just got dressed, did her make-up, and left. He leaned against the headboard and turned the promise ring on his right ring finger. Rob and Austin entered their room laughing at something but Adam didn't care.
